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By Dan Falk
TORONTO — In the world of sci-fi movie geekdom, Aug. 29, 1997, was a turning point for humanity: On that day, according to the "Terminator" films, the network of U.S. defense computers known as Skynet became self-aware — and soon launched an all-out genocidal war against Homo sapiens.
Fortunately, that date came and went with no such robo-apocalypse. But the 1990s did bring us the World Wide Web, which is now far larger and more "connected" than any nation's defense network. Could the Internet "wake up"? And if so, what sorts of thoughts would it think? And would it be friend or foe?
Neuroscientist Christof Koch believes we may soon find out — indeed, the complexity of the Web may have already surpassed that of the human brain. In his book "Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist," published earlier this year, he makes a rough calculation: Take the number of computers on the planet — several billion — and multiply by the number of transistors in each machine — hundreds of millions — and you get about a billion billion, written more elegantly as 10 to the 18th. That's a thousand times larger than the number of synapses in the human brain (about 10 to the 15th).
Koch, who taught for more than 25 years at Caltech and is now chief scientific officer at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, is known for his work on the "neural correlates" of consciousness — studying the brain to see what's going on when we have specific conscious experiences. Of course, our brains happen to be soft, wet, and made of living tissue, while the Internet is made up of metal chips and wires — but that's no obstacle to consciousness, he says, so long as the level of complexity is great enough. (Most researchers working on artificial intelligence would agree that the "substrate" doesn't matter. That is, it makes no difference what the system is made of. Most philosophers, though not all, would agree.)
In a phone interview, Koch noted that the kinds of connections that wire together the Internet — its "architecture" — are very different from the synaptic connections in our brains, "but certainly by any measure it's a very, very complex system. Could it be conscious? In principle, yes it can."
Of course, there's the tricky question of defining consciousness, but for our purposes it is enough to say that if an entity is conscious, then it "feels like" something to be that entity. Humans are conscious, at least while we're awake. Apes and monkeys, perhaps most animals, likely have some degree of consciousness. (Koch, a dog lover, does not hesitate to include our canine companions.) How consciousness actually works is far less clear, but Koch — going somewhat out on a limb — declares it to be a fundamental property of the universe, akin to energy, mass, and space.
That doesn't mean that any physical system is automatically conscious — only that it has the potential to be conscious. It has to have sufficient complexity, and it has to be connected in just the right way. Does the Internet meet those criteria?
"Even today it might 'feel like something' to be the Internet," Koch says. Each computer feels nothing, of course, but the totality of the Internet may be more than the sum of its parts. "That's true for my brain, too. One of my nerve cells feels nothing — but put it together with 100 billion other nerve cells, and suddenly it can feel pain and pleasure and experience the color blue."
Would its first instinct to be to kill off those pesky humans, as Skynet was so quick to do? Not necessarily. Our own evolution is an ongoing struggle that began some 2 billion years ago (if you start the clock when we were blue and green algae). By comparison, the Internet of today is more like a newborn baby. "It may not have any of the survival instincts that we have," Koch says. "It did not evolve in a world 'red in tooth and claw,' to use Tennyson's famous expression." Should the Internet achieve consciousness, it will — at least at first — be "utterly naive to the world." On the other hand, the Internet has only existed for a couple of decades. "So who knows where it will be 20 years from now."
Of course, the science fiction writers have already explored this territory — not just in shoot-'em-ups like the "Terminator" films, but in more cerebral works like Robert J. Sawyer's "WWW" trilogy (the novels are titled "Wake," "Watch" and "Wonder"). In "Wake," the World Wide Web wakes up — and, after a bit of a learning curve, becomes the smartest entity on the planet.
Eerily, as Koch speculated on what the Internet might "feel," he described a scenario straight out of Sawyer's trilogy (which he had not heard of until I mentioned it). Should there be a large power failure somewhere in the world, Koch said, a conscious Internet could experience the equivalent of "pain." In "Wake" (published in 2009), the Chinese government shuts down an enormous swath of the Internet to cover up a particularly nasty incident that it desperately wants to hide from the rest of the world. The still-nascent Webmind "feels" all that cutting and severing — and doesn't like it:
Not just small changes.
Not just flickerings.
Upheaval. A massive disturbance.
New sensations: Shock. Astonishment. Disorientation. And _
The "WWW" trilogy is a work of fiction, but for Sawyer, it's a plausible picture of what lies ahead in our increasingly wired world. We can't pin down the date when the Internet surpasses our brains in complexity, he says, "but clearly it is going to happen at some point."
Even Koch admits that he doesn't lose any sleep over the possibility of the Internet waking up. Sawyer, however, sees the Web's continued growth as a very real potential threat. As the Web grows more and more complex, at an accelerating pace, there is inevitably a "tipping point," he says. "There is a point after which you can't do anything about it. Should we be afraid of it? Absolutely."
Even if those fears prove to be unfounded, such questions are still worth pondering. If the Internet doesn't have what it takes to become conscious, it would be useful to understand why it fails. Perhaps we can even come a little closer to learning how our three-and-a-half-pound brains manage to pull it off.
Dan Falk is a science journalist based in Toronto and was a 2011-12 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
This article arises from Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation and Slate. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29777000 |
Pets' eating and grooming habits, species inherent sensitivities to certain chemical/foods, and owners' attitudes are helpful
in preventing accidental exposures. Similar hand-to-mouth behavior observed in children is the expected with pets. All precautions
– properly store all hazardous chemicals, personal human medication, read medication labels, and know the need for, and seek
immediate veterinary care - should be taken in preventing access of pet to hazardous substances.
Household Toxins Under the kitchen sink
Disinfectants, deodorizers, water purifiers
Sodium hypochloride (main component) of varying concentrations (3%, 6% and sometimes 50%).
Sodium peroxide/perporate (non-chlorine bleach).
Low oral toxicity (vomiting and diarrhea).
Non-ionic (hand washing detergents, shampoos)
Anionic (laundry detergents)
Both of low oral toxicity
Cationic detergents (quaternary ammonium compounds)
High oral toxicity:
Muscle fasciculation, CNS depression and at times, seizures are manifested.
Corrosive at high concentrations
Emesis and/or gastric lavage are contraindicated.
Contain either naphthalene (more toxic) or para-dichlorobenzene. Cats are very sensitive.
Naphthalene: Vomiting, met-hemoglobinemia, Heinz body anemia, CNS stimulation, and rarely hepatic signs.
Paradichlorobenzene: No met-hemoglobinemia and/or Heinz body anemia. Could be hepato-toxic (phenol metabolites)
Easily diagnosed – history of ingestion and/or mothball odor in breath and vomitus.
Mixture of terpene alcohols. LD50 of 1-2.5 ml/kg body weight (cats - more sensitive).Vomiting, hyper salivation, ataxia, weakness,
CNS depression, renal failure, shock, and death. Emetics are contraindicated (aspiration pneumonia).Modeling dough and De-icing
salt (Na ion) toxicity
Prevalence – Occurs infrequently but when do so, the dog is mainly affected.
Lethal dose (dogs) approximately 3.7 g/kg body weight.
High mortality (renal/gastrointestinal congestion and gastrointestinal inflammation).
Product ingredients: Sodium chloride (4g/kg), potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium carbonate, and calcium magnesium
acetate (some may contain urea).
Vomiting (30% of cases), hypersalivation, diarrhea, lethargy, tremor, thirst polydipsia/polyuria, and dehydration, muscular
rigidity, convulsions, coma, renal failure, shock, hyperchloremia, mixed metabolic and respiratory acidosis.
Vomiting (perfuse) is common therefore emesis is not recommended. Anti-emetics recommended instead. Gastric lavage may enhance absorption (dissolution). Surgical removal – animal unable to withstand anesthesia. Adsorbents – not useful
Lower sodium concentration slowly (Rapid reduction may lead to cerebral edema). Small amounts of water at frequent intervals.
Perenteral fluid if required – 5% dextrose or 2.5% dextrose in 0.45 % saline – recovery may take several days. Monitor sodium
and chloride concentrations; renal function.
Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic acid)
Anti-inflammatory: Dogs - (25 mg/kg 3X daily); Anti-thrombic: - (0.5 mg/kg 2X daily)
Analgesic: – (10-20 mg/kg 2X daily); Antipyretic; Causes emesis in dogs @50 mg/kg q12h
Its use in cats – severe caution (possible toxicity. 10 mg/kg q48h for pain and fever. Cats are glucuronosyl-transferase deficient, thus
reduced aspirin metabolism and toxicity results.
Clinical signs (Dogs)
Vomiting, restlessness progressing to CNS depression, seizure, and coma. Respiratory alkalosis >> metabolic acidosis.
Clinical signs (cats)
CNS depression, anorexia, vomiting, gastric hemorrhage. Toxic hepatitis, anemia, bone marrow hypoplasia, hyperpyrexia and
Heinz body anemia.
Treatment: Emetic activated charcoal, osmotic cathartic (GI decontamination).
Correct acid base balance. Slow IV bicarbonate for metabolic acidosis. Alkaline urine – increased excretion "ion trapping" | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29781000 |
I took the following picture of the sun and would like someone to explain why it looks like this!
The camera is a digital vivicam 3750 by vivitar with three mega pixels,and super resolution lens. The picture was taken about 4 in the afternoon on march 9th. It was cloudy,it was also about 75 to 80 degrees. If there's anything you need to know that would be helpful that I'm haven't said let me know! If these picture are not clear enoughlet me know! I did not want to do anything to it because i did not want it to look fake! Can you please tell me why the sun looked like this? It was not an eclipse. What is that dark thing?
email@example.comViewzone || Comments?
This is a safety device in the camera. When pointing the camera directly into the sun, you could damage some internal parts. This prevents it.
thanks, ken pfeifer / www.worldufophotos.org | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29784000 |
One year after Eyjafjallajökull rumbled to life, another Iceland volcano began spewing ash and steam. At approximately 17:30 Universal Time (5:30 p.m. local time) on May 21, 2011, Grímsvötn began to erupt. The volcano sent a plume of ash and steam about 20 kilometers (12 miles) into the atmosphere, the Icelandic Met Office reported. Overnight, the plume height dropped to 15 kilometers (9 miles), but occasionally rose to its initial altitude.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image at 13:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. local time) on May 22, 2011. (MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured another image of the volcano about 8 hours earlier.)
Above Grímsvötn’s summit, volcanic ash forms a circular brown plume that towers above the surrounding clouds. In the southeast, ash has colored the snow surface dark brown. Ash from the volcano reduced visibility to about 50 meters (160 feet) in some places. Iceland Review Online reported that ash falls prompted the closure of Keflavik, Iceland’s largest airport, and caused some areas turn as dark as night in the middle of the day.
The initial plume from Grímsvötn was higher than from Eyjafjallajökull, which only reached 8 kilometers (5 miles). Despite its taller plume, Grímsvötn was not expected to hamper trans-Atlantic air traffic as much as Eyjafjallajökull, at least in the first 24 hours. Grímsvötn’s ash was forecast to travel toward the northeast, the Icelandic Met Office stated, and it was coarser and less likely to remain airborne long enough to reach European airspace. Some volcanic ash models, however, suggested ash could interfere with flights in the United Kingdom and Ireland beginning on May 24.
Volcanic plumes can provoke lightning, and the plume from Grímsvötn produced an intense lightning storm. At its peak, the lightning storm produced 1,000 times as many strikes per hour as Eyjafjallajökull had a year earlier.
- Global Volcanism Program. (n.d.) Grímsvötn. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Iceland Review Online. (2011, May 22). Ash from Grímsvötn Volcano visible around Iceland. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Icelandic Met Office. (2011, May 21). Eruption has started in Grímsvötn. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Icelandic Met Office. (2011, May 22). Ash plume and lightning. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Klemetti, E. (2011, May 21). Subglacial eruption starting at Iceland’s Grímsvötn. Eruptions. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Klemetti, E. (2011, May 21). More information on the May 21 eruption of Grímsvötn in Iceland. Eruptions. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Klemetti, E. (2011, May 22). Grímsvötn eruption closes Keflavik Airport near Reykjavik (and more images of the eruption). Eruptions. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- Klemetti, E. (2011, May 22). Keeping tabs on the Grímsvötn eruption as the ash spreads towards Europe. Eruptions. Accessed May 23, 2011.
- News Blog. (2011, May 23). In 2011, Grímsvötn is the new Eyjafjallajökull. Nature. Accessed May 23, 2011. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29786000 |
As executive director of the Georgia Municipal Association, the state’s largest representative of city governments, I have seen firsthand how newspapers impact cities. To put it simply: Newspapers are economic development.
First, and most basically, most newspaper offices are located in downtowns. They employ people who, hopefully, eat and shop at other downtown businesses. People come to newspaper offices to place ads, share their news and buy their newspapers. So newspapers drive traffic into the downtown area.
They also cover events like ribbon cuttings and business expansions that help local businesses. Think about where you live. If you live in one of Georgia’s many smaller towns, it’s likely your newspaper is a once or twice-weekly publication. If that newspaper didn’t exist, who would cover these events? Would the closest large daily newspaper drive to your town to cover the grand opening of a Mom and Pop store? Probably not. Your community newspaper, however, does cover those events and that coverage helps Mom and Pop and the rest of the family stay in business.
Newspapers also impact the local economy on a much larger scale. The stories they write – how they portray the community and its government leadership – can make or break economic development. Before deciding to open a store or factory in a community, business leaders look at how that community is portrayed in the media. Is it a government that can’t agree on issues, that deadlocks on important votes? Or is it a government that seems open to doing business and welcoming to newcomers? If it’s a company that will bring a large number of employees to the area, they want to know what the quality of life is going to be for their workers. Are there sports for kids, quality schools, community events for the family? All those factors are taken into consideration and decisions are made based upon how the community is portrayed in the local paper.
Another area where newspapers offer great impact is in recording the history of our cities and the people who live, work and die there. The birth announcement that ran in your paper last week may be the significant event historians examine 80 years from now. The gap-toothed eight-year-old grinning from ear to ear in the Little League photo on the sports page could be the next Ty Cobb. Who else but the local newspaper is recording these events? And even if none of the people who make it into the local paper are ever famous anywhere but on those pages, the local paper has immortalized them into Georgia’s history.
There will always be tension between newspapers and government. Newspapers take their “watchdog” role seriously, and we should be grateful they do. At government meetings, often the only person in attendance is the local reporter. That one person has to tell thousands of other people in the community what their government is doing. It’s not an easy job, but it’s an important one.
Sometimes, the paper may get the story wrong. Sometimes, government officials are going to do something they shouldn’t and the paper is going to call them on it. Sometimes, both sides may have to agree to disagree on what is right for a community.
The Blackshear Times has a great tag line: “Liked by Many, Cussed by Some, Read by Them All.” You may cuss your local paper from time to time – I know city officials have on occasion – but be grateful for the work they do and the impact it has on your city and the economy.
Lamar Norton is executive director of the Georgia Municipal Association. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29795000 |
Lightning Mapping Array (LMA)
The SPoRT program works with three total lightning networks. These include the Lightning Mapping Arrays in North Alabama and Washington, D.C. as well as the Lightning Detection and Ranging Network at the Kennedy Space Center. Each card represents one of these networks. A green card marked as "Evaluation Product," is being used by at least one National Weather Service Forecast Office. Blue cards, marked "Research," exist for academic purposes and research. Real-time data are available by following the link at the bottom right of the card. The Overview section below describes the North Alabama network, but the basic concepts are applicable to each total lightning network.
Real-time 2-minute data on a 2 x 2 km grid from the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array.
Figure 1: The location of the 11 North Alabama Lightning Mapping
Array sensors (green dots and blue dot) and communications relays
(open green circles) across north Alabama.
The North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (NALMA) was first activated in 2001 and officially transitioned to the Huntsville, Alabama National Weather Service Office in early 2003. Since the initial transition, SPoRT has successfully transitioned NALMA data to three other partner forecast offices. These include the Birmingham, Alabama as well as Morristown and Nashville, Tennessee Weather Forecast Offices. In addition, SPoRT has worked collaboratively with the lightning group here at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville, Alabama to provide near real-time total lightning data to partner forecast offices in Melbourne, Florida and Sterling, Virginia using networks located in those regions. Sterling uses the Washington D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DCLMA) while Melbourne receives data from the Kennedy Space Center Lightning Detection and Ranging Network (LDAR). Both of these networks are functionally similar to the NALMA network and forecast applications developed for one network can be used with another.
Figure 2. A comparison between what a cloud-to-ground
network observes in a lightning flash (left) versus what a total
lightning network will observe in a lightning flash (right).
Note how the cloud-to-ground network only provides a single
point of information. Also, the cloud-to-ground network
would observe nothing if the flash were solely intra-cloud.
The NALMA is a three-dimensional very high frequency (VHF) detection network of 11 VHF receivers deployed across northern Alabama with a base station and receiver located at the NSSTC (Figure 1). Solid green circles indicate a VHF receiver, while open green circles are wireless relay stations. The blue dot is the base station and 11th sensor located at the NSSTC. As of May 2009, two additional sensors located in Atlanta, Georgia have been added, in collaboration with researchers at Georgia Tech University. These are testing the effectiveness of the NALMA network using long baselines in the sensor placement.
Figure 3. A sample of 31 thunderstorms observed by the Kennedy Space
Center Lightning Detection and Ranging network showing the number of
cloud-to-ground strikes versus total lightning observed in each storm.
Notice how the intra-cloud component dominates the total lightning
observed in each storm. It is also interesting to note that two storms
had no cloud-to-ground strikes at all, yet were still very electrically active.
The NALMA system locates the sources of impulsive VHF radio signals from lightning by accurately measuring the time that the signals arrive at the different receiving stations. Each station records the magnitude and time of the peak lightning radiation signal in successive 80 microsecond intervals within a local unused television channel (channel 5, 76-82 MHz). Typically, hundreds of sources per flash can be reconstructed, which in turn produces accurate 3-dimensional lightning image maps (nominally <50 m error within a 150 km range). The sources can be thought of as the individual stepped leaders within a lightning flash. More detailed information can be found in Goodman et al. (2005). The primary advantage of NALMA, and the other total lightning networks, is that the networks detect total lightning, which is the combination of both cloud-to-ground and intra-cloud lightning. Figure 2 shows a rough comparison of what is detected between standard cloud-to-ground networks versus NALMA or any other lightning mapping array. The importance of detecting the intra-cloud flashes is that the intra-cloud flashes typically dominate the full number of flashes in a thunderstorm (Figure 3). With only cloud-to-ground data, forecasters are not receiving the full breadth of knowledge of how the storm is developing. Also, total lightning data are updated every 2 minutes, giving forecasters additional information about storm development in between radar volume scans.
Figure 4. A screen capture from AWIPS II showing the total lightning
flash extent density (colored contours) versus the cloud-to-ground
strike locations (negative and plus signs). Notice how the total
lightning indicates that lightning flashes are covering a wide area
whereas the cloud-to-ground observations only show single locations.
Operationally, total lightning data provide several advantages to forecasters. First, total lightning data often give a 3-5 minute lead time ahead of the first cloud-to-ground lightning strike. This improves lightning safety for the National Weather Service's Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) and Airport Weather Warnings (AWWs). This safety feature also can be used for incident support of special events. In addition, the total lightning data provides information about the spatial extent of lightning that is not available in the traditional cloud-to-ground data. Figure 4 shows the comparison of what is seen between a cloud-to-ground network observation and NALMA. Furthermore, the trend of total lightning in a thunderstorm can be used to provide advanced lead time on the development of severe weather. Forecasters often look for a lightning jump signature, where the total lightning observations rapidly increase in a short period of time. This lightning jump is indicative of a strengthening thunderstorm updraft. This insight into a storm's evolutionary development helps forecasters pinpoint which thunderstorms are intensifying or not. This provides a powerful tool in reducing the number of false alarms issued by the Weather Service as well as providing increased warning lead time. Figure 5 illustrates a lightning jump, both in a time series plot and with two screen captures from the National Weather Service's own decision support computer system. Additional information can be found at the SPoRT training page.
Figure 5. A time trend plot (top) of a storm that had two separate
lightning jumps at 1906 and 1920 UTC that led to the issuance of a
tornado warning at 1920 UTC ahead of the touchdown of an EF-1
tornado. The bottom two images show the AWIPS display before
(left) and during (right) the lightning jump.
SPoRT also utilizes the NALMA observations, and observations from other total lightning networks, as a risk reduction project for the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) system set for launch later this decade. The GLM will be the first total lightning observation instrument in geostationary orbit and will provide total lightning observations over a massive domain, as opposed to the very small domains of the lightning mapping arrays. SPoRT uses the ground-based networks to help prepare for the GLM and its impacts on forecasting. More information can be found on SPoRT's GOES-R Proving Ground page.
Figure 6. The domain covered by the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array.
For our end users, SPoRT provides a three dimensional total lightning data set that is updated every 2 minutes. Figure 6 shows that the NALMA network provides full coverage to the Huntsville and Nashville Weather Service county warning areas as well as partial coverage to Birmingham and Morristown offices. The grid has a horizontal extent of 460 x 460 km, with a 2 x 2 km grid resolution centered on the NSSTC. The vertical grid resolution is 1 km from 0-17 km. By providing NALMA data in AWIPS and AWIPS II, forecasters are able to interrogate the data on any of the 17 horizontal levels or examine the cumulative lightning density maps. The importance of using AWIPS / AWIPS II is that it puts the NALMA data into the forecasters' own decision support tool where they can readily compare the NALMA data to NEXRAD radar observations or any other available data sets to enhance situational awareness, particularly during severe weather events.
Forecasters predominantly use the cumulative lightning density map in real-time operations as opposed to any single vertical level due to forecasting time constraints. However, with the greater flexibility of AWIPS II, SPoRT is working with our partners to potentially include more of the available three dimensional observations.
References: Goodman, S. J., and Coauthors, 2005: The North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array: Recent severe storm observations and future prospects. Atmos. Res., 76, 423-437. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29808000 |
A Question of Social Justice
What does “sustainable agriculture” mean to you? If your answer is like most, you probably will begin by talking about sustainability in relation to the environment – protecting the natural ecosystem and conserving non-renewable resources. And, you will be right. If our food and farming systems are to be sustainable over time, we must maintain the health and productivity of land and must conserve water, energy, and the other natural resources upon which agricultural productivity ultimately depends. An agriculture that is not ecologically sound, quite simply, is not sustainable.
The next thing most likely to come to mind is economic sustainability – if it’s not profitable, it’s not sustainable. Again, you will be right, or at least partly right. In a capitalistic economy, the markets determine who gets to use land and other resources – and how they will be used. Sustainable farms need not maximize profits, and farms need not generate a profit every year. But, a farming system that is not economically viable is not sustainable, no matter how ecologically sound it may be.
Almost everyone agrees; our food and farming systems must be ecologically sound and economically viable if they are to be sustainable over time. Even giant agribusiness corporations, such as Monsanto and Du Pont, have sustainable agriculture programs that address environmental and economic concerns. However, there is far less agreement concerning the third essential aspect of sustainability – the question of social justice. Any system of food and farming that fails to meet the needs of a society, will not be sustained by that society, no matter how ecologically benign or profitable it may appear to be. A society has physical and material needs, however, one of the most basic needs of any society is a sense of social equity or justice. Any food and farming system that is not socially just does not meet this basic need, and thus, is not sustainable.
A sustainable economy must meet the material needs of people by means that are perceived to be equitable and just by the society that supports it. Human society is a subsystem of the larger natural ecosystem and the economy, in turn, is a subsystem of society. While some level of individual economic or material well-being is a prerequisite for a sustainable society, a society is more that a collection of individuals; it includes also the relationships among those individuals. The sustainability of a society perhaps depends even more upon strong relationships among its members than upon strong individual members.
Adam Smith, the father of contemporary economics, in his landmark book, Wealth of Nations, wrote: “No Society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.” Distrust and dissention can arise among the rich as well as the poor – both groups being capable of dysfunctional relationships. However, distrust and dissention are inevitable consequences of substantial and persistent economic disparity among members within a society. Economic disparity inevitably creates a sense of social injustice, and an unjust society is neither stable nor sustainable. Distrust and dissention ultimately lead to civil unrest, which disrupts the economy and ultimately leads to exploitation and destruction of the natural ecosystem. Eastern Europe and Sub-Sahara Africa provide two prime examples of the widespread ecological destruction that results from persistent social injustice.
A market economy will not ensure social justice. A market economy provides for people only in relation to their willingness and ability to pay, not in relation to their basic needs. The abilities of people to earn money and to pay for food, clothing, and shelter do not necessarily match their needs. All people have a basic right to sufficient food, clothing, and shelter to ensure survival and normal physical and mental growth and development, although we are just beginning to accept this fact in America. Our market economy will not ensure those rights. Inevitably, equity and justice must be ensured through conscious, purposeful actions by the members of society – by our individual acts of human compassion and by our public acts, through government, to ensure the general welfare. Both are necessary and neither absolves our responsibility for the other. A society that does not accept this responsibility for social justice is not sustainable.
Equity and justice do not require that everyone have access to the same quantity, quality, and variety of food, clothing or shelter, or that food, clothing, and shelter be equally convenient or effortless for all. Equity and justice are matters of ensuring equal access to specific things to which all have equal rights – not equal access to all things. A right to safe, nutritious food, for example, does not imply a right to prime rib and artichoke hearts nor to packaged or pre-prepared foods. However, food and farming systems that do not accept responsibility of ensuring that all have adequate food, clothing, and shelter are not sustainable.
Each of us must accept our ethical and moral responsibility to help ensure the sustainability of human life on earth. We can do this, in part, by supporting farmers who are committed to protecting the natural environment – helping to make ecologically sound food and fiber systems economically viable. But, we must also accept our responsibility to help build food and farming systems that are socially just. Social justice includes employment equity for farmers, farm workers, and others employed in the system. But, social justice also demands that all people have adequate food, clothing, and shelter. Sustainability is a question of environmental integrity and economic viability, but sustainability is also a question of social justice. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29809000 |
Ecologists are warning all citizens of earth… we are running out of natural resources!
According to top ecologists from around the world, from 1970 to 2008 the biological resources of our planet have shrunk by 68%.
And according to ecology experts in South America and the Australian state of Tasmania, in comparison to 1966, the biggest consumer of natural resources i is the USA.
Specialists from The World Is Ending Fund studied the development of more than 9000 mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The report put out by the Tasmanian ecologist states that if the whole world were to use natural resources to the extent that Americans use them, we will run out of natural resources in two weeks.
So in order to support the eco-balance on the planet, we would need five Earths to provide the natural resources we need.
America isn’t the only hog of natural resources. There are others gobbling up everything. Here they are:
3) The United Arab Emirates
8) The Netherlands
The amount of garbage in the Pacific Ocean has increased by 150 times in the last 40 years, according to the Tasmanians.
The most littered part of the ocean is the section between California and Hawaii. Researchers have noted that the smaller particles present a serious threat to sea life since they can get into their respiratory or digestive systems. Around 10% of fish caught in the areas close to the islands of garbage have small particles of plastic in their stomachs and many of the fish have McDonald’s wrappers inside their intestines.
So what do we do? How do we stop the demise of the Earth.
“Nothing we can do,” said the lead Tasmanian researcher. ”We should just all party like it’s 2015!”
Here is one researcher who thinks we can make it 40 more years at our current burn rate. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29815000 |
Draft comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2020
The draft mental health action plan will be discussed at the Sixty-sixth session of the World Health Assembly which will take place in Geneva from 20 to 28 May 2013.
World Mental Health Day
Every year on 10th of October, The World Health Organization joins in celebrating the World Mental Health Day. The day is celebrated at the initiative of the World Federation of Mental Health and WHO supports this initiative through raising awareness on mental health issues.
The theme of the day in 2013 is “Mental health and older adults”.
WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP)
The WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) aims at scaling up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for countries especially with low and middle income. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29820000 |
Central L'viv (Latin Cathedral and Ploshcha Rynok)
Lviv (also spelled L'viv and Львів; Polish: Lwów, German: Lemberg; also known as Lvov, its Russianized name used during Soviet era) is in Western Ukraine and used to be the Capital of East Galicia. The biggest city of the region and major Ukrainian cultural center. The historic city center is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The city has a multicultural history. It was founded in 1256 by King Daniel of Galicia and fell under Polish control in the 14th century. Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, Germans and others lived there together for centuries.
The Polish king John II Casimir founded the Lviv University in the 17th century and Lviv (known as Lwów) was by that time one of the most important cities in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, along with Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk and Vilnius.
In 1772 the city was taken by the Habsburgs and in Austrian times it was known under the name of Lemberg, the capital of Galicia. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, it was returned to Poland.
As result of World War II Stalin moved the Soviet frontier westward so Lviv became part of the USSR, as Lvov (still widely frequent, even locally). With the Ukrainian independence in 1991, the name was officially changed to Lviv (Львів).
Lviv is located in the most Ukrainian region of Ukraine; as a Soviet province, most signs were put only in Ukrainian, and only a few also in Russian. Because of its Polish and Austro-Hungarian history, Lviv has a Central European flair in its architecture that makes it one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe.
Its tourist potential is yet undiscovered because infrastructure is rather undeveloped and most people don't speak any foreign languages except Polish and/or Russian. This is changing among young people, some of whom will speak English. Nevertheless, visiting Lviv is very rewarding for the pioneer traveller, as living is still pretty cheap here with western standarts and the place has a truly authentic feeling, unlike places like Krakow or Prague, which are swamped with tourists.
Lviv has an international airport just 7km from the beautiful downtown. Lviv is served via direct international routes including flights from Vienna (Austrian Airlines), Frankfurt (Ukraine International Airlines), Warsaw (LOT Polish Airlines), Krakow (Eurolot), Timisoara, Romania (Carpatair) and Munich (Lufthansa). Low cost airline Wizz Air flies twice a week to Dortmund and Venice-Treviso.
Important! Lufthansa and Wizz Air-flights are not served from main terminal - go to the small Terminal "3" at the right side of the main building!
It is relatively inexpensive to fly from Kyiv to Lviv, with multiple daily flights operated by Ukrainian International Airlines and Aerosvit . These carriers also operate flights to and from other major Ukrainian cities, although it is still more common to travel by train domestically as the overnight trains save you the cost of a hotel while providing you transporation. Return airfares from Kyiv range from as low as $50 (including taxes and fees), if booked more than a month in advance, to approximately $100. Tickets for air travel can be purchased online or via travel agents. Taxi from the airport to town (or visa-versa) should cost around 45UAH, depending on the time of day. Negotiate prior to departure. There are line 9 operated by trolleybuses from Airport to city center (1.25UAH, also available 50% discounts for students), and line 48 operated by buses (2 UAH, vithout discounts) from the airport. Both of them are frequent (every 10-15 minutes during the day).
See: Lviv Airport website . The airport is very basic as there is no currency exchange and toilets are only available after check-in. There is only one ATM, and it is located in the main arrival hall. The small restaurants right outside of the main building will be your best bet for food and locating clean toilets.
Arrival Advisory: Travel Insurance
You do not need to buy insurance at the airport. There is a little booth in arrivals with someone who may try to sell you insurance or demand to see yours if you say you have it. You do not need to purchase insurance from this person, nor show them any documentation. Ignore them.
The easiest way to get to L'viv from Western Europe is through Krakow (or Wroclaw/Katowice) in Poland. From there, you have several options.
Take a train to Przemyśl near the Polish-Ukrainian border. It costs about 40 PLN and takes between 4 and 5 hours. From Przemysl you take a bus to the border ('granitsa' in Polish) for 2.50 PLN, walk through the checkpoint and take another bus (marshrootka) to L'viv. When you exit the final border control, walk straight ahead and you will come out on to a street which cars use to cross back in to Poland. Follow this street up past the shops and money exchanges, and take your first left. About 50 meters down on the left hand side is the new bus terminal where buses run regularly to Lviv for approximately 23 UAH. Get your ticket from the driver.
The total cost for this route is approximately €12 and maybe less if you have a student card. It is around half the price of the next cheapest option. Whether to take it depends on your stress tolerance, Polish language skills and ability to push and shove at the border.
PEDESTRIAN CROSSING: Queues at the border crossings can be unpredictable and hellish. If you do encounter a queue and are in a hurry, get the guards attention, explain your situation and they will more than likely let you go through immediately. Be polite! 30 minutes from Medyka to Sheheni (Шегині) on foot is now the norm.
There are lots of "ants" - these are people who cross into Poland with relatively cheap Ukrainian cigarettes and spirits, then buy meats and cheeses at low EU prices and return to Ukraine to sell them for a profit. Everyone has to pass through a turnstile and the bulky bags and suitcases they carry are too big to fit. There is a huge log jam of people trying to fit their bags through that turnstile and ugly words are common. Tourists with backpacks are sometimes let through by the "ants".
There is also a direct train from Krakow to L'viv once a day, plus one with a change. This costs 195 PLN as of the 3/3/2009 booking via Polrail Service . A sleeper berth is required on the train, as only sleeping cars are carried across the border to Ukraine. DO NOT pay a cash 'reservation charge' to the Ukrainian conductor on the second train. Ensure you have your reservations for the second train in your possession and fully identifiable.
There are trains coming from throughout Ukraine, including multiple daily trains (including 3-4 overnight trains) from Kyiv. The timings can be inconvenient - one night train from Kyiv gets in at 4:20am, the one back to Kiev gets there at 7am - and hotels in Kyiv really like to book that pair of trains for their clients. For better options, check the timetables at poezda.net or poezda.org.ua and buy the ticket at any train station in Ukraine.
Trains from Hungary and Slovakia come through Lviv, usually on their way to Kyiv. Train-fare from both countries is approx $80 per person for a bed in a sleeping car. On the MAV website the round-trip price from Budapest is quoted at €64.40, [] but, when contacting the international rail office by phone in Budapest, the one-way fare was quoted at 12,600 Ft ($75/€50), however, when purchased at Keleti train station the price was reduced to roughly 11,700 Ft ($62/€44) (1.1.09). Make sure to bring enough food and water for at least 12 hours (15 hours from Budapest).
Smuggling is a fact of life between Eastern Poland and Western Ukraine. The harsh economic situation in these two respective regions forces many into the trade, involving people of all ages. You may witness individuals unscrewing panels and pulling out plastic wrapped cigarette cartons, and may even be asked to politely move to enable access to a hidden cavity. Similarly if you decide to use the toilet you may find it blocked with cartons of cigarettes and your seat may feel uncomfortable if someone's removed the soft filling and replaced it with cigarettes. The key here is to exercise your common sense. These people are only doing their 'job' and thus should be treated with respect. There is no need for alarm! In fact it can be fascinating watching just how many cigarettes a single train carriage can hold and later watching as everything is removed on arrival in the EU. Border guards may ask you if anyone has been smuggling but the best response is to claim that you were sleeping or pretend not to understand.
You are legally allowed to bring through the EU border 40 cigarettes (two packs) or 20 cigarillos or 10 cigars or 50g of smoking tobacco and 1 liter of spirits (above 22% alcohol) or 2 liters of alcohol (e.g. sparkling wine below 22% alcohol) and 4 liters of non-sparkling wine and 16 liters of beer. If you are below 17 years old it's half of these amounts. (source - Polish Customs Service announcement, in Polish )
From Poland: take the E40, this will end at the city center. Keep in mind that all formalities at the border take from one hour upwards. There will be a long line for trucks, which you can pass if you travel by car. Don't expect the border police to treat you respectfully, or speak any language other than Ukrainian, Polish or Russian. In fact, expect the very opposite regarding both.
Ukrainian roads are bad, and Ukrainian drivers have an aggressive driving style. When you drive into Lviv, make sure you have a good map because getting lost in this town is very easy.
NOTE: It is forbidden to drive around the city center on Sundays and holidays (including Prospekt Svobody). This is signposted, but in Cyrillic only, as one driver caught by a police official learned in July 2012.
Pay close attention to speed limits (which are often badly marked, with signs far off the road, covered with branches etc.), but the speeding fines are usually low if nothing else is wrong with your car. In towns, the speed limit is usually 60km/h (40mph). Speed limits on "nationals" (single carriageway countryside roads) is 90km/h (55mph). The poor average quality of the roads already acts as a speed checker. Speed limits on highways (motorways) is 110-120km/h (75mph).
Be aware that corruption is widespread among Ukrainian police. When you are stopped for speeding or other violations, officers might aggressively try and extract ridiculous sums of money from you (€100 and up), offering "reductions" if you pay on the spot (the proposed alternative being some unpleasant and more expensive way, all made up).
The highest actual legal fine in the Ukraine is the equivalent of about $200. But the fine should be paid in the bank, not directly to police officer! So if you're asked for fine demand a written ticket for you to pay later instead. Don't let them intimidate you. It's very useful to have an embassy phone number handy for these cases (you should NOT under any circumstances travel around Ukraine without your embassy/consulate number handy anyway). If you mention your embassy/consulate, they'll let you off the hook quicker than you know it. At any rate, write down the officers' badge numbers, rank, plate number of the police car, and notify the nearest embassy/consulate in detail, to help fight these corrupt practices.
There are daily buses from Polish cities: Warsaw, Przemyśl, Lublin, Wrocław. It is possible also to get there by bus from other European cities.
From Przemyśl there are 2 types of buses that regularly travel to L'viv. The first is the PKS (Polish Coach Buses) and the second is private buses.
The private buses are found just outside of the train station on the opposite side from the main bus station. They head to the border when they are full, which can take a while at night and travel to the border is about 15 minutes (about 10km of rough road). The price is from 2-3 PLN (November 2011). The mini-bus drops you off at the foot way to the pedestrian crossing Medyka-Shehyni. On the Ukraine side private buses can be taken to Lviv; these take from 2 to 3 hours, and can be found at the bus station around 300 meters up the main road, past all the shops, on the first major road to your left. Right outside the border you will probably meet touters who will tell you that they have best prices and invite to their cars and buses, this option may be faster but is definitely more expensive. The price for a bus from the station is 23 UAH (June 2012); the buses are often packed and can be uncomfortable at times due to road conditions and poor drivers. It is an adventure and it is to be on a bus full of smugglers after they have successfully completed their daily missions. The bus from Shehyni will most likely arrive next to the main train station in Lviv.
There is a daily night bus service provided by Eurobus from Krakow bus station to Lviv, departing at 21.50 from Krakow and supposed to arrive at 6.00 in Lviv (depending on delays at the border . The price is around 90 PLN (October 2011). There is also a Eurolines bus (but not every day) from Krakow, departing at 11:30 to Lviv, arriving at 21:10 . This bus continues onwards to Kiev to arrive at around 6:00 the next morning. The price to Lviv is around 75 PLN and discounts (ISIC etc) apply(October 2011). The bus from Brest (Belarus) to Lviv departs every day on 08.45 AM from platform 7 and arrives in Lviv at 17.33 PM. The price is around 20 USD. Most of international buses arrive at Stryisky bus station, on the outskirts of Lviv. To get to the centre you take trolleybus 5. Ticket - 1,25 UAH (you need another one for big luggage) can be bought in a kiosk or from the driver.
From the Czech Republic
Countless buses connect Lviv directly with Prague and some other Czech cities, passing through Poland, but mostly not stopping there to take passengers. These can be best viewed using the Czech integrated timetable at http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz (English version available). Advance reservation is recommended and for most buses also possible online at https://eshop.amsbus.cz or http://www.infobus.eu. Buses can get you from the West to Lviv far faster than trains. They are targeted primarily at Ukrainian emigrant workers earning their living in the Czech Republic. Smoking and drinking on the board is strictly prohibited. Buses are now in most cases modern coaches or sometimes used western buses, but still with air condition. There are at least 5 connections per day but often much more. If you don't travel around religious bank holidays in Ukraine, with arrival to Prague on Monday morning or departure Friday or Saturday from Prague, buses are generally not full and you'll have often 2 seats per person as tickets aren't cheap and bus lines are very profitable.
Lviv has a quite extensive tram and mini-bus network.
Mini-buses (2 UAH) are known as marshrutky and follow a set route, but without a fixed timetable. To indicate a desire to board, extend one arm as the marshrutka approaches; simply ask the driver to stop when you would like to get off. However some drivers can will to stop the bus for you on the nearest stop only because of fear of tickets from police.
Trams and trolleybuses cost 1.50 UAH (tickets for students are 0.75 UAH) (June 2012). You can purchase tickets from any news kiosk or from driver in tram. Ask for a "tramvainyi bilet". Keep in mind that if you are carrying a piece of luggage larger than a backpack you will need to purchase a second ticket for it. Once inside the tram, be sure to validate your ticket(s) by punching them in one of the metal punches mounted on the walls. An inspector may come around to check your ticket - these people do not wear uniforms but flash a little badge. It's interesting to note that mostly all of the drivers of the trams and ticket checkers are women.
Taxis are available throughout the city, and the city center is swarming with them at night. When they aren't equipped with a meter you must agree on a price with the driver ahead of time. It's usually cheaper when taxi do have meter, but even then they may not to turn it on for you. It is usually cheaper to order a taxi by phone than catch a taxi on the street.
Latin Cathedral (Roman Catholic) in the south western corner of Market Square.
St. George's Cathedral (Greek Catholic) baroque-rococo cathedral located an the hill
Armenian Cathedral (Armenian Apostolic) built between 1363 and 1370, later remodeled few times. Very interesting interior.
Dormition Cathedral (Orthodox) built between 16th and 17th century i Renaissance style. Next to it stands 65 meter high Korniakt Tower.
Dominican Church Impressive Baroque temple built for Dominicans in 18th century. Resembles the church of St. Charles Borromeus in Vienna with its concave facade and huge elliptical dome. After WW2 the building served as a warehouse and later Museum of Religion and Atheism, now it is a Greek Catholic parish church.
The Bernardine Church and Monastery
Jesuit Church based on Rome's Il Gesu church.
Chapel of the Boim family a mannerist architecture marvel all made of black stone located next to the Latin Cathedral.
Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Lychakivsky Tsvyntar (Lychakiv Cemetery) . There are about four hundred thousand people buried here, including Ukrainian heroes such as Ivan Franko; the park is enormous, and very pleasant to wander around on a network of variously-maintained paths. At the back of the cemetery are a moving series of recently-built war memorials, in the same style as Western World War One cemeteries, to the dead of the 1918-1921 Ukrainian civil wars.
Union of Lublin mound, High Castle (Vysokyi zamok); The place where a historic castle used to stand and now stands a mound built in 1869 to commemorate 300th anniversary of Lublin Union. On the mound there is an observation platform with nice views of the city and another sandy mound, which you can also climb, and which has a cross devoted to the dead of the war in Afghanistan. From the mound you can walk around the whole central hill-park of the town.
Market Square (Ploshcha Rynok). You can climb the tower of the town hall: go in via the main entrance, wander about until you see a sign 'вхид на вежу', then follow those signs up 103 steps to a ticket-office and up 305 more steps to the top of the tower. There's a great view of the Old Town, and this is clearly one of the romantic spots of the city: I saw a marriage-proposal there.
Shevchenko Monument, donated by members of the Argentine Ukrainian diaspora, and absolutely unmistakable in the centre of town; a sculpture of the writer, and a wave-shaped monument with Ukrainian folk-art motifs rising to his side. Sometimes seems to be used by locals as a climbing-wall, but I would advise foreigners against this.
Lviv Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre 28 Svobody ave.
Lviv Municipal Theatre, 36 Horodotska str.
Lviv University (named after Ivan Franko)
Lviv National Polytechnic University
Lviv Rail Terminal built in 1904 Art Nouveau wonder.
Pharmacy Museum "Under the Black Eagle" 2 Drukarska str. tel. (032) 272-00-41. The oldest pharmacy in Lviv, opened in 1735 (Sadly the custodian can be extremely impolite, including banging the door behind you.) Admission 8 UAH.
Museum of the History of Religion 1 Musejna sq., tel. (032) 272-91-00 An interesting museum documenting both Jewish and Christian history of Lviv in one of Lviv's biggest and most beautiful churches. Tickets: 10 UAH normal, 5 UAH discount.
The L'viv Art Gallery 3 Stefanyka st. Divided into several departments the central of which is on display at Potoskiy Palace showing mainly Renaissance and Baroque European art (for Ukrainian art see National Musem). Nearby is the Palace of Arts where changing contemporary art exhibitions take place. Other interesting branches of the Lviv Gallery are the Museum of Ancient Books, Museum of Relics and Pinsel Museum (dedicated to the local Baroque wood carver).
The Lviv Historical Museum divided into many departments most of which are in the old town displaying archeology, history from medieval times up to the Ukrainian struggle for nationalism, as well as jewellery and armoury.
Museum of Ethnography and Arts and Crafts 15 Svobody ave. Tickets: 5 UAH normal, 2 UAH discount.
The Lviv National Museum 20 Svobody ave. The main building displays Ukrainian Art from the Middle Ages up to the 19th Century. Note that the Lviv Art Gallery mainly shows foreign art in its art collections so if you are more interested in Ukrainian art you should definitely visit this museum. Admission: 1 - 10 UAH.
Museum of National Folk Architecture and Rural Life «Shevchenkivsky Hay», 1 Chernecha Gora str. On the central hill about a half-hour walk from the Lychakivskiy Cemetery. This is a collection of wooden buildings from all over Western Ukraine, dismantled and reassembled here; the multi-tiered churches are the most spectacular buildings, and are all still working churches. Tickets: 10 UAH normal, 5 UAH discount.
Arsenal Museum Weapons and armour from medieval times to the beginning of 20th century. The museum is located in the oldest (16th century) of three historic arsenal buildings in Lviv.
L'viv Opera House (Svobody Ave)
Visit the Bania, a Russian style sauna for men and women (non-communal). There are a few located in L'viv and well worth the trip. The experience can be mildly confronting for the prudish Westerner, as all activities are conducted in the nude but don't worry, it is a highly civilized environment.
S. Krushelnytska Opera House, Svobody Ave. In the very heart of L'viv the historic opera house offers regular performances of various operas and ballets. Tickets can be purchased at the theatre cashier ("Kaca") ranging in price from 50UAH to 80UAH. Even if opera and ballet is not your cup of tea, a night at the theatre is worthwhile, at the very least, to enjoy this spectacular venue.
Gutsulsky Dvir (Lviv restaurant), . (36 Schyretska str.) is one of the most picturesque ethnic restaurants in the city. Ukrainian ethnic cuisine, great atmosphere of wooden restaurant with lots of trees around is a must to visit while staying in L'viv.
This is not classic pubcrawl .Huge amount of food & vodka. Soviet places, bars and pubs. You never would have the courage to visit.
You will visit best Soviet places in city center of Lviv. Approx.Duration 3-4 Hours
Soviet Vodka Tour by Crazy Tours, 3 Rynok sq.(Ask at the reception of Art Hostel), ☎ +38 067 6737913 (firstname.lastname@example.org), . From 20 Eur.
Tours by Crazy Tours
Knowledgable, funny and unfogetable guides will bring you in the past or help to feel yourself as hero in adventure.
Crazy Tours offer individual tours, tours for small and large groups, corporate entertainment from few hours to the whole day, in the morning, afternoon, evening or at night.
Tours by Crazy Tours, 3 Rynok sq.(Ask at the reception of Art Hostel), ☎ +38 067 6737913 (email@example.com), . From 20 Eur.
The Ukrainian currency is known as the hryvnia (you may also hear the pronunciation "grivna"). It was introduced in 1996. The exchange did hover around 5 UAH to 1 USD, but due to the global economic downturn has dropped to between 7.5 and 8 UAH to 1 USD.
Both ATMs (known as "bankomats") and currency exchanges ("obmin valyuti") are ubiquitous throughout Lviv, particularly in the city center. Most, but not all, ATMs will accept Visa and Mastercard. Currency exchanges will often only accept foreign currency in pristine condition. Travellers' checks are not very useful in Lviv; however, there are still a few hotels and banks that will cash them for you.
Credit cards are now widely accepted in perhaps all city center restaurants, cafes, hotels and some hostels. Also at the main bus station and long distance train station. Suprisingly lot of small grocery stores now also accept plastic.
You should be aware that attempting to pay for something inexpensive with a large denomination (50 UAH and above) will often at the very least annoy the shopkeeper; salespeople may even refuse to sell to you if you do not have any smaller denominations. Grocery stores and other high-volume shops are an exception to this rule.
Life in L'viv is very very cheap. It's not difficult to find a place where you can have a full meal for 2 euros. The challenge is rather trying to order if you don't speak Ukrainian. Perhaps all places now offer menu cards in English.
Acropolis Tavern, just off Rynok Square. A Greek casual diner that has authentic dishes such as Gyros and Souvlaki for $3. The staff speak English and may well start dancing, in traditional style, given any amount of encouragement.
Idalnia # 1 Gurman (Gourmet), on 7, Doroshenka. They are cooking only from Ukrainian products.
Puzata Hata, on Sichovykh Striltsiv. Lviv branch of this restaurant chain offers hearty Ukrainian smorgasbord. This cafeteria style eatery has a selection of traditional Ukrainian food mixed with some other food found around the area.
Rodzinka, near Saharova street. It's a cafe with low prices.
Bäckerei Videnski bulochky (бекерай-кав'ярняВіденськіБулочки), Katedralna Sqr. 3, ☎ (+380) 32 235 88 22. 08:00-22:00, Sat 08:00-23:00. Traditional Austrian cafe-bakery. Freshly baked French croissants, real German pretzel, Italian focaccia and ciabatta. Full menu featuring a selection of hot sandwich-baguettes, salads and soups. Coffee.
Cafe 1, just off Rynok Square, in a sort of alley way, adjacent to a large, old cathedral. A very cosy cafe / casual dining restaurant that offers a varied range of modern cuisine. It has a warm atmosphere with non-smoking and smoking areas plus friendly and thoughtful staff.
Kavkaz (or Kaukaz) serves up Georgian cuisine with a charming atmosphere on Zelena street. Try harcho soup and fig salad.
Kupol has a touch of understated Habsburgh grandeur. Homestyle quality for affordable prices. Located at 37 Chaikovskogo Str. Tel.: +38-032-2614454.
Mapa, Halyc'ka str., 4, a quiet café with a special atmosphere and tasty Italian coffee. There are three large rooms for visitors: a large room on the first floor, and old-style rooms in the basement.
Museum of Ideas (Музей Ідей), Valova 18A, a kind of cultural centre located in Bernardine monastery cellars, with hand-made glass souvenirs gallery, exhibition space, sculptures and movie screenings. There's a good small restaurant there and in summer also a nice beer garden.
New York Street Pizza 5, Sichovys Striltciv Str, 51, Volodymyra Velykogo Str, 37, Patona Str, 4, Stefanyka Str, 36, Generala Chuprynky Str, 5, Tershakovtciv Str, 59, Grushevskogo Str, 1, Valova Str, 51, Chervonoi Kalyny pr, 2, Sv. Teodora pl . Tasty pizza, soups, salads, cakes and beverages.
Pid Kelpsydroyu (Under a water clock). 5, Armenian Str. The café is easy enough to spot. Just in front of the entrance to the Dzyga Cultural Centre, at the end of Vir’menska St. you'll see about 15 large tables with patio umbrellas crowding the street. You'll also see the city's sophisticated set sipping Under Clepsydra's famous forest tea. Under Clepsydra actually has three sections. The indoor café/restaurant inspired by the Parisian brasseries of the left bank has two sections, smoking and non-smoking, that share a soundtrack of classic French jazz and folk music. Venture upstairs past the funky wood and brass bathrooms and you’ll find the more popular late-night section of the establishment. Ever since Dzyga's alternative club Lyalka closed its doors, this bar has provided shelter for the thirsty denizens of cool. But what really sets it apart from other Lviv hangouts is the menu. Vegetarian restaurants in Lviv are, well, non-existent, but Under Clepsydra's vegetarian menu is sure to please. Okay…the first item is fish, but you’ll also find a collection of fresh, meat-free dishes made with locally-sourced ingredients. Being a vegetarian in Lviv isn’t easy, but at Under Clepsydra it can be pretty affordable. Potato and mushroom crepes are less than 2 Euros, and fresh soups and salads are anywhere between 1-2 Euros. Menus are in English. The carnivorous set has plenty of options as well. Few dishes run more than 5 Euros, and entrees include duck, pork, grilled chicken, smoked salmon.
Tsukerna, pr. Staroevraiski. Viennese-style cake and coffee.
Amadeus has a broad European and Ukrainian menu in a 5 star environment with 4 star food and 2.5 star prices.
Wiener Kaffeehaus, on the Shevchenko Prospect right side if you are facing the Opera House. This place has menus in English and English-speaking staff. A main course is around 3 to 4 euros, a three-course meal 6 or 7. The Wiener Schnitzel is great, so are all the soups, the breakfasts, the potato pancakes and the Apfelstrudel.
Veronica, on the Shevchenko Prospect is both a French style cafe (upstairs) and stylish restaurant downstairs.
The club scene in L'viv is thriving; with many options ranging from the cavernous Club Metro to the intimate and upmarket Zanzibar. There are usually entry charges but drink prices more than make up for this. In most clubs you are able to buy bottles of vodka for a reasonable price and simply chill at a table all evening.
Fashion Club Bizarre neuvo riche.
Hasova Lyampa (Kerosene Lamp) Unlike many of the best restaurants in Lviv, The Gas Lamp is quite easy to find. Located a couple blocks up Virmenska St. You’ll most likely see a man dressed in Olde Tyme regalia pacing in front of the entrance, beckoning people inside. If he’s not there another more static greeter awaits, in the form of a metal statue sitting at a desk with a… you guessed it, lit gas lamp.
Once inside you’ll find a spiral staircase ascending up three flights of dining space. Each floor is cozy, candle lit, and decorated with classic gas lamps. Gas Lamp also has one of Lviv’s best patios, in the form of their rooftop dining section. With a view of the Armenian Church steeple is the perfect place to spend a warm summers evening.
While the entrees at Gas Lamp are your standard fare, the snacks that do with beer are real standouts. They are an extra big hit with the sophisticated post-work clientele who undoubtedly come here to mingle and complain about their bosses. Try the seasoned croutons, chips and a variety of dipping sauces they’re the perfect accompaniment for their wide selection of cold local brews.
House of Legends, Staroevreyska 48. A bar with small staircase connecting few floors and a roof terrace (great views!), where each room is differently designed around a theme of a lvivian 'legend'.
Kriyivka ('Bunker' in Ukrainian) You repeat the words over and over in your head as you wander through the main square. “Slava Ukrayini, slava Ukraini, slava Ukraini,” You repeat. The phrase means, ‘glory to Ukraine,’ and it’s your ticket to this city’s best kept entertainment secret -- an underground unmarked bar called Kryivka.
Kryivka basically means hiding place in Ukrainian and they’re not kidding. But when you do finally find it, state the password to a man toting a prop vintage machine gun, receive your shot of authentic Ukrainian medovukha, and descend the stairs into the cozy wooden dining room you’ll be glad you took the time to find it. This Ukrainian independence themed bar is decorated with artifacts from Ukraine’s valiant struggle to stay autonomous -- with guns, maps and posters lining the walls. You’ll also notice the names of dishes on the English menu harken back to a military tradition stretching back to the Austrian Empire. Culinary highlights include a half-metre long sausage, pickles soaked in honey and some of the most savory vereniky in Lviv.
There is also a bit of theatre during a dinner at Kryivka. One element of Ukrainian nationalism is the constant struggle against Russian imperialism. If you’re lucky, a “Russian spy” may have snuck in to the restaurant during dinner, and the brave staff will turn off the lights, grab a flashlight, root out this spy and serve him a healthy portion of justice. Once the intruder has been detached, celebratory live music erupts in the basement venue and locals burst into traditional songs of freedom. For the food, and for the fun, Kryivka is a can’t miss restaurant in Lviv.
Masoch café. A place where you get whipped by the bar staff. Yes, seriously.
Club Metro, Zelena St. 14, ☎ +38 (032) 242-07-88, . Located on the outskirts of the centre of town, Metro isn’t the easiest place to spot during the day, but at night, just follow the hordes of fabulously dressed young people as they make their way to Lviv’s trendiest nightclub. But make no mistake, Metro isn’t just one of the best discos in town -- it’s three!
This cavernous Lviv club reveals a new surprise around every corner. Entrance will probably set you back about 3 Euro and once inside the first thing you’ll see is Metro’s large disco. Here trendy young students bounce happily to mostly top 40 and pop music. A raised platform in the centre of the dance floor features male and female go-go dancers (and any brave souls who decide to join them on strange). A long bar opposite the stage provides spirits of all kinds at decent prices. Local beers, vodka and champagne are all offered by the friendly (mostly) English speaking staff. If it’s your first time at Metro, we suggest being a VIP for a night. The raised VIP section gives a great view of the entire dance floor and is available to anyone as long as they promise to ring up a reasonable bill. Not a hard thing to do with bottle service and even hookahs available for VIP guests.
For a change of pace, head downstairs where you’ll find two more bars. One serves the techno and house room where friendly local hipsters grind and shake to a pumping beat. The other bar serves the lounge, private rooms and the hip hop dance floor where the freshest tracks from the United States and the UK lend the crowd little swagger. To cool off from all of the dancing, hit the giant upstairs patio with its heat lamps during winter and umbrellas for those rainy Lviv nights. When you’re all done, grab your jacket from the free coat check, head outside, say goodbye to your new friends and try to figure out how it got light out so quickly.
Millennium Club (Міленіум), 2 Chornovola Av., ☎ +38 (032) 240 35 91, . Just a few blocks from the centre of the city Millennium Club is where Lviv’s elite go to kick up their heels after a busy day of work. This gigantic complex is Lviv nightlife at its finest. Featuring the restaurant "Tequila Bum" a casino, a state-of-the-art movie theatre, billiards and video games, it has something for everyone. But these attractions are just the warm-up for the main event. As the largest disco in Western Ukraine, Millennium is where you’ll find the city’s beautiful people getting sweaty on a massive dance floor until early the next morning.
The entrance fee is a little steep compared to other local bars, but it rarely tops 5 Euro. Once inside, grab a table and sit back as chilled bottles of this country’s finest vodka is delivered to your table as part of Millennium’s legendary bottle service. If you’re the kind of person who likes to keep moving, sidle up to any of Millennium Club’s four expansive cocktail bars for a beer, mixed drink or shot.
Thanks to its older more sophisticated clientele the music at Millennium Club is some of the best in the country. DJs from all over Eastern Europe come to Millennium to spin house, retro, electro and rock tunes. Ask in advance who’ll be playing so you’ll know what to expect. Speaking of what to expect, sophisticated patrons also means a dress code. Guys should be prepared to wear dress shoes, pressed slacks and a dress shirt. Ladies, Lviv girls are some of the most stylish in the world, so dress like you mean it. You might get into the club in your street clothes -- but you’ll feel out of place.
Picasso (Пікассо), 88 Zelena St., ☎ +38 (032) 275 32 72, . If Metro and Millennium Club in Lviv cater to the hard partying type, Picasso aims to be a relaxed alternative to these venues. Picasso is located just up the road from Metro on Zelena St. in a large corner building. Getting in can be a little confusing. The friendly door staff will kindly point you to a door at the side of the building. Here you pay your entrance fee, usually between 3 and 5 Euros, and give you a ticket. Take that ticket back to the doorman, and in you go.
The first thing you’ll notice once inside is just what made this place legendary when it opened as Lviv’s first hot spot. It features a giant vaulted ceiling with a ring of balconies surrounding the venue. Really, it looks more like a church than a club. At the far end is a massive stage, and below that, a roomy dance floor, often packed with a writhing mass of some of this city’s older student crowd. Beers here run a little bit more than your standard club, but their selection caters to a more refined pallet.
The music and dress code here are also a bit more relaxed. Tunes range from disco to rock, with a little techno and house thrown in. One distinguishing feature of the music is volume; not cranked so loud you can’t hear yourself think, but not a library either. There is free coat check, and most patrons are dressed casually, which in Lviv means like models on their day off. The stellar lighting also makes this place a popular venue for concerts. As Lviv does not currently have a large music venue, many acts play Picasso if they can secure a night. The club also hosts private parties and events, so call ahead to make sure you can get in that night
Pozitiff, 14 Zelena St., ☎ +38 (032) 294 90 5, . If you’ve been to Metro Club you may have noticed a long line of eager locals forming on a nearby staircase of an Internet café. It may seem strange at first glance, but insiders know that this stylish crew has the right idea. They are trying to gain access to Pozitiff -- Lviv’s trendiest lounge.
This place is not easy to get into, and there are no guarantees that your money, passport or even begging can ensure you gain entrance. It’s all the bouncers call. Your best bet is to arrive with a small group of the most attractive people you can find. At this point the door man will either let you in, or not. If he does you’ll have negotiate an entrance fee. This cover charge usually depends on how cool and attractive your group is: The better-looking, the lower the fee. Expect to pay close to 6 Euros for entrance.
Once inside your senses are bombarded with sounds of local DJs spinning lounge appropriate tunes, and the smell of cocktails. As entrance is so difficult, some patrons make the most of their trial, floating through the bar mingling, chatting and flirting. Others, displaying the icy confidence that got them in in the first place simply recline in their booth and radiate cool. No matter how you choose to play this one, the drinks are reasonably priced, you’ll find enough friendly professionals to chat with and if you need to check your email, the Internet café section remains operational even into the wee hours of a rocking party.
Zanzibar Cool, funky
Leroy Upmarket, mature crowd
Great pubs and bars abound in L'viv but they can be hard to find, do your research as many are tired dens of misery.
Robert Doms Beer House While not exactly in the centre of town, Robert Doms Pub is a must visit venue for any visitor to Lviv. Follow the tree lined street of Kleparivska as it winds up and down hills until you reach the easy to spot entrance of this totally original beer hall and concert venue. It’s attached to the Lvivske Brewery. Depending on the nights festivities you may have to pay a small cover charge, but it’s well worth it, as early evening acts often include international Jazz bands, and late evening events often fall into the feverish dance music category.
Descend a flight of stairs past a charming little merchandise stand to the cavernous first room. Sit down at a long beer garten style table and order a giant stein of the Lvivske beer. The name, Robert Doms comes from the man who founded the brewery in 1715 (also the name of their signature brew). The food here is great, so even if you’ve already eaten, it’s suggested you order a salty snack from their German-style menu to accompany the delicious beer.
The pub is often open late, so make an evening here. The underground location and stone walls give Robert Doms Beer House great acoustics and an intimate feel. Or, if you’re not in the mood for music, head to the ajoining Austrian style pub room. Plush, wooden and well lit, this is a great place to watch a game of football with friends as the giant TV at the end of the room has a habit of sucking in peoples attention.
Kumpel Mini-brewery and a beer restauraunt on Mytna square
Kult Cool underground bar
Blue Bottle Intimate, medieval
Pub Filharmonia above Kult, very cool underground feel.
FRANZ JOSEF The twighlight zone. 24 hour outdoor freak show. See the local intelligentsia acting rather unintelligent.
Dublin Irish Pub Irish pub with good food, English menu. Staff no English though! While not the easiest place to find in Lviv this heavily promoted Irish style pub is both a favourite with locals as well as ex-pat patrons of the nearby Kosmonaut Hostel. You can find Dublin pub in the busy courtyard just off Doroshenka St. The name is written in Cyrillic as well as Latin, so have no fears there.
Dublin does a good job of not packing the tables in too tightly, you after you’ve grabbed a seat, don’t be shy to get up and wander around a little bit with a pint of any of their host of international beers in hand.
If you happen to be hungry, you’ll be glad to know that the menu is in English (though the staff don’t speak English), and features many of the pub favourites you would expect at home. However, you’ll find that many of these dishes have been modified slightly as local ingredients are substituted for traditional ones. Most dishes are reasonably priced and quite tasty. If you are feeling homesick, this is a good cure. If football is your thing, Dublin Pub spares no expense. If there is a game on, anywhere in the world, chances are Dublin Pub will be showing it live. However, if your side happens to be playing at the same time as any of Ukraine’s club, or national teams you might want swallow your pride and join in, as you’re not likely to find anyone here who will permit you to change the channel.
Korzo Irish Pub Though it may sometimes seem like it, not every bar or restaurant in Lviv has some kind of theme or hook, and Korzo Pub is one of these places. Located in the narrow Brativ Rohatinskiv street just off the main Rynok, Korzo is as close to your local pub as you’ll find in Lviv. Nothing too fancy here, just an oak bar, brass taps and well worn tables that have eavesdropped on hundreds of conversations, arguments and romantic encounters.
The menu is actually one of the more familiar ones in the city, so if you are looking for a little taste of home this is probably your best bet. Korzo also has a great selection of international spirits, so if you’re the kind of person who needs a shot of tequila to get the night going, this is your place. As the beer flows, you might want to try the fish soup, hearty and robust, locals say it is the perfect ballast to prevent a hangover the next morning. If quenching your thirst on a sunny afternoon of exploring is your goal, Korzo has just installed on of Lviv’s largest patios. With plenty of tables and shelter from the glorious sunshine, or menacing thunderstorm (it’s really either, or, in this city) the patio makes for pure people watching pleasure.
L'viv has a variety of hotels, hostels and apartments to suit all budgets and needs. The best deals for budget travellers (2-3 people) are found with the lovely apartments for rent all over town - These can be found online (preferably in Russian) or on arrival at the train station. Expect to pay around 150-200 USD/mo. for a nice studio apartment with a kitchen, TV and a nice warm-water bathroom.
The hostel scene is quite new in L'viv so be sure to check reviews of hostels using well known booking agents and forums like Hostelworld, hostelbooking and tripadvisor.
Coffee Home Hostel, 10 Teatralna (Театральна) street (This is the information how to get to the hostel in Lviv: Adress Coffee Home Hostel Lviv Lviv 10 Teatralna str. From airport: 1) Take a Taxi to 10 Teatralna str. (~ 40 UAH) 2)Take a trolleybus #9 to the end stop (Lviv National University).Then go left to Sichovyh Striltsiv Str. and go 300m. Turn right to Gnatuka str. and go 190m tillSvoboda avenue (main avenue, Shevchenko monument). From Svoboda Avenue go to 10 Teatralna str. (200m) From the bus station: 1) Take a Taxi to 10 Teatralna str. (~ 40UAH) 2) Take a minibus (‘Marshootka’) #3A to Pidvalna str. Then cross the road and go straight to the Main Square (Rynok Square)’ in front of City Hall (building with a tower),on the left side behind City Hall You will find 10 Teatralna str. From the railway station: 1) Take a Taxi to 10 Teatralna str. (~35UAH) 2) Take a Tram #1 to the stop named ‘Main Square (Rynok Square)’ in front of City Hall (building with a tower),on the left side behind City Hall You will find 10 Teatralna str. 3) By foot: go 250m straight, make left on big street cross, go down the Horodotska Str till Opera House, make right and go down Svoboda avenue (main avenue, Shevchenko monument). From Svoboda Avenue, go to 10 Teatralna str. Total 2700m (~45 mins)), ☎ +38 067 911 1431 (firstname.lastname@example.org), . checkin: 12AM; checkout: 11AM. Located right next to main square. Chamber hostel — 40 beds, English, Spanish, Russian speaking staff, free Wi-Fi, tourist information, free maps, coffee & tea, linens & towels included, laundry. Coffee interior style.From €8. (49.841424,24.029616)
Old Ukrainian Home Hostel, 12 Lepkogo (Лепкого) street (From airport: 1) Take a Taxi to 12, Lepkoho str. (~ 50 UAH) 2)Take a trolleybus #9 to the end stop (Lviv National University).Then go right 300m. till 12, Lepkoho str. From the bus station: 1) Take a Taxi to 12, Lepkoho str. (~ 40 UAH) 2) Take a minibus (‘Marshootka’) #3A to the end stop (behind Opera House). Then cross the road and go straight to Horodotska Str (500m) till clothing store “GEOX”. Opposite store you will find Lepkoho str., find number 12 our hostel in Lviv is there. From the railway station: 1) Take a Taxi to 12, Lepkoho str., first floor. (~ 40 UAH) 2) Take a minibus (‘Marshootka’) #31 till Horodotska Str, till clothing store “GEOX”. Opposite store you will find Lepkoho str., find number 12. 3) By foot: go 250m straight, make left on big street cross, go down the Horodotska Str (1400 m) till clothing store “GEOX”. Opposite store you will find Lepkoho str., find number 12.), ☎ +38 067 911 1431 (email@example.com), . checkin: 12AM; checkout: 11AM. Located in the centre of the city near the Lviv National University. Chamber hostel — 20 beds, English, Spanish, Russian speaking staff, free wi-fi, touristic information, free maps, breakfast, coffee & tea, linens & towels included, laundry. Old Ukrainian interior style. One bathroom with two showers.From €8. (49.841829,24.020067)
Soviet Home Hostel, Drukarska 3, top floor, door code 250 (From airport: 1) Take a Taxi to 3, Drukarska str. (~ 50 UAH) 2)Take a trolleybus #9 to the end stop (Lviv National University).Then go left to Sichovyh Striltsiv Str. and go 300m. Turn right to Gnatuka str. and go 190m tillSvoboda avenue (main avenue, Shevchenko monument). From Svoboda Avenue go (300m) through the Main Square (Rynok Square) to pharmacy Museum and on the left you will find 3, Drukarska str. From the bus station: 1) Take a Taxi to 3, Drukarska str. (~ 60 UAH) 2) Take a minibus (Marshootka) #3A to Pidvalna str. Then cross the road and go straight to the Main Square (Rynok Square)in front of City Hall (building with a tower),on the right side behind City Hall You will find 3, Drukarska str. From the railway station: 1) Take a Taxi to 3, Drukarska str. (~ 40 UAH) 2) Take a Tram #1 to the stop named Main Square (Rynok Square) in front of City Hall (building with a tower),on the right side behind City Hall You will find 3, Drukarska str. 3) By foot: go 250m straight, make left on big street cross, go down the Horodotska Str till Opera House, make right and go down Svoboda avenue (main avenue, Shevchenko monument). From Svoboda Avenue, go to 3, Drukarska str. 2700m (~45 mins)), ☎ +38 067 911 1431 (firstname.lastname@example.org), . checkin: 12AM; checkout: 11AM. - 2 $ Discount for Peace Corps volunteers! Soviet Home is the place where comfort meets USSR! Comfortable beds, hot shower, breakfast and soviet interior! From €8. (49.842879,24.031992)
Hotel Lviv. Just off the main strip, two blocks north of the Opera. Inexpensive, no-frills, unfriendly, mainly 1-2 person rooms, many with nice views of Lviv center - pick the ones facing the street (obviously). There is also a restaurant/bar and a currency exchange kiosk inside the lobby.
Retro Hostel Shevchenko, Shevchenka prosp. 16, ☎ +380 32 240 37 61. One of the biggest and most centrally located hostels in Lviv. Every room has a bathroom. Privates and dorms on few floors, with nice outdoor common area (table tennis, billiards, barbecue available free of charge). There's a bar as well. from € 5.50.
Central Square Hostel, 5 Rynok Square, ☎ +380 95 225 66 54 (email@example.com), . checkin: 12.00; checkout: 11.30. Cozy hostel located in the heart of the city - 18 beds, English, Polish, Russian speaking staff, free Wi-Fi, tourist information, free maps, coffee & tea, linens & towels included, washing machine. Also will show you the city.Bed in dorm 95 UAH, double room 350 UAH.
Roxelana Hostel (Lviv Backpackers Roxelana), Generala Chuprenke 50/4, ☎ +38 0974449789 (firstname.lastname@example.org), . checkout: 12:00. Accommodation within a majestic historical castle. This castle was once inhabited by a famous Count. We are very near to the train station. Offers discounts to nightclubs in town. Offers deals on city tours, pub crawls, gun shooting experiences and famous Russian saunas. Helpful and friendly English staff. From €7.
Rynok Square Apartment, 16 Rynok Square (Across from main entrance to Lviv Town Hall), (email@example.com), . checkin: flexible; checkout: flexible. Modern, clean and most central, seconds from Lviv's cafes and most attractions. Includes king size double bed and additional single bed optional. Free tea, coffee, kitchen self catering, washing machine and powder, microwave, TV, bedding, towels. Minimum stay 2 nights. Discounts for stays over 3 nights. Friendly owner speaks English, Polish, Ukrainian, can arrange transfers within Ukraine and Poland.€20 per person.
The Georgehouse Hostel, 1 Ustyjanovycha 8 (Устияновича 8), ☎ +380504306454 (firstname.lastname@example.org), . checkout: 11AM. Georgehouse Hostel offers 4-bed and 8-bed mixed dormitories, free wi-fi, maps, breakfast, linens & towels included, modern colourful design. Free bed on your birthday (with minimum stay two nights).From 95 UAH.
The Kosmonaut Hostel, 4 Tomashivskoho St., apt. 5 (Second Floor) - вул. Томашівського, 4, кв. 5, ☎ +38 0936554219 (email@example.com), . 20 beds, 24 hour reception, English speaking staff. Free Wi-Fi, tea, coffee, washing machine, rated the Best Hostel in Ukraine by Hostelworld.com 2008. For good reason too. With a central location, hot powerful showers and a friendly common room perfect for meeting other travellers, this hostel has it all. Some additional attractions like bania, AK-47 shooting trips etc. Staff are very helpful. The Kosmonaut relocated and the new address is 4 Tomashivskoho St., apt. 5 (second floor).From €7. (49.836419,24.028776)
Dekolotel, Derevach Village, 25 Lvivska St., (firstname.lastname@example.org), . checkin: 7:00; checkout: 11:00. family-friendly amenities, easily accommodates a family of up to 6 people, larger groups can also be housed upon agreement, 24 hour online reception, English speaking staff, breakfast at €5, tea, coffee, washing machine, fully-equiped kitchen area, game room, sauna, TV set, bathroom, located in a serene vicinity 10 minutes driving distance from the Arena Lviv Stadium and 20 minutes in Lviv. Free parking available. Transfers can be arranged.From €15 per person if more than 6 persons, or €60 for the place. Up to 40 people can he accommodated..
Cats' house hostel, 20 Saksaganskoho St., apt. 4 (Second Floor) - вул. Саксаганського, 20, кв. 4, ☎ +38 0934837665 (email@example.com), . 20 beds, 24 hour reception, English, Ukrainian, Russian speaking staff, free Wi-Fi, tea, coffee, breakfast, bed linen, towels, slippers included, washing machine, library, tourist assistance – information, maps, luggage storage. Hostel is located in the old Austrian house in the middle of the city near tram and bus stop. From €6.
Hotel Dnister (Дністер), Mateyka st. 6, ☎ +380 32 297 43 1, . $80-$260.
Hotel George (Жорж), Pl. Mickiewicz 1, ☎ +380 322 725 952, . Only some rooms have private bathrooms (from $73). $38-$121.
Hotel NTON (ГотельНТОН), Shevchenka 154b (вул.Шевченка 154б) (3 km from the downtown), ☎ +380 32 233 31 23, . Hotel "NTON" has been in operation since January 2001. Offers more than 70 modern comfortable rooms equipped with phones, TV-sat, showers and bathrooms, air conditioning, hairdryers, refrigerators with mini-bars. Hot & cold water is around a clock, heating is autonomous. Services include restaurant, guarded parking place, 4 conference halls, business center and free wireless Internet. The hotel transfer service brings you to the hotel and any destination point in the downtown or behind the city at any time. Moreover the hotel also has fitness complex 'Pharaoh' (offering pharaonic massage, fitness gym, solarium, sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi, IR-sweating).€28-€55 (breakfast included).
Hotel Volter (ГотельВолтер), Lypynskoho 60a (3 km from the downtown), ☎ +380 32 294 88 88, . Offers 56 comfortable rooms of different categories, namely, standard, superior, semi-suite, Deluxe suite, equipped according to modern norms and standards. Includes round-the-clock hot and cold water supply, installed independent heating system, satellite television, telephone, hair-drier and mini-safe in each room. The restaurant's staff is available round-the-clock.€33-€70 (breakfast included).
Reikartz Dworzec Lviv, Gorodotskaya Street, 107, ☎ 00 38 (032) 235 0 888, . It offers rooms with modern ambience, all of which have a private toilet and shower with bathtub, cable TV, Internet access, and mini-bar. Some of its amenities are fitness room/gym, a swimming pool, and a sauna. While staying here you can visit some tourist spots like Church of St. Olha and Elizabeth, Pharmacy Museum, and The High Castle Park.Best rates on official website start at EUR 55.
Citadel Inn (Citadel Inn), Hrabovskoho street 11, ☎ +380 32 235 76 30 (firstname.lastname@example.org), . $150-$430 (breakfast included).
Guest house Andriivskyi, . Levyts'koho street 112., ☎ +380 32 235 76 30 (email@example.com), . $150-$300 (breakfast included).
The dialing code for Lviv is +380 32(2). The telephone system was recently modified; thus, to dial 6-digit numbers, use the city prefix 322, but for 7-digit numbers, use only 32.
All calls to and from cell phones are treated as long distance calls. The telephone system was recently modified one more time, thus, you must not dial an 8 followed by the city/mobile prefix, followed by the phone number. Some frequent mobile prefixes are 050, 067, 066, 096, and 097. The main mobile operators are Kyivstar, Beeline, and UMC. You can buy a SIM card or a balance replenishment card at many stores throughout Lviv.
Internet cafes are plentiful. Centrally located is Chorna Medeia on Kryva Lypa.
Ukrainian cities are not dangerous, though a bit more precaution is required.
Common tricks include impersonating a police officer. In doubt ask an officer or tell him you're not following him. The first thing they try is to get you out of the tourists places in to areas where they can 'acquire' a fine.
Openly robbing you or pick-pocketing happens less as the risks are bigger.
It is essential to learn some Ukrainian before visiting, or at the very least, learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Everyone can also read, speak and write in Russian and aren't so prickly about it, although they'd apreciate that you learn a few basic phrases in Ukrainian as well. Learn the Cyrillic alphabet (both the Russian and Ukrainian versions) way in advance until you can write words with perfection, as many do not know the Latin alphabet. German and, especially, Polish (as Lvov used to part of Poland) is spoken well among people with mature memories of the interwar era.
People selling you tickets at the train station will most likely not speak anything other than Ukrainian or Russian and may have no patience nor sympathy for you. (Neither will the people waiting behind you in line). If you speak Polish then surviving in Lviv shouldn't be a problem, as many people understand it since it's quite close to Ukrainian. Some sales people will not know the Latin alphabet, so make sure to carry a small note with your name written in Cyrillic! Queues in Ukraine tend to be a chaotic mess, especially at stations. Assert your place with an elbow and mean stare, because everyone else will, including the fifteen babushki pushing you to the side. Make sure you get in the line for foreigners when you want to buy train tickets. No, the cashier will NOT speak English, but if you know the details of the train you want, just write them down! But if you go to a different line they'll just tell you to go to the foreigner's line, and then you will have wasted a lot of time waiting for nothing.
There are many possible day trips from Lviv. Some options include nearby monasteries Krekhiv and Univ; the beautiful Carpathian mountains and their accompanying ski resorts are also not far.
For people who want to head south to Transylvania, this is best done jumping buses to Chernivtsi (a bumpy 6,5 hrs ride, or you can take one of overnight trains). Near Chernivtsi, you can visit the lovely Kamyanets-Podilsky with its ancient castle. To Suceava, the bus takes around 4 hours with border formalities. From Suceava to Bacau and finally to Braşov, each bus will take about 4 hours on very bumpy roads.
A quick and direct way to get to Romania is to take the 601L train from Lviv to Solotvino (Transcarpathia Oblast); it departs Lviv at 20:23 and arrives in Solotvino at 9:47. Cost of ticket costs less than 10 euros depending on whether one chooses 1st class "kupet" or 2nd class "platzkart". Solotvino is a very small town, and the border station (which will be on the other side of the Tisa river, or the right hand side of the train) is not too hard to locate: when exiting the train, take a left until you approach the first road. At the road, take a right, and walk about 100m before coming to a three-way intersection (there will be a monument in the middle. Take a left onto the road that heads down into the river valley, and you'll come straight to the border station. You'll be treated very professionally, and possibly with preference over the Romanian majority who cross the border to take advantage of the lower Ukrainian prices. Once you cross the border, you'll be in Sighetu Marmaţiei, a charming and secluded town, and from here one can take advantage of the direct train to Braşov/Bucharest that leaves that afternoon around 4-5ish. UPDATE: Starting December 2011 the train from Sighetu Marmatiei to Brasov / Bucharest is found under two different train numbers, but it is still a direct train - you don't have to change trains. The train leaves Sighetu Marmatiei at 17:11 (local time) and arrives to Bucharest at 09:56. You can gett off at Brasov at 04:22. For more info check the Romanian Railways official website: www.infofer.ro) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29824000 |
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a United States National Monument in southwest Washington State that was the site of a massive volcanic eruption on May 18, 1980. It can be visited as a longish day trip from Seattle or Portland, or more conveniently as a side-trip while traveling between the two cities.
On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens awakened from over 100 years of dormancy with a magnitude 4.1 earthquake which began a series of events leading to eruption. Steam and ash eruption started on March 27, and over the next two months the north side of the mountain started bulging at the rate of about 5 to 6 feet a day.
Then on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m., a magnitude 5.1 earthquake caused the bulging north face to collapse in one of the largest landslides in recorded history. The highly pressurized magma burst forth in an explosive eruption, sending super-heated volcanic gas and ash across a large portion of the United States, destroying hundreds of square miles of forest, and killing 57 people in what was the most destructive volcanic eruption in the United States.
Today, over a quarter century later, life is starting to return to the barren landscape surrounding the mountain. However, as the recent steam eruptions starting in October 2004 have illustrated, the danger of another catastrophic eruption is ever present. Visiting Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is to simultaneously witness the result of catastrophic destruction and see the result of rebirth.
Mount St. Helens is a typical "stratovolcano," the volcanic form most familiar from photographs of their typically conical profiles. The great 1980 eruption destroyed most of the volcanic cone, leaving a huge amphitheater on the north side that is well seen from the Johnston Ridge observatory/visitor center. Current (2004-5) volcanic activity is building a new lava dome within this amphitheater, visible from the "VolcanoCam" at the observatory but not yet large enough to replace the destroyed cone.
St. Helens is still glaciated to some extent, despite its reduced altitude. One unexpected and remarkable bit of landscape on the mountain is the astonishing Loowit Falls, a waterfall that emerges directly from the amphitheater bearing meltwater from a glacier within the crater. This falls can be seen (use binoculars) from the observatory, but to get the best feeling for the incongruity of the falls -- it seems to emerge as though from the surface of the moon -- requires a hike on a trail that is closed as of 2005 owing to the volcanic activity.
Flora and fauna
Most viewpoints on the Monument's north, east, and south sides can be reached from Memorial Day until snow closes the roads, usually in late October. Trails are generally open from June through October, although some lower elevation trails can be hiked all year. The Mount St. Helens Visitor Center (Highway 504 milepost 5) now operated by Washington State Parks is open during the winter, except winter holidays.
The most popular tourist route into the Mount St. Helens area is via Washington state route 504. It can be reached at Castle Rock (exit #49) off Interstate 5 in Washington, about one hour and 15 minutes north of Portland and two hours south of Seattle.
From the east, there are three main routes. If using GPS or computer routing, be sure it doesn't send you on unpaved, one-lane forest service roads unless that's what you want. From Spokane, all three take roughly the same amount of time.
Monument passes are sold for single-day admission to the visitor centers along Washington 504.
Golden Passports are honored at Mount St. Helens.
Golden Passports are available only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents online at www.natlforests.org, or at any U.S. Forest Service or National Park Service office.
Along Washington 504 are three visitor centers. All except the first are closed from November to April. All three include video presentations, exhibits, and information desks:
Monument passes can be purchased at any of the three visitor centers.
Once of the most popular souvenir gift stores in the area is located at the Mount St. Helens Forest Learning Center at milepost 33.5. They carry ash products, souvenirs, jewelry and artglass made from the ash along with a selection of apparel, toys, lodge decor and other gifts relating to Mount St. Helens and the local region.
Dining options are very limited in the Mount St. Helens area once you leave I-5 at exit 49. Options on the upper highway 504 include the 19 Mile Cafe at milepost 19, the Backwoods Cafe at milepost 25, and the snackbar at the Forest Learning Center at milepost 33.5.
You can get drinks at the cafes listed above.
Exit 49 off I-5 features several privately-operated motels, including:
Camping near I-5 exits to Mount St. Helens along Route 504 is available at Seaquest State Park or south of Hwy 12 at Lewis & Clark State Park. There are also National Forest Service campsites south of Randle (NE of MSH access forest road 99) and along the Lewis River east of Cougar.
Volcano safety is, to put it mildly, a controversial subject; see the article on Volcanoes (and, particularly, its discussion page) for some of the issues. Compared to many other active volcanoes, Mount St. Helens has been studied extensively, and therefore has a relatively well-defined "safety envelope" that allows informed decision making as regards trail closures, etc. Even St. Helens, however, is prone to bouts of unexpectedly violent behavior, as for example on 8 March 2005 when an explosive event sent ash and steam to elevations above 35,000 feet (10 km) essentially without warning. The monument, therefore, has established a policy regarding road and trail closures that at first glance appears unnecessarily conservative -- but it is not. Believe it. The closures aren't there simply to inconvenience and irritate you. If a trail is closed due to eruptive hazard, stay off the trail.
Other than the volcanic activity, St. Helens poses basically the usual set of hazards associated with mountainous country -- changeable weather, potential for road closures due to snow in the winter, etc. One extra thing to be aware of is that much of the area on the north side of the mountain, particularly the northeast, does not yet have many travel services, even things as basic as gas stations. When leaving the main roads to head for the observatory, or particularly the Windy Ridge viewpoint and trailhead, it's wise to have a full gas tank. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29825000 |
Indirectly and directly, improving salmon habitat is one of the primary goals of a large amount of regulatory activity in the Northwest. Directly, impacts to salmon habitat can trigger consultations under the Endangered Species Act that lead to mitigation requirements. Indirectly, improvements to salmon habitat can be used to meet water quality requirements. There is currently no active market for salmon credits in Oregon, but there are several entities with large, but nebulously defined mitigation needs. The salmon currency provides a metric and protocol for enhancing or restoring in and near-stream habitat to generate credits.
Counting on the Environment’s Salmon Credit Calculation Method
The Salmon Credit Calculation Method calculates scores for six ecological functions relevant to optimal habitat for the range of salmonid species. The output of the metric is a weighted linear foot that is based on the % of optimal functions performed by the stream and near-stream habitat.
The salmon metric began development as part of the Oregon Department of Transportation bridges project and was further refined by Parametrix, INC. The Counting on the Environment project of the Willamette Partnership convened a salmonid focus group to review the metric, assign weights to the six functions, and develop trading rules specific to the salmonid currency.
Salmon Habitat Calculation Documents:
Salmon Crediting Procedure | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29826000 |
Viticulture - n. : the cultivation or culture of grapes
Enology - n. :a science that deals with wine and wine making
The V&E Department combines the sciences of viticulture and enology in a single research and teaching unit that encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that impact grape growing and winemaking. For over one hundred years the University of California has maintained an active and productive program in research and education in viticulture and enology. The continuing excellence of the Department has enabled California growers and vintners to develop practices that have allowed the Golden State to achieve its potential and become a premier wine-producing region.
Eugene W. Hilgard
Publications of Professor Eugene W. Hilgard in the Bulletin of the California Agriculture Experiment Station
Eugene Hilgard must have been an amazing scientist and person, but sadly most descriptions of him classify him only as "soil scientist". He published a significant book, Soils, towards the end of his career, but he was a member of the National Academy of Science and the first Professor of Agriculture in (and later Director of) the University's Experiment Station when it was at Berkeley. Although Hilgard Hall on the Berkeley campus houses the Soils Department today, nothing honors his contributions to the foundations of the grape and wine industry of California. Below (Marked with an *), are the title... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29830000 |
Shots - Health Blog
Thu April 5, 2012
New Type Of Resistant Malaria Appears On Thai-Burmese Border
Malaria experts have been holding their breath and hoping it wouldn't happen. But it has.
Malaria parasites resistant to the last, best drug treatment, called artemisinin combination therapy, or ACT, are infecting people along the border of Thailand and Myanmar.
This is 500 miles away from the first focus of ACT-resistant malaria in Cambodia. And it's a different form of resistant malaria, which means it arose independently of the Cambodian type rather than spreading from there. We're talking here about Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest and most common form of malaria.
The discovery ruins the World Health Organization's hope that resistance to ACT might be stamped out for good in Cambodia. Now it's a two-front war.
An international team of researchers is publishing the news in The Lancet.
Meanwhile, many of the same scientists report in Science that they've zeroed in on changes in the parasite's genes that drive this new form of resistance. That gives hope that its spread may be monitored and that new drugs might someday be devised to foil resistance.
But the bad news outweighs the good. The new resistance raises concern that the tantalizing prospect of eliminating malaria might slip away again, as it did when the parasite developed resistance to the drug chloroquine in the 1960s through the 1990s. More than 600,000 people die of malaria each year, but the toll has been falling.
Artemisinin-based therapies are a big reason why the hope of eliminating malaria has been rising. Other reasons are wide distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent mosquitoes from transmitting the parasite at night, and last fall's announcement that the first large field trial of a malaria vaccine reduced infections by 55 percent.
"Anti-malarial control efforts are vitally dependent on artemisinin combination treatments," write Anne-Catrin Uhlemann and David Fidock of Columbia University in a Lancet editorial. "Should these regimens fail, no other drugs are ready for deployment, and drug development efforts are not expected to yield new anti-malarials until the end of this decade."
Thus, the new focus of resistant malaria is likely to stimulate urgent strategy sessions about whether it can be contained, as authorities still hope the Cambodian outbreak might be.
Working against that is the fact that the new resistance involves Myanmar, which has a lot of malaria and a weak public health system.
Researchers say that ACT regimens are not totally impotent against the newly resistant parasites. But there has been a rapid increase in what they call "slow clearing" of infections.
The proportion of patients with the slowest response to treatment in western Thailand has increased from less than 1 percent in 2001 to 20 percent in 2010.
The biggest fear is that resistant forms of malaria will emerge in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria afflicts and kills more people than anywhere else.
Uhlemann and Fidock say malaria fighters are in a race against time. Increased resistance to ACT "emphasizes the need to both monitor for signs of emergence resistance," they write, "and implement all available measures towards malaria elimination while we can." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29832000 |
Key: "S:" = Show Synset (semantic) relations, "W:" = Show Word (lexical) relations
Display options for sense: (gloss) "an example sentence"
- S: (n) burning, combustion (the act of burning something) "the burning of leaves was prohibited by a town ordinance"
- S: (n) burn, burning (pain that feels hot as if it were on fire)
- S: (n) combustion, burning (a process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to give heat and light)
- S: (n) electrocution, burning (execution by electricity)
- S: (n) burning, burning at the stake (execution by fire)
- S: (n) burning (a form of torture in which cigarettes or cigars or other hot implements are used to burn the victim's skin)
- S: (v) burn, fire, burn down (destroy by fire) "They burned the house and his diaries"
- S: (v) burn, glow (shine intensely, as if with heat) "The coals were glowing in the dark"; "The candles were burning"
- S: (v) burn, combust (undergo combustion) "Maple wood burns well"
- S: (v) bite, sting, burn (cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort) "The sun burned his face"
- S: (v) burn, combust (cause to burn or combust) "The sun burned off the fog"; "We combust coal and other fossil fuels"
- S: (v) burn (feel strong emotion, especially anger or passion) "She was burning with anger"; "He was burning to try out his new skies"
- S: (v) burn, incinerate (cause to undergo combustion) "burn garbage"; "The car burns only Diesel oil"
- S: (v) burn (execute by tying to a stake and setting alight) "Witches were burned in Salem"
- S: (v) burn (spend (significant amounts of money)) "He has money to burn"
- S: (v) burn (feel hot or painful) "My eyes are burning"
- S: (v) cauterize, cauterise, burn (burn, sear, or freeze (tissue) using a hot iron or electric current or a caustic agent) "The surgeon cauterized the wart"
- S: (v) sunburn, burn (get a sunburn by overexposure to the sun)
- S: (v) cut, burn (create by duplicating data) "cut a disk"; "burn a CD"
- S: (v) burn off, burn, burn up (use up (energy)) "burn off calories through vigorous exercise"
- S: (v) burn (damage by burning with heat, fire, or radiation) "The iron burnt a hole in my dress"
- S: (adj) burning (of immediate import) "burning issues of the day" | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29834000 |
Unfortunately, gross food has become the norm in most supermarkets, with packaged food ingredient lists reading more like chemistry homework than something you'd want your family to eat. But in many cases, marketers have figured out a way to keep toxic additives and disease-promoting food packaging off of the label, making your job as a consumer harder than ever.
Flame Retardant–Laced Soda
What it is: The toxic flame retardant chemical brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, was initially used to keep plastics from catching on fire.
Where it is: For decades, the food industry has been adding it to certain sodas, juices, and sports drinks, including Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange, Sunkist Pineapple, and some Gatorade and Powerade flavors. BVO's purpose? To keep the artificial flavoring chemicals from separating from the rest of the liquids.
Why it's bad: Scientists have linked too much BVO to bromide poisoning symptoms like skin lesions, memory loss, and nerve disorders.
What it is: Titanium dioxide is a component of the metallic element titanium, a mined substance that is sometimes contaminated with toxic lead.
Where it is: Commonly used in paints and sunscreens, big food corporations add it to lots of things we eat, too, including processed salad dressing, coffee creamers, and icing.
Why it's bad: The food industry adds it to hundreds of products to make dingy, overly processed items appear whiter. "White has long been the symbolic color of 'clean,'" explains food industry insider Bruce Bradley, who shares the tricks, traps, and ploys of big food manufacturers on his blog,BruceBradley.com. "Funny, when you use real food, you don't need any of these crazy additives—I think I prefer the real deal."
What it is: Maggots are fly larvae, tiny rice-shaped creatures that feast on rotting foods.
Where it is: The Food and Drug Administration legally allows 19 maggots and 74 mites in a 3.5-ounce can of mushrooms.
Why it's bad: While maggots do have their place in the medical world—they can help heal ulcers and other wounds—most people think it's pretty gross to eat them!
If you need another reason to ditch canned goods, consider this: Most are lined with bisphenol A, or BPA, a plastic chemical that causes unnatural hormonal changes linked to heart attacks, obesity, and certain cancers.
Cloned Cow's Stomach
What it is: Traditionally, cheese makers used rennet derived from the mucosa of a veal calf's fourth stomach to create the beloved, versatile dairy product. But Bradley notes that cost and the limited availability of calf stomachs have led to the development of several alternatives, including vegetable rennet, microbial rennet, and—the food industry's rennet of choice—a genetically modified version derived from a cloned calf gene.
Where it is: It's used to make the vast majority of cheese sold in the United States.
Why it's bad: The long-term health effects of eating genetically engineered foods has never been studied in humans. And since GMO ingredients aren't listed on the label, it can be tough for consumers to avoid rennet from this source. "With all these rennet varieties often listed simply as "enzymes" on an ingredient panel, it can be very hard to know exactly what kind you’re eating when you buy cheese," says Bradley, author of the soon-to-be-released book,Fat Profits.
What it is: Grocery store meats are commonly infused with veterinary medicines, heavy metals, and staph bacteria, including the hard-to-kill, potentially lethal MRSA strain.
Where it is: Unfortunately, the problem is far from rare. A study published last year in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found that half of grocery store meat tested harbored staph bacteria. Researchers ID the overuse of antibiotics in industrial agriculture as a major cause in the rise of superbugs in our grocery store food.
Why it's bad: MRSA kills about 19,000 people a year in America—that's more annual deaths than from AIDS in the U.S. Purchasing grass-fed meat and eggs from organic farmers is a more sustainable choice.
What it is: Glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient in the popular weed killer, Roundup, is a hormone-disrupting chemical now used primarily on corn and soy crops genetically engineered to withstand a heavy dousing of the chemical. Nonorganic farmers dumped 57 million pounds of glyphosate on food crops in 2009, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures.
Where it is: Roundup is so heavily used around homes and in farm fields that it's now being detected in streams, the air, and evenrain. Because it's a systemic herbicide, it's actually taken up inside the plant…meaning we eat it. Yep, it's legally allowed in our food, and in an amount that worries scientists. It's found in most nonorganic packaged foods because most contain corn- or soy-derived ingredients, the crops that are most often heavily doused with Roundup.
Why it's bad: Glyphosate exposure is linked to obesity, learning disabilities, birth defects, infertility, and potentially irreversible metabolic damage. To avoid pesticides in products, eat organic and avoided processed foods as much as possible. And use caution— "all natural" foods often are chockfull of pesticides and genetically engineered ingredients.
What it is: It's a bitter, smelly, orange-brown substance known as castoreum, explains Bradley. "In nature, it's combined with the beaver's urine and used to mark its territory."
Where it is: It's used extensively in processed food and beverages, typically as vanilla or raspberry flavoring.
Why it's bad: This gross ingredient won't show up on the label. Instead, companies using it in making processed food list it as "natural flavoring." This poses a dilemma for vegans and vegetarians—and anyone who wants to avoid eating any creature's anal excretions.
Sex Hormones In Milk
What it is: Today's cows produce double the amount of milk they did just 40 years ago, thanks largely to a genetically engineered, synthetic hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST.
Where it is: It could be in milk that's not organic or not labeled as rBST free.
Why it's bad: Scientists link rBST to prostate, breast, and colon cancers. It's banned in other countries, and although still legal here, many dairies are moving away from it due to consumer demand. Choose organic milk to ensure that the cows producing your milk are fed a diet free of antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides.
What it is: Phthalates are plasticizing chemicals used in everything from pesticides and fragranced soaps and shampoos to nail polish and vinyl shower curtains.
Where it is: A 2010 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectivesfound phthalates are winding up in our food, too. The source could be direct exposure to pesticides containing the hormone-disrupting chemical. Or to another potential source, human sewage sludge applied as a fertilizer to farm fields. The sludge can be tainted with shampoo chemicals that wash down the drain—it all winds up at the water-treatment plant, the source of the sludge. (Note: Use of human sewage sludge is banned in organic farming.)
Why it's bad: Phthalate exposure, even in small amounts, has been linked to behavioral problems in children, allergies and asthma, eczema, and unhealthy changes in our hormonal systems.
Human Hair and Feathers
What it is: L-cysteine is a non-essential amino acid made from dissolved human hair (often from China) or duck feathers.
Where it is: It's used as a commercial dough conditioner to improve the texture of breads and baked goods.
Why it's bad: Eating something derived from the human body violates Muslim beliefs. Hair and duck feathers pose an ethical dilemma for vegans, too.
Bake your own homemade bread (without hair and feathers) using bread recipes from the Rodale Recipe Finder.
What it is: Carmine, a bright red food colorant, is actually the crushed abdomen of the femaleDactylopius coccus, an African beetle-like insect.
Where it is: Look for it in red candies and red-tinted yogurts and juices (particularly ruby red juices)—it's often listed as carmine, crimson lake, cochineal, or natural red #4 on ingredient labels, according to Bradley.
Why it's bad: Not only is the thought of eating bug juice gross, but it also poses an ethical issue for some vegetarians and vegans.
What it is: Factory-farm conditions are rife with bacteria. On top of that, processing plants mix meat from hundreds or thousands of different cows, potentially creating a public health hazard in the mix. To try to make the meat "safer," industry typically puts the beef through an ammonia gas bath.
Where it is: The USDA deems the gross process safe enough, and allows the meat to be sold without any indication that it received the gas treatment. (The process is banned in meats earning organic certification.)
Why it's bad: You might order your burger with pickles or lettuce, but you likely don't want a side of ammonia, a poisonous gas. The kicker? Evidence suggests that blasting beef with it might not even be fully effective at killing germs. Look for organic, pasture-raised meats for a safer option. Often, you can buy these meats directly from local, sustainable farmers.
What it is: Many artificial food dyes found in hundreds of everyday foods are made from petroleum-derived materials.
Where it is: Dyes are used in cereals and candy to make them more "fun" for kids, in pickles to make them appear fresher, and in place of actual real ingredients in a variety of foods. Example? Betty Crocker Carrot Cake Mix is actually a carrot-free product, with "carrot flavored pieces" cooked up from corn syrup and artificial colors Yellow 6 and Red 40.
Why it's bad: Orange and purple food dyes have been shown to impair brain function, while other dyes have been linked to ADHD and behavioral problems in kids and brain cell toxicity. You're getting ripped off, too. It's cheaper for food companies to use fake dyes than real ingredients. (Tropicana Twister Cherry Berry Blast contains 0 percent berry and cherry juice, despite its name.)
What it is: Depending on where your shrimp comes from, it could be tainted with chemicals used to clean filthy shrimp farm pens. Just as gross, farmed shrimp from overseas is often full of antibiotics, mouse and rat hair, and pieces of insects.
Where it is: Contaminated shrimp tends to come from critters imported from overseas shrimp farms. If you're looking for safer options, choose domestic shrimp.
Why it's bad: Only about 2 percent of all imported seafood is inspected, meaning this nasty stuff is making its way onto your plate.
FDA has published a guide called the Defect Level Handbook that states exactly how much contamination is acceptable.
And, okay, at these levels, every single one of these things is harmless. But they're pretty disgusting, nonetheless.
- Canned pineapple can pack in up to 20% moldy fruit.
- Frozen broccoli must have an average of no more than 60 aphids or thrips or mites per 100 grams.
- Oregano can legally contain up to 1,250 insect fragments per 10 grams.
- Peanut Butter can contain one rodent hair per 100 grams.
- Cinnamon can carry up to 1 milligram of animal excrement per pound.
- Berries can harbor up to 4 larvae per 100 grams.
- Up to 10 percent of canned asparagus can harbor asparagus beetles or egg sacs.
- As much as five percent of your maraschino cherries can legally contain maggots.
- Tomato paste is considered bad only if more than 45 percent contains mold.
- Chocolate is tainted when it averages 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams.
Is ignorance bliss, or is it better to know what you are eating ? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29836000 |
January, 1918: Neufchateau Training Area
In January, 1918 the 26th “Yankee” Division concluded its preliminary training for the Western Front in the area of Neufchateau in the Vosges region of northeastern France. On January 23, word was suddenly received that the 26th Division had been assigned to reinforce the depleted XI Corps of the French 6th Army on the Chemin des Dames front, north of Soissons and the Aisne River. Hasty preparations were then made to complete the insurance forms, write home to loved ones and make ready for the move to the Front.
Read about the Neufchateau Training Area here. See original film of the 26th Division at Neufchateau here, including Sam himself standing Color Guard following Evening Parade [far right edge of frame at 06:19]. Also, read Sam’s January correspondence from Liffol-le-Grand as the winter continues, the men look forward to packages from home and Sam suddenly hears word that he and the boys are finally heading for the Front.
January, 1919: After the Armistice
On January 8, 1919 orders were received for the 26th Division to begin preparations for return to the United States. Movement orders were received on January 17, but the day prior to the 103rd Infantry’s scheduled departure, their commander Col. Percy W. Arnold was tragically killed in an accident. After burying their Colonel with full military honors and much sadness, by January 21 the troops were finally marching to the trains which carried them to the embarkation area near Le Mans.
Read about life After the Armistice here. Read Sam’s January correspondence from Sarrey, France here as he struggles with the weather, the boredom of waiting and the frustration of hearing that other units which only recently arrived in France have already returned home.
The Soldier’s Mail correspondence is published here according to the sequence in which it was written. Therefore, letters are organized in “reverse order” with the most recent at the top. To read them chronologically, readers should start at the bottom and work upwards. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29837000 |
Shots - Health Blog
Fri January 20, 2012
Researchers Agree To Temporary Halt For Bird Flu Experiments
Originally published on Mon January 23, 2012 3:41 pm
Scientists have said that they are voluntarily putting some controversial bird flu research on hold.
The move to suspend the work for 60 days comes in response to critics who say their work is dangerous.
People rarely get sick with bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, and when they do, they're generally not contagious.
But researchers wanted to know if this potentially deadly virus might evolve and start a dangerous pandemic. So they tweaked its genes and made viruses that spread more easily between lab animals.
Critics say that was irresponsible, in part because these now transmissible viruses might escape from the lab.
The scientists who did the work, as well as other flu experts from around the world, have just published a letter on the decision in two major research journals — Science and Nature.
"We recognize that we and the rest of the scientific community need to clearly explain the benefits of this important research and the measures taken to minimize its possible risks," the researchers write in the letter. "We propose to do so in an international forum in which the scientific community comes together to discuss and debate these issues."
During the pause, they say they will do no experiments with the lab-altered viruses, and they won't create any more like them.
Reports on the initial results and the possibility they might be published raised alarms about bioterrorism. "It's just a bad idea for scientists to turn a lethal virus into a lethal and highly contagious virus," Dr. Thomas Inglesby, a bioterrorism specialist and director of the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center told NPR in November. "And it's a second bad idea for them to publish how they did it so others can copy it."
In December, a federal advisory panel said key details of the work shouldn't be published.
Update 5:29 p.m.: In a statement, National Institutes of Health officials noted that the World Health Organization is organizing "a forum for the international scientific community to discuss these issues in the coming weeks." And the officials said, "We look forward to participating in this important dialogue." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29840000 |
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Mon February 27, 2012
Study: Climate Change Altering Bird Migration
There's more evidence that climate change is altering bird migration patterns. A new study from UNC-Chapel Hill finds some species along the east coast are migrating three-to-six days earlier than they were just ten years ago. Allen Hurlbert is an assistant professor of biology at UNC. He says birds face problems if they get the timing wrong.
Allen Hurlbert: Individuals arriving too early may face adverse conditions weather-wise, they may arrive and there are very limited resources there for them to eat. But individuals that arrive too late, they may face disadvantages in establishing breeding territories or finding high quality mates.
Hurlbert says the study also found some species are better at adapting than others. He says species that struggle to adjust could face threats to their populations. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29844000 |
Tiger conservation gains threatened by proposed dam
As opposition to the dam project builds, the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and WWF today released rare video footage of a tigress and her two cubs in Mae Wong National Park, close to the proposed dam construction site.
The 20-second footage, retrieved from camera traps in May, offers hope for the survival of the species and evidence of the success of joint efforts by the Thai government, public sector and communities to manage and restore Thailand’s western forest complex, a crucial tiger habitat.
“As tigers need large amounts of food, especially when they are nursing their young, the new footage indicates that prey in the Mae Wong-Klong Lan forests is abundant enough to support tiger reproduction and recovery,” said Rungnapa Phoonjampa, Manager of WWF-Thailand’s Mae Wong- Klong Lan National Parks Tiger Recovery Programme. “The camera traps captured many tiger prey species including gaur, barking deer, wild pig and deer, as well as other mammals, including tapir, serow, Fea's muntjac and elephant. In all over 30 mammal species were captured on film.”
Numbers of the Indochinese tiger, found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, are in steep decline due to shrinking habitat, the illicit trade in tiger parts for traditional medicines, and depletion of tiger prey species. Fewer than 300 wild tigers are estimated to remain in Thailand.
Camera traps are part of collective efforts by the DNP and WWF-Thailand to track the tiger population in this part of the Western Forest Complex, which includes 17 protected areas covering over 19,000 km². Camera trapping in Mae Wong has so far recorded the presence of 9 tigers and 2 cubs, much higher than initially expected by WWF researchers. One of these tigers was previously caught on camera in the Huay Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in July 2011, located 40 kilometres from Mae Wong, revealing the movement of tigers from Huay Kha Khaeng into Mae Wong.
The conservation efforts in Mae Wong and Klong Lan national parks build on commitments made at the 2010 Tiger Summit in St Petersburg, Russia. During this high-level Summit, the Thai government along with the 12 other tiger range states committed to doubling the numbers of wild tigers by 2022. They also presented the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, which aims to conserve and recover tiger populations and their prey and clamp down on poaching.
“The recent camera trap footage, along with the encouraging data we have on tiger prey species, shows the conservation work of the DNP and WWF-Thailand is on the right track,” added Rungnapa. “The Mae Wong and Klong Lan forests are not only critical tiger habitat, they are also home to other threatened species. By protecting the tigers, we really can protect so much more.”
However, the new THB 13 billion (US$400 million) dam project proposed for the Mae Wong river threatens the survival of Thailand’s tigers and conservation work in Mae Wong national park, as well as the adjacent UNESCO World Heritage Site of Huay Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary.
The dam will destroy over 10 km² of the national park, submerging an area where sambar deer, an important prey species for tigers, are found and had through successful conservation efforts recovered to a healthy population. New access roads would also risk increasing poaching pressure.
WWF and other NGOs opposing the dam project have asked the government to consider alternative measures to mitigate flood and drought problems. These measures include better water management, improved irrigation, and building smaller dams outside protected areas.
“Years of successful conservation efforts will be washed away if the dam construction goes ahead, “added Rungnapa. “The Mae Wong dam must be stopped or we risk losing our tigers and so much more that Thailand loves and reveres.”
For more information, please contact:
Dr Rungnapa Phoonjampa, Manager, Mae Wong-Klong Lan National Parks Tiger Recovery Programme, WWF Thailand, Tel. +66 86 612 1789, e- mail: email@example.com
Ua-phan Chamnan-ua, Communications Manager, WWF Thailand, Tel. +66 2 619 8534-37 Ext 106, +66 81 928 2426, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29847000 |
Lower Danube Green Corridor
Europe's most ambitious wetland project
- Effective protection for 1 million ha of existing and new protected areas.
- Restoration of 224,000 ha of natural floodplain.
- Promotion of sustainable use and development along the lower Danube.
Why protect and restore wetlands?Wetlands are hotspots of biodiversity and provide a myriad of benefits and services, including flood protection, drinking water, nutrient removal, tourism and recreation, fish and fowl. 80% of Danube's wetlands have been lost in the past century because of human intervention. In addition, large parts of the Danube are experiencing river bed erosion due to gravel extraction, dredging and dams, contributing to a lowering of water tables.
Lower Danube Green Corridor
Facilitated by WWF, the Lower Danube Green Corridor Agreement was signed in 2000 by the governments of Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova, recognizing a need and shared responsibility to protect and manage in a sustainable way one of the most outstanding biodiversity regions in the world. The Lower Danube Green Corridor Declaration pledged to boost protection for 775,000 ha of existing protected areas and bring another 160,000 ha under protection along the river’s final 1000 kilometres.
Since 2000, WWF's activities have been focused on practical implementation of the Lower Danube Green Corridor through coordination and policy work with governments and other authorities; demonstration projects; and work with local stakeholders in particular to promote sustainable local development.
Along the Lower Danube Green CorridorAfter squeezing through the Iron Gates gorge and dams between Serbia and Romania, the Danube flows free for 1,000 kilometers through Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before emptying into the Black Sea. The Lower Danube is one of the last free-flowing stretches of river in Europe.
Dependent on this part of the river are not only Europe’s greatest natural treasures, but also the 29 million people who live in the Lower Danube River basin – people who directly benefit from the many services that the river provides, from drinking water to natural resources and recreation.
In the Lower Danube the natural dynamics of the river have formed and re-formed nearly 200 islands that are home to rich floodplain ecosystems. The islands are important elements of the Danube migration corridor – stepping stones for fish, fowl and other fauna as well as flora on their journeys up and down the river.
The Danube’s greatest jewel is its delta, Europe’s largest remaining natural wetland area and, as regarded by WWF, among the 200 most valuable ecological areas on earth. A total of 5,137 species have been identified along the lower stretch of the river, including 42 different species of mammals, and 85 species of fish.
The Lower Danube and Danube Delta are especially important as breeding and resting places for some 331 species of birds, including the rare Dalmatian pelican, the white-tailed eagle, as well as 90% of the world population of red-breasted geese.
Implementation to dateIn 2010, 10 years after the agreement was signed, the level of achievement was much higher than expected, with some 1.4 million ha brought under protection to the benefit of some of Europe’s most outstanding wildlife and in enhancing water security, flood control and recreational opportunities for the area’s 29 million people.
Running behind target however was the task of wetlands restoration with the countries slightly more than a quarter of the way to their target of restoring 224,000 ha of former wetlands.
- Meander restoration is taking place on 3 of the Danube’s tributaries. These model projects are the first of their kind in Bulgaria.
- With the support of the National Forestry Board, major steps have been taken to protect and sustainably manage floodplain forests, including successful restoration of the natural oak forest on Bulgaria's Danube islands.
- Dry and unproductive land in the Danube Delta has been transformed through restoration projects. It has turned into a mosaic of habitats that offer shelter and food for many species, including rare birds and valuable fish species, like pike and carp. The economic benefits of the restoration works in Babina and Cernovca (3,680ha), in terms of increased natural resources productivity (fish, reed, grasslands) and tourism, is about €140,000 per year.
- Floodplains in the south of Romania will be reconnected to the Danube and land use changes will be promoted to offer a potential for sustainable tourism, natural reed harvesting, fishing and other sustainable economic activities.
- A pilot project to demonstrate integrated management of the floodplain forest combining nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources will be launched on the Danube islands.
- The restoration of the island of Carasuhat will begin in 2012.
- A Vision for the Protection and Restoration of the Danube Delta was developed by WWF and relevant authorities, including the Odessa Provincial Government and water authorities and published in 2003. Practical implementation of the vision has moved forward since then.
- Dikes on Tataru Island in the Danube Delta were removed in 2003, restoring natural flooding to 800 ha. The former wetland areas have quickly revived. A herd of hardy cows has been introduced by WWF and the Izmail Forest Administration, which controls the island, to help manage vegetation as well as provide income. Tourism infrastructure is being developed on the island and the first tourists are arriving for angling and other recreation.
- Lake Katlabuh (10,000 ha) is being reconnected to the Danube system through construction by WWF and the Odessa Water Management Authority of a bridge and removal of a dike. The lake, which was separated from the natural flooding of the river in the 1970s, has been slowly dying, threatening fish stocks in the lake.
- The restoration of Ermakov Island is also completed.
- With the support of the local community, a new management plan is being implemented at Lake Beleu scientific reserve. This first attempt for an integrated management of wetlands will be expanded in the Lower Prut area as part of a Trilateral Biosphere Reserve that is planned between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29848000 |
|Harnessing the Bacterial Power of Nanomagnets|
Nanometer-size magnets have wide-ranging uses, from directed cancer therapy and drug delivery systems to magnetic recording media and transducers. Such applications require the production of nanoparticles with well-controlled size and tunable magnetic properties. The synthesis of such nanomagnets, however, often requires elevated temperatures and toxic solvents, resulting in high environmental and energy costs. Metal-reducing microorganisms offer an untapped resource to produce these materials in an environmentally benign way. At the ALS, researchers from the University of Manchester have shown that Fe(III)-reducing bacteria can be used to synthesize magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with high yields, narrow size distribution, and magnetic properties equal to the best chemically synthesized materials.
A relatively unexplored resource for magnetic nanomaterial production is a type of subsurface microorganism capable of producing large quantities of nanoscale magnetite (Fe3O4) at ambient temperatures. Metal-reducing bacteria live in soils deficient in oxygen and conserve energy for growth through the oxidation of hydrogen or organic electron donors, coupled to the reduction of oxidized metals such as Fe(III)-bearing minerals. This can result in the formation of magnetite via the extracellular reduction of amorphous Fe(III)-oxyhydroxides, releasing soluble Fe(II) and completely recrystallizing the amorphous mineral into a new phase.
The Manchester team developed a method for producing large quantities of highly crystalline magnetite and cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles using the Fe(III)-reducing bacterium, Geobacter sulfurreducens. In particular, they demonstrated that cobalt ferrite nanoparticles with the high coercivity (i.e., resistance to demagnetization) important for applications can be manufactured through this biotechnological route. Three samples containing increasing amounts of Co in the biogenic magnetite structure were analyzed. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the material is nanocrystalline. Moreover, the coercivity of the samples increases with increasing Co content, so that it can be tuned for specific applications.
The cation distribution in the ferrite nanoparticles was investigated using x ray absorption (XA) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the Fe L2,3 and Co L2,3 edges, measured at ALS Beamline 4.0.2. An XMCD spectrum is obtained as the difference between two XA spectra measured in opposite external magnetic fields. Magnetite has an inverse spinel crystal structure, which contains tetrahedral (Td) and octahedral (Oh) sites accommodating Fe2+ and Fe3+ cations. Each specific cation in the spinel structure generates a unique XMCD signature determined by its valence state (number of d electrons), site symmetry (i.e., Td or Oh), and moment direction, which can be computed using atomic multiplet calculations. By fitting a weighted sum of these calculated spectra to the measured XMCD spectra, the site occupations of the Fe cations can be obtained.
The biogenic materials show a striking change with increasing Co amount, namely a decrease in intensity of the leading negative peak in the Fe L3 edge, which implies that Co is predominantly replacing Fe2+ cations in octahedral sites. Similarly, the site occupancy and oxidation state of the Co can be directly assessed by examining the Co L2,3 XA and XMCD spectra. The close similarity with the spectra for synthetically produced CoFe2O4 thin films confirmed that the bacteria were able to suitably accommodate Co in the ferrite structure with the Co2+ residing primarily on Oh sites.
The XMCD measurements indicate a dramatic enhancement in the magnetic properties of biogenically produced nanoparticles when large quantities of Co are introduced into the spinel structure, a major advance over previous biomineralization studies. Inclusion of other transition metals into the spinel structure by Fe(III)-reducing bacteria to tailor the magnetic properties of nanoferrites could lead to a suite of materials required for different technological uses. The successful production of highly ordered crystalline nanoparticulate ferrites demonstrates the potential for scaled-up industrial manufacture of nanoparticles using environmentally benign and energy-efficient methodologies.
Research conducted by V.S. Coker, N.D. Telling, R.A.D. Pattrick, C.I. Pearce, J.R. Lloyd, F. Tuna, and R.E.P. Winpenny (University of Manchester, UK); G. van der Laan (Diamond Light Source, UK); and E. Arenholz (ALS).
Research funding: UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. Operation of the ALS is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
Publication about this research: V.S. Coker, N.D. Telling, G. van der Laan, R.A.D. Pattrick, C.I. Pearce, E. Arenholz, F. Tuna, R. Winpenny, and J.R. Lloyd, "Harnessing the extracellular bacterial production of nanoscale cobalt ferrite with exploitable magnetic properties," ACS Nano3, 1922 (2009). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29849000 |
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Giuseppe Peano's parents worked on a farm and Giuseppe was born in the farmhouse 'Tetto Galant' about 5 km from Cuneo. He attended the village school in Spinetta then he moved up to the school in Cuneo, making the 5km journey there and back on foot every day. His parents bought a house in Cuneo but his father continued to work the fields at Tetto Galant with the help of a brother and sister of Giuseppe, while his mother stayed in Cuneo with Giuseppe and his older brother.
Giuseppe's mother had a brother who was a priest and lawyer in Turin and, when he realised that Giuseppe was a very talented child, he took him to Turin in 1870 for his secondary schooling and to prepare him for university studies. Giuseppe took exams at Ginnasio Cavour in 1873 and then was a pupil at Liceo Cavour from where he graduated in 1876 and, in that year, he entered the University of Turin.
Among Peano's teachers in his first year at the University of Turin was D'Ovidio who taught him analytic geometry and algebra. In his second year he was taught calculus by Angelo Genocchi and descriptive geometry by Giuseppe Bruno. Peano continued to study pure mathematics in his third year and found that he was the only student to do so. The others had continued their studies at the Engineering School which Peano himself had originally intended to do. In his third year Francesco Faà di Bruno taught him analysis and D'Ovidio taught geometry. Among his teachers in his final year were again D'Ovidio with a further geometry course and Francesco Siacci with a mechanics course. On 29 September 1880 Peano graduated as doctor of mathematics.
Peano joined the staff at the University of Turin in 1880, being appointed as assistant to D'Ovidio. He published his first mathematical paper in 1880 and a further three papers the following year. Peano was appointed assistant to Genocchi for 1881-82 and it was in 1882 that Peano made a discovery that would be typical of his style for many years, he discovered an error in a standard definition.
Genocchi was by this time quite old and in relatively poor health and Peano took over some of his teaching. Peano was about to teach the students about the area of a curved surface when he realised that the definition in Serret's book, which was the standard text for the course, was incorrect. Peano immediately told Genocchi of his discovery to be told that Genocchi already knew. Genocchi had been informed the previous year by Schwarz who seems to have been the first to find Serret's error.
In 1884 there was published a text based on Genocchi's lectures at Turin. This book Course in Infinitesimal Calculus although based on Genocchi's lectures was edited by Peano and indeed it has much in it written by Peano himself. The book itself states on the title page that it is:-
... published with additions by Dr Giuseppe Peano.
Genocchi seemed somewhat unhappy that the work came out under his name for he wrote:-
... the volume contains important additions, some modifications, and various annotations, which are placed first. So that nothing will be attributed to me which is not mine, I must declare that I have had no part in the compilation of the aforementioned book and that everything is due to that outstanding young man Dr Giuseppe Peano ...
Peano received his qualification to be a university professor in December 1884 and he continued to teach further courses, some for Genocchi whose health had not recovered sufficiently to allow him to return to the University.
In 1886 Peano proved that if f (x, y) is continuous then the first order differential equation dy/dx = f (x, y) has a solution. The existence of solutions with stronger hypothesis on f had been given earlier by Cauchy and then Lipschitz. Four years later Peano showed that the solutions were not unique, giving as an example the differential equation dy/dx = 3y2/3 , with y(0) = 0.
In addition to his teaching at the University of Turin, Peano began lecturing at the Military Academy in Turin in 1886. The following year he discovered, and published, a method for solving systems of linear differential equations using successive approximations. However Émile Picard had independently discovered this method and had credited Schwarz with discovering the method first. In 1888 Peano published the book Geometrical Calculus which begins with a chapter on mathematical logic. This was his first work on the topic that would play a major role in his research over the next few years and it was based on the work of Schröder, Boole and Charles Peirce. A more significant feature of the book is that in it Peano sets out with great clarity the ideas of Grassmann which certainly were set out in a rather obscure way by Grassmann himself. This book contains the first definition of a vector space given with a remarkably modern notation and style and, although it was not appreciated by many at the time, this is surely a quite remarkable achievement by Peano.
In 1889 Peano published his famous axioms, called Peano axioms, which defined the natural numbers in terms of sets. These were published in a pamphlet Arithmetices principia, nova methodo exposita which, according to were:-
... at once a landmark in the history of mathematical logic and of the foundations of mathematics.
The pamphlet was written in Latin and nobody has been able to give a good reason for this, other than :-
... it appears to be an act of sheer romanticism, perhaps the unique romantic act in his scientific career.
Genocchi died in 1889 and Peano expected to be appointed to fill his chair. He wrote to Casorati, who he believed to be part of the appointing committee, for information only to discover that there was a delay due to the difficulty of finding enough members to act on the committee. Casorati had been approached but his health was not up to the task. Before the appointment could be made Peano published another stunning result.
He invented 'space-filling' curves in 1890, these are continuous surjective mappings from [0,1] onto the unit square. Hilbert, in 1891, described similar space-filling curves. It had been thought that such curves could not exist. Cantor had shown that there is a bijection between the interval [0,1] and the unit square but, shortly after, Netto had proved that such a bijection cannot be continuous. Peano's continuous space-filling curves cannot be 1-1 of course, otherwise Netto's theorem would be contradicted. Hausdorff wrote of Peano's result in Grundzüge der Mengenlehre in 1914:-
This is one of the most remarkable facts of set theory.
In December 1890 Peano's wait to be appointed to Genocchi's chair was over when, after the usual competition, Peano was offered the post. In 1891 Peano founded Rivista di matematica, a journal devoted mainly to logic and the foundations of mathematics. The first paper in the first part is a ten page article by Peano summarising his work on mathematical logic up to that time.
Peano had a great skill in seeing that theorems were incorrect by spotting exceptions. Others were not so happy to have these errors pointed out and one such was his colleague Corrado Segre. When Corrado Segre submitted an article to Rivista di matematica Peano pointed out that some of the theorems in the article had exceptions. Segre was not prepared to just correct the theorems by adding conditions that ruled out the exceptions but defended his work saying that the moment of discovery was more important than a rigorous formulation. Of course this was so against Peano's rigorous approach to mathematics that he argued strongly:-
I believe it new in the history of mathematics that authors knowingly use in their research propositions for which exceptions are known, or for which they have no proof...
It was not only Corrado Segre who suffered from Peano's outstanding ability to spot lack of rigour. Of course it was the precision of his thinking, using the exactness of his mathematical logic, that gave Peano this clarity of thought. Peano pointed out an error in a proof by Hermann Laurent in 1892 and, in the same year, reviewed a book by Veronese ending the review with the comment:-
We could continue at length enumerating the absurdities that the author has piled up. But these errors, the lack of precision and rigour throughout the book take all value away from it.
From around 1892, Peano embarked on a new and extremely ambitious project, namely the Formulario Mathematico. He explained in the March 1892 part of Rivista di matematica his thinking:-
Of the greatest usefulness would be the publication of collections of all the theorems now known that refer to given branches of the mathematical sciences ... Such a collection, which would be long and difficult in ordinary language, is made noticeably easier by using the notation of mathematical logic ...
In many ways this grand idea marks the end of Peano's extraordinary creative work. It was a project that was greeted with enthusiasm by a few and with little interest by most. Peano began trying to convert all those around him to believe in the importance of this project and this had the effect of annoying them. However Peano and his close associates, including his assistants, Vailati, Burali-Forti, Pieri and Fano soon became deeply involved with the work.
When describing a new edition of the Formulario Mathematico in 1896 Peano writes:-
Each professor will be able to adopt this Formulario as a textbook, for it ought to contain all theorems and all methods. His teaching will be reduced to showing how to read the formulas, and to indicating to the students the theorems that he wishes to explain in his course.
When the calculus volume of the Formulario was published Peano, as he had indicated, began to use it for his teaching. This was the disaster that one would expect. Peano, who was a good teacher when he began his lecturing career, became unacceptable to both his students and his colleagues by the style of his teaching. One of his students, who was actually a great admirer of Peano, wrote:-
But we students knew that this instruction was above our heads. We understood that such a subtle analysis of concepts, such a minute criticism of the definitions used by other authors, was not adapted for beginners, and especially was not useful for engineering students. We disliked having to give time and effort to the "symbols" that in later years we might never use.
The Military Academy ended his contract to teach there in 1901 and although many of his colleagues at the university would have also liked to stop his teaching there, nothing was possible under the way that the university was set up. The professor was a law unto himself in his own subject and Peano was not prepared to listen to his colleagues when they tried to encourage him to return to his old style of teaching. The Formulario Mathematico project was completed in 1908 and one has to admire what Peano achieved but although the work contained a mine of information it was little used.
However, perhaps Peano's greatest triumph came in 1900. In that year there were two congresses held in Paris. The first was the International Congress of Philosophy which opened in Paris on 1 August. It was a triumph for Peano and Russell, who attended the Congress, wrote in his autobiography:-
The Congress was the turning point of my intellectual life, because there I met Peano. I already knew him by name and had seen some of his work, but had not taken the trouble to master his notation. In discussions at the Congress I observed that he was always more precise than anyone else, and that he invariably got the better of any argument on which he embarked. As the days went by, I decided that this must be owing to his mathematical logic. ... It became clear to me that his notation afforded an instrument of logical analysis such as I had been seeking for years ...
The day after the Philosophy Congress ended the Second International Congress of Mathematicians began. Peano remained in Paris for this Congress and listened to Hilbert's talk setting out ten of the 23 problems which appeared in his paper aimed at giving the agenda for the next century. Peano was particularly interested in the second problem which asked if the axioms of arithmetic could be proved consistent.
Even before the Formulario Mathematico project was completed Peano was putting in place the next major project of his life. In 1903 Peano expressed interest in finding a universal, or international, language and proposed an artificial language "Latino sine flexione" based on Latin but stripped of all grammar. He compiled the vocabulary by taking words from English, French, German and Latin. In fact the final edition of the Formulario Mathematico was written in Latino sine flexione which is another reason the work was so little used.
Peano's career was therefore rather strangely divided into two periods. The period up to 1900 is one where he showed great originality and a remarkable feel for topics which would be important in the development of mathematics. His achievements were outstanding and he had a modern style quite out of place in his own time. However this feel for what was important seemed to leave him and after 1900 he worked with great enthusiasm on two projects of great difficulty which were enormous undertakings but proved quite unimportant in the development of mathematics.
Of his personality Kennedy writes in :-
... I am fascinated by his gentle personality, his ability to attract lifelong disciples, his tolerance of human weakness, his perennial optimism. ... Peano may not only be classified as a 19th century mathematician and logician, but because of his originality and influence, must be judged one of the great scientists of that century.
Although Peano is a founder of mathematical logic, the German mathematical philosopher Gottlob Frege is today considered the father of mathematical logic.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
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Is it rational to be ethical? Many philosophers have wrestled with this most fundamental of questions, attempting to clarify whether humans are well served by ethical rules or whether they weigh us down. Would we really be better off if we all gave in to the desire to just watch out for our own interests and take the greatest advantage to ourselves whenever we can? Ayn Rand, for one, thought that the only rational behavior is egoism, and books aiming at increasing personal wealth (presumably at the expense of someone else’s wealth) regularly make the bestsellers list.
Plato, Kant, and John Stuart Mill, to mention a few, have tried to show that there is more to life than selfishness. In the Republic, Plato has Socrates defending his philosophy against the claim that justice and fairness are only whatever rich and powerful people decide they are. But the arguments of his opponents—that we can see plenty of examples of unjust people who have a great life and of just ones who suffer in equally great manner—seem more convincing than the high-mindedness of the father of philosophy.
Kant attempted to reject what he saw as the nihilistic attitude of Christianity, where you are good now because you will get an infinite payoff later, and to establish independent rational foundations for morality. Therefore he suggested that in order to decide if something is ethical or not one has to ask what would happen if everybody were adopting the same behavior. However, Kant never explained why his version of rational ethics is indeed rational. Rand would object that establishing double standards, one for yourself and one for the rest of the universe, makes perfect sense.
Mill also tried to establish ethics on firm rational foundations, in his case improving on Jeremy Bentham’s idea of utilitarianism. In chapter two of his book Utilitarianism, Mill writes: “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” Leaving aside the thorny question of what happiness is and the difficulty of actually making such calculations, one still has to answer the fundamental question of why one should care about increasing the average degree of happiness instead of just one’s own.
Things got worse with the advent of modern evolutionary biology. It seemed for a long time that Darwin’s theory would provide the naturalistic basis for the ultimate selfish universe: nature red in tooth and claw evokes images of “every man for himself,” in pure Randian style. In fact, Herbert Spencer popularized the infamous doctrine of “Social Darwinism” (which Darwin never espoused) well before Ayn Rand wrote Atlas Shrugged.
Recently, however, several scientists and philosophers have been taking a second look at evolutionary theory and its relationship with ethics, and are finding new ways of realizing the project of Plato, Kant, and Mill of deriving a fundamentally rational way of being ethical. Elliot Sober and David Sloan Wilson, in their Unto Others: the Psychology and Evolution of Unselfish Behavior, as well as Peter Singer in A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution and Cooperation, argue that human beings evolved as social animals, not as lone, self-reliant brutes. In a society, cooperative behavior (or at least, a balance between cooperation and selfishness) will be selected in favor, while looking out exclusively for number one will be ostracized because it reduces the fitness of most individuals and of the group as a whole.
All of this sounds good, but does it actually work? A recent study published in Science by Martin Nowak, Karen Page and Karl Sigmund provides a splendid example of how mathematical evolutionary theory can be applied to ethics, and how in fact social evolution favors fair and cooperative behavior. Nowak and coworkers tackled the problem posed by the so-called “ultimatum game.” In it, two players are offered the possibility of winning a pot of money, but they have to agree on how to divide it. One of the players, the proposer, makes an offer of a split ($90 for me, $10 for you, for example) to the other player; the other player, the responder, has the option of accepting or rejecting. If she rejects, the game is over and neither of them gets any money.
It is easy to demonstrate that the rational strategy is for the proposer to behave egotistically and to suggest a highly uneven split in which she takes most of the money, and for the responder to accept. The alternative is that neither of them gets anything. However, when real human beings from a variety of cultures and using a panoply of rewards play the game the outcome is invariably a fair share of the prize. This would seem prima facie evidence that the human sense of fair play overwhelms mere rationality and thwarts the rationalistic prediction. On the other hand, it would also provide Ayn Rand with an argument that most humans are simply stupid, because they don’t appreciate the math behind the game.
Nowak and colleagues, however, simulated the evolution of the game in a situation in which several players get to interact repeatedly. That is, they considered a social situation rather than isolated encounters. If the players have memory of previous encounters (i.e., each player builds a “reputation” in the group), then the winning strategy is to be fair because people are willing to punish dishonest proposers, which increases their own reputation for fairness and damages the proposer’s reputation for the next round. This means that—given the social environment—it is rational to be less selfish toward your neighbors.
While we are certainly far from a satisfying mathematical and evolutionary theory of morality, it seems that science does, after all, have something to say about optimal ethical rules. And the emerging picture is one of fairness—not egotism—as the smart choice to make. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29853000 |
Contrasting colors are used to indicate various anatomic structures in the human brain, making this high quality model perfect for beginning anatomy studies of the human brain. Made of unbreakable vinyl, life-size and anatomically accurate. The human ...
This basic brain is medially divided, anatomically accurate, life-size and unbreakable! The structures of the brain are shown in one color, providing an introduction to the human nervous system and anatomy of the brain. Structures of ...
This 4-part brain is medially divided. All structures of the brain are hand-painted, numbered and identified in a product manual. The brain's right half can be disassembled into:
- Frontal with parietal lobes
- Brain stem with temporal and
A very detailed model of the human brain which is medially divided. Both halves of this brain can be disassembled into:
- Frontal with parietal lobes
- Temporal with occipital lobes
- Half of brain stem
- Half of cerebellum
This midsagittally sectioned model is an original anatomic cast of a real human brain. The components of the brain's left half are:
- Frontal and parietal lobe
- Temporal and occipital lobe
- Encephalic trunk
The C29 model shows a rat brain in approx. 6-fold enlargement. Sectioned medially, it can be disassembled into two halves.
The right half of the model shows the structures of the cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem, each of which is color-coded for ...
The Spinal cord model illustrates the composition of the spinal cord, magnified to a scale of about 5:1. The spinal cord is formed by a central channel surrounded by "gray matter" with an outer layer of "white matter". The base of ...
This glass block brain can add a spark to any office setting. Modern data and laser technologies make this filigreed masterwork possible! Selected 3B models are presented in 3D inside a cube made of high-quality optical glass. An unusually elegant gift ...
This colorful anatomical chart details the human vegetative nervous system. Not only is the function of this part of the nervous system explained on this poster but the role the vegetative nervous system plays in the function of each organ is detailed ...
Item: VR1610UU
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This colorful anatomical poster details Headaches. Related anatomy of the human head is shown in full detail. The chart includes information about causes of headaches and different types of headaches. Printed on premium glossy (200g) paper. Convenient ...
Item: VR1714UU | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29855000 |
Ya'akov Gal, Avi Pfeffer
Reciprocity is a key determinant of human behavior and has been well documented in the psychological and behavioral economics literature. This paper shows that reciprocity has significant implications for computer agents that interact with people over time. It proposes a model for predicting people's actions in multiple bilateral rounds of interactions. The model represents reciprocity as a tradeoff between two social factors: the extent to which players reward and retaliate others' past actions (retrospective reasoning), and their estimate about the future ramifications of their actions (prospective reasoning). The model is trained and evaluated over a series of negotiation rounds that vary players' possible strategies as well as their benefit from potential strategies at each round. Results show that reasoning about reciprocal behavior significantly improves the predictive power of the model, enabling it to outperform alternative models that do not reason about reciprocity, or that play various game theoretic equilibria. These results indicate that computers that interact with people need to represent and to learn the social factors that affect people's play when they interact over time.
Subjects: 4. Cognitive Modeling; 7.1 Multi-Agent Systems
Submitted: Apr 24, 2007 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29861000 |
How to find a missing number in a sequence
- Determine if the order of numbers is ascending (getting larger in value) or descending (becoming smaller
- Find the difference between numbers that are next to each other.
- Use the difference between numbers to find the missing number.
Example: Find the missing number: 15, 13, ?, 9
- The order of numbers is going down or descending.
- The difference between numbers is 15 - 13 = 2
- Since the order is descending subtract 2 from 13. The missing number may be 11.
- The missing number is 11 since it is 2 more than the last number 9. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29862000 |
Holding the harp - the harp with the floor, the player is sitting at the harp body allows it to rely on the right shoulder. In this position, the left side of harpist can reach even the bottom line, while the right-hand man is able to achieve the higher strings.
Playing the harp - the harp has a nylon or gut strings played with the first three fingers and thumb. The fingers are numbered from 1 to 4 with the thumb is number 1. The thumb is usually higher than the other fingers, which makes it easier to move. Your elbows should be slightly raised, so that your wrists straight. Make sure you're sitting in a chair that supports your back, to avoid possible damage. Harp plucked strings, usually with chords or arpeggios.
Caring for the harp - it's always a good idea to keep the harp in a safe place, not the back door or in your kitchen. Avoid places that are too wet or cold. If you do not use the harp, your shop, just in case. If the pedal harp, make sure the pedal is all flat before storing it. If you are transporting your harp, make sure you put it in your car with the top tray. You can wipe the harp, from time to time to dry and clean, soft cloth. If you notice any damage, go to the harp of technical experts. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29868000 |
Allergy tests are used to find the substances that are causing an allergic reaction. An allergic reaction is an immune system response to a substance in the environment known as a trigger.
The healthcare professional may perform or order allergy tests on people with suspected allergies. Skin testing is usually not done on children younger than age 3. It may be done on older individuals to determine the triggers that are causing allergic reactions in the person. Before the procedure, a person should not take medicines, such as antihistamines, that could block a skin reaction and thus cause the test to turn out falsely negative.
There are many methods of allergy testing. Skin tests are used to identify specific allergens that are known to cause symptoms. The healthcare professional will select skin tests based on a person's particular history. Test solutions are made from extracts of various inhaled, ingested, or injected substances. Test solutions available include extracts from tree, grass, and weed pollens; dust mites; animal dander; insect venoms; foods; and penicillin and penicillin derivatives.
For the prick skin test, a small amount of the substance thought to cause the allergic reaction is placed on the skin. This substance is called an allergen. The skin is then pricked or scratched. This allows the substance to get under the skin's surface. If the person is allergic, the skin will usually get red and swell within about 20 minutes.
Another skin test is called an intradermal test. A small amount of the allergen is injected beneath the skin. This more sensitive test is often used when the prick test has produced a negative or uncertain result in reaction to suspected inhaled allergens.
An elimination diet test may be used to diagnose food allergies. For this test, a person goes several weeks without eating any of the foods that may be causing the problem. Foods are returned to the diet one at a time. If allergic symptoms come back after eating a certain food, that food is probably causing the problem. If a specific food is suspected, it can be given to the person under controlled conditions. If a reaction occurs, this food is the likely cause.
The best way to test for food allergies is by using an oral food challenge. This test can be used even with small children. The suspected food is removed from the diet. After 4 to 5 days, the food should be eaten on an empty stomach. This is the best time to watch for a reaction. Parents can keep a food diary for their children. This can help identify the foods causing the problems.
Blood tests measure antibodies to a particular allergen in blood. One blood test for allergies is called a radioallergosorbent test, abbreviated as RAST. In a true allergic reaction, substances called IgE antibodies appear in the bloodstream. The body makes IgE antibodies to attack bacteria and other harmful substances. RAST measures allergen-specific IgE. Compared to skin tests, RAST has the disadvantage of limited allergen selection and reduced sensitivity.
A newer version of a blood test is called the Immunocap. A recent study indicated that the Immunocap test was significantly more accurate than the older blood tests. Another study compared the accuracy of skin testing to blood testing for cat allergy. This study reported that skin testing and blood testing were approximately equal in accuracy.
Other blood tests, such as an eosinophil count, may be used to support an allergy diagnosis. Provocative testing is the direct application of an allergen to the eyes, nose, lungs, or gastrointestinal tract by oral administration. It may be helpful in cases where a person has had a large number of positive skin tests. Provocative testing is the only way to check for allergies to food additives. This type of testing may produce a severe allergic reaction and is used rarely. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29873000 |
Adaptive Release - Create Multiple Rules for a Content Item
Adaptive release allows instructors and course designers to release course content based on rules that they create; in other words, you can control what content is made available to which students and under what conditions they are allowed to see it. Rules can be created for individuals or groups, based on criteria related to date, time, assessment scores or attempts, and the review status of other items in the course.
By the time you finish this tutorial you should be able to
1. Create Multiple Rules
2. Set Criteria
2. Use an items contextual menu to access Adaptive Release. To do this select the Double Down Arrow positioned next to the item title.
- Adaptive Release – used to create basic rules for an item. In this tool only one rule per item may be created.
For instance, instructors can create one rule containing multiple criteria which makes users satisfy all restriction before gaining access to the item.
- Adaptive Release: Advanced – this feature allows instructors to create multiple rules per item. For example, if different rules apply for different Groups in a course this feature should be used.
When an item has multiple rules applied to it users need to satisfy the criteria of only one rule to gain access.
3. For the purpose of this tutorial we will use Adaptive Release: Advanced to create a rule with multiple criteria and multiple rules.
6. A success message appears at the top of the screen. Now Select Create Criteria. You can create criteria according to Date, Grade, Membership and Review Status. For content to be visible to a user the user must satisfy all the criteria in a rule.
7. Membership Criteria allows content to be displayed to specific users and Groups. Use the Username field to enter individual users and the Course-Groups field to select Available Course Groups.
All Groups can be selected, even those that are unavailable. To Select one or more course groups highlight the Group Name and select the Right Arrow.
8. Now add another criterion. Adding criteria to the rule will narrow the ability of users to view the content item. Select Create Criteria > Date.
10. When multiple criteria are added to a rule. The word AND appears between each criteria. This means that all of the rules criteria must be met before the item is released.
11. Now Create a New Rule. In creating a new rule a different option or path for releasing the content will be available. The content will be released if any one of the rules is satisfied.
14. Content items can be released based on an attempt (A) or score (B).
For example, an Instructor may prepare a pre-test for Students to prepare for the Final Exam. A Student cannot take the Final Exam until the pre-test has been attempted, regardless of the grade. Instructors can also restrict access to an item until a certain score or score range is reached on a test or quiz.
15. Select a Grade Center column, Set a condition and Submit.
16. On the Adaptive Release: Advanced page you can see that when multiple rules are added the word OR appears between each rule. This means that one of the rules must be satisfied for the item to be released. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29874000 |
What took place this past month at Hadassah Hospital’s Department of Neurology was not expected even by the most senior neurologists.
An ALS patient, a chronic disease with no known cure that causes a slow and painful process of muscular dystrophy- who was wheelchair-bound and had difficulty speaking and breathing, underwent an complete turnaround. From being handicapped and dependent on others for his most basic daily needs, suddenly Rabbi Rafoel Shmuelevitz stood on his feet, and returned to teaching at the flagship Mir Yeshiva, which he heads.
The treatment that is responsible, it appears, for the dramatic improvement in his condition was developed by the Israeli biotechnology company Brainstorm, and is based on stem cells. This is the first time that someone who has been treated with stem cells has regained abilities which were previously lost. Despite the great caution that is guiding the doctors as they discuss the rabbi’s condition, it is difficult to ignore the excitement which surrounds even the most stern of staff members when they talk about the turnaround that the rabbi has experienced…
Rabbi Rafoel Shmuelevitz recalls, “I couldn’t talk. It was difficult for me to breathe, and my lack of balance made it impossible to get up from my wheelchair. Even when they supported me I was able to walk only with difficulty. My students couldn’t understand me when I spoke.”…
In 2010, after a series of tests at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic, his doctors told him the difficult news, Rabbi Shmuelevitz had ALS [also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease], which is considered the most severe known neuromuscular disease. ALS patients gradually lose all of their motor abilities, until they eventually lose their ability to breathe and die from suffocation. The vast majority of patients die within three to five years following diagnosis. A small number of patients, for example physicist Stephen Hawking, manage to survive for years, but are almost unable to function.
“The American doctors and the Israeli doctor who treats me, Professor Menachem Sade of Wolfson Hospital, agreed that the only possible way to improve my condition would be to receive stem cell treatment at Hadassah,” explains the rabbi. “That was my final hope.”
“A few days after the treatment, my whole life began to change.”
Last May, the Ministry of Health granted approval to the Israeli biotechnology company Brainstorm, specializing in the development of technologies and medications based on stem cells, and the Hadassit company associated with Hadassah Medical Center, to begin a clinical trial of a new treatment based on cell therapy, which is meant to delay or stop the degeneration of nerve cells in ALS patients…This is the first treatment of its kind in history.
Because of the severity of his condition, and the fact that he was suffering from two different muscular diseases, the rabbi was not allowed to participate in the clinical trial…However he was given the treatment as a “compassionate treatment,” intended for patients who have no other hope.
A month ago, the rabbi was given the treatment for the first time, and the effect on him was incredible. “A few days after the treatment, my whole life began to change,” he says with a smiling face. “My speech began to improve, it became easier to breathe and I began to walk unassisted. I am even able to climb stairs. My students understand every word I say. It’s truly a miracle from Heaven. I am a new person as a result of the treatment I received.”
“It’s hard to describe the excitement that took hold of us as a result of the amazing results of this treatment,” says Brainstorm president Chaim Leibovitch…
Also the doctors could not remain apathetic to the amazing effect of the treatment on the rabbi’s condition. “The change that occurred in him was huge, and also the objective improvement in his functioning was extremely impressive,” explains one of the hospital’s doctors with excitement. “From being handicapped, a person who couldn’t walk and couldn’t talk, a significant amount of his abilities have returned…There is no doubt that a great drama is taking place here. We need to remember that we are talking about a single isolated case. On the other hand, even isolated reports like this can also signal a medical breakthrough.”
Encouraging results, even if they are on a smaller scale, have also been witnessed among some of the 12 patients participating in the clinical trial…
As is the way of the world, the rabbi and his students see things a little differently [from the doctors]. His students talk about “Mass prayer rallies” and “A miracle.” At the same time that top medical minds were laboring to rehabilitate the rabbi’s systems at the hospital, at the Mir Yeshiva the top minds were constantly reading Psalms for his recovery, and learning pages of gemara in order to “tip the scale” in the upper worlds in favor of the 74-year-old rabbi, who has stood for close to 30 years at the head of one of the largest yeshivot in the world (with over 7000 students).
Such a dramatic improvement in such a nearly hopeless situation has very rarely ever been witnessed.
“The rabbi’s family decided when they started treatment to turn to all of the yeshivot in the world to request assistance,” says the rabbi’s assistant. An emotional plea went out in the name of important rabbis to pray for the rabbi’s recovery, and his full name was released for special “Mee Sheberach” prayers worldwide. When the rabbi was lying on the treatment table at the hospital, thousands of students gathered to read Psalms at the Lakewood Yeshiva in New Jersey, at the Ponevitch Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and at Jerusalem’s Mir Yeshiva.
“The rabbi saw the announcement that went out with his name and broke out into tears,” his assistant says. “During the two or three days that he was at the hospital, the prayers didn’t stop. After that we returned home, and an extreme improvement began in his condition. He got up and started walking, even without support…Everyone who saw him said that this was a revealed miracle, that this is simply a new human being.”
At this stage, of course, it is still difficult to state whether we are talking about a miracle or just a historic medical breakthrough, which will grant hope to patients suffering from one of the most difficult and cruel diseases that exists. But about one thing nobody is arguing: such a dramatic improvement in such a nearly hopeless situation has very rarely ever been witnessed in the natural world.
This article originally appeared in Yediot Achranot. With thanks to Jewishmom.com | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29890000 |
Tip of the Week
When it comes to keeping young walkers safe on America's roads, the country has made great strides: child pedestrian deaths have plunged 53 percent and injuries are down 44 percent since 1995, according to a study by Safe Kids Worldwide and FedEx. Still, the study also indicates that bigger steps are needed to improve pedestrian safety overall, and particularly for teenagers.
Daily, more than 61 children seek medical attention for injuries sustained while walking, and more than 500 children die every year in pedestrian accidents. Teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19 are now the most at-risk age group, accounting for 50 percent of child pedestrian injuries in the past five years. The death rate among teens is now twice that of younger children.
"The study, ‘Walking Safely: A Report to the Nation,’ tells us two things," says Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. "While our focus on younger kids, through programs such as 'Walk this Way,' has made a tremendous difference, we need to turn the spotlight - and our collective efforts - on this disturbing trend impacting our teenagers."
Safe Kids Worldwide and FedEx offer some tips for helping make child pedestrians safer.
- Whenever possible, cross the street at the corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Most walking injuries happen mid-block or someplace other than at intersections.
- Look left, right and left again before crossing the street. Keep looking and listening while crossing.
- Walk, don't run, when crossing the street.
- Walking on sidewalks or paths is always best, but if not available, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
- Remove headphones when crossing the street. It's important to minimize distractions and listen to what's going on around you.
- If you need to use your phone, stop walking.
- Drivers are more distracted than ever, so try to make eye contact with drivers before you step into the road.
Family Movie Night
Length: 108 minutes
Review: "Wreck-It Ralph" could easily be called "Video Game Story." Why? In Pixar’s "Toy Story," toys come to life when humans aren’t around. In Walt Disney’s "Wreck-It Ralph," video game characters come to life when humans aren’t around. Here, Disney tries its best to capture the Pixar magic, and while "Ralph" is no "Toy Story," it doesn’t scrimp on the entertainment value. It’s like a really good hamburger. Very satisfying, yet Pixar is still filet mignon. – Bob Tremblay, GHNS
"On a Dark Wing," by Jordan Dane
Synopsis: Five years ago, Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her "lucky" break came at the expense of her mother's life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death — by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky — she would never be normal again. Now she's the target of Death's ravens and an innocent boy's life is on the line. When Nate Holden — Abbey's secret crush — starts to climb Alaska's Denali, the Angel of Death stalks him because of her. And Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets. - Harlequin
Did You Know
A study published in the journal Addiction says that kids who smoke menthol cigarettes are more likely to become addicted to smoking than those who smoke regular cigarettes.
GateHouse News Service | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29896000 |
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Canberra Kangaroo Cull - May 2008
From The Life and Death of Kangaroos
Updated news May 16, 2009: ANOTHER SLAUGHTER. A few weeks ago, the Department of Defence in Australia began to shoot up to 7,000 kangaroos living on the giant Majura military base in Canberra, ACT. About 3500 to 4000 have already been shot at night. On May 14, 2009, an injunction was granted by a court to halt the killing temporarily until further investigations into the reasonableness of the kill are held. The Chief Minister of the ACT, Jon Stanhope, says he will try to bring in new legislation which will allow the kill to resume. But at present the kangaroos have a reprieve until at least June. The blurry photo below, taken at night 3 km away from the shooting on the closed base, shows the rear lights of a truck, left, and a light trained on the bodies of recently shot kangaroos. Those left alive were dispatched by extra shots from men in the truck. Please sign the protest petition below this picture. This is another needless slaughter in a country with a miserable record of wildlife slaughter.
On Monday May 19, 2008, government contractors started killing the kangaroos on a former naval base in Canberra, Australia. By May 29 they (514) were dead. This is their story and the fight to save them.
All of the kangaroos in the photograph above are now dead. They were needlessly killed in the last week of May 2008, following a worldwide campaign to save them. The area to which they were later driven and killed can be seen at the top of the image. This site forms part of the National archive at the National Library of Australia.
Contractors drive about fifty kangaroos toward the kill area. Few remain, although it is expected roundups of remaining animals will go on until at least the weekend. It appears that even the very old animals, with less than a year or so to live, will be killed - and the youngest as well. Although thousands of individuals have come together in ever increasing numbers on the Internet to protest this act of callousness, most of the citizens of Canberra have remained apathetic. Many people who ride their bicycles past the scene above show not the slightest concern for the welfare of the animals. When all is said and done, their death can be put at the feet of a public which, to date, has no sensitivity to animal suffering. A visitor, who drove 600 miles to the site, arrived today to ask, 'where are the thousands of protestors?' When told there were only a half dozen protesting tonight at the site, he yelled, 'WHY?' Why indeed.
On the other hand, the many thousands of people here in Australia and overseas who are appalled by this action have renewed their determination to end such horrors. The practices of those who conducted the killing have, for the first time, been comprehensively documented by modern media, and Australian government will have a lot of explaining to do to an increasingly critical world.
MAY 26, 2008 World wide protest against the continuing kill increases. A number of Australian filmmakers are already beginning documentaries. This 'cull,' which Defence and the ACT government, would be quickly concluded and forgotten, has galvanised hundreds of animal care organisations throughout the country. An Australia wide network involving thousands of people disgusted by this kill is being constructed. All the audiovisual footage of the cull has been sent to a large number of databases for future publication in this country and overseas.
Today the killing continued, but at a slower pace. Most killing is now attempted in the early morning and later afternoon.
A disturbing and illegal move has seen the contracted security guards join the 'cull' to herd the kangaroos. Protestors and even press photographers are also being filmed by this new alliance.
MAY 24, 2008. The killing goes on. The contractors, this time aided by guards (an act quite out of their jurisdiction) have been herding the kangaroos. 100 (perhaps more) kangaroos now appear to remain. This photograph shows some herded into the area close to the killing area. All are terribly stressed (note the arm licking). Those who visited the site today, animal carers and media people, have been shocked, and many have vowed not to rest until the world sees this cold brutality. One of the most experienced wildlife campaigners in Australia stated that it was the most sickening spectacle he has ever witnessed. The photographs below suggest, but do not fully depict, the living horror. It is interesting to note that no local sitting politician has attended the site to witness the suffering of these animals. The so-called ecologically conscious Greens party here have ignored it. Five kangaroos escaped today by squeezing under the boundary fence. It is becoming harder and harder for the perpetrators to force the roos into the kill zone - they are running in the opposite direction when the door is opened. But it is a losing battle.
I will only add that the remaining kangaroos have learned not to approach the killing circle. To counteract this 'beaters' have used a kind of hessian net to force the animals forward. It is worth noting that the perpetrators are scientists, accompanied by students, not farmers or outback hillbillies. Their version of science allows the utmost dissociation. Naturally, those who have witnessed the slaughter, some over days, are very angry indeed. I note that public intellectuals are considering writing a critique of anthropocentric science in an entire issue of a forthcoming well-known journal; several film makers are working on a documentary of the events; Australia Zoo (Wildlife Warriors) have now condemned the cull - the world now knows more about Australia's culture of wildlife abuse. And the world is not amused.
Of course, there have been reactions. A handful of locals gathered near the site to celebrate the 'success' of the cull with a banner inviting those passing to a barbeque of 'roo steaks.' They were pictured on page one of the local paper. Australia has a long way to go before a sincere acknowedgement of animal consciousness and suffering develops. They remain objects to be controlled, managed, exploited and killed.
MAY 22, 2008. After eight protestors were arrested when they staged an indigenous re-occupation at the site, the killers have been darting animals as fast as possible. The same kind of events happened at the site: earlier today a kangaroo trapped in the killing area tried to jump over the walls - witnesses saw half its body appear above the hessian -- which must have been 5-6 metres high (see pic below) Then it fell to its death, shot by a dart gun loaded with very potent drug(s). It was a sight that moved onlookers to tears and rage. A campaign to arrest vocal protestors is underway. About 7 pm: Carol Drew arrested outside the main gate.
The two images directly above are from an official report. All other images on this site are © Ray Drew 2008 and must not be used without the written permission of the photographer, Ray Drew.
It's over. A crane was there at 10 am, and it removed the remaining chiller boxes at noon. All day I heard the clink and clang of the temporary fences being dismantled – the same sound I heard when some kangaroos, in panic, ran into them last week. I sat next to an old guy, a survivor kangaroo, who was feeding in a remote corner of the site. I am sure I knew him-- he had half an ear torn off from a battle some time ago – and by that I recognised an old friend. Someone appeared through the bush and joined me. We sat there together for quite a time. As the last fences go, the site has an ugly emptiness of death after a plague. I passed the place (above) where fifty or so animals used to lie by the water, some occasionally bathing, and all that remains are pockets of flattened grass.
This series of events have changed our lives. All those who witnessed it from the fence were sickened by what they saw -- animal careers, experienced press photographers, lawyers, writers, teachers. Some of us have dedicated ourselves to work for the kangaroos. Some have rededicated themselves. Some have formed new relationships, some may have lost theirs. Some are preparing for court. There are many stories. Some have sworn to leave Canberra. All will never be quite the same.
It was the first kangaroo massacre, as far as I know, that has been fully ‘outed’, and it revealed the dark underside of European Australia, a society that has never accepted the landscape and its wildlife. We also saw cold bureaucracy at work, and with it, a neo-Cartesian scientism . These events have been comprehensively photographed, videoed, and recorded, live. And the world knows about it. I have always believed (and discovered) that showing or publicly ‘outing’ once hidden atrocities works powerfully to end them, whether it be in a mental institution, a prison, an abattoir, or a kangaroo ‘cull’. In this case we saw, in this decimation, acts of murder of another mammal carried out with dissociated sadism; we saw young PhD students herding the animals and we saw security guards joining in. Almost depraved, other than that, were the rationalisations for the killing and the disinformation in which allegedly respected academics took part: ludicrous, if not so tragic.
I do believe that we have given the perpetrators a hell of a shock. But of course they’ll try it again, and again. And they will be answered.
For more pictures and information, visit The Life and Death of Kangaroos.
For actions to take visit our alert of May 16, 2009.
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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Master Drummers of Burundi
The Master Drummers of Burundi are a group of traditional Burundi musicians and dancers, who perform complex percussive music. Their performances are a part of ceremonies such as the coronation of a new king. Their drums are sacred, and represent fertility and regenation, and include large ingoma drums made from hollowed tree trunks, the central inkiranya drum which is followed by the amashako and ibishikiso drums.
Beginning in the 1960s, the Master Drummers have toured the world, appearing on Joni Mitchell's The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) and inspiring the first WOMAD festival in 1982, which shaped the burgeoning world music genre.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29902000 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
In differential geometry, a pseudo-Riemannian manifold is a smooth manifold equipped with a smooth, symmetric, (0,2) tensor which is nondegenerate at each point on the manifold. This tensor is called a pseudo-Riemannian metric or, simply, a (pseudo-)metric tensor.
The key difference between a Riemannian metric and a pseudo-Riemannian metric is that a pseudo-Riemannian metric need not be positive-definite, merely nondegenerate. Since every positive-definite form is also nondegenerate a Riemannian metric is a special case of a pseudo-Riemannian one. Thus pseudo-Riemannian manifolds can be considered generalizations of Riemannian manifolds.
Every nondegenerate, symmetric, bilinear form has a fixed signature (p,q). Here p and q denote the number of positive and negative eigenvalues of the form. The signature of a pseudo-Riemannian manifold is just the signature of the metric (one should insist that the signature is the same on every connected component). Note that p + q = n is the dimension of the manifold. Riemannian manifolds are simply those with signature (n,0).
Pseudo-Riemannian metrics of signature (p,1) (or sometimes (1,q), see sign convention) are called Lorentzian metrics. A manifold equipped with a Lorentzian metric is naturally called a Lorentzian manifold. After Riemannian manifolds, Lorentzian manifolds form the most important subclass of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. They are important because of their physical applications to the theory of general relativity. A principal assumption of general relativity is that spacetime can be modeled as a Lorentzian manifold of signature (3,1).
Just as Euclidean space can be thought of as the model Riemannian manifold, Minkowski space with the flat Minkowski metric is the model Lorentzian manifold. Likewise, the model space for a pseudo-Riemannian manifold of signature (p,q) is with the metric
Some basic theorems of Riemannian geometry can be generalized to the pseudo-Riemannian case. In particular, the fundamental theorem of Riemannian geometry is true of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds as well. This allows one to speak of the Levi-Civita connection on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold along with the associated curvature tensor. On the other hand, there are many theorems in Riemannian geometry which do not hold in the generalized case. For example, it is not true that every smooth manifold admits a pseudo-Riemannian metric of a given signature; there are certain topological obstructions.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29903000 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Rosewater has a very distinctive flavour and is used heavily in South Asian, West Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine—especially in sweets. For example, rosewater gives loukoumia and gulab jamuns their distinctive flavour. It is also used for religious purposes in Hinduism and Islam.
Orangewater is made from orange blossoms in a similar manner.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29904000 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service, part of the United States Department of Justice, is the United States' oldest federal law enforcement agency. Their mission is to protect the Federal courts and ensure the effective operation of the judicial system.
Since 1789, U.S. Marshals and their Deputies have provided many different services, from taking the census to protecting the President. Today, the Marshals Service is responsible for providing protection for the federal judiciary, transporting federal prisoners, protecting endangered federal witnesses and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. In addition, the men and women of the Marshals Service are responsible for 55 percent of arrests of federal fugitives.
The United States Marshals Service is based in Alexandria, Virginia and is headed by a Director, who is assisted by a Deputy Director. The Headquarters serves to provide command and control and cooperation for the disparate elements of the service. The Headquarters is divided into several divisions headed by Assistant Directors and directly controls the Special Operations Group and several other organizations. The Federal Court System is divided into 12 Regions, each having a US Marshal who is also the District US Marshal for the United States district courts in which the Region is headquartered. Each of the 94 Federal Judicial Districts has a US Marshal, an Assistant US Marshal and as many Deputy and Special Deputy US Marshals as needed. The Director and each United States Marshal is appointed by the president of the United States and is confirmed by the Senate. The District US Marshal is tradionally appointed from a list of qualified Law Enforcement persons for that district or State. Each state has at least one District, while several have three or more.
The offices of U.S. Marshal and Deputy Marshals were created by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789, the same legislation that established the federal judicial system. Special Deputies were allowed to be recruited as local hires or as temporary transfers to the Marshals' Service of other federal law enforcement officers. Marshals were also authorised to swear in a posse to assist them in manhunts and other duties. The Marshals were given extensive authority to support the federal courts within their judicial districts and to carry out all lawful orders issued by judges, Congress, or the President.
The Marshals and their Deputies served the subpoenas, summonses, writs, warrants, and other process issued by the courts, made all the arrests, and handled all the prisoners. They also disbursed the money. The individual Deputy Marshals have been portrayed as legendary heroics in the face of lawlessness.
The Marshals paid the fees and expenses of the court clerks, U.S. Attorneys, jurors, and witnesses. They rented the courtrooms and jail space and hired the bailiffs, criers, and janitors. They made sure the prisoners were present, the jurors were available, and the witnesses were on time.
When George Washington set up his first administration and the first Congress began passing laws, both quickly discovered an inconvenient gap in the constitutional design of the government: It had no provision for a regional administrative structure stretching throughout the country. Both the Congress and the executive branch were housed at the national capital; no agency was established or designated to represent the federal government's interests at the local level. The need for a regional organization quickly became apparent. Congress and the President solved part of the problem by creating specialized agencies, such as customs and revenue collectors, to levy the tariffs and taxes. Yet, there were numerous other jobs that needed to be done. The only officers available to do them were the Marshals and their Deputies.
Thus, the Marshals also provided local representation for the federal government within their districts. They took the national census every 10 years through 1870. They distributed Presidential proclamations, collected a variety of statistical information on commerce and manufacturing, supplied the names of government employees for the national register, and performed other routine tasks needed for the central government to function effectively. Over the past 200 years, Congress and the President also have called on the Marshals to carry out unusual or extraordinary missions, such as registering enemy aliens in time of war, sealing the American border against armed expeditions from foreign countries, and swapping spies with the former Soviet Union.
One of the most infamous jobs the Marshals were tasked with was the recovery of fugitive slaves. With the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 the Marshal service was given this task. They were also permitted to form a posse and to deputize any person in any community to aid in the recapture of fugitive slaves. Failure to cooperate with a Marshal resulted in a $5000 fine and imprisonment, a stiff penalty for those days.
In the 1960s the Marshals were on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, mainly providing protection to volunteers. In 1962 John F. Kennedy ordered the Marshals to accompany James Meredith, an African-American, who wished to register at the University of Mississippi. Their presence on the campus provoked riots at the university, requiring President Kennedy to send in the army to pacify the crowd.
Just as America has changed over the past two centuries, so has its federal justice system – from the original 13 judicial districts, to 94 districts spanning the continent and beyond; and with tens of thousands of federal judges, prosecutors, jurors, witnesses, and defendants involved in the judicial process. The Marshals Service has changed with it, not in its underlying responsibility to enforce the law and execute the orders issued by the court, but in the breadth of its functions, the professionalism of its personnel, and the sophistication of the technologies employed. These changes are made apparent by an examination of the contemporary duties of the modern Marshals Service.
Except for suits by incarcerated persons or (in some circumstances) by seamen, U.S. Marshals no longer serve process in private civil actions filed in the U.S. federal courts. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, process may be served by any U.S. citizen over the age of 18 who is a not a party or an attorney involved in the case.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29905000 |
Painter Eugene Delacroix (1798 – 1863) miraculously survived five brushes with death to become the leader of the French Romantic movement. Primarily self-educated, Delacroix learned to paint by copying renowned artworks in the Louvre. Later, his groundbreaking use of color distinguished his dramatic interpretations of scenes from literature, mythology, religion, politics and history. He also painted several monumental murals for a French palace and two museums. Delacroix created a remarkable 9,000 artworks during his life, deeply inspiring Van Gogh, Renoir and Seurat.
This giclée print offers beautiful color accuracy. Giclée (French for “to spray”) is a printing process where millions of ink droplets are sprayed onto the paper’s surface creating natural color transitions. The high-quality paper (235 gsm) is a great option for framing with its smooth, acid free surface. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29909000 |
|After feasting on the first Thanksgiving dinner, the Pilgrim fathers, who
couldn't watch football because they had no electricity, were enjoying
each other's company when the subject of livestock came up. Talk turned
to trade, and before the afternoon had ended with leftovers, a series of
trades ended with five of the families trading away one of the animals they
had brought on the Mayflower and getting in return an animal brought
to the New World by one of the others. Given the historical recording of
America's first swap meet below, can you determine the name (one was called
Annie) and kind of animal each forefather family traded and which animal
they received in return?
- The Pilgrim family that traded Kate received the sheep in return.
- The Whites acquired the horse after all the swapping was done.
- Neither the cow nor the goat ended up going home to the Hopkins farm..
- The forefather family that owned the horse Thanksgiving morning ended
up owning Bessie Thanksgiving night.
- The Allertons were thankful to get ownership of Prissy at the end.
- Molly wasn't the animal the Hopkinses' traded away.
- Bessie wasn't the sheep.
- The Mullinses traded away the family pig; they never had ownership
of Kate during all the trading back and forth.
- The Brewsters weren't the Pilgrims who traded away their goat.
- After all the swapping back and forth, no two families ended up
simply trading the animals they owned to each other. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29910000 |
Healthcare and decision-making in dementia
Consent to medical treatment
Consent to treatment is covered by section 6 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, No. 785 of 17 August 1992. According to this Act, patients must be cared for on the basis of a mutual understanding, which means that they must consent to treatment. If they refuse a particular treatment, the doctor must propose another medically acceptable alternative to which they are in agreement. In certain circumstances, a person can be treated against his/her will (please refer to the section on forced internment).
Concerning patients who are unable to consent, section 6.2 and 6.3 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients states:
“If a major patient because of mental disturbance or mental retardation or for other reason cannot decide on the treatment given to him/her, the legal representative or a family member or other person closely connected to the patient has to be heard before making an important decision concerning treatment to assess what kind of treatment would be in accordance with the patient's will. If this matter cannot be assessed, the patient has to be given a treatment that can be considered to be in accordance with his/her personal interests.”
“In cases referred to in paragraph 2, the patient's legal representative, a close relative, or other person closely connected with the patient, must give their consent to the treatment. In giving their consent, the patient's legal representative, close relative, or other person closely connected with the patient must respect the patient's previously expressed wishes or, if no wishes had been expressed, the patient's well-being. If the patient's legal representative, close relative, or other person closely connected with the patient forbid the care or treatment of the patient, care or treatment must, as far as possible in agreement with the person who refused consent, be given in some other medically acceptable manner. If the patient's legal representative, close relative or other person closely connected with the patient disagree on the care or treatment to be given, the patient shall be cared for or treated in accordance with his or her best interests.” (9.4.1999/489)
However, a person/persons who make a decision on behalf of a patient cannot forbid treatment which is necessary to ward off a threat to the life or health of the patient (section 9).
Consent in case of emergency
Section 8 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients deals with emergency treatment. It states:
“A patient has to be given treatment necessary to ward off a hazard imperilling his/her life or health even in cases where it is not possible to assess the patient's will because of unconsciousness or other reason.
However, if the patient has earlier steadfastly and competently expressed his/her will concerning treatment given to him/her, he/she must not be given treatment that is against his/her will.”
The right to refuse treatment
A competent patient has the right to refuse treatment. According to the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (section 6.1), if a patient refuses a particular treatment, the doctor must propose another medically acceptable alternative to which they are in agreement.
Health care proxies also have the right to refuse treatment on behalf of an incompetent patient. According to section 6.3 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, if the patient's legal representative, close relative, or other person closely connected with the patient forbid the care or treatment of the patient, care or treatment must, as far as possible in agreement with the person who refused consent, be given in some other medically acceptable manner. However, section 9 stipulates that health care proxies cannot forbid treatment which is necessary to ward off a threat to the life or health of the patient.
The right to withdraw consent
Competent patients have the right to withdraw consent.
Consent to non-conventional treatment
Competent patients have the right to give consent to non-conventional treatment.
Consent to the donation of organs and/or human tissue
It is possible for patients to consent to the donation of organs and human tissue through advance directives. Health care proxies can give such consent after the death of the patient.
Consent to research
Act N° 488 on Medical Research came into force on 1 November 1999. In this act, medical research is defined as being research which interferes with the integrity of a human being or a human embryo or foetus and whose intention is to increase knowledge of the cause, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of the disease or its nature in general.
Paragraph 7 deals with consent from disabled subjects. This includes people who are unable to give their consent due to a mental health disorder, mental handicap or other equivalent reason.
Research can only be carried out on such people if the same scientific results could not be attained using other subjects and provided that the risk of causing damage or stress is limited. Furthermore, research can only be carried out if it could be expected to be directly beneficial to the participant or to other people either of the same age or with the same medical condition. Even if these conditions have been fulfilled, the participant's legal representative, close relative, or other person closely connected with the patient must give written consent after having received the necessary relevant information. The consent has to be given in accordance to the presumed will of a participant. The provisions of article 6 also apply in that consent can be withdrawn at any time before completion of the research. Finally, if the participant objects to any procedure used as part of the research, he or she must not be forced to undergo the procedure.
Advance directives and health care proxies
The legal status of advance directives
Advance directives have legal status in Finland according to section 8 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (No. 785/92 of 17 August 1992).
Section 8 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients deals with emergency treatment. A situation could arise whereby a patient, who is in need of emergency treatment, is unconscious or unable to express his/her will. According to section 8, doctors cannot give a treatment that is against his/her will, as expressed steadfastly and competently at some point in the past. In the sense that this section refers to the necessity to respect the previously expressed wishes of a person who is no longer able to state his/her preference regarding treatment, this can be considered as legitimising a kind of advance directive.
Paragraph 6.3 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients can also be interpreted as involving the possible use of advance directives in substitute decision making with regard to care.
There are three categories of people who can decide on behalf of a person with incapacity:
- the legal representative who could be either a guardian who is entitled to represent his/her client in issues linked to the client’s person or a person appointed by the patient such as a power of attorney or continuing power of attorney in health care issues.
- a family member or
- another person who is closely connected to the patient.
These people are not placed in any order of priority. However, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has plans to alter the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients in such a way that there would be a priority list of the proxy decision makers. After the alteration the possible legal representative would have priority to make decisions.
Conditions surrounding the writing, validity and registering of an advance directive
A person must have sufficient capacity to make a valid advance directive. Competence is presumed unless proven otherwise. In case of doubt, a doctor should assess a person’s capacity.
There is no set procedure for writing or registering advance directives but they should be recorded in the patient’s medical file. An advance directive can be made orally (e.g. by a person in hospital) or in writing. If made in writing, it is advisable to have two witnesses. A doctor and/or lawyer may be involved in the process of making an advance directive but this is not necessary.
Advance directives are not limited to a set period of time.
There is a new decree from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Medical Files (30.3.2009/298). Paragraph 18.4 of the Decree on Medical Files states that if a patient wishes to express (orally) his/her steadfast will regarding future medical treatment, it should be recorded clearly, along with his/her signature, in the medical files. It is also possible to attach a separate advance directive to the medical files.
What an advance directive can cover
The Act on the Status and Rights of Patients states that in emergency situations “doctors cannot give a treatment that is against the will of a patient, as expressed steadfastly and competently at some point in the past”.
In literature on jurisprudence it is interpreted that an advance directive can cover at least the following:
- The treatment of medical conditions;
- Care and welfare decisions;
- Life-supporting treatment;
- Life-saving treatment; and
- The appointment of a health care proxy.
Nowadays, in practice, there are also so-called positive advance directives. These documents can express many kinds of wishes e.g. what kind of food and drinks the person likes, what their favourite clothing is etc.
Obligation to comply with instructions contained in an advance directive
In the case of emergency treatment, advance directives are legally binding. In literature on jurisprudence it is interpreted that they are legally binding in other cases too. At least it is good medical practice to comply with them.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has plans to alter the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients. After the alteration, doctors will not obliged to comply with advance directives if it is obvious that the advance directive is based on a person’s false perception of their health condition, the nature of the illness or the effectiveness of the treatment methods and medication proposed. Similarly, doctors should not comply with an advance directive if the patient’s will concerning treatment and care has changed for the above-mentioned or a similar reason.
If it would be against a doctor’s personal beliefs to comply with instructions contained in an advance directive, the doctor must find a colleague who is willing to take over the treatment of the patient.
Amending, renewing and cancelling advance directives
An advance directive can be amended, renewed or cancelled at any time. This can be done verbally, in writing or through behaviour which clearly indicates this decision. It is not necessary for a person to have full legal capacity (i.e. in every domain) as a greater level of capacity is needed to write an advance directive than to cancel it. This has been discussed in medical circles as well as in literature on jurisprudence.
Access to information/diagnosis
The right to be informed
Section 5 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, No. 785/92 of 17 August 1992 contains the following provisions regarding the patient's right to be informed:
"A patient shall be given information about his/her state of health, the significance of the treatment, various alternative forms of treatment and their effects and about other factors related to his/her treatment that are significant when decisions are made on the treatment given to him/her. However, this information shall not be given against the will of the patient or when it is obvious that giving the information would cause serious hazard to the life or health of the patient,
Health care professionals should try to give the information in such a way that the patient can understand it. If the health care professional does not know the language used by the patient or if the patient because of a sensory handicap or speech defect cannot be understood, interpretation should be provided if possible."
The above text can be interpreted as granting patients the right to be informed of the diagnosis.
Under section 9.1 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, “the right to be informed and the powers of the patient's representative”, allows for information to be given to certain people in order to enable them to make decisions and consent on behalf of the person with incapacity. The text is as follows:
“In the circumstances referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of section 6, the patient’s legal representative, close relative, or other person closely connected with the patient shall be entitled to receive any information regarding the patient's state of health that may be required to enable them to express an opinion and give their consent. (9.4.1999/489)”
Access to medical files
As a general rule, only the patient has access to his/her medical records.
Health care professionals and other people who are working in the medical domain cannot give information about a patient to outsiders without the written consent of the patient. (See Section 13 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, no. 785/92)
The right to designate another person to be informed on one’s behalf
Under the government’s proposal of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (185/1991) the legal representative is either a person appointed by a patient or a guardian (appointed by a court). If a patient has appointed someone to make health care decisions on his/her behalf (for example via an advance directive), such person has the right to be informed regarding the patient’s state of health as stated in section 9.1 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (see above). A patient can also appoint a “continuing power of attorney in health care issues” in advance of his/her incapacity (please see The Act on Continuing Powers of Attorney (648/2007)). Such donee is also a legal representative and also has the right to be informed under section 9.1 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients.
A legal representative (guardian), relatives and people who are close to the person with dementia can also be informed on his/her behalf although in their case, they would not actually have been designated by the person with dementia.
The doctor’s right to withhold information
Section 5 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, No. 785/92 of 17 August 1992 states that a doctor has the right to withhold information:
“when it is obvious that giving the information would cause serious hazard to the life or health of the patient.”
See section “access to information” above
The patient’s right to refuse information
Section 5 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, No. 785/92 of 17 August 1992 contains the following provisions regarding the patient’s right to refuse information:
“..information shall not be given against the will of the patient.”
See section “access to information” above
Confidentiality/disclosure of information to other people
Section 10 of the Constitution states that the private life, honour and home of every person shall be secured and that detailed provisions on the protection of personal data shall be prescribed by Act of Parliament. Patients must be treated in such a way that their human dignity is not violated and that their convictions and privacy are respected (section 3 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, No. 785/92).
Apart from the exception contained in section 9.1 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients, information about patients is confidential. Section 13 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (no. 785/92) covers the confidentiality of information in patients' medical files. As stated above in “the right to access medical files”, health care professionals and other people who are working in the medical domain cannot give information about a patient to outsiders without the written consent of the patient. Section 13.3 of section 13 of this act includes further provisions:
- information included in patient documents may be given if there are express provisions on giving it or on the right of access to it in the law;
- information necessary for the arranging of examination and treatment of the patient may be given to another health care unit or health care professional, and a summary of the treatment provided may be given to the health care unit or the health care professional that referred the patient for treatment and to a physician possibly appointed to be responsible for the care of the patient in accordance with the patient's or his/her legal representative’s oral consent or consent that is otherwise obvious from the context; and
- information necessary for arranging and providing the examination and care of a patient may be given to another Finnish or foreign health care unit or health care professional, if the patient, owing to a mental health disturbance, mental handicap or for a comparable reason is not capable of assessing the significance of the consent and he/she has no legal representative, or if the patient cannot give the consent because of unconsciousness or for comparable reason;
- information about the identity and state of health of a patient may be given to a family member of the patient or to other person close to the patient, if the patient is receiving treatment because of unconsciousness or for another comparable reason, unless there is reason to believe that the patient would forbid this; and
- information on the health and medical care of a deceased person provided when the person was still living may be given, upon a justified written application, to anyone who needs the information in order to find out his/her vital interests or rights, to the extent that the information is necessary for that purpose; the acquiring party may not use or forward the information for some other purpose.
Section 13 of the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients (30.6.2000/653) specifically addressed the issue of confidentiality of information contained in patients’ records.
Paragraph 13.1 states that information contained in patients’ records shall be confidential. Paragraph 13.2 states that health care professionals and other people working in or for health care units shall not disclose to outsiders information contained in a patient’s medical records without the written consent of the patient. If the patient is not capable of giving such consent, it can be given by his/her legal representative. In this Act, the term “outsiders” refers to people other than those who are involved in the care of the patient or in carrying out tasks related to the person’s care within or on behalf of a health care unit. The obligation to respect confidentiality remains in force even when the person is no longer employed or carrying out tasks on behalf of the health care unit.
End-of-life care and issues
Decisions about palliative care are made by a doctor but need to be discussed with the patient or patients’ health care proxy/proxies.
Special leave for carers in paid employment
The Act on Support for Informal Care (937/2005) came into effect at the beginning of 2006. Support for informal care is a statutory social service. The municipality is responsible for organising the support within the limits of its resources.
The purpose of the Act is to promote informal care that is in the interests of the person cared for (the client) by securing sufficient access to social welfare and health care services and by safeguarding the continuity of care. Support for informal care encompasses necessary services for the client, and compensation, leave and support services for the informal carer.
In section 5.2 of the Act it is stated that if, during a heavy period of care (e.g. looking after a terminally ill person), a carer is unable to go to work, he/she receives a minimum allowance of EUR 600/month.
Active euthanasia is not permitted.
A competent patient may, however, refuse life-saving or life-sustaining treatment or write in an advance directive the kind of treatment that he/she would like to refuse in the future, should it be needed. Healthcare professionals who respect such wishes, which could be described as passive euthanasia, would not be prosecuted.
Healthcare proxies cannot forbid treatment which is necessary to ward off a threat to the life or health of the person they are representing.
Assisted suicide is not considered a criminal act under the Penal Code of Finland (39/1889 and subsequent amendments).
Homicide, murder and killing
The Penal Code of Finland (39/1889; amendments up to 650/2003 as well as 1372/2003, 650/2004 and 1006/2004 included) includes the following articles which related to homicide, murder and poisoning:
Chapter 21 - Homicide and bodily injury (578/1995)
Section 1 - Manslaughter (578/1995)
(1) A person who kills another shall be sentenced for manslaughter to imprisonment for a fixed period of at least eight years.
(2) An attempt is punishable.
Section 2 - Murder (578/1995)
(1) If the manslaughter is
(2) committed in a particularly brutal or cruel manner;
(3) committed by causing serious danger to the public; or
(4) committed by killing a public official on duty upholding the peace or public security, or because of an official action;
and the offence is aggravated also when assessed as a whole, the offender shall be sentenced for murder to life imprisonment.
(2) An attempt is punishable.
Section 3 - Killing (578/1995)
(1) If the manslaughter, in view of the exceptional circumstances of the offence, the motives of the offender or other related circumstances, when assessed as a whole, is to be deemed to have been committed under mitigating circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced for killing to imprisonment for at least four and at most ten years.
(2) An attempt is punishable.
Section 8 - Negligent homicide (578/1995)
A person who through negligence causes the death of another shall be sentenced for negligent homicide to a fine or to imprisonment for up to two years.
Section 9 - Grossly negligent homicide (578/1995)
If in the negligent homicide the death of another is caused by gross negligence, and the offence is aggravated (also when assessed as a whole), the offender shall be sentenced for grossly negligent homicide to imprisonment for at least four months and at most six years.
The National Advisory Board on Health Care Ethics (ETENE) (2008), Old Age and Ethics of Care. Report 2008, Helsinki. (www.etene.org/e/documents)
Sulkava, Raimo: Practice of Competence Assessment in dementia: Finland. In book Stoppe, Gabriela (edit.) (2008), Competence Assessment in Dementia. On behalf of the European Dementia Consensus Network, Springer Verlag. p.109-111.
Please refer to the section on consent.
Last Updated: Wednesday 27 April 2011 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29915000 |
Keynes at the Border?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
A common fallacy holds that imposing taxes on imports and rebating taxes on exports would stimulate the economy.
A common fallacy holds that border tax adjustments—imposing taxes on imports and rebating taxes on exports—would enhance American exports and reduce imports. The reasoning behind this mistake is simple enough. A border adjustment seems to provide a subsidy to exporters and to levy a tariff on importers. Border adjustment proponents, noting that international trade rules allow nations to border adjust consumption taxes such as European-style value added taxes, urge the adoption of a consumption tax in the United States so that we can border adjust and enhance our trade competitiveness.
Yet, such an argument ignores an essential truth about imports and exports: over the long term, exports and imports must be equal. We can think of a country like a household. Purchases are paid for from the proceeds of sales, and sales are made for the purpose of additional purchases. In the long run, purchases and sales must be equal. A nation’s trade policy works the same way. Over a nation’s history, the value of exports in current dollars must equal the value of imports in present value. Any attempt to permanently increase exports and decrease imports is futile.
What would actually happen if we border adjusted imports and exports is that exchange rate movements would offset the trade effects and the dollar would appreciate. The key variable is the real exchange rate, which determines the terms at which a country buys and sells. (For the United States, the real exchange rate is the value of the dollar in terms of foreign currency—the nominal exchange rate—multiplied by the U.S. price level and divided by the foreign price level.) The real exchange rate adjusts to keep the present discounted value of exports and imports equal. The adoption of a border adjustment by the United States would trigger an increase in the real exchange rate that would offset the perceived boost to exports and the perceived restraint on imports.
The argument for border tax adjustments ignores an essential truth about imports and exports.
Imagine, for the moment, that one euro and one dollar have the same value under the current trade regime. If a firm in the United States wanted to import one euro’s worth of German chocolate, the cost of the chocolate to the importer would be one dollar.
Now, let’s imagine that we institute a 25 percent border adjustment. The cost of the chocolate to the importer would increase to €1.33 (25 percent of 1.33 is 0.33). At the same time, the dollar would appreciate to €1.33; conversely, one euro would be worth 75 cents. At the new exchange rate, the €1.33 chocolate would still cost the importer one dollar, so there would be no net increase in cost.
The same dynamics would be at play in the case where the United States is an exporter. Imagine that a German importer wants to buy one dollar worth of Florida oranges, which would cost one euro under the current trade regime. Under the border adjustment, the United States would rebate the American exporter 25 percent, so the cost to the German importer would decrease to 75 cents. Because the dollar would appreciate to €1.33, however, the cost to the German importer would still be one euro. There would be no competitive advantage for U.S. exports.
These examples reveal that the impact on overall trade flows would be neutral.
Even if a border adjustment could permanently increase exports and reduce imports, the impact of the change would be disastrous for an economy. In that case, the United States would send more goods and services, produced by our own labor and resources, abroad while receiving fewer goods and services in return. Because imports are the gain from trade while exports are the cost of trade, a permanent increase in net exports would reduce our standard of living. Although attractive at face value, the desire to permanently increase exports and reduce imports reflects the misguided view known as mercantilism, the doctrine that Adam Smith condemned so forcefully in 1776.
Even if a border adjustment could permanently increase exports and reduce imports, the impact would be disastrous for an economy.
Ironically, a border adjustment would result in a one-time wealth transfer from American to foreign asset holders. A border adjustment would tax the consumption of Americans financed by their holdings of foreign assets and would exempt from the tax base the consumption of foreigners financed by their holdings of American assets. Consequently, the value of foreign assets held by Americans would decline while the value of American assets held by foreigners would appreciate.
The popularity of Keynesian stimulus during the current recession has led to a renewed interest in border adjustments as a way to stimulate aggregate demand. But a border adjustment would not produce permanent changes in trade patterns. In addition, the desire to provide a permanent boost to the economy through a border adjustment constitutes a misunderstanding of Keynesianism. Sound Keynesian policies seek to make output more stable throughout the business cycle by increasing aggregate demand in a downturn and restraining demand during an upturn; they do not permanently boost aggregate demand in a futile effort to permanently raise output.
Supporters of consumption taxation in the United States often rely on misperceptions about border adjustments in order to make their case. There are compelling reasons to adopt a consumption tax in the United States, including simplification and enhanced capital accumulation. The ability to border adjust is immaterial. The border adjustment fallacy should not obscure the real case for consumption taxation.
Alan Viard is resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and an assistant professor of economics at Ohio State University. He has also worked for the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis, the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, and the Joint Committee on Taxation of the U.S. Congress. This article was adapted by Amy Roden, a research assistant at AEI, and Scott Ganz, AEI’s program manager for economic policy studies, from a longer paper.
FURTHER READING: Viard recently released Tax Policy Lessons from the 2000s (AEI Press, 2009), a collection of essays which explore the role taxes play in setting policy and their effect on businesses' financial and investment decisions. Findings were discussed at this AEI event.
Image by Darren Wamboldt/the Bergman Group. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29921000 |
Where Art and Science Meet
Artist Peter Trusler and paleontologists Patricia Vickers-Rich and Thomas H. Rich collaborate to bring long-extinct species to life on the page
Australian artist Peter Trusler has a talent for portraying long-extinct creatures and the landscapes in which they lived in ways consistent with the best scientific evidence. His engrossing illustrations have appeared in books, scientific exhibitions, popular publications, even on Australian postage stamps. For more than 30 years Trusler also has collaborated with Patricia Vickers-Rich, professor of paleontology and founding director of the Monash Science Centre at Monash University, and her husband, Thomas H. Rich, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at Museum Victoria. In the The Artist and the Scientists: Bringing Prehistory to Life (Cambridge University Press, 2010)—excerpted below—Trusler, Vickers-Rich and Rich explore the fertile opportunities for provocation, when established ideas are challenged, and for education when meticulous art and science connect.
Peter Trusler: “With respect to art in general, Pablo Picasso is reported to have exclaimed that photography had thankfully released us from those shackles of realistic representation. So true, but for all major advances there is a frame of reference, or a point of relativity, beyond which this may not hold. Regrettably, something is often lost when another thing is gained. I often bear this cliché in mind. In circumstances where I have the opportunity to compare a well presented, old lithographic drawing of a specimen with an equivalent photograph, I have found that, contrary to popular opinion, the drawing can be superior....
“[A] drawing is a complex synthesis of information, which embodies a hierarchy of decisions. It contains a system of weighted emphases that can filter out extraneous or irrelevant information. Drawings deal with surfaces, form and content and matters of understanding, for they are time intensive. Drawings are expressions that embody research and development. They are never bland, factual presentations, no matter how simple or realistic they may appear. The specimen’s image has been considered, and not shot! One can, therefore, read the mind of the individual who rendered it. This is not to say that an astute photographer cannot effect many of the same processes with skillful camera technique …
“The intrinsic difference for me … is one of cognition.”
Patricia Vickers-Rich and Thomas H. Rich: “The association and friendship between the three of us spans more than three decades. It began when we two scientists were on the hunt for an artist who had the skills that would allow precise scientific information to be conveyed in imagery alongside the detailed scientific descriptions of the ancient marsupial, Diprotodon. The condition of the specimens to be ‘presented,’ to both the general public and to other researchers, was incomplete. What we needed was an artist able to synthesize images that combined these fragments and information from various disciplines. The images required a three-dimensional quality that drew observers in, communicating to them intimate details of anatomical form. But, more than just revealing the essence of the scientific descriptions, these images needed to challenge the viewer to ask more questions … .
“We have, through our work together, continued to find each other’s different perspectives and approaches informative. We have been able to disagree, challenge each other and spend long hours discussing the direction of each of the projects highlighted within these chapters. We have enjoyed exploring new territory—new techniques, novel materials and subjects … . [T]hroughout our work together, we have respected each other’s independence ...”
In Sightings, American Scientist publishes examples of innovative scientific imaging from diverse research fields.
» Post Comment | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29927000 |
In the course of human history, few events come along that are so indelible that people remember where they were, what they were doing, and how they felt at one exact moment. For many of my contemporaries, the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 brings back vivid memories of the day when the United States’ Camelot came to an abrupt end. The tragedy of 9/11 is one such event.
The unspeakable terror of the events of September 11, 2001, will remain as the singular, horrific day that transformed the world and America in particular—and the way the world has evolved since that day. The politics surrounding 9/11 remain, and historians will surely debate its ramifications for decades to come: two wars that directly resulted from the attacks continue in their distinctive forms; the Patriot Act remains fundamentally in force; and Guantánamo Bay is still open.
The human tragedies woven around the 2001 attacks will be commemorated in the coming days. Nearly 3000 people lost their lives on 9/11 and it has been estimated that possibly over 10,000 lost a relative in the World Trade Center. Twenty-four Canadians also perished that day. Some remains have never been found, and for all who were involved in some capacity, the wounds have not healed. Last year’s controversy over a mosque and community center near Ground Zero is clear evidence that time is moving ever so slowly.
There will be many accounts and testimonials about 9/11 in the days ahead. The official commemorations will recall the bravery and courage of the survivors and the first responders. We will be solemn, we will shed tears, we will remember, and most of all, we must never forget.
As a Quebecer and as a Canadian, I can attest to the fact that our country felt the horror and the sadness of 9/11. It was not only an attack on the United States; it was an assault on humanity, decency and the preciousness of life. Innocent people that morning left their homes, families and friends to pursue their lives, duties and hopes. They all expected to be home later, chat with friends, have dinner with their loved ones, or tell a bedtime story to their children.
There are no boundaries to this tragedy. To some extent, we were all victims of 9/11, and our most immediate reaction was to help, comfort and pray when the moment occurred—and in the days that followed. It has been said that when air travel was suspended over the skies of the United States on that fateful day, Canada became a large landing strip from coast to coast.
Canadians across the land opened their hearts and, in some cases, their homes to welcome stranded U.S. travelers. Many in the hour of tragedy sought to find reason in such an irrational act. But there was no rational explanation, just pain, bewilderment, confusion, anger and emptiness. Yet despite it all, they survived and many will quietly remember on this tenth anniversary.
Living in New York has afforded me an opportunity to know New Yorkers and admire their strong will and resilience. In the days ahead, we will do well to be inspired by the courage and the solidarity of those affected by 9/11, how they have persevered and how they honor those they have lost.
John Parisella is a guest blogger to AQ Online. He is Québec's delegate general in New York, the province's top ranking position in the United States. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29928000 |
First Nations children have the right grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of their cultures
It’s an obvious truth but it’s far from being a reality.
As the Auditor General of Canada and many others have noted, the Federal government provides less funding per child for many services for First Nations children on reserves than the Provinces provide for children in their jurisdictions. This is despite often higher costs of delivering such services in small and remote communities, and the greater need experienced by many First Nations communities.
The result of the denial of basic rights that most people in Canada take for granted.
The annual Have a Heart Day campaign is about involving ordinary people across Canada in demanding an end to this fundamentally unjust situation. The campaign is led by the First Nations Child and Family Caring, a dynamic non-profit organization led by Dr. Cindy Blackstock which advocates for the rights of First Nations children. The Caring Society says, “Have a Heart Day is about caring Canadians working together to ensure First Nations children have proper services that make them feel proud of who they are.”
Amnesty International has worked alongside the Caring Society for years to raise awareness of the ongoing discrimination in the funding and quality of basic government services available to First Nations children. Also in February we will once again standing alongside Dr. Blackstock and the Caring Society as the long awaiting Canadian Human Rights Tribunal hearing into the Society’s discrimination complaint against the Federal government is finally heard.
The Caring Society has made joining the Have a Heart Day campaign easy. You can take part by sending a Valentine’s Day card or letter to the Prime Minister and your Member of Parliament, hosting a Valentine’s Day party to raise awareness in your school or community, or by spreading the word through social media like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Last year, people across Canada celebrated Have a Heart day in all sorts of energizing and creative ways. Southeast Child and Family Services in Manitoba collected over 5000 Valentine’s Day cards to send to Parliament. Students at Carleton University held a bake sale, and community members in Saskatchewan celebrated with an educational puppet show.
Visit the Have a Heart Day website at www.fncaringsociety/have-a-heart for more information, to send an e-Valentine, or to order Have a Heart Valentine’s cards, posters, bookmarks, and buttons!
To find the contact details for you Member of Parliament, visit the Parliament of Canada website.
However you take part in Have a Heart Day, please let us know. It's really important to build a picture of all the activity taking part across the country. Please drop us a line - and send pictures, if you can - to firstname.lastname@example.org
There is also an ongoing related action on our own website at: | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29930000 |
Endangered Species Get A Chilly (and Warm!) Reception In New York City
Samples from the American crocodile, the Channel Islands fox, and the Hawaiian gooseall endangered species studied within the U.S. National Parksare set to join neotropical butterflies, rare leeches, and snippets of sea stars in the American Museum of Natural History's frozen library, the Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection. Currently, this collection cryogenically-preserves the DNA of about 40,000 species in nitrogen-cooled vats and distributes to requests to geneticists free of charge.
On July 7, 2009, representatives of the Park Service came to New York to sign a formal agreement with the Museum. Material collected from the most important biological resources of the country, endangered species, will be routinely iced in the Museum's pristine, meticulous lab. This video, introduced by George Amato, Director of the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, documents the signing of the agreement by Bert Frost, Associate Director of Natural Resource Stewardship and Science at the National Park Service, and Darrel Frost, Associate Dean of Science for Collections at the Museum.
Media Inquiries: Department of Communications, 212-769-5800 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29931000 |
BeschreibungHenry Van Dyke was one of the most popular and enduring writers of the 20th century. His sermons, poems, and short stories, such as The Story of the Other Wise Man (Paraclete, over 28,000 sold) were well-loved by children and adults alike. A new volume, The First Christmas Tree and Other Stories combines two books by Van Dyke, The First Christmas Tree and The Spirit of Christmas, in a keepsake edition for the whole family.
The First Christmas Tree and Other Stories features woodcut etchings, and comes in a hardcover, gift-sized format ideal for holiday gift-giving. Children, parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, and lovers of classic literature will welcome this new edition of a beloved Christmas classic.
The First Christmas Tree, a tale of the origin of the first Christmas tree, was first written in 1897 and read aloud to Van Dyke's congregation at Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Set in 722 A.D., the story tells of how Prince Gregor, "a young boy with the spirit of a man," and his hero, the daring Winfried of England, journey through treacherous land to reach the heathen people of the forest on Christmas eve. When they arrive, Winfried rescues the heathen from an unspeakable evil, destroys the great oak tree where they worshiped their false god, and points to a young fir tree, "the tree of the Christ-child," as the people's new sign of worship, symbolizing laughter, songs, and rites of love.
The Spirit of Christmas is comprised of stories and prayers including The Christmas Angel, a story of a child-angel who predicts the coming of Christ as a baby in Bethlehem, Christmas Giving and Christmas Living, a simple, charming message about how to give from the heart, and Christmas Prayers, with prayers for the home and for "lonely folks" at Christmas. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29937000 |
Imagine seeing a penguin that’s five feet tall and has a very long, straight beak. Imagine a penguin so large it weighs twice as much as a the Emperor penguin, the largest species on Earth. That is, the largest species on Earth currently. If you were alive thirty-six million years ago you might have seen this giant penguin, called the Water King.
Scientists in Peru have recently uncovered the fossils of a Water King, which includes well-preserved feathers and scales. One of the interesting facts discovered is that this species had brown and gray feathers, unlike the black and white we associate with modern penguins.
The scientists have also concluded that based on the flipper structure Water Kings were powerful swimmers and their size could indicate that they were able to dive deeply.
For more on these amazing penguins, visit BBC News. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29940000 |
John Scarborough, owner of a large landed property in Hertfordshire, resented the restrictions of the law of entail. He accordingly devised a scheme whereby he was able by a double marriage, one before and one after the birth of his eldest son, to declare him legitimate or not, as the future might make desirable. This eldest son, Mountjoy, was a weak, easily led wastrel who developed into an inveterate gambler, and so encumbered the estate with postobits that at his father's death it would have gone to the moneylenders. The father, who valued his estate above his honor then declared Mountjoy illegitimate, producing the certificate of the second marriage in proof. The post-obits now being valueless he quietly bought them up, once again making the estate unencumbered.
Augustus, the second son, finding himself an heir, soon enraged his father by exhibiting an unseemly haste to enter into his inheritance. To punish him, John made a new will, giving Mountjoy all his property except that covered by the entail, and leaving Augustus only the skeleton of the estate, with no money to maintain it. Not satisfied in thus dashing his younger son's hopes, he then produced the first marriage certificate, making Mountloy heir under the entail. At his father's death, Mountjoy, again in funds, departed for Monte Carlo, and the assumption is that the estate would once again fall into the hands of the Jews.
"...a novel of property ...cynical and, for its period, daring, shows his [Trollope's] power of sustained and dexterous raillery." - Sadlier | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29945000 |
The Moravian church was founded in the 15th century, and is considered the first Protestant denomination, based on the philosophies of Jan Hus. By the 18th century, members of the church had been forced out of their homelands in Moravia and Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), and some had ended up in Herrnhut, Germany. There, they set up schools where sons would be raised and educated while their parents were away doing missionary work.
As the story goes, early one December some time in the mid-19th century, a teacher at the Herrnhut schools developed an art project for the students where they would use paper and glue to make a star-shaped polyhedron by attaching tall pyramids to a multifaceted geometrical solid (image 2). This challenging math lesson yielded beautiful star shapes, which the students used as lanterns for Christmas decorations (tip: it worked out for them, but I wouldn't recommend combining fire and paper in your own home decor). Subsequently, the shape came to be known as the Moravian Star, and was primarily associated with Advent and Christmas decorations.
Around 1900, an industrial manufacture sprang up in Herrnhut, mass-producing the star lanterns out of tin and glass. They also produced DIY-type kits for people to assemble at home, out of paper punched with holes. The advent of mail-order and the increase in international travel meant that Moravian stars became familiar in other parts of the world, as well, especially in the areas of Pennsylvania and upstate New York where the Moravian Church had been going strong since the 18th century.
Not only is it surprising to think of a school craft project turning into an international piece of design, but it is even more surprising to realize that the complexity of the star form had only recently been understood by the most brilliant mathematicians. If we're going to get geometrical here, the Moravian Star is technically a Great Stellated Dodecahedron, a form first identified by Johannes Kepler in 1619 and then again by Louis Poinsot (who was unfamiliar with Kepler's work) in 1809 — just a few short decades before the Herrnhut art project. The teacher responsible must therefore have been familiar with the most recent and complicated mathematical writings.
Of course, Kepler and Poinsot did not invent the great stellated dodecahedron, they just named and rationalized it. There is a mosaic representation of a small stellated dodecahedron (small because its points are short, as opposed to the tall isosceles points of the 'great' version) on the floor of San Marco Basilica in Venice, attributed to Paolo Uccello in the 1450s (image 3). And art and architecture from Western Islamic lands like Morocco have been primarily based on geometrical patterns for centuries, yielding flat, two-dimensional variations on star shapes (primarily 6- and 8-pointed stars) in endless tessellations (image 4), or concave three-dimensional star fragments in muqarnas (image 5). Perhaps this is the reason for the association of the star-shaped lanterns with Moroccan design? I could find no historical Moroccan, Islamic or Arabic lanterns shaped like a star. (Any readers know otherwise?)
While the Moravian star might originally have been used as Christmas decoration, it is above all a pleasing geometric form, and is now all but stripped of its religious or seasonal associations. At once complex and austere, it manages to be whimsical while also providing a pretty literal interpretation of starlight.
Images: 1 A Ginger Barber interior photographed by VIctoria Pearson for House Beautiful; 2 Herrnhuter-sterne.de; 3 Wikimedia Commons; 4 A zillij tile dado in Marrakesh, via Stars In Symmetry, a great blog about Islamic art and architecture; 5 Nasr al-Molk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran, via Wikipedia; 6-8 High Street Market; 9 Rum Interior Design via ATSF; 10 Elements of Style. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29951000 |
There was a Tree
This charming book is based on the folk song “The Green Grass Grew All Around”, a cumulative song that grows longer and longer with multiple verses. The book starts with a hole in the ground which grows a tree, which has a branch, and so on, with “the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around” ending every verse. Isadora uses rebuses to allow children to help read the story, similar to “The Jacket I Wear in the Snow”, by Shirley Neitzel. The beautiful and creative illustrations were created using oil paints, printed paper, and palette paper. At the end of the book is the music for anyone who is not familiar with the song. Highly recommended for preschool through 2nd grade.
Send a Question or Comment to Appleton Public Library. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29952000 |
Believing What Jesus Believed
It has become increasingly popular to accept certain parts of the Bible and to reject other parts. Such amazing events as the miracle of Creation, Jonah’s being swallowed by a sea creature, and the Flood of Noah often are brushed aside as mere myth, while more “credible” things such as the teachings of Jesus are accepted as fact. Although this line of reasoning might have some initial appeal to our “enlightened” society that rejects biblical miracles off hand, it contains a major flaw. When the teachings of Jesus are analyzed, it can be shown that Jesus Himself believed and taught the Old Testament stories that some label as myth.
For instance, the story of Jonah has come under attack due to its extraordinary details. According to the Old Testament Scriptures, God’s prophet Jonah disobeyed the Lord and was swallowed by a great sea creature. For three days, he dwelt as a damp denizen of that creature’s belly, until finally he was vomited onto the land and given another chance to obey God. To certain scholars, the story of Jonah finds a place in the Scriptures, not as a factual narrative of a specific historical account, but as a myth or allegory. What did Jesus believe about the story of Jonah? His sentiments in this regard were emphatically stated.
Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here (Matthew 12:38-41).
Quite clearly, Jesus accepted the story of Jonah as an accurate description of a real, historical event. He included not only the fact that Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish, but also affirmed that the city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. If the story of Jonah were simply an allegory or myth, Jesus’ entire point about being in the belly of the Earth for as long as Jonah was in the belly of the fish would be weakened to the point of ridiculousness. For, if Jonah wasn’t ever really in the belly of the fish, then what would that say about the Son of Man actually being in the belly of the Earth?
Another story endorsed by Christ is the formation of man and woman at the beginning of Creation. Some scholars, in an attempt to find a compromise between the Bible and organic evolution, have postulated that the Creation account of Genesis need not be taken literally, and that room can be found in Genesis to accommodate the idea that humans evolved gradually in Earth’s recent past. What did Jesus say about this idea?
During His earthly sojourn, Christ spoke explicitly regarding Creation. In Mark 10:6, for example, He declared: “But from the beginning of the creation, male and female made he them.” Note these three paramount truths: (1) The first couple was “made”; they were not biological accidents. Interestingly, the verb “made” in the Greek is in the aorist tense, implying point action, rather than progressive development (which would be characteristic of evolutionary activity). W.E. Vine made this very observation with reference to the composition of the human body in his comments on 1 Corinthians 12:18 (1951, p. 173). (2) The original pair was fashioned “male and female”; they were not initially an asexual “blob” that eventually experienced sexual diversion. (3) Adam and Eve existed “from the beginning of the creation.” The Greek word for “beginning” is arché, and is used of “absolute, denoting the beginning of the world and of its history, the beginning of creation.” The Greek word for “creation” is ktiseos, and denotes the “sum-total of what God has created” (Cremer, 1962, pp. 113,114,381, emp. in orig.). Christ certainly did not subscribe to the notion that the Earth is millions or billions of years older than humanity.
Accepting the testimony of Jesus Christ further demands that the global Flood of Noah be taken as a literal, historic event. The Lord Himself addressed the topic of the great Flood in Luke 17:26-30 (cf. Matthew 24:39) when He drew the following parallel:
And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed (emp. added).
The Lord depicted an impending doom that was to befall the Jews of His day who would not heed the Word of God. For the purpose of this article, however, note the context in which Jesus discussed the Flood destruction of Genesis 6-8. He placed the Flood alongside the destruction of Sodom, and He also placed it alongside the destruction of the ungodly at His Second Coming. John Whitcomb correctly noted that the word “all” must refer to the totality of people on the entire Earth in Noah’s day, and in Sodom during Lot’s time. Jesus’ argument would be weakened considerably if some of the people on the Earth, besides Noah’s family, escaped the Flood, or if certain Sodomites survived the fiery destruction sent from Heaven (1973, pp. 21-22). It is evident from the text that Jesus affirmed that the same number of ungodly sinners who escaped the Flood will be the same number of disobedient people who escape destruction at His Second Coming—none. From His remarks, one can clearly see that Jesus accepted the Genesis account of a global flood as a historical fact.
The sayings of Jesus contain numerous references to some of the Old Testament’s most extraordinary events. A person cannot consistently maintain a belief in Jesus and His teachings, while denying the details of the accounts that He endorsed as factual. The testimony of Jesus and the factual accuracy of the stories He commended stand together.
Cremer, H. (1962), Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek (London: T & T Clark).
Vine, W.E. (1951), First Corinthians (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
Whitcomb, John C. (1973), The World That Perished (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29954000 |
August 15, 2012
In a recent article in Scientific American, it was suggested that the U.S. should adopt higher standards in science, and that all 50 states should adopt them.
When you check the literature on science standards, the main reason for aiming for higher standards (raising the bar) is because in the “Olympics” of international academic test taking, the U.S. never takes home the gold.… Read more
July 31, 2012
Guest Post by Anthony Cody
Note: This is the first of five posts on the dialog between Anthony Cody and his readers, and the Gates Foundation. This post was originally published on Anthony’s site over on Education Week Teacher. This dialog is a major contribution to educational reform. Anthony Cody is one of the leading voices in America questioning the nature of present day reform.… Read more
May 30, 2012
In May, 2012, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a report entitled: What Teacher Education Programs Teach About K – 12 Assessment. Anthony Cody mentioned this study in a recent post entitled Payola Policy: NCTQ Prepares its Hit on Schools of Education.
The title intrigued me, so I went over to the NCTQ website, and read and studied the report which is about what education courses teach about assessment.… Read more
May 16, 2012
Sometime ago, we argued that there is little evidence that the National Science Education Standards published in 1996 and the Next Generation Science Standards released for public view by Achieve are any different than the content oriented projects of the 1960s. The disciplines and content areas of science were seen as fundamental in those earlier National Science Foundation funded projects such as PSSC Physics, CBA Chemistry, BSCS Biology, ESCP Earth Science, ISCS, IPS, and to the National Science Education Standards published in the 1996.… Read more
May 15, 2012
Note: This is the second in a series of posts on the Next Generation Science Standards. You can read the first one here.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are the latest iteration of writing science objectives for the eventual purpose of testing students’ knowledge of science. The objectives are developed by teams of experts, and rely on either their own domain analysis chart of science, or in this case the Framework for K-12 Science Education developed by another prestigious group of educators and scientists.… Read more
May 12, 2012
The Next Generation Science Standards are available for public view. Follow this link to the Science Standards Survey (feedback) Website.
According to Achieve, Inc., the corporation that is writing and publishing the standards:
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are distinct from prior science standards in that they integrate three dimensions within each standard and have intentional connections across standards.
… Read more
April 6, 2012
Why are we supporting the notion of a single set of science standards which has been done in mathematics and language reading/language art? We live in a democracy. One the of founding principles of education is that elected school board members for the more than 15,000 school districts are charged with making decisions for each local school district. What are we thinking?… Read more | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29977000 |
Tuesday, 8 June 2010, 20:00 – 21:00
Santa Fe Convention Center Ballroom
A presentation by Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, The Council of Canadians , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The global water crisis now poses the greatest threat to human rights of our time. Close to three billion people have no running water within a kilometer of their home, and every eight seconds a child dies of water borne disease. These deaths are totally avoidable. Maude Barlow will present her analysis of the ecological and human water crisis before us and her solution for a water secure future based on the core of principles of watershed restoration, water as a public trust and the human right to water.
Biographical Information: Maude Barlow is the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and senior advisor on water to the president of the United Nations General Assembly. She also chairs the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch and is a councilor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. Barlow is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates as well as many awards, including the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the “Alternative Nobel”), the Citation of Lifetime Achievement at the 2008 Canadian Environment Awards, and the 2009 Earth Day Canada Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award. She is also the best-selling author or co-author of 16 books, including the recently released Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29980000 |
Significance and Use
4.1 The three test methods provide simulated abrasion conditions, which can be used to evaluate the effects on abrasion resistance of concrete, concrete materials, and curing or finishing procedures. They may also be used for quality acceptance of products and surface exposed to wear. They are not intended to provide a quantitative measurement of length of service.
4.2 The equipment used by each of these procedures is portable and thus suitable for either laboratory or field testing. The three procedures determine the relative wear of concrete surfaces as follows:
4.2.1 Procedure A—The revolving-disk machine operates by sliding and scuffing of steel disks in conjunction with abrasive grit.
4.2.2 Procedure B—The dressing-wheel machine operates by impact and sliding friction of steel dressing wheels.
4.2.3 Procedure C—The ball-bearing machine operates by high-contact stresses, impact, and sliding friction from steel balls.
—Diagrams of three machines meeting these specifications are shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3.
FIG. 1 Revolving Disks Abrasion Test Machine
FIG. 2 Dressing Wheel Abrasion Test Machine
FIG. 3 Ball Bearing Abrasion Test Machine
1.1 This test method covers three procedures for determining the relative abrasion resistance of horizontal concrete surfaces. The procedures differ in the type and degree of abrasive force they impart, and are intended for use in determining variations in surface properties of concrete affected by mixture proportions, finishing, and surface treatment. They are not intended to provide a quantitative measurement of the length of service that may be expected from a specific surface.
1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text, the inch-pound units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of each other.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. (Warning—Fresh hydraulic cementitious mixtures are caustic and may cause chemical burns to skin and tissue upon prolonged exposure.)
—Other procedures are available for measuring the abrasion resistance of concrete surfaces in addition to the three procedures contained in this test method. Consideration should be given to Test Methods C944 and C418. The test method most closely representing service conditions should be used.
2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.
C418 Test Method for Abrasion Resistance of Concrete by Sandblasting
C670 Practice for Preparing Precision and Bias Statements for Test Methods for Construction Materials
C944 Test Method for Abrasion Resistance of Concrete or Mortar Surfaces by the Rotating-Cutter Method
abrasion; concrete; impact; surface treatments; wear ;
ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.
Citing ASTM Standards
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Formation of large (≃100 μm) ice crystals near the tropical tropopause
1NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
2SPEC Inc., Boulder, CO, USA
3Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito Exterior, Mexico
4Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
5Colorado Research Associates, Boulder, CO, USA
6University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Abstract. Recent high-altitude aircraft measurements with in situ imaging instruments indicated the presence of relatively large (≃100 μm length), thin (aspect ratios of ≃6:1 or larger) hexagonal plate ice crystals near the tropical tropopause in very low concentrations (<0.01 L−1). These crystals were not produced by deep convection or aggregation. We use simple growth-sedimentation calculations as well as detailed cloud simulations to evaluate the conditions required to grow the large crystals. Uncertainties in crystal aspect ratio leave a range of possibilities, which could be constrained by knowledge of the water vapor concentration in the air where the crystal growth occurred. Unfortunately, water vapor measurements made in the cloud formation region near the tropopause with different instruments ranged from <2 ppmv to ≃3.5 ppmv. The higher water vapor concentrations correspond to very large ice supersaturations (relative humidities with respect to ice of about 200%). If the aspect ratios of the hexagonal plate crystals are as small as the image analysis suggests (6:1, see companion paper (Lawson et al., 2008)) then growth of the large crystals before they sediment out of the supersaturated layer would only be possible if the water vapor concentration were on the high end of the range indicated by the different measurements (>3 ppmv). On the other hand, if the crystal aspect ratios are quite a bit larger (≃10:1), then H2O concentrations toward the low end of the measurement range (≃2–2.5 ppmv) would suffice to grow the large crystals. Gravity-wave driven temperature and vertical wind perturbations only slightly modify the H2O concentrations needed to grow the crystals. We find that it would not be possible to grow the large crystals with water concentrations less than 2 ppmv, even with assumptions of a very high aspect ratio of 15 and steady upward motion of 2 cm s−1 to loft the crystals in the tropopause region. These calculations would seem to imply that the measurements indicating water vapor concentrations less than 2 ppmv are implausible, but we cannot rule out the possibility that higher humidity prevailed upstream of the aircraft measurements and the air was dehydrated by the cloud formation. Simulations of the cloud formation with a detailed model indicate that homogeneous freezing should generate ice concentrations larger than the observed concencentrations (20 L−1), and even concentrations as low as 20 L−1 should have depleted the vapor in excess of saturation and prevented growth of large crystals. It seems likely that the large crystals resulted from ice nucleation on effective heterogeneous nuclei at low ice supersaturations. Improvements in our understanding of detailed cloud microphysical processes require resolution of the water vapor measurement discrepancies in these very cold, dry regions of the atmosphere. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29995000 |
The rain sensor activates the windshield wipers automatically when rain or other moisture appears on the windshield, and adapts the wiper interval to match the amount of rain. How it works: light-emitting diodes inside the rain sensor emit an invisible infrared light which is reflected by the outside surface of the windscreen and measured by photodiodes. If the full amount of light returns to the photodiode, the windshield is dry. A film of water or drops on the windscreen break up the light emitted. As the measuring process is permanent, the electronics can control the wiper intervals perfectly. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-29997000 |
logging in or signing up penicillin divyakriti Download Post to : URL : Related Presentations : Share Add to Flag Embed Email Send to Blogs and Networks Add to Channel Uploaded from authorPOINT lite Insert YouTube videos in PowerPont slides with aS Desktop Copy embed code: Embed: Flash iPad Dynamic Copy Does not support media & animations Automatically changes to Flash or non-Flash embed WordPress Embed Customize Embed URL: Copy Thumbnail: Copy The presentation is successfully added In Your Favorites. Views: 6000 Category: Science & Tech.. License: All Rights Reserved Like it (2) Dislike it (0) Added: April 08, 2011 This Presentation is Public Favorites: 1 Presentation Description No description available. Comments Posting comment... Premium member Presentation Transcript “EXTRACTION & PURIFICATION of PENICILLIN”: “ EXTRACTION & PURIFICATION of PENICILLIN ”What Is Penicillin?: What Is Penicillin? A class of antibiotics that comes from mold. Discovered by accident in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, is the first anitbiotic. Penicillin antibiotics include ampicillin, phenoxymethylpenicillin, amoxicillin, 1 st -4 th generations. 50 drugs that are now classified as penicillin. Use in WWII and after.How Penicillin Works?: How Penicillin Works? Resembles a protein needed for production of cell wall. Penicillin binds to cell wall of bacteria, prevents peptide chains from linking, and lyses it.PRODUCTION OF PENICILLIN: PRODUCTION OF PENICILLIN During world war II-importance realized, as penicillin had been used to treat many wounded soldiers.A tale by A. Fleming: A tale by A. Fleming The first antibiotic was discovered in 1896 by Ernest Duchesne and "rediscovered" by Alexander Flemming in 1928 from the filamentous fungus Penicilium notatu m . In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist, observed that Penicillium notatum , a common mold, had destroyed staphylococcus bacteria in culture.A tale by A. Fleming: A tale by A. Fleming He took a sample of the mold from the contaminated plate. He found that it was from the Penicillium family, later specified as Penicillium notatum . Fleming presented his findings in 1929, but they raised little interest. He published a report on penicillin and its potential uses in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology .Slide 7: Thanks to work by Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), Howard Florey ( 1898-1968) and Ernst Chain (1906-1979), penicillin was first produced on a large scale for human use in 1943. At this time, the development of a pill that could reliably kill bacteria was a remarkable development and many lives were saved during World War II because this medication was available . E. Chain H. Florey A. FlemingMOA OF PENICILLIN: MOA OF PENICILLIN All penicillin like antibiotics inhibit synthesis of peptidoglycan, an essential part of the cell wall. They do not interfere with the synthesis of other intracellular components. These antibiotics do not affect human cells because human cells do not have cell walls.Spectrum of Activity : Spectrum of Activity Penicillins are active against Gram positive bacteria Some members (e.g. amoxicillin) are also effective against Gram negative bacteria but not Pseudomonas aeruginosaPRODUCTION OF PENICILLIN: PRODUCTION OF PENICILLIN Penicillin was the first important commercial product produced by an aerobic, submerged fermentation First antibiotic to have been manufacture in bulk. Used as input material for some semi synthetic antibiotics. It is fermented in a batch culture, and a fed batch process is normally used to prolong the stationary period and so increase production.Slide 11: When penicillin was first made at the end of the second world war using the fungus Penicillium notatum , the process made 1 mg dm -3 . Today, using a different species ( P. chrysogenum ) and better extraction procedures the yield is 50 g dm -3 . There is a constant search to improve the yield.The yield of penicillin can be increased by: : The yield of penicillin can be increased by: Improvement in composition of the medium. Isolation of better penicillin producing mold sp. Penicillium chrysogenum which grow better in huge deep fermentation tank. Development of submerged culture technique for cultivation of mold in large volume of liquid medium through which sterile air is forced.Primary and Secondary Metabolites: Primary and Secondary Metabolites Primary metabolites are produced during active cell growth, and secondary metabolites are produced near the onset of stationary phase.Commercial Production Of Penicillin: Commercial Production Of Penicillin Like all antibiotics, penicillin is a secondary metabolite, so is only produced in the stationary phase.INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTIC- PENICILLIN : INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTIC- PENICILLIN The industrial production of penicillin was broadly classified in to two processes namely, Upstream processing Downstream processingUPSTREAM PROCESSING : UPSTREAM PROCESSING Upstream processing encompasses any technology that leads to the synthesis of a product. Upstream includes the exploration, development and production.DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING: DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING The extraction and purification of a biotechnological product from fermentation is referred to as downstream processing.UPSTREAM PROCESSING INOCULUM PREPARATION: UPSTREAM PROCESSING INOCULUM PREPARATION The medium is designed to provide the organism with all the nutrients that it requires. Inoculation method- submerged technique Spores -major source of inoculumRAW MATERIALS: RAW MATERIALS CARBON SOURCES: Lactose acts as a very satisfactory carbon compound, provided that is used in a concentration of 6%. Others such as glucose & sucrose may be used. NITROGEN SOURCES: Corn steep liquor (CSL) Ammonium sulphate and ammonium acetate can be used as nitrogenous sources. MINERAL SOURCES: Elements namely potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulphur, zinc and copper are essential for penicillin production. Some of these are applied by corn steep liquor. Calcium can be added in the form of chalk to counter the natural acidity of CSL PAA - precursorFERMENTATION PROCESS: FERMENTATION PROCESS The medium is inoculated with a suspension of conidia of Penicillium chrysogenum. The medium is constantly aerated and agitated, and the mould grows throughout as pellets. After about seven days, growth is complete, the pH rises to 8.0 or above, and penicillin production ceasesSTAGES IN DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING: STAGES IN DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING Downstream processing is relatively easy since penicillin is secreted into the medium (to kill other cells), so there is no need to break open the fungal cells. However, the product needs to be very pure, since it being used as a therapeutic medical drug, so it is dissolved and then precipitated as a potassium salt to separate it from other substances in the medium. Removal of cells The first step in product recovery is the separation of whole cells and other insoluble ingredients from the culture broth by technique such as filtration and centrifugation.ISOLATION OF BENZYL PENICILLIN : ISOLATION OF BENZYL PENICILLIN The PH is adjusted to 2-2.5 with the help of phosphoric or sulphuric acids. In aqueous solution at low PH values there is a partition coefficient in favor of certain organic solvents such as butyl acetate. This step has to be carried out quickly for penicillin is very unstable at low PH values. Antibiotic is then extracted back into an aqueous buffer at a PH of 7.5, the partition coefficient now being strongly in favor of the aqueous phase. The resulting aqueous solution is again acidified & re-extracted with an organic solvent. These shifts between the water and solvent help in the purification of penicillin.Slide 23: The treatment of the crude penicillin extract varies according to the objective, but involves the formation of an appropriate penicillin salt. The solvent extract recovered in the previous stage is carefully extracted back with aqueous sodium hydroxide. This is followed by charcoal treatment to eliminate pyrogens and by sterilization. Pure metal salts of penicillin can be safely sterilized by dry heat, if desired. Thereafter, the aqueous solution of penicillin is subjected to crystallization.FURTHER PROCESSING: FURTHER PROCESSING For parental use, the antibiotic is packed in sterile vials as a powder or suspension. For oral use, it is tabletted usually now with a film coating. Searching tests (ex: for purity, potency) are performed on the appreciable number of random samples of the finished product. It must satisfy fully all the strict government standards before being marketedThe main stages of Penicillin production are:: The main stages of Penicillin production are:PRODUCTS:: PRODUCTS: The resulting penicillin (called penicillin G) can be chemically and enzymatically modified to make a variety of penicillins with slightly different properties. These semi-synthetic penicillins include penicillin V, penicillin O, ampicillin and amoxycillin .PRODUCTION OF PENICILLIN V: PRODUCTION OF PENICILLIN V Phenoxy methyl penicillin Addition of different Acyl groups to the medium. Phenoxyacetic acid as precursor instead of phenyl acetic acid.Slide 31: What is the Carbon source? lactose What is the nitrogen source? yeast What is the energy source? glucose Is the fermentation aerobic or anaerobic? aerobic What is the optimum temperature? 25-27⁰C Is penicillin a primary or secondary metabolite? secondary What volume fermenter is used? 40-200dm^3 Why isn't a larger fermenter used? difficult to aerate When is penicillin produced? 40 hrs-after main increase in fungal mass How long can it be produced for? 140hours(180-40 hours) What was the first fungus known to produce penicillin? Penicillin notatum What species produces about 60mg/dm3 of penicillin? Penicillin crysogenum How did scientists improve the yield still further? Genetic modification What is the substrate? Corn steep liquor Why is batch culture used? secondary metabolite What are the processes involved in down-stream processing? a) filtration of liquid b) extraction from filtrate by counter current butylacetate c) precipitation by potassium salts Why can't penicillin be taken orally? Destroyed by stomach acid Name the form of penicillin which can be taken orally. Penicillin v and ampicillin How does Penicillin kill bacteria? Stops production of cell wall Why are Gram negative bacteria not killed by penicillin? Different cell wallQUERIES ?: QUERIES ? You do not have the permission to view this presentation. In order to view it, please contact the author of the presentation. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30001000 |
Major new technical report finds wind can provide 20% of U.S. electricity needs by 2030
U.S. Department of Energy Analysis Finds That Wind Can Be Major Contributor to Energy Mix
Wind power is capable of becoming a major contributor to America’s electricity supply over the next three decades, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Energy. The groundbreaking report, 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply, looks closely at one scenario for reaching 20% wind energy by 2030 and contrasts it to a scenario of no new U.S. wind power capacity.
"DOE's wind report is a thorough look at America's wind resource, its industrial capabilities, and future energy prices, and confirms the viability and commercial maturity of wind as a major contributor to America's energy needs, now and in the future," DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy Andy Karsner, said. "To dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our energy security, clean power generation at the gigawatt-scale will be necessary, and will require us to take a comprehensive approach to scaling renewable wind power, streamlining siting and permitting processes, and expanding the domestic wind manufacturing base."
Included in the report are an examination of America’s technological and manufacturing capabilities, the future costs of energy sources, U.S. wind energy resources, and the environmental and economic impacts of wind development. Under the 20% wind scenario, installations of new wind power capacity would increase to more than 16,000 megawatts per year by 2018, and continue at that rate through 2030.
“The report shows that wind power can provide 20% of the nation’s electricity by 2030, and be a critical part of the solution to global warming,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “This level of wind power is the equivalent of taking 140 million cars off the road,” he said. “The report identifies the central constraints to achieving 20% - transmission, siting, manufacturing and technology - and demonstrates how each can be overcome. As an inexhaustible domestic resource, wind strengthens our energy security, improves the quality of the air we breathe, slows climate change, and revitalizes rural communities.”
The report finds that achieving a 20 percent wind contribution to U.S. electricity supply would:
Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 25 percent in 2030.
Reduce natural gas use by 11%;
Reduce water consumption associated with electricity generation by 4 trillion gallons by 2030;
Increase annual revenues to local communities to more than $1.5 billion by 2030; and
Support roughly 500,000 jobs in the U.S., with an average of more than 150,000 workers directly employed by the wind industry.
At 20% of electric power generation, significant growth in the manufacturing supply chain would create jobs and remedy the current shortage in parts for wind turbines.
Reducing the use of natural gas could save money for consumers due to the resulting downward pressure on the price of natural gas, according to AWEA.
“We must look at meeting future electric demands in a cost-effective way,” said Suedeen Kelly, FERC Commissioner. “The 20% wind scenario would only cost 2 percent more than the cost of the baseline scenario without wind. At 50 cents per month for the average ratepayer, that is a small price to pay for the climate, water, natural gas, and energy security benefits it would buy--and it does not even count the stability provided to consumers by eliminating fuel price risk.”
“Though economic and other factors will ultimately determine our energy future, we believe the 20 percent wind scenario is feasible, but only with a major national transmission highway system. Delivering power from the best windy regions to the growing urban supply requires a bigger, stronger transmission system. Strong regional and interregional planning as well as broad allocation of costs will allow the United States to rely on a broader diversity of generation resources," said Mike Heyeck, Senior VP of AEP Transmission.
The report comes at an important time in wind development. In 2007, wind was one of the fastest growing sources of electricity in the nation, second only to natural gas for the third consecutive year. According to an AWEA report released last week, the U.S. wind energy industry continued new installations at a breakneck pace in the first quarter of 2008, putting 1,400 megawatts (MW) or approximately $3 billion worth of new generating capacity in place--enough to serve the equivalent of 400,000 homes--coupled with investment in 17 new manufacturing facilities over the past year.
“Wind is an important part of BP Alternative Energy’s business and of BP’s diverse energy portfolio. Siting and wildlife issues will be a challenge, but AWEA and industry leaders are committed to working with stakeholders to make wind the environmental electricity choice,” said Bob Lukefahr, President, Power Americas, BP Alternative Energy North America. “This report underscores the benefits of diversifying our electricity sources. Growing to 20% wind requires investment in new manufacturing and capital projects, an estimated 500,000 jobs, and brings rural economic development across the country.”
In 2006, President Bush articulated a national imperative for greater energy efficiency and a more diversified energy portfolio. Citing wind energy as part of the solution, he noted that areas of the nation with good wind resources could satisfy up to 20 percent of America’s total electricity demand.
Subsequently, government and industry came together to thoroughly explore the feasibility of generating 20 percent of U.S. electricity from wind by 2030 and produced this joint report to aid policy-makers and the public in better understanding the issues, investments, and likely outcomes associated with pursuing this objective.
To download the full report, please go to www.20percentwind.org.
AWEA is the national trade association of America's wind industry, with 1,200 member companies, including global leaders in wind power and energy development, wind turbine manufacturing, component and service suppliers, and the world's largest wind power trade show, the WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition, which takes place next in Chicago, May 5-8, 2013. AWEA is the voice of wind energy in the U.S., promoting renewable energy to power a cleaner, stronger America. Look up information on wind energy at the AWEA website. Find insight on industry issues at AWEA's blog Into the Wind. Join AWEA on Facebook. Follow AWEA on Twitter. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30007000 |
|from the October 10, 2010 Newsletter issued from
Hacienda Chichen Resort beside Chichén Itzá Ruins, central Yucatán, MÉXICO
"ROOSTER FOOT" VINE
We're entering that time of year when morning-glory vines start flowering, and I've never seen anyplace in the world with more morning-glory species than the Yucatán. We must be at or near the morning-glory center of evolution.
This week here and there along roadsides a conspicuous new morning-glory vine has appeared, with large, completely white flowers with spiraling anthers, and broad, deeply lobed leaves, with the lobes spreading like the toes of a chicken's foot. You can see it above.
In that picture notice the deep pits in the flowers' throats, where hummingbird or moths with long proboscises can sup nectar. A close-up showing the unusual spiraling anthers dusted with white pollen, with the spherical, fuzzy-looking stigma atop its long, slender style down at the bottom-left, is shown below:
In Spanish this vine often is called Pata de Gallo, which means "Rooster Foot," because of the leaves' shape. It's OPERCULINA PINNATIFIDA, a species distributed from southern Texas through lowland Mexico into Guatemala.
The fruits are as unusual and interesting looking as the flowers. You can see one subtended by five sepals below:
The bladdery item divided into four compartments is the mature ovary wall, or fruit husk. Inside each of the four cells lies a single large, black, hard seed.
Maximino Martínez's Las Plantas Medicinales de México reports that sometimes hemorrhoid sufferers carry the black seeds in their pockets to ease their pain. This is a good example of the Doctrine of Signatures, which states that medicinal plants may indicate their use by certain signs. In this case I suppose that the sign is the swollen bladder, which somehow is suggestive of what hemorrhoids feel like, even though they don't necessarily look that way. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30012000 |
Your phone might know better than you do:
Just by analyzing the calling patterns, the researchers could accurately label two people as friends or nonfriends more than 95% of the time. But the results, published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the mobile phone data were better at predicting friendship than the subjects themselves. Thirty-two pairs of subjects switched from calling each other acquaintances to friends in the traditionally gathered survey data. These are most likely new relationships that formed during the course of the study, say the researchers, and they left a clear signal in the mobile phone data. Friends call each other far more often than acquaintances do when they are off-campus and during weekends. The pattern is so distinct that the researchers spotted budding friendships in the phone data months before the people themselves called themselves friends.
Finally, the team compared people’s self-reported job satisfaction with their networks of friendship at their workplaces. Because the mobile phones kept track of people’s proximity to each other, the researchers had a clear measure of people’s daily contact with friends at work, not only through calls but through physical proximity. As predicted, the more contact people had with friends at their workplace, the more highly they rated their job satisfaction. And conversely, the less face-to-face contact people had with friends at work, the less they said they enjoyed it.
…at MIT, scientists who tracked student cellphones during the latest presidential election were able to deduce that two people were talking about politics, even though the researchers didn’t know the content of the conversation. By analyzing changes in movement and communication patterns, researchers could also detect flu symptoms before the students themselves realized they were getting sick.
“Phones can know,” said Dr. Pentland, director of MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory, who helped pioneer the research. “People can get this god’s-eye view of human behavior.”
So far, these studies only scratch the surface of human complexity. Researchers are already exploring ways that the information gleaned from mobile phones can improve public health, urban planning and marketing. At the same time, researchers believe their findings hint at basic rules of human interaction, and that poses new challenges to notions of privacy.
“We have always thought of individuals as being unpredictable,” said Johan Bollen, an expert in complex networks at Indiana University. “These regularities [in behavior] allow systems to learn much more about us as individuals than we would care for.”
Of course, companies are very interested in this data:
Cellphone providers are openly exploring other possibilities. By mining their calling records for social relationships among customers, several European telephone companies discovered that people were five times more likely to switch carriers if a friend had already switched, said Mr. Eagle, who works with the firms. The companies now selectively target people for special advertising based on friendships with people who dropped the service.
And some of the results are downright unnerving:
After analyzing more than 16 million records of call date, time and position, the researchers determined that, taken together, people’s movements appeared to follow a mathematical pattern. The scientists said that, with enough information about past movements, they could forecast someone’s future whereabouts with 93.6% accuracy.
The pattern held true whether people stayed close to home or traveled widely, and wasn’t affected by the phone user’s age or gender.
A few other interesting tidbits:
- They may be making us more selfish, however. Our phones can fulfill our need for human contact, making us less inclined to go out of our way to help others.
- These devices can distract us so much we don’t notice the world around us — even if it contains unicycling clowns. (To be fair, people may actually like us better when we are distracted during a conversation.)
- We’ve become so addicted to our phones that two-thirds of users report hearing “phantom ringing“.
- We rely so much on these devices that a third of people under 30 can’t remember their home phone numbers — if they have one at all.
- By stripping away the emotional information in faces and intonation, text messaging might be simulating autism.
- Soon there will be more “booty texts” than “booty calls”. (iPhone users are more promiscuous, by the way.)
Join 25K+ readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30013000 |
The starting point for making red wines, as with white wines, comes with crushing and destemming the red or black-skinned grapes. Occasionally the winemaker may decide not to destem, as the stems will add further flavour compounds and tannins to the grape must. The crushed grapes are then moved into the fermentation vessel. Stainless steel tanks are the most common vessel for the fermentation of red wines, as they allow easy access to the liquid for mixing the grape skins with the liquid, and also provide for temperature control.
The addition of yeast starts the fermentation, and sulphur dioxide helps to prevent oxidation. The carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation process means that all of the solid material soon rises to the surface of the fermentation vessel. These solids need to be mixed thoroughly with the liquid in order to extract the colour, phenolics, flavour compounds and tannins which are vitally important to red wines. To do this, the winemaker can either punch down the cap of solids using rods (similar to oversized potato mashers), or the liquid can be pumped over the top using a hose pipe. This process is known as maceration.
The liquid will then be separated from the skins prior to the secondary malolactic fermentation. Unlike white wines, almost all red wines undergo malolactic fermentation, as the wines would otherwise be too harsh to enjoy.
After the malolactic fermentation, the red wine is ready for barrel maturation or bottling. If the wine is destined to be bottled without barrel ageing, it will undergo fining, blending, stabilisation and bottling. If the wine is destined for barrel ageing, it will be moved into barrels for the appropriate amount of time, with regular topping up to replace the evaporated liquid and prevent oxidation before going through the bottling process. It may also then be bottle aged before it is ready to drink.
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most widely planted red grape varieties in the world and is suited to a wide range of climates. Together with Cabernet Franc and Merlot, it makes some of the world's best wines in Bordeaux, but it is also very successful as a single varietal in Tuscany, Australia (especially Coonawarra and Margaret River), California, Chile, Argentina and South Africa. It produces medium-full bodied wines with black fruit (especially blackcurrant), herbaceous or menthol notes and has medium-high acidity and high tannins. Oak ageing adds extra spice and complexity to the wines, which can age very well in bottle for decades.
Merlot is a highly successful variety and is grown across the world. In moderate climates it gives wines with red fruit flavours, medium body, medium acidity, medium alcohol and medium-low tannins, making it the perfect grape for soft, fruity and early drinking wines. In warmer climate is gives a much richer and fuller wine with black fruits, high alcohol and ripe tannins. Oak ageing adds complexity to these dark wines, and they can age very well in bottle. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, Merlot is one of the most important varieties in the fine wines of Bordeaux, especially Pomerol and St Emilion, but it is also highly successful in Italy, Australia, New Zealand, California, Chile, Argentina and South Africa.
Pinot Noir is the classic red variety of Burgundy, where it produces delicate wines of great intensity and longevity. Pinot Noir is notoriously difficult to grow, and is best suited to cool, moderate climates. It produces light-medium bodied wines with red fruit and can have vegetal / earthy notes. It has medium-high acidity and very soft, silky tannins which can add a richness to the texture. It is very successful in Burgundy, where it produces some of the worlds finest wines, Loire, cool-climate parts of Australia (Mornington Peninsula is highly successful), New Zealand, California, Oregon, Chile and South Africa.
Tempranillo the classic variety of Rioja, Tempranillo produces medium-bodied wines with over-ripe strawberry and plum flavours, medium-high acidity and medium-high tannin. With oak ageing it gains earthy, savoury notes such as leather and oak spice, and can also have flavours of coconut and vanilla from American oak. It can have excellent ageing potential. As well as being the mainstay of Rioja, Tempranillo also produces the great wines of Ribera del Duero and Toro, and is widely planted across Spain. It is also widely planted in Northern Portugal and is an important variety in Port. Tempranillo is known by a variety of synonyms, including Cencibel, Tinto Fino, Tinto del Toro and Tinto Roriz.
Syrah (Shiraz) A hugely successful variety across the world, Syrah / Shiraz gives spicy wines with black fruit, dried fruit, jam and chocolate flavours. It is usually full bodied with high tannins and high acidity. Oak ageing adds toasty, smokey complexity to the wines, the best examples of which can age for decades. Perhaps best known as Shiraz from Australia, where it makes many excellent wines, Syrah is also responsible for the great wines of the Northern Rhône, Hermitage, Cornas, St-Joseph and Cote Rotie. It is also an important variety in the Southern Rhône, and is highly successful in South Africa, New Zealand, Chile and California. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30016000 |
This beautifully rendered marble carving of the young Marcus Aurelius was made during or after the Enlightenment, in the spirit of the antique originals of ancient Rome. These pieces were found during the Great Tours of the 18th and early 19th centuries, and inspired sculptors just as antique architecture was echoed in public buildings of the period. The base is a plain turned pedestal, with a sectional block of the torso slightly narrower than the shoulders. The face looks slightly to its right, wearing a pensive expression. The idealised features are serene and sensitive, the carelessly tousled hair picked out in exquisite detail. The historical Marcus Aurelius achieved a divine status for being one of the Five Good Emperors, a dignified and intellectual man and a strong leader. In youth he was favoured by Hadrian, who saw in him something of his future potential as well as his obvious beauty that can be seen here.
Marcus Aurelius was among the most important, most intellectual, and least despotic of the Roman emperors. Born Marcus Annius Catilius Severus in 121 AD, his family was fairly well-connected to the aristocracy and ruling classes of Rome, including Hadrian, Trajan and Antoninus Pius. His father died when he was three, and he was raised by his mother and paternal grandfather. His meteoric rise to imperial power was occasioned by the confusion stemming from succession after the death of Hadrian. He attracted the attention of Hadrian at a young age, and was nicknamed verissimus – truest. Following the death of Hadrian’s adoptive son Lucius Aurelius, Hadrian named Antoninus as his successor on the condition that he adopt Marcus as well as Lucius Aurelius Verus, the son of his own adopted son, and that they succeed him as emperor in their turn. To this end, both received the best education that could be afforded them, from luminaries such as Geminus, Andron, Celer, Fronto and Atticus. His correspondence with Fronto has survived, painting a picture of a serious, industrious youth with high ideals and energy.
He acceded to power in 161, aged 40, and adopted the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He ruled as co-regent with Verus, ten years his junior, to whom he seems to have given more menial or less commanding roles such as commanding the eastern armies. Marcus’ rule was humane, targeting corruption in law and civil areas, as well as socially concerned attitudes towards the bereaved, orphaned and enslaved. Christians were technically still punishable, but this action was rarely pursued. The empire grew, defeating the Parthians in 166, and repelling Germania’s invasions a decade later. Most impressively, the Roman Empire maintained cordial relations with states in Central Asia as far east as Han China. He was poised to take over Bohemia, but these plans collapsed when he became ill and died in 180 AD. The cause was the so-called Antonine Plague, which had been brought back from Parthia fifteen years previously. Believed to have been measles or smallpox, this disease also killed Lucius Verus as well as about 5 million people in the Roman Empire.
Personally he was amicable, humane and intellectual. His Meditations, written while on campaign, is still used as a reference for leadership and duty and proposed a manner of rational virtue. He was a Stoic philosopher of considerable note, as well as a family man who took his wife and children with him on his trips around the empire. He had fourteen children by Faustina the Younger, of which only one son and four daughters survived him. He was deified upon his death, and was succeeded by Commodus, who turned out to be one of the most disastrous choices in Imperial Rome.
This is a powerful and attractive piece of Enlightenment sculpture. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30019000 |
Hair: The Long and Short of It
Some hair on your head falls out every day, no matter what your age. And that is perfectly normal.
Each hair strand goes through two phases: a growing phase and a resting phase, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The growing phase lasts two to six years, during which the strand grows about half an inch a month. When the growing phase ends, the hair enters a resting phase of two to three months. After the resting phase, the hair falls out and a new hair begins growing.
About 10 percent of your hair is in a resting phase at any one time, the AAFP says.
About 95 percent of all cases of excessive hair loss are caused by male pattern baldness, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). This condition, technically called androgenetic alopecia, occurs most often in men, but women also can experience it. About 40 million U.S. men are affected by male pattern baldness. About a quarter of men begin balding by age 30, the AMA says. Two-thirds of men begin balding by age 60.
Excessive hair loss can be caused by other things, as well. You can lose hair three to four months after an illness or surgery, because of the stress on your body. A hormonal imbalance -- caused by thyroid disease, for instance -- can cause hair loss. Women often notice hair loss about three months after giving birth; this hair loss is related to levels of certain pregnancy hormones.
Fungal infections can cause hair loss. These infections occur most often in children. Treating the infection stops the hair loss.
Certain medications can cause hair loss. These include blood thinners, gout medicines, chemotherapy medicines, oral contraceptives and antidepressants, the AAFP says. An excess amount of vitamin A also can cause hair loss.
Diabetes and lupus are two diseases that can cause hair loss. Treating the disease can help stop the hair loss, the AAFP says.
Using tight hair rollers or wearing your hair in pigtails or cornrows can lead to hair loss. Chemicals used in permanents also can lead to hair loss.
If you have male pattern baldness, be wary of miracle cures. The good news is that there is hope: medications such as minoxidil, which is applied topically, or finasteride taken as a pill, can help restore hair growth, and techniques such as hair grafts or transplants can be successful.
Proper care can keep hair healthy. The difference in shampoos for oily, dry and normal hair depends on pH balance -- whether they're acidic or alkaline. Dry or damaged hair, for example, needs acidic shampoo, with a pH below five.
And if you have trouble making your hair look lively, maybe you should not be surprised. Your hair is made up of layers of dead cells filled with the protein keratin -- which also makes up your nails and your outer skin. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30020000 |
Protecting Afghanistan’s environment and tourist future
If the high mountain lakes of Band-e Amir were not in a country in its fourth decade of war they would be world famous.
Outsiders lucky enough to see them today are often lost for words when they first set eyes on the ethereal blue of their waters and the Martian-orange and red cliffs surrounding them.
The lakes, in Bamiyan province, are Afghanistan's first-ever national park, and draw thousands of local visitors every year. The government hopes foreign tourists will one day come too.
If that sounds quixotic now, so too may the UN and the government's launch here of the country's first-ever environmental protection plan - with a solar-powered kettle one of its signature initiatives.
But for those living in Bamiyan's isolated mountain valleys, the most immediate threat is not the Taliban but drought, partly induced by human activity.
Climate change is making things worse and the lakes could be at risk too.
Glaciers in the province's Koh-e Baba mountains, the western end of the Hindu Kush, recede further each year.
The climate adaptation programme, as it's known, "is not luxury, it's life", says Bamiyan Governor Habiba Sarabi after climbing up to Qazan, one of 18 mountain farming communities involved in the $6m (£3.75m) scheme.
Some 3,000m (9,800ft) above sea level, this is always going to be a tough place to live and farm.
But it's got tougher as trees and vegetation have been cut down for fuel - creating the beginnings of a high-altitude dust bowl.
In an Afghan version of the Grapes of Wrath, more families are being forced to leave every year.
Like shaved heads, most of the hillsides are bare, with just the occasional stubble of green.
It also means villages are more exposed to "flash-flooding in spring and summer and avalanches in winter", says Andrew Scanlon of the UN Environment Programme.
But he is now overseeing the planting of new trees and turf along Qazan's valley.
Against the repetitive clanging of hammer on metal, workers in Bamiyan city are building scores of cleaner, more-efficient stoves.
Run by an Afghan NGO called the Conservation Organisation for the Afghan Mountains (COAM), the workshop sells them on preferential terms to local villages and it already has more orders than it can fulfil.
Mr Scanlon wants to expand the scheme elsewhere.
COAM is promoting another energy-saving device, the solar kettle.
It is basically a large satellite dish which reflects sun-rays onto a kettle suspended in the middle.
The bigger the dish the quicker the boil - but the one they are selling for about $100 can make a cup of tea in 20 minutes.
Yet with Nato forces retreating over the next two years, taking large chunks of aid money with them, there are concerns whether this tentative momentum can be maintained.
The New Zealand run civilian-military provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Bamiyan is due to close early next year.Catching up
There are questions, too, over the future of Bamiyan's best-known landmark - the remains of the larger of its two rock Buddhas, blown up by the Taliban months before the US-led invasion in 2001.
The vast cave, or niche, carved into the mountainside 1,500 years ago looms over Bamiyan like a ghostly sentinel - and a permanent reminder of what happened.
But the niche is in "imminent danger of collapse", says Brendan Cassar of Unesco - the UN's cultural agency - and they need funding to shore it up.
Security concerns are pressing in too - from districts around Bamiyan where the Taliban and other armed groups have become more active.
Buddhas in Bamiyan
- About 140 miles (230km) northwest of Kabul
- Built in the 6th Century, when Bamiyan was a holy Buddhist site
- In 629AD, Chinese traveller Xuanzang described Bamiyan as a bustling centre with tens of thousands of monks
- The two most prominent statues were 55m and 37m high
- Bodies carved out of sandstone cliffs
- Demolished in March 2001 after being declared idols
That has had a knock-on effect on the small indigenous tourist trade here.
If foreign tourists are still a fledgling species here, Band-e Amir national park usually attracts a steady flow of Afghan visitors.
But there's been a sharp fall in numbers this year, as the threat along the road towards Bamiyan has risen.
The park itself is still a long way from being managed like protected reserves elsewhere in the world. A guard with a piece of rope across the road is the gate-post.
There is little control on villagers who live next to the lakes. They have often used grenades and other explosives for fishing. Rubbish sometimes gets dumped in the waters.
But it is important to keep locals involved, "so they benefit", says Mostapha Zaher, the energetic head of Afghanistan's environmental protection agency - and grandson of the former king.
He admits he's been called "unrealistic" for his dreams of developing national parks while the country is still in conflict.
But Mr Zaher insists it will happen, with plans underway for a second park in the Wakhan corridor - the finger of mountainous territory that takes Afghanistan all the way to China.
The UN deputy envoy Michael Keating, who has championed the environmental programmes, echoes his optimism: "Twenty years ago who would have thought Cambodia could become a tourist destination?"
To Afghans, the lakes are sacred waters and they believe have healing properties.
Perhaps one day, they will help heal Afghanistan too. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30030000 |
Stemming from Broder’s fraught drive between Washington, DC and Boston in the purely electric Model S sedan, during which the reporter suffered multiple bouts of battery-range anxiety, reams of data were collected by the vehicle on everything from throttle pressure to battery depletion. Musk has refused to release this data, but the fact that a passenger vehicle would collect it at all underscores a change in what we trust our cars to do.
Passenger vehicles can and will collect very specific data on our driving habits. This data can be stored, analysed and used to ascertain fault in accidents, speeding cases and manufacturers’ gas mileage claims; it can also be used to take proactive measures to avoid collisions. Some of this data collection and processing ability exists already, but it is nowhere near as robust as it will soon become.
First, a look at the data-driven tools already used by passenger vehicles.
Technology as a tool
Adaptive cruise control uses radar and sensors to determine the distance from a driver's car to the one in front of it. When it receives that information, it determines whether the car should maintain its speed or slow down. Systems like Volvo's City Safety accident prevention system are further evolutions of this, able to sense obstacles and apply brake pressure to avoid or lessen the impact of collision. Both systems apply information culled from a car's surroundings and in a stopping or slowing scenario.
In coming years however, cars will communicate with multiple vehicles in their vicinity, exchanging speed data, assessing possible risks and using algorithms to avoid, and calculate the risk of, collisions. Cars will not merely collect data about themselves, they will collect data about everything around them to help drivers make decisions. In some cases, cars will make the decision for them.
The question that may nag at motorists is how implicitly such technology can be trusted. This reckoning is already at hand in the form of so-called autonomous vehicles. Google's autonomous cars collect reams of data and manoeuvre based on that information. The company’s engineers have done such a thorough job of controlling for various factors that the vehicles have never had an accident under computer control.
Drivers already put an enormous amount of trust in their vehicles and for the most part our cars perform their tasks extraordinarily well. Whether this trust endures as cars take over more functions from drivers remains to be seen.
The human experience
Anyone who has ever booted up a computer or opened an app knows that the data presented is not always accurate. Our computers and smartphones freeze, our apps crash and our files get corrupted. The same applies to our vehicles. Technology has already made cars safer and more efficient, but as more data technologies migrate into the car, there will be more possibilities for misreporting of information or just plain failure.
That is why every Google car has a manual override, and why autonomy will be gradually integrated into vehicles. Technology, in other words, will not be allowed to trump a driver's ability to make decisions, at least not for the foreseeable future.
For now, we can choose to trust data when we can assess it accurately, or discard it when we think it is wrong. But in a few years, presuming data collection has become better honed, disputes like the one between Tesla and the New York Times may not even have the opportunity to surface. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30034000 |
It’s Earth Month! Celebrate by going green in the kitchen.
Going green is easier than you think! Follow these 10 simple steps for turning your kitchen into an earth-friendly zone.
Going green has gone from a trend to a way of life. And yet, I can’t seem to overcome my fear of composting (the worms!). Which is why I’m all about taking baby steps—starting in the kitchen. The room where much of our daily activity and consumption occur is a gold mine for going green.
Below are 10 easy ways to clean up your act:
- Recycle, recycle, recycle. Before you throw away another aluminum can, think about this: a single aluminum can saved by recycling is equivalent to a half gallon of gasoline.
- Wash dishes in the dishwasher, not by hand. “A fully loaded dishwasher uses about 5 gallons of water—about 4 times less than if you washed them by hand,” says eco-living expert Danny Seo. “Plus, a dishwasher sanitizes better. Yes, lazier is greener and better!”
- Make your own countertop cleanser. It’s easy, inexpensive and healthier for you and the environment. Fill a spray bottle with 1 part distilled white vinegar and 1 part water. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil for fragrance, and spritz away.
- Nuke the sponge. A wet sponge can be a breeding ground for nasty germs that you just spread around when you clean. Seo suggests microwaving it for 90 seconds to radiate away all the germs and bacteria.
- Replace the fridge if it’s more than 15 years old. “A refrigerator is the only appliance you NEVER turn off from the day you plug it in,” says Seo. “The older it gets, the more energy and money is wasted. Investing in an Energy Star rated model will save on both over time.”
- Reserve paper towels for emergencies only. You’ll save on trees by switching to cloth towels and napkins, which can be reused. Plus, they look nicer on the table!
- Grocery shop with reuseable bags—one for meat products, one for produce and one for everything else. “You can cross-contaminate your veggies if meat drips onto your produce,” warns Seo.
- Compost! I’m told that it’s a whole lot easier than it looks, and there are loads of pretty (and odorless) countertop compost pails on the market. Just toss in food scraps until the pail is full, then transfer to your outdoor compost pile or garden.
- Buy your favorite liquid soap in bulk, and transfer to glass bottles in kitchen and bathrooms. You’ll save money and help cut down on the number of plastic bottles that wind up in the landfill each year.
- Turn unwanted leftovers into a delicious treasure. The bunch of parsley you hardly touched, the wilted greens, the lone carrot. It’s so easy to throw items away, but why waste what can be made into soup stock or blended into pesto? Every little bit counts. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30046000 |
This domain includes the larger expanses of Holocene sediments and landforms throughout Britain, with the exception of blanket peat on the hills. It mainly includes areas of very low relief and low-lying coastal tracts.
The domain has almost complete cover of superficial deposits (~85%). Organic deposits form about 10% of the area (~12% of the area of superficial deposits).
This area is underlain by thick sequences of alluvial, lacustrine, estuarine, beach, aeolian and marine deposits, locally concealed by and extensively interbedded with peat. This includes the extensive lowland peats of the Fenland, Broadland and the Somerset Moors and Levels. These peats are mainly the product of rising water tables in response to rising relative sea levels during the Holocene.
|Subjective guide to dominance within this domain||Topogenous mires||Soligenous mires||Ombrogenous mires|
|Locally present||Open water transition mire||Valley mire|
|Rare||Basin mire||Spring mire||Raised mire|
For further information please contact Marieta Garcia-Bajo | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30049000 |
| Risk Factors
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot in a vein deep in the body. Veins are blood vessels with valves that help prevent backward blood flow. Blood is pushed through the veins in legs and arms when muscles contract.
Deposits of red blood cells and clotting elements in the blood can build up in a vein. This build up leads to a blood clot. Clots usually occur in the legs, but can occur in other locations. As the clot grows, it blocks blood flow in the vein.
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Several factors contribute to clot formation, including:
- Slow blood flow, often due to lying or sitting still for a long period of time
Pooling of blood in a vein, often due to:
- Medical conditions
- Damage to valves in a vein or pressure on the valves, such as during pregnancy
- Injury to a blood vessel
- Clotting problems, which can occur due to aging or disease
- Catheters placed in a vein
Risk factors for DVT include:
- Personal or family history of deep vein thrombosis
- Not moving your body, especially during travel
- Surgery, especially involving bones or joints
Medical conditions, such as:
- Inherited or natural genetic changes that can alter your protein levels
Taking medications such as
birth control pills
Symptoms occur when:
- The clot interferes with blood flow in the vein
- Local inflammation occurs
- A clot breaks free and travels to the lungs
Some patients may not have any symptoms until the clot moves to the lungs. This condition is called
Symptoms of DVT may include:
- Swelling of a limb
- Tenderness along the vein, especially near the thigh
- Redness, paleness, or blueness of the skin of the affected limb
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
- Your blood and blood flow may be tested. This can be done with:
- Blood tests
- Impedance plethysmography
Duplex venous ultrasound
You may have images taken. This can be done with venography.
Treatment aims to:
- Prevent pulmonary embolism
- Stop the clot from growing
- Dissolve the clot, if possible
This may include:
- Resting in bed
- Elevating the affected limb above the heart
- Wearing compression stockings as advised by your doctor
You may be prescribed blood thinning medication to prevent additional clots from forming. These may be given by injection or by mouth.
This treatment may be continued long-term.
In some cases, a filter may be placed in the inferior vena cava. The vena cava is a major vein. Blood from the lower body returns to the heart through this vein. The filter may trap a clot that breaks loose before it travels to the lungs.
General prevention measures include:
- Having tests that monitor your use of blood thinners.
- Do not sit for long periods. If you are in a car or airplane or at a computer, get up often and move around.
- Do not smoke.
If you are admitted to the hospital, talk to your doctor about how to prevent blood clots, such as:
- Get out of bed and walk as soon as possible during your recovery.
If you are restricted to bed:
- Do range of motion exercises in bed.
- Change your position at least every two hours.
- Wear compression stockings to promote venous blood flow.
- Use a pneumatic compression device. This device uses air to compress your legs and help improve venous blood flow.
- If prescribed by your doctor, take medication to reduce blood clots. This medication can reduce your chance of death due to blood clots. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30055000 |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Even large amounts of manufactured nanoparticles, also known as Buckyballs, don't faze microscopic organisms that are charged with cleaning up the environment, according to Purdue University researchers.
In the first published study to examine Buckyball toxicity on microbes that break down organic substances in wastewater, the scientists used an amount of the nanoparticles on the microbes that was equivalent to pouring 10 pounds of talcum powder on a person. Because high amounts of even normally safe compounds, such as talcum powder, can be toxic, the microbes' resiliency to high Buckyball levels was an important finding, the Purdue investigators said.
The experiment on Buckyballs, which are carbon molecules C60, also led the scientists to develop a better method to determine the impact of nanoparticles on the microbial community.
"It's important to look at the entire microbial community when nanomaterials are introduced because the microbes are all interdependent for survival and growth," said Leila Nyberg, a doctoral student in the School of Civil Engineering and the study's lead author. "If we see a minor change in these microorganisms it could negatively impact ecosystems."
The microbes used in the study live without oxygen and also exist in subsurface soil and the stomachs of ruminant animals, such as cows and goats, where they aid digestion.
"We found no effect by any amount of C60 on the structure or the function of the microbial community over a short time," Nyberg said. "Based on what we know about the properties of C60, this is a realistic model of what would happen if high concentrations of nanoparticles were released into the environment."
The third naturally occurring pure carbon molecule known, Buckyballs are nano-sized, multiple-sided structures that look like soccer balls.
Nyberg and her colleagues Ron Turco and Larry Nies, professors of agronomy and ci
|Contact: Susan A. Steeves| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30056000 |
Questions: G to A and C to T substitutions, is this a rule ?
zxiong at arizvm1.ccit.arizona.edu
Mon Apr 11 11:59:05 EST 1994
Being not familiar with molecular evolution. I have been troubled with some of
my data in RNA virus sequence. We are working on a small RNA virus and nearly
complete the sequence of the viral RNA genome from cDNA clones. RNA viruses
are known to be heterogenous (quasi-species), so it was not surprising to see
nucleotide sequence variations when sequences are obtained from different
clones. What was surprising was a consistent rule of sequence variaions. G is
always subsituted with a A, or vice versa. C is always substituted with a T,
or vice versa. But there is never a G to (C, T) change or vice versa.
Let me try to explain it a little better. We have found 16 nucleotide
substitutions in about 1500 nucleotide of overlapping sequences. There are 11
C to T or T to C substitutions and 5 G to A or A to G substitutions. We have
not found any other possible substituions.
Is there a theory describing the rule of nucleotide substitution during
evolution? I feel very ignorant and hope someone can give me a pointer to how
to explain my observation.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Zxiong at arizvm1.ccit.arizona.edu
More information about the Methods | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30057000 |
Paul Painter¹ and Lucas McConnell²
¹Materials Science and Engineering and The Energy Institute
²Renewergy Corporation, Erie PA.
Presently, biofuels in this country usually means one of two things, ethanol (in the U.S. principally produced from corn) or biodiesel (largely from oilseeds or yellow grease). However, large-scale production of these fuels will inevitably lead to the displacement of croplands used to produce food and there will clearly be a limit on the quantity of ethanol and biodiesel that can be obtained from these sources. Furthermore, although both biodiesel and ethanol have a number of attractive properties (in addition to being derived from a renewable source), they are not without problems (lower energy content, clogging of fuel lines and filters because of their ability to dissolve gums and other deposits, etc.).
It would clearly be advantageous if a cheap, relatively simple method were available to produce a predominantly hydrocarbon fuel (i.e., largely decarboxylated oils) from feedstocks that contain high contents of free fatty acids. One source that we wish to particularly focus on is algae, for the purposes of this project being produced on by Renewergy Corporation. Renewergy has developed a proprietary, “aeroponic algalculture” technique that uses a fraction of the water needed by conventional processes and a simple way of increasing surface area for light and CO2 absorption.
In preliminary work, we have applied Kolbe electrolysis to the processing of algal oil. Kolbe electrolysis of fatty (alkanoic) acids was the first known electrochemical synthesis. Faraday had originally observed (in 1834) that hydrocarbons are formed upon electrolysis of acetate solutions, but it was H. Kolbe who performed the first detailed investigations of the reactions of carboxylic acids at an anode some fifteen years later. Essentially, the reaction involves the electrochemical oxidative decarboxylation of carboxylic acid salts that leads to radicals, which can then combine to form simple hydrocarbons. We have found that a number of side reactions occur, but these can be advantageous in producing biofuels. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30059000 |
Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets: Adults $11, Child (3-12 yrs) $6
A variety of habitat, from lowlands to mountains but determining factors are the presence of fruit and flowers and caves for roosting.
Diet in the Wild:
Diet at the Zoo:
Chopped fruit and fruit bat supplement, fruit juice
A record of 22 years in captivity
Fruit bats have grayish-brown coats with a lighter shade on the ventral side (stomach.) They have short, strong jaws and a wingspan of about 24 inches. Measuring between 4 to 7 inches in length, these true flying mammals weigh up to 6 ounces. The wings are a skin membrane and held together by a finger like extension. The eyes are large and ears stand erect. Males are noticeably larger than the females.
Bats are nocturnal, and they find their way in the dark using high-pitched sounds, a process called echolocation. It is also common that these bats roost close together, often making body contact, especially with their young. Fruit bats are known to fly about 25 miles from roosting site in search of food.
These bats usually have only one baby each year, however sometimes twins may occur. Gestation is about 15 weeks. The mother bats carry their young at first, then leave them at the roosts while they search for fruit. Babies are about 3 months old before they learn to fly on their own. Young ones stay in the same colony as their parents for most, if not all, of their lives.
These bats are fairly common but their numbers could be at risk due to habitat destruction. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30062000 |
Quiz: Sertorius, Eumenes and The Comparison of Sertorius and Eumenes to Caesar
|Name: _____________________________||Period: ___________________________|
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
Directions: Circle the correct answer.
1. In what sort of family does Plutarch claim Sertorius was raised?
a) A ruling class family.
b) A noble family.
c) A poor laboring family.
d) A military family.
2. What does Plutarch claim Aristotle provided that he considered, "...a perfect portable treasure of all military virtue and knowledge...."?
a) Aristotle's collection of military histories.
b) Aristotle's personally corrected copy of Homer's Illiads.
c) Aristotle's writings regarding the proper training and preparation of soldiers.
d) Aristotle's maps of important sites in Persia.
3. What was a political hurdle that Plutarch claimed Pompey had to overcome?
a) Pompey was not respected after he lost battles in Spain.
This section contains 484 words|
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30080000 |
|Return to BRACE for IMPACT home page Go to Author's home page Go to BRACE for IMPACT Blog|
Chapter One: Losing Ground
The two principal myths about rhe Dust Bowl:
1. It was caused by drought.
2. It's over
Since the 1970s, for every ton of grain produced by industrial agriculture,
an average of seven tons of topsoil has been lost to wind and water erosion.
And that's just the beginning of the destruction. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30087000 |
Anglican CommunionArticle Free Pass
Anglican Communion, religious body of national, independent, and autonomous churches throughout the world that adheres to the teachings of Anglicanism and that evolved from the Church of England. The Anglican Communion is united by a common loyalty to the archbishop of Canterbury in England as its senior bishop and titular leader and by a general agreement with the doctrines and practices defined since the 16th century in The Book of Common Prayer.
The roots of the Anglican Communion can be traced to the Reformation in the 16th century, when King Henry VIII rejected the authority of the Roman Catholic pope in Rome and established an independent church in England. The essential teachings of the church were first set down in The Book of Common Prayer, compiled by Thomas Cranmer, and the organization of the Church of England was worked out during the 16th and 17th centuries. From the time of the Reformation, the Church of England followed explorers, traders, colonists, and missionaries into all parts of the world. The colonial churches generally exercised administrative autonomy within the historical and creedal context of the mother church. It was probably not until the first meeting of the Lambeth Conference (so called because it was held at Lambeth Palace, the archbishop of Canterbury’s residence in London) in 1867 that there emerged among the various churches and councils a mutual consciousness of an Anglican Communion. Since its inception the Lambeth Conference, which meets every 10 years, has constituted the principal cohesive factor in Anglicanism, even though its decisions are not binding and must be approved by the individual churches.
Beliefs and practices
The beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion are often said to be the middle ground between those of the Roman Catholic and those of the Protestant churches. The Communion teaches a Trinitarian understanding of God and believes in Jesus as the coequal and coeternal Son of God who came for the salvation of humankind. The holy book of the Communion is the Bible, which is made up of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. Anglicans also accept the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed as essential statements of their beliefs. There are only two sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist, but the Communion honours confirmation, ordination, marriage, reconciliation of the penitent, and unction of the sick as important religious rites. Easter and Christmas are two of the most important holy days in the Communion, and members of the church attend weekly services. The Communion’s worship service varies but often includes the eucharistic rites, prayer, the singing of Psalms and hymns, readings from the Gospels and the Hebrew Bible, and a sermon by the presiding minister.
The Anglican Communion accepts a threefold order of ministry, including bishops, priests or presbyters, and deacons. The bishop is the chief administrative official of the church, and the highest figure of this rank is the archbishop of Canterbury. Priests, who may be men or women, are responsible for overseeing the local church, proclaiming the Gospel, blessing and pardoning in God’s name, and administering the sacraments. The function of the deacon is to assist the priest; deacons help to administer the sacraments and are also called upon to help spread the Gospel.
While population differences and other factors account for some variation in basic structure between the churches, several elements predominate. The diocese, under the authority of a bishop, is the basic administrative unit throughout the Communion. The diocese is made up of parishes, or local church communities, each under the care of a pastor. In many of the national churches, dioceses are grouped into provinces. In some, parishes may be grouped also below the diocesan level into rural deaneries and archdeaconries.
What made you want to look up "Anglican Communion"? Please share what surprised you most... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30090000 |
endodermArticle Free Pass
endoderm, the innermost of the three germ layers, or masses of cells (lying within ectoderm and mesoderm), which appears early in the development of an animal embryo. The endoderm subsequently gives rise to the epithelium (tissue that covers, or lines, a structure) of the pharynx, including the eustachian tube, the tonsils, the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, and thymus gland; the larynx, trachea, and lungs; the gastrointestinal tract (except mouth and anus), the urinary bladder, the vagina (in females), and the urethra. The term endoderm is sometimes used to refer to the gastrodermis, the simple tissue that lines the digestive cavity of cnidarians and ctenophores. Compare ectoderm; mesoderm.
What made you want to look up "endoderm"? Please share what surprised you most... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30091000 |
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possession of mana
...possess it. Derived from a root term that has aristocratic connotations, mana corresponds to Polynesian social classifications. The ariki, or alii, the nobility of Polynesia, have more mana than commoners, and both their land and the insignia...
traditional Maori social structure
...( iwi) recognized a common ancestry (which might be traced through either or both parents) and common allegiance to a chief or chiefs ( ariki). Traditionally, at the day-to-day level, the most important social groups were the hapuu (subtribe), which was the primary landholding group...
What made you want to look up "arika"? Please share what surprised you most... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30092000 |
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR. (fn. 50)
Walden abbey undertook to pay £1 a year out of the
rectory to feed 30 paupers in Edmonton but payments apparently ceased at the Dissolution. (fn. 51)
Sir Christopher Askew, alderman of London, by
will proved 1539, left £100 for 'best full white
herrings' to be distributed among the poor of
Edmonton each Lent. (fn. 52) His son Richard said that
the charity had already lapsed by 1551, because of
the high price of herrings. (fn. 53)
During the 17th century important charities were
founded for schools, which are dealt with above,
and for alms-houses. By 1819 there were 20 charities
in Edmonton, mostly for the poor or to augment the
existing education and alms-house charities. They
were administered as the Edmonton charities by
trustees consisting of the vicar and churchwardens
and 11 prominent inhabitants. (fn. 54) A committee of the
vestry, appointed in 1848, alleged that 11 charities
should not be administered by the trustees but by
the parish or by the vicar and churchwardens,
that the funds of the various charities were amalgamated, and that there was misappropriation,
particularly in the case of Latymer's charity, which
accounted for £500 out of the total annual income
of £900. The trustees denied the charges and by a
Charity Commission Scheme of 1866 were authorized to administer together 23 charities, although
excluding the Latymer charity. The 23 charities
were those of Alston, Cade, Chaplin, Colfe, Elliott,
Hallam, Huxley, Jackson, Lewitt, Maule, Pitt,
Rogers, Skip, Smith, Stanbridge, Edmund and
Sarah Slaughter, Style, Tatem, Uvedale, Wilde of
Edmonton, Wilde of Barking, and Wyatt.
In 1889 another parochial committee reported
that money, particularly for apprenticing, was not
being properly applied and in 1891 it proposed a
new Scheme. It was not until 1899, however, that
the Charity Commission established a new board of
trustees, consisting of the vicar, 5 representatives
of Edmonton U.D.C. and 4 of Southgate U.D.C.,
and 8 co-opted members. There were to be two
groups of charities-the United charities of
Judith Alston and others and the Ecclesiastical
charities. The Ecclesiastical charities consisted
of Maule's charity and the ecclesiastical provisions of
the charities of Hallam, Rogers, and Wilde of
Edmonton, producing a total annual income of £143.
The United charities consisted of the remaining
charities in the 1866 Scheme, together with those of
Baker, Bellis, Board, John and Henry Field,
Jifkins, Larman, Whitbread, and part of Knight's
and Rowley's charities. The total stock amounted
to £9,933 and the annual income to £469.
By a Scheme of 1902 the United charities were
divided into three branches: educational, which
consisted of £20 a year from Style's and £8 a year
from Wilde of Edmonton's charities; apprenticing,
consisting of £10 a year from Style's, £6 a year from
Wilde of Edmonton's charities, and the relevant
portion of Chaplin's charity; and alms-houses and
pensioners, to which all the other income was
applied. The educational branch was abstracted
from the United charities by a Scheme of 1905,
which transformed it into the Educational Foundations of John Wilde of Edmonton and Thomas Style.
Knight's charity and the Oswin fund were added
to the United charities in 1914 and 1928 respectively.
By a Scheme of 1965 pensioners were omitted
from the third branch of the United charities, all
the money going to the alms-houses. The income of
the United charities in 1964 was £1,760, of which
£228 was paid to alms-people. In 1973 the income
was £1,100, which was wholly applied to the
upkeep of the alms-houses. By 1973 the apprenticing
branch of the charity was dormant, virtually no
applications being made for it.
Several charities were founded during the 19th
century for the benefit of Southgate parish,
especially by the Walker family, and in 1906 the
Southgate relief committee, which included the
vicar and churchwardens of Christ Church, was
formed to administer them. In 1973 the committee
administered £120 income from the charities of
John Julian, Frederick Walker, Vyell E. Walker, and
Russell Walker, and the relevant portions of
Sophia Walker's charity and the Weld Chapel
trust. (fn. 55)
The United Charities.
In 1662 John Wilde of Edmonton, had 'lately' built
three alms-houses next to the churchyard in Church
Street. By will proved 1665 he conveyed houses and
25 a., mostly of common-field land, to trustees to
apply the profits to several charities, including £4 a
year for the inmates of the alms-houses. (fn. 56) By
1867 £7 was being paid by Wilde's charity to the
Thomas Style (d. 1679) built two alms-houses
adjoining the churchyard for 6 poor men and 6 poor
women of Edmonton. In 1679 he endowed the
alms-houses with part of a rent-charge of £66 on
Dephams estate, of which £1 16s. a year was to be
spent on repairs and £33 16s. a year on weekly
payments of 1s. 1d. each to the almspeople.
John Lewitt of Palmers Green, by will dated 1771,
bequeathed £800 stock yielding £24 a year which
was distributed among the 12 inmates of Style's
alms-houses. George Stanbridge of Edmonton, by
will dated 1780, bequeathed £500 stock to the
trustees of Wilde's and Style's alms-houses, who
in 1823 distributed the income of £16 10s. amongst
the 15 alms-people. Other charities for the benefit
of the 15 inmates were those of Sarah Huxley,
daughter of Thomas Huxley of Weir Hall, who
bequeathed £1,000 yielding £38 a year by will
dated 1800; Miss Catherine Tatem of Edmonton,
who bequeathed £50 stock yielding £1 10s. by will
dated 1812; Thomas Elliott, clock-maker of
Edmonton, who by will dated 1824 bequeathed
£450 stock, which in 1899 yielded £12; John Pitt,
who bequeathed £100 stock yielding £3 a year by
will dated 1826; (fn. 57) Edmund Slaughter of Edmonton,
who by will proved 1832 bequeathed £500 stock,
yielding £14 in 1899; (fn. 58) and William Skip of
Edmonton, who left £100 stock yielding £3 a year
subject to the repair of his vault, by will dated 1836.
In 1861 Thomas Knight of Edmonton endowed
the 15 alms-houses with £500 stock producing
£13 15s. and in 1879 Hannah Whitbread gave £607
stock yielding £18, to maintain the buildings or
benefit the inmates.
Several charities provided for benefits in kind. By
will dated 1820 Sarah Slaughter directed that the
interest on £50 stock was to be spent on Christmas
dinner for the 15 alms-people. The interest was
£1 10s. in 1867. Ann Larman, by will proved 1867,
bequeathed £105 stock yielding £3 a year to buy
coal for the inmates of Style's alms-houses. In
1892 George Bellis left £103 stock yielding £3 to
buy coal for the 15 alms-people. By will proved 1892
Thomas William Rowley bequeathed £500 stock
producing £14 to provide bread and coal for the 15
alms-people but by a Scheme of 1893 the money was
to supplement their stipends.
The alms-people, in 1851 6 men and 9 women,
mostly widows, (fn. 59) were chosen by the vestry until
1899 when full control passed to the trustees.
The alms-houses were in disrepair in the 1740s
and Style's alms-houses were rebuilt in 1754 and
again in 1903 to the designs of H. W. Dobb.
Nearly all the stock was sold in 1960 to modernize
the buildings but the Ministry of Housing made a
grant for the Charity Commissioners to reinvest.
In 1851 Thomas Knight gave two cottages
which he had recently erected in Church Lane in
trust to the Edmonton benefit society, for two old
and handicapped members of the society or their
widows. (fn. 60) The cottages, which Knight endowed
with £50 stock yielding £1 5s. a year, were administered as part of the United charities under a
Scheme of 1914. There were four widows in
Knight's alms-houses in 1933 but in 1960 the
cottages were demolished and six garages, each let
at 15s. a week, were built on the site.
Henry Cade of Edmonton,
yeoman, in 1578 gave a rent-charge of 6s. 8d. from a
house, later the Cock public house, and 1 a. on the
west of Hertford Road for the use of the poor. In
1823 it was added to the sacrament money and paid
to the poor 'from time to time'.
By will proved 1579 (fn. 61) Richard Rogers the elder, a
London goldsmith who lived in Edmonton, left all
his freehold property in Edmonton and Tottenham
in trust to pay, inter alia, (fn. 62) 1s. a week in bread and
money to 6 of the poorest people of Edmonton and
13s. 4d. to the poor on the anniversary of his death.
Rogers's nephew Richard Rogers the younger,
Comptroller of the Mint, by will dated 1636, left
a rent-charge of £2 to provide 6d. a week in money
or bread for 6 poor people and 10s. 8d. for distribution among the poor on the first Sunday in August.
Edward Rogers of Edmonton, son of Richard the
younger, left a further rent-charge of £1 9s 4d. by
will proved 1659, to be distributed, inter alia, as 6d.
a week in bread to poor parishioners. In 1823 the
total income of the Rogers charities, which were
always distributed together, was £7 1s. 4d., from
rent-charges on freehold estates in Fore Street,
Church Street, and the marsh. Of this £5 4s. was
paid in bread to 12 poor people every Sunday and
£1 4s. to the poor on the first Sunday in August.
The rent-charges were redeemed in 1934 and 1964.
By will dated 1614 John Wilde of Barking
(Essex) gave a rent-charge of £2 a year upon
premises in Fore Street, to buy twopenny-loaves for
the poor of Edmonton each quarter. The rentcharge was redeemed in 1934.
Jasper Hallam, leatherseller of London, by will
dated 1625, left £3 6s. 8d. out of a rent-charge on
Bury farm to provide £2 worth of bread for the poor
every Sunday in Lent and 6s. 8d. for a Lenten meal
for the poor town-born people of Edmonton.
The rent-charge was redeemed in 1903.
Among property devised by the Revd. Abraham
Colfe to the Leathersellers' Company of London for
charitable purposes, by will dated 1656, was 5 a. in
Edmonton. A rent-charge of 8s. 8d. from part of the
property on the east of Lower Fore Street was to
buy two penny loaves each Sunday for two of the
'godliest and poorest' householders of Edmonton. (fn. 63)
By 1823 the money was applied by the churchwardens in occasional charity to the poor.
By indenture and will dated 1677 Judith, widow
of Penning Alston, grocer of London, conveyed
copyhold property in trust to pay annuities and
thereafter to provide £4 quarterly payments to the
poor of Edmonton and £1 a year each to 16 other
poor people. The property, in 1677 a house, 9 a. of
common-field arable, and 2 a. of marsh-land, was
exchanged at inclosure for a house and 7 a. at
Tanners End and 5 a. of marsh-land. In 1819 the
profits of £28 were distributed in quarterly payments of £1 to the poor and in £1 payments on
1 January to 20 poor annuitants. By 1867 the
quarterly payments were given in bread and £78
was given in money. The marsh-land was sold in
1907 and the land at Tanners End in 1914 and 1928;
the purchase money was invested for the benefit of
the United charities.
Catherine Jackson, of the family which owned
Broomfield, left £100 in trust for the poor of
Southgate by will dated 1687. The poor received £5
a year until the capital, together with money from
Maule's and Latymer's charities, was used to
purchase land in Hammersmith. The rent therefrom
was apportioned among the three charities, £3 10s.
being allotted to Jackson's charity from 1768 and
paid in bread or 5s. doles to the poor of Southgate.
The rent had risen to £7 10s. by 1899 and was given to
Southgate widows in 1902. (fn. 64) The land at Hammersmith was sold in 1913 and the money invested.
By will proved 1771 John Lewitt (fn. 65) bequeathed
£100 stock, the interest on which was spent in
bread for the poor. By will dated 1780 George
Stanbridge bequeathed £400 stock, the interest to
provide bread for the poor between Michaelmas
and Lady Day. By 1823 £12 was distributed in
bread. Margaret Uvedale (d. 1814), widow of RearAdmiral Samuel Uvedale, bequeathed £300 stock
by will dated 1813. (fn. 66) The income was to maintain
the vault of the family of William Washbourne,
vicar of Edmonton, and to relieve the aged poor of
Church Street ward on Christmas day. By 1819
there was £37 10s. interest, of which £2 10s. was
spent on the vault and £35 distributed in £1
By will proved 1828 John Field bequeathed
£1,000 stock and by will proved 1836 Henry Field
bequeathed £500 stock, to supply bread and coals
for the poor. The interest from their combined
charities was £45 in 1867. By will proved 1844
William Baker bequeathed £100 stock yielding £3
interest, to be paid to the elderly poor subject to the
repair of a grave. By will proved 1858 Ann Jifkins
left £47 stock, the interest to be used for repairing
her husband's tomb and distributed to the poor of
Church Street ward on Christmas day. By will
proved 1878 Edward Board bequeathed £928 stock
yielding £25 a year to provide money and clothing
for 20 aged poor, with preference for natives or old
residents of Edmonton and for those engaged in
agriculture. The Oswin fund, founded by Mrs.
Sarah Eleanor Browne by will proved 1901,
consisted of £654 stock and £31 annuities.
By will proved 1665, John
Wilde of Edmonton left £6 a year for apprenticing
two sons of two poor widows of Edmonton to some
trade in the City of London.
In 1679 Thomas Style gave £10 a year to
apprentice one or two poor boys within the parish.
In 1724 Francis Chaplin and his wife Joyce
conveyed the moiety of 6½ a. of marsh-land to be
used after their deaths for the repair of Chaplin's
vault in the church and for apprenticing a poor boy
from Edmonton. Through neglect at inclosure the
land was apportioned to others and only ½ a. at
Jeremy's Green and £30 were allotted to the
charity. By 1823 two cottages had been built and
the rent of £3 3s. was applied in apprenticing one
boy, although the trustees were criticized in 1849 for
retaining the money or granting too little. The land
was sold and the money invested in 1905. In 1933 it
produced £17 a year.
Ecclesiastical charities. (fn. 67)
By will dated 1714
Thomas Maule bequeathed £100 for the benefit of
10 poor church-going widows. In 1737 the money,
with money from Jackson's and Latymer's charities,
was used to buy land in Hammersmith, the rent
from which was divided among the charities.
Until c. 1819 the £3 a year apportioned to Maule's
charity was given to three inmates of Wilde's almshouses but thereafter it was given to 10 poor widows
who regularly attended church. When the Ecclesiastical charities were instituted in 1899, Maule's
charity produced £7 10s. a year. The land was sold
in 1913 and by 1962 the income from Maule's
charity had risen to £43, of which 15 poor widows
received 10s. each and the remainder was paid into
the sick and poor fund.
Southgate Charities. (fn. 68)
The charity of Sir John
Weld of Arnolds (d. 1623) provided for payments
of £13 6s. 8d. to 6 poor kindred and £2 12s. in
bread to 12 poor widows of Southgate every
Sunday. (fn. 69) By 1867 £31 4s. a year was distributed in
bread and in 1973 the bread portion of the charity
was administered by the Southgate relief committee.
Mrs. Sophia Walker, by will proved 1865,
bequeathed £596 stock for educational and other
charitable objects in Southgate. In 1899 £2 15s.,
the interest on £101 stock, was spent on medical or
nursing needs. In 1973 the income was divided
among the Southgate relief committee, Christ
Church Sunday school, and St. Andrew's day
By will proved 1892 John Julian left £1,000
stock to provide £1 each for 20 poor widows of
Christ Church parish in the week before Christmas
and to divide the remaining interest in bread for
the poor. In 1962 the income was £25, administered
by Southgate relief committee.
Four of the Walker brothers made bequests for
the benefit of the poor of Southgate. Frederick
Walker, by will proved 1890, Vyell Edward
Walker, by will proved 1906, and Russell Walker,
by will proved 1907, each left £1,000 stock. In 1962
the income was £34, £33, and £33 respectively,
administered by the Southgate relief committee.
Isaac Donnithorne Walker left £500, which
yielded £15 in 1962 and which the vicar of Southgate still administered for the poor of Southgate
village in 1973.
By will dated 1826 Elizabeth Martin bequeathed
£498 stock, the interest to be distributed to the poor
of Christ Church. In 1970 the charity produced
£12 which was given by the vicar in money and
Christmas gifts to old age pensioners.
John Woolnough, by will proved 1939, left money
to Southgate corporation to provide Christmas
dinners and coal for old people. Trustees were
appointed by a Scheme of 1961 and in 1973 the
income was under £250.
Other charities for the poor.
There was a group
of charities for medical and nursing purposes:
Elizabeth Whitehead bequeathed £116 stock yielding £3 4s. in 1800, Mrs. Frances Smith bequeathed
£272 yielding £7 9s. 8d. in 1811, and Edmund
Slaughter bequeathed £107 stock yielding £2 19s
in 1831. By 1872 there was also a lying-in charity, of
which the origin is unknown, which in 1899
consisted of £150 stock yielding £4 2s. 4d. By a
Scheme of 1940 its administration passed to the
trustees of the United charities.
Mrs. Esther Doe, by deed in 1863 and by will in
1872, left houses and stock yielding an annual
income of £447 which was to be spent on the almshouses.
The Bush prize fund, founded in 1869, provided
£10 a year from £250 stock to be used for
George Ringrose, by will proved 1885, left £92
stock producing £2 11s. to be spent in coal, bread,
and money for the deserving poor of Edmonton.
The income in 1966 was £2 6s. 4d.
Isaac Padman, by will dated 1818, left £500 to be
invested, the income to be applied to the religious
and 'respectable' poor of Winchmore Hill. By a
Scheme of 1893 the income of £24 a year was to be
applied in nursing, provident clubs, clothes, or
temporary relief to the residents of the ecclesiastical
district of Winchmore Hill, the rest of Edmonton
parish, and Enfield or any adjoining parish. In 1965
the income was £20, which the ministers of
Winchmore Hill Congregational church and Christ
Church Congregational church, Enfield, distributed
in coal, bedding, and clothes.
By will proved 1880 Peregrine Hogg Purvis of
Winchmore Hill left £2,000 to the vicar and
churchwardens of St. Paul, Winchmore Hill, the
interest to be distributed annually before Christmas
in £1-gifts to 50 poor inhabitants of Winchmore
Hill, irrespective of creed but with preference to
residents in Highfield Row. In 1966 the income was
£53. He also left £100 stock, producing £2 15s. in
1899, to nonconformist bodies, £200 stock producing £5 10s. for church purposes, and £200 stock
producing £5 10s. for education.
Elizabeth Winsdale, by will proved 1887, left £500
for the sick poor of the parish of St. James, Upper
Edmonton. The sum was invested and produced
£13 a year in 1964. In addition to his bequest to the
alms-houses Thomas William Rowley, by will
proved 1892, bequeathed £200 stock yielding
£5 10s. a year to the poor of St. James's parish.
Edward Chapman, by will proved 1902, bequeathed
£250, the income to provide coal for the poor of
St. James's at Christmas. In 1969 the income of
some £7 was spent on coal for 3 persons. Maria
Linzell, by will proved 1920, bequeathed £50 to
augment offertories for the poor, defray the cost of
church work, or benefit the parish charities of
St. James's. The income was £3 in 1964.
By will proved 1937 Frances Isabella Hammond
bequeathed £300 to maintain a tomb in St. Mary's,
Edmonton, any residue to benefit the sick and poor of
the parish. The income in 1966 was £10, spent on
groceries and other necessities. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30093000 |
11/05/2012 | Author / Editor: Eddie McGee*, Ken Picking** / Marcel Dröttboom
An special technique, developed by Ajax Equipment, uses a multiple stage insert system to overcome bunker flow problems, creating a more favourable approach to existing outlets and spreading the flow to previously “dead” storage areas of the bunker. The insert system has been used at Tata Steel Europe at its plant in Scunthorpe, UK, to overcome coal bunker flow problems.
Many power generation and industrial processes rely on storing coal in large bunkers. Over time changes in the type and quality of coal can lead to poor flow during discharge, causing processing delays and significantly reducing the bunker's storage capacity. Manual intervention is frequently used to promote flow; however, this is a hazardous process for operators, and fails to provide a long-term solution to the problem.
An innovative technique developed by solids handling equipment specialist, Ajax Equipment, uses a multiple stage insert system to overcome bunker flow problems, creating a more favourable approach to existing outlets and spreading the flow to previously 'dead' storage areas of the bunker. The insert system has been used at Tata Steel Europe (formerly Corus Long Products) – a manufacturer of steel products at its plant in Scunthorpe, UK, to overcome coal bunker flow problems.
In the ironmaking process, molten iron is produced in a blast furnace using agglomerated iron ore, limestone and coke. The coke is produced in large coke ovens from coal with special properties. Coal is crushed and blended on the Scunthorpe site and transported to Appleby Coke Ovens via a series of belt conveyors. It is then is stored in a large concrete service bunker which is sited above, and in the centre of, the oven batteries.
The concrete service bunker (Fig. 1) was built in 1937 and is divided into two rectangular sections, one section holding 3000 tonnes of coal and the other holding 1000 tonnes of coal. It is about 17.5 metres tall and the 1000 tonnes section is 8 metres × 13 metres, whilst the 3000-tonne section is 20 metres × 13 metres. Coal is fed into the top of the bunker where it is distributed to one of the two sections and stored ready for discharge under gravity. Coal is discharged via a number of rows of outlets at the base of the bunkers into the charge cars.
In 1968 half of the outlets were blanked off and lightweight concrete was used to build up a steeper approach to the remaining outlets with smooth glass tiles laid on top to encourage flow. The outlets are arranged in five rows of four outlets on the 3000-tonne side and two rows of four outlets on the 1000-tonne section. Each row of four outlets operates together to fill a charge car which feeds the oven. Each outlet has a 640-millimetre diameter steel throat cast into the concrete. Slide gates are fitted to each outlet and the charge cars are filled with 17.5 tonnes of coal in, hopefully, one minute.
The bunker was originally designed to store local Lincolnshire and Yorkshire coal, but today it holds blended imported coal from around the world. A typical blend may consist of 60 percent Australian Coal and 40 percent North American. It is the particularly cohesive properties of the imported coal that has exacerbated the bunker's flow problems, making the material more difficult to handle.
This article is protected by copyright. You want to use it for your own purpose? Infos can be found under www.mycontentfactory.de (ID: 36570330) | Fotos: Picture: Ajax Equipment, Picture: Tata Steel | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30098000 |
Shoumita Dasgupta, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine, Biomedical Genetics
Director of Graduate Studies, Program in Genetics and Genomics
Medical Genetics Course Manager, Boston University School of Medicine
Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
M.S. University of California, San Francisco
B.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching
The popular press has called the twentieth century “The Century of the Gene.” During this time, genetics came forward as a central discipline in biology, first with the rediscovery of the work of Gregor Mendel at the turn of the century, later with the elucidation of the structure of DNA by Jim Watson and Francis Crick, and more recently with the development of recombinant DNA technologies by Paul Berg and Herb Boyer. These scientific events revolutionized the way we thought about biological problems. Mendel’s contributions led scientists to probe the genetic basis of inheritance while Watson and Crick helped to define the molecular nature of this inheritance. Berg and Boyer developed the tools that allowed scientists to manipulate these molecules of inheritance to more deeply understand their functions. Each of these events has had far-reaching consequences because of the explosion of scientific inquiry it both allowed and inspired.
Currently, scientists of the twenty-first century are poised at the brink of another genetic revolution, this time triggered by the genome projects of organisms from microbes to humans. With the availability of this data, it has become obvious that current computational tools alone are inadequate to fully mine this immense data set. Although the power of current genomic strategies is tremendous, they are not sufficient to determine gene function. Consequently, scientists are seeking to ascertain gene function using two main approaches. First, there is a great effort underway to create new technologies and computational tools to allow for large scale molecular analyses of complex systems. Secondly, these strategies are utilized alongside methods that take advantage of the powerful role of model organisms in helping to determine gene function, an important focus of the Genetics and Genomics department. This global perspective on the intricate networks that govern the machinery of life is causing a shift in the traditional paradigm of identifying the impact of individual genes on any given process. Instead, the revised concept that no gene acts in isolation is more easily explored with these new genomic and bioinformatics tools.
The aim of our program in establishing graduate coursework in Genetics and Genomics is to teach our students to apply the approaches of classical genetics and modern genomics to investigations of the heritable basis of numerous biological traits, the relationships among genes, the regulation of their expression, and the elaborate mechanisms involved in supporting complex biological processes. We want our students to be adept at utilizing hypothesis-driven methods as well as discovery-oriented experimental design styles to explore these problems. The combination of these two tactics will allow our students to systematically and broadly make important contributions to many disciplines of biology. Moreover, it is our goal that our students will also be trained to function as active members of the scientific community who can clearly communicate ideas, critically evaluate biomedical research, and mentor others in scientific scholarship. Towards this end, we offer an array of courses and training opportunities that comprise the Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics. “Principles of Genetics and Genomics” is a core course that focuses on the use of genetic methods in model organisms for understanding complex biological processes. This course focuses on the ability to use genetic systems to probe these problems, and therefore heavily explores the experimental aspects of these investigations. In addition, we discuss the impact of the genome sequences on the practice of modern science. In this regard, the course will be aimed towards first year PhD students in the biological sciences, but the course is open to anyone wishing to study genetic approaches to biological research. In addition, we use a case study approach to investigate the rich variety of scientific insights gained through genetic studies. As such, it is a core course that serves a diverse, interdisciplinary group of students in many fields from genetics and genomics to bioinformatics to immunology, and many others. Further details on this course and our other exciting courses for graduate and medical students can be found on the course website. This course is one of the foundations for our Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics, which is designed to bring these same approaches to an entire coordinated curriculum. Our Graduate Program aims to bridge the disciplines of experimental biosciences with computational and genomic approaches. The program consists of laboratory rotations, advanced coursework, and journal clubs in the first year. Subsequently, graduate students will focus on their thesis research, qualifying exams, and a teaching requirement. Additional information on our graduate program can be found on the graduate program website.
The pace of genetic advances during the last century has been unparalleled scientifically, and these discoveries have already made and are poised to make an incredible impact on the practice of medicine. Currently, OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man) lists thousands of identified disease genes, and likewise GeneTests lists thousands of diseases for which there are molecular tests. In this course we explore the precise molecular determinants of medical conditions and of human phenotypic variation that are being elucidated on a daily basis. Clearly, a detailed understanding of the genetic basis of human disease will lead to more precise molecular assays and diagnostics, better-targeted treatments, and more efficient treatment plans overall. Moreover, these developments will certainly affect all clinical specialties of the medical field since genetic components have a clear influence on a wide variety of human traits and conditions, from height and developmental birth defects to cancer susceptibility and neurological degeneration. We consider how these rapid advances can be utilized appropriately in a clinical environment as well as what ethical, legal, and societal implications all of these developments hold. This course is offered to first year medical students. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30099000 |
Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve is a nature park and UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed in 1983) located on the island of Praslin, Seychelles. It consists of a well-preserved palm forest made up of the endemic Coco de Mer species, as well as five other endemic species of palm. These palms have the largest seeds of any plant in the world. The trees' leaves grow up to 6 metres wide and 14 metres long. Also unique to the park is its wildlife, which includes endemic birds, mammals, crustaceans, snails, and reptiles. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30109000 |
4TH OF JULY EXTRAS
Nine-year-olds making flags out of construction paper this week didn't just glue stars and stripes onto red paper. They also learned the meaning behind the U.S. flag.
Art class turned into history class for nearly 200 children attending a summer latchkey program at Club Estates Elementary School, and while they usually have artistic freedom during craft time, this week they stuck to the template provided by their teacher, Alice Garcia.
They didn't get to color the stars purple, as requested by one student, but rather they adhered to tradition for Old Glory while discussing the freedom it represents.
On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As Americans celebrate our nation's birth today, flags fly as a tribute to that freedom and the people who have made it possible.
-- Rachel Denny Clow | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30111000 |
|Gynecological cancers can occur in any of the
female reproductive organs. These types of cancers might include:
If some of the terms used in this section
are unfamiliar to you, please use our glossary.
The ovaries are a pair of female reproductive organs. They
are located in the pelvis, one of each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size
and shape of an almond. The ovaries have two functions: they produce eggs and female
Each month during the menstrual cycle an egg is released
from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a fallopian tube to the uterus.
The ovaries are the main source of female hormones
(estrogen and progesterone). These hormones control the development of female body
characteristics such as breasts, body shape, and body hair. They also regulate the
menstrual cycle and pregnancy.
There are several types of ovarian cancer. Most ovarian
cancers are epithelial carcinomas, which begin in the lining of the ovary.
Ovarian cancer is hard to find early. Often there are no
symptoms in the early stages and in many cases the cancer has spread by the time it is
found. Symptoms may include a swollen or bloated feeling or general discomfort in the
lower abdomen. These symptoms may be vague and may be caused by other conditions.
Ovarian cancer can be diagnosed with ultrasonography, CT or
CAT scans, a lower GI series or barium enema, an intravenous pyelogram (IVP) (an x-ray of
the kidneys and ureters taken after the injection of a dye, or through a biopsy.
A biopsy is the only sure way to know if cancer is present.
Treatment for ovarian cancer depends on a number of
factors, including the stage of the disease, the woman's age and general health. Treatment
may include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation or a combination of these.
As in many other cancers ovarian cancer is best treated
when it is discovered early. Women who have regular pelvic examinations increase the
chance that, if ovarian cancer occurs, it will be found before the disease causes
See our resource page on gynecological
return to top
The uterus (also called the womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped
organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow,
lower portion of the uterus is the cervix. The broader, upper part is the corpus. The
corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.
In women of childbearing age, the inner layer of the uterus
(endometrium) goes through a series of monthly changes know as the menstrual cycle. Each
month, endometrial tissue grows and thickens in preparation to receive a fertilized egg.
Menstruation occurs when this tissue is not used and passes out through the vagina. The
outer layer of the corpus (myometrium) is a muscle that expands during pregnancy to hold
the growing fetus.
Because most uterine cancer develops in the endometrium,
cancer of the uterus also is called endometrial cancer.
Abnormal bleeding after menopause is the most common
symptom of cancer of the uterus. Bleeding may begin as a watery, blood-streaked discharge.
Later the discharge may contain more blood.
Cancer of the uterus does not often occur before menopause,
but it does occur around the time menopause begins. The reappearance of bleeding should
not be considered simply part of menopause; it should always be checked by a doctor.
Abnormal bleeding is not always a sign of cancer but it
should always be checked by a doctor. Early diagnosis is especially important for cancer
of the uterus.
Cancer of the uterus can be diagnosed definitively only
with a biopsy. This can be done with an endometrial biopsy or with an outpatient surgery
called a D and C in which the doctors widens the cervix and inserts an instrument into the
uterus to remove a sample of tissue.
Uterine cancer can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy,
radiation, and sometimes with hormone therapy. Patients who have had breast cancer or a
family history of breast cancer must bring this to their doctor's attention so the proper
treatment can be arranged. See our resource page
on gynecological cancers.
return to top
The cervix is the narrow, lower portion of the uterus. It
opens into the vagina (birth canal), which leads to the outside of the body.
Early cervical cancer seldom causes symptoms. It can be
detected only by a pelvic exam and a Pap test. If the pelvic exam or Pap test shows any
abnormality the doctor will do more tests to find out what the problem is.
A biopsy is the only definitive test for cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers. Six
percent of all cancers in women are cervical cancers. When cervical cancer spreads it
usually travels through the lymphatic system. For this reason surgeons often remove lymph
nodes near the uterus to learn whether they contain cancer cells.
Treatment for cervical cancer can include surgery,
radiation, or chemotherapy or a combination of these depending on the stage of the cancer,
and the general health of the woman. See our resource
page on gynecological cancers.
Women facing gynecological cancers may
wish to share their experiences on the web site Eyes On The Prize at http://www.eyesontheprize.org
This site provides a caring, moderated environment in which women with reproductive
cancers can express their experiences and share information.
[ Home ] [ Specific Cancers ] [ Diagnosis ] [ Treatment ] [ Coping ] [ Disclaimer ]
[ Breast ] [ Colorectal ] [ Gynecological ] [ Head and Neck ] [ Leukemia ] [ Lung ] [ Urologic ] [ Other ]
material for this page excerpted from NIH documents | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30116000 |
For my 7th grade science fair project my dad helped me test the germs on people’s hands after washing them with different brands of soap. The goal was to see which hand soap was the most effective. I got to use petri dishes and watch bacteria grow. I thought it was super impressive.
Well, turns out teenagers today are really raising the bar.
Take Brittany Wenger from Sarasota, Florida who recently won this year’s Google Science Fair for developing a computer program that helps doctors detect breast cancer using less invasive methods. Puts my science fair project to shame!
The 17-year-old ran 7.6 million trials and spent more than 600 hours coding the computer program which she has been working on since 7th grade. She hopes to continue to scale up the program so that it can be used in hospitals across the country.
Brittany’s project is impressive on many levels, especially when you consider how much women and girls are underrepresented in the computer science industry. She is happy to break stereotypes that say girls aren’t interested in computer programming or science.
So, what does a remarkable young woman like this see for her future?
“I want to be on the frontier of cancer research, finding the cures that are going to save lives and doing things with computer science that can be the technologies of the future,” says Brittany. “I also want to be a pediatric oncologist, so I hope to intertwine my passions for research, computer science and patient care in the future.”
I have no doubts that Brittany won’t do just that.
Why do you think girls continue to be underrepresented in science and computer programming fields?
Related from Care2:
Photo by Richard Bowen used under a Creative Commons license.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30123000 |
Avoiding H1N1: wash your hands; don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth; stay home if you’re sick. But what if you happen to be a cat? Since few cats enjoy a 20-second paw wash…the advice? Stay away from people!
According to a press release issued by the American Veterinary Medical Association, a 13-year old tabby in Iowa has tested positive for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus–marking the first time a cat has been diagnosed with this strain of influenza. How does a cat get swine flu? Since the cat is exclusively an indoor cat who has zero contact with other animals, it is believed to have caught the virus from one of two members in the household who were sick with H1N1.
The cat joins pigs, turkeys and several ferrets that have been diagnosed with H1N1. Although many assume the opposite, it appears that in general, the disease spreads from people to animals, rather than the other way around.
It’s fascinating how different strains of flu infect a wide variety of animals including seals, whales, horses, tigers, cats, dogs, ducks, and chickens. (And I’m still scratching my head about how a seal gets the flu.) As evidenced in the health blogs of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the world of animal flu is a nimble one. When ducks get the flu, they may not show symptoms (lucky ducks!), but the virus replicates itself in their intestinal tracks and is then excreted into the wastewater where it may be a pathway for transmission to other animals (like seals, I suppose). When pigs get the flu, they sneeze, have a fever and stop eating. Because pigs can be infected with both human flu strains and bird strains, they may serve as mixing bowls for new strains.
Companion animals have been known to contract flu from other species: canine influenza (H3N8) originated in horses (a dog with the flu may have a cough, a runny nose and a fever. And did you know you can get a flu shot for your dog?); and cats can get avian influenza (H5N1) from eating birds. But this is the first confirmed case of a cat getting H1N1 from a human.
The symptoms of the cat’s H1N1 were lethargy, loss of appetite and trouble breathing–he had stopped cleaning himself, and also rested by crouching on all four feet rather than sprawling out on his side as usual–a sign of respiratory discomfort. Fortunately, the cat has fully recovered; he was given fluids for dehydration and put on antibiotics to prevent a secondary bacterial infection.
Officials say pet owners should take the same precautions against spreading swine flu to pets as they would with humans. (Again, washing a cat’s paws???) Dr. Ann Garvey, Iowa’s state health veterinarian, said it is not yet known how sick cats or other pets could get from swine flu. “Because we haven’t seen that many cases, it’s difficult to give a blanket assessment on how sick it can make an animal,” she said. It is also as yet to be determined whether or not a companion animal with H1N1 can then infect a healthy person. It serves as a poignant reminder that we really are all part of one big animal family…
For more on H1N1, visit the Care2 Swine Flu Project, a collaboration between Care2 Causes and Healthy & Green Living.
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30124000 |
What Kids Are Thinking...
The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterward, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten amendments.
The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
The seventh commandment is: "Thou shalt not admit adultery."
Moses died before he ever reached Canada.
Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar.
He fought with the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.
Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you.
It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.
The epistles were the wives of the apostles.
St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.
Most religions teach us to have only one spouse. This is called monotony. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30128000 |
Nearly every day, we read about problems caused by invaders like the emerald ash borer killing trees across New York, West Nile virus killing people across the United State (1,499 so far), zebra mussels clogging water intakes and changing the Great Lakes and Hudson River ecosystems and Burmese pythons eating everything in the Everglades. If you’re like us, you are upset by the billions of dollars in economic costs, thousands of human deaths, and deep and irreversible ecological damage that these species cause. But what can any of us do to solve the problems caused by invasive species? Here are a few suggestions.
Don’t add to the problem by releasing potentially harmful new invaders into the wild. Don’t buy exotic new plants for your garden, unless they are already widely planted in your region or have been shown to be harmless. Many of our most problematic invaders started out as “desirable” garden plants, or as insects or diseases hitchhiking on those plants.
Likewise, don’t release pets into the wild or dump your aquarium or bait bucket. Every year, thousands of unwanted pets are dumped into the wild. Besides being cruel to the pets, some of them (like the Burmese pythons in the Everglades and the snakeheads that turned up in Orange County) end up creating big problems.
And don’t try to smuggle fresh produce, live plants, or cute pets past the customs officials into the U.S. Some of these smuggled items, or the diseases that they carry, get into the wild and cost us big bucks.
Don’t move dirty stuff into clean environments. For example, moving insect-infested firewood (most firewood is insect-infested) or boat trailers festooned with aquatic plants into regions not infested with pests are good ways to speed the spread of problematic invaders. Don’t move firewood, and always clean your boat and trailer before launching them into a new lake or river. And use common sense about other practices that may move items contaminated with invaders from place to place.
Here are a few things that you needn’t worry about. You don’t need to go out and kill all of the non-native species in your yard, if they are harmless or already widely distributed in the region. It’s OK to plant non-native species that are already well-established in the region. Even though invaders like oriental bittersweet and Japanese barberry cause problems, they are so widely spread through the Hudson Valley that one or two more or less in your yard won’t make any difference in the bigger picture. You don’t need to bother with weed pulls intended to rid the world of well-established species. However, you could help with campaigns that have specific, attainable goals, like removing an aggressive plant from a sensitive nature preserve, or pulling water chestnuts from a bay to allow boat access.
But we are not going to solve the invasive species problem with just these individual actions. Too many harmful species are coming into the country through pathways like ballast water and the pet and horticulture trades, which are not easily controlled by our individual actions. We need collective action to adopt and enforce laws and regulations.
You can help spur these collective actions by writing to your elected representatives or to advocacy groups that are concerned with protecting the environment. Tell them you’re concerned about our inadequate responses to the challenges of invasive species, or express your opinions about specific proposals for new laws or regulations. If you don’t know what laws or regulations are being discussed, visit the website of the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species at www.necis.net, which keeps track of important news about invasive species.
Your letters can serve as an important counterweight to powerful industry forces that are looking out for their own narrow interests at our expense. Even if you don’t know about specific legislation, your expressions of concern can at least get your elected official to start thinking about (or maybe even fixing) this problem. You can help solve this important environmental problem. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30129000 |
Piatus of Mons
(Secular name, JEAN-JOSEPH LOISEAUX), b. 5 Aug., 1815; d. in the Monastery of Ste. Claire, Bruges, 21 April 1904. As a student of priesthood he distinguished himself in moral theology and canon law. After his ordination as a secular priest of the Diocese of Torunai, Belgium, in 1838, he continued his study of canon law at Louvain. In 1843 he was appointed a vicar of the cathedral of Tournai, but the following year he went to Rome, and there spent two years in the Belgian college, studying canon law and working for the congregations. He returned to Belgium in 1846 and the next year was appointed to the chair of canon law and ecclesiastical history at Louvain. In 1847 in cooperation with Abbé Felise he founded the quarterly magazine, "Mélanges théologiques", and later the "Revue théologique" and the "Nouvelle revue théologique". The first was concerned chiefly with canon law; the second with liturgy. He continued to edit the "Nouvelle revue théologique" until 1895. when it passed into the hands of the Redemptorists. He twice refused the Bishopric of Tournai. In 1871 he entered the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor . His chief works are: "Praelectiones juris regularis", a dissertation, "De sentia S. Bonaventurae circa essentiam sacramenti Poenitentiae"; "Traité du jubilé". He also wrote a great number of articles in theological reviews.
More Catholic Encyclopedia
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The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.
Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.
No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.
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Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912
Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30134000 |
For years now, we have been deluged with the news that the earth’s oceans are warming as a result of atmospheric changes due to the combustion of fossil fuels.
Typical of these was a 2005 story titled “Where’s The Heat? Think Deep Blue,” from United Press International, describing a recent paper in Science by NASA climate modeler James Hansen. UPI’s “Space Daily” wrote that “Over the past ten years, the heat content of the ocean has grown dramatically.”
Hansen’s study covered more than just the ocean surface temperature, which can fluctuate considerably from year to year. Rather, by considering a much deeper layer of water (the top 2,500 feet), Hansen actually calculated the increasing amount of heat being stored. According to the UPI story, this provided “a match” with computer model projections of global warming.
The ocean is a huge tub that integrates and stores long-term climate changes. Consequently, when computer models are based on ever-increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, the deep oceans warm, warm, and warm. Like a big pot on a small burner, it takes time to start up, but once the process starts, nothing should be able to stop it.
That’s the conventional wisdom of our climate models, but like the conventional wisdom on so many other aspects of life, it’s not true to nature.
In the next few weeks, John Lyman of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will publish a paper in the refereed journal Geophysical Research Letters showing that, globally, the top 2,500 feet of the ocean lost a tremendous amount of heat between 2003 and 2005 — in fact, about 20% of all the heat gained in the last half-century.
Needless to say, Lyman’s figures have climate scientists scratching their heads. No computer model predicts such behavior. And further, the changes in surface temperatures haven’t corresponded (yet?) to the average changes at depth, although deep-water temperatures have also dropped some. Nor has the sea level dropped by an amount commensurate with the cooling (water volume varies slightly with temperature).
This last observation has led scientists to speculate that much more ice must be melting into the ocean than they normally assume — but no one has been able to find it, and it’s not for a lack of looking.
There’s another hypothesis out there that has received very little attention. It has to do with the amount of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere.
If carbon dioxide increases at a constant rate, basic physics — as understood since the 1860s — says that surface temperature will rise, but that the rate of heating will become lower and lower. In other words, in order for temperatures to increase at a constant rate, as has been observed since 1975, carbon dioxide would have to go up at an ever-increasing rate.
But the ocean is so vast and slow to change that it takes several decades to realize the heating caused by carbon dioxide. Consequently, a change in the rate of carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere wouldn’t be noticed for 30 to 60 years, depending upon whose calculations one believes.
Between the time atmospheric carbon dioxide was first directly measured, at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, in 1957, and 1975, it clearly increased exponentially. And once the ocean temperature began to rise, it did so at a constant rate.
Then, about 30 years ago, something very peculiar began to occur. Since 1975, it has been impossible to tell whether the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing at an exponential or simply a constant rate.
Because of the lag time required for the oceans to register the change in carbon dioxide, it may not be a surprise that an interval of cooling has been detected. The timing is about right: around 30 years.
But that’s just another climate change hypothesis that time will test. Be forewarned, though. As we’ve learned from the completely unexpected cooling of the deep ocean that began in 2003, we know a lot less about climate change than we think. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30144000 |
About this sector
Transportation through land, air and sea result in emissions of carbon dioxide as well as issues such as water, waste, noise. Shipping moves approximatly 80% of the worlds commodites.
Infrastructure for transportation like roads, harbours and airports can threaten natural and important habitats.
Climate change through use of energy
Shipping transfers approximately three to five tons of ballast water internationally each year, this poses a threat to ecological stability by transferring harmful organisms. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30146000 |
LA JOLLA (CNS) - A protein studied as a potential treatment for cardiovascular disease could actually trigger heart failure, according to a study released Wednesday by the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla and the Stanford University School of Medicine.
According to Sanford-Burnham, researchers have long sought ways to activate the APJ protein, which sits on the surface of cells in many of the body's organs and senses changes to its external environment, as a way to treat heart disease.
The latest research, published in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature, found that APJ has a second function, reacting to internal mechanical changes within the organ.
An enlarged heart, for example, could lead APJ to respond in a way that sets a course toward heart failure, according to the study.
A team led by Pilar Ruiz-Lozano, formerly assistant professor at Sanford-Burnham and now associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford, tested enlarged hearts in mice that didn't have the APJ protein, and the organs kept functioning because they could not sense the danger.
"In other words, without APJ, ignorance is bliss -- the heart doesn't sense the danger and so it doesn't activate the hypertrophic pathways that lead to heart failure," Ruiz-Lozano said. "This tells us that, depending on how it's done, activating APJ might make matters worse for heart disease patients."
The benign function for APJ comes when it binds with a hormone called apelin. Previous studies showed that the combination of APJ and apelin directs beneficial processes such as embryonic heart development, maintenance of normal blood pressure, and new blood vessel formation.
Apelin is not involved in the harmful actions by APJ, which responds simply to changes within the organ, according to the research. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30147000 |
|« Baring-Gould, Sabine||Bar Kokba||Barlaam »|
BAR KOK´BA: The name traditionally assigned to the leader of the great insurrection of the Jews in Palestine against the Romans under the emperor Hadrian in the years 132-135 (see Israel). The Roman historians Spartian and Dio Cassius, however, give no name and do not even speak of one single prominent leader; nor does the name occur on the coins struck during the revolt, or, according to Derenbourg (p. 423), in the rabbinical authorities. It rests on Christian tradition beginning with Justin Martyr, an author likely to be well informed. In his larger “Apology" (xxxi) he speaks of the leader of the rising as Barchochebas, saying that he inflicted severe penalties on the Christians (regarded as apostate Jews). Eusebius (Hist. eccl., IV, viii, 4) reproduces this passage, with the variant spelling Barchōchebas, and confirms it in IV, vi, 2, where he says that the leader won his authority over the ignorant by basing on his name (meaning “star" or “son of a star") the claim to have been sent directly by God as a light to the oppressed. Beyond this Eusebius appears to know nothing of him except that in the last decisive battle, at the present Bittir (7 m. by rail s.w. of Jerusalem), in the eighteenth year of Hadrian (134-135), he suffered the penalty of his deeds.
That the Jews had a native leader in this rising is clearly proved by the coins, both those which are adapted to Jewish use from coins of Vespasian and Trajan, and must thus belong to this period, and those which on account of similarity of treatment are evidently of the same date (cf. F. W. Madden, History of Jewish Coinage, London, 1864, 203 sqq., and Coins of the Jews, 1881). The inscriptions of these give on the reverse sometimes “in [the year of] the freedom of Israel" alone, sometimes the same with the number 2 for the year, or “year 1 of the deliverance of Israel"; on the obverse sometimes “Eleazar the priest" (who must not be confounded with the uncle of Bar Kokba, the scribe Eleazar), sometimes “Jerusalem,” claiming the right of coinage for the city, and sometimes “Simeon, prince of Israel.” That 485 the leadership of Simeon coincided with the priesthood of Eleazar is shown by a distinct variety which names Eleazar the priest on the obverse and Simeon, without any title, on the reverse. According to the coins, therefore, during the time of the revolt, Israel had a secular head of the name of Simeon; which leads to the hypothesis that the same man who inspired the people by the name of Bar Kokba was really called Simeon. This theory finds support in certain coins which show the letters of the name of Simeon on both sides of a temple portico above which is a star. Moreover, the Jewish accounts are consistent with it. The Seder ‘Olam mentions the three and a half years of a native ruler as the epoch following the wars of Vespasian and Quietus, calling this ruler, however, “Bar Kozeba.” And the Talmudic explanations to the Mishnah treatise Ma‘aser sheni, when they forbid the payment of tithes with money coined by rebels or otherwise unauthorized, give as examples that of “Ben Kozeba" or the “coins of Kozeba" and the “coins of Jerusalem.” By the analogy of the latter, the former might also be a local designation (cf. I Chron. iv, 22); but the variant form first given makes it much more probable that it is from the name of the ruler; and there is no difficulty in identifying this ruler with the Simeon already mentioned, especially as Jewish tradition, quoting (in the Talmud on Ta‘anit) from Rabbi Akiba, shows how easy was the transformation of the name of Ben Kozeba into the form Bar Kocheba (or Bar Kokba), with its encouraging reference to the prophecy of Balsam (Num. xxiv, 17).
Not much can be safely asserted of Bar Kokba’s personality and achievements, for the Jewish sources mentioned above tell nothing trustworthy about him which is not already known from Dio Cassius, with the exception of his relations to Akiba and to Eleazar, whom, on suspicion of treachery, he is said to have killed with a kick. The immense number of his adherents (200,000 men, who had pledged themselves to the conspiracy by cutting off a finger), the fabulous size of his citadel of Bittir, and the awful bloodshed there, are merely imaginative projections from the natural facts of such a rising. As a consequence of his failure, Bar Kokba has lived in Jewish memory as a deceiver; but one who could bring about so vigorous and stubborn a revolt and dominate it to its close must have been a man of great power and determination, who had made the nation’s cause his own.
Bibliography: The principal source is Dio Cassius, Historia Romana, book lxix, chaps. 12-14, ed. F. G. Sturz, 9 vols., Leipsic, 1824-43; the Samaritan Book of Joshua, ed. Juynboll, Leyden, 1848, may be used cautiously. Consult J. Hamburger, Realencyklopädie für Bibel und Talmud, vol. ii, Leipsic, 1891; J. Derenbourg, Essai sur 1’histoire et la géographie de la Palestine, Paris, 1867; idem, Notes sur la guerre de Bar Kozeba, in Mélanges de l’École des Hautes Études, ib. 1878; H. Grätz, Geschichte der Juden, iv, 137 sqq., Leipsic, 1893; Schürer, Geschichte i, 682-685, 695-696, 765-772, Eng. transl., I, ii, 297-301, 311; A. Schlatter, Die Tage Trajans and Hadrians, Gütersloh, 1897; JE, ii, 506-509.
|« Baring-Gould, Sabine||Bar Kokba||Barlaam »|
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Announcement: Addition of Households with Only Cellular Telephone Service to the National Immunization Survey, 2011
Before 2011, the National Immunization Survey (NIS) used a random-digit–dialed, list-assisted landline telephone sample of households to monitor national, state, and selected local area vaccination coverage among noninstitutionalized children aged 19–35 months and 13–17 years (NIS-Teen) in the United States. Since NIS was begun in 1994, landline telephone use has decreased while cellular telephone use has increased. By the second half of 2011, the proportion of children in the United States living in households with only cellular telephone service was 38.1% (1). At least one factor, poverty, has been associated both with having only cellular telephone service and lower vaccination coverage, increasing the potential for bias in landline telephone surveys because of a lack of a representative sampling frame (1–3).
Beginning in 2011, the NIS sampling frame was expanded from a single landline frame to dual landline and cellular telephone sampling frames. This change increased the representativeness of the sample characteristics but had little effect on the final 2011 NIS and NIS-Teen national estimates of vaccination coverage overall and when stratified by poverty status (4,5).
Public health surveillance systems must occasionally change methods, and telephone surveys particularly need to include households with only cellular telephone service (6). The impact of this change on the validity of NIS estimates will be monitored annually. Further information, including a description of the dual landline and cellular sampling frames, specific weighting methods, and detailed national, state, and local area tables comparing estimates from the landline and dual frames by poverty level, is available at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/stats-surv/nis/dual-frame-sampling-08282012.htm.
- Blumberg S, Luke J. Wireless substitution: early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, July–December 2011. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2012. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm. Accessed August 24, 2012.
- CDC. National and state vaccination coverage among adolescents aged 13 through 17 years—United States, 2010. MMWR 2011;60:1117–23.
- CDC. National and state vaccination coverage among children aged 19–35 months—United States, 2010. MMWR 2011;60:1157–63.
- CDC. National and state vaccination coverage among adolescents aged 13 through 17 years—United States, 2011. MMWR 2012;61:671–7.
- CDC. National and state vaccination coverage among children aged 19–35 months—United States, 2011. MMWR 2012. In press.
- CDC. Methodologic changes in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in 2011 and potential effects on prevalence estimates. MMWR 2012;61:410–3.
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CF Foundation Provides Guidance on Seasonal and H1N1 Influenza
September 22, 2009 - Updated April 26, 2010
The CF Foundation continues to monitor the seasonal and H1N1 flu situation closely.
The Foundation recommends that all people with cystic fibrosis and individuals living with them follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on both seasonal and H1N1 flu prevention and vaccination.
Based on the CDC’s recommendations, the Foundation urges everyone with CF and those who live in the same household to:
- Get the 2009 H1N1 vaccine as soon as possible.
- Follow your local care center’s recommendations on getting end-of-season vaccination for seasonal flu. Some communities may still be experiencing seasonal flu. Seasonal flu shots may be especially important if you’re planning to travel to certain areas, or for children under 9 who have only ever had one flu shot.
- Minimize the spread of germs by:
- Cleaning your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand gel.
- Using a tissue when coughing or sneezing, then cleaning your hands.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth since germs are spread that way.
- Staying away from others if you are ill.
- Watch for symptoms of the flu and if they appear, call your doctor. Symptoms include:
- Body aches and headache
- Fever and chills
- Increased cough
- Sore throat
Seasonal and H1N1 Flu Vaccines
The seasonal flu vaccine is an important step in protecting against seasonal flu. Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk of serious flu complications, such as people with CF.
The 2009 seasonal flu vaccine was not designed to protect against the H1N1 flu.
People at greatest risk for H1N1 flu – such as those with CF – should receive the H1N1 vaccine.
Vaccinations for people with CF are generally available at CF care centers. Household members of people with CF also should receive the flu vaccinations. You can find the closest place to receive either the seasonal flu vaccine or H1N1 vaccine from the American Lung Association’s Flu Clinic Locator Web site.
The fastest way to get the H1N1 vaccine may not be through your CF care center.
The best way to protect against seasonal and H1N1 flu is by practicing good infection control. For more information on infection control or vaccinations, talk to your CF doctor.
Additional Resources on Seasonal and H1N1 Flu | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30160000 |
How many times have you wanted to just walk into a bingo hall and yell “bingo”? The Cultural Center allows you to do that — when you play and win bingo.
Bingo started at the Cultural Center of Charlotte County when the center moved to its current location in 1968. A volunteer at the time suggested bingo and ran the game in one of the classrooms. It was such a great idea that the first bingo game was played 24 hours later with a group of 10 people. Over the weeks the game grew large enough to occupy the biggest classroom, and additional sessions had to be added.
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Roy J. Plunkett
Roy J. Plunkett with a cable insulated with Teflon and a Teflon-coated muffin tin. Gift of Roy Plunkett. Courtesy Hagley Museum and Library.
From the 1930s to the present, beginning with neoprene and nylon, the American chemical industry has introduced a cornucopia of polymers to the consumer. Teflon, discovered by Roy J. Plunkett (1910–1994) at the DuPont Company’s Jackson Laboratory in 1938, was an accidental invention—unlike most of the other polymer products. But as Plunkett often told student audiences, his mind was prepared by education and training to recognize novelty.
As a poor Ohio farm boy during the Depression, Plunkett attended Manchester College in Indiana. His roommate for a time at this small college was Paul Flory, who would win the 1974 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his contributions to the theory of polymers. Like Flory, Plunkett went on to The Ohio State University for a doctorate, and also like Flory he was hired by DuPont. Unlike Flory, Plunkett made his entire career at DuPont.
Reenactment of the 1938 discovery of Teflon. Left to right: Jack Rebok, Robert McHarness, and Roy Plunkett. Courtesy Hagley Museum and Library.
Plunkett’s first assignment at DuPont was researching new chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants—then seen as great advances over earlier refrigerants like sulfur dioxide and ammonia, which regularly poisoned food-industry workers and people in their homes. Plunkett had produced 100 pounds of tetrafluoroethylene gas (TFE) and stored it in small cylinders at dry-ice temperatures preparatory to chlorinating it. When he and his helper prepared a cylinder for use, none of the gas came out—yet the cylinder weighed the same as before. They opened it and found a white powder, which Plunkett had the presence of mind to characterize for properties other than refrigeration potential. He found the substance to be heat resistant and chemically inert, and to have very low surface friction so that most other substances would not adhere to it. Plunkett realized that, against the predictions of polymer science of the day, TFE had polymerized to produce this substance—later named Teflon—with such potentially useful characteristics. Chemists and engineers in the Central Research Department with special experience in polymer research and development investigated the substance further. Meanwhile, Plunkett was transferred to the tetraethyl lead division of DuPont, which produced the additive that for many years boosted gasoline octane levels.
At first it seemed that Teflon was so expensive to produce that it would never find a market. Its first use was fulfilling the requirements of the gaseous diffusion process of the Manhattan Project for materials that could resist corrosion by fluorine or its compounds (see Ralph Landau). Teflon pots and pans were invented years later. The awarding of Philadelphia’s Scott Medal in 1951 to Plunkett—the first of many honors for his discovery—provided the occasion for the introduction of Teflon bakeware to the public: each guest at the banquet went home with a Teflon-coated muffin tin. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30170000 |
Over the past 10 years, nitrogen concentration trends are downward at about half (16 out of 33) monitoring sites within the Bay watershed. The trend results indicate that in many locations, management actions, such as improved wastewater treatment and nonpoint-source pollution controls (i.e. urban stormwater runoff and agricultural runoff controls), have reduced nitrogen concentrations in streams. In addition, in the last 5 years, higher yields indicate a tendency to be located in the northern half of the watershed, conversely. lower yields are more numerous in the lower half of the watershed. The short-term flow-adjusted trends and yields indicator is calculated, and results and maps are published annually by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of a larger effort to determine loads and trends in nutrient and sediment concentrations and streamflow in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Date created: Mar 10 2011 / Download ( 4.32 MB ) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30173000 |
Laparoscopic Total Colectomy & Ileoanal Pullthrough
Coping for parents
Learning how to cope is easiest when parents, children, and health care professional work together as a team. Child Life Specialists are available to help reduce any fears surrounding this experience.
Reason with your child appropriate to their stage of development. If your son or daughter has questions, always answer them honestly so they will be prepared for what will happen. Children often sense when their parents, doctors, or nurses are hiding something from them.
Decide appropriate "advance notice" time. Some children prefer to know well ahead of time what's coming, and some do better knowing closer to the time of the event (for example, when a tube is going to be removed). You know your child better than anyone. Keep in mind that giving them too much advanced notice of events may make them unable to focus on anything else. Many parents prefer to share information when medical team members are present. If your child is a teenager and expresses interest in speaking with his doctors or nurses, respect his/her wishes.
If age appropriate, ask if they would like any comfort objects such as stuffed animals or musical tapes during the procedures.
Psychosocial support for you and your child is available during the hospitalization. Parents often feel sad, fearful or helpless even if your doctor assures you that your child's prognosis is good. Some may feel guilty thinking they may have done something to cause the disease or should have been able to do something to prevent it. Although these kinds of questions are both common and normal, try to remember you are not to blame for your child's illness.
Don't hesitate to ask to meet with a social worker to discuss any concerns you may have. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30176000 |
Taco USA : how Mexican food conquered America / Gustavo Arellano.
Author: Arellano, Gustavo, 1979-
Edition: 1st Scribner hardcover ed.
Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2012.
ISBN: 9781439148617 (hbk.)
Description: viii, 310 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Subject: Cooking, Mexican History.
Cooking, Mexican United States History.
Food habits Mexico History.
Food habits United States History.
Mexican American cooking History.
Cooking, American Southwestern style History.
Contents: Introduction: what's so cosmic about a burrito? -- You mean Mexico gave the world more than just tacos? -- Whatever happened to the Chili Queens and Tamale Kings? -- How did the taco become popular before Mexicans flooded the United States? -- Who were the enchilada millionaires, and how did they change Mexican food? -- How did Americans become experts at writing cookbooks on Mexican food? -- Whatever happened to Southwestern cuisine? -- Is Tex-Mex food doomed? -- What took the burrito so long to become popular? -- When did Mexicans start making for food for Mexicans? -- How did Mexican food get into our supermarkets? -- Is the tortilla God's favored method of communication? -- How did salsa become America's top-selling condiment? -- Tequila? Tequila! -- What are the five greatest Mexican meals in the United States? -- What happens after the burrito has gone cosmic? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30183000 |
Henry Franklin Battles/ Susan (Monks) Battles
Submitted by: Archie (Bud) and Doris Battles, grandson and wife.
The Henry Franklin Battles and Susan Monks families presumably came from Alabama and settled around Cameron, Indian Territory. Henry Franklin Battles born 12-23-1851, enrolled at Doaksville, Indian Territory and died 2-6-1936 at Gowen, OK. His father was G.W. Battles. Susan (Monks) Battles born 12-23-1856 to F.M. and Susan Monks. She was enrolled in Garris County and died 7-25-1937 at Ashland, OK. It is presumed that around Cameron, Indian Territory is where Henry and Susan met, married and started raising their family of four boys. From there, they moved to Wilburton where they had one girl and two more boys.
They farmed and the children went to a small school southwest of Wilburton. They named it the Battles School. Later, some of the boys went to Jones Academy. Later on, they were enrolled on the Choctaw Rolls and was allotted land around Ashland, Indian Territory. They moved to their land where they farmed and horse raced. Their children had all met, married and had children by this time. All of the grandchildren moved, with most of them going to Salt Plains, Van Horne and Ashland. Their children were:
- William E. born 12-28-1872 and died 1-2-1950. His first wife was named Martha then he married Emma Shaw;
- Finis Marion born 8-19-1878 and died 1-18-1958. He married Maggie Dunlap on 4-29-1906;
- John Marim born 5-22-1881 and died 1-21-1970. His first wife was Cemie Patrick then Annie May Chester;
- George Washington born 8-21-1887 and died 4-5-1962. He married Ola Mae Christian, 10-20-1907;
- Erma E.L. born 12-24-1888 and died 2-26-1975. She married Jim Carter;
- James (Jimmie) Ernest born 8-7-1893 and died 7-27-1974. He married Walsie Akin in 1912;
- Lester born 12-24-1896 and died 12-19-1965. His first wife was Nellie Parnell then he married Mandy Owensby;
- Pearl Clementine. Clementine was married to #3 son, John. Children of George Washington Battles and Minnie Ola (Christian) Battles are:
Venita Jewell (Battles) Collie, born 11-13-1908 at Ashland. She married Jim Colie and there were no children;
Oran, born 8-13-1910 at Ashland. His first wife was Birtha ? and they had one son, Charles; Tollie (Dutch), born 6-20-1920 at Ashland and died 12-4-1953. He married Alice? And they had four children:
Mary Jo, Richard, Samuel and Linda; Archie Monroe (Bud), born 7-14-1914 at Wardville. He married Willie Doris Lenox, 12-30-1937 and they had two sons;
Kenneth Hoyt and Walter Roy. Kenneth was born 12-3-1939 and married Mary Alice Hogan. Walker Roy was born 11-24-1942. His first wife was Wilma Sturgeion then he married Gwen Pola Gormly.
Olen, born 11-22-1916 at Ashland. His wife was Joan; Henry Franklin (Dink), born 8-4-1914 at Ashland and died 3-11-1942. He had no children; Lucille, born 12-30-1920 at Ashland. She married Loyd Faris and they had two children, Shirley and Keith; Jake, born 4-19-1923 at Gowen. His wife’s name was Jean and they had two girls and one boy; Pauline, born 6-23-1928 at Wardville. She married J.B. Dave and they had one child, Pamela; George Washington, Jr. (Sam), born 7-15-1930 at Ashland. His wife’s name was Wanda and they had two children, Machala and Rodney. All of the children were born in Oklahoma within a few miles of each other. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-30184000 |
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