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Blind Balloting a.k.a. 34 Angry Students
So I’m the kind of nerd that puts in three 11 hour days and comes home and starts brainstorming about math ideas. My only solace is that I know the majority of people reading this are the same kind of nerd.
I was sitting here trying to help Julie work through some issues she was having with lopsided quiz scores. Lots of As, but too many Fs at the same time. So I suggested a number of error analysis techniques I’ve used in the past, but then something popped into my head (further developed by Sam).
Full disclaimer I have not yet tried this in my classes, but I think it has some serious potential. Also I’m slightly punch-drunk from exhaustion after my first two days.
Basically the goal of this activity is to get everyone in the classroom to agree on an idea. The teacher puts some problem on the board, then a set of multiple choice answers. Students discuss the problem in small groups, and then everyone votes anonymously. If the results are not unanimous, then groups shuffle and discuss the problem in their new groups. Students vote again, and again if ideas are not unanimous then they shuffle and start over.
Here is the example I have in my head right now:
After a test, put an example of a common student error on the board. Maybe number each step the student took. Then ask the class “Is the error in step 2, step 3, step 5, or step 7?” Students discuss at their table. Then they use Plickers to vote. The key here is that the teacher can’t show the bar graph of responses. The teacher just looks at their mobile device and says whether the results are unanimous or not. If they are not unanimous, then have groups shuffle (visual random groupings? Jigsaw of some sort?) and have another short discussion. Then students vote again. If everyone agrees, then you can move on to the next problem. Otherwise shuffle again.
The whole class is working together towards a common goal, but in small groups. They’re practicing talking about math and making arguments and analyzing the arguments of others. But the votes are still anonymous so no one has to feel like they’re being called out.
In my dream world it would be like 12 Angry Men where one student dissents, then sticks to their argument, and eventually everyone comes around and sees that they were right.
This, with 100% fewer switchblades
This, with 100% fewer switchblades
And think how crazy interesting it would be if everyone was unanimous, but they were all WRONG?!** The discussion after that could be so interesting. Sam suggested giving them a seemingly-easy hard problem and having one of the answers being seemingly easy. I have no idea what this would look like because I’m not smart enough for that, but I think it could be so cool (I’m envisioning the situation as saying “You all listened to the smart kid in the room, but he’s wrong, so start over”)
The biggest (non-logistical) challenge I see is that it moves away from the idea that there are multiple ways to do math. So I don’t think the question should be something like “What’s the best way to solve this problem?”. I think it’s better for things where there is only one right answer, but it’s not immediately obvious what that one right answer is.
I think there are still logistical issues to iron out here, this idea is by no means fully formed and I’m in no place to try it out for a couple weeks. If anyone is inspired and tries it, let me know!
** It occurs to me the analogy of 12 Angry Men followed by a unanimous-but-wrong vote parallels just a little too closely to falsely imprisoned people. But hey, that’s something to talk to kids about!
What’s Different This Year
As Fawn Nguyen said, “I’m not exactly sure what good teaching is. But I know what Bad Teaching is. Bad Teaching is NOT knowing that your lessons could be better, much better, therefore these teachers do not seek to improve.” This is something I’ve always taken very much to heart, and I’m always looking for things to tweak about my teaching.
When I got into teaching, I did it for probably the standard reasons of wanting to make a difference. And I was good at it. And I loved planning new activities and working with kids. My first year of teaching was an awful experience that really, really messed me up in the head. For my second year, I moved to a terrific school that gave me freedom to do so many things. I regained my confidence, but was still recovering so I didn’t try all the things I wanted to. Also as a second year I didn’t even know what it was I wanted to change and I was still figuring out my place in the classroom. Going into my third year, I want to shake it up a bit. So here are some things I’m trying. I welcome any feedback in advance that helps me avoid potential pitfalls!
“Interactive” Notebooks
What: I’ve said it in a couple different posts, but basically I’m adapting Jonathan’s $1 textbook idea (So many pingbacks on this…) to my classes.
Why: My first year I used guided notes but they basically wound-up in the trash on the way out the door. Last year I was just terrible about checking their notebooks. Halfway through the year I glanced at some notebooks and they were out of order, didn’t have enough information, were messy, and frequently missing. Plus this is a two-year course, so I want my kids to have their first-year notes organized so they can more readily study in their second year.
How: With Sam’s help I flushed out ideas I had from Jonathan and James.
1. Everyone MUST have a notebook. Composition books are preferred but spirals are ok. NO BINDERS. They’re hard to keep organized, hard to store neatly, and require me to hole-punch everything (which I hate and/or forget to do). I know some kids claim to be better organized with a binder, but I want to force the issue for a year and see how it goes.
2. Notebooks can be kept in my room in a big plastic tub. I’ll color code each class so it’s easy for kids to put their notebooks in the correct place ,and easy for me to sort any misplaced notebooks.
3. Students come in to class and open to a new (or mostly new) page. If there’s a line or two at the top of the page, that’s fine, but I’m going to be annoying about not starting notes at the very bottom of a page. Warm-up and notes go into the notebook.
4. Practice will be done either in the notebook (if it’s just one or two questions) or on large whiteboards. The idea I got from James was to have students do work on the big whiteboards, and then at the end of class pick one problem to copy into their notes. I really like that this forces kids to evaluate the problems they’ve done and pick one that they think is most important to have down.
5. I’m thinking I want kids to have some sort of organizational system in place for their notes. Sam suggested putting a colored box (with a highlighter) around an example problem, and then a different box around a practice problem. That way as I flip through their notebooks I (and they) can see exactly where things are.
6. I want students to label pages by day. So on our first day, it’s all “Day 1” at the top outside corner of every page they use. This way there’s some organization that we can refer back to, but it’s not a strict table of contents. It also helps keep things consistent for kids that take 3 pages to write notes when it only takes other kids 1 page.
7. To help keep students accountable, I’ll do periodic notebook checks for a small number of points. The trick is that grades are cumulative, so these points will eventually add up to be a fairly large project grade. I also think I might throw in the occasional notebook quiz to further incentivize the process.
8. I have to be extra-mindful that all of my handouts are half-sheets. This unfortunately means I will have some extra work the first year in adapting worksheets from the other teacher. It also means making copies for me will be annoying for anyone else until I figure out formatting issues.
9. I also need to get a ton of glue sticks. I’ll try to keep it so all of my papers can just be put through the paper-cutter, but they still need to get attached somehow. I need to pick up small boxes that can hold scissors and glue for each table, and a way to carry all of them for my one class that’s in a different room.
10. Homework is my biggest stumbling block. I want kids to be able to take their notebooks home, but I don’t want them to forget them or lose them. I’m thinking I will leave it up to the student’s discretion. You are more than welcome to do your homework in the same notebook, or get a separate homework notebook that goes back and forth from home, or do homework on a separate page and keep a binder where it’s all collected. All I really care about is that your notebook is in class everyday and your homework is done. This may be something I have to adjust as the year goes on, but I can’t come up with a better system after stressing about it for a bit.
Table Whiteboards
What: I’m synthesizing this and this. I bought a large 2′ by 4′ marker board for each of my 8 tables. Students will do practice problems and brainstorming on the whiteboards.
Why: A) I really want to have students collaborating more. I found when they were working in their notebooks it was sometimes difficult to show their thinking to others at their tables. I hope by giving them more space to write it will be better. data highlightedB) The data from the study that Alex posted is crazy. First notation in 20 seconds and double the time-on-task from a notebook? Insane and awesome. C) I just want kids to be able to see more math. By having giant whiteboards all over the place with different math on them, kids will just be exposed to math a lot more. It will also allow them to critique work from other groups.
How: This is still a work in progress, but what I have so far:
1. I will have the boards in class, and whenever we are working on practice problems they will be passed out to each table. I’m going to try to get a large number of extra whiteboard markers, but I’m going to encourage kids to get their own. I also need to get some new erasers, I’ve been using facial cleansers as erasers so far because they’re cheap, which I’ll do in a pinch.
2. Students can work horizontally on the tables or figure out a way to prop them up against the wall. I don’t have a ton of wall space but I will encourage them to try vertical if they can figure it out.
3. After students have been working for a bit, I will have them pick one practice problem they did to copy into their notebooks. The message will be that they should pick a problem that they think will adequately show them the process (and associated challenges) of the type of work we’re doing. In other words, does it make sense to have the easiest problem in your notebook when you go back to study?
4. I can also use the large whiteboards for brainstorming when we do some more activities. In that case I will only have one person writing, but they can’t write their own ideas.
5. I’ll be honest, I think this is a really cool idea and I’m really excited but I’m not exactly sure how it will look. I’m worried about issues with everyone sharing a large whiteboard, about kids drawing inappropriate pictures, about kids not copying problems down into their notebooks for later, etc. I think it’s something that will work really well once I iron out the kinks, and I’m resigned to having to deal with the kinks as they come and respond constantly.
Popsicle Sticks of Destiny and Questioning
What: Everyone will have their name on a popsicle stick, and I will pull the sticks to call on kids to answer questions. Last year I used notecards for the same idea, which I called Cards of Destiny, so I’m adapting the idea to be popsicle sticks.
Why: The problem I have with hands is that only kids that are confident want to answer, so I don’t hear from several kids. I also find myself calling on the same kids over and over, or doing that asshole move of calling on kids I think aren’t paying attention. By leaving it up to chance I can’t be accused of picking on anyone, and I get to vary who I hear from. I’m changing to popsicle sticks because I found when I used notecards that I’d call on one person and then not call on them again until their card came around. I like the idea of popsicle sticks because it feels more random and there’s more chance you get called twice in a row (on the flipside, the cards forced me to call on everyone at least once).
How: Pretty straightforward
1. Write everyone’s name on a popsicle stick. Color-code for each section (same colors as the notebooks, maybe?)
2. Get a large water bottle or something so I can shuffle the popsicle sticks.
3. Don’t allow calling out of any kind. Try to discourage hands. If a student is called on they can phone a friend, but need to understand that I will come back to them (this is a growth area for me, I’m really bad about coming back to students).
4. This also figures in to my goal of being a better questioner (hence why I joined the betterqs blog). By using only popsicle sticks it will remind me to give students some more time to answer. It will also help me jump around the room and get different answers for the same question.
5. For the first couple weeks I will have kids “BUZZ” me if I ask for hands. They’ll enjoy the chance to catch me, and it will help to train me. Later in the year, I can have a student pick the popsicle sticks for me as a student of the week perk or something.
6. I need to remember that I don’t always have to show the stick to kids, so I can game the system slightly if necessary to help move conversation along (i.e. if it says Johnny but I know Steve has the answer, I’ll just say Steve).
7. I think I will also still have my cards in place just in case there’s activity that would work better with them.
There are other things that are changing, but more in a “general point of view” way than a specific set of actions. I have a really strong desire to talk less this year. I want kids to be talking to each other and struggling through things, not taking notes from what I say. The whiteboards are great because it gives them scratch space and it lets me see what they’re doing a lot better from a distance.
Like I mentioned above I also want to improve my questioning. I was really happy with asking “What questions do we have?” rather than “Are there any questions?” It sounds like a minor thing but I think it’s a lot to do with messaging. I want to further change that by saying “Ask me questions” this year. And I want to press students to ask each other questions more.
I want to implement lagging homework. Especially given the long-term nature of this course, I want to build on recall skills as much as possible. Lagging homework will hopefully save me some review time later because kids have seen things more recently.
We’re starting the year with a short conversation on mindset. I want kids to understand that their math ability is in their own hands and not predetermined at birth. I want them to try, and appreciate their own effort.
Plickers and Talking Points! Starting the year with them so I will have them in my toolbox whenever I need them.
I’m really excited for this year. I feel like I’m gaining my footing. I’m a little nervous that my added role as a Grade Level Leader will be exhausting, but I think I’m ready for the challenge. And I’m ready to try some new things. It’s not jumping off the ledge and starting over, but I think it’s taking some chances and seeing what works for me. |
34 terms
American History Chapter 8 Test Review
Terms in this set (...)
The Eighteenth Amendment specifically granted the federal government, as well as the state governments, the power to enforce Prohibition, marking a dramatic increase in federal ____________________ powers
The American Civil Liberties Union advertised for a teacher who would be willing to be arrested for teaching __________________________.
Louis Armstrong introduced an improvisational, early form of ___________________, a style of music influenced by Dixieland and ragtime.
President Wilson's postmaster general had introduced the world's first regular airmail service in 1918 by hiring pilots to fly mail between Washington, D.C, and __________________________.
New York
Supporters of ________________________ wanted the United States to stay out of entanglements with Europe.
Though hardly typical of American women, the ___________________, a young, unconventional woman, personified women's changing behavior in the 1920's.
The movement of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the rural south to industrial cities in the north was called the _____________________________.
Great Migration
By the mid-1920's, other corporations, notably General Motors and Chrysler, competed successfully with ___________________, the first carmaker to produce cars by using the assembly line.
During Prohibition, people flocked to secret bars called _________________________, where they could purchase alcohol.
_______________________ was a style of music influenced by Dixieland music and ragtime.
The sharp increase in immigrants due to new immigration laws in the late 1920's contributed to the __________________ in the Ku Klux Klan.
By the 1920's, the United States was the _____________________ economic power in the world.
The _____________________________ that ended WWI attempted to outlaw war.
Kellogg-Briand Pact
________________________________ introduced an improvisational, early form of jazz.
Louis Armstrong
The __________________________ was the peace treaty that ended WWI.
Fourteen points
Marcus Garvey preached a message of ______________________ with whites.
Jack Dempsey, one of the sports idols of the 1920's, held the title of ___________________________________ from 1919 until 1926, when he lost it to Gene Tunney.
world heavyweight champion
In the 1920's, most African American voters in the North cast their votes for _____________, the party of Lincoln.
__________________________ was the first important writer of the Harlem Renaissance.
Countee Cullen
By the early_____________, the automobile had become an accepted part of American life.
Who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association?
Marcus Garvey
The Scopes trial was about
teaching evolution
How did the Dawes Plan try to promote peace?
The plan allowed U.S. banks to loan money to Germany so it could pay reparations.
Which amendment repealed Prohibition?
Twenty-first amendment
In the teapot dome scandal, Albert B. Fall received bribes for?
Allowing private interests to lease lands containing U.S. Navy oil reserves.
A center of creativity and freedom where many artists, writers, and intellectuals of the 1920's gathered was___________________________________________.
Greenwhich village
One of the NAACP's greatest political triumphs occured in 1930 with the defeat of Judge John J. Parkers nomination to the ____________________________.
U.S. Supreme Court
In 1926 the aviation industry received federal aid for building airports with the passage of the _____________________________.
Air commerce Act
African American arts flourished in the 1920s in what became known as the _______________________________.
Harlem Renaissance
President Coolidge's philosophy of government was that government should interfere with business and industry as little as possible and that prosperity rested on _____________________.
business leadership
Although many of President Harding's appointments were disastrous, he did appoint several distinguished cabinet members including the secretary of commerce,
Herbert Hoover
What system of manufacturing adopted by Henry Ford divided operations into simple tasks and cut unnecessary motion to a minimum?
Assembly line
How did Marcus Garvey's Negro Nationalism differ from the views of W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington?
Garvey advocated separation and independence from whites rather than integration.
What baseball player also became a national hero?
Babe Ruth |
Control the Court
Control the Court
Certain judicial processes evoke more authority and power over others. Like a set of tools, in the hands of a knowledgeable craftsman, qualified individuals can assume control of the courts and the judicial processes to meter out true justice.
Black’s Law Dictionary 4th Ed Definitions:
MOTION: Parliamentary law. The formal mode in which a member submits a proposed measure or resolve for the consideration and action of the meeting.
PETITION: A written address, embodying an application or prayer from the person or persons preferring it, to the power, body, or person to whom it is presented, for the exercise of his or their authority in the redress of some wrong, or the grant of some favor, privilege, or license.
PETITION OF RIGHTS: A Parliamentary declaration of the liberties of the people, assented to by King Charles I, in 1629. It is to be distinguished from the Bill of Rights, (1689), which has passed into a permanent constitutional statute.
RIGHT: Defined generally as “powers of free action.” And the primal rights pertaining to men are undoubtedly enjoyed by human beings purely as such, being grounded in personality, and existing antecedently to their recognition by positive law.
Rights are also classified in Constitutional Law as natural, civil, and political to which there is sometimes added the class of “personal rights.”
Natural Rights are those which grow out of the nature of man and depend upon personality, as distinguished from such as are created by law and depend upon civilized society: or they are those which are plainly assured by natural law or those which, by fair deduction from the present physical, moral, social, and religious characteristics of man, he must have realized for him in a jural society, in order to fulfill the ends to which his nature calls him. Such are the rights of Life, Liberty, Privacy, and good reputation.
Civil Rights are such as being to every citizen of the state or country, or, in a wider sense, to all its inhabitants, and are not connected with the organization or administration of the government. They include the rights of property, marriage, protection by the laws, freedom of contract, trial by jury, etc. Or, as otherwise defined, civil rights are rights appertaining to in virtue of his citizenship in a state or community. Rights capable of being enforced or redressed in a civil action. Also a term applied to certain rights secured to citizens of the United States by the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, and by various acts of congress made in pursuant thereof.
Political Rights consist in the power to participate, directly or indirectly, in the establishment or administration of government, such as the right of citizenship, that of suffrage, the right to hold public office, and the right of petition.
Personal Rights is a term of rather vague import, but generally it may be said to mean the right of personal security, comprising those of life, limb, body, health, reputation, and the right of personal liberty.
Contract: A promissory agreement between two or more persons that creates, modifies, or destroys a legal relation.
An agreement, upon sufficient consideration, to do or not do a particular thing.
A deliberate engagement between competent parties, upon a legal consideration, to do, or to abstain from doing, some act.
It is agreement creating obligations, in which there must be competent parties, subject matter, legal consideration, mutuality of agreement, and mutuality of obligation, and agreement must not be so vague or uncertain that terms are not ascertainable.
A contract or agreement is either where a promise is made on one side and assented to on the other; or where two or more persons enter into engagement with each other by a promise on either side.
The writing which contains the agreement of parties, with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof of the obligation.
Consensual and Real Contracts: Consensual Contracts are such as are founded upon and completed by the mere agreement of the contracting parties, without any external formality or symbolic act to fix the obligation.
Real Contracts are those in which it is necessary that there should be something more than mere consent, such as loan of money, deposit or pledge, which, from their nature, require a delivery of the thing.
COERCION: Compulsion; constraint; compelling by force or arms.
It may be actual, direct, or positive, as where physical force is used to compel act against one’s will, or implied, legal or constructive, as where one borty is constrained by subjugation to other to do what his free will would refuse.
DURESS: Unlawful constraint exercised upon a man whereby he is forced to do some act that he otherwise would not have done. It may be either “duress of imprisonment”, where the person is deprived of his liberty in order to force him to compliance, or by violence, beating, or other actual injury, or duress per minas, consisting in threats of imprisonment or great physical injury or death, duress may also include the same injuries, threats, or restraints exercised upon the man’s wife, child, or parent.
VITIATE, To impair; to make void or voidable; to cause to fail of force and effect; to destroy or annul, either entirely or in part, the legal efficacy and binding force of an act or instrument; as when it is said that fraud vitiates a contract.
DEMAND: v. In practice, To claim as one’s due; to require; to ask relief. To summon; to call in court. “Although solemnly demanded, comes not, but makes default,”
DEMAND: n. A peremptory claim to thing of right, differing from claim, in that it presupposes that there is no defense of doubt upon question of right.
The assertion of a legal right; a legal obligation asserted in the courts; a word of art of an extent greater in its signification than any other word except “claim.”
Legal Demand: A demand properly made, as to form, time, and place, by which a person lawfully authorized.
CLAIM: n. A broad comprehensive word.
CLAIM: v. To demand as one’s own; to assert. To state; to urge; to insist.
BOND: A certificate or evidence of a debt.
Motions and Petitions are Parliamentary Procedure
The Judge said that if I put in Motions he will take them, because he has no Commercial Liability with a Motion, because a motion is Parliamentary Procedure, not Law.
This is what the Judge told Donna, then smiled, knowing full well the crime he was engaged in.
A Petition will cause the Judge to have Commercial Liability, but the Supreme Court Ruling was made that Judges do not have to respond to Petitions.
What the hell is the purpose of putting in a Petition, if the Judge does not have to respond? So make Demands instead and hold them accountable with a Distress against their Judicial Bond.
It is up to the Judge to order the attorney to answer all Affidavits, but the Judge will not do so unless Demanded to do so by the Private party.
We must learn to operate as a “Flesh and Blood human being acting in our own proper person”.
If we are tricked into acting “Pro Se”, this means we are “Representing” our Private person as an “attorney” therefore we have to obey all of their Court Rules and Procedures.
By acting as a “Flesh and Blood human being acting in our own proper person”, we have removed our-self from having to obey their rules and regulations in their system.
As a Private person we have the Right to Demand the Judge (our Trustee and Servant) to “Order” the attorney to answer our Affidavits and provide Discovery of Facts essential to our case, which we must have to be Fully Informed so that we can properly defend our-self.
The Judge has the power to order all parties to answer Affidavits.
But, if we do not Demand the Judge to “Order” the prosecuting attorney to answer our Affidavits of Truth, we will not get any Remedy from the Judge.
If we fall for the deception and enter “Motions” for discovery etc, the Judge can just ignore “Motions” and throw them into the wastebasket, because “Motions” are just Parliamentary Procedure, which means they carry absolutely no “Commercial Liability” with them for the Judge if he decides to ignore them.
This is part of why the Judge will set up for Pretrial Motions between the Defendants and the Prosecuting Attorneys, so that the Judge doesn’t have any Commercial Liability.
This way when the Prosecuting Attorneys refuse to answer our “Motions” for discovery and essential facts about the “Probable Cause” pertaining to the required supporting Affidavits for a lawful Arrest, the Judge doesn’t do anything to correct the problem.
We must Demand the Judge to “ORDER” the Prosecuting Attorney to produce Affidavits sworn to be true, correct, and complete of Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Laws showing specific “Just Cause” point-for-point of the “Probable Cause” to support the arrest warrant and/or Indictment Information against us.
This Demand now causes the Judge to have Commercial Liability, which means we can go after his Judicial Bond for failure to do his job.
The Distress Right is our 1st Basis to hold the Judge accountable.
Because the Judge failed to Honor his Oath and do his job, his judgment must be declared Null and Void.
1st ID the Authority and the Insurance and/or the Bonding.
Judge has failed to provide ID, thus he must strike his Orders and Judgments.
After we buy our cash bond for our Distress Process against the Judge’s Judicial Bond, we become the Judge (Executive officer) and we can issue orders.
This gives us the right to be the Judge on the Street
Legislative part –Affidavit of Distress Right
Adjudicative part –Distress Instrument
Executive part –Statement that the distress will not be released until all conditions are Satisfied by the Judge whose Bond has been put under “Distress”, Impoundment.
Randall David Due aka Randy Due, Public Minister; Ex. Military (Civil Rights Advocate) acting as a Non-union Lawyer (not a member of the bar association) pursuant to 42 USC § 1986 (acting with Reasonable Diligence) & 18 USC § 4 (Mandate to act), 18 USC §§ 241 & 242 (Protection of the Nation, its Constitution and Civil Rights)
Public Minister pursuant to and protected by Public Law 94-583, Oct. 21, 1976 Stat. 2891 [Codified in Title 28 U.S.C § 1602 et esq.]; and Public Law 1790, 1 Stat. At L. 117, Ch 9 [Codified in 22 U.S.C. § 252]; Public Law 1948, Ch 645, 62 Stat. 688 [Codified in Title 18 U.S.C § 112] and Public Law 1871, Ch 22, § 6, 17 Stat. 15; [Codified in 42 U.S.C. § 1986]
179 Green St. E.
Pelham, Georgia 31779
Phone: (229) 294-6112
Fax: (229) 294-4594
About arnierosner
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America's fighting tradesmen - the Seabees
Since the dark days of World War II, the Navy Seabees have been building the military's vital infrastructure, and when need be taking up arms to fight the enemy.
In the days leading up to America's entry into the Second World War, the U.S. Navy began constructing a series of forward bases across the Pacific. These bases -- and the ones that would follow them as the war progressed -- would become the logistical backbone of the effort, moving men and material into the fight.
The actual outbreak of war, however, caused the Navy to rethink how it was supplying the skilled tradesmen doing that construction. Up until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, most of the work was done by civilian contractors. But under international law, civilians taking up arms to resist enemy attack could be summarily executed as guerrillas.
In response, Rear Admiral Ben Moreell determined to activate, organize, and man Navy Construction Battalions or CBs, which soon became famous the world over as the Seabees. The Admiral also furnished the new battalions with their motto: Construimus, Batuimus -- "We Build, We Fight."
The first Seabees were not raw recruits. They were volunteers chosen especially for their skills. The age range for enlistment was 18-50, but after the formation of the initial battalions, it was discovered that several men past 60 had managed to join up. After December 1942 voluntary enlistments were halted by orders of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and men for the construction battalions had to be obtained through the Selective Service System.
Those first Seabees were the men who had helped to build Boulder Dam, the national highways, New York's skyscrapers; who had worked in shipyards and built docks and wharfs, many who had served in the New Deal's Works Progress Administration. By the end of the war, 325,000 such men encompassing more than 60 skilled trades -- everything from machinists to plumbers to electricians and carpenters had enlisted in the Seabees. Together they build the road to victory (often, literal roads) in both the Pacific and the European theaters of war.
And their tradition continues to this day. From Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Seabees have lived up to their motto and astounded friend and foe alike with their ingenuity, bravery and can-do attitude.
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compare and constrast providing money vs non-monetary incentives to employees.
Writing Assignment #2: Comparison-Contrast Analysis
Writing assignment #2 will be an essay in which you compare and contrast two objects,
concepts, or ideas.
-Your topic for the comparison-contrast essay
In my essay, I would like to compare providing money vs non-monetary incentives to employees.
-The three points of comparison/contrast that you will develop in the essay
1. Employee productivity
2. Employee morale
3. Employee retention
The essay should be 1000-1500 words in length.
The essay must cite at least two sources to support your points.
Your essay should have the following: APA format
an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement.
at least three body paragraphs that illustrate at least three major points and defend these
points by referring to the articles you have found on the topic.
o You will want to paraphrase or quote from the texts as appropriate.
o In citing your sources, please use APA style.
o Your body paragraphs should follow the alternating pattern of
organization. This pattern of organization is described in the following video
tutorial. http://polaris.umuc.edu/ewc/tutorials/comparisons/
o Your body paragraphs should analyze at least two points of contrast. You may
have three or four points of contrast, but you must have at least two. You may
include a paragraph about one or two similarities if you would like.
a compelling concluding paragraph.
In addition, the paper should be formatted according to APA style (e.g., you should include
a running head with page numbers, have appropriate margins, etc.)
Type of paper Academic level Subject area
Number of pages Paper urgency Cost per page:
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16.6 SQL Database Interfaces
Shelves are a powerful tool; they allow scripts to throw Python objects on a keyed-access file and load them back later in a single step. They aren't quite a full-blown database system, though; objects (records) are accessed with a single key, and there is no notion of SQL queries. It's as if shelves were a database with a single index and no other query-processing support.
Although it's possible to build a multiple-index interface to store data with multiple shelves, it's not a trivial task and requires manually coded extensions (see the dbaseindexed module in the PyErrata system near the end of Chapter 14 for a prototype of this concept).
For industrial-strength persistence needs, Python also supports relational database systems. Today, there are freely available interfaces that let Python scripts utilize all common database systems, both free and commercial: Oracle, Sybase, Informix, mSql, MySql, Interbase, Postgres, ODBC, and more. In addition, the Python community has defined a database API specification that works portably with a variety of underlying database packages. Scripts written for this API can be migrated to different database vendor packages with minimal or no source code changes.
16.6.1 Interface Overview
Unlike all the persistence topics presented in this chapter and book so far, though, SQL databases are optional extensions that are not part of Python itself, and you need to know SQL to make the most sense of their interfaces. Because I don't have space to teach SQL in this text, this section instead gives a brief overview of the API; please consult other SQL references and the database API resources mentioned in the next section for more details.
The good news is that you can access SQL databases from Python, through a straightforward and portable model. The Python database API specification defines an interface for communicating with underlying database systems from Python scripts. Vendor-specific database interfaces for Python may or may not conform to this API completely, but all database extensions for Python seem minor variations on a theme. SQL databases in Python are grounded on a few concepts:
• Connection objects represent a connection to a database, are the interface to rollback and commit operations, and generate cursor objects.
• Cursor objects represent a single SQL statement submitted as a string, and can be used to step through SQL statement results.
• Query results of SQL select statements are returned to scripts as Python lists of Python tuples, representing database tables of rows. Within these row tuples, field values are normal Python objects such as strings, integers, and floats, or special types (e.g., [('bob',38), ('emily',37)]).
Beyond this, the API defines a standard set of database exception types, special database type object constructors (e.g., nulls and dates), and informational calls.
For instance, to establish a database connection under the Python API-compliant Oracle interface available from Digital Creations, install the extension and then run a line of this form:
connobj = Connect("user/password@system")
The string argument's contents may vary per database and vendor, but they generally contain what you provide to log in to your database system. Once you have a connection object, there a variety of things you can do with it, including:
connobj.close( ) close connection now (not at object __del__ time)
connobj.commit( ) commit any pending transactions to the database
connobj.rollback( ) roll database back to start of pending transactions
connobj.getSource(proc) fetch stored procedure's code
But one of the most useful things to do with a connection object is to generate a cursor object:
cursobj = connobj.cursor( ) return a new cursor object for running SQL
Cursor objects have a set of methods, too (e.g., close to close the cursor before its destructor runs), but the most important may be this one:
cursobj.execute(sqlstring [, parm, parm,...]) run SQL query or command string
The execute method can be used to run a variety of SQL statement strings:
• DDL definition statements (e.g., CREATE TABLE)
• DML modification statements (e.g., UPDATE or INSERT)
• DQL query statements (e.g., SELECT)
For DML statements, execute returns the number of rows effected. For DQL query statements, a None is returned and you must call one of the fetch methods to complete the operation:
tuple = cursobj.fetchone( ) fetch next row of a query result
listoftuple = cursobj.fetchmany([size]) fetch next set of rows of query result
listoftuple = cursobj.fetchall( ) fetch all remaining rows of the result
And once you've received fetch method results, table information is processed using normal Python list and tuple object operations (e.g., you can step through the tuples in a fetchall result list with a simple for loop). Most Python database interfaces also allow you to provide values to be passed to SQL statement strings, by providing targets and a tuple of parameters. For instance:
query = 'SELECT name, shoesize FROM spam WHERE job = ? AND age = ?'
cursobj.execute(query, (value1, value2))
results = cursobj.fetchall( )
for row in results: ...
In this event, the database interface utilizes prepared statements (an optimization and convenience) and correctly passes the parameters to the database regardless of their Python types. The notation used to code targets in the query string may vary in some database interfaces (e.g., ":p1" and ":p2", rather than "?" and "?"); in any event, this is not the same as Python's "%" string formatting operator.
Finally, if your database supports stored procedures, you can generally call them with the callproc method, or by passing an SQL CALL or EXEC statement string to the execute method; use a fetch variant to retrieve its results.
16.6.2 Resources
There is more to database interfaces than the basics just mentioned, but additional API documentation is readily available on the Web. Perhaps the best resource for information about database extensions today is the home page of the Python database special interest group (SIG). Go to http://www.python.org, click on the SIGs link near the top, and navigate to the database group's page (or go straight to http://www.python.org/sigs/db-sig, the page's current address at the time of writing). There, you'll find API documentation, links to database vendor-specific extension modules, and more.
While you're at python.org, be sure to also explore the Gadfly database package -- a Python-specific SQL-based database extension, which sports wide portability, socket connections for client/server modes, and more. Gadfly loads data into memory, so it is currently somewhat limited in scope. On the other hand, it is ideal for prototyping database applications -- you can postpone cutting a check to a vendor until it's time to scale up for deployment. Moreover, Gadfly is suitable by itself for a variety of applications -- not every system needs large data stores, but many can benefit from the power of SQL.
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Insect disinfection is the amount of actions aiming to free any environment of mainly walking and flying insects. It includes three stages:
1) Prevention
2) Control
3) Maintenance
PREVENTION: it means the activities, which, during their performance, make the insects' survival attempts difficult. The biological circle and the habits of each insect, which is the target, dictate these actions. These are controlled by the special technician and performed in co-operation with the client.
CONTROL: it includes the enforcement of a complete program of actions, which intends to eliminate a well-established infestation of pests. It contains monitoring-control. Monitoring is done through glue traps, which allow us to recognize the kind and the number of population of pests and their harborages.
Control includes the performance of pesticides, where insects live and can be found. The performance is achieved with special machinery (pressure pumps - foggers - ULV - electric insect traps, etc.) in accordance with the needs of the environment and the kind of pests which have to be eliminated. The choice of residual pesticides (that means large time of action) is also equivalent (carbamate - organophosphates - botanical and inorganic insecticides - pyrethroids - insect growth regulators {IGR})
EU.DI.FON has all the types of machinery available and is completely aware of the qualities and characteristics of the pesticides mentioned before.
MAINTENANCE: All the above activities are supposed - without having one cancelling the other- to act for the elimination of the pests.
SAFETY: The above pesticides affect cold-blooded organisms (organisms without blood, such as insects) so they set them completely safe for humans as well as the environment when they are performed properly by professionals in the field.
1. Check out regularly:
- Possible entrances of pests
- Possible harborages of insects (e.g. creaks, pump leaks)
2. Eliminate the factors, which are in favor of their development.
3. For more information consult our professional technician. |
Bartlett's Thesaurus
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Bartlett's Thesaurus is the groundbreaking 1923 (silent) documentary by director Charles Dickens about the discovery of a live dinosaur in California's Death Valley. The amazing creature was found in a discarded apple crate by President Jebediah Bartlett during a mid-term election campaign swing through the Western states in 1922. This Prozac Era dinosaur, known to scientists as a thesaurus, was previously thought to have gone extinct along (along with all other dinosaur species) when the Kirstie Alley crashed into the Earth, kicking up a firestorm of dust and soot that blocked out the sun's rays for centuries.
In honor of the man who found the single known live example of this creature, the dinosaur was officially designated Bartlett's Thesaurus by the Smithsonian Dinosaur Society (SDS) in 1932. |
Arthritis is a word that originates in the Greek language and translates from arthro, meaning joint and it is meaning inflammation. There are a number of different types of this painful condition with some of the most common being osteoarthritis which causes the joints to become painful and stiff and most commonly affects the knees, small joints in the hands and the hips. Acute arthritis is another common one that causes pain and swelling as well as heat and redness. We tend to think of arthritis affecting us as we grow older but young people can suffer from a condition known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis with pain ,tenderness and swelling of the joints sometimes leading to impaired growth.
arthritis-can-appear-at-any-age.jpg (600×260)
Surprisingly arthritis can also be caused by bacterial infections and fungi. These are only a few examples but no matter what is causing the disease the sufferer will want to do as much as they can to relieve the pain and discomfort and disruption to their life.
It’s usual to be prescribed a variety of different drugs to deal with the symptoms of this painful condition, however many people would prefer to take a different approach and in addition to the usual medication, they have begun to use a hot tub as well and we’ve teamed up with Vita Spa to find out more.
Heat can be particularly helpful to those in pain and the benefits provided by using a hot tub have been recognised by the Arthritis Foundation for many of their members. Stiff and painful joints can become much more mobile after a session in the warm water and the massage jets can help even further by increasing that mobility. Add to that the fact that the heat can help to eliminate toxins from the body and you can see why hot tub therapy is rapidly becoming a recommended alternative therapy. |
There are several different types of mutations that can take place with this particular gene. Some of them can greatly affect pregnancy more than other. Mutations also affect some other body systems as well such as the heart and brain. There is currently no scientific reason that these MTHFR mutation genes lead to recurrent pregnancy loss, but all those women who have had several miscarriages generally test positive for the MTHFR mutation gene.
Pregnant women who are MTHFR mutation genes positive may suffer several complications during their pregnancy. These may include:
• Preeclampsia – This is a condition that leads to High Blood pressure during pregnancy
• Anencephaly – This happens to be a serious birth defect where the baby is born without parts of skull or brain. Most of such babies do not live more than a week.
• Spina Bifida – This is another birth defect where the infant is born with a spinal cord stuck out onto the baby’s back, causing nerve damage. Depending on the severity of Spina Bifida, some of the babies get to have a normal life, whereas others require full-time assistance.
Why Testing For MTHFR Mutation is Crucial
It is not really a standard protocol to test all pregnant women for the existence of MTHFR mutation genes. It can be quite expensive to do so, and insurance does not really cover it. However, your doctor may ask you to get these tests done if you have:
• A family history of MTHFR mutated gene
• Several miscarriages
• Genetic issues with another pregnancy
The results of these tests are generally available in 1 to 2 weeks.
To check for MTHFR mutation, several variants of the MTHFR genes are assessed. The two most commonly tested genes variants are known as A1298C and C677T. If an individual has both these variants, the tests generally indicate elevated levels of homocysteine.
On the other hand, the two A1298C gene variants generally are not related to higher homocysteine levels. It is possible to be negative on MTHFR mutation genes test and still have elevated homocysteine levels.
Screening for MTHFR mutation genes is strongly recommended for every pregnant woman. Despite the fact that many women go through normal pregnancies, even if they test positive for MTHFR mutation gene, many researches connect the high incidence of Autism with unmetabolized folic acid due to MTHFR mutation. Therefore, you perhaps need to be tested for this gene if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant. |
Afferent nerve fiber
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Afferent nerve fiber
Afferent (PSF).png
SystemNervous system
Latinneurofibrae afferentes
Anatomicaw terms of neuroanatomy
Afferent nerve fibers refer to axonaw projections dat arrive at a particuwar region[cwarification needed] ; as opposed to efferent projections dat exit de region, uh-hah-hah-hah. These terms have a swightwy different meaning in de context of de peripheraw nervous system (PNS) and centraw nervous system (CNS).
In de PNS, afferent and efferent projections are awways from de perspective of de spinaw cord (see figures). PNS afferents are de axons of sensory neurons carrying sensory information from aww over de body, into de spine. PNS efferents are de axons of spinaw cord motor neurons dat carry motor-movement signaws out of de spine to de muscwes.[1][2][3]
In de CNS, afferent and efferent projections can be from de perspective of any given brain region, uh-hah-hah-hah. That is, each brain region has its own uniqwe set of afferent and efferent projections. In de context of a given brain region, afferents are arriving fibers whiwe efferents are exiting fibers.
Nervous System Organization - The Motor and Sensory Systems
Afferent neurons' somas are wocated in de gangwia of de peripheraw nervous system, and de axons of dese cewws travew from gangwion to gangwion and wead back to de spinaw cord. The majority of dese are unipowar neurons in dat dey have a singwe axon weaving de ceww body and is sent towards de sensory organ.[4] Aww of de axons in de dorsaw root, which contains afferent nerve fibers, are used in de transduction of somatosensory information, uh-hah-hah-hah. Somatosensory receptors incwude senses such as pain, touch, temperature, itch, and stretch. For exampwe, a specific muscwe fiber cawwed an intrafusaw muscwe fiber is a type of afferent neuron dat wies parawwew to de extrafusaw muscwe fibers dus functions as a stretch receptor by detecting muscwe wengf.[4] Aww of dese sensations travew awong de same generaw padway towards de brain, uh-hah-hah-hah. From de dorsaw root gangwion dey travew to de spinaw cord.[4] From de spinaw cord to de meduwwa, which den weads to de mediaw wemniscus of de midbrain, uh-hah-hah-hah. From here it travews to de primary somatosensory cortex of de parietaw wobe.
Types of afferent fibers incwude de generaw somatic (GSA), de generaw visceraw (GVA), de speciaw somatic (SSA) and de speciaw visceraw afferent fibers (SVA).
Type Primary/secondary Response
Type Ia primary Respond to de rate of change in muscwe wengf, as weww to change in vewocity, rapidwy adapting
Type Ib N/A In Gowgi tendon organ, responds to muscwe tension changes
Type II secondary Provide position sense of a stiww muscwe, fire when muscwe is static [5]
In de nervous system dere is a "cwosed woop" system of sensation, decision, and reactions. This process is carried out drough de activity of sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons.
A touch or painfuw stimuwus, for exampwe, creates a sensation in de brain onwy after information about de stimuwus travews dere via afferent nerve padways. Afferent neurons are pseudounipowar neurons dat have a singwe wong axon wif a short centraw and a wong peripheraw branch. These cewws do not have dendrites.[6] They have a smoof and rounded ceww body. Just outside de spinaw cord, dousands of afferent neuronaw ceww bodies are aggregated in a swewwing in de dorsaw root known as de dorsaw root gangwion.[4][6]
Etymowogy and mnemonics[edit]
Afferent is derived from Latin participwe afferentem (af- = ad- : to + ferre : bear, carry), meaning carrying into. Ad and ex give an easy mnemonic device for remembering de rewationship between afferent and efferent : afferent connection arrives and an efferent connection exits.[7]
Anoder mnemonic device used for remembering afferent and efferent (in terms of de spinaw cord, wif its dorsaw/ventraw organization) is SAME DAVE. Sensory Afferent Motor Efferent, Dorsaw Afferent Ventraw Efferent.
Afferent and efferent are connected to affect and effect drough deir common Latin roots: Afferent nerves affect de subject, whereas efferent nerves awwow de subject to effect change.
See awso[edit]
1. ^ Mader S. S. (2000): Human biowogy. McGraw-Hiww, New York, ISBN 0-07-290584-0; ISBN 0-07-117940-2.
2. ^ Haww J. E., Guyton A. C. (2006): Textbook of medicaw physiowogy, 11f edition, uh-hah-hah-hah. Ewsevier Saunders, St. Louis, Mo, ISBN 0-7216-0240-1.
3. ^ Warreww D. A., Cox T. M., Firf J. D. (2010): The Oxford Textbook of Medicine Archived 2012-03-21 at de Wayback Machine (5f ed.). Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Carwson, Neiw. Physiowogy of Behavior. Upper Saddwe River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 9780205239399.
5. ^ Michaew-Titus, Adina T (2007). Nervous System: Systems of de Body Series. Churchiww Livingstone. ISBN 9780443071799.
6. ^ a b MacCawwum, Don, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Peripheraw Nervous System". Histowogy and Virtuaw Microscopy Learning Resources. University of Michigan Medicaw Schoow. Archived from de originaw on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
7. ^ 3502 3463 367 115 |
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Is Broccoli Good for CKD Patients
2014-04-22 03:32| Font Size A A A
Is Broccoli Good for CKD PatientsBroccoli is a common vegetable on our tables not only because of its good taste but its high nutritional value. However, is broccoli good for CKD patients? You will know the benefits and defects of broccoli to CKD patients from the following contents.
Control blood pressure
High blood pressure can do harm to kidney and heart, so it is very important for CKD patients to control blood pressure, in case of heart disease and deterioration of kidney disease. In this regard, patients can add broccoli into their diet, since flavonoid in this vegetable can regulate blood pressure.
Regulate blood glucose
The glomerulus can be strained under long-term of high blood glucose level. Thus, to improve patients’ condition, patients should eat some foods to reduce blood glucose level, such as broccoli. This vegetable is a kind of high-fiber food, which can suppress the absorption of glucose, so it can improve patients’ condition.
Prevent thrombus
This vegetable can help patients clean the blood vessels, prevent cholesterol oxidation and stop blood platelet coagulation. In this way, it protects patients from thrombus.
Enhance immunity
This vegetable is rich in vitamin C, which can enhance patients’ immunity. Thus, it can help patients guard against various infections.
However, there are some points that patients should pay attention to.
1. Don’t cook it for a long time, as some nutrients may be destroyed in this process.
2. Dip the vegetable in water for a half hour before cooking, as is difficult to wash clean the pesticide on it.
3. Patients should be cautious of some elements in this vegetable, such as phosphorus, sodium and potassium. Too much of these elements accumulating in patients’ body can worsen their condition.
If patients can eat broccoli in a right way, it can benefit patients a lot.If you want to know more about broccoli or other vegetables good for CKD patients, you can email us
|
Have you seen whales in Liguria? It’s probably a fin whale.
The fin whale is the second largest animal in the world, the only whale with baleen instead of teeth, that regularly lives in the Ligurian sea. Its blow can go as high as 6 meters and for short distances it can swim as fast as 37 km/h. It has a marking that is unique among cetaceans: while the left side of the jaw is the same shade as the rest of the body the right side is completely white. Usually our guests are referring to the fin whale when they exclaim “I saw beautiful whales in Liguria.”
MAX. LENGTH: 27 m.
MAX. WEIGHT: 80 ton.
DIVE TIME: 5-20 min.
DIVE DEPTH: -355 m.
MAX. AGE: 90 years. |
TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction. PAGEREF _Toc519778749 h 2Global statistics. PAGEREF _Toc519778750 h 2Water Financing PAGEREF _Toc519778751 h 5Stakeholders. PAGEREF _Toc519778752 h 5Government stakeholders in Kenya. PAGEREF _Toc519778753 h 5Main Sources of Funding. PAGEREF _Toc519778754 h 7Results Based Financing. PAGEREF _Toc519778755 h 8Blending Finance. PAGEREF _Toc519778756 h 9Other Sources of Funding. PAGEREF _Toc519778757 h 10General Challenges and shortcomings of the sources. PAGEREF _Toc519778758 h 12Success Stories. PAGEREF _Toc519778759 h 12REFERENCES. PAGEREF _Toc519778760 h 14
Introduction.Water is such a precious commodity for it is linked to the basic survival of mankind. Almost all activities do need water at some point in time. Water is needed for domestic and industrial or commercial use. For domestic use water is needed for cooking, household chores like cleaning and even sanitation purposes. It can also be used for subsistence agriculture where the products are used for domestic consumption. On the other hand for industrial use water is used for industrial processes as an input e.g. in beverage manufacturing, or by the machines employed in the industries. It is therefore important that water be conserved and used economically. There is also the need of having new water sources while the traditional ones are being conserved. Water is therefore necessary for human existence and sustainability of the ecosystems.
The World Bank is the world’s largest source of multi-lateral funding of financing for water in developing countries. They have identified five priority themes as to where the action is critically needed. The themes:
Sustainability- which simply means that the water resources available today can continue to produce water in the near future. The theme focuses on conserving the available water sources and the need of building and maintaining adequate water infrastructure.
Inclusion- basically ensures that everyone in the society benefits from the available water. The World Bank strives to ensure that water projects do meet this agenda.
Institutions- these are the formal and informal organizations that are involved in either water production or distribution.
Financing- the theme centers on the need of having new and innovative sources of finance in the water sector.
Resilience- has to do with the management of water resources and the related infrastructure with regards to changes in the environment such as climate variability and extreme weather conditions. It calls for climate and disaster risk consideration and solutions to ease water constraints.
Global statistics.According to The projected demand for water is set to increase to 5.5 cubic kilometers of water by 2020. The graph below shows the projected water demand trend from 1980 to 2030. The units are in cubic kilometers.
Global freshwater use has increased from nearly six-fold from 1900s to 2014 as shown below. This can be attributed to more activities in the agricultural, industrial and municipal uses.
A further analysis of the fresh water use shows that OECD countries use about 20-25% of global fresh water, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) account for 45% while the rest of the world account for 30-33%.
Globally 70% of water is used for agriculture as shown in the graph below;
The graph clearly shows that in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Middle East ; North Africa agriculture is the most active water user. Agriculture contributes up to 80% of water usage in these areas. Domestic and industrial usage account for very little in the graph above.
The World Bank estimates that about 663 million people in the world lack access to improved water sources. This is confirmed by their survey of about 37 countries in Africa where 82% of governments confirmed that their current sources of financing are not sufficient to meet their national targets for drinking water.
The access to improved water sources worldwide has increased from 76% in 1990 to 91% by 2015. However access in Su-Saharan Africa remains lowest at 40-80% of households. Rural households had a 85% of access to improved water sources while the urban population had a 97% access worldwide. The graph below gives a visual representation of the population that have gained access to improved water sources from 1990-2015.
The SDGs specifically SDG 6 emphasizes on the importance of water as a right and ensuring it is available and sustainable to all. WHO and UNICEF puts it that there are about 2.1 billion who lack access to clean drinking water. Achieving the SDGs will require a scaling up of investment into water production, distribution and ultimately sustainability. There is also the need of emphasizing the value of water in order to channel investments into this critical area.
Sadoff et al (2015) puts the economic losses of water scarcity on a global level at USD 260 billion a year from inadequate water supply and sanitation, USD 120 billion a year from urban property flood damages and USD 94 billion a year from water insecurity to existing irrigators.
Water FinancingThere is currently a gap between the financing and future needs in the water sector. The OECD world water council attributes this to:
Water being an undervalued resource that investors who depend or affect its availability do not properly account for it. Such investors include urban developers or even farmers.
The water service provision is usually underpriced thus leading to poor cost recovery of water investments.
The water infrastructure is usually cost intensive coupled with long payback periods. This discourages private investors leaving the sector for the government solely. Most water projects are designed to last for about 50 years.
Management of water resources do generate a mix of public and private benefits that cannot easily be monetized thereby making it difficult to determine the monetary flows.
There is generally lack of access to analytical tools and data for complex water projects and their track record. This deters investors.
The water projects are often too small and specific making it difficult to have financing models for them.
The financial flows may benefit bankable projects but not the community or the environment thereby raising the question of how to ensure that most beneficial projects from a social perspective attract financing.
The existing business models may fail to support operation and maintenance efficiency.
Stakeholders.In this sector there are different stakeholders involved in the planning, financing and implementation of the projects.
The national and county governments- are involved in the strategic planning of the water resource management through means such as planning for the infrastructure and acting as a middle point in the inter-sectorial coordination. E.g. agriculture and municipal services. The government is also involved in the identification of the sources of financing and/or provision of subsidy. It also sets standards for the drinking and waste water treatment.
Specialized national financial intermediaries-act in between the government and the service providers e.g. development banks and environmental funds. Their main role is to channel money to the borrowers.
Water utilities- mostly founded by the government and can receive funding from internal or foreign sources.
Water associations- act as cooperatives and can be used to develop water and sanitation services for a specific area that is usually lightly populated.
Regulator- a body whose mandate is to ensure that the water services providers both private and public do act in public interest.
Service providers- provide the water services. Can either be public or private.Consumers- ultimate end user and responsible for paying for the services.
Government stakeholders in Kenya.The different government bodies in the water sector include:
Water Appeal Board (WAB) The WAB was established to preside over disputes within the water sector arising from decisions of the MWI, WASREB and the WRMA with respect to the issuance of permits or licences under the Water Act 2002. Its mandate is limited to water sector conflicts and permit/ license issues; other matters are referred to the court system.
Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) MWI is responsible for policy development, sector-wide co-ordination, and overall monitoring and supervision. It is charged with ensuring effective water and sewerage services and promoting the sustainable development of resources for agricultural, commercial, industrial, energy and other uses.
Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) The WASREB is responsible for the regulation of water and sewerage services including licensing, quality assurance, and issuance of guidelines for tariffs, prices and disputes resolution. It oversees the implementation of policies and strategies relating to provision of water services. It provides licenses to and monitors the performance of the Water Service Boards (WSBs) and approves the Water Service Providers (WSPs) chosen by those boards.
Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) The authority is responsible for sustainable management of the Kenya’s water resources. It is responsible for the implementation of policies and overall strategies relating to Water Resources Management (WRM) and for developing guidelines and procedures for the allocation and monitoring of water, water catchment protection and management.
Water Services Boards (WSBs) The WSBs are responsible for the efficient and economical provision of water and sewerage services in their areas of jurisdiction. They implement the directives of WASREB. Their tasks include coordination with WRMA as to WRD and permits, development of facilities (including securing land or entitlements), preparation of business plans, setting performance targets for and monitoring water service delivery and contracting the water service providers (WSP) in their area. In total there are 8 such boards namely: Athi, Tana, Rift Valley, Northern, Lake Victoria North, Lake Victoria South, Coast and Tana-Athi.
National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC) NWCPC is a State Corporation established under the state Corporation’s Act with the mandate to operate water supplies on commercial basis in large Municipalities serving urban centers. As such, NWCPC plays an important role as both developer and care taker of water supply systems throughout Kenya.
Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF) WSTF is a State Corporation with the mandate “to assist in financing the provision of water services to areas of Kenya which are without adequate water services”. It acts as a basket fund for mobilizing resources and providing financial assistance towards capital investment costs of and capacity building for providing Water Service and Sanitation (WSS). This includes awareness building and promotion of community management of water services. Its current development partners include SIDA, DANIDA, EU, AfDB, GIZ, KfW and, and the the Finish Embassy.
Investing in water security comprises of a number of activities each with its own characteristics. E.g. constructing a new water plant vs. refurbishing an existing one. The financiers also do have different characteristics such as investment objectives, risk and liquidity needs. The working paper goes on to classify water investments through indicators such as scale (watershed to household), function (water supply or waste management) and operating environment (ownership, governance and regulation). There therefore exists a number of investment vehicles and products that can easily be used to finance the expansion of water services.
They include;
Fixed income categories- they are usually made up of bonds such as project bonds and municipal bonds.
Mixed or hybrid categories- made up of mezzanine finance or subordinated loans.
Equity categories- such as yield companies or direct investment in the infrastructure and public private partnerships (ppp).
However the previous methods of financing do work well in the developed countries. This is due to their strong and robust financial markets whereby the above products do come in as alternative investment products. They give investors an alternative investment option to choose from.
Another reason could be due to availability of funds whereby the financial institutions are have sufficient funds to develop the above products and in case of a shortfall the government comes in and acts as a guarantor.
It is therefore justifiable to say that the previously named products do not work well in Africa due to the small financial markets and also the financial institutions and investors in general do not see them as viable investment products.
The exact information about the performance on water financing is hard to get due to lack of data and adequate information.
Main Sources of Funding.The UN-Water GLAAS report released in 2017 states that currently there are three Ts that act as sources of finance i.e.
Taxes from individuals and businesses.
Transfers such as overseas aid or aid from development partners.
Tariffs paid by the respective households and businesses.
The three sources are the most common sources of financing for water supply projects in both urban and rural areas. They act as the bedrock of financing. Waters and sanitation providers can also access micro-credit loans from local financial institutions.
In Kenya taxes from individuals and businesses are collected by the local revenue authority and issued to the respective ministry through a budget allocation. The water sector which is currently under the ministry of environment and natural resources provides its estimates for a financial year which are then allocated by the treasury. The relevant ministry was allocated Ksh. 73.5 billion for the financial year 2018/19. Irrigation projects were awarded Ksh. 8.5 billion during the same financial year. Water resource management was given Ksh. 7.2 billion while water and sewerage infrastructure development was given Ksh. 33.7 billion.
The Kenyan parliament enacted a legislation that led to the formation of the Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF). Its main mandate is to provide conditional and unconditional grants to the counties and to assist in the financing and development of water services in marginalized and undeserved areas. It offers investment services such as urban investments, rural investments, water resources investments and result based financing.
Of interest is the urban investment services where it through the Urban Projects Concept (UPC) it responds to water and sanitation challenges of urban-low income areas. The areas have been inhabited by approximately 8 million people and they do have inadequate water supply and shortages. The programme has been financed by European Union and the German Investment Bank (KfW).
Transfers in Kenya comes from majorly development institutions, international donors, development partners and friendly countries. For example it has received some funding from the GIZ on water sector reform in Kenya. KfW and the Bill ; Melinda Gates foundation. Some of the donor partners include JICA, USAID, UKAID, DANIDA and Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Governments do help with water projects e.g. the Dutch and Finnish government.
Tariffs are usually paid by the water consumers to the different water service providers such as Nairobi Water and Sewerage company and Eldoret Water and Sewarage Company. The water services providers have structured the consumers into domestic/residential, commercial/industrial, government institutions, government funded institutions e.g. public schools, water kiosks, ATM water dispenser and bulk water supply services. The smallest consumption block is 0-6 that is charged a flat rate of Ksh 204 while the biggest consumption block is ;60 which is charged at Ksh 64 per M3 . However tariff charges suffer from non-payment of the dues hereby referred to as Non-Revenue Water (NRW). Non-Revenue Water can be classified as water representing the total amount of treated water which a water service provider does not get paid for and comprised of physical leakage as well as illegal water connections and accounting deficiencies. It presents a special case for water financing. The capital investment can be low, with short pay-back periods, and returns better guaranteed if performance contracts are applied. Most importantly there is a ready client – the water service provider currently incurring financial losses due to NRW.
The private sector participation can be encouraged so as to improve project viability through performance-based contracts to reduce non-revenue water. Where a utility is losing revenue from water losses, water theft or billing issues, performance-based contracts can be employed to incentivize specialized private sector contractors, through a bonus linked to performance, to reduce such revenue loss. This approach incentivizes among other things rigorous project scoping and options analysis and provides for some sharing of risk between a contractor and a utility. In cases where the utility is considered too risky for financing by the private sector, ring-fencing or direct financing to the private contractor can be applied as described below. All these measures effectively reduce the risks associated with non-revenue water projects, allowing lenders to participate.
Results Based Financing.Results based financing (RBF) has to do with financing being aligned with the attainment of certain pre-agreed targets. It provides funding for an initiative after results have been delivered. Results based financing works or supports investments linked to:
Construction or expansion of water and sewer networks to reach unserved consumers.
Rehabilitation or improvement of existing networks; the non-revenue water reduction programmeWater and/or sewer connection to households to publicly accessible points
Water and sewer treatment facilities.
According to a report by Castalia Strategic Advisors that was reporting to the Bill ; Melinda Gates Foundation RBF projects on average deliver 94% of targeted outputs while 71% of projects delivered outputs at or above average levels. Blending finance is a mechanism where the loan and grant are combined in order to make the infrastructural projects more viable.
The water fund has a Results based Financing facility as a new business model that to finance water projects whereby the Water Service Providers (WSPs) get loans from local financial institutions at market rates. On completion of their products the water service providers can apply for one-off subsidies as provided under the RBF programme.
Some of the achievements of the RBF program include disbursement of Ksh 338.18 million to finance various projects and disbursement of subsidies valued at Ksh 69.48 million.
The results for the financing show that 3,645 households or 21,650 people have benefitted. Breaking down further 16,940 people have access to individual water connection while 4,290 people have access to a water kiosk and 420 people are accessing yard taps.
In the year 2006 Global Partnership on Output Based Aid (GPOBA) launched a project that was seeking to improve access and efficiency to water services to the urban poor in rural and peri-urban areas in Central Kenya. The investments were made through commercial loans and the community equity blended with output-based subsidies from GPOBA. It partnered with Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), water fund and K-rep bank (now sidian bank). It reported that it was able to do 17,500 water connections and had 202,000 beneficiaries. Funding for the initial phase of the project was approximately USD 1.1 million which was provided by World Bank’s GPOBA. GPOBA provided capital subsidies to the Community Water Projects (CWP) that were chosen in a transparent manner. The project were funded by the CWP’s own equity (20%) and the rest a loan from K-rep bank (80%). The bank followed its normal due diligence process when giving the loan. An independent audit consultant was then hired to verify the progress of the project and upon successful implementation or completion of a given sub-project the CWP was then eligible for a 40% subsidy of the total eligible costs of the project. This allowed the CWP to repay part of the loan and also make it affordable for them to service the loan. This gave the bank a better risk management opportunity and at the same time it gave the CWP more incentive to complete and successfully implement the project.
Blending Finance.Blending finance makes use of different types of financing facilities such as grants and technical assistance or interest rate subsidies. Projects supported by blending facilities can broadly be classified as:
Infrastructure investment.
Institutional capacity building
Integrated water management.
Infrastructure investment aim at rehabilitation, improvement and/or extension or construction of physical water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Some examples of the blended finance projects include:
Extension and rehabilitation of wastewater plants and pumping stations (STEP I and II) in Tunisia (EU investment grant EUR 8 million). The project provides for rehabilitation and extension of 19 wastewater treatment plants and 13 pumping stations in Tunisia. It aims to reach about 1.1 million people by 2021. The total cost is EUR 127 million a grant of EUR 3 million being received in 2008. KfW Development Bank has provided a loan of EUR 55 million and the co-financier is Agence Française de Développement (AFD) with a loan of EUR 18.5 million.
Drinking Water Efficiency Programme in Morocco (EU technical assistance and investment grant of EUR 7 million). The programme aims at having a permanent drinking water supply for approximately 30 urban centres in Morocco. KfW is the lead financial institution, providing a loan of EUR 40 million; the programme is co-financed by the AFD, with a loan of EUR 30 million. The total project cost is EUR 101 million.
Institutional capacity building aims at strengthening the organizational financial and managerial capabilities of water utilities and other organizations. It focuses on areas like planning, developing, financing and managing water supply and sanitation projects. An examples of such a programme include:
Central Asian Technical Assistance Framework (EU technical assistance grant of EUR 7.3 million). The Technical Assistance Framework facilitates project preparation by financing, among others, feasibility studies, due diligence, project implementation support, corporate development and creditworthiness enhancement programmes. The EBRD is the lead financial institution, with an approximately EUR 300 million loan foreseen. Assistance provided will significantly reduce the time needed to prepare projects, thus limiting the risk of cancellations and cost overruns, as well as enhancing the positive environmental and financial effects. The project will also have a strong demonstration effect.
Integrated water management projects aim at promoting an all-rounded approach to water management issues such as climate change, water service to the poor and de-pollution of water bodies. They mostly do have an investment as well as a physical infrastructure component.
A good example is the Mulonga Peri-Urban Water and Sanitation Action in Zambia. The project entails an investment into the water supply and wastewater treatment with an EU grant for extension of services to the poor (ACP-EU Water Facility grant of EUR 5 million). The project consists of rehabilitating and expanding water and wastewater services provided by a local water service utility, The Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company, by providing (i) capital investment for potable water production facilities and a distribution network as well as sewage network and wastewater treatment facilities; (ii) improving the efficiency of service provision, including metering; and (iii) expanding and improving water and sanitation infrastructure in low-income areas. The total project cost is EUR 156 million; and is being implemented by the EIB.
Another example of Blended Finance would be The Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative. Three financial institutions (the EIB, the AFD and KfW) are pooling their lending with grant support from the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (ITF) in order to tackle pollution of the lake. The three institutions are first concentrating on the three largest towns on the lake: Kampala, Uganda, Mwanza , Tanzania and Kisumu Kenya. Each financial institution will be the lead financier on one project; the EIB will take the lead for Tanzania, and the AFD will be responsible for the Kenya project. In Uganda, work has already started under KfW’s lead to upgrade the run-down water network and existing water treatment plants. Its overall objective is to improve the health situation of people living around the region by increasing supply of drinking water and reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. It makes use of grants and interest rate subsidies that are pro-poor and to make the investment to be affordable.
Other Sources of Funding.Tremolet (2012) gave other sources of finance that can be used by small-scale water and sanitation providers. They include:
Microfinance mechanisms like loans, savings & loans combined or group lending and solidarity mechanisms.
Mesofinance financial requirements that are not typically covered by the banking system. It is a segment that is typically not covered by micro finance institutions or banks. They usually range from USD 2,000-USD 100,000. E.g. small-scale water and sanitation project.
Medium term loans especially for community based organizations.
Short term loans as working capital. (Finances small scale equipment). They can also be used to cover working capital requirements or cushion the cash flows.
Capital investment loans.
Leasing of expensive assets e.g. water treatment equipment. This is a contract where one party (the lessee) is able to make use of an equipment by paying instalments to another party (the lessor) usually the owner of the equipment.
Savings accounts
Overdraft facilities.
Guarantees- a guarantee is an arrangement where a third party agrees to underwrite the financial commitment entered into by two parties. Guarantees can be provided by a number of institutions including the local government and donor organizations.
Concessional loans- a concessional loan is a type of loan that is given at favorable terms e.g. lower interest rate, longer repayment periods or a grace period.
Equity investments- this is where the investors buy a stake or part of ownership of a given project. This is the preferred form of financing by international organizations like the IFC.
Grants which is basically a loan that does not have to be repaid. Grants can take the form of:
Capital grant-also known as a hardware subsidy which goes to supporting the purchase of property, equipment or construction of the facility.
Operating grant- given to provide support for the day-to-day running of the organization.
Seed financing- provides the initial capital for a revolving fund or during the launch of the organization.
Software support- funds channeled to finance ‘soft’ activities like market research.
Grants are particularly suited to address constraints that related to capacity building and informational availability rather than lack of adequate capital. E.g. software support. Grants can also have a systemic impact especially when it is used to improve the conditions of, say, the SME market, like market information and business support.
Use of concessional loans is particularly limited for the market is still in its early stages. To add on most concessional loans are denominated in foreign currency while the local service providers earn their revenue in local currency. This exposes them to significant foreign currency exchange rate risk.
However international development institutions and donors are moving away from direct grant-making to more of budgetary support and performance based funding. This is so because there is a need of empowering and strengthening the local public sector and relevant institutions in order for them to take charge for the development agendas.
Guarantees are a good source of finance for the projects for they facilitate access by the local borrowers to funding and they also protect the lenders from currency risk. However if a guarantee is structured poorly it can then make the entire loan to be expensive and the local financial institution may refuse to lend over and above the guaranteed amount thereby making the leverage effect to be minimal. A good example would be the CLIFF programme by a British based charity Homeless International with support from the DFID and Sida. CLIFF is a facility that enables organizations working with the urban poor to access greater public resources including sanitation. It was piloted in India but then expanded to Kenya and Philippines. Under the program donors give grants to CLIFF which are then channeled to into a revolving fund by Homeless International. Being supported by the fund, implementing partners do take loans from their local commercial banks and the partner lacks the collateral for the loan Homeless International acts as a guarantor. CLIFF was able to implement about 29 projects during its first phase with four being in sanitation. For a guarantee to work the project must me financially viable and have clear revenue streams. Provision of guarantees therefore needs to be coupled with project preparation and financial management skills.
Equity investments foster a more commercial approach as this makes the organization to ensure that a project gives returns on investments. They can also help in strengthening the balance sheet of an organization making them to be able to take on more debt thus increasing their financial capacity. However equity investments are not considered by some organizations due to their charitable status which means they are not for profit organizations. As a result a mismatch occurs for the investments do expect returns. Equity investments are deemed to be more risky than other forms of financing such as concessional loan.
Another challenge would be that feasibility studies for the water projects do emphasize on technical feasibility and not financial feasibility. As a result financial modelling is not incorporated into the intended project until at a later stage. This could lead to a scenario where the project is developed but it is not financially feasible.
Some projects are also not conceptualized to maximize the potential economic benefits in the areas where they are located. It would make a stronger appeal to the financiers if the project is conceptualized to include multi-purposes such as water storage, power, irrigation and even tourism.
General Challenges and shortcomings of the sources.Other general challenges that water projects experience when sourcing for funding include;
Small-scale water service providers and private water service providers rarely receive subsidies from the government or international donors.
These investments do not directly generate income that can be monetized directly therefore there is a reluctance to borrow especially from commercial banks and financial institutions.
Microfinance and financial institutions are reluctant to give funding because the projects do not often give direct revenue streams to guarantee repayments of the loans.
The financing providers do not know the need of these sector they therefore perceive it as being too risky.
The managers of the water projects may not have been trained in basic business and accounting practices and therefore are unaware of the requirements of financial institutions when they make a loan application.
Unfavorable borrowing conditions such as high interest rates or the short maturity periods may for the water projects investment make it difficult to attract funding.
When it comes to grants the project being implemented can come to a stop when the grants stop flowing.
Grants can lead to market distortion especially when it is transformed from one form to another e.g. from a capital subsidy to a revolving fund. The recipients may fail to remit payments over time.
Lack of self-sufficiency whereby the water services providers are not able to count on other sources of income such as tariffs and budgetary allocation. As a result they cannot carry out their activities such as investment.
Success Stories.Some of the success stories include the Urban Investments by WSTF. It has led to an improvement in the standards of living of the slum dwellers and better health for the children. The water kiosks established by the WSTF in conjuction with KfW has led to improved access to water, a drop in water borne diseases and improved house hold hygiene. The fund reports that it has invested Ksh 3.6 billion into the program and approximately 2 million urban Kenyans have access to water as a result. It has alo led to the construction of over 600 water kiosks, construction and rehabilitation of over 2,000,000 km of pipeline and construction of public sanitation facilities and water storage tanks.
Output Based Aid in Murang’a South that was implemented in collaboration with the Murang’a South Water and Sewarage Company (MUWASCO). The program was financed by SIDA to a cost of USD 11.385 million. MUWASCO was then pre-financed by Sidian bank and it used the funds to introduce and improve infrastructure in the areas of Kenol, Sabasaba and Kabati. It targeted to provide over 1,500 individuals with access to clean water.
SafiSan: Upscaling Basic Sanitation for the Urban Poor (UBSUP)- the project was implemented by WSTF and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. It had 4 main objective being providing sustainable sanitation to over 400,000 people and safe water for 200,000 of the urban poor, capacity building, develop a sanitation up-scaling project that ensures there is sustainability of the facililities and finally have in place a monitoring system to track access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities. It was carried out in Embu town as a pilot study area together with Nakuru and Oloolaiser water service providers. EWASCO was able to develop about 200 toilets within a span of six months. Each toilet built benefits about 10 people therefore translating to about 2,000 people who have already benefited. The experience gained from this pilot study has been used to modify the project as it is being rolled out in the entire country.
Another success story is the an innovative and portable water distribution system that was funded by Safaricom Foundation and implemented in Kibera by Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). It is an overhead water distribution system similar to the one used for electricity distribution and it terminates at various water kiosks within the area. It led to a reduction in price of a 20-litre jerry can from Ksh 5 to Ksh 2. It has also helped the residents to get reliable water and in the process avoid exploitative water vendors.
Merti Community Water Users Association-Merti town is located in the county of Isiolo. Residents here relied on the seasonal Ewaso Ng’iro river for all their water needs. When the river dried up there were a lot of conflicts related to watering points. This also placed a strain on the women who had to go for long distances in order to get water. They then formed the Merti Community Water Users Association and in the year 2012 they applied for a loan from WSTF. The fund was impressed by the association and it advanced Ksh 7.6 million with the local community offering construction materials and labor. This made them to rehabilitate two boreholes and activated a project of piping the water to people’s homesteads. Today it serves more than 20,000 people and has 1,000 metered connections.
Community based initiatives in Tanzania. SDI is a network of community based organizations that work with the urban poor in 33 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The groups make use of grassroot savings and and credit schemes to promote their own development. In Tanzania Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI) a local NGO encourages slum dwellers to form groups of between 20 to 100 members and start a saving scheme. To date it reports of having established about 52 schemes in major cities across Tanzania. The local saving schemes then join together to form a city level federation. CCI was then able to form the ‘Jenga Fund’ that mobilizes savings from the federations then combines them with other sources of finance then offer them as loans for possible large-scale infrastructure project such as providing water connection for the whole community.
The decentralized Nyalenda piped water supply pilot project in Manyatta, Kisumu. This pilot project was established by KIWASCO with financial support of the French Agency for Development (AFD) to extend pipelines into the informal settlement of Nyalenda. It reaches some 20% of the 60,000 slum population through five extension lines each with a bulk water meter and a local operator who manages the system after the bulk meter. Two of these operators are individuals, the other three are groups. After the bulk meter each system has a pipeline with connections to a number of households as well as water kiosks (taps where an attendant sells water to the public; this may be individuals, but also groups including for example a women group with 14 members). The operator pays the bill for the bulk water (Kshs 25/m3 ) and is allowed to sell the water at a higher rate of Ksh. 37/m3 . Water kiosks in turn sell the water for Kshs2 for a 20 litre container (Kshs 50/ m3 ). KIWASCO is very positive about the approach and is keen to expand, but further analysis may be needed. In 2007, a team of the WSTF visited the system and marked both advantages and disadvantages including operators with a backlog in payment and having difficulties to control local vandalism and illegal connections
A success story for the leasing concept can also be found in Nairobi where the ministry of water is reviving eight water schemes so as to ensure more water is distributed efficiently to the city residents. Under the scheme the government leases water tankers to small-scale water providers. The government then ensures that it provides filling points for the water tankers who then undertake water delivery to remote and underserved areas of the city.
REFERENCES.Blending in the water and Sanitation Sector: Tools and Methods Series Reference Document No 21. Accessed online at http://mn-bb-16-002-en-n.pdf.
Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2018) – “Water Access, Resources & Sanitation”. Global International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGB). Accessed online at
Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2018) – “Water Access, Resources & Sanitation”. Published online at Accessed from: ‘’ Online Resource .
Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2018) – “Water Access, Resources & Sanitation”. Published online at Retrieved from: ‘’ Online
National Water Integrity Study (2011) by Transparency International. Accessed online from Environmental policy paper No. 11: ‘Financing Water: Investing in Sustainable Growth’. Accessed online from
Review of Results-Based Financing Schemes in WASH-
Accessed online at
Sadoff et al (2015): Securing Water, Sustaining Growth. Report of the GWP/OECD Task Force on Water Security and Sustainable Growth. Oxford, UK: University of Oxford.
The World Bank Water Overview understanding poverty (2018). Accessed online at projected water demand for the world Trend from 1980 to 2030. Accessed online at
The World Bank Group; Chart 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture. Accessed online at
Tremolet. S (2012); Small-Scale Finance for water and Sanitation. EU Water Initiative (EUWI). Accessed online at Services Trust Fund-
World Health Organization. (2015). Progress on sanitation and drinking water: 2015 update and MDG assessment. World Health Organization. Accessed online at |
Conflict can reveal unexpected qualities in
Locke's short discussion in Book II, chap.
6 signs your relationship is going to last
See Smith and Kukla Yes Sorry, something has gone wrong. For all of us, and for our children, life has suddenly become problematical—even in the United States. Buck leads the pack, but Spitz, unbeknownst to Buck, leaves the pack and cuts across a narrow piece of land.
17th and 18th Century Theories of Emotions
The world of stamp collecting. If you have literature of your own that has provided the base for this essay, I would use the characters depicted in helping you carve out your essay.
Many philosophers also supposed a haptic aspect to emotions, approaching them as a variety of feeling. Arthur Miller stated that the play is still warning audiences today of what blind panic can do to people.
This approach can also be used to discover a deeper understanding and resolution for larger social, cultural, ethnic and racial issues by shifting perceptions, creating new insights and uncovering different forms of action for moving forward.
Let's write out the points he brought up so we can see it at a glance: Selfish and Self-Indulgent They love the finer things in life goodand this can lead to being extravagant and self-indulgent in pleasing themselves bad.
Conflict Can Reveal Unexpected Qualities in an Individual Essay - Part 2
But no opportunity for a fight presents itself, and they arrive in the town with the outcome of the struggle still uncertain.
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One question addressed by almost every philosopher was where to locate the emotions in our psychological equipment. Other authors laid such variations at the doorstep of bodily composition, especially the constitution of the brain, and took the relevant differences to be especially and intrinsically marked between the sexes although they could also typify class and rank.
Finally, if deemed acceptable by your teacher, I would draw from personal experience to examine how your own sense of narrative has responded to the notion of conflict revealing unexpected qualities in your own life.
Managing Groups and Teams/Print version
Finally, they will be guided in crafting a scene-by-scene outline, from which they could then go on to write the actual script. Descartes made mention of such views, and more generally saw the imagination as an important tool for managing the emotions: Later in the eighteenth century, Mary Wollstonecraft's criticisms of Rousseau specifically addressed some of his views about emotional development and the sexual division of labor in the sentimental education of children.
The wild dogs are so thin that their bones seem to be coming out of their skin, and they are mad with hunger. Baroque composers developed an entire theory of affects, and of musical figures to express those affects, for just this end.
It causes individuals to open up, revealing their true qualities which bring out the best or the worst in them.Philosopher Emerson once said “every coin has two sides; so do conflicts” - Conflict Can Reveal Unexpected Qualities in an Individual introduction.
In the pages of human history, conflicts are unavoidable and while major conflicts such as war have been evil forces in the world it can also produce very positive results. That is not. Conflict is the lifeblood of all drama and comedy, and whatever the main character of that story is trying to achieve in the scene, it has to meet with unexpected resistance.
It’s got a passionate, emotional point-of-view where we’re inside the main character of that story. May 06, · Best Answer: Conflicts reveals not only unexpected qualities, but also a person's hidden trauma. It reveals a person's approach to the conflict, either through anger or calmness.
From such response, we get to learn a lot more of that person that what we can learn about him from daily normal Resolved. Conflict, Suicide, and Love In amongst all of the love in Romeo & Juliet, there are a lot of themes relating Conflict & Suicide.
A Doll’s House
I will be discussing the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets, how Romeo and Juliet committed suicide, their reasoning for it, and the forbidden love between Romeo and Juliet.
Organizational facilitators can set up representatives to look at leadership issues, conflict resolution between colleagues, dynamics between founders and successors, relationships between various stakeholders, challenges of innovation and organizational restructuring.
Conflict--can arise if you do for the preceptee Prepare for the unexpected-- What if ; Think out loud--Verbalize your processes ; The PowerPoint PPT presentation: "The Art of Precepting:" is the property of its rightful owner.
Conflict can reveal unexpected qualities in
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According to Psychology, all education is
According to Psychology, all education is
A. Deliberate B. Functional C. Purposive D. Self -education
The best definition of Educational Psychology is a study of teaching and learning” has been given by
A. W. Kolesnik B. James Ross C. Charles E. Skinner D. N.L. Munn
A development perspective involves concern with changes occurring over time in–
A. Form B. Rate C. Sequence D. All of these
Which one of theories of intelligence advocates the presence of general intelligence ‘g’ and specific intelligence’s’ ?
A. Anarchic theory B. Guilford’s theory of intellect C. Spearman’s two factor theory D. Vernon’s hierarchical theory
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Along the Swale: Jan. 29, 2018 | Orange!
Glencoe Swale is a remarkable subwatershed of McKay Creek… which flows in the greater Tualatin River watershed. “Along the Swale” features photos and stories that highlight the natural history of Glencoe Swale. Find out what kinds of wildlife dwell in our suburban wetland/creek/forest ecosystems.
January 29, 2018
Cool weather, 48F with light rain. fog along Glencoe Swale.
Birds with orange feathers brightened the dreary, gray day.
Northern Flicker
Large, brown woodpecker with black barring on the back and black spots on the belly. Easily recognized in flight by its bright white rump. Also note large black crescent-shaped mark on breast. Underwings are yellow or red, depending on the subspecies. Generally “Yellow-shafted” is found in eastern and northern North America, and “Red-shafted” in the West south through Mexico. Often seen feeding on the ground in lawns, where they eat lots of ants and worms. Nests in cavities.
(Information cut from: Merlin Bird ID)
Varied Thrush
A beautiful, boldly-patterned thrush. Males are an exquisite combination of blue-gray, orange, and black. Note black breast band, orange eyebrow, and orange markings on the wings. Females show a similarly gorgeous, but duller pattern. Breeds in mature, wet forests in the Pacific Northwest; found in a broader range of wooded habitats with fruiting plants in winter.
(Information cut from: Merlin Bird ID) |
Maximinus II
This article is about the 4th-century Roman Emperor. For the 3rd-century Roman Emperor, see Maximinus Thrax. For other uses, see Maximin (disambiguation).
Maximinus Daia
59th Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign 305–308 (as Caesar in the east, under Galerius);
310 – May 312 (as Augustus in the east, in competition with Licinius)
Predecessor Galerius
Successor Licinius
Born 20 November c. 270
near Felix Romuliana (Gamzigrad, Serbia)
Died August 313 (aged 42)
Full name
Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximinus Daia Augustus[1]
Maximinus II (Latin: Gaius Valerius Galerius Maximinus Daia Augustus; c. 20 November 270 – July or August 313), also known as Maximinus Daia or Maximinus Daza, was Roman Emperor from 308 to 313. He became embroiled in the Civil wars of the Tetrarchy between rival claimants for control of the empire, in which he was defeated by Licinius. A committed pagan, he engaged in one of the last persecutions of Christians.
Early career
He was born of Dacian peasant stock to the sister of the emperor Galerius near their family lands around Felix Romuliana, a rural area then in the Danubian region of Moesia, now Eastern Serbia.[2]
He rose to high distinction after joining the army.
In 305, his maternal uncle Galerius became the eastern Augustus and adopted Maximinus, raising him to the rank of caesar (in effect, the junior eastern Emperor), and granting him the government of Syria and Egypt.
Civil war
In 308, after the elevation of Licinius to Augustus, Maximinus and Constantine were declared filii Augustorum ("sons of the Augusti"), but Maximinus probably started styling himself after Augustus during a campaign against the Sassanids in 310. On the death of Galerius in 311, Maximinus divided the Eastern Empire between Licinius and himself. When Licinius and Constantine began to make common cause, Maximinus entered into a secret alliance with the usurper Caesar Maxentius, who controlled Italy. He came to an open rupture with Licinius in 313; he summoned an army of 70,000 men but sustained a crushing defeat at the Battle of Tzirallum in the neighbourhood of Heraclea Perinthus on April 30. He fled, first to Nicomedia and afterwards to Tarsus, where he died the following August. His death was variously ascribed "to despair, to poison, and to the divine justice".[3]
Persecution of Christians
Maximinus has a bad name in Christian annals for renewing their persecution after the publication of the Edict of Toleration by Galerius, acting in response to the demands of various urban authorities asking to expel Christians. In one rescript replying to a petition made by the inhabitants of Tyre, transcribed by Eusebius of Caesarea,[4] Maximinus expounds an unusual pagan orthodoxy, explaining that it is through "the kindly care of the gods" that one could hope for good crops, health, and the peaceful sea, and that not being the case, one should blame "the destructive error of the empty vanity of those impious men [that] weighed down the whole world with shame". In one extant inscription (CIL III.12132, from Arycanda) from the cities of Lycia and Pamphylia asking for the interdiction of the Christians, Maximinus replied, in another inscription, by expressing his hope that "may those [...] who, after being freed from [...] those by-ways [...] rejoice [as] snatched from a grave illness".[5]
After the victory of Constantine over Maxentius, however, Maximinus wrote to the Praetorian Prefect Sabinus that it was better to "recall our provincials to the worship of the gods rather by exhortations and flatteries".[6] Eventually, on the eve of his clash with Licinius, he accepted Galerius' edict; after being defeated by Licinius, shortly before his death at Tarsus, he issued an edict of tolerance on his own, granting Christians the rights of assembling, of building churches, and the restoration of their confiscated properties.[7]
Eusebius on Maximinus
The Christian writer Eusebius claims that Maximinus was consumed by avarice and superstition. He also allegedly lived a highly dissolute lifestyle:
According to Eusebius, only Christians resisted him.
For the men endured fire and sword and crucifixion and wild beasts and the depths of the sea, and cutting off of limbs, and burnings, and pricking and digging out of eyes, and mutilations of the entire body, and besides these, hunger and mines and bonds. In all they showed patience in behalf of religion rather than transfer to idols the reverence due to God.
He refers to one high-born Christian woman who rejected his advances. He exiled her and seized all of her wealth and assets.[9] Eusebius does not give the girl a name, but Tyrannius Rufinus calls her "Dorothea," and writes that she fled to Arabia. This story may have evolved into the legend of Dorothea of Alexandria. Caesar Baronius identified the girl in Eusebius' account with Catherine of Alexandria, but the Bollandists rejected this theory.[9]
See also
2. Roman Colosseum, Maximinus Daza
3. Gibbon, Edward, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', Chapter 14
4. Ecclesiastical History , IX, 8-9 ; Eng. trans. available at . Accessed August 2 2012
5. John Granger Cook, The Interpretation of the New Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2000, ISBN 3-16-147195-4 , page 304, footnote 175
6. Ecclesiastical History, IX, 1-10
7. Ecclesiastical History, X, 7-11
8. Ecclesiastical History, VIII, 14.
9. 1 2 Enciclopedia dei Santi: Santa Dorotea di Alessandria
Media related to Maximinus II at Wikimedia Commons
Maximinus II
Born: 20 November 270 Died: July or August 313
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Galerius and Constantine I
Roman Emperor
with Galerius, Constantine I and Licinius
Succeeded by
Constantine I and Licinius
Political offices
Preceded by
Constantius Chlorus,
Consul of the Roman Empire
with Maximian,
Constantine I ,
Flavius Valerius Severus,,
Succeeded by
Diocletian ,
Valerius Romulus
Preceded by
Tatius Andronicus ,
Pompeius Probus,
Consul of the Roman Empire
with Galerius ,
Gaius Caeionius Rufius Volusianus,
Aradius Rufinus
Succeeded by
Constantine I ,
Preceded by
Constantine I ,
Consul of the Roman Empire
with Constantine I ,
Succeeded by
Gaius Caeionius Rufius Volusianus,
Petronius Annianus |
Code Structure
Our test code is written in C++ and designed completely from scratch. We use type definitions, templates, template-specialization, overloading and other C++ features to provide flexibility in changing precision, testing datatypes which help vectorization and also making it easier to hide architecture dependent code. The general idea is to decompose the problem into a loop over lattice site and then for each lattice site and each direction, we:
• stream-in the relevant neighboring spinor (or block of spinors in case of multiple right hand sides) from memory
• project the 4-spinor to a 2-spinor
• read relevant gauge link and multiply it or or its hermitian adjoint with the projected spinor
• reconstruct the 4-spinor from the resulting 2-spinor and accumulate to the sum over directions
• stream-out the resulting summed vector to memory
In multi-node implementations the application step would be separated into bulk- and boundary application and the former interleaved with boundary communication.
As is common in Lattice codes we attribute a color (checkerboard) to each lattice site, depending on whether the 4-dimensional coordinates sum to an even number or an odd number. The color is also referred to as a checkerboard index (cb), or parity. In the traditional 2-coloring scheme (red-black or even-odd) each checkerboard of the lattice contains half of the total number of lattice sites. In a nearest neighbor operator such as dslash, output spinors on sites of one checkerboard color (target_cb) will need neighboring input spinors only from sites of the other checkerboard color (source_cb), and hence all the sites of a given checkerboard can be conveniently computed in parallel, with no write conflicts. Gauge fields are usually stored as the forward pointing links in the 4 forward directions. The backward pointing links at a site are the hermitian conjugates of the forward pointing links of the site's back neighbors in each direction (which will have the opposite parity from the original site). Hence even for applying Dslash to sites of only one parity, the gauge fields from both parities need to be read.
Data Primitives
For facilitating this workflow, we define spinor and gauge link classes (in C++-like pseudocode):
// num_sites is the number of lattice sites on a single checkerboard
// color of the lattice (half the total number of lattice sites)
template<typename ST,int nspin>
class CBSpinor {
// dims are: site, color, spin.
spin_container<ST[num_sites][3][nspin],nspin> data;
template<typename GT>
class CBGaugeField {
// dims are: site, direction, color, color
here, ST and GT refer to spinor-type and gauge-type respectively. Those types could be SIMD or scalar types and they do not necessarily need to be the same. The data containers can be plain arrays, e.g. for (non-portable) plain implementations, or arrays decorated with pragmas (e.g. for OpenMP 4.5 offloading) or more general data container classes such as Kokkos::Views, etc.. The member functions are adopted to the container classes used in the individual implementations. Note that this design allows us to test different performance portable frameworks/methods without having to restructure large parts of the code. The additional template parameter nspin allows us to easily define 2- and 4-spinor objects.
Wilson Operator
At this point in time, the dslash test code is not multi-node ready, so we will focus solely on on-node parallelism for the moment. Our goal is to achieve this by threading over lattice sites and applying SIMD/SIMT parallelism over multiple right hand sides. In theory, one could achieve vectorization for single right hand side vectors also by using an array or structure of array data layout but we will not consider this technique here. We will nevertheless compare our single right hand side performance we achieved with our performance portable implementations with those of optimized libraries which feature such improvements.
Our dslash class is implemented as follow:
class Dslash {
void operator(const CBSpinor<ST,4>& s_in,
const CBGaugeField<GT>& g_in_src_cb,
const CBGaugeField<GT>& g_in_target_cb,
CBSpinor<ST,4>& s_out)
// Threaded loop over sites
parallel_for(int i=0; i<num_sites; i++){
CBThreadSpinor<TST,4> res_sum;
CBThreadSpinor<TST,2> proj_res, mult_proj_res;
// go for direction -T
ProjectDir3<ST,TST,isign>(s_in, proj_res,NeighborTMinus(site,target_cb));
// go for direction +T
Recons23Dir3<TST,-isign>(mult_proj_res, res_sum);
// go for other directions: -Z, +Z, -Y, +Y, -X, +X
Here, the type TST denotes a thread-spinor-type which belongs to the CBThreadSpinor class. It is important to make the distinction between CBSpinor and CBThreadSpinor because, depending on the performance portability framework used, this type has to be different on CPU or GPU. What we would like to achieve ultimately is displayed in the picture below:
Vectorization on GPU and CPU
In case of the GPU (left), individual threads are each working on a single/scalar entry of the global spinor, i.e. on a single right hand side component. In case of the CPU (right), each thread is working on a chunk of right hand sites, ideally using its vector units. In both cases, the input and output spinor datatype is the same and the work spinor type is optimized for the targeted architecture.
Note that, similar to the data classes discussed above, this skeleton-dslash allows us to specialize the Wilson operator for a variety of performance portable frameworks. Additionally, if we need more architectural specialization than the various frameworks could offer, this can be implemented cleanly by operator overloading and template specializations. |
Riemann hypothesis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Riemann zeta function, in the complex plane. The real part of the number is drawn horizontally, the imaginary part vertically. White dots show the zeros where . Click to get a full view.
The Riemann hypothesis is a mathematical conjecture. Many people think that finding a proof of the hypothesis is one of the hardest and most important unsolved problems of pure mathematics.[1]
The hypothesis is named after Bernhard Riemann. It is about a special function, the Riemann zeta function. This function inputs and outputs complex number values. The inputs that give the output zero are called zeros of the zeta function. Many zeros have been found. The "obvious" ones to find are the negative even integers. This follows from Riemann's functional equation. More have been computed and have real part 1/2. The hypothesis states all the undiscovered zeros must have real part 1/2.
The functional equation also says all zeros (except the "obvious" ones) must be in the critical strip: real part is between 0 and 1. The Riemann hypothesis says more: they are on the line given, in the image on the right (the white dots). If the hypothesis is false, this would mean that there are white dots which are not on the line given.
If proven correct, this would allow mathematicians to better describe how the prime numbers are placed among whole numbers. The Riemann hypothesis is so important, and so difficult to prove, that the Clay Mathematics Institute has offered $1,000,000 to the first person to prove it.[2]
References[change | change source]
1. Bombieri, Enrico. "The Riemann Hypothesis - official problem description" (PDF). Clay Mathematics Institute. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
2. Conrey, Brian (3 October 2003). "Prime Time for the Riemann Hypothesis". Science 302 (5642): 60–61. doi:10.1126/science.1089660. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/302/5642/60. |
Building an event grammar - understanding context
11 March 2014 • Alex Dean
Here at Snowplow we recently added a new feature called “custom contexts” to our JavaScript Tracker (although not yet into our Enrichment process or Storage targets).
To accompany the feature release we published a User Guide for Custom Contexts - a practical, hands-on guide to populating custom contexts from JavaScript. We want to now follow this up with a post on the underlying theory of event context: what it is, how it is generated and why it is so useful for analytics. “Event context” isn’t a phrase widely used in the analytics industry - and you have to go back to our blog post Towards Universal Event Analytics for our first description of it:
Context. Not a grammatical term, but we will use context to describe the phrases of time, manner, place and so on which provide additional information about the action being performed: “I posted the letter on Tuesday from Boston
This was a good start but there is much more to be said about event context. In this blog post, we will cover the theory of event context, grounding it in some examples of context being collected or derived by Snowplow today. I’ll then look at some ideas around sources of context, followed by some notes on the relationship between context and prepositional objects. Finally I’ll conclude with some thoughts on why event context is so powerful for analytics:
1. Event context: the theory
2. Context and Snowplow today
3. Sources of context
4. One man’s context…
5. The power of context
Event context: the theory
In our earlier blog post, Towards Universal Event Analytics, event context was a little crowded out by the entities (subjects and objects) and verbs which composed our event grammar:
Compared to the colourful entities and verbs, event context looked like simply “the intangible everything else” - the amorphous whitespace around our core event. Nothing could be further from the truth - event context is in fact tangible, easily recorded and hugely valuable for analysis.
Simply put, event context describes the environment and manner in which an event took place. There are strong parallels between our view of event context and the adverbial concept of “time, manner, place” used in human language to describe events. Context is used to describe, among other things:
• Where an event took place - where in the physical world, or in which digital environment
• When an event took place - either in absolute terms or relative to other events
• How an event took place - in what manner did an event take place
In fact a large proportion of Snowplow’s existing Canonical Event Model is describing the context of the given event - as we will explore in the next section.
Context and Snowplow today
Today, our Canonical Event Model contains 98 fields, and by our reckoning 57 of those fields solely relate to event context in one form or another. Here is a brief summary of the context already present:
Context category Example fields Description
• dvce_tstamp
• collector_tstamp
• os_timezone
When this event took place
• geo_latitude
• geo_longitude
• geo_country
Where in the real-world this event took place
• platform
• br_name
• os_family
The computing environment in which this event took place
• v_tracker
• v_collector
• v_etl
Who narrated this event (our data pipeline)
• refr_urlpath
• mkt_medium
• mkt_campaign
What occurred prior to (and potentially caused) this event
As you can see, our Canonical Event Model is chock full of context! But not all of this context is created equal - in the next section we will explore where context comes from, and how reliable it is.
Sources of context
It might be natural to assume that all event context is captured at the point of creating (“tracking” in Snowplow language) an event. In fact things are not that simple - but we can think of context coming from three distinct sources:
1. Primary context: context which was captured directly at the point of creating the event
2. Secondary context: context can be captured further down the event pipeline, for example at the point of collecting the event
3. Derived context: new context can be derived from existing primary or secondary context
To dive into a couple of examples:
Primary and secondary timestamps
For a simple comparison between primary and secondary context, consider our two event timestamps:
Both of these are pieces of temporal context, but they originate from different places. And interestingly, they have very different reliability profiles and thus use-cases:
• dvce_tstamp is set by the client’s system clock, which is frequently incorrect
• collector_tstamp is set by the collector’s server clock, which is accurate but can only record when the event was collected, not created
Thus for absolute analyses across multiple users, collector_tstamp provides the best temporal information. However, this introduces some uncertainty around the ordering of events which happened close together, so for e.g. a funnel analysis tied to a specific user, dvce_tstamp would be the best temporal context.
Derived geographical and meteorological context
Additionally, it is possible to derive new context from one or more pieces of existing context. Here is an illustration of this:
As you can see here, we collect ip_address and collector_tstamp as pieces of secondary context in the collector. Then in the Enrichment phase, we are able to derive a new set of geographical context (geo_latitude, geo_longitude etc) by performing a MaxMind geo-IP lookup on the user’s ip_address.
To push this example further: we could potentially then use the collector_tstamp, geo_latitude and geo_longitude to derive weather context from that information. This is not an Enrichment currently supported by Snowplow, but it is a great example of a second-order derived context.
One man's context...
There’s one more complexity I’d like to discuss before wrapping up, which could be summed up by:
One event’s context is another event’s object (or subject or…)
Let’s demonstrate this by comparing two events. In the first, a customer is viewing a web page:
In the second event, the customer is now adding an item to their basket:
But crucially, in the second event, the customer is still on a web page. This web page is no longer the direct object of the event - but it is still relevant information: it gives us spatial context, on where the event took place.
Thus we can see that one event’s direct object becomes context for another event; in both events, we are modelling some kind of web_page entity, but it serves different roles in both events.
We introduced a closely-related concept in our blog post Towards Universal Event Analytics with talk of prepositional objects:
the first player (Subject) kills (Verb) the second player (Direct Object) using a nailgun (Prepositional Object)
As we evolve our event grammar further, we will need to consider whether prepositional objects and context should be treated separately, or merged into one broader concept.
The power of context
Event context provides a huge amount of valuable metadata around our core subject-verb-object grammar, as evidenced by the large proportion of our Canonical Event Model which is given over to context.
If the core subject-verb-object dynamic tells us who did what to whom, then context tells us something much more discursive and subjective, but much richer too: how was it done, where was it done, why was it done. We are hugely excited about all forms of context at Snowplow, and we believe there is much more context still to be collected, not least:
• Tracking additional primary context from new platforms and environments, such as iOS or Android-specific environmental context
• Capturing additional secondary context from our collectors, for example capturing browser cookies or other headers
• Generating new derived context in our Enrichment process, for instance adding in a weather-based Enrichment
But the challenge of context is not just to accrete as much context as possible - we also want to work to structure and schema the context we already have better. Currently Snowplow stores contextual information in our “fat” Redshift table using a simple namespacing approach. Rest assured that we are exploring cleaner ways of storing this information as part of our wider event grammar research! |
Alexander Kolchak
Alexander Kolchak
Alexander Kolchak, the son of a major-general of the Marine Artillery, was born in St Petersburg in 1873. Kolchak graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1894. He joined the Russian Navy and served in Vladivostok (1895-1899). Kolchak took part in the Polar expedition led by Eduard Toll (1900-1902).
During the Russo-Japanese War he served as an officer on the cruiser Askold, and later commanded the destroyer Serdityi. He was awarded with the Order of St. Anna for sinking the Japanese cruiser Takasago. Kolchak was given command of a coastal artillery battery during the Siege of Port Arthur. He was wounded during the fighting and was taken as a prisoner of war to Nagasaki.
After being released he was promoted to lieutenant commander in April 1905. The following year he was appointed to the Naval General Staff, with responsibility for protecting St Petersburg and the Gulf of Finland area. In 1912 he was assigned to serve in the Russian Baltic Fleet. In 1914 Kolchak was given command of the flagship Pogranichnik, and during the early stages of the First World War he oversaw the laying of extensive coastal defensive minefields. He was later put in charge of the naval forces in the Gulf of Riga. In August 1916 he was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral and was given command of the Black Sea Fleet. After the fall of Tsar Nicholas II, he was recalled to Petrograd.
Alexander Kerensky, the Minister of War, feared that Kolchak might organise a military uprising against the Provisional Government. He therefore sent Kolchak to the United States as a military adviser. He also spent time in England and Japan. He was in Manchuria when the Bolsheviks gained control of the country after the November Revolution.
Kolchak joined the rebellion and agreed to become a minister in the Provisional All-Russian Government based in Omsk. Others who joined included landowners who had lost their estates, factory owners who had their property nationalized, devout members of the Russian Orthodox Church who objected to the government's atheism and royalists who wanted to restore the monarchy. In November 1918, ministers who were members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party were arrested and Kolchak was named Supreme Ruler with dictatorial powers. His first action was to promote himself to Admiral.
Alexander Kolchak was shot by firing squad on 7th February, 1920. |
In 1832 Karl Bodmer accompanied Maximilian, Prince of Wiedneuwied, in Germany, on a tour of America. The following year Bodmer took a boat from St. Louis and sailed up the Missouri River. He stayed at Fort Union before exploring the lands of the Blackfeet, the Mandans and the Minnetarees.
On his journey Bodmer painted the life, customs, dress and ceremonies of the Native Americans. A total of 81 plates by Bodmer appeared in Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-34.
Karl Bodmer (extreme right) meeting the Minnetaree (1833)
Karl Bodmer (extreme right) meeting the Minnetaree (1833)
Primary Sources
(1) Lewis Morgan, Kansas and Nebraska Journal (June, 1859)
The Minnetaree village is a large village of dirt houses. Soon after we arrived the people who crowded the bank commenced a scalp dance on the top of the bluff in front of the pickets. They used two drums, like tambourines, which were beat by the dancers themselves, and they danced in a ring from right to left about 30 in all, one-third of them women. They all danced. The women sang in a sort of chorus, with their voices an octave above those of the men. The step was the up and down on the heel step. They were celebrating the taking of the Sioux scalp we heard complained of at Fort Pierre. This morning I met the 3 who took the scalp, painted and dressed, coming through the village towards the boat, and walking side and slide, singing their exploit. The dance, the song, the music, and the step among all our Indians came out of one brain. |
How to Grow Plants in Water
Written by:
Indoor plants are an interiors trend that shows no sign of slowing down. However, there is a new emerging trend that has become popular lately: growing plants in water.
Growing plants in water is soil-free and low maintenance. The water only needs to be replaced every now and then (rather than weekly watering) and by eliminating soil your plants are less likely to contract pests or diseases. Furthermore, this dirt-free method of growing plants can be more allergy friendly.
Step 1: identify a plant that can grow in water
• Devil’s Ivy, fiddled leaf fig, jade plant, rubber plant, aloe era, spider plant and a peace lily will all grow in water.
Step 2: Take a cutting from an existing plant
• Take a good sized (but not large) cutting with only a leaf or two from an existing plant just below a node.
Step 3: find a vessel for your plant
• A glass vase with a thin neck (to help hold the plant upright) or a similar vessel will do just fine.
Step 4: Find a spot for it
• A place in your home with bright, indirect light is perfect. Try to find a spot that is slightly warm where the temperature doesn’t change too often, so avoid places next to aircon or heaters.
Step 5: wait for it to grow!
• For the first couple of months (or until roots appear) change the water weekly. Water from the tap is good because it has oxygen in it. Once roots have formed you can either move the cutting to soil or continue to grow it in water, replacing the water monthly.
Note: Don’t be disheartened if your first cutting dies. It’s common for cuttings to never form roots. Just try and try again!
Sourced from: |
Capital goods
From Conservapedia
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A capital good, investment good, or simply capital, is any product that is used in the distribution and production of goods and services. Capital goods help increase the future capacity of production of a country. For example, equipment, machines, plows, buildings, factories, etc.
Developed countries having created more capital goods than poor countries is one reason for their economic success. The country with a superior capital good will more than likely be more efficient and produce a better quality of consumer goods. When these goods are scarce, consumer goods are limited in return, and a society is usually very poor. |
antonymsAntonyms are pairs or groups of words that are notionally opposite in meaning, such as night/day, boy/girl, long/short, hot/cold, etc. This post describes the four categories of antonyms that feature in the use of English, explains the characteristics of each and offers a number of examples of each type.
Antonyms can be defined as follows:
1. Gradable (large/small, hot/cold, delicious/disgusting)
Gradable antonyms are typically pairs of adjectives that can be qualified by adverbs such as very, quite, extremely, etc. So for example, we can say the tickets were expensive or the tickets were cheap. However, as expensive and cheap are gradable antonyms, we can also qualify how expensive or cheap they were:
The tickets were surprisingly expensive. The tickets were very expensive. The tickets were quite expensive.
The tickets were incredibly cheap. The tickets were rather cheap. The tickets were undeniably cheap.
Further examples of gradable antonyms are:
• friendly/unfriendly
• hot/cold
• wet/dry
• interesting/boring
• bright/dull
• modern/old-fashioned
• bland/delicious
2. Complementary (black/white, boy/girl, alive/dead)
Complementary antonyms are pairs of words that are opposite in meaning, cannot be graded and are mutually exclusive. That is, they can exist independently of each other. For example, there might be a daughter in a family but not the complementary opposite of a son, as girls can exist without their complementary opposite of boys.
Further examples of complementary opposites are:
• push/pull
• right/wrong
• yes/no
• exit/entrance
• treat/punishment
• silence/noise
• lift/drop
3. Converse (teacher/student, doctor/patient, defence/prosecution)
Converse antonyms are pairs of opposites where one cannot exist without the other. For example to have a husband, you must have a wife. Therefore, husband and wife are complementary antonyms.
Further examples of complementary antonyms are:
• borrow/lend
• parent/child
• above/below
• night/day
• policeman/criminal
• husband/wife
• plug/socket
4.Multiple Taxonomies (Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun)
Multiple taxonomies are groups or fields of words such as days of the week, months of the year, etc., that comprise a fixed system. As such, they are distinct from the pairs of opposites described above as they feature three of more items in the system.
Further examples include:
• fail/pass/merit/distinction
• spring/summer/autumn/winter
• spades/hearts/diamonds/clubs
• north/south/east/west
• solid/liquid/gas |
Use water activity to get—and maintain—the right texture
Use water activity to get—and maintain—the right texture
Many candies have a distinctive texture–chewy, crunchy, smooth, grainy, sticky, or soft. Confectionery flavors are similarly distinctive. These two things come together to form the customer experience. Moisture plays a key role in the texture of confectionery products. In fact, there is an ideal range of water activity—a sweet spot—that maximizes texture and quality. Getting the moisture measurement right is critical for nearly every product. Water activity is the most powerful way to measure and monitor moisture.
Water activity makes choosing the right specifications easy
Water activity affects the physical properties of foods. Foods with a high water activity have a texture that is moist, juicy, tender, and chewy. When the water activity of these products is lowered, undesirable textural attributes, such as hardness, dryness, staleness, and toughness occur. Low water activity products have texture attributes described as crisp and crunchy, while these products at higher water activity levels change to a soggy texture. Because water activity is closely correlated to product texture, it’s easy to set specifications that relate to important texture characteristics.
Critical water activities determine where products become unacceptable
There are two ways texture can go wrong: it can be wrong as soon as your product is made, or it can go wrong over time as your product sits on the shelf. If a chewy chocolate chip cookie rolls off the production line already crispy, it’s likely too much water has been taken out in the baking process. Another complication occurs if products undergo phase change during storage. These changes, including glass transition and crystallization, make smooth products into grainy ones, or soft products into hardened bricks.
Crackers, potato chips, puffed corn curls, and popcorn each lose their sensory crispness with increasing water activity. The crispness intensity and overall hedonic texture of dry snack food products are a function of water activity (Katz and Labuza, 1981). Critical water activities illuminate where the product becomes unacceptable from a sensory standpoint. These fall into the range where amorphous to crystalline transformations occur in simple sugar food systems and mobilization of soluble food constituents begins. Excessive and rapid drying or moisture reabsorption by a glassy material can cause product loss by cracking and excessive breakage.
Measure water activity in 5 minutes
Water activity: a simple way to prevent texture problems
Water activity plays a key role in preventing such issues. First, sensory tests can be used to define water activity levels that are acceptable during a manufacturing process. Once specifications are set, monitoring them is easy: just use a water activity meter on each lot or batch. Using a Vapor Sorption Analyzer to identify problems before they start is even more powerful. A moisture sorption isotherm can illuminate what water activity levels are critical for texture changes.
Isotherms pinpoint critical water activities
Typically, a critical water activity is found through an extensive texture study, but there is an easier way. High resolution dynamic isotherm curves (see Figure 1) have been shown to identify critical water activity values (RHc) that pinpoint where correct texture is lost by sharp inflections in the moisture adsorption curve.
Figure 1. Each product has its own unique isotherm curve due to different interactions (colligative, capillary, and surface effects) between the water and the solid components at different moisture contents
One study performed by researchers at Washington State University tried to determine if the dynamic isotherm curves for low water activity snack cookies could be used to identify a critical water activity and if this water activity could be used as a texture stability indicator.
Researchers found that the effect of water activity on crispness was more important than temperature and that the critical water activity did indeed identify the initial point at which the correct texture was lost. This means that using a critical water activity allows for extreme accuracy in determining the exact point of texture loss–important because an RHc can be obtained with much less labor and time than a texture study. Additionally, in products sold by weight, knowing the exact amount of water influencing textural stability directly impacts the bottom line.
Carter, Brady Paul. Investigations into practical applications for the critical water activity from dynamic dew point isotherms. Washington State University, 2015. Article link.
Katz, E. E., and T. P. Labuza. “Effect of water activity on the sensory crispness and mechanical deformation of snack food products.” Journal of Food Science 46, no. 2 (1981): 403-409. Article link.
Find critical water activity limits
How to use isotherms to discover where your product is most stable and find the points beyond which it loses its desired texture. |
Open Access
Research Article
Volume 26, 2019
Article Number 18
Number of page(s) 9
Published online 26 March 2019
© J. Luo et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2019
Licence Creative Commons
Ticks are ectoparasites of veterinary and medical importance with a worldwide distribution. They live in relatively damp grass or low shrubs in close contact with a wide variety of hosts. As obligate parasites, ticks not only weaken their hosts by sucking blood but also transmit various diseases, causing harm to wildlife, domestic animals, and human beings [27]. Haemaphysalis longicornis belongs to the family Ixodidae and is widely distributed, transmitting a variety pathogens such as bovine theileriosis (Theileria sergenti), bovine babesiosis (Babesia ovata), and human Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) [13, 18].
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important factor in post-transcriptional regulation that may efficiently target gene expression in specific cells or tissues, thereby coordinating target gene spatial and temporal control [12, 33]. They may act as reversible regulators for target genes rapidly released by guided target gene suppression [12]. Because of the versatility of miRNAs, they have been considered a major factor for gene regulators that are critical for diverse biological functions such as cell differentiation, growth development, immune responses, and disease defence [2, 3, 5]. The key regulatory functions of miRNAs and their ability to respond to environmental pathogens are essential for maintaining normal physiological function and the complex life cycles of organisms [15, 21, 23, 36, 38, 43]. Some miRNAs have been identified in Rhipicephalus microplus and Ixodes scapularis [4, 14, 44], but no reports on specific miRNA profiles associated with wild or cultured ticks are available. In H. longicornis, different living environments may cause differences in gene expression and regulation. Therefore, the expression profiles of miRNAs in an H. longicornis wild-type population (HLWS) and cultured (HLCS) population would be interesting to characterize. Previous studies clearly showed that a combination of internal mechanisms, exogenous factors, and behavioural strategies likely sculpt the microbiota and consequently its effect on the host and the nutritional environment, as well as the immune system. Novel findings have suggested that disruption of the mycobiota can have detrimental effects on host immunity [16, 26].
A deeper understanding of H. longicornis biology may lead to the development of more effective control measures. To provide new insights into the biology of this tick and to expand our knowledge of tick miRNAs, we examined and compared the miRNA profiles of HLWS and HLCS using an integrative approach by combining Solexa deep sequencing with bioinformatic Gene Ontology (GO) analysis.
Materials and methods
Ethics approval
The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (approval no. LVRIAEC 2011-006), and the H. longicornis samples were collected strictly in accordance with the requirements of the Ethics Procedures and Guidelines of the People’s Republic of China.
Sample collection and RNA extraction
In this study, a total of 150 unfed adult HLWS were collected from Henan Province. In addition, 150 HLCS were prepared; these ticks were collected from Qingyang, Gansu Province, in 2007 and cultured monoclonally in laboratory conditions using SPF New Zealand white rabbits (Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, PRC). Before the experiment, the ticks were washed at least three times with PBS to remove contaminants. They were then ground in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA was extracted from each HLWS and HLCS adult using TRIzol (Takara Biomedical Technology, Beijing, PR China), according to the manufacturer’s protocol.
Subsamples of 5 μg–10 μg of RNA were subjected to size segmentation by PAGE gel, and 18–30 nt strips were selected and recycled (14–30 ssRNA Ladder Marker, Takara). Adaptor systems with 5′ or 3′ connectors were designed. The reaction conditions were as follows: 20 °C for 6 h, after which RNA segments of different sizes were separated by PAGE gel, and 40–80 nt strips were selected and recycled. First Strand Master Mix and Super Script II (Invitrogen) reverse transcription were performed (reaction conditions: 65 °C for 10 min; 48 °C for 3 min; 42 °C for 1 h; 70 °C for 15 min). Several rounds of PCR amplification with PCR Primer Cocktail and PCR Mix were performed to enrich the cDNA fragments (reaction conditions: 98 °C for 30 s; 12–15 cycles of 98 °C for 10 s and 72 °C for 15 s; 72 °C for 10 min; 4 °C hold). Then, the PCR products were purified with PAGE gel and ~110 bp recycled products were selected and dissolved in EB solution. The final library was quantitated in two ways: the average molecule length was determined using an Agilent 2100 bioanalyzer instrument (Agilent, Beijing, PR China), and the library was quantified via real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) (EvaGreen) using the Illumina HiSeqTM 4000 sequencing strategy at the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI, PRC).
Computational analysis
After generating the raw sequence data, some insertion tags, low quality tags, poly A tags, and small tags were removed. Then, the length distributions of clean tags and common/specific tags were summarized for the two samples. These clean reads were mapped to the I. scapularis genome and other sRNA databases using Bowtie2 [20]. The default alignment parameters were as follows: Bowtie2: -q -L 16 –phred64 -p 6; Cmsearch: –cpu 6 –noali. In the annotation information of different RNAs, certain small RNA tags may be mapped to more than one category. To make sure every unique small RNA is mapped to only one category, we followed the priority rule MiRbase > pirnabank > snoRNA (human/plant) > Rfam > other sRNA. The last category could not be annotated to any category to predict novel miRNAs. Finally, a further analysis including hierarchical clustering for differentially expressed miRNA using the pheatmap function was performed. To find more accurate targets, multiple types of software were used. Generally, RNAhybrid [19], miRanda [17] or TargetScan [1] are used. The default parameters are as follows: miRanda: -en -20 -strict; RNAhybrid: -b 100 -c -f 2,8 -m 100,000 -v 3 -u 3 -e -20 -p 1 -s 3utr_human; psRobot: -gl 17 -p 8 -gn 1; TargetFinder: -c 4. GO enrichment analysis was also carried out [34].
Analysis of novel miRNA expression
In this study, low-score copy reads were eliminated and typical stem-loop structures were analyzed by Mfold and MiPred software to filter out pseudo-novel miRNAs [24], and target genes were predicted by TargetScan [30]. Representative pseudo-novel miRNAs in the two tick libraries were determined using SYBR Green and modified stem-loop quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) [11]. The β-actin of H. longicornis (GenBank accession no. EF488512) was used as an endogenous control (housekeeping gene) with the following forward (5′-TGT GAC GAG GTT GCC G-3′) and reverse (5′-GAA GCA CTT GAG GTG GAC AAT G-3′) primers. The following cycling conditions were used: 97 °C for 15 min; 35 cycles of 94 °C for 30 s, 54 °C for 30 s, and 72 °C for 30 s; and a single extension step at 72 °C for 10 min. Quantification of each miRNA relative to the β-actin gene was performed using the following equation: N = 2−ΔCt, ΔCt = CtmiRNA−Ctactin [29].
Statistical analysis
Three biological replicates, representative of different batches of separated expression events were performed for miRNA expression assessment. Data in all groups were analyzed by using SPSS 12.0 software. The differences in miRNA expression among samples were compared by Student’s t-test and were considered significantly different when p < 0.05.
HiSeq for small RNAs between the two tick taxa
High-throughput sequencing yielded 15.63 and 15.48 million raw reads for HLWS and HLCS, respectively, with 15.30 and 15.44 million high-quality reads longer than 18 nt. These high-quality sequences first underwent read data cleaning, which included eliminating low-quality tags, adaptor ligation sequences and several sequences of 5′ primer contaminants. Ultimately, 15,090,145 and 15,342,278 clean reads were collected, respectively (data not shown). The length distributions of the clean reads are shown in Figure 1. Among the clean reads, 12.03% and 14.17% accounted for almost every kind of RNA, including tRNA, rRNA, snRNA, snoRNA and miRNA, in HLWS and HLCS, respectively, with similar levels of ncRNAs in both strains. Among the high-quality reads, 17.90% were in common between the two libraries (Table 1), while 12,546,501 and 12,439,669 specific small RNAs in HLWS and HLCS, respectively (representing 4,331,431 and 4,084,311 unique sRNAs) had perfect matches to known, deposited animal miRNAs. Additionally, a total of 5,446,253 small RNAs (733,830 unique small RNAs) were shared between HLWS and HLCS (Table 2).
thumbnail Figure 1.
Length distribution and abundance of sequences in HLWS and HLCS. Sequence length distribution of clean reads based on abundance levels and distinct sequences. The most abundant size class was 28 nt, followed by 22 nt. The X-axis indicates the lengths of small RNAs; the Y-axis indicates the percent frequency (%).
Table 1.
Distribution of small RNAs among different categories.
Table 2.
Common and taxon-specific reads of HLWS and HLCS.
Known conserved microRNAs and differential expression
The small RNA tags were aligned to the miRNA precursors/mature miRNAs of all species in miRBase21. Overall, 1517 and 1327 known, conserved miRNAs (no species specific) were found in HLWS and HLCS, respectively. We analyzed the numbers of reads for conserved miRNAs and found a large difference in the expression levels among them. In HLWS, miR-1-3p, miR-29-5p and let-7-5p had high expression frequencies with more than 150,000 reads and constituted approximately 35.06% of the total miRNA reads, suggesting an important role in maintaining the normal physiological function of ticks. However, 638 miRNAs had expression levels lower than 10 copy reads (Supplementary Material 1). Similarly, in HLCS, miR-1-3p, miR-1, miR-29-5p and let-7-5p also had high expression levels. A total of 712 miRNAs exhibited the lowest frequencies. miR-1-3p, miR-29-5p, let-7-5p, miR-10, miR-184 and miR-275 were detected with high abundance levels in both libraries (Supplementary Material 1).
A total of 342 miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed with a p-value < 0.01 when comparing the HLWS and HLCS libraries, of which 166 were up-regulated and 176 miRNAs down-regulated in HLWS (Table 3, Fig. 2; Supplementary Material 2).
thumbnail Figure 2.
Comparison of differential expression levels of known miRNAs in HLWS and HLCS. Each point in the figure represents an miRNA. The X-axis and Y-axis show the expression levels of miRNAs in the two samples, respectively. The red points represent miRNAs with a ratio > 2. The blue points represent miRNAs with ½ < ratio ≤ 2. The green points represent miRNAs with a ratio ≤ 1/2. Ratio = normalized expression in treatment groups/normalized expression in controls.
Table 3
Comparison of miRNA profiles in HLWS and HLCS.
Identification of novel microRNAs and target prediction
The unannotated sRNAs were used to predict novel miRNAs. The characteristic hairpin structure of the miRNA precursor can be used to predict novel miRNA. We developed Mireap (, prediction software to predict novel miRNA by exploring the secondary structure, the Dicer cleavage site, and the minimum free energy of the unannotated sRNA tags that could be mapped to genome. The 36 candidate miRNAs were obtained from the two libraries (Supplementary Material 3). Among them, 11 small RNAs were considered novel miRNAs, matching known I. scapularis miRNAs from the miRBase database and not shared between HLWS and HLCS. Notably, the novel HLWS-m0031 and HLWS-m0032 miRNAs had the same mature sequence, but their precursors were different (Supplementary Material 3). Utilizing precursors meeting the criteria listed in the Methods with standard stem-loop structures, all novel miRNAs were found to have low expression levels (fewer than 400 reads) (Supplementary Materials 3 and 4 for HLCS, Supplementary Material 5 for HLWS).
A total of 54,619 sequences from I. scapularis ticks in the NCBI database were used for target gene prediction. Using stringent matching criteria, the target number of predicted results to the tick libraries ranged from one to thousands. For HLWS, the target number ranged from zero (HLWS-m0013_5p, HLWS-m0016_5p, HLWS-m0020_5p, HLWS-m0032_5p) to 2445 (HLWS-m0005_5p), with an average of 1365. For HLCS, the target number ranged from 244 (HLCS-m0003_3p) to 651 (HLCS-m0001_5p), with an average of 492. Functional prediction revealed target genes related to response to external stimuli in HLWS (n is the number of target genes, n = 3) and HLCS (n = 1), a set of genes related to defence responses to bacteria/viruses (2 in HLWS and 1 in HLCS), and a set of genes related to immune responses (22 in HLWS and 7 in HLCS). As a distinguishing feature, the number of targets related to metabolic processes in HLCS (n = 126), was lower than in HLWS (n = 272). Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that the frequencies of more gene functions were similar in HLWS and HLCS for most gene functions, with the exception of a few items (Fig. 3), indicating a very similar metabolic pattern for both parasites. However, in terms of cellular components, miRNA targets of HLWS had an extra cellular component called “synapse part” and “synapse”. Regarding molecular functions, the “electron carrier” and “auxiliary transport protein” function terms were found in targets of HLWS. In addition, the biological processes “cell killing and rhythmic processes” were found in the miRNA targets of HLWS.
thumbnail Figure 3.
Partial GO classification annotated by gene2go for predicted target genes. The figure shows partial GO enrichment for the predicted target genes in terms of cellular components, molecular functions, and biological processes.
Quantification of novel miRNAs in HLWS and HLCS
A total of 36 short RNA sequences were predicted to be novel miRNAs (Supplementary Material 3), and these putative miRNAs were again mapped to clean reads of I. scapularis using BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). To further determine the authenticity of these putative miRNAs, all miRNAs were again mapped to the genome of I. scapularis using BLAST. This analysis showed that 11 candidate mature miRNAs (HLWS-m0002, HLWS-m0003, HLWS-m0006, HLWS-m0010, HLWS-m0016, HLWS-m0017, HLWS-m0018, HLWS-m0024, HLWS-m0028, HLWS-m0029, and HLWS-m0033) were perfect matches to the clean-read data from I. scapularis. Moreover, these sequences had high similarity to isc-miR-100, isc-miR-375, isc-miR-305, isc-miR-5308, isc-miR-750, isc-miR-79, isc-miR-184, isc-miR-5305, isc-miR-263a, isc-miR-96 and isc-miR-tantam, respectively, in the NCBI database. In addition, the secondary structure of these novel miRNAs also conformed to the relevant parameters of true miRNA free energy and the enzyme cutting site, suggesting that they were true novel miRNAs.
The 36 novel miRNAs were highly expressed. We selected eight representative candidate novel miRNAs for quantification (HLCS-m0001, HLCS-m0002, HLCS-m0003, HLWS-m0002, HLWS-m0017, HLWS-m0018, HLWS-m0028, and HLWS-m0032) using qRT-PCR for the relative expression levels of miRNAs, with β-actin as a reference gene (Fig. 4). The results showed that one novel miRNA (HLWS-m0032) had a relatively high expression level, whereas HLWS-m0002 expression was very low when qRT-PCR was compared with deep sequencing. HLWS-m0028 was not successfully amplified, which may be attributable to its very low expression levels or the temporal specificity of miRNA expression even though the primers and reaction conditions were modified several times. For most miRNAs, the results were consistent with the qRT-PCR and deep sequencing data obtained.
thumbnail Figure 4.
qRT-PCR validation of the identified miRNAs using Solexa sequencing technology. The relative expression abundance is expressed as the Ct value; each sample was replicated three times. Y-axis: relative quantity (dRn) with a log scale; X-axis: sample names.
MiRNAs, as key components of most regulatory events, may play important roles at the post-transcriptional level in various physiological processes or different developmental stages [35]. Highly abundant miRNAs have been identified in various species by traditional PCR methods, northern blot, or microarray bioinformatic prediction [6]. The Illumina Hiseq 4000 technique has special advantages for small RNA sequencing because of its high throughput, high accuracy, high repeatability and low signal-to-noise ratio [42]. Currently, the Illumina Hiseq has allowed identification of small RNAs and miRNA digital expression in different organisms [22, 25, 39]. In this study, almost all small RNAs were covered using the sequencing platform for the amount of data obtained (Table 1). These small RNAs were analyzed for length distribution, (typically ranging between 18 nt and 30 nt for small RNAs), as the size distribution is helpful to determine the composition of the sRNA sample. In our data, more than 13% of the miRNA sequences were primarily distributed across lengths of 21–25 nt in the two libraries (Fig. 1); the results are consistent with the typical size of miRNAs produced in the salivary glands of H. longicornis [44]. Although the length distribution is similar in the two libraries, some differences remain: H. longicornis may have a varying response to stimuli according to the different living environments. This is reflected in the presence of miRNAs with different lengths, which may have different functions depending on the living environments.
Analyzing the differential expression patterns of miRNA from ticks in different environments can provide useful information to identify immune-related miRNAs or physiological functional genes [37]. In this analysis, miRNAs comprised a large proportion of the H. longicornis small RNA libraries (1517 and 1327 known sequences in HLWS and HLCS, respectively), indicating that they play an important role in regulating the functions of most genes, including immunomodulatory factors, cell growth, and differentiation. These key functional miRNAs are differentially expressed between HLWS and HLCS (Fig. 2; Supplementary Material 2). This result led to the general conclusion that up-regulated miRNAs in HLWS may be involved in specific physiological processes, such as responses to external stimuli, defence responses to bacteria and viruses, and responses to environmental changes. In HLCS, the relatively down-regulated miRNAs may be closely related to the normal development of ticks. In this study, miR-1-3p was the most abundant conserved and differentially expressed miRNA identified, representing approximately 0.80 and 11.98 million sequence reads in HLWS and HLCS, respectively (Supplementary Material 1). MiR-1 was previously reported to play an important role in muscle cell development, particularly heart muscle cells, and to lead to heart diseases, such as myocardial hypertrophy, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmias [10, 45, 8]. Here, however, miR-1 was up-regulated in HLWS. Therefore, miR-1 may not only regulate the normal function of cardiac cells but may also participate in the immune response to different environmental stimuli. Three other miRNAs, including let-7-5p, miR-315 and miR-275, were also identified as high-count sequences with more than 10,000 reads in both libraries (Supplementary Material 1). Let-7-5p is a member of the Let-7 family, and its stage-specific expression regulates development in C. elegans [28]. Previous studies have shown that abnormal expression of mir-315 may affect the maturation of the Drosophila brain, nervous system, and a series of associated signalling pathways, leading to various phenotypic changes [32]. MiR-275 can provide energy for egg development and can also influence blood digestion [9]. In this study, its expression level in HLWS was significantly up-regulated, confirming that it was also sensitive to exogenous stimuli (such as viruses, bacteria or blood parasites). Activation of self-miR-275 protection, as well as the family members of miR-103 (including miR-103b and miR-103a-3p), the miR-107 family (including miR-107b), miR-1175 family (including miR-1175-3p), miR-1192, and miR-122-5p also up-regulated in HLWS, suggests that these miRNAs are associated with different environmental stimuli. Compared with the above four miRNAs, 1401 miRNAs’ expression levels were significantly lower than normal levels (such as miR-1175, miR-1261 and miR-1304-3p) (Supplementary Materials 1 and 2) because most miRNAs regulate target genes through a negative feedback mechanism [31]. As a result, the expression levels of down-regulated miRNAs remain a focus for our future research. These miRNAs are most likely involved in pathogen invasion or in protecting the body against various environmental stimuli.
The important parameters for miRNA precursors include the characteristic hairpin structure, the Dicer cleavage site, and the minimum free energy of the unannotated small RNA tags, which could be mapped to genome [40]. However, ncRNAs and mRNA also have similar hairpin structures and minimal free energies [7, 41]; therefore, defining miRNAs is challenging. Then, the novel miRNAs were further validated using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) (Fig. 4). Of the 36 potential novel miRNA candidates, 11 were validated as having high identity with I. scapularis miRNAs in the miRBase21 database by BLAST. Of the eight novel miRNAs, seven were obtained by qRT-PCR, and only one was not obtained, possibly due to inappropriate primer design or very low expression levels, which requires further experimental verification. Lastly, 32 novel miRNAs were identified in HLWS and only three were identified in HLCS. Wild ticks may experience stimulation by complex factors, and additional genes must be activated to respond to a diverse environment. Activation of these potential genes likely affects the activation of the genes that regulate them (such as miRNA), and a large number of novel miRNAs may thus be found.
GO analyses showed that the putative target genes appear to be involved in a wide variety of biological processes, ranging from cell growth, biological adhesion, immune processes, and transcription regulation to death, and in metabolism, activation of various enzymes, and gene oxidative stress (Supplementary Material 6). The GO enrichment analysis revealed that more than 20% of genes were annotated to biological regulation and metabolism for biological processes, and more than 10% of gene functions were involved in binding and catalytic functions (Fig. 3). In addition, synapses were identified in HLWS, and auxiliary transport proteins and electron carriers were found only in HLWS, with additional biological and rhythmic processes not present in HLCS. KEGG analysis showed that approximately 51.69% of genes were associated with metabolism. The above results indicate that the expression levels of functional genes in ticks in different environments are different, as are their regulatory factors (miRNA or novel miRNA). This study provides a basis for screening immuno-related miRNAs and their target genes in ticks.
Let-7-5p, miR-315 and miR-275 play important roles in the development of ticks, with positive regulatory functions related to the immune response towards environmental changes or pathogen invasion. However, miR-103, miR-107 and miR-1175 have negative regulatory effects on ticks. Detection of novel miRNAs enriches the number of true miRNAs, and miRNAs may play important roles in tick immune responses. Our study provides further insight into the regulation of miRNAs in ticks and is of practical value for research on their response to environmental changes and for the screening of immune-related regulation.
This study was supported financially by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC1202000), NSFC (31572511), TDRC-22, 973 Program (2015CB150300), ASTIP (2014ZL010) and the State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology Project. We thank American Journal Experts ( for editing this manuscript. We thank Beijing Genomics Institute for technical assistance.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Supplementary Material
miRNA expression levels for the data mapped to the miRBase 21 database of various known species showing the miRNA name (column A), the expression level (column B), and the miRNA sequence (column C). (Access here)
Differential expression analysis of the two tick species. Pairwise comparison results (column A), the miRNA name (column B), and the total reads in the two strains (columns C and D). The normal expression levels in the different strains (columns E and F). The expression levels of the normalized miRNAs (columns G and H). When HLCS was used as a control, the relative expression level with negative numbers, indicating down-regulation, and positive numbers, indicating up-regulation (column I). The p-value of the expression level, and the last column (*) indicates a significant difference (column J).
Note: the expression level of miRNA will be normalized to 0, and this value cannot be used as the dividend when calculating the difference in expression. Therefore, even if the p-value is very low, the difference is meaningless. It does not have to be marked as significant.
(Access here)
Novel miRNA structures were analyzed at different developmental stages. The long sequence indicates the miRNA precursor information in the following order: sequence, name and length. The parentheses indicate the miRNA precursor information in the following order: hairpin structure, structure and MFE (minimum free energy). *** and the short sequences indicate mature miRNA information in the following order: sequence, name and length; “…” and the short sequences indicate information for the matched sRNA tags in the following order: sequence, ID, length, and count. (Access here)
The stem-loop structure of all novel miRNAs in the HLCS ticks. (Access here)
The stem-loop structure of all novel miRNAs in the HLWS ticks. The structure was not provided for HLWS-m0016 and HLWS-m0032 with the sequencing. (Access here)
GO characteristics described for novel miRNAs. Accession numbers for GO and ontology terms and potential sites are provided for the target genes of novel miRNAs. The GO classification provides all analysis terms that are significantly enriched in the predicted target gene candidates of novel miRNAs compared to a reference gene background. (Access here)
All Tables
Table 1.
Distribution of small RNAs among different categories.
Table 2.
Common and taxon-specific reads of HLWS and HLCS.
Table 3
Comparison of miRNA profiles in HLWS and HLCS.
All Figures
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Potsdam Declaration: July 26, 1945 The Potsdam Declaration was a list of terms that called for Japan s unconditional
surrender in World War II. The announcement was issued by Chiang Kai-Shek of China, Josef Stalin of the USSR, Harry S. Truman of the United States, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The declaration called for all Japanese military forces to be disarmed, the elimination of those who mislead the people of Japan into world conquest, Japanese territory modifications, and punishing all war criminals. It also stated that the Japanese were not going to be destroyed or enslaved. Refusal of these terms would lead to prompt and utter destruction.
Casablanca Conference: February 12, 1943 The Casablanca Conference was held at Casablanca, Morocco. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and many French representatives were present at the meeting. The declaration created at the conference, the Casablanca Declaration, called for the unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers. The Allies warned the Axis that extreme measures will be taken if they did not surrender. The warning was mainly issued to Japan.
Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference was a tactic conference held in Tehran, Iran, by Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. It continued from the 28th of November to the 1st of December in 1943. The meeting was also the first World War II meeting hosted by the allies. The primary result of the assembly was that the Western Allies were to attack Nazi Germany. It also addressed matters in Turkey, Iran, Yugoslavia, and the war against Japan.
Cairo Conference Held in Cairo, Egypt, during November 22nd to 26th, 1943, it addressed the Allied position against Japan and Asia. The discussion was held by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek. The declaration of Cairo stated that original Chinese territories such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores will be restored to the Republic of China and that Korea was to be an independent nation.
History of the Enola Gay: B-29 The Enola Gay was an aircraft used in World War II. Piloted by Paul Tibbets, it was the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
-The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki greatly influenced the Japanese military to surrender. and rape. -Hiroshima and Nagasaki were tactical targets for a nuclear explosion. Japan would have surely used their bomb against the United States. The estimated number of US troops that would ve died was 250. They even planned a coup to assassinate the emperor. The deaths of civilians during the bombings were an unfortunate occurrence. -At the time.000 Japanese soldiers and civilians would have died in the raid. the Americans were firebombing Tokyo and other cities.000. the atomic bombs had to be dropped. Ironically. which killed more people than an atomic bomb.Why was the bombing in Japan justified? -Had the bombing been called off. but the Japanese military refused to let that happen. Before both bombs were dropped. Luckily. Before. They were highly industrialized cities. America was neutral towards Japan. -The Japanese were not innocent in the war. Had the bombs been delayed. the US military would ve gone with Operation Olympic & Coronet which involved invading the island of Kyushu. -Japan was the first one to directly drag the United States into the war by bombing Pearl Harbor. Japan also had a secret project involving an atomic bomb. Other war crimes include mass killings. -The Allies in the war gave Japan an early warning of what was to come [Potsdam Declaration]. it did not make it past laboratory stage before the US atomic bombs were dropped. . Japan. and were also important military bases. human experimentation. cannibalism. Emperor Hirohito had considered surrendering. the atomic bombs quickened the pace of the war.000. The Japanese authorities obviously did not care for their citizens. Worse things were done BY the Japanese than TO them. -Overall. The Rape of Nanjing is an event committed by the Japanese. Since the Japanese had a higher death rate than the Americans. torture. but it ironically saved millions of other lives from being lost. -Dropping the atomic bombs did not violate any type of aerial warfare law stated in the convention respecting the laws of war on land. The United States did not bomb both cities just to kill civilians. Because Japan refused to unconditionally surrender. up to 1. the atomic bomb saved more Japanese lives by killing other Japanese citizens. |
ArticlesFood Production Consistency
By February 25, 2019 No Comments
The heart of any bakery is the oven. It cooks food using three main methods of heat transfer: convection, conduction, and radiation. Convection relies on heat transfer by the movement of air in the baking chamber. Conduction occurs when the food is in contact with the heated surface, and radiation happens when heat transfer comes from a hot surface or material inside the oven – you get radiant heat from the stone in a pizza oven, for example.
Large varieties and quantities of products can be cooked with a single oven, which is why it’s the most widely-used appliance in the food service industry. Let’s take a look at the different types of bakery ovens and what they can do for your bakery.
Standard ovens bake your products using natural convection and radiant heat. The heating elements inside the oven heat the air and the oven walls, creating currents of hot air that transfer heat, which is what bakes the food. Standard ovens are cheaper than other types of bakery oven, and because of the natural flow of hot air currents inside them, they are great for delicate products that require precision baking, such as cream puffs and meringues. Their main drawback is the low production capacity. If you plan to bake in commercial amounts, a forced convection oven would probably work better for your kitchen.
Convection ovens improved upon the design of standard or conventional ovens, using fans to force hot air through and around the cooking cavity, resulting in faster cooking times and larger production capacities. Available in gas and electric-powered models, convection ovens excel at baking large amounts of things like cookies, but the stronger flow of air in them may not be advisable for delicate pastries. Convection ovens can be stacked, allowing you to maximize precious kitchen space.
Deck ovens are also a popular choice for commercial bakeries because of their high production capacities. This type of oven can have multiple compartments that have upper and lower heating elements that can be controlled independently from each other. They differ from convection ovens in that they transfer heat directly from a hot surface or “deck” to the food. Deck ovens also use radiant heat to cook or bake food. They are also more energy-efficient than standard or conventional ovens, meaning they require less power, and that means lower operating costs.
This kind of oven allows multiple methods of baking because it allows the injection of steam along with convection heat transfer. This lets you bake with moist heat. A combination oven and steamer can be used as a normal convection oven that bakes with dry heat, a combination oven and steamer, and just as a plain steamer.
These are just the basic types of ovens found in bakeries all over the world. The most important step in choosing the bakery oven for your kitchen is studying your menu, how much you want to be able to produce, the amount of space your kitchen has, and what type of energy you want to use. Once you figure these out, you can go ahead and choose the best oven for your bakery.
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The Grid Connected Solar System is the most common form of residential solar system utilized in Australia. It is often called a ‘grid tied’ or a ‘grid tie’ system which utilizes an inverter that converts the electricity that is generated by the solar panel system in direct current (DC) to alternating (AC) current. AC current is compatible power with the electric grid. The homes that use grid connected solar systems typically utilize the power that they generate for running their home appliances before using any power from the grid. Any excess power that is generated by the system’s solar panels is then fed back into the grid and the householder receives a feed in tariff which reduces their power bill.
However, if the solar panels are not producing enough power and a need for more electricity arises, for example, at night, then power is pulled from the grid to provide the extra electricity needed.
A grid connected solar system is placed on the roof of a customer’s home. The solar panel utilizes the sun to convert electricity (using the inverter) into power. The inverter is also used to control the flow of electricity into a home, business, office, hospital or school.
The installation of a Grid Connect Solar System allows you to generate your own electricity during the day while the sun is shining, which reduces your reliance on the electric grid. If your system produces more electricity than you need, you then receive a credit towards your power account. This is called a feed-in tariff rate (FIT).
The benefits of adding a Grid Connect Solar System to your home or business are extremely positive with the most beneficial being producing green energy. Solar energy is one of the best renewable energy options that is sustainable and naturally replenishing. Installing a Grid Connect Solar System will also allow you to help in eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.
Grid Connect System
How Does A Grid Connected Solar Panel System Work
Solar Panels
Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels capture the energy from the sun and convert the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). To do this, the photons are captured from the sun and create an electrical current in the solar panels. Solar panels are typically mounted on a residential house or commercial building because the location provides better exposure to the sun. The solar panels will face the north to northwest for best results. Most solar panels on the market today produce very efficiently and are built with longevity. Typically the performance warranty is 25 years.
To understand how a solar panel works, you must understand that an inverter is used. The inverter converts the electric from DC to AC as discussed prior. That is the main function of an inverter. Without the inverter the electricity produced form the solar panel would go to waste. Alternating Current is the standard electricity format used in all appliances in our homes such as washing machines, TVs, and even large industrial equipment.
Meters and the Grid
Right now most houses, office buildings, commercial buildings, hospitals are connected to the electric grid. Even when you install a solar system you continue will be connected to the grid. You will need to have the ability to utilize the grid when you cannot produce electricity from your solar power system, such a stormy day, cloudy day, or at night. A grid connected solar panel system will always utilize the electricity generated from your solar panels first and then will feed from the grid when needed.
Grid Connect Solar System
Benefits of Grid Connected Solar Panel System:
• Unlimited back-up power from the electric grid
• The advantage of selling excess generated electricity from the panels
• Many incentives require a grid tie system to apply
Typical Grid Connected Solar Panel System Components:
• Highly efficient and effective solar panels
• Solar panel combiner box with DC disconnect
• Highly efficient DC-AC inverter
• Breakers
• Surge protector
• Ground-fault protector
• Wattage meter
Grid-connected solar PV systems Installers and designers need Clean Energy Council grid-connect accreditation
For an overview of all types of solar power systems read here. |
目前分類：Advanced Manuals進階溝通手冊 (8)
Objective: The speech to inform
Title: What determines the price of oil?
On Sep 15th, 2008, Lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy. That event alarmed the downturn of world economy. Since then different economic crises around the world happened. People suffered from losing big money in investments, salary cut or even worse losing jobs. But there is one good thing happened, the oil price went down sharply.
I am an insurance agent. I have to drive a lot to visit people around Taiwan. The bill of oil for my car has been a big burden for me, especially when the oil price is over $70(US$) per barrel. That high oil price period lasted for 13 months, from Sep 2007 to Sep 2008. During that period, I had to quit my favorite coffee-caramel macchiato(焦糖瑪奇朵) to spare money for the expensive oil bill. Right now, the oil price is below $50 per barrel. I can enjoy having caramel macchiato at my favorite coffee shop StarBucks without worrying about running out of budget.
Dear T/M! The price of oil mattered a lot to my life. I am curious about what determines the price of oil and am going to share some knowledge about that with you.
Traditionally, the oil price is made according to relation of supply to demand. Supply cut or strong demand will push up oil price.
In the history, the supply cut from oil exporting countries made the price of oil surging, e.g.:
.Yom Kippur War(以阿戰爭)- Arab Oil Embargo(石油禁運)
The Yom Kippur War(以阿戰爭) started with an attack on Israel by Syria and Egypt in October, 1973. The United States and many countries in the western world showed support for Israel. As a result of this support several Arab oil exporting nations imposed an oil embargo(石油禁運) on the countries supporting Israel. The supply cut pushed oil price from $3 in 1972 to $12 in 1974.
.Iranian revolution and Iran-Iraq(兩伊戰爭) wars
The Iranian revolution happened in 1979. A new government led by Khomeini(柯梅尼) replaced the old government. The revolution weakened Iran. Then Iran was invaded by Iraq in Sep 1980.
Both Iran and Iraq are the members of OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
The combination of the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq War resulted in the oil production cut in both countries. The supply cut caused oil prices to increase from $14 in 1978 to $35 in 1981.
Strong demands will push up oil price, too. The strong demand for oil from rapid growth in China, India and other emerging economies push up the oil price from 2002 to 2006.
Now, there is another factor affects the oil price, speculation(投機).
In the past OPEC controlled the oil price, but now the Wall Street determines the oil price.
From the history of world economy, most of the times, we are suffering from inflation. This situation makes us put money in gold, oil and real estate to hedge(避險) against rising inflation. Oil has become a form of investment. People invest their money into oil market, even though they do not have a strong demand for oil.
By purchasing large number of future contracts of oil, speculators push up oil prices.
In the most recent sustained run-up in oil prices, from January 2007 to July 2008, large financial institutions had been pouring billions of dollars into the oil markets to try to take advantage of price changes. The USA economy has been slowing down in that period. The price of oil is supposed to come down, but it doubled in less than two years, from $50 to $140.
The world economy has been suffering from deep recession since the subprime mortgage crisis started in the United States two years ago. Every government is trying very hard to implement different economy stimulus plans . Their major strategies are pouring huge amount of money to stimulate economy. When more and more money are pouring into the market, the inflation will be back.
Currently, the oil price is around $40 per barrel. But it will bounce back or get even higher when the economy is booming and the rising inflation is a concern again. What is your strategy to deal with another round of run-up in oil prices? Dear T/Ms !
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A13 The Roast- Chad
Toastmasters of the Evening says:
Ladies and Gentlemen, today is Albert’s promotion celebration party. I hope you are enjoyed. As I know some of you have known Albert for many years, but some of you do not know much about Albert. Let us take this opportunity to see what we shall update about him. And Chad would like to give some words in this party. Let us welcome Chad.
Hello Albert, it is so great to join your celebration party today. You must have a big big big sales in your job, don’t you. Otherwises, in this bad time when economy is stepping into recession, and you can get a promotion. This proves your performance must be awesome. Or, your manager was just lay off so they put you into that position? Or your boss is an old lady?
Trust me, Ladies and Gentlemen, this promising young man has magical attraction to old women. Most of his big clients are those rich old women. And they are even have Albert’s Fans Club. Just like 許純美 is crazy about 小狼狗. But, trust me, Albert is selling mutual funds & government bonds only, nothing else. However, I still can not figure out one thing until today. Albert could easily marry a rich woman and be taken care like a kid. And live a happy life like Prince and….Queen for rest of life. On the opposite, he made a strange decision to marry a little girl and take care of her like baby sitter every day and night. He can not resist of little girl’s attraction, right? No, Albert is a man who prefers to give rather than being given. So he gives love to his wife, gives money to his family, gives time to friends and only takes money from customers. What a promising young man!
Albert is an energetic young man who used to sleep 4 hours a day (it is 30% of yours only, Sunday). He will do studying, reading books, writing poetry, playing the violin, and go exercising. In a day, he can go swimming in the morning, playing basketball in the afternoon and get a 5000 meters jogging after dinner. Before sleeping, another 100 push-ups shall be done, otherwise, he can not fall in to sleep because he is not tired enough. Thanks God, we have banks in this world. And the good thing is we have financial crisis recently. So Albert can fully diver his energy into it. And devote his genius-like talents into this bank system to see a way out. See… he got a promotion.
His superman’s energy also leads him to join the Marine in military. Do you remember that? He was coming back from military to give speech with a man-power body shape and doing push-ups in front of everybody. I forget what the speech title is. I guess it shall be something about “Demonstration of push-ups” or “the correct way to do push-ups. But, I am very sure that Toastmasters speech manuals do not have this kind of project.
The fact is at the moment, he looked like a Beer. Girls and boys were eager to get a bite of his muscle. Yes, includes some boys. He didn’t look like now at all. So, Albert, is it because of we are having two cute Pandas coming to Taiwan, and you see everybody likes this new image. So you force yourself to change your out looking? You look so cute like Panda now. That Taiwan Black Beer is disappeared. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know that Pandas can eat 30Kg bamboo in a day and have 5 Kg poo poo in one time? I have no ideas if this Panda in this room can do the same or not.
At least one thing we know that Pandas are very popular. Everybody likes to be with them. Albert has the same attraction to everybody. He is friendly and easygoing. It is always comfortable to be with him. After having this new out looking, Albert does not have to worry about sleeping anymore. Before, that black beer has to do 100 push-ups to have enough feeling to sleep. Now, this Panda can do 5 push-ups only when having enough sleep. He does not have to waste time running out of energy. That is a good change. Just like what Obama says: We need change. Yes we can. It is just 5 push-ups. Yes we can.
Albert, I hope I effectively point out a lot of advantages you have in your party today. Our country needs promising young man. I believe with your full energy in banks, taking from clients, giving to friends, and Panda’s popular out looking, you will bring new hopes to this society. Keep it up, promising young man!
Special Occasion Speech Project 3 THE ROAST
1. Poke fun at a particular individual in a good-natured way
2. Adapt and personalize humorous material from other sources.
3. deliver jokes and humorous stories effectively.
Time: Three to five minutes.
Used in the speaking sense, the word “roast” implies that heat is being applied to someone- that someone is being “booked” or embarrassed in some way.
Actually, a roast can be considered a positive recognition, in which an individual and his or her achievements are honored by friends, co-workers and family.
However, unlike the speech of praise, a roast relies on wit, humor and stire to convey the message.
Retirement, farewell, promotion and anniversary parties can all be occasions for roasts. Most often the individual being honored is roasted by numerous others, each delivering several minutes of material. This roast material generally consists of jokes and anecodotes about the honored guest’s person, accomplishments, escapades and eccentricities. The jokes and anecdotes are good natured- not mean-spirited- and may not even be true! But they are funny. And, best of all, at the end of the roast the recipient is given and opportunity to respond.
Preparing the Material
A successful roast begins with a willing guest of honor. This individual must be agreeable and capable of handling the verbal abuse with grace and cheerfulness. Also, you- and everone attending or participating in the roast- must know and like the person well enough, or the roast simply won’t be funny.
Once it has been established that guest is willing and is known fairly well by all who will attend, you are ready to begin assembling your roast material.
Begin by making a list of everything you know about the guest of honor, such as:
personal characteristics (including appearance and mannerisms)
travel experience
outstanding achievement
personal philosophies
If necessary, talk to the individual’s family and friends to fill in any missing information. It is important to find out as much as you can, since this information will serve as the basis for your material.
Next, select several of the above areas which have the most promising information and to which most of your audience can relate. Then begin collecting jokes and anecdotes that address these areas. You will find a great deal of material in joke books, newspapers and magazines. Then adapt the material to your guest of honor. Don’t neglect to include original jokes and stories and events that actually happened.
As an example, consider this scenario: The person you are roasting, Ed, is a co-worker, known for both his determination and for meeting deadlines against all odds, and the occasion is his promotion to vice president. Once of your joke could be, “We appreciate some delays in project X, and Ed was very upset. I said, “Ed, Rome wasn’t built in a day”. He replied, “ I wasn’t in charge of that job”. You could then talk about Ed’s contributions to the company, saying, “Ed takes credit for a lot of achievements… mine mostly. “
Remember, since this is a good humored roast rather than a sober testimonial, your jokes need not be reality-based. Instead, start with a kernel of truth, then exaggerate it or distort it to unbelievable levels. Or your story could be completely fantasy-based.
Whatever jokes or anecdotes your select. Be sure the suit you. You must be comfortable with them, and your audience must be comfortable hearing you tell them. For example, if you are normally a reserved person, no one is likely to accept a story from you about the time you and Ed performed in a rodeo together.
But they would accept your story about the marriage advice Ed once gave you.
Above all, be sure your material will not hurt the feelings of the guest of honor. Generally it is safe to poke fun at things that the guest of honor kids himself about. For example, if the guest of honor often jokes about her terrible tennis game, you can safely joke about her tennis abilities as well. Even so, ask someone close to the guest of honor to review your material beforehand to determine if anything might be offensive. If something is questionable, rewrite or eliminate it. In all cases, use good taste and avoid using profanity or “ blue” material; you risk offending or embarrassing not only the audience but the guest of honor as well.
Your Delivery
Are you uncomfortable telling a joke? Do you think that some people are just born to be funny- and you aren’t one of them? The truth is, people can tell a joke if it is right for them, if they are familiar with it, and if they have overcome their nervousness through rehearsal and coaching.
Some of the best jokes come from surprise and incongruity; when shy, quiet Nancy deliver a knockout joke, the audience will roar.
The key is rehearsal. Delivery can make or break the best material in the world. Practice your roast so thoroughly that all clumsiness, false starts and mumbled punch lines are eliminated. And remember to be yourself. Too often novice humorists try to imitate their favorite comedian, the usual result being and uncomfortable silence from the audience. Avoid such embarrassments by telling your stories and jokes in the same way you normally speak. Enunciate properly and speak slowly, remembering always to project your voice. Don’t rush through your material- especially your punch lines! Always maintain good eye contact with your audience, and use gesture naturally.
Once you feel your material is ready, rehearsal your delivery with family or friends. Ask for their advice. Should you pause in certain places for effect? Gesture a certain way? Change a joke or anecdote?
Your Project Speech
For this project, you will create and present a three-to five-minute “roast”.
The occasion- e.g., retirement banquet, anniversary ore farewell party- will be selected by you. The speech is to be humorous, including jokes and anecdotes about the honored guest that may be adapted from other sources. The presentation should be good-natured and not offend the individual or the audience.
In a farmyard, a Mother Duck sat on her nest. She was waiting for her eggs to hatch. Each day she proudly looked at them. There were six eggs, which meant six little ducklings to teach to swim.
One sunny spring morning, the first egg began to crack.
'Tap, tap, tap,' a duckling inside try to get out. Mother Duck watched as the egg cracked open and out popped a fluffy duckling.
"One," said Mother Duck proudly.
Then, in the following days, eggs were hatched one by one.
However the sixth day passing, but nothing happened. Nor on the seventh.
"How strange," said Mother Duck on the seventh day. "It should have hatched by now."
One of the farmyard chicken said;
"Oh, You're still there I thought you'd be in the pond by now."
"My last egg hasn't hatched yet." said Mother Duck. "
"Let me see," said the chicken. "Well no wonder. It looks like a goose egg to me. You'll be here for a long time."
"Oh dear," said Mother Duck. "I have my five little ducklings to teach to swim. What shall I do? I can't leave it."
"Aah well," said the chicken, and she wandered off.
The goose heard that one of her eggs was in Mother Duck's nest.
"Is it true?" she asked, as she puffed up to the nest. "Do you have one of my eggs?"
"I think so," said Mother Duck. They both looked in the nest.
"Huh," said the goose. "That's not mine. It looks more like that absent-minded turkey's egg."
As they looked, they suddenly heard the faint tapping. The shell was breaking.
"We'll soon see," said the goose.
They watched and waited.
"Oh," said the goose.
"Oh, dear," said Mother Duck, as she looked at the sixth duckling. It looked very strange, it was straggly and grey where its brothers and sisters were fluffy and yellow. It was also bigger than them.
It quacked as it saw its mother.
"Well, if it's a turkey," said the goose, "it won't swim."
Mother Duck hurried her ducklings to the pond. She waddled in and listened. Splash! Splish! Splosh! Splash! Splish! She turned and looked. All six ducklings followed her in the water.
"Oh, well," she said. "He can swim. He is definitely not a turkey."
The sixth duckling was very good at swimming, and was soon swimming better than his brothers and sisters.
When they back at the farmyard, things did not go well for the little duckling. Everyone called him an ugly duckling. The chickens laughed at him, the turkeys chased him and the geese hissed at him.
Soon even his brothers and sisters would not talk to him, but when his mother turned away, he was very sad. He decided to leave the farmyard.
One sunny morning, the duckling left the farmyard and didn't look back. He was looking for somewhere new to live.
When he'd been walking a while he came to a large lake. There were some ducks swimming on it.
He swam up to them.
"May I stay on this lake?" he asked.
"Of course," said the ducks. "We'll be moving on soon. Why don't you join us, if you're on your own?"
"Thank you," said the duckling.
The duckling stayed on the lake and day by day he grew bigger. One day he looked up to see some large white birds flying gracefully over the lake.
"They're beautiful," he whispered, and then sighed. "I wonder who they are?"
One day the ducks came to see him.
"It's autumn, and we're going now," they told him, "join us if you want to."
Some ducks began to fly up to leave, but suddenly loud bangs were heard. Two of the ducks fell from the sky. Others flew up in fright, and more fell as more bangs were heard.
The duckling ran and hid. He found a bush and stayed there until the noise had stopped. When it was quiet he sadly left the lake and headed away over the fields.
He came to another lake and there he stayed. Winter was coming and he was alone. As the days grew colder, he found that it was harder to find food.
The one morning he woke and found that he couldn't move. The lake had frozen and he was stuck in the ice. The day passed and the duckling was giving up hope of being found. But late in the afternoon a man walking his dog and saw him. He broke the ice, and the duckling was free. He ran across the ice and hid. He didn't dare to go on the ice again.
Winter passed, spring came, and the ice melted.
The duckling stretched his wings and found that they were strong enough to carry him. He flew upon and over the lake, high above the trees and fields. He should have been very happy, but he was not because he felt so lonely.
A few days later, he looked up to see the large white birds he had seen in the autumn. They looked beautiful as they landed on the lake. The duckling admired their glossy white feathers and long necks. He swam over to take a closer look at them.
"Please," he said shyly. "Will you tell me who you are. You are so beautiful and I am so ugly. I've never seen anybody like you."
"Ugly," cried one of the white birds. "How silly!"
"We're swans," said another. "Why do you think you're ugly? Look at yourself in the water."
The duckling looked and caught sight of his own reflection. He gasped in surprise, for instead of seeing a fat, grey duckling he saw a swan with a long elegant neck and a bright orange bill. "I'm like you," he cried. "I'm a swan, too."
"Definitely," said the swan, with a smile.
"Does that mean I can stay with you, and not live alone?"
"Of course," said the swans.
At that moment two children ran down to the lake. "Ooh, look!" they cried. "The swans are back and there's a new one, too. Isn't he beautiful!"
The ugly duckling stretched his neck and ruffled his feathers with pride.
Then it was time to go flying with all of the other swans and, as the duckling took off from the lake, he could see his new beautiful reflection in the water.
The Start of an Unstoppable Journey-
My first experience in Toastmasters
Six years ago, also on a Friday evening, I took my courage to stepping into a Business Building near SOGO department store in ChungLi. I took the elevator to the 3rd floor and was looking for “丞燕國際股份有限公司”. When the door of the elevator opened, I saw the sign “ChungLi Toastmasters Club” with an arrow. “Bingo. I found it.” I felt so relieved and followed the direction to enter an office. There was a young, tall and handsome man. “對不起，請問這是Toastmasters?” I asked the young man. “Yes. This is ChungLi Toastmasters Club. My name is Albert. Are you a guest?” “我是Amy” “Oh, Amy, nice to meet you.” The man stretched out his hand. I felt uncomfortable but still shook hands with him in a stiff manner. “Amy, the meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. Now, we are just preparing the meeting room. Please just wait for a moment.
Just few weeks ago of that evening, I googled “learning English” and found ”Toastmasters”. What captured my attention was that it said it’s a non-profit organization for learning communication and leadership skills as well as improving English speaking ability! At that time, I thought “non-profit” equaled to “free”. Therefore, I decided to visit a club in ChungLi. But when I discovered that the meeting place was located in “丞燕國際股份有限公司” -- -- a direct sales company, I felt hesitated about my decision. Think about it. Why a non-profit organization holds its meeting in a direct sales company?
Even though there were so many doubts and question marks in my mind. I still want to take a look at Toastmasters. On one hand, I was so curious about what “Toastmasters” is; on the other hand, I was also worried about my safety in this strange place. Is this a trap? Is this a con game?
When I wait for the meeting, I wondered what if they persuade me to buy any products? What if they ask me to sign any paper, or invite me to join their company and become their agent, what should I do? When I imagined all kinds of scenarios in my brain, the meeting room was set up. They invited me to have a seat. As smart as I am, I picked a seat, which was closer to the door. I planned if I feel the atmosphere is not right, I can leave the meeting room at any time.
When Time approached to 7:00 p.m., more people came into the meeting room. They shook hands with each other naturally, and talked to each other in English fluently. In fact, when I watched their interaction, I was overwhelmed by complicated feelings and thoughts, such as strange, uncomfortable, curiosity and expectation.
Finally, the meeting started. A man called everyone to stand up and put their hands on their chests and read out the vow. Read out the vow? It was kind of like attending a religious or political gathering. My fear was growing once again. And I hesitated to leave or to stay, to leave or to stay, to leave or it’s too late.
After the vow, a charming lady Sophia Lin conducted the meeting and everything proceeded as planned. With the meeting going on, my worries and fears were replaced by surprise. The meeting was different from what I imagined. It was alive with laughters and claps. What impressed me the most was that almost everyone could speak English very well. I almost can’t believe that this is what happened in Taiwan.
Tell the truth, at that time, my English was very poor. Before attending the meeting, I told myslef, to avoid acting like a fool, I must follow the golden rule that is “do what other people do” in case I don’t understand what they are talking about. So, when everyone laughed, I laughed, too. When everyone clapped, I clapped, too. Even I didn’t know what they laughed at or why they clapped for. I just followed. And this golden rule really worked. It made me safe in the whole meeting.
Until the table topics master called my name, the nightmare came to me. The master invited me to say something about a topic. However, I even didn’t understand what her question was. At that moment, my brain went blank, and my tongue was twisted. I didn’t know what to say. All members stared at me and nothing left. Few seconds later, I found my only answer, “I don’t know.” And my face turned from white to red to green to white to pale. I was so embarrassed at the moment.
It seemed to be a torture to me in the rest of the meeting. “I don’t know.” The three words repeated themselves again and again, over and over in my mind. When the meeting came to an end, I rushed home even without saying Goodbye to anyone.
Time flies. Six years passed and when I recall those memories, the images are still vivid and look like what happened just yesterday. The first visit to a Toastmasters club was an unforgettable experience, and it also brought me to start a journey that never ends. Dear fellow members and distinguished guests, did you still remember your first impression of Toastmasters?
Date: Oct. 3, 2008
Title: The man we respect
Speaker: Chad Huang, ACB, CL
Project No. : A12
Advance Manual: Occasion Speeches - Speaking in Phraise
Family members of Mr. Ma, ladies and Gentleman. Today we sit here together on a Saturday morning is for the same reason –To remember our beloved friend, Jerry Ma and say goodbye to this forever young man.
Jerry was a man who enjoyed life’s beauty and added colors to his life. He was the one teaching us like a mentor, joking with us like a close friend and playing with us like a child. Laughter and wisdom always accompanied him wherever he went People enjoyed being with him.
With 26 years Toastmasters membership since 1980, Jerry had dedicated himself to this organization and successfully chartered many clubs. Not to mention how many people were inspired by his encouraging words, which led them to a happy life.
No matter what, Jerry was always supportive to members who gave speeches. He always said positive words to encourage them to continue. However sometimes in his evaluation, he played a naughty game. We usually followed the candy theory: KISS, KICK, KISS. But, he always said KISS, KICK, then KILL. Then, you would see a naughty smile on his face. That was followed by everyone’s laughter in the whole meeting room. But, he still could bring it back to the serious part. Kelly remembers he said: “there is no perfect speech in meetings. The perfect speech only happens on your way home.” There is always some room for improvement and it’s always good to listen to other’s evaluation. On one hand, he encouraged you to move forward. On the other hand, he mentioned the spirit of self-reflection.
Serving as A4 Governor from 1989 to 1995, in these 5 years, Jerry helped build the Taoyuan, ChungLi and Hsinchu clubs, as well as many other language clubs. He said “I go to Sampo clubs on Monday, Mandarin club on Tuesday, Taiwanese club on Wednesday, Bilingual club on Thursday, and come to Chungli club on Friday.” And on weekends, he went to a dancing club and bible study class. He was so busy, but he enjoyed his life. So people here in Taoyuan area call him “the God Father”. There is no question about that
The source of his power and inspiration was his interest in everything. One of our members, Elaine, said “she remembers how Jerry was so interested in leaning things because his mind was always open to new ideas. In his upper pocket, he has one small booklet attached with one pen which looked very old from outside. However, on the inside were a lot of beautiful sentences and words. Whenever he heard golden words or funny stories, he took out this Treasure Box and put them in.
In school, he encouraged students to stand on stage to give presentations and trained them to evaluate each other. In daily life, he brought his friends to Toastmasters club. Because in his mind, to spread happiness in a learning group with everybody was the most enjoyable thing in his life.
Many members around Taiwan, including you and me, said we received a lot from Jerry’s concrete supports in both actions and words. And they were shocked and sad to hear he has said goodbye to everybody. But, what we shall do is to take over his spirit and spread it over to the circle of our lives. Since we have benefited from others for ages, why don’t we stand up to become the givers? Ladies and Gentlemen, just like what Jerry said in his Inaugural Speech of District Governor in 1998, Toastmasters is a land of opportunity, which is available to everyone. Toastmasters is a door, open to all individuals. If, at his age he could say he was the youngest in the club, who can say he is too old to move and too late to start? If Jerry could spread out his influential power to so many people and enjoy every minute of his life including the last minute of that in dancing, why can’t we add more colors in our lives in the same way? Let us salute our forever mentor and follow his spirit and example. And put him in our memory forever. Toastmasters
Dear All,
原本預定要在9/12晚 上場的演講，因為颱風來插花，所以沒上場，不過先把稿子上傳給大家先睹為快。 確定延期至何時，我會在那之前做好充份的準備，以不辜負Elaine 替為修改的文法、用法。 常在想Eliane 真的是為熱心又有愛心的 會員，即使已經離開台灣，回美國，甚至現在去了韓國，都還是心念著中壢演講會的朋友，真是感動。 每次都主動要求看我的演講稿，要幫我修飾。 真是太感謝了，有位美藉的英文教授幫我修改文法，真是位超級的 mentor. 希望各位member 也可以常與Eliane 保持聯絡，她會很熱心幫各位的。
我 發現除了文法有很多錯誤外，英文用法還須要多學學英文母語的人。
Honorable guests and Fellow toastmasters, good evening.
(Playing music & driving) That was an early morning around quarter pass 8. I was driving on my way to my customer’s office. When you drive on the main street in Saudi Arabia, 80 ~90 kilometer per hour is very slow. At least I have to step on the power and speed up to 120. But, if you think I am taking the lead on street, you better take a look at those impatient taxi drivers from the rear mirror. Their facial expression was like (pretending yielding…etc). But, I do not have time to slow down my car just for these Pakistan terrorist drivers. . I got an appointment to meet at 8:30. So I step on the power to full speed. I see the speed meter is getting out of control. 120, 125, 130, 134, 136, 140. And I also see the LED digital number on temperature meter is also getting higher and higher, 27, 28 , 29, 30, 31… At this moment, Arabic signer: Nancy’s uplifted song, playing loudly inside this Honda Civic under 40 degree’s sunshine and mixing up with those taxi driver’s facial dance. I do not know the heat is coming from the engine or from the wind, or from the Sun, or from my inner body. I start sweating and I see the time on screen is approaching 8:29. I turn on the turbo and fly in the wind. I see 135, 137 140, 145, 146… Bang!
I see the front door of the office on my left hand. Making a quick U turn and shutting down all the sound at the parking space.
(Knocking door sound)
Nasir: Good morning, Mr. Chad! Welcome. What happen to you? Did you just come back from Jungle? Ha Ha…
Chad: Yeah… it is amazing. It rains like cats and dogs in my car!
Nasir: Anyway, how is everything? How is business? Do you want some coffee or tea?
Chad: Yes! Ice coffee, please. Mr. Nasir, (His full name is Nasir Al Odan, but they usually call each other’s first name with Mr. at the front. This will make them feel we are close like friends. So we call each other’s first name. However, on the other hand, they call you Mr. in order make you feel respected. )
Chad: Mr. Nasir, did you get my quotation of the Chinese machines? Is everything fine? I got the full support from their sales manager on price. Why I don’t see your reply?
Nasir: yeah… Mr. Chad… you know that is the problem. Chinese give price to everybody. If you ask, they give it to you. It is not like European or Unite States’ system. The price will only give it to the local agents. But, in China, No. The market is completed open! They sell tissue paper, pencils, cars on internet. If you open one account from Yahoo and send email to them, they send you back with price immediately. And the interesting is, every time price is different like your stock market. Take a look at this. (but do not tell me I show you this price)
(Show up two papers)
Nasir: Honestly speaking, how many percentage you put on your commission?
I am still staring at that two number on the two papers. And I am trying to use the most basic mathematics to figure out they are the same things or not. The time is stop and the air in that office is also squeezed into a small air bag. This air bag is in my hands and wait for me to blow it off. I see the clock behind on the wall behind him. It is 8:47am. I picked up the cup with Ice tea and sip a little bit. The Ice water rushes into my stomach and wakes me up. I rise up my right hand and said: 5
Nasir: Only 5%? But, you see it is a 40% different here. Your price is 40% higher than this. You see it is from the same company, same machine model. Anyway, please figure it out. We do not think they are very honest and we do not feel safe. That is why we need you to help us to get a better price. It is very difficult to know their mentality. We think you have same language and same culture. You can talk to them easily and understand what they think.
(I heard an inner voice from my heart replying him: No, not at all! It is also very difficult for me to know Chinese people’s logics)
I come back to call this Chinese sales manager and prepare to have a big fight. Guess what? The answer surprises me. He said: if you think my company’s price is too high, I have one friend making the same machine and the price is very low. Please take the machine from him. This answer really confuses me a whole day. This manager works in A company, but he is more willing to promote B company’s machine. It is so complicated. After that phone call, I just want to go to sleep.
3 months ago, I always think the most difficult business in the world is to deal with Indian or Arabian people. And I did it in passing 3 years. But, 3 months later, I found that it is even more difficult to control the business with Chinese, even I have the same language, same culture, and same blood. And now the hot potato is still on my hand. What shall I reply to Mr. Nasir?? If you have any good solution, come to me and I will buy you a ticket to Saudi Arabia.
|
We most likely all have a pretty good intuitive idea of what a video game is. The basic term “video game” includes board games like chess and also Monopoly, card games like texas hod’em and also blakjack, casio video games like live roulette and slot machines, armed forces dry run, computer games, various type of play amongst youngsters, and also the list goes on. In academic community we in some cases mention game concept, in which numerous representatives choose strategies as well as tactics in order to maximize their gains within the structure of a well-defined collection of video game rules. When utilized in the context of console or computer-based home entertainment, the word “game” generally invokes pictures of a three-dimensional virtual globe featuring a humanoid, animal or vehicle as the major character under player control. (Or for the old geezers among us, probably it brings to mind pictures of two-dimensional standards like Pong, Pac-Man, or Donkey Kong.) In his excellent publication, A Theory of Fun for Game Design, Raph Koster defines a game to be an interactive experience that offers the player with a progressively difficult series of patterns which he or she learns and eventually masters. Koster’s asser-tion is that the activities of discovering and grasping go to the heart of what we call “fun,” just as a joke becomes amusing right now we “get it” by recognizing the pattern.
Video Gamings as Soft Real-Time Simulations
Most 2- and three-dimensional video games are instances of what computer researchers would certainly call soft real-time interactive agent-based computer system simulations. Allow’s damage this phrase down in order to better comprehend what it implies. In a lot of computer games, some part of the real world -or a fictional world- is designed mathematically so that it can be manipulated by a computer. The version is an estimate to as well as a simplification of fact (even if it’s an imaginary fact), due to the fact that it is clearly impractical to consist of every information down to the degree of atoms or quarks. For this reason, the mathematical model is a simulation of the real or visualized video game globe. Approximation and simplification are two of the video game developer’s most powerful tools. When used skillfully, even a significantly simplified design can occasionally be virtually equivalent from reality and also a great deal extra fun.
An agent-based simulation is one in which a number of unique entities referred to as “representatives” interact. This fits the description of the majority of three-dimensional computer games quite possibly, where the representatives are cars, characters, fireballs, power dots and more. Given the agent-based nature of most games, it ought to come as no surprise that a lot of video games nowadays are applied in an object-oriented, or at the very least loosely object-based, setting language.
All interactive computer game are temporal simulations, suggesting that the vir- tual game globe model is dynamic-the state of the video game globe modifications gradually as the game’s events and also tale unravel. A computer game need to likewise respond to unforeseeable inputs from its human gamer(s)-therefore interactive temporal simulations. Ultimately, most computer games offer their stories as well as reply to player input in real time, making them interactive real-time simulations.
One remarkable exception remains in the group of turn-based games like electronic chess or non-real-time strategy games. But even these sorts of games normally supply the customer with some type of real-time icon.
What Is a Game Engine?
The term “game engine” developed in the mid-1990s of first-person shooter (FPS) video games like the hugely prominent Ruin by id Software program. Ruin was architected with a sensibly well-defined splitting up between its core software application components (such as the three-dimensional graphics providing system, the collision detection system or the audio system) and the art possessions, game globes as well as policies of play that comprised the player’s video gaming experience. The worth of this splitting up ended up being noticeable as developers began certifying games and also retooling them into brand-new items by creating new art, globe layouts, tools, personalities, vehicles and also video game guidelines with only very little adjustments to the “engine” software program. This marked the birth of the “mod neighborhood”-a group of individual players and also tiny independent studios that developed new video games by modifying existing games, utilizing totally free toolkits pro- vided by the original developers. Towards the end of the 1990s, some video games like Quake III Sector and Unbelievable were made with reuse and “modding” in mind. Engines were made extremely adjustable via scripting languages like id’s Quake C, and engine licensing began to be a sensible secondary profits stream for the developers who produced them. Today, video game developers can accredit a game engine and recycle considerable parts of its key software program elements in order to develop games. While this technique still includes considerable investment in custom software engineering, it can be a lot more cost-effective than developing every one of the core engine parts in-house. The line in between a game and its engine is frequently fuzzy.
Some engines make a reasonably clear distinction, while others make virtually no attempt to divide the two. In one game, the rendering code may “know” specifi-cally exactly how to draw an orc. In one more video game, the making engine may supply general-purpose material and also shielding facilities, and “orc-ness” could be specified totally in data. No workshop makes a perfectly clear separation between the game as well as the engine, which is easy to understand considering that the interpretations of these two elements usually move as the video game’s layout strengthens.
Perhaps a data-driven architecture is what distinguishes a game engine from an item of software that is a video game however not an engine. When a video game has hard-coded reasoning or video game regulations, or uses special-case code to make certain types of video game things, it becomes challenging or difficult to reuse that software to make a different video game. We need to most likely schedule the term “video game engine” for software application that is extensible as well as can be used as the structure for several games without major adjustment.
Plainly this is not a black-and-white difference. We can think about a gamut of reusability onto which every engine falls. One would think that a video game engine could be something akin to Apple QuickTime or Microsoft Windows Media Player-a general-purpose item of software efficient in playing virtually any kind of video game content conceivable. Nevertheless, this ideal has not yet been achieved (and also might never ever be). The majority of video game engines are thoroughly crafted and also fine-tuned to run a certain game on a specific equipment system. And also also one of the most general-purpose multiplatform engines are really just suitable for building video games in one particular style, such as first-person shooters or competing games. It’s risk-free to claim that the more general-purpose a video game engine or middleware part is, the much less optimum it is for running a specific video game on a specific platform.
This phenomenon takes place because developing any kind of reliable piece of software application usually requires making compromises, and also those compromises are based upon assumptions about just how the software program will certainly be used and/or about the target equipment on which it will run. For example, a making engine that was made to handle intimate interior environments possibly won’t be great at making huge outdoor atmospheres. The indoor engine might use a binary space partitioning (BSP) tree or portal system to make certain that no geometry is drawn that is being occluded by wall surfaces or items that are closer to the camera. The outside engine, on the various other hand, might utilize a less-exact occlusion mechanism, or none in all, yet it most likely makes aggressive use level-of-detail (LOD) methods to ensure that remote objects are rendered with a minimal variety of triangulars, while making use of high-resolution triangle fits together for geome-try that is close to the camera.
The development of ever-faster hardware and specialized graphics cards, together with ever-more-efficient making algorithms and also information structures, is beginning to soften the distinctions in between the graphics engines of various navigate here styles. It is now feasible to use a first-person shooter engine to develop a real-time technique video game, for instance. However, the compromise in between generalization and also optimality still exists. A video game can constantly be made more impressive by fine-tuning the engine to the certain needs and also hagz restraints of a specific game and/or hardware platform. |
EMACS Design and Implementation of Indoor Environment Monitoring and Control System
Advanced Aircraft anti-collision system using Zigbee communication and reporting to ground station over internet of things (IoT)
With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as smartphones, sensors, cameras. It is possible to collect massive amount of data for localization and tracking of Aircraft Collisions. An aircraft collision system is designed is to track the signal. Aircraft intelligent system better suits in all areas for tracking signal which is close to the aircraft device. It is necessary to have an intelligent system which identifies collision before it happens and informs the driver to alert or regulate the speed of the aircraft and to move if it is very close to collision.
This project is an advanced wireless zigbee communication by which it detects if any aircraft is coming nearer to another aircraft by giving an Led indication as well as buzzer sound along with LCD display. In this project we are using AT89S52 as its Controller.
In this project IR is placed to track various frequencies emitted. The system is provided with Led and buzzer. If user moves the aircraft, antenna tracks for a corresponding signal the rotation of antenna is based on the signal tracked by IR. Once the signal is traced Led blinks with a buzzer sound and the data is displayed on the LCD. In this way we can track the signal and can avoid the collision with the desired frequency signal.
This project uses regulated 5V, 750mA power supply. 7805 three terminal voltage regulator is used for voltage regulation. Bridge type full wave rectifier is used to rectify the ac out put of secondary of 230/18V step down transformer.
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Critical essays on the colour purple
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words (5 pages) Preview - Abuse, particularly when it comes to black women, often occurred in the early twentieth century. This evolution of the characters is a recurring theme that runs throughout the novel and can be tracked by Celies letters. . The understanding of diverse attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, practices, and communication patterns attributable to a variety of factors (such as race, ethnicity, religion, SES, historical and social context. 1- The setting for is short story was based on inter-racial issues from a moral and spiritual perspective.
Their experiences were considered trivial because they were always subordinated to them. . It was adapted from a novel written by Alice Walker that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. S sister Kate, Harpo's wife Sofia. Yet Alice Walker chose this as the central theme of her novel The Color Purple. Better Essays 676 words (1.9 pages preview - In todays advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. Her only way to express her feelings is through private. Jeanette from Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and Celie from The Color Purple are two very different, young women who have struggled through their lives. The book was written by an American. Alice Walker used very different styles of language for different characters in the book, which are Celie and Nettie. First he put his thing up against my hip and sort of wiggle it around. One is a missionary in Africa and the other is a child wife living in the south. |
The weather effects every day of our lives. Barely a day goes by that most people don't check out the day's weather forecast, or maybe even the forecast for the next ten days. A phenomenon that meteorologist have linked to weather patterns around the globe is known as El Niño. We have heard both plausible and incredible accounts of the effects of El Niño in the
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
So...what is all the big fuss about El Niño? Here are some sites to give you some background on El Niño:
Do you remember whether the 1997-98 El Niño affected the weather where you live? What should we expect when El Niño strikes next?
From the information you gathered from the El Niño web sites, how do you think El Niño should have affected the weather where you live?
Whether or not El Niño really did affect our weather is still being debated. How would you determine whether El Niño affected the weather in the ways you predicted?
Activity created by Philip Molebash
Adapted from an activity created by Randy Bell. Margaret Niess and Lynn Bell |
Environmental Legislation for Humanity
When two members of Congress introduced the Green New Deal last month, both right and left tensed up in ways rarely seen. The ensuing vitriol will provide a specimen of history for future students of political science, a perfect example of the routine divisiveness that accompanies modern hyper-polarized politics. Many argue that the deal was a testament to the two politicians’ ignorance of failed past policies; others have validated it, citing calculations of supposed social improvement and economic growth. Lost amid the rancorous debate is the heart of the bill, which aims to preserve the sanctity of nature that still exists, and to restore that which has been lost, for our posterity (and hopefully ourselves) to enjoy.
Unlike most political issues, environmental legislation should be a source of agreement. Few people, even among those who deny climate science, want to harm the environment, and most seem to be open to reasonable proposals that would ease our collective impact on the earth. Problems arise when environmentalists jump to extreme, politicized measures without taking into consideration the impact of those policies on individuals. To be palatable in our divided political environment, legislation needs to benefit our natural world, while acknowledging the associated economic and individual costs. Such a compromise would not only have bipartisan support in the United States, but would also constitute a gesture of goodwill towards other countries.
Rather than fundamentally restructuring society to achieve a sustainable future, we need to find the best way of maintaining humanity’s current economic and societal progress, while also pursuing practical environmental policies. One good first step is to identify problems that are both solvable with current technology and that, as environmental expert Mallen Baker has recently argued, benefit everyone. For example, some types of fish contain factory-produced mercury, which has seeped into our oceans, and we are also now finding many fish full of microplastic debris. These tiny particles can cause substantial internal damage in animals—among other, potentially unknown, problems. Smog has engulfed cities like Beijing, whose citizens are now at risk of severe respiratory issues. We are also trying to wean ourselves off oil and coal, but the proposed alternatives don’t generate the necessary amount of energy at a comparable cost. These are not (and should not be) political issues, but they get framed as such when they get mixed with a partisan agenda. Fortunately, we don’t need to radically restructure our society to solve them.
The prevalence of microplastics in the ecosystem is relatively new. Not only are they found in our oceans, but we are seeing them in other parts of the food chain, too—the chain of which humans are the apex. The research is still on-going, but some scientists are beginning to see the detrimental effects of these particles on our internal biology. What are the primary sources of these tiny specks? Single-use plastics, as well as those used in the manufacturing process are the main culprits, along with synthetic fabrics and other modern staples. Something has to be done. But, rather than banning plastic outright, policy should use tax breaks to incentivize companies to use recycled plastic or other biodegradable materials in their production processes. Additional tax revenue generated from the inevitable growth of the plastic alternatives industry would then fund additional research into the plastics already in our environment and seek to minimize their lasting impact.
Governments have proven tremendously effective at reducing smog in cities, especially in places like New York. With the benefit of hindsight, we can study the policies that have worked, to create a model for the rest of the country. Public projects that call for more green space in cities—from public parks to bike lanes lined with trees—have been successful. They also have the added benefit of making city spaces more enjoyable for their inhabitants by cleaning the congested air. To further limit air pollution, New York, among other metropolises, is now modernizing its MTA system by working with private companies Proterra and New Flyer to grow its fleet of electric buses. This reduces our day-to-day smog, cleaning the atmosphere in the process. Our lives are healthier as a result, and the environment is better off. Rather than forcing everyone to stop using their cars, policy should implement—or further develop—reliable, electric public transportation in New York and other cities.
Our legislation would not be complete if we did not discuss the reality we face with respect to oil, coal and renewable energy sources. Renewables can supply neither our current nor our projected energy needs at a reasonable cost. While those costs have come down in recent years and are expected to fall further, we still need to consider all the alternatives now. In a recent post in Quillette, Michael Shellenberger provides a comprehensive overview of one of these alternatives—nuclear power—and its benefits. He demonstrates that not only is it vastly superior to sources such as wind and solar in terms of safety and power generation, but it is cleaner than fossil fuels. Legislation revitalizing the industry would be relatively straightforward to implement. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) could communicate clear and concise rules for the industry, and actively work with companies to develop safer ways to extract energy from nuclear material. As entrepreneurs put their ideas into action, we will see breakthroughs that are only theoretical now. By capitalizing on nuclear power (and thus cutting back on oil and coal), we can reduce emissions, while maintaining current energy costs. This would also give us more time to develop renewable technology to the point at which it is cheap enough for practical use, a win-win for everyone.
We have to be frank about our goals. While transitioning to nuclear, we can work with researchers to bring down the cost of carbon-capture technology and to encourage entrepreneurs to implement it widely. The processes for this are already in motion: according to the International Energy Agency, “the Unites States [sic]…in 2018 introduced a significant stimulus for CCUS [carbon, capture, utilization, and storage] investment with the passage of legislation to expand and enhance the so-called 45Q tax credit.” Ensuring that vital programs like these remain funded is a necessary bridge to a time in which the free market implements a clean, viable alternative to oil.
The government does not have to be—and should not be—the sole provider of solutions. With regard to plastic, policy can incentivize people to act in an environmentally friendly way, by providing tax breaks to people who buy biodegradable products or to the companies that produce them, which often has the positive effect of saving people money as well. The same thing goes for air quality: permanent tax breaks (as opposed to subsidies or temporary measures) for companies that use carbon-mitigating technology on smokestacks and in consumer vehicles will go a long way towards curbing smog. Finally, nuclear energy startups are already trying to convince the NRC to more clearly articulate rules governing research and development in that area. Congress should buttress their efforts by providing them with additional protections from legal wrangling, of the kind enjoyed by startups in other fields.
Some might suggest that proposals like these don’t do enough to curtail the possibly substantial changes to our environment. Unfortunately, they might be right. These policy suggestions are a mere step in the right direction: they de-politicize the conversation so that our policymakers can discuss additional legislation. Such proposals do not have to be part of a larger agenda. The fact that we have seen recent op-eds on this from various sides of the aisle reflects a growing recognition that the debate is currently too one-sided to be effective. It also demonstrates a growing commitment to reducing humanity’s impact on the environment without enlarging the government or promoting a single agenda, an important point about which many Americans care deeply. We don’t need politicized legislation to help protect our environment—just sensible proposals.
We will inevitably see radical legislation when the debate on climate is politicized. Rather than allowing such an agenda to dominate the conversation about the natural world, we need to think about plausible alternatives that will respect the natural world, while benefiting humanity. Perhaps each step will be small, but a small step is better than nothing. Once each group realizes that there are issues affecting us now, and that solving them will stave off a potentially horrible disaster, we might be able to find additional reliable, apolitical solutions to our collective crisis. We must remember that our climate problems impact both sides: the environment is way too important for politics.
1. This will fall mostly on deaf ears and blind eyes, suffice it to say that the ecological debate is just another log on the funeral pyre of the will of man.
Mankind is incapable of getting anything right, even though since the beginning of time all sides in every argument insist that we can get it right if only the other side would just see it differently and change.
Sorry, the fuse was lit ages ago and we are seconds away from the BIG BOOM…Come to Christ Jesus because you’re almost out of time and if you think me saying that is a fear tactic you’re right, BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID, BECAUSE YOUR FATE AWAITS YOU. tick tock..
2. The problem with environmental issues is that they were long ago hijacked by the far left. “Either implement socialism *right now* or the whole planet gets it, see!” We see this with the climate hysteria. It’s being used as a battering ram to push a global governance. Globalism will benefit nobody but our ruling class. It already crushed our working class, which is why they voted for Trump.
“Food chain” is an outdated, deprecated word that I’m sad to see used by intellectuals. Food web was the replacement when I was in high school. This was in the 90s.
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demand forecasting
Here’s a quick overview of the demand forecasting process and techniques.
What is Demand Forecasting?
Demand Forecasting is the process in which historical sales data is used to develop an estimate of an expected forecast of customer demand. To businesses, Demand Forecasting provides an estimate of the amount of goods and services that its customers will purchase in the foreseeable future. Critical business assumptions like turnover, profit margins, cash flow, capital expenditure, risk assessment and mitigation plans, capacity planning, etc. are dependent on Demand
Demand Forecasting types
Demand Forecasting can be broadly classified based on the level of detailing, time span considered and the scope of market considered.
Outlined below are the major types of Demand Forecasting:
• Passive Demand Forecasting: Passive Demand Forecasting is carried out for stable businesses with very conservative growth plans. Simple extrapolations of historical data is carried out with minimal assumptions. This is a rare type of forecasting limited to small and local businesses.
• Active Demand Forecasting: Active Demand Forecasting is carried out for scaling and diversifying businesses with aggressive growth plans in terms of marketing activities, product portfolio expansion and consideration of competitor activities and external economic environment.
• Short-term Demand Forecasting: Short-term Demand Forecasting is carried out for a shorter term period of 3 months to 12 months. In the short term, the seasonal pattern of demand and the effect of tactical decisions on the customer demand are taken into consideration.
• Medium to long-term Demand Forecasting: Medium to long-term Demand Forecasting is typically carried out for more than 12 months to 24 months in advance (36-48 months in certain businesses). Long-term Forecasting drives the business strategy planning, sales and marketing planning, financial planning, capacity planning, capital expenditure, etc.
• External macro level Demand Forecasting: This type of Forecasting deals with the broader market movements which depend on the macroeconomic environment. External Forecasting is carried out for evaluating the strategic objectives of a business like product portfolio expansion, entering new customer segments, technological disruptions, a paradigm shift in consumer behavior and risk mitigation strategies.
• Internal business level Demand Forecasting: As the name suggests, this type of Forecasting deals with internal operations of the business such as product category, sales division, financial division, and manufacturing group. This includes annual sales forecast, estimation of COGS, net profit margin, cash flow, etc.
Read More: We compared the Accuracy of 4 Different Demand Forecasting Methods; Here’s What We Found
Demand Forecasting examples
Some real-world practical examples of Demand Forecasting are – A leading car maker, refers to the last 12 months of actual sales of its cars at model, engine type, and color level; and based on the expected growth, forecasts the short-term demand for the next 12 month for purchase, production and inventory planning purposes.
A leading food manufacturing company refers to the last 24 months of actual sales of its highly seasonal products like soups and mashed potatoes. An analysis is carried out at the flavor and packaging size level. Then based on the market potential, demand is forecasted for the next 12 to 24 months for sourcing of key ingredients like tomatoes, potatoes, etc. and for capacity planning and evaluating the need for external co-packing.
Importance of Demand Forecasting
Demand Forecasting is the pivotal business process around which strategic and operational plans of a company are devised. Based on the Demand Forecast, strategic and long-range plans of a business like budgeting, financial planning, sales and marketing plans, capacity planning, risk assessment and mitigation plans are formulated.
Short to medium term tactical plans like pre-building, make-to-stock, make-to-order, contract manufacturing, supply planning, network balancing, etc. are execution based. Demand Forecasting also facilitates important management activities like decision making, performance evaluation, judicious allocation of resources in a constrained environment and business expansion planning.
Read More: Demand Management Best Practices
Demand Forecasting methods
One of the most important steps of the Demand Forecasting process is the selection of the appropriate method for Demand Forecasting. Demand can be forecasted using (A) Qualitative methods or (B) Quantitative methods as explained below:
1. Qualitative methods:
• The Delphi Technique: A panel of experts are appointed to produce a Demand Forecast. Each expert is asked to generate a forecast of their assigned specific segment. After the initial forecasting round, each expert reads out their forecast and in the process, each expert is influenced by other experts. A consequent forecast is again made by all experts and the process is repeated until all experts reach a near consensus scenario.
• Sales Force Opinion: The Sales Manager asks for inputs of expected demand from each Salesperson in their team. Each Salesperson evaluates their respective region and product categories and provides their individual customer demand. Eventually, the Sales Manager aggregates all the demands and generates the final version of Demand Forecast after management’s judgment.
• Market Research: In market research technique, customer-specific surveys are deployed to generate potential demand. Such surveys are generally in the form of questionnaires that directly seeks personal, demographic, preference and economic information from end customers. Since this type of research is on a random sampling basis, care needs to be exercised in terms of the survey regions, locations, and demographics of the end customer. This type of method could be beneficial for products that have little to no demand history.
1. Quantitative methods:
• Trend projection method: Trend projection method can be effectively deployed for businesses with a large sales data history of typically more than 18 to 24 months. This historical data generates a “time series” which represents the past sales and projected demand for a specific product category under normal conditions by a graphical plotting method or the least square method.
• Barometric technique: Barometric technique of Demand Forecasting is based on the principle of recording events in the present to predict the future. In the Demand Forecasting process, this is accomplished by analyzing the statistical and economic indicators. Generally, forecasters deploy statistical analysis like Leading series, Concurrent series or Lagging series to generate the Demand Forecast.
• Econometric forecasting technique: Econometric forecasting utilizes autoregressive integrated moving-average and complex mathematical equations, to establish relationships between demand and factors that influence the demand. An equation is derived and fine-tuned to ensure a reliable historical representation. Finally, the projected values of the influencing variables are inserted into the equation to generate a forecast.
Demand Forecasting objectives
Objectives of Demand Forecasting include Financial planning, Pricing policy, Manufacturing policy, Sales, and Marketing planning, Capacity planning and expansion, Manpower planning and Capital expenditure.
Demand Forecasting models
Based on the specific requirements of a business or a product category, a customized Demand Forecasting model can be developed. Such a model is an extension or combination of various Qualitative and Quantitative Methods of Demand Forecasting. The task of developing a customized model is often iterative, highly detailed and expertise-driven and can be accomplished by implementing a suitable demand management software
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This is a pretty dense article, but I can boil it down too a few sentences: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC’s) are really a sort of “medicinal signaling cell” in our body. Their means of communication is chemical signaling. There is a lot of “cross talk” in the chemical soup between MSC’s and our immune system. “Inflammation” is really important to get stem cells activated and jump starting regenerative activities. But, just as no one likes TOO much coffee in the morning, TOO much inflammation is not good for tissue repair. So MSC’s modulate inflammation when inflammation levels get too high. They are, themselves, anti-inflammatory….
“…Interestingly, MSCs have been demonstrated to suppress an immune response through licensing by combinations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, specifically IFNγ in combination with TNFα or IL-1, leading to the concept of bidirectional interaction between MSCs and inflammation.5 Under inflammatory conditions, ample amounts of growth factors produced by MSCs can facilitate tissue repair through their effects on endothelial cells and fibroblasts, as well as tissue progenitor cells, at sites of damaged tissue. Such concerted actions of MSCs on tissue repair have been termed as ‘cell empowerment’.6 “
Thus, MSC’s are master orchestrators. They are “large and in charge” of tissue repair and healing throughout our body. In an Aristotelian sense, the “first question” is not how do stem cells work, but “why don’t some injuries heal?”Perhaps answering that question will help us understand a lot more about how to use stem cells in Regenerative Medicine than studying MSC’s themselves …
“…Over the several years, studies using different experimental systems have repeatedly confirmed that various kinds of immune cells, including macrophages, T cells and mast cells, actively participate in the tissue repair or regeneration process.12 The two studies described above provide direct support for the importance of the cross-talk between inflammation and stem cells in directing the fate and behavior of stem cells during tissue regeneration. Further investigations in the newly emerging field of stem cell immunology (Figure 1) should greatly improve our understanding of the effects of immune cells and their inflammatory factors, which fluctuate considerably in the microenvironment of a tissue lesion, on the proliferation, activation and immunoregulatory capacity of stem cells. It is anticipated that, in the foreseeable future, details about the interaction between stem cells and immune responses, and their collective actions during tissue repair, will accelerate the development of novel strategies of regenerative medicine.”
Like everything other system in the human body, tissue repair depends upon homeostasis. MSC’s appear to “manage” the process of tissue repair and regeneration on multiple levels. Overall health status and other host factors play an important role in setting the limits of what kind of repair is possible. MSC’s are the accelerators. So, if you’re feeling stuck, frustrated, or stymied by lack of healing or a festering injury we might be able to help. The experts at Columbia Pain Management, PC can help you get back on the road to recovery.
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Blood Clots, Birth Control and Being Aware
Whether it is arsenic in your apple juice, or blood clots from taking birth control pills, it is always disconcerting to hear that something you thought was safe may in fact be risky. The drospirenone clot issue first came to light in May 2011 when two studies suggested that drospirenone, one of the hormones in Yaz, Yasmine, BeYaz and generic equivalents, might increase the risk of a life-threatening venous thromboembolism, a clot that forms in blood vessels and then breaks off and travels to other parts of the circulatory system, potentially causing a stroke or heart attack. Many other studies did not show such an association, which is why the FDA decided to review all the data and determine if there was reason for concern.
An FDA committee met and decided that drospirenone may have a slight increase in risk over other pills, but the data was not conclusive enough to tell women to stop taking drospirenone products or to pull them off the market.
All hormonal contraceptives with estrogen will increase the risk of blood clots, particularly in women who are smokers or who are obese. Additional risk factors include a genetic predisposition to blood clots, recent surgery, cancer and/or prolonged immobilization. Fortunately, blood clots in young women are very rare, which is why knowing the actual numbers helps to keep things in perspective.
• The likelihood of a blood clot if not on birth control pills is two to three for every 10,000 women
• The likelihood of a blood clot when taking birth control pills is three to nine for every 10,000 women
• The likelihood of a blood clot during pregnancy is 5-20 for every 10,000 women
• The likelihood of a blood clot post partum is 40-65 for every 10,000 women
Clearly, anyone can develop a blood clot, but it is far more likely during pregnancy or after delivery than while taking contraception. Also, most clots occur in the first few months of pill use, so women who have been on pills for years are at significantly lower risk.
Ultimately, the FDA concluded that the benefits outweigh the risk and since the data is not conclusive, the FDA is not currently recommending that women stop taking drospirenone products. The only outcome of the meeting is that, in a move similar to the European counterpart to the FDA, product inserts will now reflect the concern.
When No Period Is No Problem
By Lauren Streicher, MD
Origianlly published Jan, 2014 |
Life in Minoan Crete Dating Back to 27th Century B.C.
minoan-creteA spectacular BBC documentary presenting life in Minoan Crete was created to show the various aspects of the Minoan civilization which thrived as a maritime power from around the 27th until the 15th century BC.
The Knossos palace was excavated in the beginning of the 20th century by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans.
Hominids first appeared on the island of Crete about 130,000 years ago, during the Middle Paleolithic Age. Axes found in South Crete, in Preveli Gorge, are attributed to homo erectus, whose traces were located in Africa. However, in Crete they are made from local quartz stones instead of flint.
Archaeological evidence points that settlements were built on the island between the late 8th and the early 7th millennia BC. However, the first signs of agriculture showed much later, in 5000 B.C.
Minoan culture is considered to begin when the first palace complexes were built in the Bronze Age. The video includes very good representations of Tavrokathapsia (doing acrobatics on a bull’s back), a popular sport held in Minoan festivals. The decay of Minoan culture begins with the explosion of the volcano in Thera (called Stroggili back then) at about 1600 B.C.
Giant waves and tsunamis, unleashed by the volcano, made way across the open sea to batter the northern coast of Crete. The Minoan cities were weakened and conquered by the Mycenaean invaders. The disaster is vividly shown in the following video, which is part of the BBC documentary “Atlantis: End of a World, Birth of a Legend.”
1. I wish they’d not insist on marketing this with a reference to “Atlantis.” That’s just a marketing ploy, I know, but it causes the film to lose credibility. Is this real or pseudoscience?
2. I can remember a lifetime living in what seems to have been Minoan Crete several thousand years ago. This is as per reincarnation study, based on dream regressions. I think there are other people I knew in Minoan times living in the Portland, Oregon area where I live. We lived in a two story square house on a street with similar rows of houses. Each one had a garden along both sides. The street had curbs and was of flagstones. Some walls had red painted scrolls on them. My family all had dark skin, eyes, and long black hair. They looked like images in the archaeological texts. I don’t remember any of the writing, as the memory was too short, and I only caught a glimpse of events. We seemed to be living in a suburban district of a city. Do any other people have similar past life memories they could comment on? This reincarnation study would seem a useful device for retrieving data in Archaeology.
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NGC 113
NGC 113
Observation data
Right ascension 00h 26m 54.6s
Declination −02° 30 03
Redshift 0.014870 [1]
Helio radial velocity 4458 km/s[1]
Distance 210 Mly
Type E/SA0?
Size 80,000 ly
NGC 113 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Cetus.
It was discovered by German astronomer, Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel, on August 27, 1876. The galaxy lies approximately 210 Million light-years from earth, and is about 80,000 light-years in diameter.
1. 1 2 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 0113. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
2. "Celestial Atlas". Cseligman. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
External links
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Measuring Performance Portability
As discussed in the previous section, performance portability can be an elusive topic to quantify and different engineers often provide different definitions or measurement techniques. Below we characterize a few well-defined approaches.
Measuring Portability
Measuring 'portability' itself is somewhat more well defined. One can, in principle, measure the total lines of code used in common across different architectures vs. the amount of code intended for a single architecture via IFDEF pre-processing statements, separate routines and the like. A code with 0% architecture specific code being completely portable and a code with a 100% architecture specific code being essentially made up of multiple applications for each architecture.
One subtlety that this approach hides is that it is possible that shared source-code requires more lines than source-code intended for a single architecture or, in some cases, even two sets of separate source-code intended for multiple architectures. We ignore this case for now, assuming that using a portable approach to express an algorithm doesn't significant change the amount of code required.
Measuring Performance
'Performance', even on a single architecture, is a bit less simple to define and measure. In practice, scientists generally care about the quality and quantity of scientific output they produce. This typically maps for them to relative performance concepts, such as how much faster can a particular run or set of runs finish today than yesterday or on this machine than that. The drawback of trying to measure performance in this way is that the baseline is arbitrary - i.e. you don't know how well your code is performing on any architecture compared to how it 'should' be performing if it were well optimized.
One may attempt to define absolute performance as a measure of the actual floating point operations (or integer operations) per second (FLOPS) of an application during execution compared to the theoretical peak performance of the system or fraction of the system in use, as reported on the Top 500 list - - or as reported in the system specs.
However, this is a poor measure of application performance (and a particularly poor measure to use when trying to quantify performance portability) for a couple reasons:
• The application or algorithm may be fundamentally limited by an aspect of the HPC system other than the compute capability (which is limited to the number of cores/threads, clock-speed and vector/instruction-sets)
• The application or algorithm may be fundamentally limited by different aspects of the system on different HPC system.
As an example, an implementation of an algorithm that is limited by memory bandwidth may be achieving the best performance it theoretically can on systems with different architectures but could be achieving widely varying percentage of peaks FLOPS on the different systems.
Instead we advocate for one of two approaches for defining performance against expected or optimal performance on the system for an algorithm:
1. Compare against a known, well-recognized (potentially non-portable), implementation.
Some applications, algorithms or methods have well-recognized optimal (often hand-tuned) implementations on different architectures. These can be used as a baseline for defining relative performance of portable versions. Our Chroma application case-study shows this approach. See here
Many performance tools exist at ALCF, NERSC and OLCF for the purposes of profiling applications or regions of applications and determining performance limiters when comparing different implementation of an algorithm or method. See the comprehensive list here with links to detailed instructions and example use-cases at each site.
2. Use the roofline approach to compare actual to expected performance
As discussed above, the major limitation of defining performance relative to the peak FLOPS capability of the machine is that applications in practice are limited by many different aspects of an HPC system.
The roofline performance model and extensions to the roofline model attempt to take these different possibilities into account. In the roofline approach, one defines various theoretical performance ceilings for an algorithm or implementation based on its properties. In the simplest model, one may classify an algorithm based on its DRAM arithmetic-intensity - the ratio of the FLOPs performed vs the data moved from main-memory (DRAM) to the processor over the course of execution, which can be measured for a given application as described on the subpages. Below, we show the performance ceilings provided by the roofline model on KNL for applications as a function of their DRAM arithmetic-intensity:
Here the blue line represents the maximum performance that can be achieved on a KNL node for an application running out of the KNL High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) with a given DRAM-AI (the x-axis value). For low values of DRAM-AI, the performance is limited by the diagonal ceiling, meaning that memory-bandwidth is the limiting hardware feature. The location of the diagonal lines are typically computed empirically from the available bandwidth reported by, for example, stream triad like kernels.
For high values of DRAM-AI, memory bandwidth no longer limits performance and one can, in principle, achieve the max compute performance on the system. However, for such cases we may draw other ceilings that represent common limitations in algorithms or implementations of algorithms. The dashed-dotted green line labeled "-ILP" is the performance ceiling for applications that: 1. do not provide a balance of multiply and add instructions, or simply don't use the Fused Multiply Add (FMA) instructions on the processor and 2. don't have enough instruction level parallelism to keep both VPUs on the KNL busy. The dashed purple line labeled "-Vectorization" is performance ceiling of an algorithm or implementation that, in addition to the above two deficiencies, lacks vectorization (a combined factor of 32 reduction in the ceiling).
For applications that are limited by other system properties, it is possible to extend the roofline model to include related ceilings. For example, we commonly extend the roofline approach to use arithmetic-intensities based on data movement from different levels of cache (e.g. L1, L2 on the KNL), in order to discover the relevant limiting cache level. The figure below shows an example of such an extended roofline plot for an application limited by the L2 cache level.
In addition, for applications with non-stream like memory access patterns, lower memory-ceilings may be computed. Many codes use strided or indirect-addressed (scatter/gather) patterns where memory latency may be limiting resource. In such cases, it is possible to quickly craft a few line benchmark to compute the relevant ceiling. We should some example ceiling parameters for different access patterns determined empirically in the following tables:
For polynomial access pattern: x[i] = (x[i]+c0):
System DRAM L2 L1 GEMM
Titan (Kepler) 161 GB/s 559 GB/s - 1226 GF/s
Summit Dev (4 Pascal) 1930 GB/s 6507 GB/s - 17095 GF/s
Cori (KNL) 413 GB/s 1965 GB/s 6443 GB/s 2450 GF/s
For non-contiguous accesses on KNL as an example:
Access Pattern KNL Effective Bandwidth (Cache Mode)
Dot Product 219 GB/s
Stride 2 Dot Product 96 GB/s
Stride 100 Dot Product 31 GB/s
Stride 10000 Dot Product 20 GB/s
Finally, one may additional define an AI value and roofline-ceiling for algorithms with data coming from off-node due to internode communication. The relevant bandwidth here is the injection bandwidth of the node:
System: Cori/Theta Titan Summit
Injection Bandwidth: 8 GB/s 6.4 GB/s 23 GB/s
The value of the roofline approach is that the relative performance of an application kernel to relevant ceilings (those related to fundamental limitations in an algorithm that cannot be overcome via optimization) allow us to define an absolute performance ratio for each architecture in order to quantity absolute performance and performance portability that accurately reflects the different limiting hardware characteristics of each system. On the following pages, we discuss how to collect roofline data on both KNL and GPU powered nodes. |
Bad Video Game Behaviour Can Increase Your Moral Sensitivity
So, you’re playing GTA V. You get to that torture scene. You torture the snot out of that guy. It’s violent, gratuitous, and makes you wonder why people didn’t complain about that scene instead of the game’s depiction of women. It also makes you wonder if you’re a bad person.
Well, it’s actually important that you wonder about stuff like that. In fact, your thinking may carry over into the real world. According to a study published in Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking, behaving badly in video games may cause you to behave better in real life.
Researchers had 185 people play violent video games (they were first person shooters with the players cast as terrorists). Afterwards, they had to complete a questionnaire that measured their levels of guilt, along with one that assessed which aspects of their moral foundation had been rattled by the experience. The study found significant correlation between video-game guilt and the moral foundations violated.
According to Matthew Grizzard, one of the study’s co-authors, “Rather than leading players to become less moral, this research suggests that violent video-game play may actually lead to increased moral sensitivity. This may, as it does in real life, provoke players to engage in voluntary behavior that benefits others.”
So, the next time you’re on a murder spree up the side of Mount Chiliad and your girlfriend yells at you, tell her you’re becoming a better man. We bet she’ll go for it in a big way.
This is a test |
How to learn programming and Earn Money
How to Learn Programming? We are living in a time where everything is available on the Internet. Often people have a question about how people make such great websites and blogs. They have the desire to create such websites or blogs in their mind. But they do not know that it can be done through programming. Now the question arises that let’s assume that it can be done by programming but how can this programming? Can any person programme or is it only suitable for technology savvy? Then the answer is that programming can be learned by anyone who is interested in it and yes if you are from technology background then you will be able to learn it but I did not say that non-tech people can not learn it.
If you are interested in creating computer programs, mobile apps, websites, games or any other software, then you have to first know about programming, then learn how to be programmed. One thing to understand is that the programs are created through the programming language. This language allows those programs to run in any machine, whether it is your computer, or mobile phone, or any other hardware.
How to learn to Programme
If you want to learn to programme, then you must read the following steps carefully. Let’s know how to choose a language?
Determine your area of interest
You can learn any programming language if you want but according to me, you should decide what you want to do after learning that programming language. With this, you will be able to determine what you have to do next. If you want you can learn system programming or web development which you desire.
Always start with a “simpler” language
If you want to choose any language, but for you, the first one will be the best of the high-level or the simple language, because the language is correct for beginners, since they teach very basic concepts and build your thought process well. Can.
1. Two popular languages in this category are Python and Ruby. Both of these object-oriented web application languages, whose syntax is readable.
2. “Object-oriented” means a language that is related to the concept of “objects,” or collections of data, and their manipulation. This is the same concept that is used in many advanced programming languages such as C ++, Java, Objective-C, and PHP.
Read some basic tutorials about different languages
If you can not even decide which language you should learn, then you should read the basic tutorials of different languages — many of the short tutorials on the internet.
• Python – This is a great starter language used in web applications and Games.
• Java – It is used in many types of programs, games or web applications, even in ATM software.
• HTML – This is an essential starting place for any Web Developer.
• C – One of the oldest languages, C is a very powerful tool, and besides this, this base has many modern languages like C ++, C #, and Objective-C.
Always try to understand the core concepts of languages first
Whether it is any language or not, everybody has some core concepts which is very important to understand. Because the fundamental concepts of programming languages will only strengthen you to hold that language above.
Install All Softwares Required
There is a need for compilers in many programming languages, which are programs that have been designed to translate the code into a language that the machine can understand. In other languages, such as Python, the interpreter is needed without compile the execution of the programs.
Some languages require an Integrated Development Environment, in which all things are stored, such as a code editor, a compiler, interpreter, and debugger. It gives the programmer the ability to do all the necessary functions in one place.
Try to Create Your First Program
Focus a concept at one time
The first program in any language is “Hello World” program. This is a very simple program that displays the text “Hello World” above the screen. This program teaches how many new programmers create the syntax of the basic program, also teaches how to handle the output.
Learn how to deconstruct online examples and create new programs
In the number of hundreds of millions online on internet, examples are available online. Online, you will find examples of all languages. With this, you can learn a lot and you can check the examples that they are running or not. Along with this, you can create new and best programs.
Examine Syntax
Any language is very important. All of these are different and can only be understood as a compatible compiler or interpreter with that programming languages. A unique syntax is used in each language. Holding on Syntax is very important to make your grip in programming.
Experiment with changes
In your example programs, you can make changes and test results. Because these experiments are better understood by such experiments, not by reading the theory. Know that many things are understood by the Errors only. There is hardly anybody who can become master of any programming language at once. You can get mastery in it only after repeated experimentation.
Start debugging
When you do programming, it’s a good thing that there will be bugs in it. There is nothing to be afraid about it, it is very common to get errors in programs, but more importantly, how do you find and fix those bugs? Correcting these errors or bugs is called bugging.
As you begin experimenting with the programs, you will be aware of the basics bugs and you will also be able to solve the bugs. All the game has to do.
Put a habit of commenting in code
Almost every programming language also had a “comment” function which allows you to include text which is not processed through interpreter or compiler.
By writing this, you can show it in a short, but clear language in your language, what it does with part code. This will not only help you to understand the code but with the code being larger, you can also share the code with anyone so that they can easily understand it. This allows logic of programs to be understood correctly.
You should practice regularly
Do daily code
Getting mastery above any programming language is not so easy. You may take a lot of time for this. Whether it is not a simple language like Python, you may find it a little time away. Programming is like a skill, the more you practice it, the more you become proficient in it. So try to spend 1 to 2 hours in a day for sure.
Set goals for your programs
Set goals such that you can complete them. If you try, then you will definitely be able to solve those problems. This will awaken the competitive feeling of fulfilling your goals so that you will receive a new motivation to complete the goals.
Talk to others and read other programs
Well, there are many programming communities that are dedicated to specific languages or disciplines. If you really want to learn to programme then you will have to find and participate in such communities. This can boost your learning very much. Talking to others with their codes can help you learn something new. Which will make your concepts even clearer.
Try to join programming forums and online communities. Try not only asking questions but also giving other answers, this will increase your problem-solving capacity.
Once your experience level increases, you can participate in many competitions such as in hack-a-thon or programming jam. In these events, you will have the opportunity to meet many wonderful people.
Challenge yourself and keep your fun fun
Try to do things that you do not know so that you can get a lot of new learning. Try to find out about many ways to do such things, which will give you a lot of new knowledge. Together, challenge yourself to do this and try to do this work while keeping the fun element in it.
Expand your knowledge
Must learn some new training courses
Many universities, community colleges, and community centers offer programming classes that you can learn as you wish. Joining this will help you to learn new courses.
Buy new books or get them from a library
There are many programming languages available on the internet and in offline shops. In such a situation, if you have to learn a programming language then you may have to buy these books so that you will be able to understand the concept.
Learn Math and logic
It is important to understand basic arithmetic in most programming, as it helps in understanding advanced concepts. This allows you to understand complex simulations and other algorithm-heavy programs. It does not require advanced mathematics but it should be understood by basic maths, besides the understanding of logic is also important as it provides the solutions to solving complex problems. And together you can solve them easily.
Apply your skills strictly
Create your own portfolio
As you build programs and expand your knowledge, make sure to save all your best work in a portfolio. You can show this portfolio to your recruiters and interviewers so that they can know which of the programming languages you have mastered. Together you can also mention your projects in that portfolio.
You can also do some freelance work
A very large freelance market is available on the Internet for programmers, especially for mobile app developers. You can start with a small freelance job if you wish. This will tell you how commercial programming works. With this, you can work well with people as well.
Develop your own programs and apps
If you know the programming then you can work in a company if you want a software developer or you can develop programs and apps even if you want to do something. This allows you to make full use of your skills. With this, you can earn the full profit. Together you own your own products so that you can do so if you want to sell it. You can also create a company by creating a team if you wish.
I hope you have liked how I learned this article from programming. This is my usual effort to provide readers with complete information about programming language so that they do not need to find any other sites or internet in the context of that article. This will also save their time and will get all the information in one place. If you have any doubts about this article in your mind or you want some improvement in it then you can write down comments for it. If you liked how to do this post programming in Hindi or to learn something, please share this post on Social Networks such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
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The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960 as an intergovernmental organization with five member states. Membership in the organization was and remains voluntary, in that a member state may leave the organization at any time. Joining the organization, however, requires the approval of other member states. In early 2000, OPEC has 11 member states.
The essential purpose of the organization has not changed since it was founded. That purpose is to (1) unify and coordinate the petroleum policies of the member states, and (2) safeguard the general interests of the member states.
Knowledge of the enduring purpose of the organization does not address the underlying issue of why the five original member states of OPEC negotiated and ratified the treaty to establish the organization. The analogy of the labor union may be used to explain the motivation of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela to create OPEC. Labor unions typically are formed to provide individual workers with increased power through unified action to negotiate in their own interests with a ground of employers which is smaller in number but much stronger in power than are the workers as individuals.
In 1960, the power in the global crude petroleum industry was in the collective hands of the so-called “Seven Sisters,” which were seven powerful multinational oil companies headquartered in Western nations. The five countries that were to become the founding members of OPEC were, in 1960, just five more Third World countries for which the export of their resources in raw form was the centerpiece of their economic policy. In the case of these five countries, that resource was crude oil. Not only were the five countries subordinate to the “Seven Sisters” in price management of their crude oil resources, the seven multinational oil companies, for the most part, owned concessionary rights to those crude oil resources whic…
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BIRMINGHAM — In the article, “Craft brewing in the United States,” featured in a previous issue of Water Technology, Khushbu Karan and Myron Petro, contributing authors, write about how the type and quality of water, which is the primary ingredient in beer, can significantly impact the brewing process.
In this article, Karan and Petro explain how filtration, reverse osmosis (RO), adsorption using granulated activated carbon (GAC) and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection are important technologies used for producing preferred water quality ideal for beer brewing.
• RO is a membrane technology that is used for removing water salts that helps in obtaining desired flavor.
You can find the entire feature on water’s role when brewing beer here. |
درباره بدن The Human Body: Anatomy, Facts & Functions
The digestive system consists of a series of connected organs that together, allow the body to break down and absorb food, and remove waste. It includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. The liver and pancreas also play a role in the digestive system because they produce digestive juices.
The endocrine system consists of eight major glands that secrete hormones into the blood. These hormones, in turn, travel to different tissues and regulate various bodily functions, such as metabolism, growth and sexual function.
The immune system is the body's defense against bacteria, viruses and other pathogens that may be harmful. It includes lymph nodes, the spleen, bone marrow, lymphocytes (including B-cells and T-cells), the thymus and leukocytes, which are white blood cells.
The lymphatic system includes lymph nodes, lymph ducts and lymph vessels, and also plays a role in the body's defenses. Its main job is to make is to make and move lymph, a clear fluid that contains white blood cells, which help the body fight infection. The lymphatic system also removes excess lymph fluid from bodily tissues, and returns it to the blood.
The nervous system controls both voluntary action (like conscious movement) and involuntary actions (like breathing), and sends signals to different parts of the body. The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system consists of nerves that connect every other part of the body to the central nervous system.
The body's muscular system consists of about 650 muscles that aid in movement, blood flow and other bodily functions. There are three types of muscle: skeletal muscle which is connected to bone and helps with voluntary movement, smooth muscle which is found inside organs and helps to move substances through organs, and cardiac muscle which is found in the heart and helps pump blood.
The reproductive system allows humans to reproduce. The male reproductive system includes the penis and the testes, which produce sperm. The female reproductive system consists of the vagina, the uterus and the ovaries, which produce eggs. During conception, a sperm cell fuses with an egg cell, which creates a fertilized egg that implants and grows in the uterus. [Related: Awkward Anatomy: 10 Odd Facts About the Female Body]
Our bodies are supported by the skeletal system, which consists of 206 bones that are connected by tendons, ligaments and cartilage. The skeleton not only helps us move, but it's also involved in the production of blood cells and the storage of calcium. The teeth are also part of the skeletal system, but they aren't considered bones.
The respiratory system allows us to take in vital oxygen and expel carbon dioxide in a process we call breathing. It consists mainly of the trachea, the diaphragm and the lungs.
The urinary system helps eliminate a waste product called urea from the body, which is produced when certain foods are broken down. The whole system includes two kidneys, two ureters, the bladder, two sphincter muscles and the urethra. Urine produced by the kidneys travels down the ureters to the bladder, and exits the body through the urethra.
The skin, or integumentary system, is the body's largest organ. It protects us from the outside world, and is our first defense against bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Our skin also helps regulate body temperature and eliminate waste through perspiration. In addition to skin, the integumentary system includes hair and nails.
The human brain is the body's control center, receiving and sending signals to other organs through the nervous system and through secreted hormones. It is responsible for our thoughts, feelings, memory storage and general perception of the world.
The human heart is a responsible for pumping blood throughout our body.
The liver has many functions, including detoxifying of harmful chemicals, breakdown of drugs, filtering of blood, secretion of bile and production of blood-clotting proteins.
• The human body contains nearly 100 trillion cells.
• There are at least 10 times as many bacteria in the human body as cells.
• The average adult takes over 20,000 breaths a day.
• Each day, the kidneys process about 200 quarts (50 gallons) of blood to filter out about 2 quarts of waste and water
• Adults excrete about a quarter and a half (1.42 liters) of urine each day.
• The human brain contains about 100 billion nerve cells
• Water makes up more than 50 percent of the average adult's body weight
Ready for Med School? Test Your Body Smarts
You use your eyes to see, your ears to hear and your muscles to do the heavy lifting. Well, sort of. In fact, most body parts are far more complicated than that, while some seem to have no business being inside there at all.
An illustration showing the different systems of the human body.
0 of 10 questions complete
Editor’s Note: If you’d like more information on this topic, we recommend the following book (available on amazon.com):
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Summa Theologica
Summa Theologica was a key intellectual achievement in its synthesis of Aristotelian thought and Christianity.[156]
In the 11th century, already strained relations between the primarily Greek church and the Latin church separated them into the Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity respectively, Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery
partially due to conflicts over Papal authority. The fourth crusade and the sacking of Constantinople by renegade crusaders proved the final breach. In the 16th century, in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church engaged in a process of substantial reform and renewal, known as the Counter-Reformation.[157] Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery
In 1854 Pope Pius IX with the support of the overwhelming majority of Roman Catholic bishops, Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery
and active participation in liturgical celebrations."[162] It intended to engage the Church more closely with the present world (aggiornamento), which was described by its advocates as an "opening of the windows".[163] In addition to changes in the liturgy, it led to changes to the Church's approach to ecumenism,[164] Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery
The Council, however, generated significant controversy in implementing its reforms; proponents of the "Spirit of Vatican II" such as Swiss theologian Hans Küngclaimed Vatican II had "not gone far enough" to change church policies.[166] Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery
Pope John Paul II recognised the need to evangelise an increasingly secular world and used new means to reach the faithful. He instituted World Youth Day, a "worldwide encounter with the Pope", for young people from all over the world which is celebrated every two to three years.[168] Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery
He travelled more than any other pope, visiting 129 countries and preaching the Gospel in nearly every part of the world.[169] He also used television and radio as means of spreading the Gospel.
The Catholic nun Mother Teresa of Calcutta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work among India's poor.[172] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery
Soon after the close of the Second Vatican Council, Church teachings about sexuality became an issue of increasing controversy due to changing cultural attitudes in the Western world (see the Sexual Revolution). Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery
The Church teaches that sexual intercourse should only take place between a married man and woman, and should be without the use artificial birth control or contraception. In his encyclical Humanae Vitae[174] (1968), Pope Paul VI firmly rejected all artificial contraception, Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery
where he clarified the Church's position on contraception, abortion andeuthanasia by condemning them as part of a "culture of death" and calling instead for a "culture of life".[175]
The Church teaches that homosexual inclinations are "objectively disordered" [176] and so homosexual behavior is "contrary to the natural law".[177] Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/W Battery
The Church teaches that people who have homosexual tendencies are called to live chastely,[178] and as such, it offers help to those who wish to overcome their tendency towards their own sex. Because of these teachings, as well as its teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman,[179] Sony VAIO VPCCW26EC Battery
the Catholic Church firmly opposes same-sex marriage. However this position, as well as its position on homosexuality in general, has generated criticism from non-Catholics as well as a number of Catholics.
In religious vocations, Catholic women and men are ascribed different roles—Sony VAIO VPCCW26FX/B Battery
men serve as deacons, priests, friars, monks, brothers, abbotts or in episcopalpositions while women serve as nuns, religious sisters or abbesses. Monks and brothers often house together in monasteries while nuns and sisters may house themselves in convents - though an abbey may host a religious community of men or women. Sony VAIO VPCCW28EC Battery
While Holy Orders are reserved for men, Catholic women have played diverse roles in the life of the church, Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/P Battery
According to the latest ruling, found inOrdinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II concluded, "I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful."[181] Sony VAIO VPCCW29FJ/W Battery
In the 1990s and 2000s, the issue of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy became the subject of media coverage and public debate in countries around the world. The Church was criticised for its handling of abuse complaints when it became known that some bishops had shielded accused priests, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E Battery
In September 2011, a submission was lodged with the International Criminal Court alleging that the Pope, Cardinal Angelo Sodano dean of theCollege of Cardinals, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Vatican Secretary of State and Cardinal William Levada head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/L Battery
had committed a crime against humanity by failing to prevent or punish perpetrators of rape and sexual violence in a "systematic and widespread" concealment which included failure to co-operate with relevant law enforcement agencies.[186] In a statement to the Associated Press, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/P Battery
The term Roman Catholic appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/R Battery
to differentiate specific groups ofChristians in communion with the Pope from others; comparable terms in other languages already existed. It has continued to be widely used in the English language ever since, although its usage has changed over the centuries.[1] Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/W Battery
The church widely known as the Catholic Church consists of 23 autonomous churches (all of which are subject to the Pope)— one "Western" and 22 "Eastern" — governed by two sets of Codes of Canon Law.[2] To refer to all 23 autonomous Churches together, official Church documents often use the term "Catholic Church" or, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery
less frequently, the term "Roman Catholic Church". The usage that makes the term "Roman Catholic" mean members of the Latin Rite or Western Church to the exclusion of those who belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches does not appear in any recent document of the Holy See, Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery
In popular usage, "Catholic Church" is usually understood to mean the same as "Roman Catholic Church". Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery
In compound forms such as "Roman Catholic worship" the term is sometimes used to differentiate Western (Latin Rite) practices from Eastern. However, in itself the word "catholic" translates into English as "universal" or "pertaining to the whole", as opposed to "particular" or "related to a part".Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery
Being "catholic" is one of the Four Marks of the Church set out in the Nicene Creed, a statement of belief accepted by many churches, even if not in communion with the Pope.
The word "church" represents the Greek word ecclesia, originally meaning "meeting, assembly", the usual Septuagint translation of Hebrew qahalSony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery
"congregation [of Israel]", as in Deuteronomy 31:30 and elsewhere.[4] The word "Catholic", meaning "universal", was first applied the Church by St. Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to the Smyrnaeans in 110. It was repeatedly used to describe the "universal" congregation of the believers of the pure Word of Christ in theological works such as St. Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery
Augustine of Hippo in his books Confessions in 394 and City of God in 410. After the 5th-century splits that followed the First Council of Ephesus and the Council of Chalcedon, the Church split again in the 11th century, with the Western Church loyal to the Pope and the Eastern Orthodox Churchloyal to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery
St. Thomas Aquinas repeatedly used the word "Catholic" to describe the Church loyal to the Pope, the bishop of Rome, as opposed to those loyal to the bishop of Constantinople, called the Ecumenical Patriarch.
The terms "Romish Catholic" and "Roman Catholic", along with "Popish Catholic", Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery
were brought into use in the English language chiefly by adherents of the Church of England, which saw itself as the Catholic Church in England, so that they were not willing to concede the term Catholic to their opponents without qualification.[5]
The reign of Elizabeth I of England at the end of the 16th century was marked by conflicts in Ireland. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery
Those opposed to English rule forged alliances with those against the Protestant reformation, making the term Roman Catholic almost synonymous with being Irish during that period, although that usage changed significantly over time.[6]
Like the term Anglican, the term Roman Catholic came into widespread use in the English language only in the 17th century.[7] Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery
The terms "Romish Catholic" and "Roman Catholic" were both in use in the 17th century and "Roman Catholic" was used in some official documents, such as those relating to the Spanish Match in the 1620s. There was, however, significant tension between Anglicans and Roman Catholics at the time (as reflected in the Test Act for public office). Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery
Even today, the Act of Settlement 1701 still prohibits Roman Catholics from becoming English monarchs.
The official and popular uses of the term Roman Catholic in the English language grew in the 18th century. Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery
Up to the reign of George III, Catholics in Britain who recognized the Pope as head of the Church had generally been designated in official documents as "Papists". In 1792, however, this phraseology was changed and in the Speech from the Throne, the term "Roman Catholic" was used. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92S Battery
By early 19th century, the term Roman Catholic had become well established in the English-speaking world. As the movement that led to Catholic Emancipation through the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 grew, many — though not all — Anglicans and Protestants generally began to accept that being a Roman Catholic was not synonymous with being disloyal to the British government. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92US Battery
While believing that in the past the term Roman Catholic may have been synonymous with rebel, they held that it was by then as indicative of loyalty as membership in any other Christian denomination.[9] The situation had been very different two centuries before, Sony VAIO VGN-SR93DS Battery
when Pope Paul V forbade English members of his Church from taking an oath of allegiance toKing James I, a prohibition that not all of them observed.[10]
Also in the 19th century, prominent Anglican theologians such as Palmer and Keble supported the Branch Theory, which viewed the universal Church as having three principal branches: Sony VAIO VGN-SR93JS Battery
Anglican, Roman and Eastern.[11] The 1824 issue of The Christian Observer defined the term Roman Catholic as a member of the Roman Branch of the Church.[12] By 1828, speeches in the English parliament routinely used the term Roman Catholic and referred to the "Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church".[13] Sony VAIO VGN-SR93PS Battery
In the United States, the use of the term Roman Catholic and indeed the number of Roman Catholics began to grow only in the early 19th century, given that in 1790 there were only 100 Roman Catholics in New York and some 30,000 in the whole United States, with 29 priests.[14] Sony VAIO VGN-SR93YS Battery
As the number of Roman Catholics in the United States grew rapidly from 150,000 to 1.7 million between 1815 and 1850 — mostly by way of immigration from Ireland and Germany — the clergy followed the people to serve them, and Roman Catholic parishes were established.[15] Sony VAIO VGN-SR94FS Battery
The terms "Roman Catholic" and "Holy Roman Catholic" thus gained widespread use in the United States in the 19th century, both in popular usage and within official documents.In 1866 President Andrew Johnson attended a meeting of the Council of the Roman Catholic Church.[19] Sony VAIO VGN-SR94GS Battery
American Catholics, who by the year 1900 were 12 million people and had a predominantly Irish clergy,[20] objected to what they considered the reproachful terms Popish and Romish and preferred the term Roman Catholic.[21]
In the early 20th century, the use of the term Roman Catholic continued to spread within the United States and Canada, to refer to individuals, parishes and their schools. Sony VAIO VGN-SR94HS Battery
For instance, the 1915 Report of the Commissioner of Education of the United States had a specific section for "Roman Catholic Parish Schools".[22] By 1918, legal proceedings in state supreme courts (from Delaware to Minnesota) and laws passed in the State of New York used the term "Roman Catholic parish".Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS Battery
The term Roman Catholic is generally used on its own to refer to individuals, and in compound forms to refer to worship, parishes, festivals, etc. Its usage has varied, depending on circumstances.[25] It is sometimes also identified with one or other of the terms "Catholic", "Western Catholic" (equivalent to "Latin Catholic"), and "Roman-Rite Catholic".Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery
In popular usage, "Catholic" usually means "Roman Catholic",[26] a usage decried by some, including some Protestants.[27]"Catholic" usually refers to members of any of the 23 constituent Churches, the one Western and the 22 Eastern. The same meaning is attributed also to "Roman Catholic" in documents of the Holy See, talks by Popes and in newspapers.[28]Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery
Although "Roman Catholic" has been used in this sense in documents such as Divini Illius MagistriHumani generis, adeclaration of 23 November 2006 and another of 30 November 2006,] K.D.Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery
Whitehead has claimed that "the term Roman Catholic is not used by the Church herself" and that "the proper name of the Church, then, is 'the Catholic Church', never 'the Christian Church'".[29]
When used in a broader sense, the term Catholic is distinguished from "Roman Catholic" which has connotations of allegiance to the Bishop of Rome, i.e. the Pope. Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery
In this broader sense, "Catholic" also refers to many other Christians, especiallyEastern Orthodox and Anglicans, but also to others, including Old Catholics and various independent Catholic Churches, who consider themselves to be living within the "catholic" tradition. Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery
They describe themselves as "Catholic", but not "Roman Catholic" and not under the authority of the Pope.
The Holy See uses the term "Roman Catholic" to refer to the entirety of the Church that is in full communion with it, encompassing both its Eastern and Western elements. Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery
For examples of statements by Popes that employ the term "Roman Catholic" in this way, see Papal references below. This is the only meaning given to the term "Roman Catholic" at that official level. However, some do use the term "Roman Catholic" to refer to Western (i.e. Latin) Catholics, excluding Eastern Catholics. Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery
The same distinction is made by some writers belonging to Eastern Catholic Churches.That this view is not the only one, not alone at the level of the Holy See and in reference books such as John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, but also at a popular level, is shown by the use of terms such as Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery
"Byzantine Roman Catholic" and "Maronite Roman Catholic" as self-identification by individuals or as the name of a church building.[36] Additionally, in other languages, the usage varies significantly.
Many, even Catholics, are unaware or only dimly aware that the Catholic Church has Western and Eastern branches. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery
This is partly because, outside the Middle East, Eastern Catholics are a small fraction of the total number of Catholics.
When referring to worship, the term Roman Catholic is at times used to refer to the "Roman Rite", which is not a church but a form of liturgy. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery
The Roman Rite is distinct from the liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches and also from otherWestern liturgical rites such as the Ambrosian Rite, which have a much smaller following than the Roman Rite.
Compared to the Roman Rite, the other Western liturgical rites have little following. Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery
Hence, the Vatican department that deals with forms of worship (including music) in theWestern Church often issues documents that deal only with the Roman Rite.[42] [43][44]Any involvement by the Holy See in questions of Eastern liturgies is handled by a different department. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery
Some of the writers who draw a contrast between "Roman Catholics" and "Eastern Catholics" may perhaps be distinguishing Eastern Catholics not from Latin or Western Catholics in general, but only from those (the majority of Latin Catholics) who use the Roman liturgical rite. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery
Adrian Fortescue explicitly made this distinction, saying that, just as "Armenian Catholic" is used to mean a Catholic who uses the Armenian rite, "Roman Catholic" could be used to mean a Catholic who uses the Roman Rite. In this sense, he said, an Ambrosian Catholic, though a member of the Latin or Western Church, is not a "Roman" Catholic. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery
He admitted, however, that this usage is uncommon.
When the term "Roman Catholic" is used as part of the name of a parish it usually indicates that it is a Western parish that follows the Roman Rite in its liturgy, rather than, for instance, the less common Ambrosian Rite, e.g. St. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery
Dominic Roman Catholic Church, Oyster Bay, New York.[7][8][9] The shorter term "Catholic" may also appear in parish names and "Roman Catholic" sometimes even appears in the compound name of Eastern Catholic parishes, e.g. St. Mary's Byzantine Roman Catholic Church.[46] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery
All Catholic parishes are part of an ecclesiastical jurisdiction, usually a diocese (called an eparchy in the canon law of the Eastern Catholic Churches).[47]These jurisdictions are usually grouped in ecclesiastical provinces, headed by a metropolitan archdiocese.[48] Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery
All dioceses and similar jurisdictions — Eastern and Western — come under the authority of the Pope.[49] The term "Roman Catholic archdiocese" is formally used to refer to both Western and Eastern Churches. As of January 2009, there were 630 Roman Catholic archdioceses, Western and Eastern. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery
The terms "Catholic Church" and "Roman Catholic Church" are names for the entire church that describes itself as "governed by the successor of Saint Peter and by the bishops in communion with him". In its formal documents and pronouncements the church most often refers to itself as the Catholic Church or simply the Church. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P Battery
In its relations with other churches, it frequently uses the name "Roman Catholic Church", which it uses internally also, though less frequently. Some writers such as Kenneth Whitehead and Patrick Madrid argue that the only proper name for the Church is "the Catholic Church"..Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S Battery
The name "Roman Catholic Church" is occasionally used by popes, bishops, other clergy and laity, who do not see it as opprobrious or having the suggested overtone.[55] The use of "Roman", "Holy" and "Apostolic" are accepted by the Church as descriptive names.[ Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF Battery
Some American states and the country of England require the Church to use the legal name "Roman Catholic Church". At the time of the 16th-century Reformation, the Church itself "claimed the word catholic as its title over Protestant or Reformed churches".[57] It believes that it is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.[58] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery
Throughout the years, in various instances, official Church documents have used both the terms "Catholic Church" and "Roman Catholic Church" to refer to the worldwide Church as a whole, including Eastern Catholics, as when Pope Pius XII taught inHumani Generis that "the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing".[59] Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/S Battery
However, some Easterners, though in communion with the Bishop of Rome, apply the adjective "Roman" to the Latin or Western Church alone. Representatives of the Catholic Church are at times required to use the term "Roman Catholic Church" in certain dialogues, especially in ecumenical milieu, since some Protestants consider themselves authentic instances of Catholic faith.[60]Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery
In the 21st century, the three terms Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Catholic Church continue to appear in various books and publications, and scholarly debates on the proper form of reference to the Catholic Church within specific contexts continue. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery
For instance, the Catechism of the Catholic Church does not contain the term "Roman Catholic Church", referring to the Church only by names such as "Catholic Church" (as in its title),[61] while the Advanced Catechism Of Catholic Faith And Practice states that the term Roman is used within the name of the Church to emphasize that the center of unity of the Church is the Roman See.Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG Battery
There is controversy about the name "Roman Catholic Church" because of its use by members of other churches to suggest that the Church in full communion with Rome is only one part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This argument is linked especially with the Branch Theory upheld by a minority ofAnglicans, Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H Battery
(i.e., that the Church in communion with the Pope is only one branch of a divided Catholic Church, of which the Eastern Orthodox Church andAnglicanism are the other two principal branches).
In 1864, the Holy Office rejected the Branch Theory, Sony VAIO VGN-SR70B/S Battery
affirming in a letter written to the English bishops that the Roman Church is not just a part of the Catholic Church and stating that "there is no other Catholic Church except that which is built on the one man, Peter ...." In 1870, English bishops attending the First Vatican Council raised objections to the expression Sony VAIO VGN-SR72B/P Battery
"Holy Roman Catholic Church" which appeared in the schema (the draft) of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith. These bishops proposed that the word "Roman" be omitted out of concern that use of the term "Roman Catholic" would lend support to proponents of the Branch Theory. Sony VAIO VGN-SR72B/S Battery
While the Council overwhelmingly rejected this proposal, the text was finally modified to read "The Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church".[63][note 1]
From 1937 to 1972, the Constitution of Ireland recognised the "special position of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church". Sony VAIO VGN-SR73JB/S Battery
The Anglican Archbishop of Dublin had objected to "Catholic Church" and quoted the Council of Trent for the longer title, which was approved by Eugenio Pacelli and Pope Pius XI.[69][70]The same name is used in a 2009 Irish law.[71]
The Second Vatican Council did not use the term "Roman Catholic Church",[52Sony VAIO VGN-SR74FB/S Battery
] and in one important passage of the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium replaced it with an equivalent phrase, "the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in union with that successor", while also giving in a footnote a reference to two earlier documents in which the word "Roman" was used explicitly.[72] Sony VAIO VGN-SR90FS Battery
The two earlier documents that the Council stated had applied the phrase "Roman Church" to the Church itself, the Church "governed by the successor of Saint Peter and by the bishops in communion with him", was the Tridentine Profession of Faith and the First Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution on faith.[73] Sony VAIO VGN-SR90NS Battery
Even as far back as 1208 the adjective "Roman" was applied to the Church "outside which we believe that no one is saved".[74]
Popes have on several occasions in different contexts during the 20th and 21st centuries used the term "Roman Catholic Church" to refer to the whole Church in communion with the Holy See. Sony VAIO VGN-SR90S Battery
Example encyclicals include Divini Illius Magistri of Pope Pius XI in 1929 and, Humani generis of Pope Pius XII in 1950.[75]
Pope Paul VI used the term "Roman Catholic Church" in the joint declarations he signed with Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople in 1965 and 1967.[76] Sony VAIO VGN-SR90US Battery
He also used that term in the declarations he signed with Patriarch Mar Ignatius Yacoub III of the Syrian Orthodox Church on 27 October 1971 and with Archbishop of Canterbury Donald Coggan on 29 April 1977.
Pope John Paul II referred to himself as "the Head of the Roman Catholic Church" (29 September 1979). Sony VAIO VGN-SR91NS Battery
He called the Church "Roman Catholic" when speaking to the Jewish community in Mainz on 17 November 1980, in a message to those celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Confessio Augustana on 25 June 1980, when speaking to the people of Mechelen, Belgium on 18 May 1985, when talking to representatives of Christian confessions in Copenhagen, Sony VAIO VGN-SR91PS Battery
Denmark on 7 June 1989, when addressing a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on 29 June 1989, at a meeting of the Ukrainian Synod in Rome on 24 March 1980, at a prayer meeting in the Orthodox cathedral of Bialystok, Poland on 5 June 1991, when speaking to the Polish Ecumenical Council in Holy Trinity Church, Sony VAIO VGN-SR91S Battery
Warsaw 9 June 1991, at an ecumenical meeting in the Aula Magna of the Colégio Catarinense, in Florianópolis, Brazil on 18 October 1991, and at the Angelus in São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil on 20 October 1991.
Pope Benedict XVI called the Church "the Roman Catholic Church" at a meeting in Warsaw on 25 May 2006 Sony VAIO VGN-SR91US Battery
and in joint declarations that he signed with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on 23 November 2006 and with Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople on 30 November 2006.
While the phrase "Roman Catholic Church" does not appear in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Advanced Catechism of Catholic Faith and Practice states that the term "Roman" Sony VAIO VGN-SR92NS Battery
is used within the name of the Church to emphasize that the centre of unity of the Church is the Roman See.[62] The Baltimore Catechism, an official catechism authorized by the Catholic bishops of the United States, states: "That is why we are called Roman Catholics; to show that we are united to the real successor of St. Sony VAIO VGN-SR92PS Battery
Peter" (Question 118), and refers to the Church as the "Roman Catholic Church" under Questions 114 and 131 (Baltimore Catechism).
The Catechism of Pope Pius X calls the Church Roman.[77]
Some Eastern-rite Catholics reject the description of themselves as "Roman", Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery
even though they are a part of the Catholic Church. Others are proud to call themselves Roman Catholics,[78] and "Roman Catholic" sometimes even appears in the compound name of Eastern Catholic parish churches, e.g. St. Mary's Byzantine Roman Catholic ChurchSony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/S Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H Battery
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Here’s The True Story Of A 13-Year-Old Who Earned A Bronze Star Fighting In WWII (And How It Was Taken Away)
WWII was going on and every red blooded young man felt the urge to join the military and to fight, but this young man put a whole new meaning into the word “young.”
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, Calvin Graham was, unbelievably, 12 years old when he entered the United States Navy. Of course, the reasonable questions would be, “How could he have gotten away with that?” But, he did, and before his 13th year was over he would be awarded a Bronze Star while serving on the USS South Dakota, a battleship serving in the Pacific.
First, we need to look at how Graham was able to get into the Navy at such a young age. According to the
Smithsonian, Graham was from Crockett, Texas. He was eleven years old and in the sixth grade when he hatched his plan to join the Navy. He was one of seven children, but his stepfather was abusive, so he and an older brother moved out and moved into a cheap rooming house.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Graham sold newspapers and delivered telegrams after school and on weekends to support himself. His mother would occasionally visit him and to sign report cards at the end of the semester. As a result of his situation, he already had to do things that would usually be the province of an adult. And because he was around newspapers everyday, he was fully aware of the news about the war.
He heard that some of his cousins had already died fighting in Europe. At that young age, he felt he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to join the Navy and serve like his cousins had.
During WWII the minimum age for enlistment was 17, but you could enter at 16 with your parents consent. Graham, with his pre-adolescent thinking, started shaving at age 11, hoping that that would somehow make him look older when he met with recruiters.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
He and a couple of his friends forged his mother’s name on the enlistment papers, and stole a notary stamp from a local hotel to make it look official. Then they went to enlist.
Graham was 5’2” and weighed 125 pounds. He had been practicing talking in a lower, deeper voice and when he went to take the physical he dressed in his older brother’s clothes. What he worried about the most was not that the forged signature of his mother would be discovered, but that the dentist who would be checking the recruits’ teeth may also be noting signs of their age. He lined up behind a couple of guys that he knew were already 14 and 15 years old. When the dentist identified him as a 12 year old, he just kept saying “17.”
This kid was savvy. He told the dentist that the two guys he just let go through in front of him weren’t 17, yet he had let them through. The dentist, probably more concerned for himself, relented and let him go through. It was not uncommon that boys would lie about their age to get into the service at this or any other time, but Graham was one of the successful ones who would actually get in.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Graham went to boot camp in San Diego. The drill instructors were aware that they probably had underage recruits and worked them harder in an effort to weed them out. They made them run further and carry heavier packs. But Graham stuck it out.
He was eventually assigned to the battleship USS South Dakota as a gunner. The South Dakota was part of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier Task Force 64 and she would be one of the most highly decorated ships in WWII. On October 26, 1942 the South Dakota and the carrier task force were on their way to help at the battle of Guadalcanal. When they were just off of the Santa Cruz Islands the task force came under attack by Japanese fighter planes intent on sinking the Enterprise. The USS South Dakota was responsible for helping to protect the Enterprise and during the battle it shot down 26 Japanese attack planes with her anti-aircraft batteries.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Seaman Calvin Graham, who had been in that battle on the South Dakota, turned 13 on November 6, 1942. On that day the Japanese attacked the airfield at Guadalcanal. On the 14th of November, Task Force 64, including the South Dakota and one other battleship, the USS Washington, were engaged by a large force of Japanese warships. This battle would go on for four days and would go down in history as the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
Click the button below to read the rest of Graham’s story.
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Saturday, July 3, 2010
Tomorrows Sunday school lesson
Lesson 7
Long Long time ago there was a king named Ahab.
Ahab loved a women named Jezebel. Ahab wanted to marry
Jezebel.God told Ahab not to marry Jezebel. because Jezebel would keep him from going to church.Ahab married her And disobeyed God.Ahab was a bad King the worse king in the world. Jezebel was a bad women.
"Ahab," Jezebel said, "something must be done with all these preachers I want them to be killed. We must kill them if it makes you happy. "said Ahab,
Ahab had a helper named Obadiah he heard Jezebel say the bad thing on killing the pastors .Oh no thought Obadiah I will show the pastors a place to hide in caves so they wont get hurt and bring them food to eat.
One day King said Obadiah" You go in one direction and I'll go the other. There must be grass somewhere." God stopped the rain and our gardens cant grow God is angry because people did not obey they made a funny thing that looked like a make believe God and they lied and said that’s their God!
While Obadiah was looking here and there, trying to find mud puddles and grass, he saw a man walking toward him. "I wonder who that could be," he thought to himself. As the man came closer, Obadiah said I know him. "Why, that's Elijah!" he exclaimed out loud and ran to meet him.
"Elijah! Elijah! Is that really YOU?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes, I am Elijah, and I want you to do me a big favor."
"What ?" Obadiah asked .
"I want you to go tell King Ahab that I am here and want to see him," said Elijah .
Obadiah became afraid. This was NOT something he wanted to do. "How can you even think of asking me to do such a thing?" Obadiah asked with big eyes. "Don't you know that King Ahab HATES you? Don't you know that the King is blaming YOU because there has not been any rain for all these years? ,and the King has been looking for you. Every time he thinks he knows where you are, you leave and no one can find you. If I tell him you are here, then you will leave again; he will want to kill YOU and ME. I'm sorry, Elijah. I just cannot do it!"
Elijah looked at Obadiah and explained, "It will be fine, Obadiah. I promise you that I will be here. I promise you that I WILL see the King. Now please, just go and tell him I wish to speak to him."
"YOU! YOU! YOU are the one that is causing trouble for Israel!" King Ahab shouted in anger. "YOU are the reason we have had no rain.
"No, King," Elijah replied. "YOU are the cause for all this trouble. You have turned away from , the one true God. You are worshipping the make believe god, Baal. You have caused the people of Israel to sin and do bad things. YOU have brought all this trouble to Israel."
Elijah said. "I want you to gather 450 prophets that believe in a god that they made them selves , and 400 that believe the real God that made you and I, and have them meet me at A Mountain called Carmel."
King Ahab did as Elijah said . A large crowd of people gathered also to see what was going to happen.
Elijah stood before the crowd. "How long are you going to try to worship and believe in two gods? You cannot serve more than one god. If Baal is God, worship him! If God is God, worship Him! You MUST choose. You must choose one or the other."
Then Elijah said, "We are going to have a contest to see who is the REAL God." He told them to bring enough wood to build two altars - one for the real God, and one for Baal the not real God. He told them to bring animals for the sacrifice - one for God and one for Baal.
The 450 prophets of Baal built their altar. They prepared the animal for the sacrifice. Then they started praying: "O Baal, hear us! O Baal, hear us!" From morning until lunch time they kept up the shouting.
Elijah was making fun of them: "What's wrong? Can't your god HEAR you? Has he taken a trip? Why isn't he answering you? Perhaps he is talking to someone else. Maybe you should scream LOUDER."
Elijah told the people gather around him. He took 12 Rocks
for his altar, used the wood that was brought, and made the animal for the sacrifice. Then he told the people to bring him four barrels of water. It sounded funny to them, but they DID bring the water. He poured the water on the altar and on the sacrifice.
He told them to bring him four more barrels of water. "What's wrong with this man? Doesn't he know there is not much water?" they were mumbling among themselves. But they obeyed and brought the water. He poured the water on the altar and on the sacrifice.
That wasn't enough for Elijah. He told them to bring him FOUR MORE barrels of water. "How much water is he going to waste?" someone whispered. Again they did as they were told and brought the water. He poured that water on the altar and on the sacrifice. The sacrifice was soaked with water. Water was running off the wood, onto the stones, and onto the ground. He dug a ditch around the altar and filled it with water also.
Then he began to pray a simple prayer:
SUDDENLY, fire came down from heaven! It burned up the sacrifice! It burned up the WOOD! It burned up the rocks! It even dried up all the water that was in the ditch around the altar!
When the people saw it, they dropped to the ground they were afraid and cried out, "The Lord, He is the God; THE LORD, HE IS THE GOD!" We don’t want to make a God that’s not real.your God is real we will listen to your God!
God is able!
Praying does the body good!
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
Clara Schumann would still be one of today's Greatest Musicians
September 13, 20127:11 a.m.
In the world of classical music, Clara Schumann's husband, Robert, is widely known. Yet Clara was not just wife and mother, but a virtuoso pianist. Clara is getting worldwide attention Thursday, on the occasion of her 193rd birthday, with a Google Doodle.
Though Robert was 10 years older than Clara, her career started flourishing before his.
She was born Clara Josephine Wieck in Leipzig, Germany. Her music-teacher father taught her to play piano and she was performing by age 9.
Around that time, Robert Schumann was in the early stages of a musical career and took piano lessons from Clara's father. But Robert became so obsessed with developing his playing technique that he damaged a finger badly enough that he had to give up playing and turn to composition. At 19, Clara became infatuated with him.
Even before it began, their marriage wasn't easy. Believing an unknown composer unfit for his talented daughter, Clara's father tried to keep them apart; when they wanted to marry he refused to give permission. They ultimately wed a day before she turned 21 and settled in Leipzig.
As he became musically proficient, she continued to perform both alone and on tour with Robert. She had their first child a year after they married and became pregnant nine more times, bearing eight children over the next 14 years.
In the mid 1940s, Robert was suffering from bouts of depression that would continue to plague him and their marriage. In 1854 he attempted to drown himself in the Rhine river and was committed to an asylum, where Clara could not visit him. She finally saw him once before he died two years later at 46.
Clara lived for 40 more years, outliving several of her children.
She continued a long career as a concert pianist and editing her husband's works. In her later years she taught piano in Frankfurt, where she died following a stroke at age 76, in 1986.
Why Clara Schumann would still be one of today's sassiest musicians
Why Clara Schumann, a Victorian pianist and composer, was way ahead of her time. Google paid tribute to Schumann on what would have been her 193rd birthday.
By Amelia Woodside, Contributor / September 13, 2012
Were she alive today, Clara Schumann would be one of the hippest female artists around. A gifted concert pianist, Schumann’s biography busts open the corseted restrictions of the Victorian era with vibrant modern-day detail. Her innovative passion for music crumbled compositional boundaries with poetry, technical wit, and startling live performances, resulting in a career that spanned over six decades.
Not only did she defy the divisions separating work, performance, art as love, and family, she managed to do it all as a 19th century woman. Schumann's legacy was hot enough for Katherine Hepburn to play her in the 1947 flick, “Song of Love.”
Born in Clara Josephine Wieck in 1816, Schumann was raised by a working, divorced mother and debuted as a concert pianist at age 9. She was deemed a child prodigy to nobodies’ surprise. She even sued her own father in order to marry composer Robert Schumannand won in 1840, when she was 21 years old.
According to musicologist Nancy B. Reich, author of “Clara Schumann: The Artist and Woman,” Schumann not only made more money than her piano-playing husband but she also fought to fulfill the roles of performer and wife. Before they were married, Mr. Schumann tried to coax her away from her love of music, writing: “And if you were to be forgotten as an artist, would you not be beloved as a wife?... The wife stands even higher than the artist,” according to theNew York Times. Evidently, Clara could not relinquish her love of music and continued to play.
Thanks in part to Ms. Reich’s biographical research, Clara Schumann’s musical legacy is far from forgotten.
Slide on a recording of Schumann and you’ll be listening to a symphony that splashes scores of real perspective on our continued musical evolution.
The Schumann marriage has long been romanticized by the public and mystique continues to shroud the two musical giants. However, only hypothesis can be surmised from their personal correspondence.
Factual evidence paints an altogether different picture, with four of their eight children dead before adulthood, one institutionalized, and Mr. Schumann’s mental deterioration and eventual death from syphilis.
Schumann’s extraordinary dedication to her craft continues to inspire today: “How had she succeeded in overcoming a lost childhood, an absent mother, a dominating father, a bitter battle with her father over her love for Robert Schumann?” asks Reich, “how had she achieved this position as a great concert artist who performed for over sixty years, probably longer than anyone else in 19th century Europe?”
Schumann’s primary testimony can be found in the remnants of her diaries and in the echoes of her music.
Despite being widowed at 36, Schumann continued to act as her own agent. She independently supported the surviving children, refused all loans, and somehow still found time to hang out withJohannes Brahms, Frédéric Chopin, and Felix Mendelssohn. No wonder she was known as the “Priestess.”
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Organ Transplant
Lung transplant
A Lung transplant is an open surgery where a diseased or damaged lung is removed and replaced with a healthy one provided by a recently deceased donor or a couple of living donors. It is a highly effective treatment method for diseases that has destroyed most of the parts of the lungs and caused the person with serious complications such as breathing problems and blood clots. Depending on the severity of the disease, doctors choose if either one of the lungs will need to be replaced or both. In very few cases, the heart of the deceased donor is also transplanted with the lungs to the patient.
A lung transplant is done other treatment methods do not provide effective results in treating and stopping the symptoms of lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary hypertension along with cystic fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Types of lung transplant
• Single lung transplant, where only one lung is replaced from a donor
• Double lung transplant where both the lungs are replaced given by a donor
• Heart-lung transplant where both the lungs along with the heart is transplanted into the patient
During the treatment
You will be given instructions to follow a week before coming to the surgery. Several medical tests will be performed such as imaging test, blood tests, urine tests, etc. The surgery is performed by a highly experienced and qualified surgeon. You will be given general anesthesia so that you won’t feel the pain and become unaware of what’s going on. Once you are asleep, the surgeon will insert a long, thin tube through your mouth to the windpipe to help you breathe during the procedure. Another tube will also be inserted through your nose to the stomach for drainage and a catheter will empty your bladder.
The surgeon will then make a vertical incision in one side of your chest for a single lung transplant and a horizontal cut for a bilateral transplant. He/she will then remove the damaged lung and the blood vessels connecting the heart and the lungs will be connected to a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, also known as a heart-lung machine. The machine will begin circulating the blood and oxygen to the body while the doctor performs the operation. Once the diseased lung(s) are removed, it will be replaced with the donor’s lungs and the blood vessels will again be attached to the donor’s lungs.
The incisions will be closed with surgical staple and stitches. The operation takes about 4-8 hours for a single lung transplant and 6-12 hours for a double lung transplant.
There are so many complications associated with any open surgery. Lung transplant also has some mild and serious complications, which may or may not be avoided. Below are mentioned most common side effects of lung transplant that you should be aware of.
• Rejection (Immune system rejecting the new (foreign) lung)
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Blockage of blood vessels
• Blood clots
• Severe pulmonary edema
• Stomach problems
• Kidney damage
• Lung damage
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis (thinning of bones)
• Breathing issues
Post operative care
After the treatment, you will have to remain in the ICU for a few days with tubes placed in your chest to remove air and blood, and help the new lung(s) to expand completely. It will also help draining any fluid build ups. Your vital signs will be monitored closely and you may need to breathe through mechanical ventilator.
You may need to stay in the hospitals for weeks, but it may be shorter if your recovery is well.
Once you are discharged, you will need to visit for regular appointments with your health team for next three months for any signs of complications. Several tests will be performed during these visits to track your recovery.
Follow the prescriptions and guidelines given by your health care team as directed. Keep the incision site clean and dry for a few weeks.
You will require to take immunosuppressants drugs for the rest of your life.
Make sure to have word with your doctor, if you experience any side effects of anti-rejection drugs or any other medication |
Fiorenza & The Beginning
Originally named Officine Fratelli Bambi, La Marzocco is founded in 1927 by brothers and craftsmen, Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi, for the purpose of making their own brand of coffee machines.
The first machine, the Fiorenza, was designed by and commissioned on behalf of Mr. Galletti, who later abandoned the designing of espresso coffee machines.
Il Marzocco
Florence was consecrated, since the time of the Romans, to the god of war “Mars” whose name gradually evolved due to the popularization of the name, into “Marzocco”. With the advent of Christianity, the role of the defining city, traditionally attributed to “Marte”, was transformed into the heraldic symbol of the Lion, which became the iconographic symbol of the free republic of Florence and thus the name of “Marzocco”.
La Marzocco bears its name from the heraldic lion, sculpted by Donatello in 1418-1420. The lion is seated and with one paw supporting the coat-of-arms of Florence, il giglio, the lily.
Just as the Marzocco statue represented the conquest of neighboring lands at the time of the Florentine Republic, the Marzocco would symbolize the company’s winning strategy every time a machine was designed, manufactured and sold. Indeed, at a time when few people drank coffee and even fewer shopkeepers were willing to invest in a machine for a beverage that could not be defined as popular, each sale was a success.
For this reason, Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi adopted the image of the Marzocco for the company, a symbol of victory and conquest, the symbol of Florence.
La Marzocco | 1927
Designed and manufactured by Giuseppe Bambi for the first “La Marzocco” machine, with two groups and a vertical boiler. Polygonal body with 12 faces. The upper cap bears the bronze-cast “Marzocco” symbol. Functioning: hot water and steam pressure, generated by a vertical boiler, distributed on ground coffee by a 3-way tap.
The tap, working by rotating a hand lever, was placed on the group’s body. When the machine was not used, the tap allowed for the release of the pressure created in the filter-holder during coffee brewing.
Estimated production: 30-35 units. |
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Mandelbrot was brought into the fold by IBM when they were first trying to find out why computers were behaving strangely. He found out that there was a very simple formula that would explain the phenomena and could subsequently help to figure out many other things.
None of this would have been possible without modern computing.
Multiplication on the scale that they needed it was not possible prior to computers. Imagine what the future will hold for us....
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WiFi Connections As we all travel around, one of the first things we like to do is connect to the internet as soon as we arrive at our destination. This makes sense because most of our professional life is contained somewhere in the "Cloud" now.
Most times we just expect it all to work, right?
You open up your laptop and go to Google and you're in!
Don't be so sure...
If you notice that the connection may be slow...or you cannot print to the location you could previously...ask yourself...
Am I sure I am connected to the correct network?
Never take for granted that you are connected to the network you think you are. When you are in a different location than usual, check to be sure your connection is the one you expect.
There is a reason to be concerned. If you connect to a strange network without knowing, there is potential for compromising confidential information.
You could be connected to a spoofed router that was set up to steal your information (unlikely here in…
Computer and Information Security
By now you may have heard the pseudonyms of Meltdown and Spectre being passed around in the news.
These newfound computer ghouls are putting your information at risk.
The one thing that is most frightening about these latest anomalies is that they are affecting every single computer built in the last 5-10 years that have an Intel processor in them.
The main thing you need to do in response to this threat is to be sure to update your computer. All of those pop-ups, yellow shields, and shut-downs in the middle of doing something important that are a pain, are the things that are going to preserve your privacy and the privacy of your students. Updating your machine is the equivalent of taking your car to the shop for oil changes, tire rotation, or inspection. We do this so the car will be sure to carry us where we expect it to when we expect it to. Why not do this with your computer? If you are unsure of how to update your machine, please consult with your nearest IT person.
The biggest… |
Deciding On A Career In the Dental Field
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3 Things The Edge Of Your Gums Can Tell You About Your Oral Health
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Most people start to suspect that they have gum disease when their gums begin bleeding. However, for most people, the symptoms start long before that stage. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to tell if you have gum disease without knowing what to look for. The solution is just as easy as looking at the edge of your gums where it meets your teeth. Here are three big signs that something's up with the health of your gums.
Tight and Puffy
Your gums should form a seal around the edge of your teeth, but there's a difference between a seal and an overly tight squeeze. When gums become infected or experience gum disease, they often become puffy just above the edge of the gums. This causes the tissue around the tooth to be pulled on, which makes it tighter around your teeth. This pressure may also cause the color to change, making the edge of your gums appear red or white.
As stated, your gums should form a seal in order to keep out food, liquid, and bacteria from getting to the root of your teeth. However, this isn't always the case, especially if you have gum disease. If the edge of your gums appears to gap around your teeth, that's a very strong sign that you're developing gum disease. In addition, it's a health risk. The longer your gums are like that, the more likely it is that your teeth will become damaged from exposure to food or drink that they shouldn't be.
Crooked Angle
Lastly, if part of your gum line is further up or down than the rest of it, this may also indicate a problem. This indicates that there's stress or pressure only affecting one part of your gums. This can often happen if you have something stuck under your gums that's irritating the tissue. A small fragment of something like a tortilla chip or a popcorn kernel could be causing problems. It's also possible that you have a pocket of infection in your gums or tooth that's causing this to happen. In either case, medical attention is needed as soon as possible. An infection or foreign object will only get worse without medical treatment.
Healthy gums can keep your breath sweet and your teeth solidly in place. By taking a careful look at your gum edge on a regular basis, you can catch warning signs of oral health troubles before they become severe and put your teeth at risk. Be sure to talk to your dentist if you suspect you'll need periodontal disease treatment. |
What is the difference between "Rail", "Non-Rail", and "General" activities?
“Rail” activities are generally those that a model railroader or railfan would be interested in. These activities include: clinics on railroad history and model railroading techniques, Special Interest Group activities, auction, layout tours, tours of railroad yards, and industrial tours. Non-Rail activities are aimed primarily (but not exclusively) at partners of Rails who aren’t that interested in Rail activities. Their activities include clinics on crafts, gardening, health, and charity quilting to name a few. General Interest Tours will go to locations that may interest both Rails and Non-Rails. For example, we have a tour to visit the Pacific Ocean beaches as well as a ride along the coast on a tourist railroad and we will have a tour to visit the Evergreen Air Museum, the home of Howard Hughes’ famous “Spruce Goose,” the giant flying boat from World War II. |
Friday, May 02, 2014
Java 8 New Features: Lambda Expressions Part 1
Java is an object-oriented programming language which we all know very well but with Java 8 (released on 18th March, 2014) it goes functional. What does that means? Functional Programming was there way before Java came out but still Java adopted the object-oriented paradigm. Why? Well one simple answer to this is, its popular back then, Why Java wants to adopt Functional Programming now? Well again, simple answer to this question is Modern Hardware now runs more than one CPU Core and as a Programmer we should put them to good use rather then using a single core. Concurrent Programming provides us coarse-grained parallelization that helps Programmers to write code that can put all Cores to good use.
Still accessing a large collection of data is a sequential process well we can make parallel using concurrent programming but thats not an easy task to do at all and even we can't guarantee the performance gains, if any or our data is not in a fragile state or how to design such things that we can reuse it in other projects as well.
If every major Java release since Java 5 adds something to the Java Concurrency API, same way after Java 5, Collections API now makes it easy for accessing the collection of data either sequential or parallel.
Secondly, While doing Event-Driven Programming many of our object instantiation are done via ad-hoc Anonymous Inner Classes and if the code is big the amount of class files it generates with '$' sign is quite a mess. In case, a project deadline is near and there is still a lot of code to write, many developer(s) self question including me "Why the hell we have to write so much boilerplate code and we still achieve very less as compared to other programming languages which runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) like Scala, Groovy etc.. and other which don't run on the JVM but still very less boilerplate code like Python etc.."
As discussed, Java is an object-oriented programming language with exception to having primitives at language level we can either pass an Abstract Data Type (ADT) or Primitives as parameters.
Lets start with a question that we should ask our self before we know whats really changed in Java 8.
Q What are interfaces in Java?
A Very simple answer to this basic question can be "An interface is 100% Abstract Classes that can only declare abstract methods or may have constant(s)."
If you have plans to move to Java 8 or preparing for an interview etc.., then think once Again?
Interfaces are there since the beginning and even a person who is introduced to Java Programming Language was told the same thing. With Java 8, which is the biggest release after Java 5 has changed things (I won't say a little, you will see it in a bit) so its better to be aware of, what interface were before Java 8 and what they have become Java 8 onward.
So whats really changed in Java 8 with respect to interface?
A new keyword added to the language 'default',
Interface can have default, static and abstract methods,
abstract methods cannot have body but default, static methods have body,
If an interface contains only one abstract method, other than overriding method(s) of Object class as abstract are considered functional interface,
There is a new annotation added in the language, @FunctionalInterface, it's optional, i.e., you can either mark an interface with this annotation or you can leave it, as far as it comply to the definition of @FunctionalInterface, Java treats it as functional interface, whereas, if you mark an interface with the annotation and later on add another abstract method, you will get compilation error.
Things covered so far...
Till Java 7,
lots of boilerplate code,
sequential access to data inside a collection,
Not much of parallel computing (except concurrency API, provides coarse-grained parallelization),
Event-driven Programming is a mess,
Strong typing,
Either we can pass a primitive or ADT as a parameter
Java 8 onward,
concise syntax,
sequential/parallel access to data inside a collection - out-of-the-box,
fine-grained parallelization,
No more Anonymous classes while doing Event-driven programming
type inference,
Now apart from passing primitives or ADT as a parameter, we can do pass lambdas or "code-as-data" as parameters.
Lambda Expressions
Lets now start with an exercise where we can see how things are done till Java 7 and how its improved in terms of syntax, performance etc.. |
Ok, Wind is a moving air. So wind power vitality itself emerges from flow in space. It influenced by sun-powered action. Wind control is a power plant that utilizations twist as a wellspring of vitality to create electrical vitality. A blowing wind can move the sharp edges. The movement will change over into electrical vitality.
wind power
wind power
This wind power plant can change over breeze vitality into electrical vitality by utilizing a windmill. Creating power utilizing wind energy as a vitality source is a created framework. This is on account of the breeze is one of the plenteous vitality and its accessibility won’t be depleted. Winds acquired for nothing. Power generation forms that cost cash.
This breeze control framework is a wind power plant that utilizations twist turbines as the essential part. This turbine will produce power.
Let start, Wind power turbines fall into two gatherings: flat pivot turbines, even hub wind turbines either have a few modules. Another kind of vertical hub turbine. The breeze worked against this three-bladed turbine. With the module confronting the breeze.
Utility-scale turbines go in a measure from 100 kilowatts to a few megawatts. The breeze assembled together in Large turbines. Which gives mass-energy to the electrical matrix. The solitary little turbine, under 100 kilowatts and utilized as a part of homes. Broadcast communications or water pumping. Little turbines are now and then. It utilized as a part of conjunction with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic frameworks. This framework is known as a half-breed wind framework. It utilized as a part of little towns a long way from urban communities.
Wind Power Generation Process
A wind power plant that utilizations wind vitality. It is the consequence of joining a few breeze turbines. At first breeze, vitality turns wind turbines. The breeze turbine works as opposed to the fan. Rather than utilizing power to create a twist but utilizes the breeze to produce power. At that point, the breeze will pivot the edge of the turbine. At that point continue to turn the rotor on the generator at the back of the breeze turbine. The generator changes over the movement vitality into electrical vitality by the hypothesis of the electromagnetic field. Ie the pole on the generator fitted with a perpetual ferromagnetic material.
After that around the pole, there is a stator whose physical frame is the curls of wire shaping a circle. At the point when the generator pivot starts to turn. There will be transition changes in the stator which in the end because of this motion change will create a specific voltage and electric current. The voltage and current created are steered through the wind power network to beat last utilized by the group. The voltage and current created by this generator are AC current (substituting current). Electrical wind power vitality is typically put away into the battery before it can be used.
Wind power plant idea is ecologically neighborly. Notwithstanding sustainable, wind energy is one elective vitality source that if utilized won’t dirty the earth. How about we adore our earth? |
Monday, March 14, 2011
Algorithms Analysis -> Preparing the class -> The Dijsktra Algorithm
It's a habit I've been procrastinating for a while but from now on I'm reviewing the class materials in advanced as there are so many concepts that won't stick at the first try, and I'm my grades lately aren't as good as I'd like them to be.
We'll be reviewing the Dijkstra algorithm ( I studied itfor the first time a couple of years ago, so my knowledge of it is kind of rusty at the moment)
• What is it used for? It finds the shortest path in a graph from a starting point (called source) to all other nodes.
• What does the algorithm do?
1. Creates a table where the distance from the source (say, node a) to any other node is set to infinity. Why? To make sure that any path found will be shorter than the initial value stored in the table.
2. The distances are updated so we write in the table the real distances from the source to any other node that has only one edge separating them from the source.
3. The algorithm moves now to the node with the shortest distance from (a) within the nodes described in step 2 (say node c).
4. Being in that new node, we examine what nodes are the closest and calculate their distance from node (a).
5. Compare the results in step 4 with those in step 2.
6. When all paths starting from node c have been visited we check it so it's not visited again.
This pattern continues 'till all nodes have been visited. There's a little more to it but it's 3:00 am and I'm starting to feel sleepy and dizzy.
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officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia; known until 1972 as Ceylon Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.
Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years.[8] Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War. Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages.[11] It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings, the Pāli Canon, was committed to writing during the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively but controversially[15] ended in a military victory in 2009.
Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. An important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber, and the native cinnamon, Sri Lanka is known as "the Pearl of the Indian Ocean" because of its natural beauty, its shape and location, and "the nation of smiling people". The island contains tropical forests and diverse landscapes with high biodiversity. |
Mutually exclusive
Mutually exclusive
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In layman
A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....
In the coin-tossing example, both outcomes are collectively exhaustive, which means that at least one of the outcomes must happen, so these two possibilities together exhaust all the possibilities. However, not all mutually exclusive events are collectively exhaustive. For example, the outcomes 1 and 4 of a single roll of a six-sided die are mutually exclusive (cannot both happen) but not collectively exhaustive (there are other possible outcomes).
In logic
, two mutually exclusive propositions are propositions that logically cannot
Logical possibility
A logically possible proposition is one that can be asserted without implying a logical contradiction. This is to say that a proposition is logically possible if there is some coherent way for the world to be, under which the proposition would be true...
In probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
, events E1, E2, ..., En are said to be mutually exclusive if the occurrence of any one of them automatically implies the non-occurrence of the remaining n − 1 events. Therefore, two mutually exclusive events cannot both occur. Mutually exclusive events have the property: P(A and B) = 0. For example, one cannot draw a card that is both red and a club because clubs are always black. If one draws just one card from the deck, either a red card or a club can be drawn. When A and B are mutually exclusive, P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B). One might ask, "What is the probability of drawing a red card or a club?" This problem would be solved by adding together the probability of drawing a red card and the probability of drawing a club. In a standard 52-card deck, there are twenty-six red cards and thirteen clubs: 26/52 + 13/52 = 39/52 or 3/4.
In probability theory the word "or" allows for the possibility of both events happening. The probability of one or both events occurring is denoted P(A or B) and in general it equals P(A) + P(B) – P(A and B). Therefore, if one asks, "What is the probability of drawing a red card or a king?", drawing any of a red king, a red non-king, or a black king is considered a success. In a standard 52-card deck, there are twenty-six red cards and four kings, two of which are red, so the probability of drawing a red or a king is 26/52 + 4/52 – 2/52 = 28/52. However, with mutually exclusive events the last term in the formula, – P(A and B), is zero, so the formula simplifies to the one given in the previous paragraph.
Events are collectively exhaustive
Collectively exhaustive
In probability theory, a set of events is jointly or collectively exhaustive if at least one of the events must occur. For example, when rolling a six-sided die, the outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are collectively exhaustive, because they encompass the entire range of possible outcomes.Another way...
In statistics
and regression analysis
Regression analysis
In statistics, regression analysis includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables...
, an independent variable
Dependent and independent variables
Dummy variable
In statistics and econometrics, particularly in regression analysis, a dummy variable is one that takes the values 0 or 1 to indicate the absence or presence of some categorical effect that may be expected to shift the outcome...
Ordinary least squares
In statistics, ordinary least squares or linear least squares is a method for estimating the unknown parameters in a linear regression model. This method minimizes the sum of squared vertical distances between the observed responses in the dataset and the responses predicted by the linear...
Logistic regression
In statistics, logistic regression is used for prediction of the probability of occurrence of an event by fitting data to a logit function logistic curve. It is a generalized linear model used for binomial regression...
Multinomial probit
In econometrics and statistics, the multinomial probit model, a popular alternative to the multinomial logit model, is a generalization of the probit model that allows more than two discrete, unordered outcomes. It is not to be confused with the multivariate probit model, which is used to model...
or multinomial logit
Multinomial logit
In statistics, economics, and genetics, a multinomial logit model, also known as multinomial logistic regression, is a regression model which generalizes logistic regression by allowing more than two discrete outcomes...
technique is used. |
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The Secret of Allergies
Holistic on-line Allergy and Asthma Help!
Most people agree that hayfever, rashes, watery eyes, itching and sneezing are typically associated with allergies. But would you imagine that asthma, depression, pain, psoriasis, indigestion, alcoholism, obesity, high blood pressure, recurring infections, migraines, eczema, arthritis, chronic fatigue, sinus trouble, learning difficulties and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) can be caused by underlying allergies?
What is an Allergy?
An allergy is an exaggerated and abnormal response of the body to allergens such as foods, food colorings and additives, clothing, plants (poison oak, pollen, weeds, etc.), pets, vitamins, tap water, vaccines, insect bites, furniture, plastic, metals (amalgam- mercury fillings in your mouth, nickel in braces, wedding rings), piano keys, water, dust (mites), molds, medicines, chemicals (chlorine, fluoride, pesticides, etc.), cosmetics, viruses, bacteria, parasites, cold, heat, hormones, acrylic fingernails, saliva, sunlight, even your own adrenaline-the list is staggering. This abnormal response can take any imaginable form.
Types of Allergies:
We distinguish between two types of allergies:
The first is IgE mediated: after exposure to an allergen the body produces an excess of antibodies called immunoglobulins E (IgE). Histamine is released that produces the typical allergy symptoms. Reactions can vary from mild (runny nose, coughing, sneezing) to severe (anaphylactic shock, with drop in blood pressure, difficulty breathing, swollen throat, coma and sometimes death.) It is estimated that 30 - 35 million people in America suffer from these type of allergies.
The second group of allergies takes place without the activation of antibodies. They are called hypersensitivity reactions. Probably 100-120 million people in the United States suffer from these hypersensitivities without realizing it. NAET further identifies three subtypes of allergies:
1. Structural-allergies caused by structural misalignments.
2. Biochemical-allergies induced by biochemical imbalance.
3. Emotional-allergies caused by emotional events, often in childhood.
The Trouble with Symptoms
Because symptoms can vary so dramatically, it is quite difficult to realize that depression, high blood pressure, irritability, addictions, learning difficulties, etc. may be due to an allergic reaction to (a) particular substance(s). Undiagnosed allergies can produce symptoms, illnesses, even chronic diseases like cancer, that affect every system and organ in your body. Chronic fatigue, migraines, hyperactivity, arthritis, asthma, anxiety, depression, backaches, addictions-all these and more can be allergy-based. Unless you understand the secret of allergies, you may spend years visiting medical specialist, never getting any true relief.
Causes of Allergies
• Digestive Problems
Food allergies may develop when food stuff is not digested properly. Instead of being digested the food ferments. Our clinical experience shows again and again that many food allergies simply vanish once the patient's digestion is normalized with the help of the appropriate nutritional supplements by Thorne Research. Go to Dr. Z's Self Evaluation for further on-line help.
• Dysbiosis/Abnormal Bowel Flora/Candida
Abnormal bowel flora/candida tends to irritate the intestinal lining. This can lead to increased permeability of the intestinal wall (Leaky Gut Syndrome). Not fully digested food particles can enter the blood stream and cause a variety of allergic reactions. Specific nutritional supplements by Thorne Research and/or Sanum are recommended to help restore normal bowel flora. Go to Dr. Z's Self Evaluation for further on-line help.
• Hypoglycemia/Low Blood Sugar
If the blood sugar level for some reason is depressed below normal, or if blood sugar levels drop too rapidly, the brain is unable to function appropriately. This can lead to a wide variety of symptoms associated with abnormal nervous system function, including many allergy type reactions. Go to Dr. Z's Self Evaluation for further on-line help.
• Overexposure to foods and/or other items
Eating the same or similar foods often can lead to food allergies. The main culprits in the US are wheat, dairy, corn, sugar, and increasingly soy. Read the labels of processed foods. Change of eating habits typically brings on drastic improvements. For stubborn allergies see Dr. Z for (NAET) Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique.
Mercury in amalgam dental fillings, besides being highly toxic, often causes allergy type reactions. Nickel in dental crowns or other stainless steel implants, surgical plates and screws have shown to cause a variety of "allergic" reactions. NAET will help reduce or resolve symptoms.
• Addictions and allergies
A person who is addicted a substance such as cigarettes, alcohol or drugs ("recreational" and pharmaceutical) is nearly always highly allergic to this very substance. We recommend to always perform NAET treatments along with any other form of detox protocol.
How can YOU improve your health?
• Start with the basics - DDHC
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In the 1860s, rich plantation slave owners and their associates were able to convince the less fortunate population to support and fight for their cause.
One method used was the hope that some day these people could ascend to their status through grit and determination as they wanted you to believe they had.
The other was fear, a most powerful motivator. Status quo supporters talked of how they would be forced to the level of the black man and see their daughters married to former slaves.
We see similar methods used today. The common people are asked to give up education, social programs, and even Medicare. And they seem to have convinced many of us this is the right thing to do.
Notice the cuts don't really affect the wealthiest of us, but do greatly impact the least able to afford it. Many of the millionaires who received that last tax bonus from Bush don't really want it and acknowledge it is the wrong path to take.
State governments are working in similar directions. Don't tax the people making millions off gas extraction but make painful cut backs in education. Our America is better than that.
Mark S. Hogan |
Cameroon is often referred to as “Africa in miniature” for its geological and cultural diversity. The north of the country, with six natural parks, offers wonderful opportunities. Located in Central Africa, Cameroon has 400 km of Atlantic coastline with clean, natural beaches and warm ocean to swim in. From tropical rainforest to savannahs, from high plateaus to dry plains and steppes on the Southern border of the Sahel, all the scenery you expect to find in Africa is here in a single country, smaller than France. Read more about the North West region.
makossaThe people of Cameroon are as varied as the land itself, with cultures that are still real and alive. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Despite its vast farmland, children of age groups between 4 to 12 years in rural areas of Cameroon have varying degrees of malnutrition. As much as 50% of children from even middle-income families are deficient in the micro-nutrients that generally affect school performance.
In most of these rural areas, the use of chemicals to grow vegetables is common, and the desired waiting period between pesticide spray and harvest is not regularly followed. This leads to the degradation of both human health and the environment.
Currently, Cameroon’s farmers are mostly over 55 years old. They follow traditional practices, which result in poor returns and a hardscrabble existence. As a result, many Cameroonian youth turn their backs on farming and move to the cities in search of “real” jobs, but the cities cannot provide enough jobs for the influx. Faced with unemployment, desperate poverty and even starvation, they often turn to substance abuse, violence and crime.
farmingwomenSince so few other occupations are open to them, more than twice as many women as men are engaged in agriculture as their primary occupation. Limited availability of farm equipment and materials; inadequate education regarding improved farming techniques, processing, transformation, and preservation; poor or non existent farm-to-market roads; and lack of credit facilities all add to the difficulties of rural farming.
Most Cameroonians live in or around the country’s 22 million hectares of forest and depend on the forest for their livelihood to some degree. The loss of more than 2 million hectares of forest since 1980 has led to erosion of agricultural lands, desertification, and the disappearance of plant and animal species. Through its effects on the carbon cycle, deforestation has disastrous effects on both local and regional climatic conditions, accelerating global warming. Its impact on soil fertility and the availability of fresh water destabilizes local agriculture and erodes the rural economy.
CAMAAY works to preserve and restore Cameroon’s precious natural resources and revive the rural economy, with projects to modernize agriculture, reforest the countryside, educate rural schoolchildren and upgrade the infrastructure. Pick your area of interest and come join us!
Learn more about what to expect when volunteering for CAMAAY |
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General Chemistry – Unit 7 Chemical Equations
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Presentation on theme: "General Chemistry – Unit 7 Chemical Equations"— Presentation transcript:
1 General Chemistry – Unit 7 Chemical Equations
Chapter 7
2 What is a chemical rxn? A process where one or more substances changes to one or more other substances. Exchange of electrons!!!
3 Parts of a chemical reaction
Reactants the original substances Products the resulting substances
4 ASK YOURSELF: Which are the products and which are the reactants in these equations? Na+ + Cl- NaCl 2H2O 2H2 + O2
5 Quick Demo Magnesium
6 A word equation Magnesium metal reacts with oxygen gas to form white magnesium oxide solid. We must learn how to translate these!
7 Balancing equations Tips
__Fe2O3 + __H2SO4 __Fe2(SO4)3 + __H2O If possible treat polyatomic ions as 1 unit Balance hydrogen 2nd last Balance oxygen last If the last element does not balance double everything
8 Ways to Represent Reactions
Chemical equation: symbols that describe a chemical reaction and show what atoms (and how many, relatively speaking) are involved. Word equation: the names of each product/reactant are written out. Doesn’t show how many of each
9 Write out the word equation
Magnesium metal reacts with oxygen gas to form magnesium oxide solid. Mg + O MgO
10 Remember BrINClOFH Br2 – a liquid I2 - a solid N2 - a gas Cl2 - a gas
O2 - a gas F2 - a gas H2 - a gas
11 Check for BrINClOFH Any time you see 1 of the 7 diatomic elements alone, write them with a 2 subscript Mg + O2 MgO
12 Balance the charges of ionic comp
In our reaction we have already done this, but make sure to use proper formulas (for molecular comp too!): MgO = Mg2+ O2- Mg + O2 MgO
13 Balance number of atoms/ions on each side
In ordinary chemical changes, atoms just rearrange This is the LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MATTER We do this with coefficients 2Mg O2 2MgO
14 Example If you take Ca(NO3)2 and change it to 2Ca(NO3)2, how many of each element do you have?
15 Put in physical states Symbols used in chemical equations: (s) solid
(l) liquid (g) gas (aq) aqueous solution (dissolved in H2O)
16 Put in physical states I will give you physical states in word problems: Magnesium metal reacts with oxygen gas to form magnesium oxide solid 2Mg(s) O2(g) 2MgO(s)
17 Word Equation example Hydrogen gas and Oxygen gas combine to form liquid water. 2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H2O(l)
18 Example: Sodium solid reacts with chlorine gas to form sodium chloride solid. 2Na(s) + Cl2(g) 2NaCl(s)
19 Try this one: Dicarbon dihydride reacts with oxygen gas to produce carbon dioxide gas and water
20 Evidence of rxns All rxns involve chemical change
Look for evidence of those changes: Light, heat, gas, color change, precipitate
21 Other Symbols precipitate forms gas forms “produces” or “yields”
products can reform in to reactants – end result is a mix of the two. Δ – means that heat was added
22 Chemistry – Chemical Equations
Part II
23 Experiment 17 Please read over steps 1-8 carefully
Get the proper safety gear, and the proper equipment Do steps 1-8, then set the solid aside to dry (step 9) Return to your seat – while the solid dries, you can work on A7 At the end of class – record the mass of your beaker and solid.
24 Balanced equations show RATIOS
The coefficients of a balanced equation reveal the RATIO of each reactant to each product: 2H2 + O2 2H2O means there is a 2:1:2 ratio of H2 to O2 to H2O. This is the same as a 4:2:4 ratio, etc. etc.
25 The activity series Writing an equation doesn’t mean it will actually happen How do we know it will happen? Single replacement reactions are predicted with the activity series This activity series has been created through experiment.
26 The activity series Things on the list will displace anything below but not above other things on the list There are two lists – one for elements that become positive ions, and one for elements that become negative ions.
27 Element Reactivity Li Rb K Ba Ca Na React with cold H2O and acids, replacing hydrogen F2 Cl2 Br2 I2 Listed from most reactive to least reactive Mg Al Mn Zn Cr Fe React with acids or steam but usually not liquid water, to replace hydrogen Ni Sn Pb All react with acids but not water, to replace hydrogen H2 Cu Hg All react with oxygen to form oxides Ag Pt Au Mostly unreactive
28 ? When a rxn releases energy, where does it come from?
You have to put energy in to break bonds If bonding is stronger in the products they will be more stable More stable = lower energy Lower energy means energy must be RELEASED This is an exothermic reaction Is this an example of an ENDOthermic or EXOthermic reaction?
29 If bonding is weaker in the products, they will be less stable, have more energy, and will therefore absorb it. Is this an endo or exothermic rxn?
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Science Is Moving Forward On This MS Cure That Could Affect 2.3 Million Patients!
Multiple sclerosis is a terrible disease that affects many people worldwide. Most people don’t call it by its full name but they use the common abbreviation, MS. This disease affects people in very difficult ways. It involves the nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord. Individuals who suffer from this problem may go through a wide variety of symptoms that can be both mental and physical. Some of the more common issues include blindness, double vision, muscle problems and psychological issues.
Some people are able to live with MS for many years but others experience such difficult problems in their life that it shortens their lifespan considerably. MS can also be fatal in many cases. Like many different types of diseases, the medications that are available for those who suffer from MS tend to focus more on the symptoms rather than on the disease itself. You may be able to take the medication and to live a life that has more promise but there has not been anything available to provide a cure for the disease as of yet.
MS is more than just a disease that affects the individual who suffer indirectly; it also affects the lives of everyone who come in contact with them as well. The caretakers may struggle to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible and the family members may go through a considerable amount of stress as they worry about their family member and their health. Certainly, a cure is something that would be beneficial for those who are suffering but now it seems as if it may not be as far away as was at one time.
According to Dr. Su Metcalfe, scientists may now be on the verge of a medical breakthrough that could change everything for millions of people who are dealing with this disease. It is more than just a glimmer of hope, it is the possibility of a cure that will be nothing short of a medical miracle.
According to Dr. Metcalfe, the nerve cells are being attacked in the nervous system but this process may be stopped because of the medical development that is about ready to enter the market. Her company is responsible for coming up with this potential pure. She had this to say:
“Some people get progressive MS, so go straight to the severe form of the disease, but the majority have a relapsing or remitting version,” Dr. Metcalfe said to Cambridge News.
“It can start from the age of 30, and there’s no cure, so all you can do is suppress the immune response, but the drugs that do that have side effects, and you can’t repair the brain. The cost of those drugs is very high, and in the UK there are a lot of people who don’t get treated at all.”
Part of the immune cell, a cell particle known as LIF is used in the process that could be a treatment for individuals who suffer from MS. It is a stem cell particle and it may be able to halt the attack that is taking place on the inside of your body.
“I discovered a small binary switch, controlled by a LIF, which regulates inside the immune cell itself. LIF is able to control the cell to ensure it doesn’t attack your own body but then releases the attack when needed.
“So I thought, this is fantastic. We can treat auto-immune disease, and we’ve got something to treat MS, which attacks both the brain and the spinal cord. So you have a double whammy that can stop and reverse the auto-immunity, and also repair the damage caused in the brain.”
As is the case with any type of treatment that promises to be a cure, there is more research must be done in order to ensure that this medical breakthrough is one that provides what it promises. It not only needs to treat the condition temporarily, it needs to be a permanent treatment in order to be identified as a cure.
The release date for the general public is not available as of yet. According to some estimations, 2020 is the target date but that may be a little bit aggressive. If everything goes as smoothly as possible and if the tests come out in a positive way, this ambitious goal can be reached.
“The 2020 date is ambitious, but with the funding we’ve got and the funding we’re hoping to raise, it should be possible,” she says.
Other diseases may also be considered for a similar treatment.
“Psoriasis is high up on our list, and diabetes is another. Downstream there are all the dementias because a LIF is a major health factor for the brain. So if we can get it into the brain we can start protecting against dementia.”
Be sure to share this amazing news with your friends on Facebook
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Pronunciation: kon'di-lar-thro'sis
Definition: A joint, like that of the knee, formed by condylar surfaces.
[G. kondylos, condyle, + arthrosis, a jointing]
Further information
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Q:A recent column mentioned an arthritic cocker spaniel that had taken to sleeping behind bushes, something he had never done before. This reminded me of my elderly dachshund who apparently suffered a stroke. She started hiding behind the toilet and jumping into the sump pump water well in the corner of the basement. Is this normal behavior for animals as they decline?
A: As you have experienced, ill animals will sometimes exhibit a number of odd behaviors, so being in tune with your pet's normal behavior can help clue you in to the first signs that something is off.
Animals that are not feeling well will frequently have an overall decrease in energy and interest in their normal activities. Sometimes they will hide or start sleeping in unusual spots, as your dachshund did. Some will do the opposite and seek out human attention more than they normally do. I've heard many owners describe their sick pets as being more "needy" than usual.
There are also several diseases in dogs and cats that will cause them to drink and urinate more frequently than normal; these animals will sometimes hover near the bathtub or other sources of water. Animals with true neurological problems will sometimes stare off into space, get stuck in corners, pace or walk in circles. Some will exhibit behavioral changes such as increased aggression or barking for no apparent reason. Cats and dogs rarely have strokes, but they are susceptible to other neurological diseases including cognitive dysfunction syndrome, which is similar to Alzheimer's disease in humans.
Because many of these changes are subtle and nonspecific, a neurological exam is necessary to distinguish a neurologically abnormal patient from one that is acting abnormally just because he or she is not feeling well. It is important for any elderly pet with behavioral changes to be evaluated by a veterinarian.
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Erin Adkins, DVM, is an intern at San Francisco Veterinary Specialists, www.sfvs.net. |
Genetic Technology Digital Project
Adventures in Science
In 2003, a collaborative research program called the Human Genome Project completed its draft of the human genome. This draft contains the “code of life”—the sequence of all 6 billion chemical bases that make up the 20,000 or so genes inside each human cell.
Pros of techonolgy
Genes influence many of our physical traits, provide instructions for our bodies’ functions, and, when they contain mutations, may cause diseases. Since this code was published, scientists have been working to understand what specific genes do, how they relate to illnesses, and how such illnesses can be treated.
Cons of techonolgy
If they was to change anything they would be playing with the laws of natures and could cause even more diease and could be the a very bad thing even more people could die and we need to cut back on some of this cause some people will die. |
Java Learning Tips for Beginners
How to achieve mastering programming skills in Java if you're only a beginner?
This question raises in the heads of many students who make their first steps in a programming career. Being the best is what the industry expects from you. But gaining programming skills is a step-by-step process. It requires time and dedication. There is no one secret solution to learn to programme. All you have to do is to visit to learn java and its static methods, learn professional literature, and get information from specific resources. But, in general, learning Java is a set of skills you get.
Today, we're going to provide you with pretty basic information, which is essential for every beginner.
5 Tips to Learn Java Fast as a Beginner
First of all, Java is a good choice to start a programming career. It is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Java is an object-oriented language. It is quite simple and less complicated than C++ or GO. So, prepare yourself that there is no point to procrastinate learning Java language. Still, you have to get a good strategy.
So, what are those 5 effective tips to learn Java fast for beginners?
● Don't rush to learn programming. In Java, going faster doesn't mean learning faster. You have to take your time to get the solid basic knowledge to move forward faster in future. You are not allowed to skip basic information and simple things to come back to learn them later. You have to get a cohesive picture of the programming language in the very beginning.
● Learn and practice. Don't divide Java learning into 2 different parts – theory and practice. You have to combine learning Java syntax and practicing it at the same time. You have to understand clearly why do you learn Java. For example, to build an app or to build an Android app. Your goal should be specific.
● Pay attention to the mistakes you make. Don't skip your mistakes. Learn from them and always get the correct solution. In the future, your programs will become bigger and bigger. If you don't learn to solve small mistakes in the beginning, it will be more difficult to do for you later. Your eye has to get used to catch little mistakes in coding immediately.
● Write software that interests you. To avoid losing interest in programming in the very beginning of your career, write software which interests you the most. What kind of program would you really want to write?
● Don't skip any lesson. Sometimes beginners skip some lessons they already know. That is a huge mistake. You don't want to miss a tiny, but essential detail when being a professional programmer. In another case, you will have to go back and find what concretely you've missed when you were learning the language.
Hopefully, these 5 tips will make it easier for you to learn Java faster. |
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Ernst Heinrich Heinkel 1888-1958
Ernst Heinkel was born in Grunbach and as a young man became an apprentice machinist at a foundry. He initially became interested in aviation through a fascination with zeppelins, and in 1909 attended an international airshow in Frankfurt am Main. The following year, he built his first aircraft, working from a set of plans by Henri Farman.Soon afterwards, he gained employment at Luft Verkehrs Gesellschaft (LVG) who were building Farman aircraft. From there, he went to Albatros, where Heinkel designed the Albatros B-II, a reconnaissance aircraft used during the early stages of the First World War. After leaving the Albatros, Heinkel designed several land- and seaplanes for the Hansa-Brandenburg company starting in 1914.
In 1921, Heinkel was appointed head designer of the recently re-established Caspar-Werke, but soon left after a dispute over ownership of a design. In 1922 he established the Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke company at Warnemünde. Due to the restrictions placed on German aircraft manufacturing by the Treaty of Versailles, Heinkel looked overseas for contracts, with some seaplane designs being licence-built in Sweden and working on catapult-launched seaplanes for the Imperial Japanese Navy which Heinkel had business links with Japan since 1922. Back in Germany, he installed a similar catapult on the ocean liner Bremen for launching mail planes.
After Adolf Hitler came to power, designs by Heinkel's firm formed a vital part of the Luftwaffe's growing strength in the years leading up to the Second World War. This included the Heinkel He 59, the Heinkel He 115 and the Heinkel He 111.
Heinkel was passionate about high-speed flight, and was keen on exploring alternative forms of aircraft propulsion. He donated aircraft to Wernher von Braun who was investigating rocket propulsion for aircraft, as well as sponsoring the research of Hans von Ohain into turbojet engines, leading to the flight of the Heinkel He 178, the first aircraft to fly solely under turbojet power by Erich Warsitz on August 27, 1939.
Heinkel had been a critic of Hitler's regime from the time that he had been forced to sack Jewish designers and staff in 1933. In 1942 the government "nationalised" the Heinkel works. In practice, this meant that Heinkel was detained until he sold his controlling interest in his factories to Hermann Göring. Heinkel moved to Vienna and started a new design bureau there, working on the Heinkel He 274 design until the war ended.
At the end of the war Heinkel was arrested by the Allies but evidence of anti-Hitler activities and his treatment by the regime led to his acquittal.
With Germany forbidden from manufacturing aircraft by the Allies, Heinkel used his company's facilities to build private transportation. In 1953 Heinkel began production of the Tourist scooter, followed by the Perle moped in 1954. In 1956 he introduced the Heinkel Kabine bubble car. Bubble car and moped production ceased shortly after the restriction on aircraft manufacture was lifted, but scooter production continued until 1965. |
1. Acquire knowledge
2. Develop concepts
3. Understand techniques
4. Acquire skill in the use of a technique, concept, or knowledege
5. Acquire skill in analysis of complex and unstructured problems
6. Acquire skill in synthesis of plans for action and implementation
7. Grow in ability to listen
8. Grow in ability to form trustworthy relationships
9. Develop certain attitudes.
1. Responsibility – for own decisions, for outcomes
2. Skepticism
3. Criticism – of self, of status-quo
4. Confidence – “can do”
10. Develop ability to communicate – briefly, effectively, persuasively
11. Develop certain qualities of mind
1. Distinguishing between hope, beliefs, inferences, facts
2. Clarity of objectives and purposes
3. Analysis
4. Self-starting - initiative
5. A set of standards – moral, business, institutiona
12. Develop judgement and wisdom
1. To foresee implications, outcomes
2. To place situations in a long-range, broad perspective
3. To generalize – accurately from specific at the level of detail, to perceive trends and develop useful concepts
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Karl Marx, the father of communism, suffered from the chronic and excruciating skin disease known as Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)
Karl Marx Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)
It emerged this week that Karl Marx, the father of communism, suffered from a chronic and excruciating skin disease with known psychological effects that might have had an impact on his political theories.
Quoting Lynda Hurst, Toronto Star, 12.26.2012 | It emerged this week that Karl Marx, the father of communism, suffered from a chronic and excruciating skin disease with known psychological effects that might have had an impact on his political theories. The 19th-century revolutionary thinker had a condition called hidradenitis suppurativa, in which the sweat glands in his armpits and groin become blocked and inflamed and his skin covered in boils and carbuncles.
Or so argues Sam Shuster, a professor of dermatology at Britain’s University of East Anglia.
“In addition to reducing his ability to work, which contributed to his depressing poverty, hidradenitis greatly reduced his self-esteem,” writes Shuster in the current British Journal of Dermatology.
But does it also explain communism? Could Marx’s anger over the class struggles of history and the ongoing oppression of the proletariat have been fuelled by his disease?
Marx published Das Kapital in 1867, the same year in which he wrote to his Communist Manifesto co-author Friedrich Engels that “the bourgeoisie will remember my carbuncles until their dying day.”
Though hardly known for it, was Marx joking? Entirely?
He started complaining about pus-discharging boils in 1864, when he was 46. Shuster says that hidradenitis, which causes swelling, skin thickening and scarring, could also explain a number of his other physical ailments, among them joint pain and a painful eye condition. His attempts at treatment, which included arsenic and lancing, would hardly have helped his concentration or his mood.
Shuster based his retrospective diagnosis on Marx’s correspondence with friends in which he frequently wrote about his ill health, describing his skin lesions as “curs” and “swine.” His only consolation, he said, was that the carbuncles were “truly a proletarian disease.”
Should they now be factored into Marx’s insistence that the bourgeoisie must be overthrown by the working class at whatever cost? Or are they merely an interesting detail to be added to the body of knowledge on a failed political ideology and its chief exponent?
The 19th-century philosopher Thomas Carlyle famously argued that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” Or evil ones.
What became known as the Great Man theory of history – which holds that it is individuals who push forward events, who are the agents of change, for good or for ill – once held academic dominance. It fell out of favour in recent decades, at least until recently.
“I think the pendulum is starting to turn back to emphasizing personality along with the structural determinants of history, economics, cultural aspects and so on,” says University of Toronto historian Sidney Aster.
For instance, Aster wonders if the fact that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s gout flared up on the morning of Sept. 3, 1939 lead to war being declared that particular day: “A sort of, `Let’s get this over with, I want to go home.'”
Not, of course, that Chamberlain’s gout was the sole determinant of the timing of the war.
Any more than Napoleon’s hemorrhoids decided the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo.
They matter in the sense that he was plagued by them that day, perhaps undermining his tactical thinking and losing him the battle. But would Napoleon’s roar through Europe have come to an end nonetheless? Of course.
Does it matter that poor King George III, during whose reign the American colonies were lost, was not mad, but misunderstood? It’s now accepted that he suffered from a severe form of porphyria, a rare blood disorder, and wasn’t periodically as mad as a March hare. America, in any event, was en route to independence.
In Pox, her 2004 history of syphilis, American historian Deborah Hayden says that many prominent 19th and 20th-century figures in diverse fields suffered from the disease. She lists Beethoven, Baudelaire, Nietzsche, van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler as likely syphilitics.
Hayden draws a parallel between the effects on the brain of advanced syphilis and of manic-depression (bipolar disease), which has been linked by some researchers to increased creativity.
In late-stage syphilis, episodes of euphoria and heightened perception occur, which surely, she argues, must have had some influence on these people’s output.
Of course, the later stages can also lead to raging mania.
Hitler is indeed thought by some historians to have suffered from syphilis. Could it be linked to his hatred of the Jews and persistence in a catastrophic war that was lost long before it actually ended?
That a Jewish prostitute in Vienna had infected him was a notion that the late Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, among others, once advanced in a search for the “why” of Hitler. Proponents say that the (on-again off-again) theory could account for Hitler’s well-documented and multiple health problems (from skin lesions to an abnormal heartbeat), his lack of sexual interest in his mistress/last-minute wife, Eva Braun, and his personal physician being Germany’s leading syphilis expert.
It might also account for Hitler’s progressively irrational outbursts. After the Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s last, unsuccessful offensive, in December 1944, he hysterically screamed: “We will not capitulate. Never. We can go down. But we will take a world with us.”
Supporters say there is convincing, if circumstantial, medical evidence to support the retrospective diagnosis. Others counter that, if true, it might in part explain Hitler the man, but not German’s embrace of Nazism. Still others roll their eyes.
“It’s perfectly appropriate to look at the personal circumstances of influential historical figures,” says U of T historian Jeffrey Kopstein.
“But it’s not all right to reduce their ideas to their health conditions.”
Yet Sidney Aster cites the eminent historian Ian Kershaw’s latest book, Fateful Choices: Ten Choices That Changed the World 1940-1941, as part of the trend back to the personal.
Kershaw examines the emotions, as well as the circumstances, which framed the decisions made by Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Stalin.
Speaking of whom, a famous Soviet doctor once was asked how Stalin was. “What can I say?” he replied. “He’s paranoid.”
(He was killed a few days later on Stalin’s orders.)
“Without a doubt,” says Aster, “Stalin’s paranoia had an effect on the history of the Soviet Union.”
But were Marx’s carbuncles the start of it?
By Wed., Dec. 26, 2012
Source: A comeback for the ‘Great Man’ theory? | Toronto Star
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Microsoft Office Tutorials and References
In Depth Information
Partially Fixed References
Copying Formulas
Figure 17-14:
In this version of the
student grade book,
both the tests and
the assignment are
graded on different
scales (as listed in
row 12). Thus, the
formula for
calculating the final class
grade uses the values
in cells B12, C12,
and D12. When you
copy the Final Grade
formula from the first
row (cell E2) to the
rows below it, Excel
offsets the formula
to use B13, C13, and
D13—none of which
exist. Thus a problem
happens—shown here
as a divide-by-zero
error. To fix this, you
need to use absolute
cell references.
Fortunately, Excel provides a perfect solution. It lets you use absolute cell references
cell references that always refer to the same cell. When you create a copy of a formula
that contains an absolute cell reference, Excel doesn’t change the reference (as it does
when you use relative cell references; see the previous section). To indicate that a cell
reference is absolute, use the dollar sign ($) character. For example, to change B12
into an absolute reference, you add the $ character twice, once in front of the column
and once in front of the row, which changes it to $B$12.
Here’s the corrected class grade formula (for Edith) using absolute cell references:
=B2/$B$12*25% + C2/$C$12*25% + D2/$D$12*50%
This formula still produces the same result for the first student. However, you can
now copy it correctly for use with the other students. To copy this formula into all
the cells in column E, use the same procedure described in the previous section on
relative cell references.
Partially Fixed References
You might wonder why you need to use the $ character twice in an absolute
reference (before the column letter and the row number). The reason is that Excel lets
you create partially fixed references. To understand partially fixed references, it helps
to remember that every cell reference consists of a column letter and a row number.
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15-Jul-2017 04:37
The dams of the Upper Harz lakes are some of the oldest dams in Germany that are still in operation.
→ See List of dams in the Harz The largest rivers in the Harz are the Innerste, the Oker and the Bode in the north; the Wipper in the east; and the Oder in the south.
Approximately 600,000 people live in towns and villages of the Harz Mountains.
Because of the heavy rainfall in the region the rivers of the Harz Mountains were dammed from an early date.
Only on the southeastern perimeter of the Upper Harz, which is also called the High Harz (Hochharz) (Goslar, Osterode and Harz districts), does the mountain range exceed on the Brocken massif.
Its highest peak is the Brocken (1,141 m), its subsidiary peaks are the Heinrichshöhe (1,044 m) to the southeast and the Königsberg (1,023 m) to the southwest.
The landscapes of the Harz are characterised by steep mountain ridges, stone runs, relatively flat plateaus with many raised bogs and long, narrow V-shaped valleys, of which the Bode Gorge, the Oker and Selke valleys are the best known.
Today the dams are primarily used to generate electricity, to provide drinking water, to prevent flooding and to supply water in times of scarcity.
Modern dam-building began in the Harz with the construction of the Söse Valley Dam, which was built between 19.
Examples of such masonry dams are the two largest: the Oker Dam and the Rappbode Dam.
The clear, cool water of the mountain streams was also dammed by early mountain folk to form the various mountain ponds of the Upper Harz waterways, such as the Oderteich.
A representative cross-section of all the Harz rocks is displayed on the Jordanshöhe near Sankt Andreasberg near the car park (see photo). |
Friday, September 25, 2015
Graphene Boosts Battery Performance
Have you ever wondered why are we not having batteries that could last much longer?
Charging the phone is easy—just plug it in and let it sit for a while—but when you have to do it often enough, it gets rather irritating.
Ironically, the human race is now so technologically advanced that we could send probes to Mars—a probe sent from Earth nine years ago just went past Pluto a month ago—and yet the inhabitants of this planet have to charge their phones once every two days. Or everyday.
The type of battery that is found in our mobile devices is called lithium-ion battery. The battery has two electrodes—anode and cathode—separated by an electrolyte. When we charge the battery, lithium ions move from the cathode through the electrolyte to the anode, where they are absorbed into the bulk of the anode material. When you put the charged battery into your device, it discharges by allowing lithium ions to come out of the anode and return to the cathode. This flow of ions is what gives the electricity that powers the device.
Inside a cylindrical lithium-ion battery. Image: howstuffsowrks
This type of battery delivers plenty of power and is highly efficient—NASA plans to use them to replace the international space station's nickel-hydrogen battery in 2016—but even they find it difficult to satisfy our mobile devices' insatiable thirst for energy. Moreover, when the anode absorbs and discharges the ions, it expands and then contract, and that could damage the anode over repeated charge/discharge cycles. Scientists have developed anodes made from silicon, which can absorb 10 times more lithium ions per unit mass than the conventional material, graphite. But the volume of silicon expands by a factor of four when charging, which makes it prone to fracture and damage.
In a paper published in Nature recently, Mark Rummeli and colleagues at the Samsung research lab have devised a way to boost the energy storage capacity of the battery.
Graphene is an awesome material. It was first discovered and isolated in a lab in the University of Manchester in 2003. It's the strongest (207 times stronger than steel by weight) and also the thinnest material (one atom thick) known to mankind, and it has the highest electrical conductivity of any material. The popularity of graphene has won its discoverers, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.
Graphene. Image:
By coating the silicon with multiple layers of graphene, Mark Rummeli's team found that the batteries held 1.8 times more energy than those with a conventional graphite anode. After 200 cycles, the battery was still able to store 1.5 times more energy than a conventional battery.
While this is not exactly earth-shattering, I think it's still a great start. I mean, just applying several layers of carbon atom and you could double the energy output? Sounds like a great deal to me.
You can read the paper here. It's open access.
1 comment:
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thyroid Awareness Month
Did you know that more people have hypothyroidism than diabetes? Yep, it's true (if you're wondering why it's relevant, they're both endocrine disorders).
I imagine that a fair amount of people have little to no idea what hypothyroidism is. January is Thyroid Awareness Month, so I will share some info and first hand experience with you!
The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in your neck. You can actually feel it (and your doctor should totally check it!) it's your Adam's Apple. Your thyroid is responsible for producing hormones that regulate your metabolism and growth rate and about a zillion other things in your body. That is the quick and dirty description of it. It's a little gland, but it's incredibly important to many, many of your bodily functions.
When your thyroid is functioning well, life is good. When it goes bad, it goes bad. There are two autoimmune diseases (and the most common problems with your thyroid, aside from cancer) that effect the thyroid. One is Graves disease, which causes hyperthyroidism. Basically, your thyroid starts producing too much thyroid hormone. The symptoms associated with Graves are heart palpitations, excessive sweating, excessive hunger, weight loss and muscle fatigue. Treatment focuses on ways to slow down or stop the production of excessive thyroid hormone. One method for treatment is radioactive iodine, basically to destroy parts of the thyroid. One unfortunate part of Graves disease is that it leads to hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism is the result of a decrease in the amount of thyroid hormone in your body. The name for autoimmune hypothyroidism (which is what I have) is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. In my opinion, the hyper people have a better name for their disease. Anyway, there is a laundry list of symptoms for hypothyroidism: lack of energy, hair loss, abnormal weight gain, brittle nails, dry skin, extreme sensitivity to coldness, brain fog, muscle soreness, difficulty getting pregnant. The list goes on and on. Treatment is fairly easy, hormone replacement pills, to be taken everyday for the rest of your life.
Although treatment is fairly straight forward, getting diagnosed was tricky. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are vague and can be caused by many other diseases. Fortunately, all you need to get diagnosed is a doctor who is paying attention and a simple blood test. I saw maybe close to half a dozen doctors over a span over seven months before I was finally diagnosed. It was a long and scary battle. I started feeling better a few weeks into the treatment. For the better part of 18 months, I was getting tested monthly, and my dose changed several times. Since my pregnancy ended, my thyroid has been stable.
I am obviously not a doctor, but if you have concerns about your thyroid, you should definitely check with your doctor. I am happy to discuss my experiences further if you have any questions!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
It's Regan's Fault*
We had quite a memorable New Year's Eve. I woke up on New Year's Eve at about 4:30 that morning in Columbus, Ohio. We had stayed the night in Columbus on our way back from Kansas City. I rolled over and over but I could not get back to sleep. See, Jeff has sleep apnea and if he sleeps without his mask, it sounds like some one is cutting down an entire forest of trees! Unfortunately, for us both, his mask broke the first day of the vacation, so for nearly two weeks, neither of us slept well.** Anyway, I wasn't getting back to sleep, Doug was restless between us and Jeff kept on waking himself up. So I decided that since none of us were sleeping we'd at least get on the road and be home by that afternoon. I was able to clam down and blow off some steam in the shower (don't mess with my sleep) and I come out into the room to find that Doug had thrown up all over the place. So there went my nice relaxed mood. I started working damage control. Jeff had done a good job on keeping the bio hazard localized, but Doug was still very upset. I calmed him down and took his temp, which was 102.3. So I dosed him with some Tylenol and called our pediatrician's after hours line. The line told us that Dr. So & So was covering for him and to call her. I called Dr. So & So and the message told us that our pediatrician was covering for her! Epic fail! So I called my mom. Anyway, long story short, we got Doug calm, clean and dressed and put him in the car. I think we left Columbus at about 7ish? I do feel badly for the person who had to clean our room. Doug sure knows how to destroy a hotel room!
For the rest of the day in the car Doug mostly slept. Unfortunately I couldn't get his fever down. I called his Dr.'s office and they were concerned about his high fever too, but as we were in Ohio, not much could be done about it. The nurse said we could take him to the ER or an urgent care facility, but neither of those were available at the time, so our goal was to just get him home. At about 11 we stopped some where in West Virginia for lunch. We wanted to eat quickly so we could get back on the road, so we headed toward a McDonald's. But lo and behold, what was next to the McDonald's!?!? An urgent care facility! I told Jeff that I thought it was a sign, so we took Doug in. We were told the wait was long, but actually we got in an out in a relatively short time. The doctor saw Doug and agreed with us that it was a stomach virus and told us the correct dosage*** of Tylenol for Doug. He also recommended that we try ibuprofen instead. So after the visit we got back in the car and drove to a pharmacy in town, dosed Doug with ibuprofen and headed back to McDonald's.
You know how some times something happens to you, or somebody does something to you accidentally and you really really want to throttle them but you know it's not their damn fault? That's what happened to me at McDonald's. I'd been going on no more than four hours of interrupted sleep the past two nights. I was beyond fatigued and in a lot of pain. I'd been dealing with a sick baby all day. In short, I was thisclose to going over the edge. Doug was asleep on the table in his carrier and Jeff brought the tray to the table with our lunch on it. Jeff reached for something and some how his gigantic Dr. Pepper was knocked over and spilled all over the table. A good portion went onto my lap, and the rest went into my brand new purse. Luckily, nothing in my purse was ruined, but everything was soaked and sticky. There were pools of soda in my purse. Jeff jumped up and helped me mop up and helped me pull things out of my purse. At the time the only thing I could say to him was to tell him to go to the car and get some plastic bags for the contents of my purse.
It was probably really good for our marriage that Jeff left me for that minute in a half. I was able to pull myself together and calm down. I realized that I had some options at hand. Option 1, I could yell at Jeff, which would allow me to vent. However, this will make Jeff feel worse and in the end will make us both miserable. Option 2, I could let it go and we can move on. I chose option 2. We were already both pretty miserable and really needed a break.
Anyway, Jeff came back in and we got resettled and began our lunch. After a few minutes Jeff said to me, "This whole trip has been my fault." I grabbed a french fry while I pondered my response to that. "Well, actually no. It's not your fault that you grew up in Kansas City. That's where your parents lived. They probably settled there in the 80s because of the economy. So, actually, it's Regan's fault. Yep, I think the blame resides squarely on his shoulders." So we had a nice quiet lunch and loaded Doug back up. By the time we got home on NYE, we were all dead tired, but Doug's fever broke. All in all, not a terrible end to 2010.
*I was in Kindergarten when the 80s ended. History classes never covered something as recent as the 80s, so really I have little to no idea what the economy in the 80s was like. Humor me.
**Fibromyalgia symptoms are worsened by poor, interrupted sleep. They've actually done studies in which they've screwed up the subject's sleep, and they have many fibro like symptoms. So seriously, don't screw with my sleep!
***Tylenol, or at least the generic we got, doesn't give you dosage per weight for children under 2. You're supposed to talk to your doctor about it. The last time we got that info for Doug was at least 5 lbs ago. On the other hand, the Advil we bought ONLY gives dosing instructions for children under 2. Go figure. |
Dr. Rebecca Auer
Fighting Cancer with Cancer
Often after people undergo surgery to remove cancerous tumours, the cancer comes back. Dr. Rebecca Auer is studying the impact of surgery on the immune system and cancer recurrence. She and her team are developing a vaccine made from an individual’s own tumour cells and infected with an oncolytic virus that can stimulate and train the individual’s immune system to recognize and fight off the same kind of tumour if it comes back after major abdominal surgery.
“Our approach uses cancer-fighting viruses to create a kind of personalized vaccine for each patient, which we hope will help the patient’s own immune system attack their cancer,” said Dr. Rebecca Auer.
These personalized vaccines show great promise in paving the way for more effective therapies for cancer patients following surgery.
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Brent R. Stockwell
On his book The Quest for the Cure: The Science and Stories Behind the Next Generation of Medicines
Cover Interview of July 25, 2011
The wide angle
Given the declining number of new drugs, and the crisis in the pharmaceutical industry, many are asking what can be done.
The Obama administration has proposed a new initiative to help address our drug shortage: to create a new center within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), focused on aiding the discovery and development of new medicines.
This controversial new center, called the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, is meant to catalyze the transfer of discoveries from basic science laboratories to clinical studies that involve patients, and eventually into commercial products. On a practical level, the center can help to move discoveries down the drug discovery path to the point that they become attractive for commercial entities to adopt and invest in.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and venture capitalists have become increasingly conservative in their investment strategies, especially since the economic disruptions in 2008. This conservatism has resulted in a lack of investment in early-stage technologies and drug candidates, making it difficult to translate these discoveries into a commercial and clinical setting. The well-known “valley of death” that separates basic sciences from commercial and clinical translation has grown larger and more ominous. By assisting the development of selected technologies and compounds through the early stages of drug discovery and development, the new NIH center could help to bridge this valley and bring the most promising technologies to market.
But there is a more significant challenge to discovering new medicines than simply bringing basic discoveries to market. So if the new NIH center were to focus on a simple catalyst role, it would represent a lost opportunity.
The more fundamental challenge to discovering new drugs involves the basic science issue of protein druggability. It is this that could have a far more significant impact on the number and type of future medicines.
It is possible that new technologies and approaches could solve the challenging problem of protein druggability. However, if we abandon the undruggable proteins, we abandon the hope for truly transformative medicines. We must be able to translate the vastly detailed molecular networks emerging from basic science studies into therapeutics.
Currently, many of the root causes of diseases are considered undruggable and cannot be addressed directly with medicines. If we could solve the mystery of protein druggability, we could open up a vast number of possibilities for new medicines, and ultimately end the drug discovery crisis. |
Aluminum versus Stainless Steel
Many people in the restaurant industry or the booming food-truck industry are constantly wondering what kind of material to use for the countertops, or backsplash…aluminum or stainless steel. Each material has its strong points, but it all comes down to how you are using the material.
Stainless steel is made using a combination of nickel, magnesium, chromium copper and iron. The chromium within stainless steel is what makes stainless steel corrosion resistant. This allows for a non-porous and non-corrosive material that is extremely resistant to rest. The common misconception with stainless steel is that it is impermeable to rust. Because the chromium oxide coating on the exterior of stainless steel is what makes it rust resistant, if the surface is scratched, it can rust. That being said, the chances of stainless steel rusting is much lower than mild steel. The most common type of stainless steel is 304 series, which is used for kitchen sinks, food processing equipment and steam table pans. 304 stainless steel resists corrosion very well.
Aluminum has a higher oxidation and corrosion resistance than stainless steel. Aluminum is extremely lightweight, whereas stainless steel is very heavy. Along with being lightweight, it is very strong, making it a great material to use for structural components and equipment in the kitchen. Aluminum is also a great conductor of heat, which makes it the perfect material where good heat conductivity is needed. From a price point, aluminum is also cheaper than stainless steel. The downfall to aluminum is that it is much harder to form and will often crack under the press, making it a difficult product to use for counter tops.
Both materials need special preparation for fabrication. TIG welding is the best process for fabricating with aluminum while welding on stainless requires special wire. Working with stainless steel can be very difficult which causes the price to rise, while working with aluminum, mainly TIG welding with aluminum, takes longer than standard welding and therefore costs more. Keep these in mind the next time you are planning a project.
In the ends, each material has its pros and cons. Stainless steel is stronger, while aluminum is lighter. Aluminum conducts heat much better than stainless steel, while stainless steel is less reactive with food. Aluminum is cheaper and easier to clean, but stainless can be formed into shapes. No matter what the need, email (hyperlink) us today to find out if we can help you with your next project. |
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Dongtan is a plan for a new
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
eco-city on the island of Chongming in Shanghai
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The name of the city literally translates as "East Beach".
Dongtan was planned to open, with accommodation for 10,000, in time for the Expo 2010
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially Expo 2010 Shanghai China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai, China, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 1992...
in Shanghai. By 2050 the city was expected to be one-third the size of Manhattan
, with a total planned population of 500,000. However no construction of the eco-city has taken place yet, so the project has fallen behind schedule.
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
, the British engineering consultancy firm, was contracted in 2005 by the developer, The Shanghai Industrial Investment Company (SIIC), to design and masterplan Dongtan, an eco-city on Chongming Island close to Shanghai, the first of a planned series.
Dongtan was presented at the United Nations World Urban Forum by China as an example of an eco-city, and is the first of up to four such cities to be designed and built in China by Arup. The cities are planned to be ecologically friendly, with zero-greenhouse-emission transit and complete self-sufficiency in water and energy, together with the use of zero energy building
Zero energy building
A zero-energy building, also known as a zero net energy building, Net-Zero Energy Building , or Net Zero Building, is a popular term to describe a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually. Zero energy buildings can be independent from the energy grid supply...
principles. Energy demand will be substantially lower than comparable conventional cities due to the high performance of buildings and a zero emission transport zone within the city. Waste is considered to be a resource and most of the city's waste will be recycled.
Dongtan proposes to have only green transport movements along its coastline. People will arrive at the coast and leave their cars behind, traveling along the shore as pedestrians, cyclists or on sustainable public transport
Public transport
vehicles. The only vehicles allowed in the city will be powered by electricity or hydrogen. Houses are now selling here to Shanghai middle classes for use when spending weekends away from the city. The Controlling authorities are now backtracking on these commitments and allowing private vehicles onto the site.
EPSRC, the UK funding body for academic research, is supporting four Dongtan research networks of UK and Chinese universities to study the research agenda for eco-city design. Arup is assisting in the coordination of these networks and in planning associated Institutes for Sustainability.
The reaction to Dongtan has been mixed, although recent media coverage has largely been negative due to delays and shortcomings in the project's execution.
Former Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
praised Dongtan as pioneering work leading to a more sustainable future. His sentiments were echoed by other prominent British politicians, including Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
and Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, although none of them has ever visited the site.
Critics have argued that Dongtan will not have a big impact on existing Chinese cities, which will still house the majority of the population.
The main designers, Arup, are also taking part in many less environmentally-friendly projects in China, including airports and office blocks. Arup recently received the "Greenwasher of the Year Award" from Ethical Corporation Magazine for the most dubious green claim of the year, describing Dongtan as a Potemkin village
Potemkin village
Potemkin villages or Potyomkin villages is an idiom based on a historical myth. According to the myth, there were fake settlements purportedly erected at the direction of Russian minister Grigory Potemkin to fool Empress Catherine II during her visit to Crimea in 1787...
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A cygnet is a young swan.
description: Melton Mowbrey country park June 10 2017: Warm over cast day by the country park lake mother and her cygnets, cyclist rides along cycle path, dog watchers cygnets as father lands near his young young Coot feeds off mother, Tufted duck. ©Clifford Norton/ Live News A cygnet is a young swan. Cygnet or Cygnets Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus Cygnus. The swans' close relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six or seven species of swan in the genus Cygnus; in addition there is another species known as the coscoroba swan, although this species is no longer considered one of the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, though "divorce" does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure, and if a mate dies, the remaining swan will take up with another. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight.
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Hair Loss Due to Cosmetic Practices
Decreased scalp hair can be due to hairs that are broken, as well as hairs that are shed by the root. Even though medically the focus is on disease states that lead to hair shedding during the anagen and telogen stages of hair growth, probably a more common cause of hair loss is hair breakage. Whether the hair is shed by the root or broken off at the scalp, the end result perceived by the patient is the same. This article deals with causes of hair loss due to hair breakage, initially covering the conditions that lead to abnormal hair shaft formation, followed by conditions due to grooming and chemical processing procedures.
Hair Structural Abnormalities
Shed hairs without a hair bulb are considered broken hairs. It is important to evaluate what percentage of shed hairs are telogen hairs and what percentage are broken hairs. This can be accomplished, as described in part one of this series, by having the patient collect all lost hair for 4 consecutive days. Each days hair loss should be placed in a separate plastic bag and labeled as to whether the hair was shampooed on the collection day. These hair bags can then be examined by the dermatologist to determine if the hair has been shed and contains the hair bulb, or whether the hair has been broken and the bulb is not present. Counting the hairs can also help to determine if the amount shed is in excess of the normal 100-125 hairs.
Hair breakage is generally due to external factors, however abnormalities in hair shaft formation must be eliminated. Table 1 contains the technical terms used to describe hair shaft abnormalities and a definition of the term. Trichoschisis, trichorrhexis invaginata, pili torti, and monilethrix are all abnormalities intrinsic to the hair shaft. Trichoptilosis and trichonodosis may be due to cosmetic manipulation of the hair. Trichorrhexis nodosa may be due to intrinsic abnormalities or cosmetic manipulation. All of these conditions predispose the hair to breakage, which can become magnified by extensive grooming, chemical waving procedures, or permanent dyeing.
Visual Hair Shaft Evaluation
Hair breakage due to hair shaft abnormalities is rare, yet the dermatologist should be well versed in this area. The overwhelmingly most common cause of hair is hair breakage, which will be the focus of the remainder of this article. In order to determine the current status of the patient's hair several aspects of hair health should be observed. These include an assessment of hair shine, softness, and frizziness.
a. Hair shine
Hair shine is directly related to the condition of the cuticle. Hair possessing an intact cuticle with closely overlapping cuticular scales is shiny, healthy hair. It is the smoothness of the overlapping scales that promotes light reflection, interpreted by the eye as shine. Normal grooming processes such as combing and brushing result in loss of cuticular scales, which is more pronounced at the distal hair shaft. This process is known as “weathering” and is accelerated by overly aggressive grooming and chemical processing., The duller the hair appears, the more cuticle damage that is present.
b. Hair softness
Hair softness can be quickly assessed by the touching the hair shafts. Hair that is healthy is smooth and soft. Hair that has been damaged feels rough and harsh. Hair softness is also due to an intact cuticle, which creates a smooth hair shaft surface. Permanently waved or dyed hair must have a disrupted cuticle in order to allow penetration of the waving lotion or dye. Thus, chemically processed hair never feels as soft as virgin hair.
c. Hair frizziness
Frizzy hair is also indicative of cuticular damage. Hair that has been chemically processed is prone to static electricity. This is due to the charge that the hair shaft can maintain if the cuticle is missing. This allows the hair to repel one another and appear frizzy, especially at the distal shaft ends. Generally, chemicals applied to the hair penetrate better at the distal hair shaft due to less cuticlar scale. A well educated cosmetologist is aware of this fact, especially when processing long hair, and will apply the chemicals to the scalp first and then dilute the product prior to applying the solutions to the distal hair shafts.
Microscopic Hair Shaft Evaluation
The observational findings in a patient with hair breakage should be confirmed by microscopic examination of a shed hair shaft. The cuticular scales should be examined to note if weathering is present, confirming the gross observation that the hair is dull, harsh, and frizzy. Microscopic evaluation can also identify the extrinsic hair abnormalities. If the cuticular scales are greatly decreased at the distal hair shaft, trichoptilosis (split ends) results from exposure of the soft medulla. If trichonodosis is observed, hair twisting or teasing may be the cause of the knots predisposing the hair to breakage. If trichorrhexis nodosa is present, and not part of a genodermatosis, this suggests extensive cuticular loss. Once the cause of the hair breakage has been identified, it is then possible to recommend cosmetic techniques for minimizing hair loss.
Cosmetic Techniques for Minimizing Hair Loss
Hair grooming includes cleansing, drying, combing, brushing and styling of the hair. While any manipulation of the hair shaft can cause breakage, loss can be minimized by recommending proper grooming, shampooing, conditioning, styling and cosmetic hair care practices to the patient.
a. Grooming
Improper hair grooming practices are the most common cause of hair breakage. Since hair grooming occurs on a daily basis, simply changing how the hair is handled can decrease the amount of hair needlessly lost. Hair shafts are most subject to fracture when wet, since wet hair is more readily stretched to the breaking point. Therefore, hair should be initially detangled with the fingers and slightly dried prior to detangling with a wide toothed comb. Brushes are not appropriate for detangling, since they tend to tear and fracture the hair shaft. In general, all hair grooming should be kept to a minimum. The less the hair is manipulated, the less opportunity for hair breakage. The idea that 100 brush strokes a day is beneficial to the hair is mistaken.
The proper selection of grooming implements is also important. Combs are preferred over brushes, since there is less surface area to create friction and cause hair shaft fracture. Combs should be selected for their smooth widely spaced teeth allowing the comb to glide freely through the hair. Similarly, brushes should have widely spaced bristles with rounded tips. Whether the bristles are synthetic or natural is less important than the spacing of the bristles. Any grooming implement that feels rough when stroked across the palm of the hand is likely to tear the hair shafts and result in unnecessary breakage.
b. Shampooing
Many people feel that the hair must be shampooed daily for proper hygiene. Actually, shampoo is designed not to clean the hair, but to clean the scalp. Small amounts of sebum on the hair shaft are desirable for smoothing the cuticular scale and decreasing static electricity. This allows the hair to appear shiny and lay smoothly against the scalp. However, in persons with fine or thinning hair, the sebum decreases hair frizz making the hair appear less full. As contradictory as this may seem, these people who should ideally shampoo the least, shampoo the most. Cleansing the hair should be done only when required due to dirt in the hair or excess sebum. If sebum production is minimal and the patient has a sedentary lifestyle, daily washing is not necessary for good hygiene. The friction generated between the hair shafts while shampooing is an unavoidable cause of unnecessary hair loss.
c. Conditioning
The use of a conditioner after shampooing can be helpful in the patient who has excessive hair breakage and insists on continued frequent shampooing. An instant conditioner can be valuable in minimizing hair loss by detangling the hair and reducing friction between the comb and the hair shafts and between the individual hair shafts.
Basically, a conditioner functions like sebum to place a protective coating over the hair shaft, but conditioners are designed not to leave the hair with a greasy shine or lack of body. For patients who are having difficulty with hair breakage, the best hair conditioners are those that contain dimethicone (Pantene, Procter & Gamble). This agent does not decrease hair body, yet reduces hair shaft combing friction. The dimethicone is also beneficial for increasing hair shine, which is usually reduced in this population of patients.
d. Drying
Careful hair drying is important to prevent hair breakage, even though many patients ignore the problems that can arise from this frequent activity. The most common way to dry the hair is aggressive rubbing with a towel. This should be avoided at all cost. Rubbing the hair shafts together while wet generates tremendous friction and hair breakage is the result. The wet hair can be blotted dry, but should not be combed or manipulated until some initial drying has occurred.
It is best if the hair is allowed to dry without externally applied heat, however many patients wish to speed up the drying process or style their hair while drying. Heat damaged hair from improper dryer use appears frizzy and curly at the ends. This damaged hair is significantly weakened and will eventually break. Furthermore, the hair shafts can develop an abnormality known as “bubble hair.” Bubble hair results when liquid water within the hair shaft is rapidly heated and turns to steam. The steam then escapes from the hair shaft by popping off the cuticular scale and creating a "bubble" in the contour of the hair shaft. The bubble deformity actually creates a point weakness, which will eventually fracture. Heat damage during hair drying can be avoided by using the lowest heat setting and holding the nozzle at least six inches from the scalp. It is also useful to select a specially designed vented blow drying brush should to prevent high temperatures from heat buildup along the styling brush.
e. Styling
As mentioned previously, the best way to prevent hair damage is minimize hair styling. Quite simply, the less the hair is manipulated, the less opportunity for hair breakage. Hair styles that minimize hair breakage should be loose and not require excessive hair pins or combs. All hair pins should be rubber coated with smooth edges so that the hair is not broken as the clasp is closed. Unfortunately, the clasp must hold the hair tightly or it will not remain in place. Rubber bands should not be used in the hair as they are difficult to remove.
There are several common presentations of patients who are experiencing hair breakage due to hair styling. The first is the patient who wears her/his hair in a pony tail or braid and notes decreased hair growth. Examination of the hair shows hair shafts fractured at the same distance from the scalp. This is due to repeated breakage where the hair clasp is placed. A second presentation is the patient who wears braids on the scalp, also known as corn-rows, and notes thinning at the front hairline. In this instance, the hair is broken due to tension at the front hairline and traction alopecia may also be present. Basically, hair pulling should be avoided to minimize fracturing the weakened hair shaft.
g. Coloring
Many patients with thinning hair elect to color their hair. While there is no hair coloring that does not weaken the hair shafts, there are some coloring methods that are less damaging. In general, darkening the natural hair color is less damaging than lightening the natural hair color. Lightening of the natural hair color requires a bleaching procedure followed by a dyeing procedure. This two step processing is more damaging than simply dyeing the hair, which is a one step procedure. Patients should be counseled to keep their hair color as close to their natural color as possible. More dramatic color changes will result in more hair shaft damage and further weakening precipitating hair breakage and loss.
h. Permanent waving
Permanent waving of the hair is more damaging than dyeing since the protein structure of the hair shaft is actually degraded and reconstructed in a new form. Damage can be minimized by trying to achieve loose curls instead of tight curls. This is achieved by wrapping the hair loosely around larger curlers, which minimizes the number of disulfide bonds that are broken and reformed during the permanent waving procedure.
Hair shaft damage can also be minimized by shortening the processing time, which decreases the amount of disulfide bond breaking. The optimal processing time is determined by performing a "test curl". The test curl is one lock of hair wrapped around the curling rod, usually at the nape of neck. The hair is periodically unwound to determine if the desired amount of curl has been achieved. The test curl helps to prevent overprocessing of the hair by allowing neutralization of the permanent waving procedure when a slight amount of curling has been achieved.
Many patients both permanently dye and wave their hair. While the damage produced by these procedures is additive, it can be minimized by allowing ten days between procedures. It is also important to counsel patients that they should undergo the permanent waving procedure first, followed by hair coloring. Reversing the order of these procedures results in excessive hair cuticle damage and increasing hair shaft weakening.
Hair breakage is one of the most common forms of hair loss. It usually arises from aggressive grooming practices, intrinsic structural hair shaft abnormalities, or hair shaft weakening due to chemical processing. Years of hair grow can be removed from the scalp instantly by aggressive combing and brushing.
Hair and the Sun
The recent sunscreen guidance issued by the US FDA commented on the fact that hair care products are not eligible for SPF values on the packaging. Certainly, hair is nonliving and as such cannot be sunburned or undergo photocarcinogensis; however, UV and visible radiation are very damaging to the cosmetic value of the hair. It is understandable why an SPF is difficult to assign to a hair care product, since shampoos and instant conditioners are rinsed from the hair following use leaving behind a film that is difficult to quantitate. Hair styling products that are left on the hair, such as hair sprays, styling gels, and hair serum, may also unevenly coat the hair shafts making assignment of an SPF under normal use conditions impractical.
Photoprotection of the hair is an important topic for consideration, especially in women who are complaining of hair breakage or unmanageable hair. UV and visible light are extremely damaging to the hair fiber with much of the current understanding of photodamage coming from research in the textile industry on wool. This article examines the effects of photoexposure on hair and how the dermatologist can aid patients in restoring cosmetic attractiveness to their hair.
Hair Photodamage
Much of the understanding regarding hair and how it interacts with UV radiation and visible light has come from the textile industry. Natural fibers, such as wool, cotton, silk, and rayon, discolor when exposed to sunlight. White fabrics tend to take on a light brown/yellow color, a process known as photoyellowing. In natural human hair there are two pigments, eumelanin and pheomelanin, accounting for the brown and red hues seen in hair, respectively. There is another melanin, known as oxymelanin, found in unprocessed human hair that has been exposed to sunlight. Oxymelanin is an oxidative photodegradation product.
Lighter colored hair, such as blonde hair, is more susceptible to hair photodamage than deeply pigmented hair, such as brown hair. Black hair begins to lighten in color after 300 hours of exposure to simulated sunlight while blonde hair begins to yellow after 300 hours of exposure to simulated sunlight and begins to lighten when exposed to 300-1200 hours of simulated sunlight exposure. The hair color lightening or bleaching is primarily due to the effects of visible light. However, not only does the hair change color, but also it experiences a 200-300% increase in friction, indicating damage to the proteins in the cuticle.
The hair protein that is mainly damaged by sunlight is cystine, which is oxidized to cysteic acid. It is the sulfur-containing amino acids that are most sensitive to oxidative damage and of course it is the sulfur-containing amino acids that give the hair its structural strength. Other amino acids, such as tryptophan and tyrosine, are also degraded by light. After 150 hours of sun exposure, blonde hair shows a 25-30% decrease in tryptophan, 25% decrease in cystine, and 80% decrease in tyrosine. As oxidation occurs, there is a compensatory 80% increase in cysteic acid. These same changes are also seen in black hair, but at least 300 hours of sun exposure was required to produce the same oxidative damage.
Sunlight also decreases the tensile strength of the hair fiber. This means that when the hair is combed and stretched, it is more likely to break. This effect is magnified with age as the diameter of the hair shaft decreases in both men and women. The diameter of female hair shaft increases up to age 35 and then decreased gradually after age 40 with further decreases after menopause. In men, the diameter of the hair shaft decreases after puberty.
Intrinsic Hair Photoprotection
The natural photoprotection in hair is melanin, which also provides endogenous photoprotection in the skin. Melanin is broken down by visible and UV radiation in the hair shaft giving rise to a phenomenon known as photobleaching. This phenomenon is especially pronounced in blonde hair, which lightens dramatically in the summer, but also results in permanent changes in the hair shaft internal amino acids and external lipids.
Unpigmented hair, such as gray and white hair, is more susceptible to UV damage than pigmented hair. Also, the rate of cystine disulfide bond breakage is greater for unpigmented than pigmented hair. This means that one of the best sources of photoprotection is hair dye.
White unpigmented hair looses more mechanical strength after 4 days of UV radiation than semipermanently dyed brown hair. This same effect is also present with permanent hair dyes. The permanent hair dye acts as a passive photofilter reducing the hair fiber protein damage by attenuating the incident light. The dye molecule absorbs the light energy, which promotes it to a more excited stated, followed by a return to ground state via radiative and nonradiative pathways. As might be expected, the darker the hair color the more photoprotection imparted by the dye.
While sunscreens to promote hair health with SPF ratings will not be forthcoming in the near future due to the sunscreen guidance, photoprotection of the hair shafts for cosmetic reasons remains important. It is worthwhile examining the skin of patients concerned about hair appearance for tanning. Usually tanned skin also means, “tanned hair.” Women in search of answers for excessive hair breakage and frizzy “unhealthy” hair may need to learn that photoexposure is as bad for the hair as it is for the skin. This may be a reason to encourage safe sun habits. Wearing a hat is good advice for both beautiful skin and beautiful hair!
All-in-One Skin and Hair Care Products
A current trend in skin care that has arisen out of consumer belt tightening following the recession is the all-in-one skin care product. These are skin care products designed to have multiple functions. For example, the make up remover that also cleanses and moisturizes the skin. The sunscreen that moisturizes and reduces the appearance of facial wrinkles. The cleanser that also minimizes the appearance of pores. The hair shampoo that conditions and strengths hair shafts. The nail polish that builds stronger nails. Why have these complex claims become popular? Perhaps the consumer feels that money spent on a product that does a lot is well spent. Since it is hard to come up with new product terminology given the restrictions on cosmetic claims, perhaps marketing feels that a product with multiple uses is new and more appealing.
Whatever the reason for these new all encompassing skin care products, dermatologists need to carefully examine this trend to determine if these products are appropriate for patients with various skin conditions. For example, should an atopic patient use a cleanser that moisturizes for better results, since the drying effects of soap can exacerbate the condition? Should a patient with androgenetic alopecia use a cleansing, conditioning, and strengthening hair shampoo to minimize further loss from breakage? Finally, should a mature patient use a moisturizer that modulates the skin barrier to reduce the appearance of wrinkles? This article examines each of these scenarios to better understand the pluses of minuses of all-in-one products.
Skin cleansing is the most basic hygiene need that can exacerbate disease in patients with atopic dermatitis. There are a wide variety of cleansers in the marketplace that fall into several discrete categories based on the sebum and dirt removal needs of the patient. There are true soaps, which are alkaline products at a pH of about 9, that are excellent at removing sebum, but may cause dryness in atopics. There are also synthetic detergents, such as sodium cocoyl isethionate, the main surfactant in bar cleansers designed for sensitive skin, however, these products can only cleanse, since they are solid one-phase formulations. Basically, bar cleansers are designed to remove sebum and environmental dirt from the skin surface, which they do quite well, but the surfactant must rinse completely from the skin surface or irritation will result.
Bar cleansers still represent the most basic form of skin cleansing, but are slowly being replaced by liquid cleansers, which are emulsions, known as body washes. A body wash refers to a two-phase liquid with a hydrophobic phase and a hydrophilic phase that are held together by an emulsifier. The surfactant cleanser is in the hydrophilic phase and binds to the dirt, which is washed down the drain. Vegetable oils, humectants, dimethicone, and petrolatum are in the hydrophobic phase, which bind to the skin surface decreasing transepidermal water loss and providing an environment optimal for barrier repair. This is the mechanism of action for all-in-one products that claim to both cleanse and moisturize. These products are of use in atopic patients who either wish to bathe more frequently or those with severe disease.
The key question is: How does the cleanser know whether to cleanse away sebum or deposit the moisturizer? This is accomplished by varying the water concentration between the two skin care events, one being cleansing and the other being moisturizing. During the first phase of washing, the body wash is placed on a puff, to increase the amount of air and water in the emulsion, followed by rubbing it over the body. At this time, the concentration of water is very low, the concentration of body wash is very high, and cleansing occurs. During the rinse phase, the water concentration is very high and the body wash concentration is very low. It is during the rinse phase when the moisturizing ingredients are deposited on the skin surface.
The next question is: How does the body wash know how much of the moisturizing ingredients to leave behind? It is possible to construct the emulsion such that the moisturizer amount is very carefully controlled. Large moisturizing ingredient droplets within the emulsion, containing petrolatum, soybean oil, and dimethicone, create a high depositing body wash. During the rinse phase, these droplets are left behind on the skin surface. A product for normal skin might be a medium depositing product with smaller droplets leaving behind a lesser amount of moisturizing ingredients. The dry skin body washes are most appropriate for atopic patients because of the larger amount of leave behind skin protectant ingredients.
It is possible to measure the efficacy of body wash products by examining transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements in patients with atopic dermatitis. TEWL measurements are made with an evaporimeter, which consists of two humidity meters placed at a known distance from the skin surface. The distance between the two humidity meters is also known, as well as how much water vapor is going into the probe, allowing the calculation of water loss from the skin surface in terms of grams of water loss per meter squared per hour. This water vapor loss is an indirect measurement of the degree of barrier damage, which directly correlates with the skin injury caused by cleansing. Patients with atopic dermatitis have an increased TEWL based on their disease and defective barrier function. Some dermatologists, especially those in Europe, are beginning to use TEWL measurements as a method of meeting quality of care requirements for treatment of their atopic patients.
Liquid cleansers that both cleanse and moisturize are a consideration in atopic patients. Use of such a product may allow more frequent bathing or possibly prolong remission intervals. In this case, moisturizing cleansers are a reality and an important all-in-one product.
Hair shampoos that contain conditioners work in the same way as the body washes previously discussed. As a matter of fact, the whole idea of a moisturizing cleanser came from the hair care industry concept of a conditioning shampoo. A conditioning hair shampoo cleanses during the wash phase when concentration of water is low, and conditions during the rinse phase when the concentration of water is high. Thus, breaking the emulsion with water and air contact allows conditioning to occur during the rinse phase and the cleansing to occur during the application phase of the shampoo.
Conditioning shampoos do not clean as well as a regular shampoo and do not condition as well as a plain conditioner, but they are of use in patients with androgenetic alopecia. These patients tend to have fine, thin hair that appears fuller with frequent shampooing to remove sebum. Frequent shampooing can dry the hair making it appear frizzy and dull. Conditioning shampoos are a good choice in this population to prevent over drying the hair.
The next question is how conditioning shampoos improve hair strength? Hair strength is related to the protein and water content of the hair. Protein and disulfide bonds are the structural elements of the hair, but the elastic properties of the hair are due to water bonds. Hair is pulled, combed, brushed, snarled, clipped, and banded. Each of these activities requires flexible deformation of the hair to resist breakage. If the hair is devoid of water, breakage will occur with less force. Conditioning shampoo improve hair strength through several mechanisms. First, an oily coating is placed over the hair to reduce water loss. Second, the oily coating reduces friction, which decreases hair breakage from combing, brushing, and snarling. Third, many conditioning shampoos contain protein which can diffuse into the hair shaft in areas where the cuticle is missing. The protein only remains in the hair shaft temporarily, until the next shampooing, but its presence increases hair shaft strength.
Thus, protein containing conditioning shampoos that clean, condition, and strengthen are a reality. In the adrogenetic alopecia patient, they should be used in combination with an instant conditioner, applied and rinsed in the shower, followed by a leave-in condition that is not rinsed. The conditioning shampoo is a start, but additional conditioning products are also recommended.
The last all-in-one product concept to evaluate is the wrinkle reducing moisturizer. One of the more important new concepts in skin moisturization is modulation of the water channels within the skin. The water channels, known as aquaporins, are present in all living cells to control osmotic balance. Aquaporins were discovered in the kidneys many years ago, as aquaporin 1 is the abnormality that leads to diabetes insipidus. Aquaporin 3, however, is found in the skin. Aquaporins are formed from six trans-membrane alpha helixes in a right-handed bundle. This channel allows the transport of substances, of urea and glycerol, in addition to water. It is interesting that a mouse model, deficient in aquaporin 3, demonstrates decreased stratum corneum hydration and impaired barrier function very similar to those seen in human atopic dermatitis.
Glycerin, a humectant that attracts water, is also transported in aquaporin 3 channels. It been recognized for many years that glycerin possesses a skin reservoir effect. That means that a morning glycerin application can still be measured two or three days later, provided that it has been applied every day for two weeks or longer. It was previously thought that glycerin somehow intercalated itself between intracellular lipids and modulated skin water content. But it appears that glycerin may be transported through aquaporin 3 channels by a substance known as phospholipase D, which results in the production of phosphatidylglycerol. Phosphatidylglycerol is a lipid that signals enzymes of cell differentiation. What does this mean? This means that glycerin, when placed on the skin surface, functions not only as a humectant, but also as a modifier of cell differentiation. The fact that older cells are not as well differentiated as younger cells means that glycerin might have a more profound effect on aging of the skin than previously thought.
The ability of substances to increase the water content of the skin can be measured scientifically through a technique known as corneometry. Corneometry is performed with something know as a pin probe. The probe contains pins that transmit electricity to the skin and sense electrical conduction. However, in order to be conducted electricity needs a conductor. What is the conductor in the skin? Water. So more water in the skin, will conduct more electricity, the corneometry reading will be higher, and the skin is better hydrated. If, on the other hand, the skin is dehydrated with less water, less electricity will be conducted, and the corneometry reading will be lower indicating less well moisturized skin. It is through this indirect measurement of the electrical conductivity of water that skin hydration is assessed.
Since water transport into cells and cell differentiation are linked, it is quite possible that moisturizing ingredients, such as the commonly used humectant glycerin, may improve skin functioning and reduce the appearance of lines of dehydration in addition to enhancing moisturization.
All-in-one products for skin and hair care may have merit. Not only is it possible that purchasing one product instead of two may save money, but combination products may offer attributes useful in some dermatologic conditions. This article has examined the use of moisturizing body washes in atopic dermatitis patients, conditioning shampoos in adrogenetic alopecia patients, and antiaging moisturizers in persons with photoaging. Newer formulations, better ingredients, and more insight into skin functioning are contributing to this advanced technology.
Hair Coloring
Hair coloring has seen a definite revival with men and adolescents embracing the idea that altering the color of the scalp hair is desirable, fashionable, and worthwhile. Hair dyeing was originally introduced to modern society as a method of camouflaging gray hair. No more. Hair coloring is now a fashion trend, an artform, a manner of personal expression, and, in some cases, an antiestablishment statement. Where is hair coloring going in and what aspects of hair coloring are of dermatologic significance? I shall try to address these issues more fully in this article.
Brief History
Even though henna and indigo have been used to color hair for over 3000 years, modern synthetic organic chemistry has made the 20th century the era of hair color. The whole hair coloring industry began when Hoffman in 1863 noticed that paraphylenediamine produced a brown-black coloration when oxidized. But, the transfer of knowledge was slow in the late 1800s and it was not until 1907 that Eugene Schueller marketed the first commercial brand of hair color in 1907. He was a chemist and the founder of L'Oreal, still a leader in hair coloring technology today. Originally, hair coloring was limited to the professional salon, but in 1950 the first home-use hair dye was introduced.
Several companies, besides L'Oreal have dominated the US hair coloring market: Clairol, founded in 1931, and Roux, also founded in 1931. Clairol was founded by Lawrence Gelb who purchased the original hair coloring formulas from Dr. Friedreich Klein, a German chemist, for $25,000. By 1938, the sales of Clairol hair color had reached $1 million. The first hair color introduced by Clairol was called "Instant Clairol" and was reformulated in 1950 as "Miss Clairol Haircolor Bath." Further advances were made possible by the development of seimpermanent dyes, dyes that washed out after 6-10 shampoos, and this resulted in the launch of "Clairol Loving Care." Just last year, Clairol was acquired by Procter & Gamble from Bristol-Myers Squibb, who held the company since 1959.
Hair Dyes for Men and Women
Many hair dyes have now entered the marketplace specifically for men. These dyes can be classified as those designed to cover gray (Just for Men, Combe International), those designed to add color highlights, and those for lightening the hair to a blonde or white color. The components of hair dyes for men and women are identical. For this reason, hair dyes will be discussed as a unisex product. Hair dyes can be divided into gradual dyes, temporary dyes, semipermanent dyes, demipermanent dyes, and permanent dyes. Each of these types will be briefly discussed in light of current trends for hair dyeing.
Gradual hair dyes, also known as metallic or progressive hair dyes, are most commonly use by men who do not desire a dramatic change in hair color, only darkening of their gray (Grecian Formula for Men, Combe International). They are also available in formulations for women, but cannot be combined with permanent wave procedures or other dyes, since irreversible hair shaft damage and weakening will occur. This type of dye changes the hair color from gray to yellow-brown to black over a period of weeks. There is no control over the final color of the hair, only the depth of color and lightening is not possible. These hair colorings employ water soluble metal salts which are deposited on the hair shaft in the form of oxides, suboxides and sulfides.
This type of hair coloring is not popular among adolescent males or females, since a dramatic color change cannot be effected. Also, most teens wish to lighten their hair color, which is not possible with gradual hair dyes.
Temporary hair coloring agents comprise only 3% of the hair coloring market and are removed in one shampooing. They are used to add a slight tint, brighten a natural shade or improve an existing dyed shade. Their particle size is too large to penetrate through the cuticle, accounting for their temporary nature. They do not damage the hair shaft and may be used by persons who are paraphenylenediamine allergic. These dyes are most popular among elderly women who wish to achieve platinum hair. This is accomplished by adding a bluish or purplish temporary rinse to the hair after shampooing to cover yellow hues in the hair created by small amounts of remaining eumelanin or pheomelanin.
Male and female adolescents may use temporary hair colorants to create blue, green, red, or purple hair for a weekend party. They can also be applied to selected areas of the scalp to create multicolored hair. These hair effects are created by temporary hair dye sprays, mousses, or gels. The newest trend has been to add glitter to the temporary hair dyes to create iridescent hair. This effect was popularized by the United States gymnasts in the recent summer Olympics. Hair glitter can contribute to scalp pruritus and cause corneal abrasion if accidentally introduced into the eye.
An understanding of temporary hair dyes is useful to the dermatologist, since these textile dyes do not further damage the hair shaft. Occasionally, a patient may present who is dismayed with the undesirable color of her hair following an unsuccessful dyeing procedure. Many of these patients are anxious to redye their hair to a different shade. Unfortunately, repeat dyeing procedures undertaken in a short period of time may result in even more unpredictable color outcomes and irreversibly damaged, weakened hair. Temporary hair colorings can be recommended to this distraught patient as a way of achieving a better hair color, while waiting for fading of the undesirable color and new growth.
Semipermanent hair coloring accounts for only 10% of the current hair care market. Table 1 lists the names of some of the currently marketed products as a reference for the dermatologist. These products can be purchased in drug stores and mass merchandisers (WalMart, Target, Kmart, etc.) and are not formulated for professional salon use. They are designed for use on natural, unbleached hair to cover gray, add highlights, or rid hair of unwanted tones.
Semipermanent dyes are retained in the hair shaft by weak polar and Van der Waals attractive forces, thus lasting through 6-10 shampooings. Usually, 10 to 12 dyes are mixed to obtain the desired shade. Semipermanent dyes produce tone-on-tone coloring rather than effecting drastic color changes, so their role is actually in toning rather than dyeing hair. The less color change required by the patient, the more satisfied he or she will be with the semipermanent dye result. Semipermanent dyes are best suited for patients with less than 30% gray hair who want to restore their natural color. This is done by selecting a dye color that is lighter than the natural hair color since the dye will penetrate both the gray and the nongray hairs, resulting in an increased darkening of the nongray hairs. It is not possible to lighten hair with semipermanent dyes, since they do not contain hydrogen peroxide, nor is it possible to darken hair more than three shades beyond the patient's natural hair color. Thus, in the cosmetic industry, semipermanent dyes are known as suitable only for staying "on shade."
A newer form of hair coloring that is longer lasting than semipermanent dyes, but still not permanent, is known as demipermanent hair coloring. Demipermanent dyes are replacing semipermanent dyes and are available in both home-use and professional salon use formulations. They are longer lasting, usually remaining through 10-12 shampooings, and have the advantage of longevity without sharp color contrast with new growth, a characteristic of permanent hair dyes.
These products are packaged for both men and women, with the newest introduction being the use of adolescent male models on some boxes. Demipermanent dyes do not lighten hair, but are used to primarily add red highlights to brunette hair. Most commonly they are used to give the hair a burgundy hue, not attainable naturally due to the presence of only eumelanins and pheomelanins with brown and yellow colors. Burgundy hair requires the additional introduction of blue pigments into the hair shaft.
Demipermanent dyes are not as damaging to the hair shaft as permanent hair dyes, but may contain paraphylenediamine and thus may possibly cause allergic contact dermatitis in sensitized individuals.
Permanent hair coloring accounts for three of every four dollars spent on hair dyeing in the United States. They account for 85% of the hair dyes sold and are available in both home use and professional salon types. Their popularity is due to tremendous color variety, most product lines contain 20 shades, and the ability to both lighten and darken hair. Permanent dyes have been embraced by mature men and women to cover gray and by adolescent boys and girls to lighten hair. The main disadvantage of permanent hair dyeing used to be presence of roots, new hair growth of the natural hair color, but the presence of multicolored hair has become fashionable eliminating this problem. The Clairol advertising campaign of the 1960s that asked "Does she or doesn't she?" challenged others to determine if the woman was a hair dye user. Now, adults and adolescent males and females seem proud to sport locks of a new color every other week. The use of permanent hair dyes is no longer a well kept secret.
Permanent hair coloring is so named because the dyestuff penetrates the hair shaft to the cortex and forms large color molecules that cannot be removed by shampooing. This type of hair coloring does not contain dyes, but rather colorless dye precursors that chemically react with hydrogen peroxide inside the hair shaft to produce colored molecules. The process entails the use of primary intermediates (p-phenylenediames, p-toluenediamine, p-aminophenols) which undergo oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. These reactive intermediates are then exposed to couplers (resorcinol, 1-naphthol, m-aminophenol, etc.) to result in a wide variety of indo dyes. These indo dyes can produce shades from blonde to brown to black with highlights of gold to red to orange. Variations in the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and the chemicals selected for the primary intermediates and couplers produce this color selection. Red is produced by using nitroparaphenylenediamine alone or in combination with mixtures of para-aminophenol with metaphenylenediamine, alphanaphthol or 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene. Yellow is produced by mixtures of orthoaminophenol, orthophenylenediamine and nitro-orthophenylenediamine. Blue has no single oxidation dye intermediate and is produced by combinations of paraphenylenediamine, phenylenediamine, methyltoluylenediamine or 2,4 diaminoanisol.
Permanent dyeing allows shades to be obtained both lighter and darker that the patient's original hair color. Higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide can bleach melanin thus the oxidizing step functions both in color production and bleaching. Due to the use of hydrogen peroxide in the formation of the new color molecules, hair dyes must be adjusted so that hair lightening is not produced with routine dyeing. However, hydrogen peroxide cannot remove sufficient melanin alone to lighten dark brown or black hair to blonde hair. Boosters, such as ammonium persulfate or potassium sulfate, must be added to achieve great degrees of color lightening. The boosters must be left in contact with the hair for one to two hours for an optimal result. Nevertheless, individuals with dark hair who choose to dye their hair a light blonde color will notice the appearance of reddish hues with time. This is due to the inability of the peroxide/booster system to completely remove reddish pheomelanin pigments, which are more resistant to removal than brownish eumelanin pigments.
Permanent hair dyes are sold as two bottles containing colorless liquid within a kit. One bottle contains the
dye precursors in an alkaline soap or synthetic detergent base and the other contains a stabilized solution of hydrogen peroxide. The two bottles are mixed immediately prior to use and applied to the hair. The dye precursors and hydrogen peroxide diffuse into the hair where the new color is created. These new color molecules can also diffuse out of the hair shaft, accounting for some drift in color with time. Generally, as mentioned previously, the hair tends to drift toward red hues and looses the depth of color with repeat shampooing. This "brassiness" used to be considered undesirable, yet adolescents now intentionally attempt to dye their brown hair blonde to create these unusual red tones.
A relatively new trend in permanent hair dyeing is the technique of highlighting, also known as hair foiling. This technique involves the application of permanent hair dye to selected locks of hair that are then wrapped in the aluminum foil sheets used to cover oven baked potatoes. The foil keeps the hair dye from touching surrounding hair and preferentially dyes only the intended locks. Hairdressers may foil one lock of hair red, another lock of hair light brown, and another lock of hair blonde to create dramatic color variation. If large clumps of hair are dyed different colors, the effect looks quite artificial, however, if small clumps of hair are dyed different colors the variation creates a more cosmetically pleasing appearance. Sometimes artificially dyed hair appears flat and lusterless due to uniformity of color between the hair shafts. It is the natural variation in hair shaft color that gives natural hair some of its luster and shine. Foiling can be used to artificially create this effect.
Selective dyeing techniques are also becoming popular among mature men and women. It is normal for the hair of the side burns and temple to gray before the top of the scalp in men and women. In order to minimize the amount of gray hair, while preserving some of the natural gray color, hair coloring artists are selectively dyeing the hair on the top of the head with minimal or no dye application to the temples. Sometimes blonde highlights are added around the face only to give the "sun-kissed" look, which naturally results from UV-induced hair bleaching. These techniques of hair painting have become so artistic that many salons offer hair color services only and do not cut or style hair. A popular hair colorist can charge $200-$300 for this artist type of hair blending.
This new type of permanent hair dyeing through selective hair shaft bleaching is of concern to the dermatologist, since these selected bleached hair shafts are more susceptible to breakage. Bleaching is uniformly a more damaging hair procedure than dyeing the hair darker or simply staying on shade. Over time, the hair shafts that have been lightened will break and patients may comment that their hair no longer is "taking" hair dye properly. Patients who care for their hair poorly and perform extensive hair bleaching also sometimes present with concerns that their hair is not growing or their hair is thinning. It is important to assess hair loss in the context of any chemical processing. The lists of at home and salon hair dye products should help the dermatologist determine the type of hair dye the patient is using and the relative risk of hair damage.
Safety of Hair Dyes
The widespread use of hair dyes by women, men, and adolescents has led to concern over the safety of hair dyeing. The allergic potential of the paraphenylenediamine component of hair dyes is well known to the dermatologist. Paraphenylenediamine is a familiar ingredient on standardized patch test trays and the TRUE test patches. Most dermatologists will encounter at least one case of paraphenylenediamine allergic contact dermatitis over a lifetime of practice. The allergy is characterized by scalp pruritus and erythema, when the reaction is mild, and facial edema including eye swelling, when the allergy is severe. All hair dye products recommend applying a small of the dye to the skin of the neck as a test prior to hair dyeing to rule out the possibility of allergic contact dermatitis.
Another concern with the use of hair dye is carcinogenicity of the aromatic amines that are used in hair dyes. These substances were found to cause tumors in rodents fed the maximum tolerated dose at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Similar results were found in the Ames test. Modern hair dyes now undergo extensive toxicologic testing and are felt to be safe due to elimination of the questionable ingredients.
The next frontier in hair color will be the prevention of gray hair through melanocyte stimulating factors and the natural alteration of hair color through the use of melanin modulators. This technology is currently at the petri dish stage. Ongoing cooperative research between my laboratory and others has been slowed by the need to develop stable melanocyte cultures from the hair bulb to test chemicals designed to alter the production of eumelanin and pheomelanin. The fragility of hair melanocyte cultures has slowed the research, but several commonly encountered safe substances show great promise. Other research is focusing on techniques of removing toxic oxidative melanin byproducts from the follicular melanocytes, which theoretically may allow remelanization to occur. For the time being, however, we shall have to be content with dyes that create color changes synthetically.
Conditioning Hair: Creams, Lotions, and Potions
Hair styles are in part dictated by the technology available in hair conditioning and styling products. The invention of hair gel virtually introduced a whole era of male fashion in the 1950s marked by slicked back stiff hair. This characteristic male hair style reminiscent of the movies "Grease" and "American Grafitti" would not have been possible without the discovery of hair gelling agents that made the hair stiff and shiny. A similar memorable era in female hair styles was the 1960s characterized by the bouffant beehive. This architectural hair wonder was made possible by the development of aerosol hair sprays based on newly discovered varnishes.
The current hair styles of the millenium focus on the "bed head" look and the attainment of perfectly "spiked" hair. Formable hair waxes made possible through the development of polymers that soften at body temperature such that they can be reformed, yet provide a soft hold in the desired position, are responsible for creating the "just got out of bed look." The short "spiked" hair popular among teen boys is created by an updated high hold version of the 1950s hair gel. All of this has been made possible by the ingenuity of the cosmetic chemist and hair dressers.
This article will cover the various categories of hair conditioners that can be labeled as instant conditioners, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, and hair rinses.
What are instant conditioners?
Many of the currently popular hair styles require frequent shampooing. This is necessary since the styling gels, mousses, and sprays are not reformable. This means that once the hair has been fixed in a given position it cannot be combed or brushed. In order to properly groom the hair, the styling product must be removed via shampooing. Some high hold styling products require the use of a detergent shampoo to remove the polymer and prevent styling product build-up. Thus, the hair must be shampooed daily with a strong cleaning shampoo that can leave the hair unmanageable. In order to restore manageability, an instant conditioner must be used. Instant conditioners must also be used by persons who have hair damaged by permanent waving or dyeing.
Instant conditioners are so named as they are applied following shampooing, left on the hair for five minutes, and subsequently rinsed. These products provide minimal conditioning due to their short contact time with the hair and are basically useful to aid in wet combing and manageability. Their ability to repair damaged hair is somewhat limited. Nevertheless, they are the most popular type of conditioner for both home and salon use. Instant conditioners contain water, conditioning agents, lipids and thickeners. The conditioning agents consist of combinations of cationic detergents, film formers, and proteins as discussed previously in Part I of this series.
The instant conditioners that are most relevant to the dermatologist are those that contain protein. Hydrolyzed protein fragments can enter the hair shaft and add strength to damaged brittle hair. The protein fragments diffuse in during the brief period the instant conditioner remains in contact with the hair shaft and then are removed during the subsequent shampooing. Thus, instant conditioners must be reapplied with each water contact. Protein-containing instant conditioners should be recommended to patients that are experiencing hair breakage resulting in hair loss. While the conditioner cannot grow hair, it can improve the appearance of existing hair, which is of value to any hair loss patient.
What is the difference between and instant conditioner and a deep conditioner?
Deep conditioners are generally creams that remain on the hair for 20-30 minutes prior to shampoo removal. Instant conditioners are generally liquids that remain in contact with the hair for a few minutes, as discussed previously. Deep conditioners contain the same conditioning agents as instant conditioners, but are more concentrated. The goal of a deep conditioner is to allow the conditioning agent to more thoroughly coat and penetrate the hair shaft to improve its cosmetic appearance. Sometimes heat is used to enhance penetration in the form of a hair dryer or warm towel to cause hair shaft swelling, which allows increased conditioner penetration.
These products are intended for extremely dry and damaged hair. Many patients who present to the dermatologist complaining of hair loss are actually experiencing hair breakage and not true hair loss from the follicle. These patients have subjected their hair to too much manipulation, both chemical and physical, for the hair fiber to maintain its strength. Specialized deep conditioners, known as fillers, can be recommended to these patients to minimize the hair damage from additional chemical processing. Fillers are designed to condition the distal hair shaft and reverse some of the effects of hair damage, allowing even application of the subsequent coloring or waving procedure. The patient can request the use of such a product at the salon where she has her hair treated.
A new trend in deep hair conditioning is known as trichotherapy. This technique involves the application of essential herbal oils to the hair followed by massage. The oils are said to balance the scalp, relieve stress, and encourage hair growth. For example, peppermint oil is used to calm seborrheic dermatitis, lavender oil is used to stimulate hair growth, and tea tree oil is used to minimize scalp itching. These oils are usually left in contact with the scalp and hair for 30 minutes and can provide some moisturization, however their main benefit is aromatherapy, calming the senses through smell and touch.Some salons offer a deep conditioning treatment known as trichotherapy or aromatherapy. The value of this treatment is primarily esthetic.
What is the value of a leave-in conditioner?
Leave-in conditioners are applied following towel drying of the hair and designed to remain on the hair shaft to aid in styling. They are removed with the next shampooing. A large category of leave-in conditioners is known as blow drying lotions. These lotions are designed to coat the hair shaft and protect the protein from heat damage during the drying process. Other styling or sculpturing gels are designed to increase hair shine while stiffening the hair such that it will remain in the desired location. These products bridge the gap between hair conditioning and hair styling.
The most popular leave-in hair conditioners are used by persons with curly or kinky hair. These products lubricate and moisturize the hair shaft while aiding in styling. For example, oil sheen sprays and oily pomades help retain water within chemically straightened hair shafts and decrease the combing friction between hair shafts thereby preventing hair breakage. For persons with fine, straight hair, the oily leave-in conditioner would render the hair limp and hard to style, but for persons with coarse kinky hair, the oils improve manageability and impart shine. These products typically contain petrolatum, mineral oil, vegetable oils, and silicone. It is possible for the vegetable oils to produce pomade acne around the face. Persons who the dermatologist thinks might be experiencing pomade acne should consider using a glycerin-based pomade or leave-in conditioner.
Who should use a hair rinse?
Hair rinses fall under the category of hair conditioners. They are typically thin liquids applied like an instant hair conditioner. There are two types: clear rinses and cream rinses. Clear rinses, formed from lemon juice and vinegar, were used prior to the development of pH-balanced shampoos with sequestering agents designed to prevent soap scum formation on the hair. These acidic chemicals removed calcium and magnesium soap residue and returned the hair to a neutral pH following use of an alkaline shampoo. Residue removal restores hair shine while pH neutralization restores hair manageability. Clear rinses work well in patients with oily hair, but are not recommended for patients with normal to dry hair.
Cream rinses, on the other hand, utilize cationic quaternary ammonium compounds, such as stearalkonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride. Cream rinses are thinner than conditioners, but the differences in formulation are small. Some companies even label their products as “cream rinse/conditioners.” As a general rule, cream rinses provide less conditioning than conditioners and are intended for oily to normal hair.
Can a hair conditioner serve as a hair sunscreen?
Some conditioners do indeed incorporate sunscreens designed to add photoprotection to the hair shafts. While the hair is made up of nonliving material and cannot develop cancerous changes, its cosmetic value can be diminished through excessive exposure to the sun. Dryness, reduced strength, rough surface texture, loss of color, decreased luster, stiffness and brittleness of the hair are all precipitated by sun exposure.
Hair protein degradation is induced by light wavelengths from 254-400 nm. Chemically, these changes are thought to be due to ultraviolet light induced oxidation of the sulfur molecules within in the hair shaft. Oxidation of the amide carbon of polypeptide chains also occurs producing carbonyl groups in the hair shaft. This process has been studied extensively in wool where it is known as “photoyellowing.”,
Bleaching, or lightening of the hair color, is common both in brunette and blonde individuals who expose their hair to ultraviolet radiation. Brunette hair tends to develop reddish hues due to photooxidation of melanin pigments while blonde hair develops photoyellowing. The yellow discoloration is due to photodegradation of cystine, tyrosine, and tryptophan residues within the blonde hair shaft. Furthermore, hair treated with permanent or semipermanent hair dyes may also shift color when exposed to sunlight.
Sunscreen containing conditioners are available; however, there is some debate as to their effectiveness in protecting the hair and the scalp. In order to develop a standardized rating system for hair products, the concept of HPF, or hair protection factor, has been proposed. This is similar to the concept of SPF, or skin protection factor, except that tensile strength assessments of the hair shaft are used for grading instead of sunburn assessment. HPF ratings follow a logarithmic scale from 2 to 15. At present, shampoo formulations containing octyl-dimethyl PABA and hair spray formulations containing benzophenones have been proposed. Both of these products seem to decrease ultraviolet light induced melanin and keratin damage, thus preserving the color and structure of the hair shaft.
Are their any adverse reactions from hair conditioners?
The adverse reactions associated with instant hair conditioners are remarkably small. This is due to the fact that hair conditioners are applied to the hair and rinsed quickly, allowing minimal time for any adverse reaction to occur. Rarely, hair conditioners can cause eye and skin irritation. If patch testing is required, these products can be patch tested “as is” in an open or closed manner.
The leave-in hair conditioners are a more frequent cause of irritant or allergic contact dermatitis due to their longer contact time with the skin. Leave-in hair conditioners that are based on film-forming polymers may be contaminated with monomeric impurities, such as acrylamide, ethyleneimine or acrylic acid. Acrylamide is highly toxic, ethyleneimine is carcinogenic, and acrylic acid is highly irritating to the skin. The safety and performance of polymers used in hair conditioners is related to their purity. Companies who market film-forming leave-in conditioners take great care to eliminate impurities in the polymer raw materials selected. I have never seen a polymer related problem from hair care products.
An understanding of hair conditioners is important to the dermatologist. Many patients who seek help regarding hair loss problems want something from the physician that will provide immediate improvement. Unfortunately, most of the currently available therapies, such as topical minoxidil, take time to work and may dry the hair further due to the medication vehicle effect on the hair shaft. Other medical causes of hair loss, such as pregnancy, iron deficiency anemia, and severe illness, take at least 6 months before new hair growth is recognizable by the patient. This means that hair conditioner recommendations offer an immediate improvement in hair appearance while supplementing other treatments instituted by the dermatologist.
One problem may be keeping current with the rapidly changing hair care market. All of the conditioners mentioned above are present within the Pantene hair care line (Procter & Gamble) and are distributed through drug stores, grocery stores, and mass merchandisers. I prefer these products due to their high quality, wide availability, and low cost, making them accessible to patients. However, the dermatologist may wish to try a variety of hair conditioners and determine which products are most efficacious. The hair conditioner market is highly competitive and personal preference for smell, look, and feel can be difficult to ascertain. Nevertheless, a brief discussion of hair conditioners should be part of any hair loss assessment.
Increasing the Longevity of Hair?
Is it possible to increase the longevity of hair? Of course not. Hair is a nonliving tissue that cannot be altered once produced by the follicle. While this is true from a scientific standpoint, it is not true from a cosmetic perspective. Cosmetically, the longevity of hair is determined by how long it remains attached to the head. Thus, anything that causes hair breakage shortens the longevity of the hair shaft. Much industry research is directed at methods of decreasing hair breakage, which is the most common cause of hair loss. In dermatology, we tend to focus on follicular causes of hair loss, such as androgenetic alopecia, female pattern hair loss, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium, to name some of the most common medically significant causes of hair loss. However, in the hair care industry, issues of grooming friction, cuticle condition, and weathering are evaluated as methods of increasing the longevity of hair.
This article deals with methods of increasing the length of time the hair remains attached to the head from a cosmetic perspective by evaluating 10 practical points to share with patients regarding decreased hair breakage. I have called these Zoe's Top 10 Hair Longevity Tips because no extensive studies have been done to document their scientific accuracy and they are based on my own practice experience. These are the ideas that I share with patients who complain of hair loss on their initial visit to the office, since sometimes I am not ready medically to render a concrete diagnosis until I receive laboratory results or have the patient bring in some lost hair for further analysis. I have found that offering these tips conveys to the patient that I understand hair loss, I am concerned about their problem, and I want to do something immediately to help them while waiting for additional information.
I have divided these suggestions into two parts, those tips dealing with hair styling or drying and ideas regarding hair shampoo and conditioner use. This article will comprise part one, with part two debuting next month!
Zoe's Top 10 Hair Longevity Tips
1. Manipulate the hair as little as possible.
There is a misnomer amongst hair stylists that the more you do to the hair, the healthier it becomes. This is not true. There is no such thing as a "body restoring permanent wave" or a "strengthening hair dye." The more you dye or perm the hair, the weaker it becomes. The more you comb, brush, curl, twist, clip, tease, braid, etc. the hair, the more damage it incurs. This damage is permanent, since the hair is nonliving. Basically, any manipulation of the hair shaft results in the possibility of cuticular damage, which is known in the hair care industry as "weathering." Weathering is visible even on the healthiest head of hair as a tightly overlapped intact cuticle on the newly grown proximal hair shaft, with a disrupted, sometimes absent cuticle on the older distal hair shaft. Weathering is basically the sum of chemical and physical environmental insults on the hair shaft, which can be minimized through reduced manipulation.
2. Select a wide toothed comb with Teflon coated tips.
One of the most common insults the hair receives on a daily basis is grooming. This grooming is usually done with a comb. Thus, it is important to select a comb that decreases hair breakage by minimizing the friction between the hair and the teeth of the comb. For this reason, a comb should have broadly spaced smooth teeth, preferably Teflon coated, to reduce combing friction. A comb that tends to grab the hair shafts as they pass through the tangled hair increases hair shaft fracture, usually at the point where cuticular scale is most disrupted or completely absent.
Combing friction is also maximal when the hair shafts are tangled. Unfortunately, the most common reason for combing the hair is to remove tangles. This means that the hair should protected from situations that might cause hair tangles, such as wind, unconscious hair twisting, or teasing. The most effective way to reduce hair combing friction, besides proper comb selection, is application of a conditioner, a topic discussed later in this article.
3. Selected a vent ball tipped styling brush.
The second most commonly used grooming implement is a brush and it too requires careful selection. The main goal again is to reduce friction between the brush and the hair shafts. Natural bristle brushes or brushes with a dense arrangement of bristles have recently become popular since they fit quite nicely with the current "back to nature" trend and the use of botanicals in the hair care industry, however these brushes maximize hair breakage. A better option is to select a brush design, known as a blow drying brush, for general grooming needs. These brushes possess vents or openings on the brush head to prevent heat from building up between the hair and the brush head. The widely spaced bristles are also plastic and ball tipped to minimize friction. If drawing the brush across the palm of the hand causes discomfort, the brush is not recommended for use on the hair.
4. Do not comb hair wet.
Hair is much more likely to fracture wet than dry. For this reason, it is advisable to gentle detangle hair following shampooing from the distal ends to the proximal ends with the fingers, not attempting combing or brushing until the hair is almost dry. Many persons feel that the hair must be styled wet in order to attain the desired style. This is only partially true. Hair will set in the position in which it is placed the instant that the last water molecule evaporates from the hair shaft. This means that the hair is optimally styled just before it is completely dry. Thus, it is best to finger detangle the hair wet and then allow it to almost dry prior to styling to prevent hair breakage.
5. Allow hair to air dry avoiding heated drying appliances.
Many people prefer to speed the drying process by applying heat to the hair shaft to speed the evaporation of water. This can be done with a hand held blow dryer or a hooded professional salon dryer. Heat is also used to style the hair shafts in the form of heated rollers or a curling iron. Unfortunately, any type of heat that is applied to the hair shafts can permanently damage to protein structure of the hair.
It is important to distinguish between the water that resides on the outside of the hair shaft when the hair is wet and the water that resides inside the hair shaft to act as a plasticizer. Hair dryers attempt to speed evaporation of the water on the outside of the hair shaft and heating styling appliances attempt to rearrange the water deformable bonds within the hair shaft. Remember that water is the plasticizer of all of the keratin-based structures of the body including the skin, hair, and nails. When the hair is rapidly exposed to high temperatures, the water within the shaft turns to steam and exits the hair shaft creating a loss of cuticular scale and a condition known as "bubble hair." Under scanning electronmicroscopy is actually possible to see the bubbles created by the energetic steam. Unfortunately, the condition is permanent and bubble hair results in a weakening of the hair shaft that contributes to breakage.
The dermatologist should be aware that many patients who present with hair loss may be experiencing hair breakage due to bubble hair. While it is not possible to see bubble hair under a light microscope, it is possible to have the patient collect 4 days worth of hair loss, by placing each day's loss in a separate bag. The dermatologist can examine these bags to determine the ratio of broken hairs without the hair bulb to shed telogen hairs containing the hair bulb. If the number of broken hairs exceeds 20%, the patient is experiencing hair breakage. At this point, the dermatologist should inquire as to the use of heated hair drying and styling appliances and make some recommendations, however, most patients will not discontinue the use of heat.
Even though all forms of heat are damaging to the hair shaft, it is possible to minimize damage by altering the abrupt manner in which the hair contacts heat. Bubble hair is more likely to occur if the room temperature hair shaft is abruptly exposed to high heat. If the hair exposure to the heat is gradual, the damaging effect is not as great. Thus, a gradual temperature increase is recommended. This means that hair dryers can be safely used if the nozzle blowing out hot air is held at least 12 inches from the hair, allowing the air to cool prior to touching the hair shaft. Hair dryers also should be started on low heat to initially warm the hair prior to drying at higher temperatures.
Heat hair rollers and curling irons can be used safely if allowed to cool prior to application to the hair. These thermostatically controlled devices tend to slightly overheat, which can induce bubble hair immediately on hair contact. Heated styling devices should be unplugged for 1-2 minutes prior to placing them in contact with the hair. If possible, the styling devices should be operated on a low, rather than high, temperature setting. If the device does not have multiple temperature settings, the temperature of the metal or plastic that contacts the hair can be lowered by placing it in a damp towel. Many patients prefer to use styling heated devices at a high temperature setting, since the high temperature results in the rearrangement of more water deformable bonds and a tighter, longer-lasting curl. Hair that has been heat damaged appears wavy and friable to the human eye.
Even though hair is a nonliving substance, its “longevity” can be increased by caring for the hair in an optimal fashion. Much of the product development regarding hair care has been the adaptation of textile processing techniques to the human hair fiber. When hair is thought of as a fabric, it is easy to understand how proper handling of the hair fiber and limited exposure to damaging chemicals and environmental variables can influence its cosmetic performance. This article has discusses some of the suggestions I give to patients who are experiencing hair loss either totally or partially related to hair breakage.
Hair Shampooing and Conditioning Tips
Many of the ideas used in hair care products originated as technology in the textile industry. There are two main factors that degrade the appearance of a woven fabric: sunlight and friction. Amazingly, these are the two same factors that decrease the cosmetic value of hair. Sunlight induces a change in natural fibers, known as photoyellowing, whereby white fabric becomes yellow with light exposure. This change can be seen in a 20 year old wedding dress where the once white garment is now a shade of light brownish yellow. It can also be appreciated in hair as the development of shades of orange in originally brown or blonde hair. Some women actually seek this "sun faded" look by using bleaches to remove the eumelanins from the hair shaft thus speeding photodegradation of the hair pigments. Unfortunately, there are few effective hair care products to protect the hair from sun damage.
A new trend in the hair care industry to prevent pigment fading in dyed hair is to include a sunscreen in the conditioning product designed to be used immediately after dyeing and once weekly thereafter. These products are intended to prolong the life of the hair dye and do so by protecting the cuticle and leaving behind a UVA sunscreen. Inclusion of this after dyeing conditioner allows the manufacturer to claim that the hair dye is longer lasting and gentler to the hair. However, protecting the hair with a hat or scarf is clearly more effective. Patients who complain of the inability of their hair to hold a dye should be encouraged to cover their head when outdoors.
The second major factor I mentioned that damages the hair fiber is friction. Friction is the most common cause of hair loss because it ultimately results in hair breakage. This friction can be created by drawing a comb or brush through the hair, rubbing the hair shafts together while scratching or towel drying the scalp, or allowing wind to blow through the hair. Methods of reducing hair fiber friction will be presented as the last 5 tips to increasing the longevity of the hair.
Zoe's Top 10 Hair Longevity Tips
6. Avoid scratching the hair and scalp.
It is not usual for patients with seborrheic dermatitis to present with the complaint of hair loss. Medically, it difficult to reconcile how a fungal infection of the skin of the scalp could alter hair growth from the hair follicles located deep within the dermis and in the superficial subcutaneous tissue. The answer to hair loss in the seborrheic dermatitis patient lies in having the patient collect all hairs lost while shampooing or grooming over a 24-hour period in a bag. Examination of these hairs will reveal absence of the cuticle and hair shaft fracture. Remarkably, it is possible to remove the entire cuticle from the hair shaft with 1 hour of vigorous scratching. Most patients will not scratch their scalp continuously for 1 hour, but the effects of scratching are additive to the hair shaft. One hour can easily be accumulated if the patient scratches 10 minutes a day for 6 days. Usually patients are intending to scratch only the itching present on the scalp, but it is impossible to scratch the scalp without scratching the hair shafts, as well.
Thus, the solution to hair loss in the seborrheic dermatitis patient is to treat the underlying disease. Many times I will treat my patients complaining of hair loss aggressively for scalp puritus in addition to my standard hair loss work-up. Fingernail damage to the hair shaft will result in dull, unmanageable, broken hair that performs poorly. Stopping hair shaft damage from scalp itching is key to solving the cause of hair loss in some patients.
7. Select a conditioning shampoo.
Unfortunately, many patients who present to the dermatologist have already severely damaged their hair and permanent restoration is not possible. Yet, it is important to counsel the patient on how to optimize the appearance of their damaged hair until new growth occurs and the damaging cosmetic procedure has been discontinued. One such method of minimizing hair damage is to select a conditioning shampoo. There is no doubt that sebum is the optimal hair conditioner and all synthetic conditioners are a poor substitute, however, patients do not like the greasy, flat appearance sebum imparts to the hair shaft. This led to the introduction of shampoos designed to remove sebum from the hair. Remember that the original intention of shampoo was to remove sebum, skin scale, environmental dirt, and apocrine and eccrine secretions from the scalp. Patients forget that shampoo is to cleanse the scalp and not the hair when they are in the shower.
The need to improve the hair while cleansing the scalp has led to the development of conditioning shampoos. The main ingredient in this technology is silicone, a light weight clear oil that can coat the hair shaft and smooth the disrupted cuticular scale. This technology was pioneered as part of the Pantene line of shampoos, still manufactured today. These shampoos were originally known as 2-in-1 shampoos, since they both cleansed the scalp and conditioned the hair. They are available for all types of hair including: dry, normal, oily, and chemically treated. Silicone is instrumental in these formulas since it can coat the hair shaft without leaving the greasy appearance of sebum. The silicone also significantly reduces the friction of combing and brushing minimizing hair breakage. Thus, patients with hair loss or chemically damaged hair may benefit from the use of a conditioning silicone-containing shampoo.
8. Apply an instant conditioner after each shampooing.
Silicone technology has also been applied to instant conditioners. Instant conditioners are products applied immediately following shampooing in the bath or shower. They are left on the scalp for a short period of time and then thoroughly rinsed from the hair, hence the name "instant" conditioner. Since these products do not contain a surfactant designed to remove oils from the scalp, they can focus on augmenting the effect of a previously applied conditioning shampoo. Instant hair conditioners usually incorporate cylomethicone, dimethicone, or amodimethicone as their active agent, in addition to quaternary ammonium compounds. Amodimethicone is a cyclic silicone that appears to have more substantivity for hair keratin. This means that it sticks to the cuticle better and resists water rinsing, thus providing longer lasting conditioning. Quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as quats, are excellent at decreasing static electricity, which produces unmanageable frizzy hair.
While these important ingredients function to smooth the loosened cuticular scale and increase hair shine, they also reduce friction. By doing so, it is easier to detangle freshly washed hair, thus reducing hair breakage during the hair drying process. Hair conditioners also decrease grooming friction between the comb and brush and the hair fibers. Hair conditioners also provide a protective coating over the hair shaft that can protect from heat damage, discussed more thoroughly in last month's column, and the effects of UV radiation.
In short, one of the best recommendations the dermatologist can provide to the patient who is experiencing hair loss is to use an instant conditioner following shampooing. Use of this product will prolong hair longevity, no matter what the underlying cause of hair loss may be. No fabrics are sold without a fabric finishing, which improves wear and imparts shine to the fabric. It is actually removal of the fabric finishing that takes a soft cotton t-shirt and changes it into a stiff faded rag with repeated visits to the wash machine. These same changes occur with hair. Restoring the softness of fabric by using a fabric softener in the wash machine or dryer is analogous to applying an instant conditioner to the hair.
9. Consider use of a deep conditioner once weekly.
Occasionally it is necessary to impart more conditioning benefits to the hair fiber than an instant conditioner can deliver. This is especially the case in hair that has underdone chemical processing, such as permanent dyeing, bleaching, permanent waving, or chemical straightening. These procedures all intentionally disrupt the cuticular scale in order to reach the cortex and medulla of the hair shaft to induce a change in color or configuration. Once the cuticle has been disrupted with chemical processing, it can never be fully restored. Thus, there is a trade off for the patient between the cosmetic value of chemically treating the hair shaft and its reduced ability to function optimally. Some of the damage can be minimized by using what is known as a deep conditioner.
Deep conditioners are applied to hair for 20-30 minutes outside the bath or shower. They can be used both at home or in a salon. There are basically two types of deep conditioners: oil treatments and protein packs. Oil treatments are usually used for kinky hair that has been straightened. The process of lye straightening hair results in a decreased hair water content, which reduces the hair shaft elasticity and predisposes to hair breakage. Apply a heavy oil to the hair shaft is much like moisturizing the skin in that it attempts to both smooth the cuticle and prevent further water loss from the hair shaft. In general, oil treatments are not used for straight hair, since the heavy oil leaves the hair limp and difficult to style.
Protein packs represent a second type of deep conditioner and can be used by all hair types. These conditioners are formulated as creams or lotions and are a variation on the instant conditioner, except that they remain on the hair longer prior to rinsing. Protein packs may contain silicones and quaternary ammonium compounds, as previously discussed, but they also contain some form of hydrolyzed protein. Usually, collagen from animal sources is used, but any hydrolyzed protein will do. The protein can diffuse into the hair shaft through the cuticular defects creating by the chemical treatment. The protein can impart some strength to the hair shaft and also smooth the cuticular scale more thoroughly than an instant conditioner.
For patients who have chemically processed hair, I recommend a deep conditioner once every 1-2 weeks in addition to an instant conditioner after shampooing.
10. Cut away damaged hair shafts.
Many patients who are losing their hair are reluctant to cut their hair. I believe that they feel they should hang onto all their hair in case no more grows. Unfortunately, hair that has been damaged by too much chemical processing and too little conditioner application cannot be restored. For these patients, the overall appearance of the hair can be improved simply by removing 1-2 inches from the distal hair shafts. This trims away the split ends and creates new hair ends that are less frizzy, more likely to maintain a curl, less subject to static electricity. Trimming also eliminates the irregularity of broken hairs that creates a thin appearance. In short, removal of the damaged hair can create the illusion of fuller, healthier hair. Of course, the newly exposed ends must receive proper care or they too will develop and unattractive cosmetic appearance with time.
There are many approaches to hair care. Unfortunately, patients commonly think that the more they do to their hair, the better it will perform. This is not true. The hair is healthiest immediately after it emerges from the follicle and all manipulations result in damage. Again, I refer to the concept that hair can viewed as a fabric. Think of the appearance of a new wool coat. The fabric is shiny and smooth. After wearing the coat for a year, the fabric over the elbows, a major point of friction, develops fuzz balls, looses its shine, and feels harsh. The best way to keep a wool jacket looking new is not to wear it! While no one would want to take their hair off and put it in the closet, maintaining the integrity of the cuticle and reducing friction are key to a healthy head of hair. There is no salon procedure that can restore damaged hair to its original healthy state. However, the use of hair conditioners can temporarily improve the appearance of the hair and extend its longevity.
All Hair Is Not The Same
Ever wondered why there are so many different shampoos, conditioners, and hair styling products? The answer is simple. All hair is not the same. It is not the same color. It is not the same shape. It is not the same age. As a matter of fact, there are more types of hair than Fitzpatrick skin types. Confused? Probably. Do not worry, even the consumer is confused about which bottle to buy for great looking hair. Fortunately, if the current purchase does not provide the desired result, it can be washed out tomorrow and another attempt made with another purchase to produce another result. This type of trial and error drives much of the hair care market, yet as dermatologists we must put some type of science to the field
In reality, some of the most accomplished scientists work in the hair care industry. Hair care product design is a fine art with many advances derived from textile manufacture. Why is there so much excellent research on hair care? Because this area of cosmetics is unregulated, since hair is nonliving there are few health issues providing for increased creativity and diverse technologies. If this were the case with skin care, there would be many more skin care products with enhanced efficacy. Changes that occur in the hair shaft with chemical exposure and age are much better understood than similar skin changes. This makes the study of hair care an interesting endeavor.
The goal of this article is to highlight the differences between various types of hair. These differences result from underlying unique hair physiology and translate into hair appearance and behavior when exposed to various chemicals. Understanding these differences is key to developing a rational approach to selecting appropriate hair care products.
Hair Fiber Shape
There are three basic hair fiber shapes corresponding to the major ethniticies in the world. The fiber shape is determined in cross section by slicing the hair perpendicularly to the fiber. Hair that is perfectly straight has a round cross section. It is the symmetry of the round cross section in any plane that allows the hair to hang straight. Round cross section hair is characteristic of Asian hair. When the round cross section becomes oval, it looses its symmetry in all planes. This asymmetry leads to wavy hair with the degree of curl influenced by the shape of the ellipse. As the major axis of the ellipse becomes longer and longer, the hair becomes more and more tightly curled. This type of hair is characteristic of Caucasian hair. When the ellipse becomes dramatically flattened and highly assymetrical, the hair is tightly kinked, representative of African-American hair. Variation in the cross section of the hair shaft accounts for the appearance of the hair curls found around the globe.
Hair Fiber Behavior
Hair fiber shape determines it behavior and other interesting attributes. Analysis of these attributes allow a better understanding of the differences in grooming needs between the various hair types and facilitates development of hair care products and procedures that enhance the beauty and performance of the hair. While it can be argued that hair is not essential for life, it can be proven that patients spend more money on their hair than on sunscreen!
For the sake of discussion, we will generalize the appearance of hair into three ethnic types, even though there is much diversity in hair appearance. The three hair types that we will discuss are Asian, Caucasian, and African-American hair, which can be described as straight, wavy, and kinky. Asian hair grows the longest of any hair type and is used in the manufacture of human hair wigs for this reason. The round hair fiber does not easily tangle and possesses less combing friction resulting in less hair shaft breakage. Caucasian hair is intermediate with African-American kinky hair growing the shortest. The hair shafts grow at the same rate, but African-American hair demonstrates the highest combing friction and is most susceptible to breakage. It is this common breakage with grooming that accounts for the popularity of hair straightening in African-American individuals.
The diameter of the hair fiber also varies between ethnicities. African-American hair has the largest diameter followed by Caucasian hair and Asian hair is the finest. This may explain the coarseness of African-American hair. The large hair shaft and its kinky tendency increase problems with ingrown hairs leading to pseudofolliculitis barbae and acne nuchae keloidalis.
Hair Breakage
The most common cosmetic hair problem is hair breakage. Whether the patient is young or old, male or female, curly or straight haired, hair breakage is still the most common cause of hair loss. Hair breakage can also contribute to loss in patients with hair disease, such as alopecia areata, lichen planopilaris, and androgenetic alopecia. Asian hair is the strongest hair with a breaking force of 63 grams, again explaining why it is used in the wig industry. Caucasian hair is intermediate with a breaking force of 43 grams and African-American hair is the weakest with a breaking force of 33 grams. The breaking force is the amount of weight that can be applied to a single hair shaft before fracture.
Machines that measure hair breaking force are commonly used in the hair care industry. All chemical hair procedures, including dyeing, permanent waving, and straightening, weaken the hair shafts. This weakening can be measured by hair shaft fracture at a lower breaking force. This force is measured by hooking both ends of the hair up to a machine that puts a known pull on the hair shaft with increasing pull exerted until the hair breaks. Superior hair chemical procedures produce the desired cosmetic end result without weakening the hair shaft. This is impossible. Thus, a compromise much be achieved.
Dermatologists may have encountered patients who claim that their hair is falling out following a permanent wave or hair straightening procedure. The patient may perceive more hair on the comb or brush, but the hair is actually breaking off from chemical weakening rather than actual loss with the hair bulb intact. Hair that has been chemically weakened cannot be restored to its original strength. Hair care products are developed and tested to determine if they increase the breaking force of the hair. These are the products that are labeled for chemically damaged hair.
Wet vs. Dry Hair Behavior
The behavior of hair strength is also altered by wetting and drying the hair shaft. Wet hair is easier to fracture than dry hair, which is why hair should not be vigorously groomed when wet. Wet hair is highly elastic and can be easily stretched beyond its breaking point. Also, notice that again the breaking strength of Caucasian hair is greater than African-American hair. Hair with a more regular cross section has a higher breaking strength. Further, Caucasian hair is more stretchy than African-American hair both wet and dry, based on the elongation at breaking point data. This easily explains why Caucasian hair grows to a longer length than African American hair and highlights the need for hair care products specifically design for each hair configuration.
Amino Acid Hair Characteristics
Table 2 presents the comparative amino acid characteristics of Caucasian and African-American hair. Notice that there are subtle differences. This information also points to the uniqueness of each hair type. This observation has led hair care companies to design chemical procedures, shampoos, conditioners, and styling products for different hair types.
Other Hair Attributes
There are other differences between African-American hair and Caucasian hair worth mentioning. For example, African-American hair has fewer cuticle layers than Caucasian hair, 7 as compared to 12. Since the cuticle is the outer protective layer of the hair shaft, fewer cuticle layers means the hair is more subject to damage and more easily weakened by cuticle loss. This may also explain the fragility of African-American hair. African-American hair also has a lower water content making the hair less elastic and more prone to fracture.
Hair Straightening
Hair straightening is a common practice among African-American individuals with kinky hair. The hair can be straightened with heat or chemical techniques. Chemical techniques are more popular because the hair is permanent straightened, as opposed to heat straightening that temporarily rearranges the water deformable bonds in the hair shaft.
The first permament hair straighteners, also known as hair relaxers or perms, were developed around 1940 and consisted of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide mixed into potato starch. Once the disulfide bonds were broken, the hair was pulled straight and the disulfide bonds reformed in their new configuration. The proper chemical name for hair straightening is lanthionization. Hair straightening is popular among individuals with wavy to kinky hair for many reasons.
Hair Straightening Chemistry
Lanthionization is a chemical process whereby curly hair is straightened through the use of metal hydroxides, such as sodium, lithium, potassium, or guanidine hydroxide, to change about 35% of the cysteine contents of the hair to lanthionine along with minor hydrolysis of the peptide bonds. Hair straightening can be achieved with lye-based, lye-free, ammonium thioglycolate, or bisulfite creams. The lye-based and lye-free procedures are most popular and will be briefly discussed in this article.
Lye-based, or sodium hydroxide straighteners are alkaline creams with a pH of 13. Sodium hydroxide is caustic substance that can damage hair, produce scalp burns, and cause blindness if exposed to the eye. These products are generally restricted to professional or salon use and may contain up to 3.5% sodium hydroxide.
Lye relaxers are available in “base” and “no-base” forms. The "base" is usually petrolatum that is applied to the scalp and hairline prior to application of the sodium hydroxide. This prevents scalp irritation and burns. The “base” relaxers contain between 1.5% and 3.5% sodium hydroxide and therefore require that the scalp and hairline be coated with a petrolatum base prior to application. These higher concentration lye products are necessary for hard to straighten hair. “No-base” relaxers, on the other hand, contain 1.5% to 2.5% sodium hydroxide and only require base application to the hairline. They are more popular since it is time consuming for the beautician to apply the base to the scalp and most individuals are re-straightening hair that has already been chemically weakened.
Other strong alkali chemicals sometimes used in place of sodium hydroxide are guanidine hydroxide and lithium hydroxide, which are known as "no-lye" chemical hair straighteners. These relaxing kits contain 4% to 7% cream calcium hydroxide and liquid guanidine carbonate. The guanidine carbonate activator is then mixed into the calcium hydroxide cream to produce calcium carbonate and guanidine hydroxide, the active agent. These products do not require basing of either the scalp or the hairline.
Evaluating the Patient with Diffuse, Nonscarring Hair Loss
As a dermatologist, the one question I fear most from a patient as I begin to leave the examination room is: "Oh, by the way, I am losing my hair. What do you think I should do?" This question is simple for the patient to ask, but extremely complex for the dermatologist to answer. How do you begin to evaluate the commonly perceived problem of hair loss after you have already spent the allotted office visit discussing and treating the patient's four other presenting problems? I think diagnosing and treating hair loss is a tremendous medical challenge.
Hair Color and Hair Thickness
It is estimated that a patient must loose approximately 50% of their hair before a casual observer, such as a physician, can visually document the loss. Thus, when the patient comes in and states that their hair is thinning, a scalp evaluation may fail to yield confirmation of the patient's concerns. This means that the dermatologist must use other examination methods to determine the degree of hair loss.
Dermatologists should be aware that the number of hair shafts required to achieve the look of a healthy head of hair varies by hair color. This is partly due to the differences in the diameter of the hair shaft for various hair colors. For example, it only takes 90,000 red hairs to create the appearance of a full head of hair due to the thicker hair shaft diameter. Conversely, it takes 140,000 blonde hairs to create the appearance of a full head of hair due to the thinner hair shaft diameter. This may partly explain why red heads seem to have more hair than blonde individuals.
Evaluating Hair Loss Magnitude
The patient who presents with no obvious hair loss is difficult for the dermatologist to evaluate. For this reason, I typically ask these patients to collect four consecutive days of hair loss, each placed in a separate plastic bag. The hair should be brushed or combed over the sink and collected from both the sink and the grooming implement. Hairs should also be removed from the drain following shampooing. I ask the patient to write on the bag if the hair was shampooed on the collection day. This allows me to reschedule the patient to return for a more accurate evaluation at a time when the office visit has been allocated to specifically addressing the hair loss problem.
Hair pulls in the office can be misleading, especially if the patient has shampooed prior to being examined and has removed the loose or broken hairs. It may prove difficult to get an accurate estimate of the magnitude of the hair loss from the patient, since most are not aware that a normal individual may loose approximately100 hairs per day. If grooming of the hair is infrequent, shampooing may yield up to 200 lost hairs.
External Breakage vs. Hair Loss
The most important step in evaluating the patient with diffuse nonscarring alopecia is to determine if the problem is hair breakage or hair loss. Generally, hair loss results in shedding of the complete hair shaft, including the hair bulb, while hair breakage yields a hair shaft devoid of the bulb. Hair breakage typically results from aggressive grooming practices or cosmetic chemical hair treatments that weaken the hair shaft. These broken hair shafts do not contain the bulb. Other causes of fragile hair shafts include hair shaft abnormalities, such as trichoschisis, trichorrhexis invaginata, pili torti, monilethrix and trichorrhexis nodosa, which are found sporadically or in association with genodermatoses. Table 2 summarizes the structural abnormalities of the hair shaft, distinguishing between those that are due to internal causes and those that are due to external grooming practices. Examination of several plucked hairs under the microscope will confirm the diagnosis.
Hair loss can be easily distinguished from hair breakage by performing 10 hair pulls over various areas of the scalp. The hair pull is performed by grasping the hair shaft close to the scalp with the fingers and firmly pulling over the length of the shaft. Removed hairs are examined for the presence and formation of the bulb. If more than six hairs are removed per pull, excessive hair loss is present. This procedure also provides an opportunity to evaluate the condition of the entire scalp to determine that no localized areas of total hair loss are present, allowing elimination of scalp conditions such as tinea capitas and alopecia areata.
Internal Causes of Hair Loss
Once it has been determined that the hair loss is indeed in excess of 100 hairs per day and that normally formed hairs are being shed diffusely from a nonscarred scalp with an intact bulb, anagen effluvium and telogen effluvium must be considered. Anagen effluvium is generally due to internally administered medications, such as chemotherapy agents, that act as cell poisons and disrupt the growing hair follicle. Telogen effluvium, on the other hand, is due to an increased number of hair follicles prematurely exiting the anagen phase or hair cycle synchronization. Premature anagen exit can be due to medications, such as coumarin or heparin, while hair cycle synchronization occurs during pregnancy and with oral contraceptive use.
The causes of diffuse, nonscarring telogen hair loss are summarized in Table 3. Most of these considerations can be eliminated by a review of systems and some basic laboratory work. Anemia, thyroid abnormalities and many illnesses can be evaluated by obtaining a complete blood count with differential, thyroid panel and chemistry panel to include liver function studies. If deemed clinically necessary, an antinuclear antibody (ANA) can also be obtained to rule out any collagen vascular diseases. A complete history can determine the nature of any severe physical or emotional stress and document the ingestion of prescription or over the counter medications or vitamin supplements.
Surgeries, febrile illnesses and severe emotional stresses must be evaluated by the dermatologist for the past six months. A 3-month delay may be present between the actual event and the patient’s onset of hair loss. Furthermore, there may be another 3-month delay prior to the return of noticeable hair regrowth. Thus, the total hair loss and regrowth cycle can last six months or possibly longer. Patient’s should be educated as to when reasonable regrowth can be expected. The diagnosis of stress induced hair loss certainly has to be a diagnosis of exclusion, since there are no tests to reliably evaluate stress. I also have not found antidepressants to be helpful in the treatment of stress induced hair loss.
My preferred treatment for stress induced hair loss is adoption of a regular exercise routine of at least 30 minutes daily. I generally prefer aerobic exercises that require repetitive movements, such as walking, running, swimming, or bicycling. I prefer these over meditation because the stress reduction is accompanied by improved athletic conditioning.
Hair loss due to rapid weigh loss is not uncommon. Many times patients embark on franchised diet programs administered under the direction of a physician with prescribed meals and dietary supplements. Sometimes patients are told that vitamin supplements purchased as part of the weight loss program are necessary to prevent hair loss associated with dieting. From a dermatologist's standpoint, however, the vitamins cannot prevent hair loss associated with rapid, significant weight loss.
Even worse than rapid weight loss, is rapid weight gain followed by rapid weight loss in a repetitive cycle, a phenomenon described by some as "yo-yo" dieting. These patients never seem to stabilize their weight long enough for hair growth to occur. Behind improper hair grooming practices, "yo-yo" dieting is one of the most common causes of hair loss in otherwise healthy young women.
Hormonal Considerations
Hormonal causes of hair loss deserve special attention in the female patient. Many women do not realize that hair loss can present postpartum or following discontinuation of oral contraceptives. It is important to remind the female patient that hair loss may be delayed by three months following a hormonal status change and another three to six months may be required for regrowth to be fully appreciated.
Menopausal women with decreased ovarian estrogen production may also experience diffuse hair thinning, generally more prominent over the top of the head with bitemporal recession. A thin strip of hair at the anterior hairline is usually spared. FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) levels can be obtained to document the onset of menopause, although menopausal hair thinning may be present even though FSH levels are not low. Institution of estrogen replacement can prevent further loss, but has not been shown to promote regrowth. Other treatments such as topical minoxidil may be indicated.
Recently, many postmenopausal women have discontinued their estrogen replacement therapy based on medical research indicating that hormone replacement was not helpful in the prevention of coronary artery disease. While this may be the case, I have seen many women in my practice who are experiencing dramatic hair shedding following discontinuation of hormonal therapy. These women and their physicians are unhappy about returning to traditional estrogen therapy. In these patients, I have tried to become creative in my estrogen therapy by recommending the use of intravaginal estrogen creams or use of the estrogen patch. Lastly, some of these patients may be helped by the use of food supplements containing phytoestrogens, such as soy supplements, roasted soy nuts, tofu, or flax seeds.
Lastly, it is important to rule out any hormonal abnormalities in the female patient. Inquiring as to the regularity of menses and the presence of infertility problems can uncover ovarian hormonal failure or the presence of excess endogenous androgens. Questions should also be directed as to whether the patient is ingesting oral steroids with androgenic effects. If necessary, hormone levels such as a free testasterone and DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate) can be drawn and an endocrinologic evaluation initiated. A more detailed discussion of hormonally induced hair loss is beyond the scope of this article.,
New Trends in Hair Cosmetics
Why would anyone care about a bad hair day? It doesn’t influence our ability to think or speak or be productive in society. Yet, a bad hair day can lead to lowered self-esteem, decreased self-confidence, and a poor social performance. The bottom line is that hair is very important. Why? Perhaps it is because hair is one of the few physical features that we can easily modify to suit our tastes or perceived image of beauty. If your skin is dark, it is extremely challenging to make it lighter; however, if your hair is brunette, you can make it blonde in less than one hour. If you are tall, it is impossible to become short; however, if your hair is long, you can make it short in less than 5 minutes. If the fashionable look changes from large oval eyes to small almond eyes, you are powerless to achieve the fashionable change. However, you can make your brown hair fashionably red within 30 minutes, keep it for 2 weeks, and then go gothic black. Yes, hair is one of the few body structures that we can control. It is for this reason that hair cosmetics and hair adornments are very popular. They allow easy experimentation and immediate gratification to those in search of something new, different, unusual, attractive, or strange. This article examines new trends in hair cosmetics to include foiling, bonding, and tattooing. These hair and scalp modification techniques have been selected as they present problems that may contribute to dermatologic issues.
Hair dyeing can be an expensive proposition. The average hair cut and permanent coloring procedure costs around $80 nationally with specialty salons charging as much as $500 in big cities. Hair dyeing must be repeated every 6-8 weeks depending on the fastidiousness of the consumer and the rate of hair growth. As the new hair grows, the junction between the natural hair color proximally and the dyed hair distally becomes increasingly obvious. This new growth is known as “roots” in the salon industry. A technique developed to decrease the cosmetic unattractiveness of roots is known as foiling.
Foiling involves the use of 3-6 different dye colors that are systematically applied to different clumps of hair on the scalp. Typically, dissimilar colors are selected within a color group. For example, a reddish blonde, a red, and a red brunette are used to cover gray and compliment the patient’s underlying brown hair color. Selective clumps of hair 1-2 inches wide are selected for individual application of each of the different dyes.
The permanent hair dye is painted on locks of hair subsequently wrapped in aluminum foil sheets. The foil is folded into individual pouches that are left in place 30-40 minutes until the hair dye has processed. The foil keeps the dye from touching surrounding hair and preferentially dyes only the intended locks. If large clumps of hair are dyed different colors, the effect looks quite theatrical, however, if small clumps of hair are dyed different colors, the variation creates a cosmetically pleasing appearance diminishing the drab monotone appearance of chemically dyed hair. It is the variation in hair shaft color that provides luster and shine, which can be mimicked with foiling.
Foiling also minimizes the harsh line between the natural hair color and the monotone dye. The intended hair color variation is only enhanced as the new hair grows allowing perhaps 8-12 weeks between dyeing procedures saving time, money, and hair damage. Foiling may also create a more naturally appearing hair color variation in mature men and women. For example, it is normal for the hair of the side burns and temple to gray before the top of the scalp in men and women. In order to minimize the amount of gray hair, while preserving some of the natural gray color, hair coloring artists are selectively dyeing the hair on the top of the head with minimal or no dye application to the temples. Sometimes blonde highlights are added around the face to give the "sun-kissed" look, which naturally results from UV-induced hair bleaching.
Hair foiling has become a form of “hair art,” such that many salons specialize in this technique only and do not cut or style hair. Many younger individuals use hair foiling to create dramatic hair contrasts. For example, the top of the head is dyed blonde and the hair at the nape of the neck is dyed black. This look was popularized by many female music personalities. A more mainstream foil combination places a lighter color on the top of the head with the same color 2 shades darker on the hair below the ears.
From a dermatologic perspective, hair foiling can create some interesting hair loss conundrums. The typical presentation is a middle-aged female who states that her hair is falling out preferentially on the top of her head. On physical examination, indeed the hair on the nape of the neck, which is a darker color, is more abundant than the blonde hair on the top of the head. The patients states that she is naturally brunette and her mother experienced hair thinning about the same age and is now forced to wear a wig. Without further thought, the easiest and most likely diagnosis appears to be androgenetic alopecia. The patient is advised to use 2% minoxidil twice daily and return to the office after a 6 month trial.
The patient returns in 6 months and states that her hair loss is worse. Was the minoxidil ineffective or is the diagnosis wrong? In this case, the diagnosis was wrong. The naturally brunette patient applied large volumes of peroxide to the hair on the top of her head to achieve the fashionable look. This degree of hair lightening requires two chemical procedures, bleaching and dyeing, that can occur simultaneously in some of the professional hair dyes on the market. These two procedures significantly weaken the hair shaft by removing structural proteins. The addition of the propylene glycol based minoxidil vehicle further damaged the already weakened hair shafts precipitating additional hair loss through breakage. The hair at the sides of the scalp was only dyed and not bleached, since the patient remained close to her original color in these areas. Thus, the hair on top of scalp was lost through breakage while the hair at the sides of the scalp remained creating an unusual pattern of preferential hair breakage.
These novel methods of combination hair dyeing can create unusual patterns of hair loss. The astute dermatologist should examine hair color variation closely when assessing individuals who complain of hair loss. The solution may be to discontinue the dramatic lightening of the hair on the top of the head where hair loss preferentially occurs.
Another method of creating variation in hair color is through the attachment of different colors of synthetic hair to the natural hair shafts. This is a technique known as bonding. Bonding uses a hot glue gun to fuse individual synthetic hair fibers to the base of clumps of existing scalp hair. Only a few fibers can be attached at a time, due to the weight of the additions. This technique is used in both men and women to thicken the scalp and eyelash hair. The scalp hair bonds are intended to remain in place for eight weeks, however individuals with excessive sebum production may notice early loosening and loss of the added hair.
The most popular use of hair bonding is to create long lush eyelashes, sometimes known as “Oriental eyelashes.” Usually 2-3 synthetic eyelashes are bonded to one native eyelash. The bonded eyelashes are usually slightly longer, more tightly curled, and darker than the natural eyelashes. They are popular among mature women with graying and thinning eyelashes. The longer curlier eyelashes can also be used to allow the eyelash hairs to show under redundant upper eyelid skin that covers the natural shorter eyelashes.
The problem with the bonded eyelash and scalp hairs is also hair breakage. The weight of the synthetic hairs accompanied by the rigid glue makes the natural hairs prone to breakage at the attachment point. This causes shedding of the hair prosthesis and may prevent reapplication if the native hair is too short. Similar hair breakage can occur on the scalp. Traction alopecia is another consideration.
An increasingly popular method of camouflaging thinning scalp and eyebrow hair in women is tattooing. Broad lines of brown to brownish-black pigment are applied to the scalp or drawn amongst the eyebrow hairs. This permanent method of scalp skin coloring may be appealing to women in their 40-50s, but is not a good solution to camouflage lost scalp hair. The tattoo pigment is quite unsightly in women with white hair in their 70-80s. It is impossible to remove without damaging the remaining hair follicles.
Tattooing is also a poor camouflage technique for lost or graying eyebrows, since the shape of the eyebrow changes with advancing age. As subcutaneous fat is lost from the forehead, the eyebrows descend onto and below the superior orbital ridge. If the eyebrows have been tattooed, the resulting folded skin creates an unnatural appearance. It is key to remember that a tattoo must be considered permanent and should create a cosmetically acceptable appearance for the entire life of the patient. Too often patients do not anticipate or recognize the inevitable facial changes with aging and are dismayed at cosmetic corrections made 20 years previously.
Foiling, bonding, and tattooing are three cosmetic hair procedures gaining popularity. Each of them poses interesting dermatologic issues. This article has highlighted the cosmetic technique, anticipated results, and complications.
Conditioning Hair: Creams, Lotions, and Potions
What is a hair conditioner? Why should anyone need to use a hair conditioner? Hair conditioners are an important product category, since there are almost as many conditioning products as shampoo products on the store shelf. This article discusses the formulation and function of hair conditioners.
The history of hair conditioners is actually quite interesting, since the need for this product category arose following developments in shampoo technology. Originally, bar soap was used to clean both the hair and the body. Most bar soaps possessed an alkaline pH, which swelled the hair shaft leaving it unattractive and unmanageable. In addition, most homes used well water for cleansing with a high mineral content. The combination of the bar soap and hard water yielded soap scum that accumulated on the tub and also on the hair. This soap scum left the hair harsh and dull adding an additional source of scalp irritation.
The widespread use of municipal water sources and the development of liquid synthetic detergents that were formulated at a neutral pH with sequestering agents revolutionized hair shampooing. Now the shampoos left the hair soft and manageable and could be used more frequently without an adverse cosmetic result. This led to the current practice of daily or every other day shampoooing that efficiently removed sebum from the hair shaft. Sebum is, of course, the ideal hair conditioner. Excessive removal of sebum creates the need for a synthetic sebum-like substance that can minimize static electricity, increase hair shine, improve hair manageability, and also aid in maintaining a hair style. Thus, conditioners attempt to supply hair with the positive attributes of sebum while avoiding the greasy appearance indicative of excessive sebum and dirty hair.
What is a conditioner?
Conditioners are liquids, creams, pastes, or gels that mimic sebum in making the hair manageable, glossy, and soft. The role of conditioners goes beyond maintaining the appearance of healthy hair. Conditioners also attempt to recondition hair that has been damaged by chemical or mechanical trauma. Common sources of trauma include excessive brushing, hot blow-drying, permanent hair waves, hair straightening, hair bleaching, etc. Damage to the hair shaft can also occur through environmental factors such as exposure to sunlight, air pollution, wind, seawater, and chlorinated swimming pool water. This type of hair damage is technically known as “weathering.”
Obviously, since hair is nonliving tissue, any reconditioning that occurs is minimal and temporary until the next shampooing.
When and how were hair conditioners developed?
Hair conditioners were developed during the early 1930’s when self-emulsifying waxes became available. These waxes were combined with protein hydrolysates, polyunsaturates and silicones to give the hair improved feel and texture. Early sources of the proteins included gelatin, milk and eggs. Currently, the most common ingredient in hair conditioners is silicone. Silicone is a light-weight oil that can leave a thin film on the hair shaft without creating the appearance of dirty hair. The amount of silicone left behind on the hair shaft determines whether the product is designed for adding body to fine hair where minimal conditioning is desirable or straightening curly hair where maximal conditioning is desirable.
How do conditioners work?
Healthy, undamaged hair is soft, resilient, and easy to disentangle. Unfortunately, the trauma caused by shampooing, drying, combing, brushing, styling, dyeing, and permanent waving damages the hair making it harsh, brittle, and difficult to disentangle. Hair conditioners are designed to reverse this hair damage by improving sheen, decreasing brittleness, decreasing porosity, increasing strength, and restoring degradation in the polypeptide chain.
a. Decreased static electricity
Hair conditioners improve manageability by decreasing static electricity. Following combing or brushing, the hair shafts become negatively charged. These negatively charged shafts repel one another and prevent the hair from lying smoothly in a given style. Conditioners deposit positively charged ions on the hair shaft neutralizing the electrical charge.
b. Improved manageability
Hair manageability is another key issue. Manageability refers to the ease with which the hair is combed and styled. The key factor in hair manageability is decreased friction between the hair shafts. Friction is minimized if the hair shafts have smooth even surfaces. This means that the cuticular scales must be present and organized in a tightly overlapping manner. Hair conditioners can reduce friction between hair shafts by as much as 50%. This reduction in friction also aids disentangling of the hair following shampooing leading to a subset of conditioners, known as cream rinses, designed to make hair easier to comb following shampooing. A special subset of these products are designed to aid in combing children's hair.
c. Increased hair shine
Most consumers equate shiny hair with healthy hair. Hair shine results from light reflected by individual hair shafts. The smoother the hair surface, the more light reflected. Conditioners increase hair gloss primarily by increasing adherence of the cuticular scale to the hair shaft.
Hair shine is also related to hair structure. Maximum shine is produced by large-diameter, elliptical hair shafts with a sizable medulla and intact, overlapping cuticular scales. Thus, hair conditioners can increase hair shine, but some of the high shine seen with straight hair over curly hair is due to the inherent hair structure. Overlapping of the cuticular scale also contributes to hair softness.
d. Decreased split ends
Split ends occur when the cuticle has been removed from the hair shaft and the soft keratin cortex and medulla are exposed to weathering and grooming trauma. The protein of these structures, unable to withstand the damage, splits or frays much like a damaged textile fiber. Conditioners temporarily reapproximate the frayed remnants of remaining medulla and cortex. This strengthens the hair shaft and prevents breakage of the distal ends.
Why are there different conditioners for different types of hair?
To expand the sales of conditioners, manufacturers have developed formulations appropriate for all hair types. For example, persons with kinky, unruly hair prefer a heavy conditioner that thickly coats the hair shaft to provide additional weight. The conditioner allows the hair to lay in the desired style while appearing shiny. However, this type of conditioner would make fine hair appear greasy and limp. Fine hair is particularly prone to weathering and hair grooming damage. This is because there are more fine hair fibers per weight than coarse hair fibers making the net surface area of fine hair greater. Proportionally more irregular cuticle scales can develop and more of these fine hair fibers are subject to static electricity. Thus, there are special conditioner formulations designed to meet the grooming needs of fine straight hair, which are unique from the conditioning needs of curly coarse hair.
What are the main active ingredients in hair conditioners?
There are several different active agents that can be combined to achieve a hair conditioner unique for a given type of hair. These conditioners are typically applied in the bath immediately after shampooing and rinsed thoroughly prior to hair drying. They are known as instant conditioners, since they must work quickly in the short contact time prior to water rinsing, yet the effect on the hair shafts must be long-lasting until the subsequent shampooing.
The primary classes of hair conditioning agents are listed in Table 1. Of these, the quaternaries are the most frequently used. These chemical classes are discussed in greater detail in Table 2.
1. quaternary conditioning agents
The cationic detergents, also known as quaternaries or quaternary ammonium compounds or quats, are the most popular conditioning agents found in both shampoos and hair conditioners. Their primary benefit comes from the positive charge they possess. Remember that hair that is susceptible to the effects of static electricity is negatively charged. The addition of the cationic quaternary conditioner neutralizes the anionic charge of the hair and improves manageability. It is the attraction of the positively charged conditioner to the negatively charged hair shaft that allows the hair care product to remain on the hair following water rinsing.
Quaternary conditioning agents are used in conditioning shampoos, also known as 2-in-1 shampoos, which clean the hair but also leave behind a thin film of conditioner to improve hair appearance. With repeated grooming and shampooing, the hair becomes weathered and the cuticular scale loosened. The same effect is seen in woven textiles, such as cotton or wool sweaters, where fuzz balls and pilling occurs around areas of high fabric friction, such as the elbows. These fuzz balls occur because the textile fibers have broken and rolled into a ball. The cuticular scales also fracture, break, and clump. This creates increased combing friction and dull appearing hair. Quaternary conditioners are excellent at increasing adherence of the cuticular scales to the hair shaft, which increases the light reflective abilities of the hair, adding shine and luster. These qualities make them an excellent conditioner choice for patients with permanently dyed or permanently waved hair where the cuticle has been disrupted as part of the chemical process.
2. film-forming conditioning agents
Film-forming conditioners also coat the hair shaft, like the quaternaries, but are based on some of the new light-weight polymers used in hair sprays and styling products. Film-forming conditioners apply a thin layer of polymer, such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), over the hair shaft to fill in defects and create a smooth surface. This increases light reflection improving hair luster and shine. In addition, the polymer coating eliminates static electricity due to its cationic nature.
Many of the film-forming conditioners claim to thicken hair. While consumers may think this means that more hair is present on the scalp, in actuality this claim is substantiated by measuring the diameter of each hair shaft after it has been coated by the polymer film. Indeed the hair shafts have been thickened, but not in the manner the consumer hoped!
Film-formers are used in conditioners designed to straighten kinky or curly hair. They are also found in products to add manageability to coarse hair, however persons with fine hair will find that the polymer coating makes the hair shaft limp and decreases the ability of the hair to hold a style.
3. protein conditioning agents
Protein-containing conditioners are the most interesting from a dermatologic standpoint. As hair weathers, it looses its strength due to removal of the cuticular scales and damage to the underlying cortex. This damage creates areas where the hair shaft contains holes. These holes create sites for deposition of protein from a conditioner. Protein-containing conditioners can actually penetrate and alter the damaged hair shaft by increasing its fracture strength by 10%. These proteins, derived from animal collagen, keratin, placenta, etc., are hydrolyzed to a particle size (molecular weight 1000 to 10,000), which are able to enter the hair shaft. The source of the protein is not as important as the protein particle size.
The ability of protein-containing conditioners to strengthen the hair shaft depends on contact time. The longer the protein conditioner is left in contact with the hair shaft, the more protein that will diffuse into the shaft. Thus, proteins are used in instant conditioners designed for short term in shower contact and longer term deep conditioners designed to remain in contact with the hair for 30 minutes prior to removal. The protein diffusion is reversible, however. This means that any exogenous protein present in the hair shaft will be removed at the time of shampooing necessitating reapplication of the protein-containing conditioner.
This article has dealt with some of the key issues surrounding the use of hair conditioners. It is interesting to note that the need to condition the hair has arisen out of the development of better shampoos and increased bathing frequency. Hair conditioners can be thought of much like fabric finishing. Textiles are treated following weaving with chemicals designed to impart softness and shine. The finishing is removed with washing, which explains why inexpensive cotton shirts go into the wash machine soft and pliable only to emerge rough and stiff as a board. Hair is nothing more than a textile affixed to the human body. If the dermatologist views hair conditioners from this standpoint, it is easy to understand their function and formulation.
Sun and Hair
Hair and UV Radiation
Much of the understanding regarding hair and how it interacts with UV radiation has come from the textile industry. Natural fibers, such as wool, cotton, silk, and rayon, discolor when exposed to sunlight. White fabrics tend to take on a light brown/yellow color, a process known as photoyellowing. In natural human hair there are two pigments, eumelanin and pheomelanin, accounting for the brown and red hues seen in hair, respectively. There is another melanin, known as oxymelanin, found in unprocessed human hair that has been exposed to sunlight. Oxymelanin is an oxidative photodegradation product. How does the alteration or absence of hair pigments influence how UV radiation interacts with human hair fibers? Hair research has yielded some surprising results.
Hair Photoaging
Hair is a complex nonliving structure with an outer cuticle that provides a hard protective barrier for the inner cortex. The cortex is composed of fibrillar proteins, which are responsible for the mechanical strength of the hair shaft. Melanin pigments are contained in the cortex embedded in an amorphous protein matrix. Sometimes the hair shaft may contain a medulla, but the function of this inner structure is largely unknown and found less frequently in mature hair shafts. Sunlight can damage both the strength of the hair shaft, by increasing the scission of the cystine disulfide bonds, and produce oxymelanin, as previously mentioned. The natural pigments actually prevent disulfide bond disruption, preserving the strength of the hair shaft, even though color change in the form of pigment lightening occurs. In other words, chemical alterations in the hair pigment function to protect the protein structural backbone of the hair.
Pigment Sunscreens
The entry of pigment sunscreens in the US marketplace, however, has been greatly slowed. Much of the research regarding new sunscreen development has been halted by controversy over the new sunscreen monograph, which has tentatively been put on hold pending more understanding of UVA photoprotection. At present, the only recognized rating system for sunscreens is the SPF (sun protection factor), which evaluates the impact of UVB radiation on the skin. The recognition that UVA radiation is equally as important in carcinogenesis and even more important in aging has caused dermatologists and industry representatives to ask for approval of a UVA rating system. Several proposals have been made to the FDA, but no final decision has been forthcoming. The push to develop a system for UVA rating stems from research regarding new pigment actives that protect in this wavelength.
Pigments are agents used to impart color to fabrics, cosmetics, and hair dyes. Many of these pigments can absorb and/or reflect light based on their internal chemistry. The newest UVA actives, such as Tinosorb, that have entered the marketplace in South America and Latin America are pigment sunscreens. Consumer acceptance of these new sunscreens has been overwhelming. What role do pigments have in hair photoprotection?
Topical Hair Photoprotection
Until recently, the main approach to hair photoprotection has been the use of traditional UVB sunscreen actives in formulations designed for hair use, such as instant conditioners, styling gels, and hair sprays. The main problem with this topical approach to hair photoprotection is the failure to create an even film protecting the entire surface area of every hair on the head and the inability of a sunscreen to adhere to the hair cuticle. Coating each an every hair shaft with an equal thickness of sun protection without making the hair appear limp or greasy is a challenge no hair care product has yet overcome. This dilemma has led researchers to question whether photoprotection could be imparted to the hair shaft through another means, perhaps through the internal structure of the hair shaft.
Intrinsic Photoprotection
The natural color of the hair shaft results from a combination of the visible light absorption and scattering abilities of the pigment granules distributed within the cortex. However, sunlight contains both visible light and UV radiation. Exposure of the hair to sunlight leads to lightening of the hair color, known as bleaching, and ultimately damage to the fiber itself. The components of sunlight that are altered by UV radiation include the amino acids and lipids. Interestingly, it has been shown that unpigmented hair is much more susceptible to this UV induced damage than pigmented hair, meaning that the color granules are providing some protection from oxidative damage. Also, the rate of cystine disulfide bond breakage due to environmental exposure is greater for unpigmented than pigmented hair. What is the importance of this observation? This indicates that white hair and advanced gray hair are more susceptible to the damaged effects of UV radiation than youthful pigmented hair. The issue of photoprotection to maintain the cosmetic value of the hair becomes important with advancing age.
Methods of Enhancing Intrinsic Photoprotection
If natural pigments within the hair shaft provide photoprotection, it may be possible to preserve the hair cosmetic value with synthetic pigments deposited on the cuticle and within the cortex via hair dyes. There are two types of hair dyes that can artificially increase the hair shaft pigments: semipermanent and permanent hair dyes.
Semipermanent hair dyes are composed of a combination of dyes, such as nitrophenylenediamines, nitroaminophenols, and amionanthraquinones. These dyes are left on the hair 25 minutes and are used in combination to arrive at the final desired color. As might be imagined, there is some initial damage that occurs to the hair fibers upon dyeing, however, as the hair is exposed to longer periods of UV radiation, the initial damaging effect of the dyeing procedure is outweighed by antioxidant effect of the color deposited on and in the hair shaft. Thus, white hair that is undyed exhibits more mechanical strength damage from UV radiation than semipermanently dyed hair after 4 days of exposure. As might be imagined, the darker the hair dye color, the more photoprotection provided. The semipermanent hair colors are a mixture of dyes designed to create the desired final color. Usually, a mixture of reds and blues are used to create brown. It is interesting to note that the red pigments produce better photoprotection than the blue pigments. This is probably due to the red dyes absorbing the more energetic part of the UV spectrum than the blue dyes.
This same effect was also observed with permanent hair dyes. Permanent hair dyes penetrate more deeply into the hair shaft creating color as a result of an oxidation/reduction reaction. They too act as a photoprotectant, however the permanent hair dyes are more damaging due to the hydrogen peroxide and ammonia used to allow the chemicals to penetrate the hair shaft. More alkaline dyes that allow enhanced penetration also provide better photoprotection. The permanent hair dyes can act as passive photofilters reducing the hair fiber protein damage by attenuating the incident light. This is accomplished by the dye molecule absorbing the light energy, which promotes it to a more excited stated, followed by a return to ground state via radiative and nonradiative pathways.
New insights into semipermanent and permanent dyes as a means of hair photoprotection are intriguing. Many of the female patients who present to the dermatologist for suggestions regarding hair growth are mature with gray hair. The temptation is to bleach the hair, thus removing any remaining pigment granules to produce hair color lightening. Hair that is gray or bleached possesses fewer pigment granules than brown hair and is thus more susceptible to sunlight. Darker hair colors are more resistant to photodegradation. Thus, it may be beneficial to mature women who enjoy the outdoors to dye their hair a darker color to prevent hair shaft weakening from UVA exposure.
New Insights Into Dandruff
Dandruff is a perplexing problem because it is a somewhat nebulous condition that comes and goes, but is never completely gone. Is dandruff caused by one etiologic factor? Is dandruff a disease? What is the relationship between dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis? What can be done to prevent relapse? What constitutes maintenance therapy? These are all interesting questions that I shall attempt to answer in this article.
For a consumer, dandruff is a huge problem and from an industry standpoint, dandruff is a huge market. Just take a walk down the shampoo aisle and notice all of the dandruff shampoos. Most shampoo brands contain a bottle labeled for the treatment of dandruff. Even conditioners are now available specifically for dandruff sufferers and very effective post-shampoo treatment products are even available. There is no doubt that the dermatologist needs to be keenly aware of the over-the-counter market for these products.
What is dandruff?
Dandruff is basically the sloughing of desquamating corneocytes from the scalp. However, the presence of hair on the scalp makes this process more difficult. Since the corneocytes are pinned in place by the hair, physical removal of the skin scale via rubbing becomes more important. Thus, frequent shampooing is required to dislodge and remove the scale via water rinsing. Frequent combing or brushing only makes the condition worse because the scale is dislodged but not efficiently removed from the hair. Yet, this is not the whole story. If you examine the flakes of dander from patients with and without dandruff, there is a noticeable difference in the size of the flakes between the two patient groups. Patients with dandruff have much larger flakes indicating a different desquamatory process. This may be why keratolytics are one of the most important dandruff treatments.
What is the etiology of dandruff?
In addition to desquamatory defects, there are other unique scalp attributes of patients with dandruff. A fungal culture of dandruff sufferers yields a higher than normal population of the fungus Malassezia globosa. Tom Dawson, PhD, at the hair research laboratories of Procter & Gamble, discovered this finding. He collected numerous specimens from thousands of patients with and without dandruff and concluded that this organism was the causative factor for dandruff. In the past, it had been thought that Malassezia furfur was the fungal cause, however this fungus has now been relegated to only causing tinea versicolor. Thus, eliminating the skin scale is in part related to the ability to reduce the Malassezia globosa scalp population.
What is the relationship between dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis?
Why do some people get only dandruff and others get full blown seborrheic dermatitis? I believe that dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis reside on a continuum with dandruff representing mild non-inflammatory disease and seborrheic dermatitis representing severe inflammatory disease. The difference between the two conditions resides in the patient response to free fatty acids. As the Malassezia globosa population increases on the scalp, it must have a ready nutritional source. Interestingly, Malssezia globosa eats scalp sebum removing nutrients necessary for growth and releasing free fatty acids as a by product. These free fatty acids are extremely irritating to the scalp of susceptible patients. Exactly why some patients react with strong itching and burning to the free fatty acids and others do not has not been completely elucidated. It appears that it may be due to inherent barrier defects. Thus, an important factor in preventing the transformation of dandruff to seborrheic dermatitis is the minimization of inflammation.
What can be done to prevent dandruff relapse?
The most important question is how to cure and prevent dandruff. As most dermatologists know, dandruff can be controlled but not cured. Why? The causative agent Malassezia globosa is present in the air. Eventually, recolonization will occur and the growth process of the Malassezia globosa population will be reinitiated with production of free fatty acids resulting in increased epidermal proliferation and inflammation in patients with possible barrier defects. The prevention of relapse depends on decreasing the organism count, minimizing skin scale, and reducing inflammation.
What constitutes maintenance therapy?
Preventing relapse is then based on effective maintenance therapy. Since maintenance therapy is long term, it would then seem prudent to look at products that are available in the over-the-counter realm and determine how best to use them for an effective preventative routine. This was exactly the question posed by Combe, Inc., a large manufacturer of hair and scalp care products. They provided an educational grant to look at how their products might best be used as part of a maintenance routine for dandruff and the prevention of seborrheic dermatitis.
Dandruff Study
This research was undertaken by enrolling a total of 60 male or female subjects 18 years or older with moderate dandruff and scalp pruritus into a 2-week study. The total enrollment was divided into three treatment groups of 20 each. Group I applied a topical 1% hydrocortisone product twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. Group II applied a topical 3% salicylic acid product twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. Group III applied a topical 3% salicylic acid product in the morning and a topical 1% hydrocortisone product in the evening. Evaluations were performed at baseline, after one week of treatment, and after two weeks of treatment. The study investigator evaluated the subjects for scalp scale and scalp erythema, while the subjects self-assessed their scalp itch via self-assessment questionnaire. In addition, scalp scale scrapings were collected and analyzed to gain further insight into scalp scale morphology. The rationale was to determine the contribution of scalp scale and inflammation to the maintenance phase of dandruff treatment.
Dermatologist Scalp Scraping Assessment
Some of the most interesting data obtained from the study was the scalp scraping assessment. The scalp scrapings were obtained by scratching the scalp with a microscope slide and examining the quality of the scale removed for stickiness, flakiness, coarseness, abundance, and overall impression under a dissecting microscope. It was interesting to note that there was no statistically significant difference between those subjects using the salicylic acid preparation alone and those using the hydrocortisone preparation alone for the parameters evaluated. However, statistically significant improvement in all parameters was noted for the group using the salicylic acid preparation in the morning and the hydrocortisone preparation in the evening. This means that the scalp skin proliferation is intimately associated with inflammation and both keratolytics and anti-inflammatories must be used simultaneously to improve the appearance of scalp scaling.
Dermatologist Scalp Assessment
The dermatologist visually assessed flaking, erythema, excoriation, and overall scalp appearance. There was a statistically significant (p=0.03) difference in excoriation noted at week 2 between the hydrocortisone twice daily and the salicylic acid twice daily. The hydrocortisone twice daily performed better at reducing excoriation, which might be expected due to its anti-inflammatory effect. The salicylic acid am and hydrocortisone pm group performed better than the salicylic acid twice daily group at week 2 in terms of erythema (p=0.02), excoriation (p=0.03), and overall assessment (p=0.01). This is probably again due to the hydrocortisone anti-inflammatory effect, which accounted for the reduction in erythema and excoriation.
This study helped to reinforce in my mind the interrelationship between scaling and inflammation in the maintenance phase of dandruff therapy. Certainly, the ideal would be to completely eliminate the organism forever from the scalp, but this is unfortunately not possible. The growth of the Malassezia must be minimized while reducing the scaling that provides a suitable protective home for growth. Keratolytics thus play an important role. Shampooing frequently to remove the sebum, which provides a nutritional source for the Malassezia is also important. Lastly, reducing the inflammation is most important to decrease the reactive proliferative scaling and the symptoms that accompany dandruff. Dandruff is a disease in need of chronic attention utilizing a variety of modalities to achieve optimal results. |
In this Book
The Ohio State University Press
Dreaming America: Popular Front Ideals and Aesthetics in Children’s Plays of the Federal Theatre Project by Leslie Elaine Frost traces how the tumultuous politics of the late 1930s shaped the stories and staging of federally funded plays for children. Indeed, children’s theater was central to the Federal Theatre Project’s vision of building a national theater. Frost argues that representations of the child and childhood in the FTP children’s plays stage the hopes and anxieties of a nation destabilized by both economic collapse and technological advances. A declining economy and the first stagnant birthrate in three centuries yoked the national economy to the individual family. Profound disagreements over appropriate models of education and parenting, as well as over issues of ethnicity and class, constituted fundamental arguments over democratic values and social norms. Frost locates these plays within the immediate context of the production materials in the FTP archives, as well as within the broader culture of the Great Depression, drawing on disparate primary materials—from parenting magazines to strike literature to political journals—and referencing a range of popular events—from the Joe Louis/Max Schmeling fights to Hollywood movies. As the focus of Depression-era adult anxieties and hopes and as the embodiment of vigor, dynamism, and growth, children carried symbolic value both as the future of America and as the America of the future. Frost examines representative plays’ connections to other media, culture, and politics to situate their singular trajectories in the social history of the Federal Theatre Project and Popular Front culture.
Table of Contents
1. Cover
2. pp. 1-1
3. open access Download |
1. Title Page, Copyright
2. pp. 2-3
3. open access Download |
1. Contents
2. pp. 4-5
3. open access Download |
1. Illustrations
2. pp. v-7
3. open access Download |
1. Acknowledgments
2. pp. vii-ix
3. open access Download |
1. Introduction: Children's Theatre of a People's Theatre
2. pp. 1-22
3. open access Download |
1. 1. Federal Theatre Project Dreams: Raising an Educated Audience for a Permanent American National Theatre
2. pp. 23-42
3. open access Download |
1. 2. "We Should Have Called It Rumpelstiltskin": A Labor Fairy Tale Gets Real in The Revolt of the Beavers
2. pp. 43-70
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1. 3. "I Looked Him Right Square in the Eye": Being African American in The Story of Little Black Sambo
2. pp. 71-107
3. open access Download |
1. 5. Wishing on a Star: Pinocchio's Journey from the Federal Stage to Disney's World
2. pp. 128-139
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1. Conclusion: Death of a Dream
2. pp. 140-148
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1. Notes
2. pp. 149-176
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1. Works Cited
2. pp. 177-187
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1. Index
2. pp. 188-197
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1. Back Cover
2. pp. 209-209
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Education in the USA Not Being Fair?
Education in the United States vs. Other Countries
Education System in the USA
The United States has a very devoted school system compared to other countries. It all began because the Framer of the Constitution wanted all people to be educated so they’d be able to read the bible independently. Eventually, government supported education because they saw it as an asset to the whole community so everyone supported funding through taxes. Those who support education today can best be fit into the category described by the functionalist theory.
Functionalists view education as an investment, much like the framers of the constitution. Functionalists support learning, along with guidance, norms, competitiveness, and hardworking traits that are learned in school. The viewpoint held by functionalists is grateful for what school has offered and continues to offer children in the USA.
From the Conflict perspective, education is viewed as a con. Why? Some believe that the school system is aimed toward helping only a select few of capable people, particularly the wealthy, more capable students. The traditional curriculum isn’t to be blamed, but the non-traditional methods of learning are said to teach power and control (to value your success.) This might have a negative effect on especially the lower-class and less capable ones.
In our newly presented Information Technology stage of history, education is being seen as a requisite for achieving employment. It has been stated that by just having a high school diploma and nothing else can result in poverty in the near future. Education is being viewed as a solution to all social problems, for example: if drug abused is observed, schools teach children the bad effects of drugs. Though school is a crucial part of young people’s education, it is extremely important (especially for parents) to understand that it has been proven that family is the most prominent means of education for children -most importantly, young children under age four.
The family role is very important because the children usually listen to what their parents have to say about education. It is the primary source of ideas for children; the secondary would be the school’s ideas. The role of the family is to provide ideas to children, expect higher education out of them, and support them in school. My parents were against me attending college, and even high school, they would rather have me home schooled. My older siblings however were the ones to convince me that schooling is good and to not listen to my parents. Children with disadvantaged backgrounds face a lot of trouble because they lack the knowledge of how schools are set up, and also lack the family support that help children do good in school. It has been observed that two different schools could spend just as much money and time with the students; but one school could have students from poor families and one from rich families and the poorer students will do worse regardless of the school’s attempts.
Is there a solution to this? –Newer reforms are inducing more charter school opportunities, new national standards, and paying more teachers for better performance. The No Child Left Behind act was supposed to decrease the gap between minority groups who weren’t doing as well in school, this act called for a scheduled test that all students should take to monitor the progress and if the progress isn’t going well, then actions will take place. Government is also funding just to experiment with different programs to help out the education system.
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LACK of【VITAMIN B12 and FOLIC ACID】Symptoms and Treatments
Consequences of lack of vitamin b12 and folic acid for health
Both B12 and B9 are two key micronutrients for the body. Two B vitamins with a wide range of functions, both jointly and individually, and all extremely important. In the following sections we explain everything about both, focusing on the consequences of vitamin B12 deficiency and folic acid as a key set in well-being and health.
Vitamin B12 and folic acid: differences and similarities
There are not a few people who confuse both micronutrients, so let’s shed some light on them.
Sources of vitamin B12 and folic acid
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One of the main differences between B12 and B9 is that the sources available to them are completely different.
On the one hand, vitamin B12 or cobalamin, which is found in foods of animal origin. However, it is true that there are certain plant foods with this micronutrient in tiny amounts or directly as traces and it is not enough to cover the body’s needs.
That’s why many vegans and vegetarians are deficient if they don’t take the supplements. It is also true that people who follow diets classified as “normal” may suffer from a lack of these vitamins, in short, the important thing is not to follow one diet or another, but to do them correctly.
On the other hand, folic acid is found mainly in green vegetables, seeds, nuts and fruits. The only food in which both micronutrients are found in high amounts is the liver, making it the ideal choice for difficult cases where low levels of both are present.
Basic functions and uses
Both vitamins play a fundamental role in the proper functioning of the body; they are absolutely indispensable in the synthesis of DNA, as well as in the formation of red blood cells in the blood.
In addition, cyanocobalamin is very important for neurons to function properly, so, with vitamin B12 deficiency, some of the most common symptoms are tingling, numbness and weakness.
As for folic acid, it is essential in pregnant women to avoid any type of malformation of the neural tube of the fetus.
Let us now explain how the body absorbs both micro-nutrients:
Vitamin B12, once ingested through food, reaches the stomach, where acid and enzymes break the link between protein and cobalamin, thus preparing the body for absorption. To do this, first of all it had to be linked to the so-called intrinsic factor. Thus, along with intrinsic factor, it is transported to the small intestine, where it is absorbed by the bloodstream.
Folic acid, when it reaches the stomach, is hydrolyzed and directly absorbed in the small intestine, being a very fast absorption step.
What causes a lack of cobalamin in the body?
Vegetarian vegan food
The lack is common in three large population groups:
• Vegans and vegetarians,
• People with absorption, synthesis or storage problems of this micronutrient
• Elderly
We’ll explain everything in detail:
Vegetarians and vegans
As we know, the natural source of vitamin B12 is food of animal origin. While it is true that there are some plant foods that this micro-nutrient, the amount of vitamin B12 is very low, insufficient to cover the necessary dose for the body. Therefore, vegetarians and vegans who do not take B Complex vitamin supplements are at serious risk of suffering from deficiency, a serious pathology.
People with absorption, synthesis or storage problems
The lack of this micro-nutrient is also relatively common in people whose bodies cannot absorb it. It is common in celiac patients, who undergo gastrointestinal surgery or with pathologies such as Crohn’s disease. These people should take cobalamin supplements that come into direct contact with the bloodstream; otherwise, the chances of getting deficiency go up.
After reaching the age of 50, the body’s ability to assimilate B12 is considerably reduced. Added to this is the fact that the vast majority of older people eat less than during their youth and adult life. Therefore, supplements of this vitamin in the B group after age 50 are highly recommended.
Folic acid deficiency: Causes
Certain diseases can cause micronutrient deficiencies in the body.
• This is the case for those diseases in which folic acid is not absorbed correctly in the digestive tract, such as celiac disease or Crohn’s disease.
• In addition, there are other causes, such as overcooked vegetables. Vegetables contain a large amount of B9, especially those with green leaves, but the micronutrient is easily destroyed by excessive heat.
• Of course, a diet without fruits and vegetables of any kind can also lead to a lack of folic acid.
• This pathology is also common in people who consume excess alcohol as well as those who smoke.
• Similarly, women who take contraceptives often have lower levels of folic acid, although not always a severe deficiency.
• In pregnancy, the body absorbs B9 more slowly; the fetus also consumes as much as it needs, and a certain amount can be lost with vomiting. Thus, even if we feed properly we can still have low folic acid, so it is the essential component of supplements for pregnant women.
Consequences of lack of vitamin b12
A low level of cobalamin can lead to relatively serious illness. This nutrient provides energy to the organism; thus, due to its deficiency, one of the main symptoms is weakness and fatigue without apparent cause.
In addition, this B-complex vitamin has a wide range of neurological functions. Thus, some of the main warning signs of a deficiency in the body is weakness and numbness in legs and arms, as well as numbness in both extremities. There are also consequences on the skin, which has a much paler appearance.
In older people, having low levels in the body can speed up the process of certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. A long-term deficiency of this nutrient can cause brain mass loss.
Consequences of low blood B9 levels
The most obvious manifestations of the lack of folate are:
• Diarrhea
• Significant loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Weakness
• Headaches or tongue pain
• Irritability
• Tachycardia
• Conduct disorders of various types
Lack of cobalamin and folate: Consequences and possible diseases
Lack of vitamin b12 and b9 risks in pregnancy
Having low levels of both micronutrients can become a serious pathology that should never be overlooked. In addition, one of the major drawbacks of this disease is that in many cases the symptoms do not appear until 2 or 3 years later.
Cobalamin is mainly stored in the liver, where it has a life span of 2 to 3 years. However, during this time, the deficiency has already caused functional damage to the body. That is why it is so important to avoid receiving the right dose by all means. In addition, the consequences for both physical and mental health can be dire, and may even create irreversible effects.
As for folate, unlike what you might think, it is also stored in the liver; hence many people confuse B9 and B12, because they actually have some similar functions and other similarities, worth the redundancy. Although, for the same reason, it is so dangerous not to count the amount we take, because it is stored for a long time and the body goes using it without us knowing, until we reach a point where we suffer symptoms without knowing it.
Red blood cells
Folic acid and vitamin B12 play a key role in the production of red blood cells, which are essential for the proper functioning of the body as they transport oxygen through the blood to the cells. Therefore, a deficiency of both can lead to anaemia, which causes damage to organ tissue because they do not receive enough oxygen and its serious consequences.
Another function they perform together is the production of DNA. Therefore, if a deficiency of these occurs, this function can be seriously impaired. Having one of the two low vitamins is a serious problem at this level, therefore, suffering from lack of both can be something really serious.
Having good levels of both cobalamin and folic acid in the blood is very important at any stage of life, but especially in pregnancy. Well, the deficiency of both micronutrients during pregnancy can have serious consequences for the fetus, such as deformities in brain development or growth. In addition, they increase the chances of preterm birth.
Also, to indicate that the fetus uses these micro nutrients so it is possible that, by feeding, you suffer from the lack of them and this situation occurs even though at first your levels were good; for this reason, supplements in pregnancy are a necessity.
Cardiovascular diseases
Cyanocobalamin has a fundamental role in the body’s cardiovascular system. It keeps homocysteine at its correct levels; and that is that, if homocysteine is at very high values, the chances of suffering from diseases such as myocardial infarction increase considerably.
Vitamin B9 also acts on this amino acid by participating in the synthesis of lametionin, reducing its levels, so that, in the same way, it helps to reduce the amount and severity of heart problems.
Mental Illness
A lack of the two micronutrients together in the body does not only cause diseases and pathologies at the physical level, but also mental. Vitamin B12 is key for the preservation of the myelin sheath around neurons, as well as for the production of neurotransmitters.
Therefore, at low levels of vitamin B12, the odds of mental illness such as depression increase significantly. On the other hand, it has been proven that adding folate to antidepression treatments improves the effects of these treatments.
Skin and nails
Another consequence is that there are changes in the appearance of hair, skin and nails. On the one hand, hair falls out much more frequently and, on the other hand, more often. On the other hand, the skin becomes paler. And finally, the nails become discolored.
Sources of vitamin B12 and folic acid
As we mentioned, we are fortunate to find natural sources of these micro-nutrients, so if there is no problem, a balanced diet will provide us with good or almost good amounts of them.
Main natural sources of cobalamin
Here are the main foods rich in B12:
• Meat: Meat is one of the foods with the highest vitamin B12 intake. The loin and tenderloin of beef are one of the pieces that have more quantity; 13 micrograms per 100 grams. Although, without a doubt, it is the animal liver that provides the body with the most contribution, up to 30 micrograms per 100 grams. For low-calorie diets, nothing beats cooked chicken breast, also with up to 30 micrograms per 100 grams.
• Fish: Fish are also a very healthy food that is worth including in the diet to ensure a good level of this in blood. The species that provides the greatest contribution is salmon; 10 micrograms for an average portion of about 150 grams of grilled salmon. Tuna, mackerel, sardine or herring are also great options, as are fish eggs.
• Molluscs: Within the mollusks, there are different species that provide the amount that the body needs for its proper functioning. Clams offer 1 microgram of B12 per gram. Equally suitable are mussels and oysters. Also the octopus, with 20 micrograms per 100 grams of food.
• Eggs: Eggs are a very rich food in cobalamin and, in addition, are present in the vast majority of diets. Virtually all of this micronutrient is found in the yolk. A Class L egg provides 1.3 micrograms.
• Dairy: A glass of skim milk has 1 microgram of vitamin B12. There are also some dairy derivatives with a large amount of this micronutrient. For example, emmental type cheese provides 3 micrograms per 100 grams of product but any hard or cured cheese has a considerable amount, a matter of taste!
• Tempeh: Within plant foods, tempeh, a derivative of fermented soybean, is the one that has the highest amount; 0.1 micrograms per 100 grams of dry product.
Main sources of natural folic acid
The main natural sources of B9 are the following:
• Yeast Extract: Provides no less than 1000 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams of product. In addition, this food has a wide range of benefits for the body and has significant amounts of other vitamins.
• Wheat Germ: Another fantastic option to give the body the amount of folic acid it needs. 425 micrograms of this micronutrient per 100 grams. It is also a food very rich in thiamine and niacin, two compounds that protect cell metabolism.
• White bean: Another plant food very rich in folic acid; 388 micrograms per 100 grams. It also contains a large amount of iron, which, along with folic acid, prevents the body from developing anemia.
• Agar seaweed: It stands out a great deal in terms of folic acid content by providing 580 micrograms per 100 grams of dry seaweed.
• Liver: Turkey, followed by chicken and veal, are the richest in folate. In addition, they have many minerals and omega 3 and omega 6.
• Brown rice: With 49 micrograms per 100 grams of rice, it becomes the ideal resource for children to grow with the right dose of B9.
• Dark vegetables: Turnip and spinach lead with 194 micrograms at 100; raw cabbage leaf is also an excellent choice.
• Green asparagus: Asparagus, in addition to having high levels of B9, is a food with lots of benefits, including increasing insulin, detoxifying the body and transporting glucose.
Vitamin B12 Supplements for vegans
As you have been able to see, keeping them at good levels in the body is key to good health, both physically and mentally. Of course, knowing when these levels are correct is by no means simple.
Vitamin B12 supplements
There are many different types of supplements. The most common is to take them in pill or pill form; the most common dosage is to take 1 pill a week of between 1000 and 2000 micrograms, depending on the dosage needed.
People who have problems absorbing vitamin A in their bodies cannot take supplements in pill form because it needs to be absorbed in the same way as any food. Therefore, they need supplements that come into direct contact with the bloodstream, such as nasal gels or injections.
Folic acid supplements
Folate supplements can be used to treat folic acid deficiency, as well as to treat certain menstrual problems and leg ulcers.
For pregnant women, having good levels of folic acid in the body is essential. During gestation, the need for folate in the body is greater because of the cell division that occurs in the fetus.
Well, the recommended daily allowance is 400 micrograms per day to prevent neural tube defects. Thus, all pregnant women should take supplements of this micronutrient from the beginning to 12 weeks of gestation. Then, depending on the follow-up, it is softened or removed.
In any case, it is not only pregnant women who take this type of supplement; anyone who has the symptoms described above or who directly knows that they have low B9 levels should take them. So will those who know they have malabsorption problems.
Vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements
There are also supplements that contain both micronutrients and also those that offer you all the B-complex vitamins and even a mixture with the recommended dose of all the vitamins (and also minerals). If you suffer from a lack of both, the best option is to opt for a multivitamin supplement, more complete and easy to consume.
A note about supplements
It is true that B9 supplements have sometimes corrected anemia caused by a lack of B12, so many people opt for folate pills to “kill two birds with one stone”. However, if they are different it is because they have different functions and folic acid supplements unfortunately cannot correct the nervous system changes that have occurred because they do not have enough cobalamin; therefore, if you have a lack of cobalamin and folate, you have to take both; there is no other option.
By way of conclusion, we would like to stress the importance of following a healthy and balanced diet in order to enjoy a good state of health, both physical and mental; a diet that includes all types of food, i. e. a diet with variety. Both cobalamin and folate are two essential micronutrients for the body whose benefits are seen in both the medium and long term. As we have mentioned, the deficiency of both micronutrients in the body can have very negative health consequences.
Therefore, our recommendation is to supplement the diet with supplements of both vitamins; it is the best way to make sure that the levels of these micronutrients in the body are correct. There are supplements for all kinds of tastes and preferences, in different formats and different coverage, so you can take the quantities you really need.
And finally, to enjoy a good quality of life, it is essential to exercise regularly; 3 or 4 times a week.
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Did you know the problems that can lead to lack of B12 and folic acid? What about their differences? If you have questions, advice or experiences to tell, don’t be shy, share them in the comments.
If you found it helpful or have any questions, please comment and share, thank you! 😉
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What if history moves in big, slow waves? What if patterns of growth and decline, or equality and inequality unfold over decades or centuries? Can we observe these waves and make history into a science? The answer is probably “no.”
I’m not saying that no such patterns exist. They might! But if they do, it will be very difficult to prove. Instead, we may end up getting fooled by random movements in the stock market, the economy or whatever it is we’re looking at.
For example, take the theory of Kondratiev waves. Back in the 1920s, a Soviet economist named Nikolai Kondratiev (sometimes spelled Kondratieff) theorized that the economy moved in long cycles lasting 40 years to 60 years. Expansion would be followed by stagnation, then recession, followed by a new expansion. Economist Joseph Schumpeter liked the idea, and speculated that these cycles follow technological revolutions. Others have claimed that Kondratiev waves are due to demographic or financial cycles.
But Kondratiev waves, if they exist, are almost impossible to identify in the data. For a periodic phenomenon like a wave to be identified, you have to see it happen many times. Otherwise you can be fooled by randomness that looks like a wave. Take a random walk generator and create some totally fake data. A lot of time it will go up and then down, like a wave. But because you made the fake data yourself, you know there’s actually no wave there.
Humans, you see, have a condition called apophenia, or false-pattern recognition. It’s what causes us to see shapes in clouds, or the face of Jesus in the folds of tree bark. A one-dimensional wave -- something that rises and then falls and then rises -- is pretty much the simplest, most common pattern in existence, and so it’s probably one of the easiest patterns to imagine where it doesn’t.
A better way of identifying waves is to use statistics. If a phenomenon repeats itself, you can uncover it by determining how often it repeats itself over your sample, and you look for peaks. Naturally, people have attempted to do this for Kondratiev waves. The problem with this approach is the sample size. Since reliable economic data goes back at most about 150 years (and probably less), we will have observed at most three of the 50-year waves. Any statistical test will therefore have very low power -- it won’t be able to distinguish between waves and randomness.
A similar result was famously demonstrated by economist Larry Summers in 1982. He showed that it’s possible that even if the stock market has bubbles that appear and disappear over the course of about six years, it’s statistically impossible to identify these bubbles in a 50-year data sample. Instead, you’d need more than 1,000 years to have a hope of getting a definitive answer. That was a blow to efficient markets theory, because it showed that statistics couldn’t tell an efficient market from one with bubbles. When the length of a cycle is so long that history only contains a few of them, you’ll never pick the cycle out from random noise.
Another example of a slow cycle theory is the idea of Kuznets waves, recently introduced by economist Branko Milanovic and named after Simon Kuznets, an economist who studied inequality and helped develop ways to measure the size of an economy. The theory is that as countries grow, they alternate between rising inequality and falling inequality. Milanovic shows that inequality fell in today’s developed countries between the 1800s and the mid-1900s, then began rising again. He hypothesizes that we’re in the middle of a second Kuznets wave, and predicts that at some point -- it’s hard to say when -- restorative forces will push the economy back toward greater equality:
The pro-inequality trends will be very hard to overturn during the next generation, but eventually they may be – through a combination of political change, pro-unskilled labour technological innovations…dissipation of rents acquired during the current bout of technological efflorescence, and possibly greater attempts to equalise ownership of assets…But history teaches us too that there are malign factors, notably wars, in turn caused by domestic maldistribution of income and power of the elites (as was the case in the World War I), that can also do the job of income levelling. But they do it at the cost of millions of human lives.
Milanovic might be right about this. But if there has only been one such Kuznets wave in modern history, there is just no way to tell. It may be that we should expect inequality to fall as the result of natural restorative forces, or it may be that it will linger for centuries. We just can’t know. Milanovic, recognizing this problem, points to some research showing rises and falls in inequality in pre-modern Europe, but this data isn’t likely to be reliable, and the forces causing the rises and falls -- wars, famines and plagues -- are certain to be very different from what we see today.
So beware of seeing patterns in history. They might be there, or you might be suffering from false-pattern recognition. Maybe it’s really true, as the historian Arnold Toynbee is reputed to have said, that “history is just one damned thing after another.”
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2nd Fight for Independance
by: Cam Bell
Important People
James Madison was very important because he was Secretary when Thomas Jefferson was president. So was Dolley Madison, nicknamed the First Lady because she helped James Madison win president and saved an important picture from the Whitehouse when the Britsh burned down the WhiteHouse. Andrew Jackson also was important. He was a Major General during the war of 1812, but then became the seventh president.
Cause of War/Native Americans
The war started because the British found out that we were trading with France and the British. So they blockaded our French ports and burned down the Whitehouse. The native American tribes in the lower Great Lake were the Shawnee, Potawatomi, and the Ojibwa. In the Muscogee Creek were the Seminole, Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw.
Effects of War
Some of the major effects of the war of 1812 were increased patriotism in the United States and increased respect for the US from other countries. The US military and manufacturing were also strengthened. There was also a decline in the power of the Federalist party, as well as less threat from Native Americans.
Dates/ Opinions
During 1803 and 1812, the British began to impress us until 1812. In 1812 we declare war on the British. In 1813 British and Indian allies repel American troops at the Battle of Frenchtown (present-day Michigan). In 1813 the Battle of Crysler's Farm happened (Canada). My brother lives there and he said it was horrible. In 1814 the treaty of Ghent was signed. The war was over. Everyone was happy again.
Durin the war we lost 76 lives, but they lost 2,000. We out planned them pretty bad. |
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Geography 2011
Falsh cards for vocab Payne
Nato North Atlantic Treaty Organization. an organization formed in Washington, D.C. comprising the 12 nations of the Atlantic Pact together with Greece, Turkey, and the Federal Republic of Germany, for the purpose of collective defense against aggression.
Ussr Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Union labor organization that negotiates for improved worker conditions and pay
Textiles woven cloth
Strike refusal to work, usually by a labor organization, until demands are met
Statelait Nation nation politically and economically dominated or controlled by another, more powerful country
Productivity measurement of the amount of work accomplished in a given time
Nuclear Weapon weapn whos destructive power comes from a nuclear reaction
Indterdependence dependence of countries on one another for goods, raw materials to make goods, and markets in which to sell goods
Imperialism system of building foreign empires for military and trade advantages
Human Resources supply of people who can produce goods
Holocaust systematic murder of more than 6 million European Jews and ^ million others Adolg Hitler and the Nazis during World War II
Genocide Mass murder of a people because of their race, religion, Ethnicity, politics, or culture
Euro Common currency adopted by countries in the European Union
Eu European union
Dererrence Mainenance of military power for the purpose of discouraging an attack
Cottage Industry home or village-based industry in which family members supply their own equipment to make goods
Cooperation The act or practice of cooperating.
communism economic, social ,and political system based on the teachings of Karl Marx , which advocated the elmination of private property
Cold war period between the late 1940's and late 1980's when the United States and the soviet union competed for world influence without actually fighting each other
Blockade to forcibly prevent entry to an area
Airlift a system of caring supplies by air craft
Created by: MikaylaMullen-Vo |
• Welcome to BNU-China
About us
Direction 1
This year, BNU-China is truly fascinated by BIOMINERALIZATION, by which biological organisms produce hierarchically structured minerals with marvellous functions. We are aiming at modifying the genome of Chaetomium globosum to display E.coli K12 50S ribosomal protein L2 onto its surface. Meanwhile, with the help of Mcfp3 which acts as a flocculating protein, cells could automatically cement into solid granules as an inactive and stable form.
Chaetomium globosum is a widely used fungi with developed mycelia, large spreading area and strong tolerance.
● E.coli K12 50S ribosomal protein L2 has been demonstrated to have higher ability in binding silica. The protein is encoded by rplB, which was amplified by polymerase chain reaction.
● MCFP3 is a filopodia protein secreted from the mussel Mytilus californianus, it could slowly consolidate the binding of cells to particles.
Biology is closely linked with the real life--every basic research in lab may be a universal finding. After transfer those parts into Chaetomium globosum, we are aiming at cementing sand in the real desert. For which we created a word termed “desandilization”.
Direction 2
Bacterial species degradation is a common problem in laboratory and bioindustrial production. Usually, the strain degradation means the ability of the bacteria to produce target products is reduced or completely disappeared. When some engineering bacterium lose the expression vectors of product, they have a smaller pressure to survive, with strong competitiveness, but keeping the pathway, the engineering bacterium will be behind the competition. As a result, the macroscopic display is degradation.
It is mainly produced for the following reasons:
(1) Gene mutation. Bacterium often degrade because of mutations of gene that control products in the genome or by the loss of plasmids, resulting in inability or inefficiency to produce the target products.
(2) The continuous passages of the strain cause degradation. Mutations always occurs in the cell cycle. The more times of passages happen, the more mutations appear. At the same time, a small amount of degraded bacterium multiply quickly.
(3) The culture medium and preservation environment also affect the degradation of the strain.
Currently, the commonly methods to prevent degradations generally include :
(1) to minimize the passages;
(2) purification of strains;
(3) improve the culture medium and living environment;
(4) use good saving methods.
All of these methods have defects and need to be explored blindly for a long time. What’s more, none of them can give full play to the potential of the bacterium .
With the knowledge of the synthetic biology, we design a system that bacteria can screen out the degraded bacterium themselves, and the non-degraded strains will also get some compensations. Ideally, by using this system, the strain's life cycle would be greatly increased and the cost of the products would be greatly reduced.
In order to verify the feasibility of the designed anti-degradation circuit, we use the strain producing salicylic acid as the experimental strain.
There are mainly the following reasons:
(1) Some laboratories have already got the metabolic pathway in e. coli to produce salicylic acid ;
(2) E. coli contains regulatory proteins that specifically bind with salicylic acid and the special promoter.
(3) salicylic acid has broad utilization in many fields.
The Kolbe-Schmitt method is an industrial synthesis method for salicylic acid production. Salicylic acid was obtained from phenol by three-step reaction. Although it is the main method of producing salicylic acid in industry at present, the cost of this method is expensive and the production is very low.
By constructing the expression plasmid of ICS and IPL in E.coli to produce the key enzyme, the strain has the ability to produce salicylic acid. However, the ability to produce salicylic acid is gradually lost due to the degradation of the strain during the passages. In order to find the degraded bacterium and promote the growth of normal strains, we will introduce a plasmid containing the emrR protein gene and the glucose dehydrogenase GENE sequence.
EmrR protein is a regulator, it can combine with specific promoter, thus inhibiting the promoter downstream gene’s expression. But when cells can synthesize salicylic acid, emrR proteins will combine with salicylic acid , as a result, its conformation changes, loss of the ability to combine with the promoter, then the downstream gene expresses .
When the gene can promote the growth of normal bacteria, the bacteria that can continue to synthesize salicylic acid are more competitive. Through reading the papers , we chose to overexpress glucose dehydrogenase to promote the growth of the normal bacterial.
This project through the establishment of the positive regulation to give high-producing bacterial more survival advantages. When the bacterial produce salicylic acid ,it can express glucose dehydrogenase, then the overexpression of glucose dehydrogenase can promote the growth of the bacterial. Thus, they defeat the degraded bacterial in the competition.
Through this selection and positive regulation, this system can effectively ensure that the non-degraded strains in the reaction vessel have an advantage, and it is even possible to screen out the strains with high production efficiency.
Xinjiekouwai st 19
Haidian district |
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A Safe Place to Face Racism
March 28, 1993|DIANNE KLEIN
The eighth-graders in Cliff Kusaba's social studies class at Jefferson Middle School file in. OK, maybe not file. This is public school in central Long Beach, not West Point.
So the kids slink in, others strut, most amble. The important thing is they are all sitting down now, where they're supposed to, ready.
Steve Mortenson, 26 years old, a strange visitor, this white guy, starts.
"Man! Can you believe this?!" he says. "Somebody broke into my car again. Probably some damn Mexican ."
Well. What do you do with this? Oh sure, this is nothing really, not compared to what these kids hear all the time, to what they say all the time, but still. This Steve guy is a teacher type.
He's dressed from another generation, a blue chambray shirt and jeans that fit (they call them tight here) instead of this saggin' stuff.
Saggin' is when you wear your pants so loose that it looks like you could just walk right out of them without interference from a zipper. Lots of boys are saggin' in Mr. Kusaba's class.
So what the kids do with this "damn Mexican" stuff is they turn to each other and laugh, some of them anyway, mostly the ones who aren't Mexicans themselves.
Then Analisa Ridenour, 25, another visitor who has come with Steve, says, "Hey, I'm Mexican!" and she starts letting Steve have it. Steve acts kind of stunned, seeing as how Analisa doesn't look Mexican, and even if she is, she's obviously "different" than the rest of "them."
There's a message here, of course, brought to the eighth-graders courtesy of a pilot program called CAL-STAR, which stands for Students Talking About Race. It's a project of People for the American Way, which commissioned a 1992 study of racial attitudes among youth from 15 to 24 years old.
The report bills itself as "the first fully detailed portrait of the children of the civil rights era," and these children hold some strong opinions about the state of race relations today.
This state is pretty dismal, with some stereotypes and biases that truly chill, although noble sentiments are there too.
By 50% to 42%, the 1,248 respondents (including 78 who were interviewed in depth face-to-face) describe race relations in the United States as bad rather than good, with black youth taking the most negative view (57%). Among whites, 56% agreed that whites wouldn't be safe going into most black neighborhoods, and 36% of black youth agreed.
But 77% of all youth say that getting people to take more responsibility for themselves, rather than blaming others, would go a long way toward dealing with problems of race and poverty. That breaks down to 82% of blacks, 79% of Latinos and 76% of whites who responded that way.
The STAR project started in North Carolina, and today is the first day of the small pilot in California, which is co-sponsored by the California Teachers Assn.
Only the kids in Mr. Kusaba's class aren't aware of the importance of their reactions to all this.
All they know is that Steve and Analisa, both grad students from Cal State Long Beach who volunteer their time as "facilitators," have told them that today they're going to be talking about race and that it will be "safe" to say what's on their minds.
Things take off from there. I'd guess that few, if any, of these kids ever worried about being politically correct. Which is the idea.
Nearly everybody has a story to tell. A Latina says that two black guys jumped her, stealing her purse just off the school grounds, and calling her a "dirty Mexican" first.
The boy with one parent who is white and another who's black says he was told his kind didn't belong in the neighborhood and then he got beat up.
A Latino boy says he doesn't get along with whites and has made a vow never to date girls of that race.
A black girl says she heard that white trucker Reginald Denny was "talking" just before he was nearly beaten to death in the riots last year, and that he should have known enough to stay out of there.
A white boy says the riots were just an excuse to get something for nothing. Another one asks why blacks say, "Hey, white boy!" when he doesn't say, "Hey, black boy!" to them.
A Latina says people call her a "nigger-lover." This gets a lot of laughs.
Racial epithets fly, sometimes as a joke, but mostly not. Some kids get dogged. But honest questions are explored, even if you have to wade through a lot of adolescent bravado to make it there.
It is . . . a start.
Because confronting and then challenging racism is something to keep working on, instead of just hoping that the ugliness will go away. And at Jefferson, a neighborhood school where nobody's bused, there's a very vested interest in getting along.
The school's ethnic breakdown is 30% Latino, 27% black, 25% white and 17% Asian.
Plus, these kids know about one alternative to a status quo of intolerance and hate. They lived through the riots last year.
"They know it's a mess," says their teacher. "Some of them were actually involved (in the riots). Then they come back and tell you what they got."
A lot went on today.
"We have to learn to digest it and do something with it," Mr. Kusaba says.
The people from CAL-STAR will be back.
Dianne Klein's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Readers may reach Klein by writing to her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, or calling (714) 966-7406.
Los Angeles Times Articles |
Esperanto-based alphabet for Klingon (cin̂an ĥolvad esperanto n̂ucmej)
I’ve sketched out an Esperanto-based alphabet for Klingon, based on the following principles:
1. One letter per phoneme, one phoneme per letter.
2. Where the same sound exists in Esperanto and Klingon, the Klingon sound is mapped onto the Esperanto letter.
3. No letters with circumflexes can exist unless there is another letter without the circumflex. Hence /ʂ/ doesn’t map onto the letter Ŝ but rather S.
4. No non-Esperanto letters are permitted, except for new circumflexed versions of Esperanto letters.
Here is the result. The new alphabet is listed under “cin̂an ĥol” along with the IPA pronunciation, the standard Okrandian Latin alphabet, the pIqaD alphabetic mapping, and the “xifan hol” one-to-one Latin alphabet for comparison.
cinxan hxolWhat’s the point of this? Isn’t the alphabet one of the most criticized parts of Esperanto? Well, yes, it is. But it’s also very recognizable to me, and as far as one-to-one alphabets go, the Esperanto-based alphabet is slightly easier for me to read than xifan hol (which is just meant for keyboard mappings to pIqaD anyway, as far as I know).
Some common Klingon phrases in this alphabet:
Nukneĥ? = nuqneH? = What do you want?
Nukĝac? = nuqjatlh? = What did you say?
K̂aplah! = Qapla’! = Success!
Ĥegluhmeĥ k̂ak̂ ĝaĝvam. = Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam. = It is a good day to die.
Cin̂an maĥ! = tlhIngan maH! = We’re Klingons!
Taĥ pag taĥbeh. = taH pagh taHbe’. = To be or not to be.
Obviously this can be written with the x-system as well. But to answer the question as to the point of this, I have no idea.
TEJO serĉas trejnistojn pri egaleco dum Internacia Junulara Kongreso 2018
Mi skribas mallonge por plusendi informon, kiun mi ricevis, pri la Internacia Junulara Kongreso 2018. TEJO petas trejnistojn kaj pretas kovri ĉiujn kostojn, inkluzive vojaĝkostojn, aldone al honorario.
Plua informo troviĝas jene: Ni serĉas trejnistojn pri egaleco dum IJK2018
Tio estas, laŭ mi, perfekta ekzemplo pri bona klopodo por egaleco/atingebleco en Esperantujo. Kaj mi ne ĉiam volas simple plendi. Bedaŭrinde mi ne povos eĉ apliki por tio, ĉar mi havos delonge bezonatan operacion nelonge antaŭ ĝi (😺).
Nia Ido Android app
Rachel Wil Sha Singh
Hi everybody –
On a whim I decided to write an Ido reference app today, similar to my Toki Pona and Láadan apps. The app contains an offline dictionary (like the others), as well as links to other resources online. The dictionary is the same as on this website, with the same dictionaries.
I’ve also made it open source because my Ido isn’t always great, so I thought it would be necessary for others to be able to maintain and improve upon it. I also don’t know much about alternative marketplaces beyond Google Play, so if someone wants to package it up and release it on some other market, feel free to do so. (Also tell me what marketplace you use?)
A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan
Rachel Wil Sha Singh
convert_000When I first purchased this book, it was $60 used on Amazon. I carefully unbound it, scanned all the pages (except the dictionary), then re-bound it.
As of writing, I see the cheapest instance of it for sale at $350. That’s a lot.
Suzette passed away at the beginning of 2015. (what would she have thought of the 2016 race and our current U.S. government?)
Even so, this still technically wrong to upload a copy of this book. However, I doubt I will get into legal trouble over this; Myself and another person have tried to reach out to Suzette’s husband and to the publisher of this book, but have not received any response.
In interests of preserving the language, I’ve uploaded the scans I had originally made, in PDF form. This is the full book, except the dictionary in the middle. I might scan these later once I have time, and update this link. – Láadan community
Rachel Wil Sha Singh
Laadan Club screenshot
Excerpts from A First Dictionary and Grammar of Láadan
Rachel Wil Sha Singh
I’ve built a Creative Commons Láadan grammar lesson on Wikibooks because the book itself obviously is a property, and because the Amberwind lessons don’t have a license attached to them (though the website has been down for a while and Áya Dan is hosting a backup of it).
But one of the ways to really practice a language is to have something to read.
I’m essentially still learning, myself; it’s one thing to boil down grammar rules into a book, but it’s another to be really comfortable (and correct) in using the language.
So, at my discretion, I’m going to post some excerpts from the Láadan grammar book – some of the reading practice material that comes after the grammar and the dictionary. These practice items are really helpful because they have Láadan, English, and word-by-word breakdowns. |
Tag Archives: Hubble
A Hubble Space Telescope status report
Exoplanets with no water
Hubble takes an image of Comet Siding Spring and finds two jets coming off the nucleus.
The comet will fly past Mars on October 19 by a distance of only 84,000 miles, which makes understanding its jets crucially important for protecting the various spacecraft that orbit the red planet.
As imagined by SF authors: the Celestial Spiral
This amazing Hubble image, showing a strange spiral to the left of the bright star, is not of a galaxy. Instead, it is a binary star system where the material from one star is being sucked away from it by the other, thus producing the spiral pattern.
celestial spiral
What is most fascinating about this discovery is that this kind of phenomenon has been predicted for decades, by both astronomers and science fiction writers. Consider for example this quote from Larry Niven from his short story, The Soft Weapon, where he describes what he thinks the binary star Beta Lyrae might look like:
There was smoke across the sky, a trail of red smoke wound in a tight spiral coil. At the center of the coil was the source of the fire: a double star. One member was violet-white, a flame to brand holes in a human retina, its force held in check by the polarized window. The companion was small and yellow. They seemed to burn inches apart, so close that their masses had pulled them both into flattened eggs, so close that a red belt of lesser flame looped around them to link their bulging equators togehter. The belt was hydrogen, still mating in fusion fire, pulled loose from the stellar surfaces by two gravitional wells in conflict.
The gravity did more than that. It sent a loose end of the red belt flailing away, away and out in a burning Maypole spiral that expanded and dimmed as it rose toward interstellar space, until it turned from flame-red to smoke-red, bracketing the sky and painting a spiral path of stars deep red across half the universe.
Hubble image of face-on galaxy
Another spectacular Hubble Space Telescope image was released today, showing a face-on spiral galaxy in the Coma cluster, located about 320 million light years away. Key quote:
NGC 4911 |
The Wealth of Nations
Book 1, Chapter 4
the Origin and Use of Money
Download Preston's Free Checklist
Chapter 4 Summary
Once division of labor has been implemented within a society, the members of that society will start to trade.
When division of labor was first employed, initial experiences in trade and exchange must have been difficult and often impractical. One man has more of a commodity than he needs; another has less. The former would be glad to dispose of, and the latter to purchase—but if the latter has nothing the former needs, no exchange can be made.
In primitive society, for example, cattle were the common commodity used for commerce; in Abyssinia, it was salt. So the man who wished to buy salt but had nothing other than cattle to give in exchange would have been obliged to buy salt to the value of a whole ox.
This led to the idea of a common currency in the form of metal. This had its inconveniences, however, in terms of weighing and evaluating values. To prevent abuse, countries started to stamp specific quantities onto the metals—which later led to coinage and minting. Coins displayed a stamp on either side confirming the coin’s purity and weight.
The word “value” has two different meanings: it can refer to an object’s utility or its purchasing power. The former could be called “value in use;” the latter “value in exchange.” Water is valuable in the sense that it is essential to the preservation of life, but its purchasing power is very low.
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How does sodium chloride effect the
Ionic structures last so why does not sodium chloride do you still have to keep the chloride ions in contact with the sodium the effect of this would. This site might help you re: how do potassium, sodium and calcium ions affect heart rate we did an experiment, we had a frog's heart and put it in 3 different solutions, namely potassium chloride, sodium chloride and calcium chloride we observed that the heart rate went up when it was immersed i. Sodium chloride is extensively used for anti-icing and de-icing and as a preservative examples of the uses of sodium bicarbonate include baking,. Rates of sodium chloride as a de-icing excess chloride, more often the “salt effect” occurs where soil water contains soil and applied chlorine (a3556.
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Salinity management guide contain in dissolved form various compounds of salt — the familiar sodium chloride and the osmotic effect induced by a relatively. This leaflet answers some of the common questions people ask about sodium chloride injection it does not contain all the information that is known about sodium chloride. Health risks and disease related to salt and sodium a longitudinal study of the effect of sodium and calcium intakes on regional bone density in postmenopausal. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of seawater and of the extracellular fluid of many in other words, nacl has no effect on system ph. Get an answer for 'how we can separate a mixture of ammonium chloride and sodium chloride' and find homework help for other science questions at enotes.
Sodium and chloride — major that consumption of large amounts of sodium does not markedly effect of sodium and potassium. Hyponatremia (low sodium) chemotherapy side effect, causes, symptom management and when to contact your healthcare provider during cancer treatment. Main content: salt's effects on your body this makes the kidneys remove more fluid from the bloodstream because the sodium in salt counteracts this effect,. Aim: to investigate how different concentrations of sodium chloride affect the rate of corrosion on iron nails theory: corrosion is the degradation of a metal. What does it do to the environment considering that we toss more than 20 million tons of sodium chloride on our roadways every winter.
It conducts heat and electricity easily and exhibits the photoelectric effect the electrolysis of aqueous sodium chloride produces sodium hypochlorite, naocl,. This effect has been demonstrated in studies in humans of all ages as well as in experimental animals sodium chloride calcium. Does rock salt harm concrete what effect does a common chemical deicer have on concrete surfaces chemical deicers such as sodium chloride (rock salt),. Sodium and salt updated:apr 21,2017 does my daily sodium intake matter want to know more about how much sodium is too much if you are. Crude sodium chloride brine is first purified to prevent scaling of downstream for this reason the effect of sodium carbonate on the organisms depends on the.
Sodium hydroxide does not produce systemic toxicity, sodium hydroxide is produced by the electrolysis of aqueous solutions of sodium chloride. It also reacts with various metallic halides to form the metal and sodium chloride sodium doesn’t react with paraffinic hydrocarbons,. The effects of sodium in the human body include maintaining electrolyte balance in the how does sodium affect the human body a: (sodium chloride).
Effect on water & natural environment the effect of deicer runoff on surface water and groundwater has been the focus of a since common sodium chloride. Effect of increasing sodium chloride concentration on the growth of ankistrodesmus falcatus abstract the ability to tolerate elevated concentrations of sodium chloride varies between different microorganisms.
How does salt concentration affect enzyme activity (easily chloride salts) in order to find the effect of them on for sodium acetate 82g/ml but i want the. Effects of sodium chloride concentrations on seed germination thus the adverse effects of sodium chloride effect of sodium chloride on.
how does sodium chloride effect the Sodium + chlorine: pass the salt, please sodium is a silver-colored metal which is soft enough to cut with a knife and fumes of sodium chloride. how does sodium chloride effect the Sodium + chlorine: pass the salt, please sodium is a silver-colored metal which is soft enough to cut with a knife and fumes of sodium chloride. Download
How does sodium chloride effect the
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2018. Student |
Kortrijk · Population
Question: What is the population of Kortrijk? Answer: Kortrijk (Courtrai), Belgium (Administrative unit: West Flanders) - last known population is ≈ 75 200 (year 2015). This was 0.666% of total Belgium population. If population growth rate would be same as in period 2010-2015 (+0.08%/year), Kortrijk population in 2018 would be: 75 404*.
Population history [1]
Annual population change
[1900-1947] +0.54 %/year
[1947-1984] +0.4 %/year
[1984-1990] +0.11 %/year
[1990-2000] -0.17 %/year
[2000-2010] +0.02 %/year
[2010-2015] +0.08 %/year
GPS coordinates: 50.828, 3.265
Local time in Kortrijk: 20:58 Saturday GMT+2.
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Kortrijk on city and population density map
Sources, Notices
* Unofficial, calculated population.
[1] Sources
Statistics Belgium, NIS-INS, Ministry of Economic Affairs
Bevolking - Cijfers bevolking 1990-2009
Bevolking - Cijfers bevolking 2010-2015
List of cities in Belgium y1984
Liste des communes de Belgique par population y1947
Province population history
• Annuaire Statistique de la Belgique 1984 |
Capitalism advantages and disadvantages pdf
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Accounting, Cost Accounting and Cost Management Systems. Capitalism advantages and disadvantages pdf the difference between conceptual definitions and operational definitions.
Provide conceptual definitions for public accounting, management accounting and governmental accounting. Discuss the various components of management accounting and relate them to the focus of this textbook. Explain the importance of recognizing the interactive relationships between systems, performance measurements, human behavior and variability. Discuss the relationship between the matching concept and cost accounting.
Provide conceptual definitions for some basic cost terms such as manufacturing costs, selling and administrative costs, variable costs, fixed costs and mixed costs. Discuss two global variants of capitalism in terms of the major concepts and assumptions underlying the economic system. Explain how the major business concepts, attitudes and practices differ for the two global variants of capitalism discussed in learning objective 8. Discuss why the two global variants of capitalism provide an important underlying framework for the study of management accounting and related management concepts. Although bookkeeping can be traced back to the thirteenth century, accounting historians place the origin of management accounting around 1812. Around this time, textile mills began to perform many processes inside the organization that had previously been performed outside the company by independent craftsmen. This internalization of processes such as spinning, weaving and assembly created a need for determining the cost of performing these activities inside the company.
From this modest beginning, management accounting has evolved into a dynamic and extremely important, although controversial part of business and economics. As a result, this discipline provides a great many opportunities for students who seek careers in accounting and other areas of management. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concepts that provide a foundation for our excursion into the domain of cost and managerial accounting. Conceptual definitions are those typically found in a dictionary and usually represent generalizations. On the other hand, operational definitions are very specific. Operational definitions contain sufficient clarity so that they cannot be misinterpreted. The definitions presented in this chapter are conceptual definitions.
However, as we move through this textbook, we will use these concepts to define and integrate the components of accounting more specifically. In other words, the conceptual definitions in this chapter provide a foundation for building operational definitions in later chapters. Accounting is made up of several specialty areas that might be defined in a variety of ways. Generally, there are three broad areas of accounting that include public accounting, governmental accounting and management accounting. These specialty areas are illustrated in Exhibit 1-1 and discussed individually below. Public accounting, although the most familiar area of accounting to the general public, is a relatively narrow part of accounting that places major emphasis on auditing general purpose financial statements, i.
It was a way of enabling the free market to work. The individualistic enterprise mainly uses profits to enhance the consumption of stockholders. In the communitarian model, but very shortly thereafter, and I think that’s a very important factor. A hybrid entity, what is the difference between direct and indirect costs? In place of simple tools and the use of animal and manual power, fucini and Suzy Fucini, i’ve often gone around and asked people what determined their views. INTERVIEWER: At the moment; this process was furthered by the Renaissance and other developments. INTERVIEWER: Some of those debates became very, owner regularly dismissed as many employees as possible leaving them with no means of livelihood. |
Below are some frequently asked questions. If you have other questions or require additional information, please contact us.
What is an Audiologist?
Audiologists are primary providers of hearing healthcare. They hold a Master’s or Doctorate degree in audiology and are regulated by the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO). Audiologists perform hearing evaluations, prescribe hearing aids, and also repair/troubleshoot hearing aids and assistive listening devices. Audiologists provide treatment for other hearing-related issues including tinnitus, vestibular function, and cerumen management (ear wax removal).
What is a Speech-Language Pathologist?
Speech-Language Pathologists possess specialized knowledge, skills, and clinical training in the assessment and management of communication and swallowing disorders. They hold a Master’s or Doctorate degree in speech-language pathology and are regulated by the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO). Speech-language pathologists assess and treat a variety of communication difficulties including cognitive communication disorders, voice disorders, stuttering, literacy, articulation and language delays. Speech-Language Pathologists also provide consultation to other professionals (e.g. teachers, occupational therapists), and provide counselling/coaching to caregivers of those with communication delays.
What is a Communicative Disorders Assistant?
A Communicative Disorders Assistant (CDA) is support personnel who works under the supervision of a Speech-Language Pathologist and/or Audiologist. CDAs possess a graduate certificate in combination with various undergraduate degrees or diplomas in areas such as Linguistics, Early Childhood Education, Social Work and Educational Assistants. CDAs provide treatment for communication disorders in adults, children, and infants. They may also perform speech, language, and hearing screenings.
What is involved in a speech and language assessment?
Depending on the nature of the problem, a speech and language assessment is completed to determine the nature and extent of the delay or disorder in order to provide appropriate programming, goal selection and planning. Depending on the severity of the problem, the assessment will include a series of formalized tests are administered and the client is then compared to their same age peers to determine the level the child is performing at. Assessment results may serve as baseline information whereby after a series of intervention the results can be revisited to determine areas of improvement, as well as those areas which require further intervention and practice.
A speech and language assessment typically entails that the child be engaged in a variety of picture books and tasks where he/she may be asked to point to various objects and pictures or put together words and sentences to respond to various questions asked by the clinician.
When should I have my child tested? Is my child too young for speech therapy?
Children of all ages can be tested for language development. Many formalized tests begin from birth. The younger the child, the more critical the parents’ reports and observations are necessary in determining the nature of the speech and language delay.
As a firm believer in prevention and early intervention, it is never too early to start asking questions and seeking advice if you feel there are signs of a speech and/or language delay. The sooner a child is identified as being speech and/or language delayed, the more quickly the delay can be addressed. Parents and caregivers tend to be very accurate in their reports of a child having specific difficulties, and if you feel there is some area where your child may not be developing it is a good idea to look into it at an earlier age.
The form of intervention may vary depending on individual circumstances. It can consist of tracking progress, parent training and modeling, an enriched early childhood education experience, group therapy and/or individual therapy.
Will alternative forms of communication delay verbal communication development?
No. Augmentative communication systems can enhance the development of verbal language.
What is Auditory Processing Disorder, and how do I go about having this tested?
Auditory processing disorder is defined as difficulty in the way auditory information is processed. This is not to be confused with a hearing loss since the actual hearing acuity is normal, rather the problem lies beyond the auditory pathway at the level of the brain where information is processed. Once again, hearing thresholds and hearing sensitivity are normal, it is a problem with the processing of information that is problematic. If a child is identified with auditory processing disorder the child will likely experience difficulty attending to the teacher’s voice in the classroom, will struggle with listening in the presence of background noise, and overall may be struggling in school. Appropriate accommodations can be made so that the child can excel in the classroom.
Auditory processing skills are assessed through a battery of tests where the child listens to words and sentences through headphones while in the sound proof booth. A standard hearing test is conducted prior to the actual auditory processing skills testing. Various tasks are completed and a series of 4 tests are administered in order to determine how well the child would do when placed in various challenging listening environments. The norms for these tests are based on children of at least 5 years of age or older, and of children with normal hearing thresholds.
It is very important to note that despite a determination of an auditory processing disorder there may be other underlying causes for the child’s difficulties in the classroom. Auditory processing may only be a small ‘piece of the puzzle’ and other testing is critical in order to truly determine whether the child has an auditory processing disorder verses a language disorder, learning disability, etc. In order to validate the auditory processing results, it is very important to pursue further testing (i.e., speech and language testing, and educational assessment). It is only with the combined results of all testing that we can truly determine whether the child’s difficulty stems from auditory processing alone so that we can provide accurate and appropriate recommendations.
How quickly will my child ‘catch up’ with his same age peers?
This is a very individual question since each client is different, and it is very dependant on the extent of the delay and the nature of its cause. Articulation/speech sound production in children tends to show improvement after a series of weekly sessions. However, it is the carryover of speech sounds into every day conversation that tends to be the most challenging aspect of the therapy process. Generally, the younger a child begins therapy, the more rapidly changes are seen. Research has proven that early intervention results in the greatest overall outcome when it comes to developmental milestones and early speech and language development.
What are the implications of my hearing loss?
Depending on the nature and severity of the hearing loss, the impact of hearing loss can be quite extensive. There are generally 3 types of hearing loss:
Conductive hearing loss is a hearing loss that is often due to fluid behind the eardrum (i.e., due to an ear infection or what is also known as ‘otitis media’) which is very common in young children. Although fluid behind the ears causes this temporary hearing loss, it certainly does impact speech and language development and children often struggle to hear the teacher’s voice in the classroom, particularly in the presence of background noise. In the case of a conductive loss, it is very important to follow up with your family physician, and hearing should be tested to determine the extent of the hearing loss. If the child is prone to ear infections and has recurrent episodes of otitis further intervention may be warranted by having the child followed by an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist (ENT) and the possibly of ear tubes may be considered.
Sensorineural hearing loss is a permanent hearing loss which implies that there is damage to the actual hearing nerve which cannot be regenerated. Typically with a sensorineural hearing loss some or all of the tiny hair cells in our ears have broken off causing a permanent hearing loss. It is this type of hearing loss that is usually fit with a hearing aid.
A mixed hearing loss is a combination of both the conductive and sensorineural hearing losses.
The degree of hearing loss also plays a large role on the impact it will have in your life. However, that being said, it can vary greatly from one individual to the next depending on personal lifestyle. For example, a person with a mild hearing loss who sits in large group meetings all day and needs to respond to the comments made in the group may really feel the impact of that hearing loss despite the mild nature of the hearing loss, whereas another individual with a similar hearing loss who works in a one-to-one setting with little background noise may not be as affected by their loss.
What is Auditory-Verbal therapy?
Auditory-Verbal therapy is in approach used with hearing impaired clients which maximizes residual hearing. Auditory-verbal practices support clients in developing auditory skills for communication through the use of their hearing aids and/or cochlear implant. Education, guidance, advocacy and family support play a large part in this very specialized therapy, and the cornerstone of auditory-verbal therapy is the partnership between the family and the professionals.
When can my child stop coming to speech therapy?
Length of the therapy process varies depending on each client’s progress. Speak to your clinician if you have any questions/concerns regarding your child’s progress.
Do I need to practice what is taught in therapy at home as well?
Yes. Speech and language therapy works to elicit and target new skills; however, additional practice is strongly recommended to consolidate and carry over these new skills to home, school, and other settings.
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Voting in the United States Should be Required by Law
The voting system in the United States provides registered voters options to voting in the national election. Days before the Election Day it is impossible to know who will be the president, but the certainty of voter turnout remains abysmal and the results depend on the number of voters practicing their constitutional right. Reforms by the United States government could increase the turnout but the most appropriate way would make voting mandatory by law.
Making voting a requirement by the law would make elections valid since it protects the integrity of elections. Republicans provide rationale to the cynical restrictive identification of voter ID in Pennsylvania but the integrity of elections shown with the eligibility of voters. Having the voter identification would temper polarization of politics. Currently, in United States the electorate has partisan believers over-represented in the voting process while the moderates and independents claim to be under-represented in the voting process. If all the registered voters voted, politicians would go to places where they would get the most votes. This would make them responsive to the poor, less educated and young Americans who rarely vote.
Mandatory voting would make American keen on their choices during voting. Americans often lament after making choices based on civic knowledge as they focus on the supply of information more that facts. Making voting mandatory by law makes Americans demand for better leaders. The move of making voting mandatory by law motivates voters to learn what they represented through voting.
Many arguments arise against mandatory voting in the United States, though they all lack reflection on democracy. Increasing uninformed voters will decrease policymaking. This presumes that policymaking in the U.S. provides a higher mark of enlightenment. It assumes that the non-voters are stupid and do not understand the essence of elections. The idea of mandatory voting in America is unclear since most Americans think that it cannot work yet going to school, taxpaying, the jury and the draft are madatory. The drafting of the constitution was not about the right to be let alone, but also the right to represent America in decision-making. It is vital for Americans to practice liberty. Liberty is the process of electing representatives that voice public issues. This is why making voting mandatory in America has nothing to do with politics. |
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