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What Drowsy Driving Is, And Why It Happens
What Drowsy Driving Is, And Why It Happens
Truck Accident
Truck Accident
Drowsy driving is a type of dangerous and less-understood vehicle operating behavior. It could raise the possibility of both a crash and serious injuries. Unfortunately, many truckers endure fatigue to take products to many buyer addresses as they operate under strict deadlines. When this time limit is coupled with the fatigue factor, the chance of crashes goes up.
Truckers and those companies that employ them must take certain measures to circumvent drowsy driving-related dangers. If they fail to do it, they may become legally responsible for a truck accident, plus the damages and the injuries that ensue this event. Read on to know why truckers experience fatigue, which causes the aforesaid driving behavior.
Reasons For Trucker Fatigue
Sleep Deprivation
A lack of sleep is enough to make any person drowsy when driving an automobile. The same goes for a trucker/ truck driver. Driving for an excessive amount of time with no break is also likely to raise the chance of your fatigue. People could legally operate a truck for 11 successive hours if they spend 10 successive hours doing the work.
Despite following the regulations, truckers are likely to have fatigue, particularly after their work shifts. Shared below are the other factors at play in increasing the likelihood of drowsy driving.
• Drug Consumption: Several medicinal drugs cause driver fatigue, plus these come with the secondary effect of making users sleepy. Their state of being sleepy is likely to raise the odds of a collision.
• Inebriation: Numerous truck drivers worldwide confess that they consume alcohol. Truckers in the US had the maximum blood alcohol level after they faced the substance trials. Inebriation from alcohol consumption or any other reason can make an individual fatigued when operating their vehicle. The same applies to all truck drivers.
• Working Odd Shifts: Some truck drivers tend to keep working for hours on end, particularly when they can exchange shifts with others, to deliver products on time. This may result in them driving beyond the hours in which their bodies usually maintain awareness. Some cannot completely adapt to working at nighttime and sleeping in the daytime. Others can struggle mainly when they should make the switch to driving in another shift.
Employers pay almost every truck operator based on the number of miles the latter covers. Consequently, several of them are likely to keep driving despite fatigue setting in.
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Quick Answer: Does A Work Week Start On Sunday Or Monday?
Who changed the Sabbath to Sunday?
Who started Sunday worship?
Is Sunday the start or end of a week?
What is a 7 day work week?
If an employee works on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat and Sunday, then they worked all 7 days in the SAME workweek. In this case, the employee would be entitled to be paid regular pay through Saturday, but the first 8 hours that they work on Sunday are paid and 1 ½ times their normal hourly rate.
Where do we get the days of the week?
Why does the work week start on Monday?
The week starts on a Monday or a Sunday. According to international standard ISO 8601, Monday is the first day of the week. Sunday has generally been considered the first day of the week for thousands of years because of the biblical concept of the seventh day as a day of rest.
What did Jesus say about the Sabbath?
What day of the week is it?
Why is Sunday considered the first day of the week?
The first day of the week (for most), Sunday has been set aside as the “day of the sun” since ancient Egyptian times in honor of the sun-god, beginning with Ra. The Egyptians passed their idea of a 7-day week onto the Romans, who also started their week with the Sun’s day, dies solis.
What countries start their week on Sunday?
Sunday is the 7th and final day. Although this is the international standard, several countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia consider Sunday as the start of the week. As the first day of the week varies in different cultures, so does the weekend.
What is technically the first day of the week?
MondayWhile, for example, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan and other countries consider Monday as the first day of the week, and while the week begins with Saturday in much of the Middle East, the international ISO 8601 standard and most of Europe has Monday as the first day of the week.
Why do we have a 7 day week?
Where do names of the week come from?
Which days of the week make up the weekend in Afghanistan?
TableNationTypical hours worked per weekWorking weekAfghanistan40Saturday–WednesdayAlbania40Monday–FridayAlgeria40Sunday–ThursdayAngola40Monday–Friday80 more rows |
7 communication strategies to address gaps in care
September 3, 2020 - by Meera Vadali
Gaps in care cost patient lives and health systems close to 500 billion dollars a year.
A gap in care is the discrepancy between recommended best practices and the care that is actually provided — essentially, when patients don’t get the care they need.
For example, poor treatment adherence is a well-established gap in care. And medication non-adherence accounts for approximately 125,000 deaths in the U.S. per year.
Innovative verbal and digital communication practices can help health systems bridge this and other gaps in care.
1. Frame risk communications
The information patients receive about their health impacts the decisions they make — such as whether to take their medication as prescribed or attend a routine screening. Hence, deliberate communication around risk can help reduce gaps in care.
Dr. John Paling, founder of The Risk Communication Institute, suggests the following approaches for framing risk communications:
• Statistics are better than vague terms. Instead of telling a patient they are at a “high risk for liver disease,” say, “Roughly half of men who drink more than 8 ounces of alcohol a day for 20 years develop cirrhosis.”
• Present data with visual aides. Sometimes it’s easier for a patient to visualize their risk of developing a condition if they see a line graph showing a steady risk increase associated with their behavior.
• Be consistent when comparing. For example, don’t mix fractions and percentages, and use absolute numbers.
• Give both sides of a statistic, such as chances of survival and chances of death.
2. Incentivize good health with patient-centric communication
Patient-centric communication touches on a patient’s personal values beyond their health, such as family, self-esteem, and personal growth.
A patient-centric communication style may involve motivational interviewing strategies. Use the OARS acronym: Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, and Summarizing. This helps nurture potentially straying patients by fostering more empathetic patient-provider interactions.
This style of communication can help close gaps in care. In patients whose providers received patient-centric communication training, odds of adherence increased by more than 150 percent.
Consider a patient who takes medication for a heart problem. They may say, “I can never remember to take my pills.” The doctor can then affirm the patient is capable of taking control of their health, engage in reflective listening, and suggest a routine that easily fits into their lifestyle.
3. Use texting to reduce gaps in care
Text messages can help healthcare organizations bridge gaps in care in two ways. First, texting patients can improve treatment adherence. For example, research on patients with coronary heart disease showed daily text reminders increased medication adherence by almost 3x and improved blood pressure outcomes. Second, text message campaigns can be sent to specific patient population groups. The messages can prompt them to enroll in risk-based programs or provide patient education specific to their condition.
4. Improve patient communication with technology
Health systems miss more than 30 percent of all phone calls. And it’s estimated less than 20 percent of those callers leave a voicemail. This leads to information gaps, no-shows, and negative phone experiences. In the short term, it may cause patients to reevaluate where they get their health care. There are two consequences to this: The health system loses a patient. And the patient experiences a gap in care as they look for a new provider and wait for an appointment or potentially neglect care altogether.
Reduce hold times and improve show rates by implementing a conversational text messaging patient communication platform. Four out of five smartphone owners want their healthcare providers to text them, and 90 percent of texts are read within three minutes. Texting patients — and making sure they can text you back — eliminates the frustration and missed calls of relying on the phone.
5. Guide the conversation
More and more patients are doing online research prior to doctors appointments. While online information is a great source of patient empowerment, it can also cause tension and disagreements with providers when it comes to concluding a diagnosis or treatment plan.
Steer patients in the right direction by sending patient education by text message. Patients will feel at ease openly discussing the topics at hand, and not blindside providers with questions or concerns.
6. Reduce no-shows to reduce gaps in care
Numerous studies have shown that some form of appointment reminder, especially text messages, helps close gaps in care caused by appointment non-adherence. In a 2016 study including 186 pediatric clinic patients or parents, those who received a single text reminder were 15 percent more likely to attend their appointment. WELL clients have seen even greater improvements with customized cadence of appointment reminders. For example, Eisenhower Health reduced its no-show rate by 71 percent.
A customizable appointment reminder system can help your patients get in the door while also preparing them with relevant pre-appointment instructions.
7. Coordinate care with unified communication
On a single day, a patient with a chronic condition may have an appointment with a specialist, get a scan, have blood work done, pick up a prescription, and receive a patient survey. They could receive multiple calls and messages from different numbers about these services. The result is confusion and “message fatigue” — contributing to gaps in care.
Instead, ensure patients receive all correspondence in a single text thread. Send from a secure, trusted source — a number from within your health system. Not only does this build trust — patients know who’s texting them — but also it allows you to combine messages into a single text. The better patients understand their care, the easier it is for them to follow through. ♥
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Climate: Uncertainty Means That Things Can Be Worse Than Our Best Guess: Part I
Crops and climateThe title sentence was spoken by professor Stephan Lewandowsky from the School of Psychology, University of Western Australia. The psychologist Lewandowsky is concerned that many are not as concerned about climate change as he is.
Lewandowsky is not fretting about the psychological states of warmer citizens. No, sir. He is instead deeply interested in such things as climate feedback sensitivity, heat transfer equations, cloud opacity, and so forth; such states of nature we may describe, in deference to the good prof’s training, as schizophrenic greenhouse gases.
Given his passion, I am sure he knows of what he speaks on these matters, so let’s not question him about physics; rather let’s look at his probability statements and see what we can learn. This will be interesting, because Lewandowsky represents a common type of academic sensitivity.
He beings his analysis with this quotation:
The Chairman of the Future Fund, David Murray, recently suggested on national TV with respect to climate change that “if we’re not certain that the problem’s there, then we don’t – we shouldn’t take actions which have a high severity the other way.
From this, he reasons:
In a nutshell, the logic of this position can be condensed to “there is so much uncertainty that I am certain there isn’t a problem.” How logical is this position? Can we conclude from the existence of uncertainty that there certainly is no problem?
And this is false. That is, Lewandowsky has falsely derived B = “there is so much uncertainty that I am certain there isn’t a problem” from A = “if we’re not certain that the problem’s there we shouldn’t take actions which have a high severity.”
From his fallacious argument, Lewandowsky then says, C = “Uncertainty should make us worry more than certainty, because uncertainty means that things can be worse than our best guess.” And from this gross absurdity, the good prof derives yet another error, which is more complicated to explain and which we’ll come to next time.
Now, B is, as Lewandowsky intimates, false itself. If there is uncertainty in a proposition, such as D = “the climate will change”, then it is a fallacy to claim because we are uncertain of D, therefore D is false.
But Murray did not make any claim even close to this. Instead, Murray said A, which is that if the uncertainty in D is significant then acting on the possibility of D such that we incur high (i.e. severe) costs is unwarranted. And this is true. Of course, it could be that the penalty we pay if D obtains is so astronomical that no matter how unlikely D is it is well to pay costs of “high severity” now.
But this is not the case with D, because climate change itself is of little interest. What is of importance is how things which matter to people change when the climate does. Let’s call these things E. An example might be E = “worldwide crop yields” (if you don’t like that, pick a horror from this list). It is thus the case that our uncertainty in E is larger than our uncertainty in D, assuming D influences E (which everybody does assume).
For example—a fictional, but reasonably close example—assume Pr(E | D true) = 0.9. It would be wrong to say, “The probability of E is 90%”. It would be right to say, “Assuming the climate warms, the probability of D is 90%.” To find the true uncertainty of E, we must first compute Pr(E | D false). Suppose this is 0.1 (or any other number less than 0.9). Now we need the probability D is true (given our knowledge of physics, etc.; I have suppressed this notation, but it is there). Suppose this is, as Lewandowsky frets, high; say 0.9 too. Then
Pr(E | physics) = Pr(E | D true, physics) x Pr(D true | physics) + Pr(E | D false, physics) x Pr(D false | physics)
Pr(E | physics) = 0.9 x 0.9 + 0.1 x 0.1 = 0.82
where I have “un-suppressed” the notation, and where “physics” means all we know of the physics (and biology, etc.) of climate and crops. The result is a number less than 0.9; i.e. we are less certain of E than of E given D is true.
The answer to this equation will always be less than Pr(E | D true, physics) as long as Pr(E | D false, physics) is smaller than Pr(E | D true, physics), and in all horror scenarios it always is. That is, we will always be less certain of E, which is what we wanted to show. So far it is Murray 1, Lewandowsky 0.
Too much information? Well, I’m sorry about that, but without considering it at this level of detail we won’t be able to appreciate Lewandowsky’s final mistakes. And it is not just Lewandowsky who makes these errors: these fallacies are exceedingly common, so it is worth spending some time on them. We’ll do that in Part II.
I am somewhat nearer the computer, but will still be mostly away. It looks like it won’t be Sunday until I rturn fully.
Categories: Statistics
9 replies »
1. Ah you missed the nightmare scenario of global warming. Assume the following:
1) global warming is occurring
2) the effects will be disastrous
3) mankind does have to capacity to prevent this catastrophic warming
4) plans to deal with it all focus on reducing CO2 emissions
5) CO2 is not the cause of the actual warming
6) after reducing CO2 emissions mankind no longer has the wherewithal to prevent the actual cause of the warming
2. It is thus the case that our uncertainty in E is larger than our uncertainty in D, assuming D influences E… The result is a number less than 0.9; i.e. we are less certain of E than of E given D is true.
Yes, the uncertainty in E might be larger than one in D, but I don’t think you have correctly shown it. Does a smaller probability of happening mean “less certain� Hmmm… let’s consider the two probabilities (suppressing the premises): P(E ) = 0.01 and P(D) = 0.5. Which probability statement presents more uncertainty or gives you more worries?
3. Ah, the twisted logic of the Precautionary Principle. Some alleged future harm is suspected but with uncertainty. Decison-makers should therefore anticipate and prevent said alleged harm, even though the “control measures” are also uncertain and in many cases, harmful in and of themselves. So we have the following probabilities to consider:
E – the alleged harm that might occur, conditioned on D (global warming in the future) as Dr. Briggs noted, and
F – the harm that the control measures might inflict
I contend that Pr(E) is essentially zero. Indeed, warmer is better. That is, there exists outcome G which would a Good Thing, conditioned on D, that warming actually occurs in the future. Furthermore, the Pr(F) is close to 1, given that the decision-makers almost always make bad decisons that harm the public, regardless of whether D occurs or not.
4. William Sears said: “…if you do not know what you are doing; do nothing.”
As an engineer, I agree. The reason is simple. There are far more ways to to act wrongly than correctly. Picking a way to act at random is very likely to pick a wrong way. Doing nothing is almost certainly to be wrong too but it is less wrong than almost all the other wrong ways to act. At least you do no harm.
By doing nothing, you do not expend resources making things worse. You thereby have resources left to act when and if the correct way to act becomes clear. Also, it might be that doing nothing was the best possible way to act. That outcome would be a huge win! It might also turn out the presumed catastrophe was not as bad as though and the harm experienced was much less than any of the “do something” demands would have caused. In any event, the medical principle of “First, do no harm” is a good place to start.
5. Things could also be better …
Climatologists love to talk about energy being trapped by carbon dioxide and thus not exiting at the top of the atmosphere (TOA.)
It is nowhere near as simple as that. All the radiation gets to space sooner or later. Carbon dioxide just scatters it on its way so you don’t see radiation in those bandwidths at TOA. The energy still gets out, and you have no proof that it doesn’t, because you don’t have the necessary simultaneous measurements made all over the world.
In the hemisphere that is cooling at night there is far more getting out, whereas in the hemisphere in the sunlight there is far more coming in. This is obvious.
When I placed a wide necked vacuum flask filled with water in the sun yesterday (with the lid off) the temperature of the water rose from 19.5 deg.C at 5:08am to 29.1 deg.C at 1:53pm while the air around it rose from 19.0 to 31.9 deg.C.
What did the backradiation do at night? Well from 9:15pm till 12:05am the water cooled from 24.2 deg.C to 23.4 deg.C while the air cooled from 24.2 deg.C to 22.7 deg.C.
According to those energy diagrams the backradiation, even at night, is about half the solar radiation during the day. Well, maybe it is, but it does not have anything like half the effect on the temperature as you can confirm in your own backyard.
This is because, when radiation from a cooler atmosphere strikes a warmer surface it undergoes “resonant scattering” (sometimes called pseudo-scattering) and this means its energy is not converted to thermal energy. This is the reason that heat does not transfer from cold to hot. If it did the universe would go crazy.
When opposing radiation is scattered, its own energy replaces energy which the warmer body would have radiated from its own thermal energy supply.
You can imagine it as if you are just about to pay for fuel at a gas station when a friend travelling with you offers you cash for the right amount. It’s quicker and easier for you to just pay with the cash, rather than going through the longer process of using a credit card to pay from your own account. So it is with radiation. The warmer body cools more slowly as a result because a ready source of energy from incident radiation is quicker to just “reflect” back into the atmosphere, rather than have to convert its own thermal energy to radiated energy.
The ramifications are this:
Not all radiation from the atmosphere is the same. That from cooler regions has less effect. Also, that with fewer frequencies under its Planck curve has less effect again.
Each carbon dioxide molecule thus has far less effect than each water vapour molecule because the latter can radiate with more frequencies which “oppose” the frequencies being emitted by the surface, especially the oceans.
Furthermore, it is only the radiative cooling process of the surface which is slowed down. There are other processes like evaporative cooling and diffusion followed by convection which cannot be affected by backradiation, and which will tend to compensate for any slowing of the radiation.
This is why, at night, the water in the flask cools nearly as fast as the air around it. The net effect on the rate of cooling is totally negligible.
The backradiation does not affect temperatures anywhere near as much as solar radiation, even though its “W/m^2” is probably about half as much.
And there are other reasons also why it all balances out and climate follows natural cycles without any anthropogenic effect. This is explained in detail in my peer-reviewed publication now being further reviewed by dozens of scientists.
6. David Murray was a beacon of common sense in a sea of alarmist absurdity.
A shame he has now retired and his place is being taken by a more conventionally “political ” animal.
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Assignment 3
L3: Explain how you could promote inclusion, equality and diversity with your current/future learners. Identify other points of referral available to meet the potential needs of learners.
To answer this question one would have to first define the terms ‘inclusion, equality and diversity. According to Ann Gravells inclusivity is “involving all learners in relevant activities rather than excluding them for any reason either directly of indirectly” Gravells defines equality as “ the rights of learners to attend and participate, regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation and age. And finally Gravells definition of diversity is “valuing the differences in people, whether that relates to gender, race, age, disability or any other individual characteristics they may have”. ( Gravells, A., 2008, pg. 18).
The Government defined inclusion in 2001 as“ a process by which schools, local education authorities and others develop their cultures, policies and practices to include pupils”(
The essence of the definitions of all three terms is acceptance it implies that the objective of teaching is to impart the knowledge and to assist the entire group in achieving their educational goals regardless of their background. As a teacher I must ensure that I do not allow anyone to feel marginalised or show favouritism and know that everyone is an individual with various abilities, needs, background and experiences and that all learners have the right to be treated with respect and dignity .
Inclusion is about involving my learners in relevant activities rather than excluding them for any reason either directly or indirectly during the NVQ training. In the assessing of NVQ it is very paramount that a skills scan is carried out to know the relevant units that will suit the learners based on their sphere of activities at work. In the process there is likelihood that amongst 10 learners who work... |
why is it always my fault
• Author: Dr. David Yagil
• Language: English
• Category: Business, Self-Help, How To, Children & Young Adults
Why is it Always My Fault?
Finally, a book about ADHD and Learning Disabilities that helps parents and children together!
This book, for children age 6-18 years and their parents, illustrates the personal experience of a child who has attention deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity) and/or learning disabilities to provide better understanding of these phenomena and greater awareness of the child’s internal world. It teaches how to communicate with ones child without accusations, mutual anger, or frustration. It describes the child’s characteristic problems, how he feels and thinks about himself, implications for his academic, emotional, and social functioning and offers practical instructions for parents, teachers, and children.
Share feelings about personal stories with which your child can identify
A unique section features children speaking their own mind, intended for young readers and parents together. It presents children’s stories of their experiences, sense of inability to meet expectations, and personal feelings of pain. As the child reads the story and identifies with the feelings and thoughts expressed, parents can discuss with their child, in a supportive and empathic atmosphere, his academic and social problems and possible better ways of coping. |
The evolution of how we control our TVs is a relatively short but fascinating one. Once upon a time we actually used knobs to control our TVs! Soon we'll be able to use our minds. Yes, you read correctly, our minds. The BBC has recently developed technology that allows people to control iPlayer with their minds, according to The Independent.
"The kit is in its developmental stage but it's worked for everyone that's used it for testing," the BBC stated.
Despite the seemingly extraordinary use, the kit is both simple in implementation and design. The kit has users strap a headset on and use specific thoughts to turn on iPlayer to start watching a program. Furthermore, the prototype works by reading brainwaves using a sensor that rests on the forehead and another that attaches to the ear using a clip. The sensors would then track the electricity as it moves around in your brain, looking for the user's concentration and filling up a "bar of brainwaves" when the user concentrates hard enough to trigger a change of screen.
The technology would eventually be used to create a new type of iPlayer that could help improve accessibility for disabled users. This technology isn't entirely new either; in February, technology firm Tekever showed how a drone could be controlled remotely using your mind alone.
There might be an inherent flaw with this design, though: What happens if the user is bored, i.e. a lack of concentration? For all intents and purposes this should signify a need to change the channel as well, but it might not do so. Will it? Only the future can tell. |
The socio-technical construction of creativity
09/24/2012 15:41
Creativity is a socio-technical construction and is not an objective fact at all. How do people social-technically construct creativity in a specific context like schools; what does creativity consist of with regard to teaching and learning from the teachers’ perspective and how can it be supported? From our projects, one in the field of creativity in higher education (DaVINCI, together with Tobias Haertel and Johannes Wildt, Germany), and a second about iPad-classrooms in Danish schools, we present and discuss didactical concepts with regard to 'learning to be creative’ using mobile devices what we call iPad-Didactics. Read: isajahnke-MLCW-workshop-paper.pdf (workshop paper by Isa Jahnke, #EC-TEL2012 #MLCW12).
Isa Jahnke (2012):
Preparing Didactical Designs for Learning to be Creative Using iPads. In: "Mobile Learning and Creativity Workshop" (MLCW12) at the European Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning, EC-TEL 2012, Saarbrücken (Germany), 19 September 2012. Retrieved from https://www.isa- |
Variations of the Trolley Problem
Image may contain Human Person Vehicle Transportation Cable Car Streetcar Trolley Tram and Bus
Photograph by Justin Sullivan / Getty
You are walking through a rail yard when you notice a runaway trolley careening your way. Directly in its path are five people, bound and lying across the tracks. They will die if nothing is done.
There is a lever nearby. Pulling it will divert the trolley onto another track. On this other track, however, is a man who cannot hear or see you or the trolley. You can stand by and do nothing, watching as five innocent people die, or you can pull the lever, directly causing one man’s death. Which is the more ethical choice?
It’s a decades-old thought experiment, now with several new variations!
The dilemma is the same, except that you recognize the guy standing alone as the actor and comedian Jim Carrey. And this is “Dumb and Dumber”-era Jim Carrey. In fact, he’s in costume, and has that bowl haircut he sported in the eminently quotable 1994 film. Remembering all of those funny lines makes you smile. What a great movie.
The five tied up people are also Jim Carrey—clones, you assume—but they’re the modern, anti-vaxxer version, with full beards and dead eyes.
In this variation there is no second track but there is another man standing nearby, between the trolley and the five helpless people. If you shove him onto the tracks, his body will likely stop the trolley. You know nothing about this man except that at this very moment he’s on his phone composing a tweet that begins with the word “THREAD.”
Also, he’s vaping.
You can’t be a hundred per cent sure, but it looks like the person standing alone is actually two small people, one standing on the other’s shoulders, sharing a long overcoat. Could they be children? Who are they trying to fool? And why? In any case, they’re probably up to no good.
Does that merit a death sentence, though?
The lone man is Adolf Hitler. Actually, this one is kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it? Not sure why it’s even listed here.
Again, the person standing alone is actually two people. But this time one of them is a world-famous violinist who’s been surgically attached to the other person. And you think, “Wait, that’s another thought experiment altogether. The abortion one. What the hell is going on here?”
Whatever is going on, it looks like the one person has had just about enough of the other person’s fucking violin playing. He would probably welcome death.
Same dilemma as the original, except that you wouldn’t be pulling the lever yourself. One of your henchmen would pull it. From your position, many yards away, you would look your henchman in the eye and nod, almost imperceptibly. He would understand.
P.S. In this variation, you have henchmen. Because you’re a mob boss or something.
The lone man is athletic and attractive, whereas the five others are not, to put it charitably. This adds yet another wrinkle. Not because attractive people are more deserving of life than ugly ones are, but because—at a moment with so much at stake—you noticed such superficial traits in the first place.
What does that say about you?
Instead of lying across the tracks, the five bound people are standing, arranged like bowling pins. While still horrific, you have to admit that this is a little funny—you can’t help but hear that “bowling-ball-knocks-pins-over” sound effect in your head.
You know nothing about the lone man, but the five people tied up are all wearing Bluetooth headsets. Not such an easy choice, is it?
You feel paralyzed, so you decide to seek advice online. You take out your phone, open Twitter, and write, “O.K., Internet hive mind . . . ”
The trolley hits you at 40 m.p.h. You never had a chance. |
Book Review: How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Professor Arthur Herman
Looking at modern communications and the way that television pictures can be transmitted almost instantaneously anywhere in the world, it is worth remembering that the man who invented television was John Logie Baird who was born in Helensburgh in 1880. Also worth remembering is that the inventor of the telephone was Alexander Graham Bell born in Edinburgh in 1847. These two famous Scots had a clear impact upon the whole world and they way in which it developed. But were there other Scots who had such a dramatic impact?
Famous Scots
One has to mention David Hume, born in Edinburgh in 1711, and generally regarded as the most important philosopher ever to write in English. Should we should cite Alexander Fleming, born in Darvel in 1881, as the father of modern antibiotics having been awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin? Perhaps James Young Simpson, born in Bathgate in 1811 for his discovery of anaesthetics? We could mention Adam Smith, born in Kirkcaldy in 1723, as the father of modern economics. We also have to consider James Watt, born in Greenock in 1736, for his invention of the steam engine or one of his direct descendants Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, born in Brechin in 1892, for his invention of radar.
We could talk about John MacAdam from Ayr who discovered the ideal road surface materials or John Boyd Dunlop, of Dreghorn for his invention of motor car tyres. We could mention John Chalmers of Dundee who invented adhesive postage stamps. Other famous Scots include John Witherspoon, a presbyterian minister from Paisley who became the father of the American educational systems; William Patterson of Dumfries who founded the Bank of England; John Paul Jones of Kirkbean who founded the US Navy; John MacDonald as the first Prime Minister of Canada; John Muir the pioneer of modern conservation programmes; ……and the list goes on!
Scottish Literacy
Is it not surprising that Scotland, considered to be western Europe’s poorest country, and with such a small population, should have such a dramatic impact upon the rest of the world? To understand how that came about it is necessary to look back at Scottish history and to realise that Scotland was the first European country to achieve general literacy among its population.
This came about when the Scottish Parliament introduced an “Act for Setting Schools” in 1696. The political force behind this act was the Kirk, where the aim was to bring the written scriptures to the population as a whole. As a direct consequence of the 1696 Act, it became a legal requirement for each Parish in Scotland to establish a school and to pay the salaries of teachers. Education for the general public was provided free of charge. By 1750 it was estimated that more than 75% of the Scottish population was literate, and there were lending libraries in every moderate sized town. It was not until the late 1880s that England managed to achieve a similar level of literacy.
Consider Robert Burns, born on 25th January, 1759. He was the son of a poor tenant farmer and grew up in rural Ayrshire. While the majority of people living in farming communities throughout Europe were largely illiterate, the working classes in Scotland, including Burns, had access to education. He studied Latin and French and excelled as a student. By the age of 16 years, Burns was an avid reader and had read extensively some of the more prominent writers of English literature. He studied Robert Boyle’s lectures on chemistry, other volumes on history and geography, plus texts written by leading philosophers of the day.
Scottish Universities Open Door Policy
It is also fascinating to realise that, during the 18th Century, Scottish universities were streets ahead of their English counterparts. Again this was attributable to the influence of the church. This time it was the Anglican Church, which imposed entry qualifications to Oxford and Cambridge universities. Only persons of the Anglican faith were permitted to attend Oxford and Cambridge, which narrowed the intellectual scope of their respective student bodies dramatically. By contrast, Scottish universities had no such restrictions and attracted scholars from all over Europe.
These two main elements, the provision of free education to the general population and the open minded attitude of Scottish universities management, led Scotland into a period of enlightenment where the influence of prominent Scots had a dramatic impact upon the development of our modern western society. The impact of the Scots is clearly detailed in a book by American professor of history, Arthur Herman, entitled, “How the Scots Invented the Modern World”, where Herman tracks the historical roots of our modern western society back to it origins. He points out that;
“….being Scottish is more than just a matter of nationality or place of origin or clan or even culture. It is a state of mind, a way of viewing the world and our place in it. This Scottish mentality was a deliberate creation, although it was conceived by many minds and carried out by many hands. It is a self-consciously modern view, so deeply rooted in the assumptions and institutions that govern our lives today that we often miss its significance, not to mention its origins. From this point of view, a large part of the world turns out to be ‘Scottish” without realizing it.”
Herman’s book provides a convincing and compelling case for his assertion that the Scots created the modern civilized values America and the Western world uphold.
The Scots Influence
Ask yourselves this question. Who invented our modern ideas of democracy? It was the Scots! If you compare the model of church governance adopted by the Scottish Presbyterian Church in the 17th century, to modern democratic processes you will see striking similarities. Much of the language and aspirations contained in the American Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 is widely acknowledged to carry the distinctive stamp of Scottish Presbyterianism, with twenty-one of the signatories being of Scots descent.
The influence of the Scots extended far beyond the American colonies. In almost every part of the world Scottish migrants excelled and came into prominence primarily because they were better educated than the migrants from other countries. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce and politics. In a review of Herman’s book, Steven Forbes of the Wall Street Journal noted:
“….There is hardly a facet of modern Western life in which the Scots didn’t play a leading role.”
So read Herman’s book and discover a wealth of information about Scotland’s history and some of the most influential Scots who’s combined intellectual skills and abilities have shaped the world as we know it. Then the next time any of you get any stick about having a Scot’s burr or coming from “Och Aye the Noo Land” you can dazzle them with an array of historical facts that demonstrate How the Scots Invented the Modern World.
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Scientists Develop A New Method To Upload Knowledge To Brain
At HRL Laboratories, scientists demonstrated how successfully brain activity can be altered for improving learning and to effectively ‘upload’ knowledge to the brain. In this experiment, improvement in both cognitive and motor skills was seen.
Although academics like touting their love of learning, the actual act of learning new skill sucks. Obviously it is good to see someone see someone gain complete knowledge of guitar quickly while you just learn only few chords in months. As per scientists, the brain can be hacked with the help of low current electrical brain stimulation. With this, the process of learning can be improved and hastened.
Till date, this is the closest one has come for recreation of ‘Knowledge upload’ as was seen in ‘The Matrix’. In this study, novices were taught to pilot an airplane in a realistic simulator just like real pilots use. While instructions were received by the control group and the simulator was practiced like normal, an enhancement was seen by the experimental group. After the brain patterns of 6 military and commercial pilots were measured by researchers, the patterns were transmitted to the brains electrically with a special cap. With extra stimulation in the brain, the performance was better than 33 percent.
Obviously, this doesn’t refer to plugging a cord in the head and having a complete knowledge of a particular thing just in few minutes. However, researchers believe that what has been developed has real-world and current applicability.
HRL’s Information and System Sciences Laboratory’s Dr. Matthew Philips states that implementation of brain stimulation can be possible for classes such as language learning, SAT prep and drivers’ training. Although with stimulation, the brain just forms the pathways that are created with years of practice, but efforts have to be put in from your side too.
1. What they did observe is that the variance for the stimulation groups was 33% less than the sham group. So there was less variability in performance, even though overall average performance was no different.
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Dog_FoodPet food is a specialty food for domesticated animals that is formulated according to their nutritional needs. Pet food generally consists of meat, meat byproducts, cereals, grain, vitamins, and minerals. In the U.S. about 300 manufacturers produce more than 7 million tons of pet food each year, one of the largest categories of any packaged food. Pet owners can choose from more than 3,000 different pet food products, including the dry, canned, and semi-moist types, as well as snacks such as biscuits, kibbles, and treats. In the 1990s, this $8-billion industry feeds America’s 52 million dogs and 63 million cats.
Commercially produced pet food has its origins in a dry, biscuit-style dog food developed in England in 1860. Shortly afterwards, manufacturers produced more sophisticated formulas, which included nutrients considered essential for dogs at the time. At the beginning of the 20th century, pre-packaged pet foods were also available in the U.S. Initially they consisted primarily of dry cereals, but after World War I, dog food made of canned horse meat was available. The 1930s ushered in canned cat food and a dry, meat meal type of dog food. Some innovations by the 1960s were dry cat food, dry expanded type dog food, and semi-moist pet food.
Beginning in the 1980s, trends in the pet food market included greater demand for dry foods and less for canned foods. Research suggested that a soft diet of canned dog food led to gum disease more quickly than did dry food. In general, the growing health-consciousness of the public led to an increased interest in more nutritious and scientific formulas for pet foods, such as life-cycle products for younger and aging pets, and therapeutic foods for special health conditions of the pet, such as weight loss and urinary problems. Pet food producers were also more inclined to use less fatty tissue and tallow and more protein-rich tissue. Finally, the pet snack category grew in popularity with products like jerky snacks, sausage-shaped pieces, biscuits, and biscuit pieces called kibbles.
The primary ingredients in pet food are byproducts of meat, poultry, and seafood, feed grains, and soybean meal. The animal parts used for pet food may include damaged carcass parts, bones, and cheek meat, and organs such as intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs, udders, spleen, and stomach tissue. Cereal grains, such as soybean meal, corn meal, cracked wheat, and barley, are often used to improve the consistency of the product as well as to reduce the cost of raw materials. Liquid ingredients may include water, meat broth, or blood. Salt, preservatives, stabilizers, and gelling agents are often necessary. Gelling agents allow greater homogeneity during processing and also control the moisture.
Major Processes
Except for the ingredients, the general manufacturing process for pet food is similar to that for processed food. The flesh products used in pet foods must first be rendered, or processed, to separate the water, fat, and protein components, including soft offals (viscera) and hard offals (e.g. bones and hoofs). Generally, meat is rendered by out-side companies and shipped to pet food manufacturers. The meat products intended for canned food must be delivered fresh and used within three days. Frozen meat products may be used for dry foods.
The manufacturing process entails grinding and cooking the flesh and flesh byproducts. Next, the meat is mixed with the other ingredients, and if the recipe requires, the mixture is shaped into the appropriate forms. The finished product is filled into containers and shipped to distributors.
Innovations in pet food processing and packaging have led to better quality products with longer shelf life. Canned dog foods that are vacuum packed have a shelf life of three to five years and are very stable with little or no loss in nutritional value. Dry dog food, on the other hand, has a shelf life of only 10 to 12 months and requires the addition of preservatives, though some manufacturers are using natural preservatives such as vitamins E and C.
More Information
American Pet Products Manufacturers Association http://www.appma.org
US Food and Drug Administration Pet Foods http://www.fda.gov/cvm/petfoods.htm
Market Research Report http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1472025&g=1#pagetop
What’s Really in Pet Food http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1
Major Equipment
Natural Gas Technologies
Cooking – Retort Continuous
Dryers – Conveyor |
Ever since the question of developing an Islamic Economic system was raised, the problem of evolving a system of banking based on Islamic principles has remained an important issue.
One of the major problems in developing an Islamic Economic system is that of finding an interest-free alternative to our present system of banking. The interest-free alternatives suggested uptil now either lack viability or fail to truly eliminate "Riba" (interest). The late Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad, a meritorious scholar of our country, presented a model of banking, which in his opinion, gives a viable basis for truly eliminating Riba. He called his concept "Time Multiple Counter Loan" (TMCL). In this article we shall attempt to present the basic concept of this model and some of the objections raised against it.
2. Banks provide credit for private or business use.
The first service is genuinely required by almost all the people and there seems to be nothing wrong with it nor with any reasonable service charge for such services. But since the second service is based on interest, it is criticized for being un-Islamic. The TMCL model proposes to solve this problem by introducing the concept of "credit value". To understand this concept, credit must be seen not merely as an advancement of money but also as the advancement of an amount of money for a period of time. Credit value, then, can be defined as follows:
Credit Value = Amount borrowed X Time period for which it is borrowed
Now the TMCL model suggests that for every loan given by the bank the loanee should return to the bank an equivalent loan value which would be a fraction of the amount of loan received, the difference being covered by a multiple of time. This procedure is based on the concept of "Equivalent Credit Value". For example, all the following amounts of loan have Equivalent Credit/Loan Values:
Rs 1000 borrowed for 1 year
Rs 500 borrowed for 2 years
Rs 250 borrowed for 4 years
Rs 100 borrowed for 10 years
Now supposing Mr A goes to the bank for a loan of Rs 1000 for 1 year and the bank asks him for equivalent loan value, as determined by the banking policy of the country, which comes to Rs 200 for 5 years, then an interest free basis for credit has been provided: Mr. A will return Rs 1000 after 1 year to the bank without any increment thereon. Similarly the bank will return Rs 200 to Mr A after 5 years without any increment on the original amount lent.
The amount borrowed by Mr A will be invested in a business and the profits earned on it would be entirely his own. Similarly the profits earned by the bank on Rs 200 would be kept by the bank itself. In case Mr A does not have Rs 200 to give against Rs 1000, the bank can open an account for Mr A of Rs 1200 and advance him Rs 1000 out of it. The remaining Rs 200 will be accepted as equivalent loan value from Mr A After one year Mr A will return Rs 1200 to the bank and the bank will return Rs 200 to him or to his heirs, after the time period determined for Rs 200 is over. Whether or not this special arrangement should be made is a question that would be a part of the credit control policy. However, if the basic principle of exchanging equivalent loan values is accepted, then, all the functions of banking can be performed.
A. Technical Analysis
1. The first problem is whether a viable alternative basis of credit would be available. We have understood the concept of "credit value". Using the concept, the TMCL model offers a feasible basis for extending credit because equivalent credit values can be exchanged easily.
2. If it is accepted that a feasible basis for credit would be available, the next question is whether or not the society would continue to save at zero rate of interest. Orthodox economists insisted that savings were a function of interest; that savings were directly proportional to the interest rate prevailing in the economy. Keynes refuted this belief and revealed that savings are not a function of interest but of income. This is because lower interest rate results in higher investment, which, being conducive to employment, increases the income of the people. Higher income, in turn, leads to greater savings.
In fact, savings seem to be inversely proportional to the rate of interest. Empirical data seems to corroborate this observation. For example, in the following table, Real Interest Rate (Interest rate after taking inflation into consideration) was negative in certain countries, yet the level of savings continued to increase.
Country Year Real Interest Rate Increase in Bank Deposits.
Japan 1974 -15.33 10.87%
U.K 1974 -12.97% 5.72%
U.S.A 1975 -9.86% 9.43%
Year Level of Savings Bank Rate
1965 13% 5%
1985 5% 10%
Thus, it can be safely concluded that at zero rate of interest the economy will not only continue to save but the level of savings will, in fact, rise.
3. If the people continue to save, the question is why should they deposit their savings? Why shouldn't they invest in real assets like land, and buildings and get rent and capital gains?
Actually, if there were a single banking system in the economy, then whatever would be advanced or spent, for whatever period, it would come back to the banking system. This is because a person would be able to purchase something only if there were a seller. The seller would have to deposit the money he received in a bank otherwise the risk and time involved would be too costly. In fact, depending on the velocity of money the amount borrowed by a client would return to the banking system even before he pit back to the bank from which he borrowed it. This derivative money is infinite in its flow unless it is artificially interrupted by the creation of bank reserves. Therefore, under the TMCL system, vast sums of money would always remain in the banking system.
4. Even if people deposit their savings in a bank, how will it meet the interminable demand for credit, which will because of the zero rate of interest?
As already said, scarcity of capital is artificially created through bank reserves. Interest is actually charged for the use of the scarce capital. This artificial hinderance cannot be justified. Elimination of reserves will not only let the flow of derivative money remain uninterred but multiple expansion of credit will also become infinite. In Pakistan, the reserve ratio required is around 35%. This means that the banks can lend upto 2.85 multiples (100/35) of the initial deposits. If the reserves are lowered, the multiple expansion would increase. As an example consider the following:
Reserves Multiple Expansion
35% 2.85
20% 5.00
10% 10.00
5% 20.00
0 infinity
For practical purposes reserves cannot be taken below 5%. However in a system, which somehow allows the banks to acquire as much additional capital as is required for maintaining the reserves, it would be possible for the banks to do away with the reserves altogether.
In the opinion of Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad, the TMCL model offers one such system. If the ratio for a counter loan were set at a point where it was equal to the ratio required for maintaining a reasonable reserve, then the capital needed for reserves can automatically be obtained from the counter loan received from every loan given. Therefore, banking would have a system with infinite possibility of credit expansion.
5. The next problem pertains to liquidity. Without reserves, how will banks maintain liquidity? Supposing one fine day a large number of clients came to withdraw deposits, then, what would be done? The answer is again in the concept of counter loan value. The bank can extend the idea and deposit some amount out of the counter loan received with the central bank of the country. For example, if the ratio for counter loans is fixed by the monetary authority at 12.5% (Rs 125 for 8 years = Rs 1000 for one year), out of the 12.5% received as counter loan every scheduled bank can deposit 2.5% for 8 multiples of time with the central bank on counter loan basis. Then the bank can borrow 20% for one year from the central bank. Moreover a further 2% can be kept as till money in the bank's own deposits. Therefore, even without reserves 22% liquidity can be maintained. The ratio for counter loan can of course, be adjusted according to the requirement of the bankers.
6. Having answered the question pertaining to liquidity, we come to another problem---inflation. Would not the infinite expansion of credit lead to inflation? To answer this question it must be understood that price level is determined by the quantity of money and the quantity of goods available in the country. For example if the price for an article in the present year is one rupee and credit increases by 33% in the year, the price level will increase by 33% only if an equivalent increase in productivity does not take place. If productivity also increases by 33% no inflation would result. So the TMCL model proposes that loans for only productive purposes be given (at least for six initial years) to tackle the problem of inflation.
7. After inflation the problem which deserves discussion is that of budgetary deficit. Fiscal deficit, actually, is a consequence of interest. Elimination of interest on one hand will abolish unemployment, except for a fractional unemployment (0.5% to 1%), and on the other hand, according to the Ocans law, an increase in the income of the economy by 3.2% will result with every 1% increase in the level of employment. This means that the income of the government will increase automatically without even changing the revenue or expenditure structure. Moreover, expenses related to domestic debt-servicing will also be eliminated. Therefore, in a single year or so the government will be in a position to meet the budgetary deficit and also overcome the unemployment crisis. By eliminating unemployment, the government will also be in a position to hand over large scale enterprises to the private sector.
8. Perhaps the most important question that remains to be answered is that after all the virtues displayed by the system of TMCL, would it still be able to earn profits?
Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad worked with the State Bank of Pakistan on a theoretical model of the TMCL system and compared its performance with a bank working under the conventional system of banking. The results were startling:
(It has been assumed that both the began working with initial deposits of Rs. 1000)
Year ofIncome of the Income of the
Working Conventional Bank TMCL Bank
1. 64.48 39.96
2. 172.43 242.36
3. 484.00 1317.80
The reason for these amazing profits is in the nature of the TMCL system of banking. In our discussion on liquidity, we took an example where out of 12.5% received as counter loan by a bank 2.5% was deposited with the central bank and another 2% kept as till money. The remaining 8% can be invested by the bank in some business. Moreover, the loan given by the bank, will return even before the depositor pays it back. So there will be so many funds available to invest that in the third year of its working the profits of the TMCL bank will be even higher than its initial deposits.
9. One last question about credit control policy remains to be answered. How would the monetary authority manage credit without its conventional tools of interest and reserves? Reserves, Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad believes, are more theory than reality. The artificial scarcity of capital created through reserves is always harmful in the long run. The monetary authority can control credit without reserves or interest by simply raising or lowering the ratio for counter loans.
Finally, it must also be noted that Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad has suggested a 110% security requirement for each loan given. So the loans will not be freely available to everyone. The credit facility will, therefore, not be given in a way which makes its management impossible for the monetary authority.
B. Philosophical Analysis
Some scholars opine that the TMCL model is not truly congenial to Islam. Basically, two objections have been raised by them in this regard:
(i) The element of collateral security remains in this model.
It is evident from Surah Baqarah (verses: 282 and 283) that the Quran prohibits the pledging of collateral security against advanced loans except when it is not possible for the parties to write down a legal document for the transaction, for example during a journey1. Moreover, it is evident from the Quran that any financial arrangement which leads to the concentration of wealth in few hands cannot be allowed2. Such arrangements as allow the facility of loan to only those who have enough capital to give as collateral increase the disparity of income in an economy. Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad used to counter the argument by saying that since the implementation of his model will lead to an increase in employment, the criticism does not apply. However, disparity of income is not the only adverse effect of concentration of wealth. It is just one flower of an evil tree3. Many other problems emanate from the element of collateral in banking and the resulting concentration of wealth. An entirely different trend of resource allocation is set from the one actually required in the economy, especially in developing economies. For example, the direct beneficiaries of bank loans, the industrial bourgeoise, may want to adopt capital intensive methods of production to increase their profit margin whereas labour intensive methods may be more suitable for the economy as a whole. It is primarily because of the problems associated with of wealth that we find forty percent of the population in our country without even potable water whereas a small segment of the society produces industrial goods and uses luxury products.
For whom are these industrial goods as television, VCRs, etc. produced? The forty percent people without potable water want them? Yet the production of such goods eats up a massive portion of the available resources. Why shouldn't the indigenous skills be provided with capital so that enterpreneurship develops and pervades the economy and builds up the infrastructure for industrialization in the true sense of the word? To those who criticize Sheikh Sahib's idea on these grounds, these and many other related questions are important enough, and cannot be answered just by saying that the TMCL concept envisages an increase in employment.
2. Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad believed that from the Islamic point of view if any name should be given to this model, it should be "Ihsaan" (kindness). A loan given without interest is nothing but kindness. The TMCL model, according to Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad is, therefore, in consonance with the following Quranic verse:
"What else is the reward of kindness except kindness." (55:60)
Apart from the fact that the verse in question has a different context---the Day of Judgement rather than the TMCL---another important argument against this basis of credit creation must be mentioned here.
In an Islamic society, Infaaq, spending in the way of Allah, is one of the most essential values. In the basic concept of capitalism, the destitute are not the direct responsibility of the society unless, of course, the two or three percent needy always found even in the affluent countries start becoming ten or fifteen percent and pose such danger to the affluent as cannot be averted merely by the logic of the laisser-faire concept. In an Islamic society the destitute are the direct responsibility of the society and cannot be ignored by saying that the `natural' adjustments of demand and supply should take care of things.
Riba, in essence, is totally against the spirit of Infaaq, therefore, if my brother, a fellow Muslim, needed some money, Ihsaan would demand Infaaq, not a counter loan. It is only when Infaaq is absolutely impossible that a loan would be extended by a Muslim to his brother, and that too without the condition of a counter loan and collateral security. It seems, therefore, that in the TMCL model, two parties extend loans to each other on the basis of equivalent interest. Although, the interest rate is zero, there is the spirit of interest about it.
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Fraser Island Marine Debris
In the early days while visiting the Island, I noticed that there was a huge amount of rubbish on the beach, especially in the many creeks on the eastern side of the Island. The rubbish was literally choking these creeks which should have been pristine, especially in a World Heritage Area. Rubbish accumulates here at an incredible pace, and I was initially alarmed to note that no one was removing it. Day after day I drove past the same pieces of rubbish. Eventually, sick of seeing it, I started to clean the beach, and have been doing so nearly every day since. It has been an interesting journey and I’ve learnt a lot about the environment along the way.
The first few trips to gather rubbish from Poyungan Rocks resulted in removing 27 bags of rubbish per trip. Clearly this rubbish had been accumulating over many years. As seasons change and weather patterns vary huge seas remove tones of sand, dump rubbish, and then eventually replace all that sand again. During this process, tones of rubbish are buried. While this rubbish can’t be seen and isn’t really doing any damage to the environment, eventually it comes back to haunt us. Plastic becomes very brittle and breaks down to ultimately turn into pieces the size of confetti, and in due course microscopic dust. This confetti is very attractive to shorebirds which then ingest it. Autopsies performed on dead shorebirds have revealed as many as 35 pieces of plastic in their small stomachs. Likewise, if this plastic is allowed to return to the sea, marine mammals such as dugong, seals and dolphins accidentally swallow it, causing toxic reactions, internal injuries, and septicemia. Baleen whales when opening their enormous mouths to take in krill cannot filter it out.
While picking up rubbish I have removed hundreds of balloons from the beach and now realise that something as simple as releasing balloons into the air during a celebration can have detrimental effects on the environment. Inevitably the discarded and forgotten balloons make their way to the ocean. It’s not only the balloons themselves that instigate chaos in the ocean but also the strong curling ribbon that is usually tied to them.
While on the Island I see many turtles wash up on the beach, having died due to confusing balloons, plastic bags, or even rubber gloves with jelly fish or squid. The plastic accumulates in their digestive systems and they cannot take in life-giving food, and subsequently starve to death. Rubbish can also trigger ‘floating syndrome’, whereby debris caught in the gut prevents food from digesting. It breaks down, rots, and releases gasses into the coelomic cavity or stomach which make the turtle buoyant and it cannot dive to feed.
Turtles also get caught up in fishing line, nets and rope. One day on my way north I saw a large pile of rope, and pulled over to pick it up. My heart broke when I realised that bound within the rope was a turtle, and it was still alive. How this creature did not drown with that heavy rope binding it so cruelly was a mystery. My knife was old and rusty and the tide was rising, but there was no way I could leave the turtle in this state – and the whole pile of rope was much too heavy for me to lift onto the ute on my own. It took half an hour to cut the turtle free, but my reward was well worth it. He almost ‘flew’ out of his bondage and towards the sea, once again uninhibited.
Good weather means that many fishing vessels are around, both commercial and recreational. I can tell where the commercial boats come from because of the rubbish that washes up. Certain fleets must use UHT containers of all descriptions for wine, milk, or other rations. These appear one month adorned in an Asian language for example, and the next in German. Likewise during these times enormous plastic bags wash up onto the beach and if I cannot remove them the same day they wash up, they fill with sand on the incoming tide and become impossible to remove. There is one huge black bag that has been on the beach for 7 years now and if I had the equipment I would love to dig it up.
These large trawler bags, smaller rubbish bags and even bait bags as well as being consumed by marine animals can also entangle them. Restriction of movement means animals become exhausted, drown or starve, and can result in amputation.
On average I pick up four fluoro tubes a day. Mostly they are broken or ready to break, and when do so form small invisible splinters of glass which could easily cut a child’s foot open or indeed harm a dingo or shorebird. Mariners must simply throw old fluorescent tubes overboard when finished with them. They must not realise or care that inevitably these brittle and fragile tubes get washed up on the beach.
Cyclic currents and weather conditions bring certain things onto the beaches that have been lying on the ocean floor for years. Aluminium cans surprisingly sink to the bottom, and never seem to fully disintegrate. They sit on the sea bed degrading and become razor thin and sharp, and then come up with the weed on particular currents. In fact, on one single day I picked up three bags worth of these cans along a 7 kilometre strip of beach.
I began to notice that I was finding a huge number of ‘glow sticks’ that are used by recreational fishermen. The best way to demonstrate their extent was to keep them aside in a bucket to see how many I actually did pick up in an allotted time. It only took a month to fill a standard bucket. Likewise, but more astoundingly, I began to notice that each day I was picking up around five toothbrushes, and at least 10 cigarette lighters. It intrigued me that so many toothbrushes would be floating around in the sea. Why?
After a mere four months I had a plasterer’s bucket full of cigarette lighters and toothbrushes. Surely this could illustrate to individuals that each occasion they mindlessly toss something small off a boat, into a gutter, or onto the street, it really does accumulate and generate long-term problems for our environment.
It is not only the big ugly and obvious things that are causing problems, but the little things that each individual could change given the motivation.
I have seen tourists yell at people for letting their dog defecate on the beach, and then the same people walk away leaving their picnic waste behind. I have even encountered a tourist who walked past me eating his fast-food lunch while I was picking up rubbish and then threw his lunch remains (aluminium can, plastic bag, chip packet) over his shoulder with no thought whatsoever that he might be doing anything wrong.
The strangest thing I ever collected was a toilet system – not all at once but over a week’s time and from different parts of the beach. First the cistern, a few days later the seat, and eventually the toilet brush and even its holder.
The greatest thing I found on the beach was a Tasmanian CSIRO research tag which contained valuable data thought to be lost forever. There was much excitement from the research team when I contacted them and told them their tag was safely retrieved. Once I sent it back to them they donated $250 towards the beach clean-up.
In the first two years I think I removed an average around 50 tones of rubbish per year. Mostly it was glass, plastic, rubber, foam – all the things that don’t break down. After the first intense years of cleaning up around Poyungan Rocks and down to Eurong, it has been a case of maintenance. I now usually fill between 2 – 8 large garbage bags per day, depending on my time and fuel constraints. After each collection of rubbish, I travel back to the mainland where I deposit it at the local tip.
This amount of rubbish comes off just one relatively small stretch of coastline from one Island. Imagine the amount of rubbish floating around in the ocean and landing on all the world’s coastlines.
Most people aren’t faced with seeing dead marine life on a regular basis and so it is understandable that cleaning up the beach is not a major priority in their lives. But 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million birds are killed annually by debris, and plastic makes up 60% of this rubbish. Sadly it seems that until marine rubbish and its effect on the environment begins to cost people money, nothing will change.
It is not just mariners that need to clean up their act, however: a review of marine waste management procedures would be appreciated with laws put in place enforcing tough fines for offenders caught dumping rubbish at sea, with incentives for those who do the right thing.
My beach clean-up program is self-funded and I am very happy to work as a volunteer, giving something back to the environment and the local community. Garbage bags, vehicle maintenance/registration and fuel are some of the costs incurred. I am also obligated by Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service to pay for a yearly $185 vehicle permit. Unfortunately, when I asked QPWS if they would be prepared to ‘sponsor’ my work on the island by waiving the permit fee, their response was ‘we didn’t ask you to do it’.
It is very sad that while everyone wants clean beaches and a clean safe environment for our children and marine life, few are prepared to actually do anything to make it happen, except perhaps pick up rubbish once a year on Clean up Australia Day. (Note: Clean up Australia Day people are given free vehicle permits for the Island.)
It is only thanks to the support of the Fraser Island barges, both Fraser Explorer and Manta Ray that I am able to get to the Island every day free of charge, resulting in an approximate contribution of $150 per week each towards my work there. They have been behind me every step of the way and have always appreciated having a clean beach for people to see when they first arrive at Fraser Island. My sincere thanks go to Neil Grono, Kosta Ladas, and all the lads in the crews for your generosity, courtesy and commitment to Fraser Island.
Anyone genuinely interested in receiving a free promotional DVD of my work on the Island please fill out the contact form below.
5 Responses to Fraser Island Marine Debris
1. sutra says:
this is a disgrace. what are the rangers doing. HUmans are distroying this planet. Forget about climate change-clean up the bloody mess you leave.on this earth. Heads need to roll here. Start at the top. The premier.
2. Sutra says:
this is a disgrace. what are the rangers doing. HUmans are distroying this planet. Forget about climate change-clean up the bloody mess you leave.on this earth. Heads need to roll here. Start at the top. The premier.
3. Shane says:
Hiya Jen
i came across this site by accident but i’m glad that i did. its great to see someone doing something about all the rubbish that washes up on the island. i’ve been visiting fraser for years and the boys and i always spend time each day cleaning up around our campsite and fishing spots. we seem to be able to manage to take the rubbish home with us as well as the stuff we brought with us and cant understand why other people wont make the effort. what i do is bring as much stuff as i can in containers so that i dont have a pile of plastic to take home. its no that hard.
good on you anyway for the work you are doing
4. BOB WILLIAMS says:
hi jen
just letting you know
that i am planing on placing the song
about the dingoes on you tube
regards bob williams.
5. jenna walker says:
awwww the turtle was stuck in the net but he/her got free.yay!!!!!!
Leave a Reply
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What is i-pH?
What is i-pH?
The lower half of the pH scale measures the strength of acids that are dissolved in water. The strength of acids dissolved in a lubricant can also be measured using the pH scale, but the method needs to be altered to allow for the differences between water and oil. Because the readings take longer to stabilise in oil than they do in water, an initial reading is recorded, giving rise to the name initial-pH, or i-pH.
ASTM D7946
The i-pH can be measured using ASTM D7946, officially called Standard Test Method for Initial pH (i-pH)-Value of Petroleum Products. This method was first published in 2014 and uses a modern electrode to directly measure the strength of acids dissolved within a lubricant.
Interpreting i-pH
The i-pH measurement is simply a measurement of the pH of a lubricant, so the results can usually be interpreted in the same way as pH would be. The lower the pH of the lubricant sample, the stronger the acid(s) present in it. Therefore, measuring the i-pH of a used lubricant sample will give a very clear indication of the extent to which acid contaminants have built up in the lubricant during service.
Our View
Because the corrosiveness of an acid is dictated by the acid strength, and because i-pH measures the acid strength, i-pH gives an indication of the corrosion risk posed – the lower the i-pH of the used lubricant, the more corrosive it will be.
The final article in this series will cover advantages of using ASTM D7946 i-pH as part of used oil analysis.
For more information, please contact your Lubrizol representative.
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Q. What is the difference between an absorptive and a reflective switch?
A. In a reflective switch, the impedance of the port that is OFF will not be 50Ω and will have a very high VSWR. On the other hand, an absorptive switch will have a good VSWR on each port regardless of the switch mode.
Q. Instead of working with one input and two outputs, can I use the switch in the opposite direction? I want to connect signals to the “output” ports and use the “input” as the output port.
A. Yes you can. If, for example, you have two generators and want to maintain a 50Ω load on the generator that is not switched to the common port, use an absorptive switch; otherwise, you can use a reflective switch.
Q. When should I use an absorptive switch? A reflective switch?
A. Use an absorptive switch when you need a good VSWR looking into the port that is not switched to the common port. Use a reflective switch when high OFF port VSWR does not matter and when the switch has some other desired performance feature. In most cases, an absorptive switch can be used instead of a reflective, but not vice-versa.
Q. What is the difference between PIN diode switches and GaAs switches?
A. A PIN diode switch uses the PIN diode as the nonlinear element (low impedance, current in one direction; high impedance current in the opposite direction). At frequencies above approximately 10 MHz, the PIN diode moves too slowly in responding to the polarity of the RF signal, so that the diode appears as a fixed impedance (low impedance for positive DC control current, high impedance for zero current or negative DC control voltage). The GaAs switch uses a GaAs FET as the nonlinear element (the transistor being in the fully “on” or fully “off” state depending upon bias conditions).
A PIN diode switch is more tolerant of high peak power when using pulsed RF input, being limited mainly by average dissipation; power rating of a GaAs switch is determined more by internal peak voltage and current ratings. On the other hand, GaAs switches are faster, switching ON and OFF in a few nanoseconds compared with microseconds for PIN switches. Also, GaAs switches have RF response extending down to DC, whereas in PIN switches there is a practical lower limit to the frequency range in which the diodes behave as linear resistors. Finally, switching-signal (video) leakage into the RF ports is lower in GaAs switches by a factor of 10.
Q. I see that the MCL KSW and YSW series are specified down to DC. Will they actually work with DC voltage?
A. Yes, but care has to be taken to ensure that excess voltage will not burn out the switch. As a practical matter, the value of the coupling capacitors at the RF input and output of the switch will determine the lowest frequency of operation.
Q. I am working with a KSW/KSWA switch. Can I connect the switch to work on +V instead of – V?
A. Yes. It can be done by floating the grounds as shown in the diagram. The switch will be limited at the lower frequencies due to the blocking capacitors. Control voltages must not exceed the supply voltage.
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Switches8.jpg
Q. I only have -5V, not -8V. Will the KSW/ KSWA work with -5V and what will the effect be?
A. Yes, it will work but there will be as much as 6 dB degradation in the 1 dB compression point and the isolation between ports may degrade by a few dB.
Q. I want to use the switch as a modulator. What is the maximum modulating frequency I can use?
A. The highest modulating frequency which will switch ON and OFF fully is approximately
Where Ton and Toff are defined in the artcile “Terms and Definitions: Switches” under “switching speed.” A precaution: in modulator service the maximum allowable RF input power for the KSW/KSWA/KSWHA switches is reduced as follows:
Up to 200 MHz : reduce by 10 dB.
200 to 2000 MHz : reduce by 6 dB.
Above 2000 MHz : reduce by 5 dB.
Q. When I use the switch as a modulator, how much leakage (video break-through) of the modulating signal will appear at the output?
A. It will depend on the individual switch. GaAs switches have typically 30 mV peak-to-peak leakage. PIN diode switches have typically 300 mV peak-to-peak.
Q. I am using a switch to alternate between two generators. What is the isolation between the two inputs?
A. It will be close to the isolation specified between the input and output when the port is switched off.
Q. What is the peak power limit a Mini-Circuits switch can handle?
A. Both PIN diode and GaAs chips are used as switching elements in Mini-Circuits’ designs. Generally speaking, for GaAs devices the peak power will be higher at the high end of the band and will degrade as a function of frequency at about 50 to 100 MHz. The same is true with PIN diodes; however, in this case, the point of degradation occurs when the PIN diode begins to behave as a normal diode.
Q. Are Mini-Circuits’ switches bi-directional?
A. Yes. From an RF point of view, input and output are interchangeable.
Q. Is the output of a switch open-circuit or closed-circuit in the “OFF” state?
A. The absorptive switch output looks like a 50Ω impedance in the “OFF” state. A reflective switch, on the other hand, in its “OFF” state represents a high reflection which could appear as an open or a short depending on the design of the switch, the frequency involved and the length of line between the switch and the point of measurement. At low frequencies the reflective switch looks like a short.
Q. What can happen when a switch is driven into compression?
A. It will generate harmonics and insertion loss will increase.
Browse all RF switches |
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Paired meningococcal isolates, obtained from 50 asymptomatic carriers about 2 months apart were analyzed with whole genome sequencing (WGS). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most paired isolates from the same individual were closely related, and the average and median number of allelic differences between paired isolates defined as the same strain was 35. About twice as many differences were seen between isolates from different individuals within the same sequence type (ST). In 8%, different strains were detected at different time points. A difference in ST was observed in 6%, including an individual who was found to carry three different STs over the course of 9 weeks. One individual carried different strains from the same ST.
In total, 566 of 1605 cgMLST genes had undergone within-host genetic changes in one or more pairs. The most frequently changed cgMLST gene was relA that was changed in 47% of pairs. Across the whole genome, pilE, differed mostly, in 85% of the pairs. The most frequent mechanisms of genetic difference between paired isolates were phase variation and recombination, including gene conversion. Different STs showed variation with regard to which genes that were most frequently changed, mostly due to absence/presence of phase variation.
This study revealed within-host genetic differences in meningococcal isolates during short-term asymptomatic carriage. The most frequently changed genes were genes belonging to the pilin family, the restriction/modification system, opacity proteins and genes involved in glycosylation. Higher resolution genome-wide sequence typing is necessary to resolve the diversity of isolates and reveals genetic differences not discovered by traditional typing schemes, and would be the preferred choice of technology.
Neisseria meningitidis, a Gram-negative diplococcus found only in humans, colonizes the oropharynx and normally resides there without causing disease. The carriage state of meningococci has been known for a long time and the first carriage studies were done already in the 1890s [1]. Carriage prevalence varies geographically, but is usually around 5–10% [2, 3]. Colonization of the host mucosa is a prerequisite for transmission to other individuals, mainly through close contact and airborne droplets. Rarely, colonization progresses to invasive disease, usually shortly after acquisition of the bacteria [4, 5]. If the bacteria reach the bloodstream or the cerebrospinal fluid, they can cause meningitis and/or septicemia [6, 7].
Meningococci are classified into 12 different serogroups based on their polysaccharide capsule [8]. Invasive disease is most often caused by serogroups A, B, C, W, X and Y meningococci, although non-capsulated bacteria, which are the most commonly found meningococci among carriers [9], have also been reported to cause disease [10,11,12]. The presence of a capsule is an advantage in invasive disease, helping the bacteria evade complement-mediated and phagocytic killing by the host in the bloodstream [13], while the loss of capsule seems to enhance the bacteria’s ability for colonization [14, 15].
Meningococcal disease occurs endemically throughout the world, and all continents have seen epidemics, but no region more than the sub-Saharan meningitis belt. During epidemics, carriage prevalence of the outbreak strain can increase many fold [16] and these epidemic incidences are related more to the substantial increase in transmission and colonization, and less to changes in the ratio of cases to carriers [17]. Crowding, within households [18] or in settings like military camps and university campuses [9, 19], increases the likelihood of carriage, as do other risk factors such as smoking [20] and respiratory tract infections [21]. Most cases of disease are sporadic and patients rarely have been in contact with another patient [9], thus, transmission by healthy carriers is a necessity for effectively spreading disease. Therefore, vaccines that prevent colonization are important in controlling disease prevalence. Conjugated vaccines that target the polysaccharide capsule of the meningococcus have been shown to be highly effective in doing so, inducing herd protection in addition to protecting vaccinated individuals against invasive disease [22]. Carrier studies are therefore needed to support and guide the introduction of meningococcal conjugate vaccines, to understand transmission patterns of different strains and to measure within-host evolutionary changes and adaptation.
The majority of meningococcal carriage studies have been cross-sectional studies, providing a snapshot of the prevalence and diversity at a given time. Such studies do not give any information on the duration of carriage or the genetic changes that occur in the bacterial population within the host during colonization. A few longitudinal carriage studies have been done following individuals with multiple samples over time. A study from Czech Republic, Greece and Norway showed that 43–69% of the individuals found to be carriers were still carriers after 5–6 months [9] and a study in the UK showed that only 44.1% of students identified as carriers were still carriers after 1–2 months [23]. A study in Belgian schoolchildren in the 1980s showed a mean duration of carriage estimated to 11.7 months [24], whereas a recent study from Africa found the average carriage duration to be considerably shorter, at 3.4 months [25]. However, among the British students who cleared carriage within the first months, 19% were recolonized at 6 months, and only 63.2% of the students were carriers of the same serogroup after 6 months [23]. This shows that the carriage state is not a steady-state, but is highly dynamic.
To characterize and differentiate the population of N. meningitidis, a variety of serological and molecular classification methods have been used. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) which assigns isolates to a sequence type (ST), and eventually to a clonal complex, based on allelic variation in seven housekeeping genes, has been the most widely used method to study population structure in meningococci. Recent new technologies have allowed for rapid and affordable sequencing and comparison of larger parts of, or the whole bacterial genome. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is providing us, in addition to higher resolution to distinguish among different strains, information on variation in genes that affect other functions of the bacteria, such as antibiotic susceptibility, virulence and adaptation to the host. For comparison and phylogenetic analyses it is suitable to use the core genome, comprising the genes that are present in all members of a population. In addition, in a diverse population like the meningococcus, the accessory genome that comprises variably present genes in isolates, is a substantial part of the genome and contributes to understanding population diversity. WGS has been proven helpful in tracing transmission and in guiding infection control responses [26]. For comparison between laboratories, defined core genome genes, like the core genome MLST (cgMLST) at the pubMLST database, have been used [27]. Although most widely applied in research, epidemiology and reference laboratories to date, with the continuous improvement of technology and development of bioinformatics knowledge, WGS is likely to become a part of clinical routine microbiology in the foreseeable future.
The meningococcus has multiple unique properties and mechanisms that favor genetic change and antigenic variation [28]. Repeat elements and DNA uptake sequences enhance acquisition of DNA from the environment [29, 30]. Recombination is by far the main evolutionary mechanism of antigenic diversity in the meningococcus [31, 32]. Based on MLST genes, the rate of recombination events has been estimated to be about 6.2–16.8 times higher than the rate of nucleotide mutation events [32], and observational studies have shown that a particular nucleotide site is at least 80 times more likely to change by recombination than by mutation [31]. Antigenic variation arises not only through permanent changes in the DNA, but also through a reversible phase variation mechanism [33], in regions with homopolymers or repeating short nucleotide sequences.
The knowledge of what kind of genetic changes that occurs in the meningococcus in vivo can help our understanding of the dynamics of the meningococcal genome. The investigation of within-host genetic changes during carriage can increase our understanding not only of the carriage state, but also the role of carriage in disease transmission and the spread of genetic traits in the meningococcal population. The genomic changes selected for in the oropharynx during interaction with the host might affect the virulence of the bacterium. Multiple studies have used WGS for investigations of N. meningitidis isolates over the last years, but to our knowledge no study has investigated the specific genetic changes occurring in meningococcal isolates from the same individuals during carriage. To identify the genetic changes occurring in meningococci during colonization of the oropharynx, the bacteria’s natural niche, meningococcal isolates obtained from the same individuals approximately two months apart were characterized by WGS.
Isolate collection
The meningococcal isolates analyzed were selected from a carriage study among healthy 1–29 year olds in the Arba Minch area in southern Ethiopia in 2014 [34], where a subgroup of individuals identified as asymptomatic carriers were followed by repeated oropharyngeal samples weekly over a period of 9 weeks. Samples were obtained by swabbing and direct plating onto selective agar plates in the field, before being transported in CO2-enriched containers to the laboratory within 6 h, for incubation at 37 °C overnight. Identification of N. meningitidis was made by examination of colony morphology and enzymatic testing [35]. The meningococcal isolates were stored in Greaves solution [36] at −80 °C, and transported on dry ice for further characterization at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
Half of the individuals were vaccinated with either a monovalent serogroup A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac) or a tetravalent serogroup A + C + W + Y conjugate vaccine (Menveo) at the first sampling point. Two (nos. 4 and 16) of five carriers of serogroup W were vaccinated with the tetravalent vaccine containing serogroup W polysaccharide, whereas no other individuals were vaccinated with vaccines containing the serogroup which they were carrying. The individuals were asymptomatic and healthy throughout the study period and none reported to have taken any antibiotics during or 30 days prior to the study.
Individuals with paired isolates obtained at least 6 weeks apart were included (n = 50) and both the first and the last isolates were submitted for WGS analysis. For individuals where a strain replacement had occurred, MLST analysis was performed according to the method on the website ( [37] for all available isolates taken during the 9 weeks follow up.
Genome sequencing
Cultures were incubated overnight on blood agar plates at 37 °C in an atmosphere of 5% CO2. DNA was extracted using an automated MagNAPure isolation station and MagNAPure 96 DNA and Viral NA Small Volume Kit (Roche, Basel, Switzerland), according to the manufacturer's instructions. DNA quantity was assessed using the Qubit device (Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Waltham, MA, US). For each isolate ≥50 ng of DNA was used for preparing the sequencing libraries with KAPA HyperPlus Kit (KAPA Biosystems, Wilmington, MA, US), following the KR1145 – v3.16 instructions from the manufacturer, with size selection of fragments ≤ 450 bp. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform with MiSeq Reagent Kits v2 500-cycles (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, US) with 250 bp paired-end run modes. Fastq reads were trimmed and filtered using the software Trimmomatic v0.36 [38] with the KAPA adapters added to the filtering library, using the following settings: 2:30:10 for seed mismatches:palindrome clip threshold:simple clip threshold, minimum quality of 3 to keep a base used for leading and trailing end trimming, 3:15 for window size in bp and minimum quality, and a minimum trimmed length of 36 to keep reads. Sequence data were assembled de novo using the software SPAdes v3.8.0 [39] with default options as well as the --careful flag, using k-mer sizes 77, 99 and 127. Taxonomic labels were assigned using Kraken 0.10.5-beta [40]. Contigs shorter than 500 bp and contigs with an average kmer-coverage ≤ 5 were additionally filtered out using an in-house script. The final assembly files consisted of a median number of 71 contigs/sample (range: 46 to 121 contigs) with an average length of 29 503 bp, covering the 2.2 Mb of the N. meningitidis genome. The estimated average coverage varied between sequencing runs and ranged from 58.6 to 88.3.
Genome comparison and phylogenetic analyses
Genomes were uploaded to the database ( (Additional file 1: Table S1), which is served by the Bacterial Isolate Genome Sequence Database (BIGSdb) platform [41]. For core genome analysis, the 1605 loci defined as the core genome in the database (N. meningitidis cgMLST v1.0) were used [42]. Incomplete loci were removed from individual pairs prior to calculations. For allelic comparisons, gene-by-gene analyses were performed using the Genome Comparator tool embedded within the PubMLST website. Analyzed genes were based on the annotated meningococcal genes available in the PubMLST database as of 27 Oct 2016. Distance matrices based on the allelic differences were created using the Neighbor-net method [43] and were used to visualize the phylogenetic network between all 100 isolates from the 50 individuals using SplitsTree4 v4.14.4) [44]. The same approach was used to create ST-specific split graphs for ST-11, ST-53, ST-192 and ST-2880. Within these four STs Bayesian analysis of population structure (BAPS) analyses were done using the program BAPS v6.0 [45], to formally define clusters (see Additional file 2: Figure S1). Allele numbers were used directly, and ambiguous, truncated and new alleles were set as missing data. For this analysis, the “Clustering of Individuals” module was used, using a maximum number of clusters from 1 to 10. The determined number of clusters was defined by a posterior probability > 0.975.
For phylogenetic analysis within each ST, a core genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based approached was used. Briefly, within each ST the core genome mutations were inferred by ParSnp v1.2 [46], using the best assembly (as measured using contig N50) as reference. Putatively recombined regions were excluded using Gubbins v2.2.0 [47] with default options (raxml tree builder, GTRCAT model, max 5 iterations, filter taxa > 25% gaps, min 3 SNPs to define a recombination block, window size 100-10,000). Phylogenetic trees were created with RAxML v8.2.9 [48] under the GTRCAT model, using 1000 bootstrap replicates. The final bootstrapped SNP trees were annotated in Interactive Tree of Life [49].
For determination of mechanism of differences between paired isolates, sequences were uploaded and aligned in MEGA7 [50], and compared manually. Mechanisms were assigned as point mutation if only a single nucleotide difference was present in a window of 150 nucleotides, recombination if multiple nucleotide differences were present in the same area, phase variation if varying length of repeat nucleotides, and deletion or insertion were determined in relation to the majority of isolates. As Illumina sequencing is known to produce errors after long homopolymer tracts [51], only mononucleotide repeat sequences < 20 bases were included in the calculations. In cases where alleles were incomplete or missing in BIGSdb, missed gene sequences were to some extent retrieved when performing BLAST searches [52]. If incomplete sequences were retrieved via BLAST and genetic differences were found in pairs, they were included in the analysis of mechanisms.
Study population and samples
The paired isolates from the same individuals were obtained between 6 and 9 weeks apart, with mean and median time periods of 8 and 9 weeks, respectively. The paired isolates are numbered 1–50, combined with A and B that indicate the two different time points. The samples were obtained from an equal distribution of male (52%) and female (48%) participants aged 2 to 29 years (Additional file 1: Table S1).
Serogroups and sequence types
The majority of the 100 isolates were non-groupable (n = 73) and the remaining isolates belonged to serogroup Y (n = 15), W (n = 10) and X (n = 2). A total of 10 different STs were identified, with the majority of isolates belonging to ST-192 (n = 48) (Table 1). The initial isolate from each carrier was previously analyzed by MLST using Sanger sequencing [34], and the results found using WGS were identical with regards to ST assignment. WGS analysis of paired isolates revealed that 47 of the 50 individuals carried the same ST throughout the study period, whereas 3 out of 50 individuals had a change in ST over the course of two months (Table 1). In a fourth individual (no. 49), the ST remained the same, but nevertheless WGS revealed a change of strain (Table 1).
Table 1 Serogroups and sequence types of the study isolates
Allelic comparison of core genes in paired carriage isolates
A phylogenetic comparison of all carriage isolates, based on cgMLST allelic distance matrices, is presented as a Neighbor-net network in Fig. 1. The majority of the paired isolates from the same individual were closely related to each other, with the exception of the isolates from the four individuals where a change of strain was evident (underlined in Fig. 1). The average and median number of allelic differences between paired isolates of the same strain was 35, with a range from 11 to 84 (Additional file 1: Table S1). In the individuals with a change of ST (nos. 47, 48 and 50), allelic differences between the isolates were discovered in 1509, 1461 and 1508 of the 1605 genes of the N. meningitidis cgMLST, respectively. In the fourth individual with a change of strain (no. 49), but where the ST remained the same, the number of allelic differences between the isolates was 475 (Additional file 1: Table S1).
Fig. 1
Phylogeny of paired meningococcal carriage isolates. Splits tree based on allelic differences in N. meningitidis core genome MLST genes. Color codes show paired isolates from the same individual. A and B indicate time points, approximately 2 months apart. Isolates from individuals where different strains were found at the two time points are underlined and connected with dashed lines. ST = sequence type
Results from further analysis with conventional PCR, targeting the seven housekeeping genes of MLST, as well as the porA and fetA genes, of the available intermediate isolates from individuals carrying different strains during the two months study period are shown in Table 2. This revealed that individual no. 47 carried three different STs during the period. It also shows that there was two different porA- and fetA-profiles in the isolates from individual no. 49, giving further support to that these represent two different strains, although the ST remained the same.
Table 2 Sequence type (ST), porA variant and fetA variant of meningococcal carriage isolates from individuals carrying different strains
Within each ST, there was limited variation and, with the exception of some isolates in ST-53 and ST-192, all isolates within each ST were clustered together (Fig. 1). On average, the number of the 1605 cgMLST genes with allelic differences between the paired isolates from the same STs was 35 for ST-11, 127 for ST-53, 36 for ST-192 and 32 for ST-2880 (Additional file 3: Table S2A-D). When comparing the isolates from different individuals within the same ST, the average increased to 62, 296, 74 and 41 for ST-11, ST-53, ST-192 and ST-2880, respectively (Additional file 3: Table S2A-D). In ST-53, the isolates were divided into two different subclusters (Fig. 1 and Table 3), with individual no. 49 carrying meningococci belonging to each of the two subclusters at different time points. The average number of allelic differences in the 1605 cgMLST genes between the different isolates within each of the two ST-53 subcluster was 34 and 117, whereas the average number of allelic difference between the isolates across the two subclusters was 472 (Additional file 3: Table S2B).
Table 3 Whole genome comparison of meningococcal carriage isolates in sequence type 53
In ST-192, two paired isolates (24A and 24B) were found breaking off the main branch further away from the central cluster where all the other isolates diverged (Fig. 1). Within the main cluster, the paired isolates were generally found most closely related, apart from the isolates belonging to individual no. 9, which shared more common alleles with closely located isolates obtained from other individuals. Isolate 9A shared more allelic variants with multiple isolates, including 25A, 25B, 41A and 41B, than with isolate 9B, which shared more allelic variant with isolates like 38B, 39B and 40A (Additional file 3: Table S2C).
BAPS analyses identified 3, 2, 3, and 2 subclusters, respectively, among the ST-11, ST-53, ST-192 and ST-2880 isolates (Additional file 2: Figure S1 A-D). Isolates from the same individual usually belonged to the same subcluster, except for those from individuals no. 49 (ST-53) and no. 9 (ST-192), confirming the cgMLST results. In ST-2880, however, BAPS distinguished the first isolate from individual no. 15 as a unique subcluster.
SNP-based comparison of paired carriage isolates
To compare cgMLST with SNP-based phylogenetic inference, we additionally computed trees based on SNPs in the cgMLST genes after removal of areas with presumed recombination. Trees for each of the STs with 4 or more pairs of isolates are shown in Fig. 2a-d. Overall, the same pattern was seen as in comparison based on allelic differences. The distance range within each ST was similar in ST-11, ST-192 and ST-2880, whereas the distance between the isolates in ST-53 was considerably greater (Fig. 2a-d), i.e., the distance between the two subclusters of ST-53 became even more apparent using SNP-based analysis (Fig. 2b).
Fig. 2
Phylogeny of paired meningococcal carriage isolates per sequence type. Splits tree based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in N. meningitidis core genome MLST genes (N. meningitidis cgMLST v1.0, available at Panel (a), (b), (c) and (d) show the most frequent sequence types (ST) ST-11, ST-53, ST-192 and ST-2880, respectively. Color codes show paired isolates from the same individual. A and B indicate time point, approximately two months apart
For ST-53, the nucleotide differences between all isolates were calculated for the genome shared by all isolates, without removing areas of recombination (Table 3). This revealed an average of 9798 nucleotide differences between the isolates of the two subclusters, compared to an average of 1402 nucleotide differences between isolates of the same subcluster. Table 3 also shows the disproportion in nucleotide and allelic difference between pairs, highlighting the impact of recombination in the meningococcal genomic variation.
Most variable genes in paired carriage isolates
All annotated meningococcal genes accessible on as of 27 Oct 2016 were compared pairwise to find the genes which were most frequently differing between pairs. Pairs where a change of strain had occurred were excluded and the 18 genes that differed in ≥ 30% of paired isolates are shown in Table 4. Among the 18 most frequently changed genes, 8 were found within the core genome, highlighted in bold in Table 4. The gene with most frequent genetic change was pilE, differing in 85% of the paired isolates. Three of the genes were encoding hypothetical proteins and 2 were putative enzymes, but the majority of genes were expressing surface exposed molecules, like pilin and other membrane proteins.
Table 4 Overview of whole genomea genes with most frequent within-host genetic changes in paired meningococcal carriage isolates. Genes belonging to the core genomeb are highlighted in bold italic
The different STs showed variation with regard to which genes that were most frequently changed (Additional file 4: Table S3A-D). In ST-192, lgtA changed by phase variation in 61% of the paired isolates, but were not changed in any of the pairs in ST-11, ST-53 and ST-2880, as these isolates do not have any phase variable tracts in lgtA. pilE and pilS changed in at least 75 and 71%, respectively, of the paired isolates belonging to ST-53, ST-192 and ST-2880, whereas no changes were seen in any of the pairs in ST-11. pglG changed in at least 40% of the paired isolates except for in ST-2880, where the gene was absent.
Core genome genes most frequently changed in paired isolates
A total of 566 cgMLST genes was changed in one or more of the 46 pairs. The most frequently changed cgMLST genes between paired isolates (changed in ≥8 pairs) were spread across the genome. These are marked by color according to functional group in Fig. 3. The most frequently changed cgMLST gene, NEIS1655 (relA) was changed in 21 of 46 pairs.
Fig. 3
Frequency of changes in N. meningitidis core genome MLST genes between paired meningococcal carriage isolates. Vertical lines show frequency of pairs with allelic differences. Gene name and color coding according to functional group are added to the genes that most frequently differed (in ≥8 pairs). UD = undesignated gene, PG = putative gene function
Mechanisms of genetic variation in frequently changed genes
Alleles can differ by a single or multiple nucleotides. Single nucleotide changes are presumably caused by point mutation, whereas multiple nucleotide differences and insertions/deletions are most likely due to recombination events with a different strain or species. Phase variation, as determined by the presence of repeating nucleotides or short repeated sequences of variable lengths, was the most common mechanism behind the genetic difference seen between isolates, followed by recombination and mutation.
Phase variation was found in genes belonging to the O-linked protein glycosylation system (pglH, pglG and pglI), lipooligosaccharide biosynthesis (lgtA) and outer membrane components (opaB, opa1800 and hpuA). Pilus antigenic variation is due to changes in the pilE gene that results from introduction of segments of non-expressed pilS cassettes into the locus by recombination events, known as gene conversion [53, 54]. This was seen in the majority of pairs, except for ST-11. It has recently been shown that a limited number of clonal complexes, including cc11, express the conserved class II pilE gene that do not undergo antigenic variation [55]. Recombination was seen in two putative housekeeping genes at a frequency of 20%, and occurred at a frequency of 2–6% in multiple other genes (Table 4). In several genes, the genetic differences were seen only as single nucleotide changes or recombination in the same position(s) in more than one pair (Additional file 4: Table S3A-D). For example, in the hypothetical protein NEIS2649, GTP pyrophosphokinase NEIS1655, and multidrug resistance translocase NEIS1852, the nucleotide differed either between G and T or A and C, but there was no pattern across the samples suggestive of a sample mix-up and the reads were consistent with the same nucleotide. The nucleotide change resulted in a change of amino acid sequence in all three genes.
Gene changes assigned to the recombination mechanism involved multiple nucleotide differences within regions of the genes varying from 4 to 762 nucleotides. All nucleotide differences assigned as point mutations appeared as a single mutation within each gene, except for in NEIS1655 where two SNPs were located 1911 nucleotides apart. The positions of single nucleotide changes were often the same across different STs, suggesting that they might be however due to recombination of sequences differing only by a single nucleotide rather than point mutations.
We present here the WGS data of within-host paired longitudinal meningococcal carriage isolates, taken on average two months apart, from healthy individuals in Ethiopia. The genetic changes observed in this study are believed to be random or individual dependent, as no known driving forces were present, except for the two individuals carrying serogroup W strains and receiving a conjugate vaccine containing serogroup W. No obvious difference in genetic changes between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated serogroup W carriers was observed, and none of these individuals carried different strains. However, the numbers are too low to draw conclusion.
The majority of isolates were non-groupable, most of them containing the cnl locus, lacking the possibility to express capsule, whereas some non-groupable isolates lacked some, but not all genes necessary for capsule synthesis (Table 1). Although the capsule has been seen as an important factor for transmission success, as the meningococcus is sensitive to drying out [56], the high prevalence of meningococcal carrier strains harboring the cnl locus provides evidence that the bacterial capsule is not required for person-to-person transmission. The finding of different isolates in the same individual over time, with likely strain replacement of one isolate harboring the cnl locus, belonging to ST-11595, with another isolate harboring the cnl locus, belonging to ST-192, also supports this conclusion.
WGS gives a much better resolution of genomic relationships and here we revealed a difference in strains in an individual that would not have been discovered by traditional MLST typing. The difference in 475 cgMLST genes between the two isolates from individual no. 49 is more than ten times higher than the number of differences typically seen in pairs of the same strain, suggesting that the differences are highly unlikely caused by genetic changes within the host. The finding of equally many allelic differences between unrelated isolates from different STs (523 and 522 cgMLST genes in isolate 50A from ST-11595 compared to isolates 42A and 42B from ST-11597, respectively) also indicate that the difference seen between the isolates from individual no. 49 is caused by colonization with a different strain, not with-in host genetic changes in one third of the cgMLST genes. In addition, within ST-53 the isolates belonged to two different subclusters based on cgMLST. Different porA- and fetA-profiles, which are widely used in meningococcal classification in addition to MLST, also indicated that there was a difference between these two ST-53 isolates. This illustrates the limitation of traditional MLST, when classification and comparison are based only on a few selected genes. WGS and cgMLST provide much finer tools for identification of meningococcal sublineages and has already been very valuable in resolving global epidemiology, and the unravelling of the spread of serogroup W, ST-11, showed that how multiple sublineages of the same clonal complex may coexist within the same area [57, 58].
Analyzing paired carriage isolates gives insight into the genetic evolution of the bacterium when residing in its natural habitat. The isolates were taken only 6-9 weeks apart, but genetic and phenotypic changes in the meningococcus have been shown to happen over a very short time in vivo, directly impacting the adaptation of the bacterium to evade the host immune system and increases its virulence [59]. The number of genes with allelic differences between isolates from different individuals within the same ST was about twice as many as the differences between paired isolates from the same carrier. Estimated mean duration of meningococcal carriage ranges from 3.4 to 11.7 months [24, 25, 60] and the increased difference from within-host to between-host changes is likely explained by increased time from acquisition to sampling, compared to the two months between the two samplings in the study. A newly published study from the Netherlands revealed progressively acquired mutations and/or recombination events in three carriers harboring the same strain at three time-points in an 8-month period, again underlining the evolution and adaptation of the bacteria during carriage [61]. As in our analysis, incomplete genes were excluded, we may have underestimated the number of differences.
A recent study looking at within-host evolution by genomic comparison of throat and blood strain pairs from four patients with meningococcal disease, also found changes in pilE, modA and pglI [62], which were among the most frequently changed genes in our study. Additional genes identified in the study by Klughammer et al. [62], like pilC1 and fetA, were also seen to change in our study, but to a lesser extent, in 15 and 11% of paired isolates, respectively. The authors hypothesized that genomic variants arise during carriage and that invasive variants occasionally emerge and cause disease [62]. In contrast, no further genetic changes seem to be necessary for the bacteria to cross the blood-brain barrier [63].
Phase variation is a mechanism with high frequency, resulting in reversible regulation of expression [33] and therefore expected to occur within short-term carriage. A recent study identified 277 phase variable gene candidates in the meningococcus and classified them as strong, moderate or weak based on repeat variability and intra-strain phylogenetic relationship in 20 available N. meningitidis genomes [64]. We and others have identified phase variation in genes involved in surface exposed structures and membrane components such as, opacity proteins [65], lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis [66], and pilin/protein glycosylation [67, 68], but also restriction/modification systems [69] and a hemoglobin receptor [70]. Phase variation in pilin glycosylation is seen in patterns of homopolymeric tracts with ≥7 repeating nucleotides, as is phase variation in the lipopolysaccharide glycosyltransferases [66]. In our study we also found phase variation as tetrameric repeat units in the restriction-modification system responsible for defense against invasion of foreign DNA [69] and pentameric repeat units in the outer membrane proteins [71]. Phase variation is known to cause rapid changes in the bacteria, both in the laboratory and within the host, and differences due to phase variation were seen in up to 80% of pairs within the 9 weeks of the study. In fact, comparative genomic studies after an accidental human passage and disease revealed increased changes in phase variable genes, and the authors suggested that this emphasized the importance of phase variation for in vivo adaption of meningococci [59].
The much higher rate of recombination to mutation in meningococci makes phylogenetic analyses difficult, as SNP-based analysis will overestimate the number of mutations and the evolutionary distance between isolates if recombination is not taken into consideration [72, 73]. Analysis using allelic differences on a gene-by-gene basis, on the other hand, treats all genetic changes within a gene as one event and are more suited in highly recombining bacteria [74]. However, an allelic approach runs the risk of underestimating the number of mutations and the genetic distances. Therefore, allelic comparisons were used for analysis amongst different STs, where the differences in SNP are expected to be high (Fig. 1), whereas SNP-based analyses with higher resolution were used for phylogenetic analysis within STs, after excluding presumed recombination events (Fig. 2a-d).
The findings of single nucleotide changes or recombination at specific positions in some genes do not appear to be random or due to technical errors. The pattern and position of the nucleotide changes were consistent across different STs. Most allelic variants were seen in more than one pair and in already annotated alleles available in BIGSdb, suggesting they may be due to recombination of sequences differing only in a single nucleotide position (marked with an asterisk in Additional file 4:. Table S3A-D) rather than point mutations. In the same genes, recombination was found in the same area in other isolates, indicating that these areas are hot spots for recombination.
As we only picked single colonies from the plates where the swabs were cultivated, this study does not allow to determine whether strain heterogeneity was present on any sample time. Thus, it is not possible to conclude whether the difference in strains observed were actual replacement or due to concomitant carriage where one ST was sampled at one time and the other ST was sampled the next time. A study picking up to 20 individual colonies from the original plate, found carriage of multiple clones in about 1.4% of meningococcal carriers [9]. This study used 15 variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR) loci for differentiating between clones, a method more likely to underestimate than overestimate the number of clones, as compared to WGS. In the individual where three different strains were identified in five weeks, concomitant carriage of all three strains cannot be excluded and concomitant carriage of at least two of these strains at a given time is highly likely. The high frequency of recombination in some genes also suggests that concomitant carriage of more than one clone is more common than previously believed. This should be further investigated by the use of WGS to analyze multiple colonies from the same sample.
Although we cannot conclude how common strain replacement is in the general population of meningococcal carriers based on this study, as the individuals were chosen based on the availability of two paired meningococcal isolates, the change of strain in 4 out of 50 (8%) of the individuals shows that meningococcal carriage in an African population is dynamic and the likelihood of concomitant carriage is quite high. In comparison, a European study of teenagers in 2008 found that 36.7% of those who remained carriers over a period of 23 weeks acquired a new strain during that period [75]. The same study also found one individual out of 72 who carried 3 different strains over a period of 6 months [75]. However, this study used serological, capsule PCR and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analyses, which are less discriminatory than WGS and strain changes within serogroups or PFGE-groups would not have been discovered. Taking the relatively short duration and a lower number of individuals in our study, our findings might be an indication that strain replacement is more common in this population. A recent study in several African countries, also using traditional MLST typing, found that 4% carried different strains on visits about one month apart [25]. Further studies using WGS are therefore necessary to understand the dynamics and carriage of heterogeneous strains, and to what extent there are differences within different host populations or strains of Neisseria.
High resolution genome-wide sequence typing is necessary to resolve the diversity of meningococcal isolates and reveals genetic differences not discovered by traditional typing schemes. WGS should be the method of choice for strain characterization, as the technology has improved and costs decreased. The most frequently changed genes were genes belonging to the pilin family, the restriction/modification system, opacity proteins and genes involved in glycosylation. The most frequent mechanisms of change were phase variation and recombination. There were about twice as many allelic differences between unpaired isolates from different individuals as in paired isolates within each ST, which may be explained by difference in time or by distinct, unknown selection pressure driven by the immune systems of these individuals.
Bacterial isolate genome sequence database
Core genome
Core genome multilocus sequence typing
Multilocus sequence typing
Norwegian institute of public health
Pulse field gel electrophoresis
Single nucleotide polymorphism
Sequence type
Variable-number tandem repeats
Whole genome sequences
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We thank all the study participants and the study staff in Ethiopia for being part of the study and sampling. We are very grateful to Torill Alvestad, Ingerid Ørjansen Kirkeleite and Nadia Debech for performing the sequencing analysis at NIPH.
This project was supported by the Research Council of Norway grant 220829 to DAC.
Availability of data and materials
The sequences generated and analyzed during the current study are available at the website, see identifications numbers in Additional file 1: Table S1.
Authors’ contributions
PK, AA and DAC participated in the study design. GKB, BW, DB and PK were responsible for sampling. DAC and GKB were responsible for the laboratory analyses. GKB, BB and OBB analyzed the data. GKB and BB drafted the manuscript. OBB was responsible for the statistical and phylogenetic analyses. All the authors have contributed to the manuscript and approved the final version.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Consent for publication
Not applicable. This manuscript does not contain any individual persons’ data.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The study obtained ethical approval by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, South-East Norway, the World Health Organization, the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI)/All-Africa Leprosy, Tuberculosis and Rehabilitation Training Centre (ALERT) Ethics Review Committee, and the National Research Ethics Review Committee, Ethiopia. Study information was given in the local language and written informed consent was obtained from all participants, or by parents in the case of children.
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Correspondence to Dominique A. Caugant.
Additional files
Additional file 1: Table S1.
Number and percent of allelic differences in cgMLST genesa and isolate ID in BIGSdb. (DOCX 26 kb)
Additional file 2: Figure S1.
Bayesian analysis of population structure (BAPS) clusters of paired meningococcal carriage isolates per sequence type. Neighbor-net splits trees of allelic differences in N. meningitidis core genome MLST genes (N. meningitidis cgMLST v1.0, available at Panel A, B, C and D show sequence types (ST) ST-11, ST-53, ST-192 and ST-2880, respectively. BAPS clusters are highlighted by circles and numbered sequentially. Paired isolates from the same individual that have been assigned to different BAPS clusters are underlined and connected with dashed lines. (ZIP 56 kb)
Additional file 3: Table S2A-D.
Comparison of meningococcal carriage isolates in sequence types 11, 53, 192 and 2880. Number of allelic differences in the 1,605 genes of the N. meningitidis core genome*. (DOCX 55 kb)
Additional file 4: Table S3A-D.
Mechanism of genetic change in paired meningococcal carriage isolates in sequence types 11, 53, 192 and 2880. (DOCX 59 kb)
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Bårnes, G.K., Brynildsrud, O.B., Børud, B. et al. Whole genome sequencing reveals within-host genetic changes in paired meningococcal carriage isolates from Ethiopia. BMC Genomics 18, 407 (2017).
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• Neisseria meningitidis
• Carriage
• Ethiopia
• Meningitis belt
• Whole genome sequencing
• Core genome
• Genetics |
Electrolysis of Water (videos from 2/16/17)
Here are the three videos we watched in class about the electrolysis of water!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BL0UeGBZJU (to see the hydrogen 'pop' go to ~4:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFR9zUGt2C4 (splint tests ~5:00)
Here is more about why the oxygen goes into one tube and the hydrogen goes to the other, and related ("electrochemistry").
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV4IUsholjg ("Crash Course" video - usually pretty good)
If you were not in class on Thursday (2/16/17), you may upload a copy of the exit worksheet from MiStar! You may show me Tuesday. The worksheet should be stapled on your See-Think-Wonder page or the next page in your notebook.
Here is the link from the paper: http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae575.cfm |
Biandrate is a northern Italian village in the province of Novara that lies in the Po plain between the Sesia and Ticino rivers. Border area disputed between Vercelli and Novara, since the early Middle Ages it represented an important crossing point because there were the fords of the Sesia river nearby, on the road axis joining Novara and Ivrea. Its importance grew in the tenth century, when the Pieve was erected, today disappeared, dedicated to Santa Maria and, in 1029, the Counts of Pombia family settled in the Biandrate castrum. In 1168 the castrum was destroyed by the armies of Milan, allied with Novara and Vercelli, that in 1194 carved up the territory. In the second half of the thirteenth century the village of Biandrate was divided into the Borgo Vecchio, vercellese, to the west, and the Borgo Nuovo, novarese, to the east. They developed around the canonica of S. Colombano, the hospital and the ruins of the Count’s castrum. The castrum, almost totally destroyed, continued to represent an area with particular rights: in fact the Statues established that the Podestà could pronounce sentences only “in castro veteri Blanderati”. Nowadays the collegiata of S. Colombano stands on the Biandrate castrum ruins; the collegiata was mentioned for the first time in 1146, but was altered various times over the centuries. In particular, portions of the ancient wall are visible in the lower part of the west wall of the church of Santa Caterina, incorporated within the complex of the collegiate of S. Colombano. It is noticed that the ancient castrum had very thick walls made primarily with river pebbles, roughly cut stones in a herringbone pattern and binding mortar. |
Question: What Are The Main Objectives Of Operations Management?
What are the five performance objectives of operations management?
The performance objectives are quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost..
What are the reasons for studying operations management?
Why Operations Management?All businesses need operations management in order to function. … Knowledge of operations can help you become a top executive. … Understanding operations helps you become a good manager. … Operations management skills can be applied across all industries. … You get the chance to work with new technology.More items…•
What are 4 purposes of operational goals?
they provide guidance and direction, facilitate planning, motivate and inspire employees, and help organizations evaluate and control performance.
What are the elements of operations?
This is shown in Figure 1, which represents the three components of operations: inputs, transformation processes and outputs. Operations management involves the systematic direction and control of the processes that transform resources (inputs) into finished goods or services for customers or clients (outputs).
What is Operation Management example?
For example, if an organization makes furniture, some of the operations management decisions involve the following: purchasing wood and fabric, hiring and training workers, … purchase cutting tools and other fabrication equipment.
What are operational strategies?
Operational strategies refers to the methods companies use to reach their objectives. By developing operational strategies, a company can examine and implement effective and efficient systems for using resources, personnel and the work process.
What are the 5 performance objectives?
What are the 10 decisions of operations management?
Google: 10 Decision Areas of Operations ManagementDesign of Goods and Services. … Quality Management. … Process and Capacity Design. … Location Strategy. … Layout Design and Strategy. … Human Resources and Job Design. … Supply Chain Management. … Inventory Management.More items…•
What are the 3 basic functions of a firm?
The three major business functions are finance, marketing and operations.
What is a operational goal?
Operational goals are specific to the daily tasks and requirements to run a business. … Operations ensure that products and service make it to market through predefined daily tasks. Setting operational goals early makes it easier to scale and grow a business.
What is operational plan example?
Example of Operational PlansTo Cut Costs Ten PercentSingle-use or OngoingAcquire faster or more efficient machinery and equipmentSingle-useReduce inventory levelsSingle-useReduce production wasteSingle-useImprove materials handling proceduresSingle-use1 more row•Apr 7, 2015
What are the objectives of operations?
Operational objectives tend to be specific and measurable, so that they can help an organisation to achieve its long term goals. It can also help to improve budgeting. For example, the sales department might set an operational objective, which targets to raise sales revenue for the next several months.
What is operations job profile?
What are the key elements of operations improvement?
Operational Improvement ExpertiseAsset Optimization.Quality Improvement.Safety Performance.Project Execution.Supply Chain.Process Improvement.Shutdown Management.Reliability.More items… |
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Link Between Gut Bacteria and Toddler Temperament?
Interesting, but very preliminary observational research, and there could be various explanations for the results suggesting that the microbiome (community of microbes) of a toddler's gut may influence their behavior. The researchers did not think these differences were diet related, but they had not studied the diet in depth. From Science Daily:
Toddler temperament could be influenced by different types of gut bacteria
Christian and study co-author, microbiologist Michael Bailey, PhD, studied stool samples from 77 girls and boys, and found that children with the most genetically diverse types of gut bacteria more frequently exhibited behaviors related with positive mood, curiosity, sociability and impulsivity. In boys only, researchers reported that extroverted personality traits were associated with the abundances of microbes from the Rikenellaceae and Ruminococcaceaefamilies and Dialister and Parabacteroides genera.
"There is definitely communication between bacteria in the gut and the brain, but we don't know which one starts the conversation," said Dr. Bailey...Overall, associations of temperament with the gut microbiome in girls were fewer and less consistent than boys. However, in girls, behaviors like self-restraint, cuddliness and focused attention were associated with a lower diversity of gut bacteria, while girls with an abundance of Rikenellaceae appeared to experience more fear than girls with a more balanced diversity of microbes.
To identify correlations between gut bacteria and temperament, researchers asked mothers to assess kid's behavior using a questionnaire which measures 18 different traits that feed into three composite scales of emotional reactivity: Negative Affect, Surgency/Extraversion and Effortful Control. Scientists looked at the different genetic types and relative quantity of bacteria found in the toddler's stool samples along with their diets.
Similar to other child behavior studies, researchers separated their findings by gender to analyze temperament. Overall, the study found few differences in the abundance and types of gut microbiota between girls and boys.Both researchers say that parents shouldn't try to change their child's gut microbiome just yet. Scientists still don't know what a healthy combination looks like, or what might influence its development. |
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By Tom McSteen. Reposted from
How do you feel when your voice is heard? How do you feel when it is not?
We all want our voice to be heard. We all want to feel self-expressed. We all want to leave a gathering where we had something to say, having said what we wanted to say. If that does not happen, feelings of frustration, disagreement, and aloneness can creep in. These feelings, particularly when experienced over time, can lead to states of separation and division.
Unsurprisingly, I have experienced many conversations and public events where I felt my voice was not heard, from extended family gatherings at holidays to governmental forums on whether to build pipelines. Leaving these situations with the experience of not being heard left me feeling isolated.
Hearing every voice can be literal, as in taking the time at a particular gathering to give everyone a chance to speak. It can also be figurative, when people feel in some collective way that their views or experiences have been dismissed. This figurative example is often seen in national elections, when groups of people feel glossed over and unheard. Yet, this state is more likely to develop over time when there are not tangible forums for people to fully expresse themselves.
We have choices, both in the literal and figurative sense. We can act so as to not hear or marginalize certain voices, to selectively hear only what we want to hear. When we do so, however, we add, often unintentionally, to the current division in our politics, our public discourse.
Or, on the other hand, when we intentionally make an attempt to hear every voice, in any setting on any topic, literally or figuratively, we create the possibility of conversation or discourse that is more inclusive and connective.
When people do not feel heard, they are more likely to be dismissive of others’ voices. And, when people feel heard, they are more likely to allow others to be heard, in turn.
It may not always be easy or simple to create the space for every voice to be heard. But it's possible. Setting rules of engagement and establishing a safe and clear container in a structured environment are two key ways to allow for every voice to be heard.
The new and rising organization, Living Room Conversations, provides a safe place to hear every voice. Having been a part of multiple conversations using this methodology, I know firsthand that people with very different points of view can come together and have a civil conversation. And, most importantly, they can walk away with a new understanding of the "other."
A key differentiator, perhaps, is a well-stated intention to hear every voice no matter the setting. Whether in families or at the office, imagine what is possible when there is a concerted effort to hear all voices. Business journals, as an example, laud corporations that invest the time and effort into really providing time and space to listen to each and every employee. Could not the same be true for public discourse? Particularly for local issues, town halls can be a forum where there is a clear intention to give time and space to hear every voice on a given topic.
The experience of being heard can go a long way toward acceptance of a decision that goes against what I want to happen. When I feel that I have had the opportunity to express myself fully, and I feel the self-respect that comes from being able to do so, I can much more easily accept whatever the decision may be, even if I disagree with the outcome.
Might this simply be a return to respectful dialogue? In early April, the organization A Peace of Mind set up a studio at a leadership conference focused on cultivating civil discourse. They asked participants, “How have you cultivated civil discourse in the past year?” The responses were wide-ranging, and they provide numerous examples of what people can do to promote this practice.
One participant said: “I try to really learn about the speaker’s perspective and not just wait for them to pause so I can jump in and talk.” What a difference this could make toward returning to an experience of civil discourse that is respectful and constructive and that does not separate and divide.
As we move forward to the 2018 national elections, and then on to the 2020 presidential elections, what are ways that we each can be sure that those voices, particularly of people with whom we disagree, are heard? What community forums might we create to give people an opportunity to fully express their beliefs and concerns?
In addition to creating the forums, it helps to prepare people for these conversations. That is what we do at Sacred Discourse, following a relational framework that supports a shared intention to leave the others in a conversation feeling more whole, inspired, and connected after the conversation. Our framework begins with a commitment to hear all the voices, because without including everyone, we cannot move forward together.
Tom McSteen is founder of Sacred Discourse.
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A novel approach to Parkinson's disease
A novel approach to Parkinson's disease
Credit: Janelle Drouin-Ouellet
When scientists study the neuronal mechanisms responsible for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, they can open the door to promising new approaches to treating those diseases with drugs.
But when a person with Parkinson's dies, looking at their reveals little about the inside and offers only a glimpse into the end stages of the . In addition to barely surviving in a laboratory culture, do not regenerate.
Even when scientists study the stem cells of a disease Parkinson's patient, which do regenerate, they face another drawback: employing can not replicate the age-dependent mechanism of the disease.
Now a neurobiologist at Université de Montréal is hoping to overcome these limitations.
Janelle Drouin-Ouellet first became interested in Parkinson's while doing her Ph.D. at Université Laval, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, where she started collecting skin samples from people with the disease.
She then left with her 30 samples for Sweden, to contribute to the development of new neural reprogramming technology in the laboratory of University of Lund researcher Malin Parmar, a pioneer in the field.
Building up a stock of cells
At UdeM, Drouin-Ouellet recently took up a post as assistant professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy, where she is reprogramming neurons from skin samples of elderly people with Parkinson's disease and transforming them into , or neurons.
Her new technique offers a novel approach to understanding Parkinson's: it makes it possible to see how brain cells change over the course of the disease.
"The advantage of using skin cells is that they are easily accessible and they multiply, which allows us to build up a stock of cells with the same genetic material as the patients' brains," said Drouin-Ouellet.
And with cell reprogramming, it is possible to obtain cells that show signs of disease and maintain the signature of the donor's age-related cells, she added.
"My work is aimed at designing a model of direct cellular reprogramming of patients' cells to study the neuro-inflammatory component of Parkinson's disease and eventually identify new pharmacological targets," the researcher explained.
"To do this, the samples will be reprogrammed into brain immune cells—or microglia—to see how they evolve with the disease and what role they play in neuronal death."
More specifically, the researcher is forcing the expression of genes important for brain cell function into skin cells; she inserts the genes into a lentivirus, causing them to be expressed in the cell. This process converts the skin cell into a brain cell in just a few weeks.
Potential clinical applications
The innovative approach Drouin-Ouellet wants to develop fits the trend towards personalized medicine: it could someday be possible, from a simple or urine sample, to study the response of neurons to a treatment and find the best therapeutic solution for each patient.
"In more than 90 percent of cases, we do not know what caused Parkinson's disease in the patient, and given the potential heterogeneity of the causes or forms of the disease the response to a drug would also be heterogeneous," said Drouin-Ouellet.
"My goal is to create subgroups of people who have the same molecular expression profile."
In the short term, the use of the reprogramming model will make it possible to refine the selection of patients before conducting and verifying the patients' response to therapy, she added.
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Conversion of brain cells offers hope for Parkinson's patients
Citation: A novel approach to Parkinson's disease (2020, December 7) retrieved 18 January 2021 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-approach-parkinson-disease.html
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Archive | January 2013
Flying over Taurus-Littrow
Can you find the Moon?
A puzzle for you this week. Can you tell the difference between a moon, a planet and minor planet? Below are images of craters on our Moon, Vesta and Mercury but which is which? Superficially very similar but there are differences. Click on the letters below for links to reveal the answers.
Don’t peek until you have had a guess!
a b c
Proclus lava flow
I was exploring Proclus crater recently and spotted a diamond-shaped flow of lava in the south-western region which is shown below.
Proclus crater is about 28km in diameter and is one of the brightest craters on the Moon, second only to Aristarchus. It has a bright ray system which is asymmetric, probably caused by a shallow-angle impact.
NAC strip: M104211600RC Overview of lava flow.
Edge of lava flow showing cracks, melt pools and boulder erosion.
‘Incoming!’ LPOD lunar photo of the day, 31 Jan 2006
Has a good overview of the creation of Proclus crater and its asymmetric ray system.
Two views of Rupes Recta
Frank McCabe’s drawing using a
13.1” f/6 Dobsonian telescope
LRO view
from ACT-REACT Quick Map
The LROC image was taken at a much higher illumination angle but lunar features clearly match and the amount of detail in the drawing is remarkable. In these images the trio of overlapping craters Thebit, Thebit A and Thebit L are to the left of Rupes Recta and Birt crater is to the right. |
و رفعنا لک ذکرک محمدﷺ
January 18,2021, ,Weather : °
Messengers of Allah Being a Human Being- 2
16 Aug 2018
Messengers of Allah Being a Human Being- 2
By Syed Abul A'ala Maududi (b.1903 –d.1979)
We initiated your creation, then We gave you each a shape, and then We said to the angels: 'Prostrate before Adam.') . They all prostrated except Iblis: he was not one of those who fell Prostrate. (Al-Quran 7:11)
These verses should he read in conjunction with (al-Baqarah 2: 30-9). The words in which the command to prostrate before Adam is mentioned may give rise to the misapprehension that it was Adam as such who is the object of prostration. This misapprehension should be removed by what has been said here. The text makes it very clear that prostration before Adam was in his capacity, as the representative of all mankind and not in his personal capacity.
The successive stages of man's creation mentioned in the present verse ('We initiated your creation, then We gave you each a shape'), means that God first planned the creation of man, made ready the necessary materials for it, and then gave those materials a human form. Then, when man had assumed the status of a living being, God asked the angels to prostrate before him. The Qur'an says: And recall when your Lord said to the angels: 'I am about to create man from clay. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit then fall You down in prostration before him' (Sad 38: 71-2).
Mention has been made in these verses, though in a difterent way, of the same three stages of creation: man's creation from clay; giving him a proportionate human shape; and bringing Adam into existence by breathing into him God's spirit. The following verses also have the same import:
And recall when your Lord said to the angels: 'I am about to create man, from sounding clay moulded into shape from black mud. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you all down in prostration before him' (al-Hijr 15: 28-9). 1
Noah (A.S.) as a Human Being
“I do not say to you that I possess Allah's treasures, nor that I have access to the realm beyond the ken of sense-perception, nor do I claim to be an angel. Nor do I say regarding those whom you look upon with disdain that Allah will not bestow any good upon them. Allah knows best what is in their hearts. Were I to say so I would be one of the wrongdoers.'” (Quran: 11:31)
This is the answer to their objection that he was no more than a man like themselves. Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) admitted this: In fact I am a man and I never claimed to be more than this. My only claim is that God has shown me the right way of knowledge and action and you are welcome to test this in any way you like. But instead of this, you are asking me questions about the Unseen, though I never claimed to have its knowledge. You ask me to produce such things as can be produced only by that person who possesses God’s treasures and I never claimed to possess them. You object that my physical life is like that of other men, though I never claimed that I was an angel and not a man. The true test of my claim is that you should ask me about the true creeds, the principles of morality and culture and not about frivolous things about the future events for I never claimed to possess their knowledge.2
“But the notables among his people had refused to believe, and said: "This is none other than a mortal like yourselves who desires to attain superiority over you. Had Allah wanted (to send any Messengers) He would have sent down angels. We have heard nothing like this in the time of our forebears of old (that humans were sent as Messengers). He is a person who has been seized with a little madness; so wait for a while (perhaps he will improve)." (Al-Quran 23:24-25)
There has been a common deviation that a human being cannot be a Prophet, and a Prophet cannot be a human being. That is why the Quran has refuted this wrong conception over and over again, and has stated forcefully that all the Prophets were human beings and that a human being only could be sent as a Prophet to human beings. For details, see (Suras Al-Aaraf Ayats 63, 69); (Yuonus, Ayat 2); (Houd, Ayats 27-31); (Yousuf, Ayat 109); (Ar- Raad, Ayat 38); (Ibrahim, Ayats 10-11); (An-Nahl, Ayat 43), (Bani Israil, Ayats 94-95); (Al-Kahf, Ayat 110); (Al-Anbiya, Ayats 3, 34); (Al-Mominoon, Ayats 33-34, 47); (Al-Furqan, Ayats 7, 20); (Ash-Shuara, Ayats 154, 186); (Ya-Sin, Ayat 15), (Ha Mim Sajdah, Ayat 6) along with the relevant E.Ns. 3
The notables among Noah's own people, who had refused to follow him, responded: 'We merely consider you a human being like ourselves.31 Nor do we find among those who follow you except the lowliest of our folk, the men who follow you without any proper reason. (Al-Quran 11:27)
The same foolish objection was being raised by the people against the Prophet (peace be upon him). They argued like this: You are a man like us: you eat and drink, you walk and sleep and have a family, and there is nothing in you that might show that you have been sent by God. (See E. N. Surah Yaseen).4
“Do you wonder that admonition should come to you from your Lord through a man from amongst yourselves that he may warn you, that you may avoid evil and that mercy may be shown to you?” (Al-Quran 7:63)
Hud (A.S.) as a Human Being
The notables among his people who had refused to believe and who denied the meeting of the Hereafter, and those whom We had endowed with ease and comfort in this life,35 cried out: "This is no other than a mortal like yourselves who eats what you eat and drinks what you drink. If you were to obey a human being like yourselves, you will certainly be losers. (Al-Quran 23:33-34)
Some commentators have wrongly opined that the chiefs exchanged these remarks against the Messenger between themselves. These remarks in fact were addressed to the common people. When the chiefs felt that the message was spreading among the common people and there was a real danger that they would be influenced by the pure character of the Messenger and that their superiority then would automatically come to an end, they began to delude them by raising such objections against him. It is worthwhile to note that both the chiefs of the people of Noah and the chiefs of the people of Aad accused their Messengers of the lust for power but as regards to themselves, they thought that power and prosperity were their inherent rights and they were in every respect entitled to be the chiefs of their people.5
He said: '0 my people! There is no folly in me; rather I am a Messenger from the Lord of the universe. I convey to you the messages of my Lord, and I give you sincere advice. Do you wonder that an exhortation should come to you from your Lord through a man from amongst yourselves that he may warn you? (7:67-69)
They said: “Had our Lord so willed, He would have sent down angels. So we deny the Message you have brought.” (Al-Quran 41:14).
Salih and Shoeb (A.S.) as Human Beings
They replied: "You are nothing but one of those who are bewitched; you are no different from a mortal like us. So produce a sign if you are truthful. (Al-Quran 26:153-154)
“They said: "You are no more than one of those who have been bewitched, you are only a mortal like us. Indeed we believe that you are an utter liar.” (Al-Quran 26:185-186)
Musa and Haroon (A.S.) As a Human Being
Pharaoh and his notables said about Musa (Moses) and Haroon (Aaron);
They said: "Shall we put faith in two mortals like ourselves1 when their people are slaves to us?" (Al Quran 23:47)
All Prophets (A.S.) as Human Beings
“Their Messengers told them: "Indeed we are only human beings like yourselves, but Allah bestows His favour on those of His servants whom He wills. (Al-Quran-14:11)
That is, "No doubt we are human beings like you but it is Allah's will that He has chosen us from among you and blessed us with the knowledge of the Truth and keen discernment. And this is Allah's will and He has full powers to bestow anything on anyone He wills. We are not in a position to ask Him to send that blessing to you or to anyone else: nor can we deny the realities which have been shown to us." 6
“They replied: "You are only a human being like ourselves. You seek to prevent us from serving those whom our forefathers have been serving all along. If that is so, produce a clear authority for it."- (Al-Quran-14:10)
The disbelievers meant to imply: You are a human being like us in every respect: you eat, drink and sleep like us and have wife and children like us. You feel hungry and thirsty, and suffer from heat and cold, disease and calamities like us. In short, you have every human limitation like us, and we see nothing unusual and extraordinary in you to induct us to accept you as a Prophet and believe that God communicates with you and sends His angels to you.7
1. Surah Al-A'raf, Explanatory Note 10
2. Surah Hud E. N. 37
3. Surah Al-Muminun N. 26
4. Surah Hud E. N. 31
5. Surah Al-Muminun N. 36
6. Surah Ibrahim (14) E.N. 21
7. Surah Ibrahim (14) E.N. 19
(Translated from Urdu book Seerat e Sarwar Alam, Vol. 1)
Towards Understanding Quran
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The latest study done by the American Institute of Stress shows that a whopping 77 percent of respondents in the US regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress, and that 48 percent of respondents feel that their stress has increased over the last five years. Money and work were cited as the leading cause of stress by 76 percent of respondents, with 30 percent claiming they were ‘always’ or ‘often’ stressed at work. But did you know that chronic stress can often cause the same sorts of symptoms attributed to depression? In fact, according to many scientific studies, depression and anxiety-type symptoms are actually just part of a ‘stress spectrum’ of disorders that includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and even some personality disorders. Being able to figure out the difference between chronic stress, which can make anyone occasionally feel down, moody, lethargic and a bit ‘blue’, and true feelings of depression, which are normally rooted in difficult childhoods, is key to working out the best way of dealing with the problem, and getting your mojo back. So how can you know if you’re stressed, or depressed? Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following questions, to find out:
1) Are you having trouble sleeping? 2)
Do you feel sad and hopeless?
3) Are you having difficulties remembering what you ate for supper yesterday, or where you put your car keys?
4) Is it really hard for you to make a decision?
5) Do you feel completely overwhelmed by life, and all the things you have to do, and all the responsibility you have to carry?
6) Are you spending more and more time by yourself?
7) Do you feel burned-out?
8) Have you run out of energy?
9) Do you feel anxious or nervous about what’s coming next?
10) Are you beating yourself up about all the things you can’t seem to be getting on with, or doing right?
11) Feeling angry about your external circumstances, frustrated and tense?
12) Feeling angry about your internal, personal challenges and difficulties?
13) Do you feel like you can’t overcome the difficulties in your life?
14) Do you feel like YOU are the difficulty in your life?
15) Are you waiting for the tough time to pass?
16) Have you given up on ever seeing the good times roll again?
17) Are you experiencing troubles functioning on the job, in class, or when doing your regular chores?
18) Are you finding it hard to get out of bed?
19) Do you sometimes find it hard to breathe, or catch your breath?
20) Do you sometimes just wish it would all end?
If you answered mostly ‘yes’ to the even numbers: then you’re probably more stressed than depressed, and once you improve or change your stressful circumstances, the chances are good that you’ll bounce right back. You need to concentrate on finding out what’s stressing you out, and start thinking about how you can do things a bit differently. Maybe, you need to consider switching jobs, getting more sleep, or finding ways to cut your costs. If you answered mostly ‘yes’ to the odd numbers then you’re probably more depressed than stressed.
Depression hangs around for much longer than ‘stress spells’, and it can also feel like it just lands on you out of nowhere, even if life is going swimmingly. But really? Depression is always triggered by something, and the ‘something’ that usually flips the depression switch is hanging out with people who make you feel unimportant, unloved and invisible. If you answered mostly ‘yes’ to everything then you really need a holiday, ASAP! Getting to grips with the real, underlying causes of depression can be pretty challenging, especially if you’re also experiencing a lot of chronic stress at the same time. But the following things will help you start to turn things around, regardless of whether you’re depressed, or just stressed:
1. Make sure you eat right, sleep enough and exercise regularly.
2. Build some R+R time into your daily routine: sit and watch a beautiful sunset; take a few minutes to talk to God; take a walk with a good friend; watch some funny videos on Youtube.
3. Check to see why you’re getting down and depressed: is it because you’re dealing with difficult circumstances (stress) or because you’re dealing with difficult people (depression), or both?
4. And last but not least take your problems back to God, and ask Him to help you find the solutions.
All of us get stressed from time to time, but take heart: whether you’re stressed or actually depressed, the ‘down’ times don’t last forever. Once we figure out why we’re getting down, and take steps to start making the necessary changes to our lives, we usually find that hard as it was to go through all that black stuff, there were actually some very big presents waiting for us on the other side.
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Overview | Kings Norton local history | Birmingham City Council
Scheduled maintenance - Housing online
St nicolas church and the saracens head 1959 photograph
Kings Norton has a long and rich history with some evidence to show prehistoric and iron age use of the area. It is during the Anglo-Saxon era that permanent use of Kings Norton is first recorded historically.
In the Doomsday Book the area is called ‘Nortune’ of Bromsgrove and over the next centuries the manor of Kings Norton had many owners and leaseholders until it was separated from Bromsgrove in 1564. It remained a royal manor until 1804.
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vote online
(Image: Getty/Mack15)
Every time election season comes around, the same question crops up again and again: why can’t we just vote online? We can shop, order takeaway and request an Uber from our phones; why can’t we vote over the internet as well?
The main reason: maintaining the security and integrity of elections is actually a lot more complicated than it seems. But let’s take a closer look.
The argument against
While we can secure things like online banking to a reasonable degree, our elections are based on the principle of anonymity and this makes it far more challenging to protect them. Our online banking systems permanently record how much people spend and where, so that we can verify whether our balances are correct. But a record of each person’s vote would be extremely limiting to democracy because it would open up the door to peer pressure and coercion. This could stop people from truly expressing their democratic will.
The need to keep elections anonymous brings up some major problems: without records, how can we ensure that the final vote tally is an accurate representation of what the people want? How do we know that the result hasn’t been meddled with by a political party or a foreign power?
In paper-based voting systems, we rely on simplicity and having observers from each side at every step of the process. This has been relatively effective at preventing large-scale compromises and errors. When we use electronic and internet-based voting systems, we can’t see what’s actually going on inside the computers and servers, and the vast majority of the electorate doesn’t have the specific knowledge to understand the technical processes that underlie these systems.
Electronic and internet-based systems also open up the possibility for widespread election tampering that could slip by undetected, corrupting the entire system. This isn’t feasible in a paper-based election because it would require collusion between far too many people, which would surely be discovered.
Even the best electronic and internet voting systems introduce the slight risk of an utter disaster and the public losing faith in the validity of elections. While paper elections have their flaws, these flaws tend to be minor in comparison.
But what about current online voting?
New South Wales already has internet voting for its state elections, although the use is restricted to those with disabilities, people who live far from polling places, and those who are overseas. The NSW system is hardly a great advertisement for the online voting process, having suffered from significant technical issues ahead of the last election.
Since only a small proportion of people use the online system in its current form, it’s not a huge threat to the integrity of NSW elections. This is because hacking the system and tampering with its relatively small number of votes is unlikely to affect the overall outcome. If the system were expanded, then we would have cause for fear.
Then there’s Estonia… Though around a dozen countries around the world have introduced online voting in some form, Estonia was the first to introduce it in a permanent national context. Estonia introduced online voting in 2005 and 44% of votes in this year’s parliamentary elections were cast using the system. Isn’t this proof that it’s possible?
Well, firstly: cybersecurity experts still have significant criticisms about the system. And secondly: there are significant infrastructural and governmental differences between Estonia and Australia. To start with, Estonia has a nationwide digital identification system. Each person’s identity card includes cryptographic keys which can be used to digitally sign documents with the same legal weight as a handwritten signature. This is a fundamental part of the country’s online voting process.
Australia has a number of separate online identification systems like myGovID, Govpass and the Australia Post Digital iD, however they either lack the ability to perform digital signatures or they have not seen widespread adoption. There would need to be a significant overhaul to these systems before we could have Estonian-style elections.
The fact that we have three half-baked systems rather than one effective digital ID brings up another point…
Is Australia really up to the job?
Let’s take a quick walk down memory lane and examine some of the government’s recent IT infrastructure projects. There’s the much-derided NBN, which has been an utter failure at bringing high-speed internet to the country. Then My Health Record, which was plagued with privacy and security concerns. And let’s not forget the technical flaws which led to tens of thousands of Australians being harassed in Centrelink’s robo-debt campaign.
There is an incredible amount at stake when we vote, with other countries and interest groups constantly trying to influence the result in their favour. Considering just how critical our elections are, and our government’s past record on IT projects, do you really trust our politicians not to screw up online voting?
Peter Fray
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Editor-in-chief of Crikey |
Why Montessori pedagogy is not for everyone
More and more schools and parents have realized that some aspects of conventional education have become obsolete. Therefore, it is time to discover new pedagogical methods in order to give our children the best possible education. However, the different pedagogies that exist today diverge a lot from each other, so when choosing a method it is possible that both parents and educators have many doubts.
montessori pedagogy
One of the most popular pedagogical methods today is the Montessori pedagogy. Although it has existed for many years, there are many parents who nowadays consider whether this type of education is the most appropriate for their children, both inside and outside the home. As long as you know this educational method better we tell you what it is for and for whom it is oriented, as long as you can decide if it is the most appropriate according to the idea that you have of education or of the objectives that you have consider essential for your children.
What is the Montessori method?
The Montessori methodology is usually very well considered among the schools that apply it throughout the world. However, it is not indicated for everyone. This method is to organize and arrange the classroom or the room of the child, so that from baby the child have the freedom to move freely through a space prepared for him and can decide what is interests him and what he wants to learn in more detail.
Thus, all the elements that make up the room are designed to serve as learning to the child. It will simply be he who chooses what he wants to see or learn in each moment. Adults, parents or teachers, are there as guides to help them as soon as they have doubts, if they have not been able to solve them by themselves, and to direct them towards the appropriate answers with greater freedom than with one of the traditional methods.
The material is very concrete and is fully studied, so it is a closed method that does not admit big changes. There are fewer students in the classroom than in a conventional school, which allows the teacher to have more time to guide the child when making their own discoveries and learning with those books and materials they have in class. The fact of having a closed material is that it has been very studied by professionals of the pedagogy and this reduces the margin of error in many cases.
As the child grows older, other basic subjects are introduced to him so that he can have the same common knowledge as the conventional schools and thus be prepared to face the knowledge and exams that will be required for the secondary, high school and the university studies in the future.
Is the Montessori method suitable for my children?
The Montessori pedagogy has shown very good results and is considered one of the ways to educate the world’s best children. However, not all students are equal, so perhaps this methodology does not end up being the most appropriate for your children, both inside and outside the home.
montessori method
Thus, the fact that the child can freely choose what to learn within well-studied materials and distributed in the room or in the classroom is not the best way to stimulate your child. There are children who lose interest and who need a push when choosing an activity. In addition, there are children who need more support than others when it comes to focusing or looking for information, so this method can be overwhelming or boring.
It is likely, then, that these children need more attention from the teacher or the adult, which will not allow them to carry out the Montessori pedagogy adequately, since they will not have this freedom to which they aspire when looking for information and obtain knowledge in an autonomous way, even when they are small.
In addition, giving children a lot of autonomy, if not done in a controlled manner, may generate a greater sense of confidence in themselves than the real one, so in some cases they think they can do more things alone than they can. They imagine and stop asking for help when it is necessary, causing them to have less confidence in adults or educators, thus losing the possibility of learning new things from them and generating a greater bond and proximity.
Therefore, each child has special needs and there are many different methodologies both to be applied at home and at school. Dedicate yourself the time you need to know them better and determine which will be the best for your children, so that you can give them the education you consider most convenient and feel comfortable at all times with this methodology. |
Beating Your Biological Clock
Click Here to download Beating Your Biological Clock in PDF format.
Tests for Ovarian Reserve
Biological_Clock_cover.1Since the decline in fertility as a woman passes into each decade of life is strictly related to the aging of her ovaries (and consequently her eggs), considerable effort has been made in the past to try to develop tests to determine ovarian reserve. “Ovarian reserve” simply means the number of eggs your ovary has in reserve. The greater your ovarian reserve, the more time is left on your biological clock. In the past, tests to measure ovarian reserve were not really useful. These included day three FSH and estradiol, day three inhibin, the Clomid challenge test, and even ultrasound evaluation of ovarian size. None of these tests were predictive at all.
FIGURE 2: Hormonal Control of a normal menstrual cycle.
FIGURE 2: Hormonal Control of a normal menstrual cycle.
Antral Follicle Count
None of the previously described tests achieve the accuracy, simplicity, and reproducibility that we have found with ultrasound-performed antral follicle counts [see video] for ascertaining where you are on your biological calendar. The ultrasound determination of antral follicle count is the same at any time during the cycle, is independent of birth control pill usage or other hormone administration, and is very easy to have performed by any radiology center or gynecologist with a relatively modern ultrasound machine. The best preparation for this test is to have a very good understanding of just how your ovary works, how your eggs are formed, how they die and diminish over your reproductive life span, and just what it is that the radiologist, or the technician, or the gynecologist, will be looking at when he or she performs, during a routine ultrasound examination, your antral follicle count.
The procedure is extraordinarily simple for any doctor or technician to perform, but only if they are aware of its significance — most are not. Any woman can obtain an easy estimate of when she should or should not begin to be concerned about her biological clock. A new (and expensive) blood test, called “antimullerian” hormone, or AMH level, also measures antral follicle count, but in a different way than simple ultrasound.
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College of Computational and Natural Sciences
Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science (or biological science) and physical science. Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth science. These branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches (also known as fields). As empirical sciences, natural sciences use tools from the formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, converting information about nature into measurements which can be explained as clear statements of the “laws of nature”.
Modern natural science succeeded more classical approaches to natural philosophy, usually traced to ancient Greece. Galileo, Descartes, Bacon, and Newton debated the benefits of using approaches which were more mathematical and more experimental in a methodical way. Still, philosophical perspectives, conjectures, and presuppositions, often overlooked, remain necessary in natural science. Systematic data collection, including discovery science, succeeded natural history, which emerged in the 16th century by describing and classifying plants, animals, minerals, and so on. Today, “natural history” suggests observational descriptions aimed at popular audiences. |
Programming the Hangman Game in Python
My computer science and programming class using Python has a new problem set that involves programming the game Hangman. Part I of the problem involves creating a helper function that takes 1) the secret word and 2) a list of guesses, and returns either True or False depending on if the word has been guessed. The function structure will look like the following.
def word_guessed(secret_word, guesses):
return <True or False>
The argument secret_word is a string containing the word to be guessed, and guesses is a list of the letters guessed by the player. The function is to return True if the player has guessed the word, and False if the player has not guessed the word.
Iterative / Imperative Approach
My initial thought is to loop through the list of letters in the secret word and check if each letter is contained in the list of guesses. If all the letters in the secret word are in the list of guesses, the secret word has been guessed; otherwise, it has not been guessed. The for loop in Python makes this simple and intuitive. The function can look something like this.
def word_guessed(secret_word, guesses):
guessed = True
for letter in secret_word:
if letter not in guesses:
guessed = False
return guessed
secret_word = 'secret'
guesses = ['s', 'e', 'c', 'r', 'e']
print word_guessed(secret_word, guesses) # False
This solution works brilliantly. I loop through each letter in secret_word and test to see if that letter is in guesses. If it isn't, the word has not been guessed and I immediately break out of the for loop and return False. The functions makes a lot of sense to me, and seems like a good solution.
Python Set / Declarative Approach
Another way to think about this problem, however, is to think of sets and subsets. Wikipedia has a great description of sets in terms of mathematics. The question is asking if the letters that make up the secret word are a subset of the guesses. In other words, are the set of letters in the secret word contained in the set of guesses?
I can use sets in Python to solve this problem in a different way.
def word_guessed(secret_word, guesses):
secret_word_letters = set(secret_word)
return secret_word_letters.issubset(guesses)
secret_word = 'secret'
print word_guessed(secret_word, guesses) # True
I really like this solution, because it focuses on what I want to happen and not on how to do it. This gets into the declarative vs. imperative style of programming. In the first approach when I was iterating through the list of letters in the secret word, I was telling python step-by-step how to determine if the letters in secret_word were a subset of the guesses ( imperative programming ). In this approach using Python sets, I am telling Python I need to know if the letters in secret_word are a subset of guesses, and Python can use any algorithm it wants ( declarative programming ).
Recursion in Python
I could also tackle this problem using recursion in Python. There are many better examples of recursion, but here is the same iterative / imperative solution done using recursion.
def word_guessed(secret_word, guesses):
if len(secret_word) < 1:
return True
return (secret_word[0] in guesses) and \
word_guessed(secret_word[1:], guesses)
secret_word = 'secret'
print word_guessed(secret_word, guesses) # True
I am sure there are other solutions to this problem, but these are the 3 that came to mind. I love the whole imperative vs declarative approach to programming and discovering declarative solutions to problems. Recursive programming is just very cool to me. I embrace it where I can, but would personally avoid it in this case since I think the declarative approach using sets in Python is more meaningful and intuitive. I hope this has been useful, if not entertaining.
There will be other posts about Hangman. This is just the first part of the problem set.
Posted by David Hayden
Koder Dojo |
19 Second Life Facts that You Might not Know
If you have come across the phrase “online virtual reality games” than you must have heard of second life. The game Second Life was first launched in June 2003 by a firm named Linden Lab. The community of Second Life was initially limited. It grew with time and was recorded to have almost 1 million users. Most of the people that play Second Life refers the game to be a role-playing multiplayer online one. But the company and the firm claim that what they have created is not just a game. According to them it is something beyond online gaming. They say that second life has no pre-defined objective.
What Second Life Actually is?
The users that use Second life are not referred as users, they are termed as Residents. The virtual world of Second Life can be accessed in a number of ways. One way of accessing the Second Life is via Linden Labs own client program but if you are unable to access the game form there you can take advantage of alternate Third-party Viewers. Second Life was launched on multiple platforms including Windows x86-32(vista and higher), macOS(10.6 or above) and Linux i686 or x86-64. In order to begin, the residents of Second Life are required to create their virtual representations. These virtual representations are called Avatars. During the course of Second Life the created avatars of a person is able to interact with objects and places of the game as well the other avatars. In Second Life the world is referred to as the Grid. In order to make the Second Life look real, the resident avatars are allowed to explore the grid. They can build their own properties just like in real world. Similarly, avatars can interact with others in group activities or they can work alone depending upon their own choice. The same way they can trade their virtual properties and offer their services to others as well take services from others.
Another astonishing thing about second life is that it has got its own currency which is named as the Linden Dollar. This virtual currency can be exchanged with real world currency. By exchange we mean that you can buy the Linden Dollar from someone outside the game by making any sort of deal of mutual understanding. There is an age restriction for this game. Someone who is below the age of 13 cannot play the game. The players with the age from 13-15 are limited only to a sponsoring institution only. In short, you have to be 16 years old in order to be able to play the Second Life with full features.
The Second Life is built on simple 3D modeling software and therefore allows the residents to shape many objects. Of course, in case you were wondering, the Second Life has its own language as well i.e., the Linden Scripting Language. The language is mainly used for interaction. Then there are additional things like colors, clothes, animations and a lot of gestures. These sorts of stuff are obtained in a couple of ways. Either you can use an external software or simply import them from the others. The copyrights of second life are handled in such a way that the users can have a copy of whatever they do in the game. The disadvantage of this was that customers could borrow anything from the third party and the textures that they used to take from third party was resulting in explicitly. As a result, the Linden Lab changed their rules about it and their new terms of service prevented the users from using the textures from the third party.
Second Life Facts:
If we talk about the facts of second life, here are some Second Life facts:
1. The original name for Second Life was Linden World but the name was changed before beta testing in order to give a more creative and descriptive feel.
2. Length of second life is 4 hours. Out of these four hours, daytime is 3 hours and night is constituted of 1 hour.
3. Moon is always full in the second life.
4. On holidays and festivals, the sun and moon are given special colors and textures with relation to festival and especially on U.S. Holidays.
5. The most important day of the year in second life is April 1st. the April Fool’s day is the most celebrated day.
6. The mascot of the second life is hippo. The mascot is un-official-official one.
7. There are 2 “Easter Eggs” in the Second Life.
8. The logo “the hand” shown throughout the second life is selected because the logo is found in real ancient civilizations.
9. There is a tree named linden. Lime tree in Britain is called linden.
10. The office of Linden lab has moved 3 times.
11. By right clicking the mini-map, the zoom level of the map can be changed.
12. You can create your own events in the Second Life that usually take place in real world. This thing here means that you can arrange a marriage in second life. This is not limited to marriages only.
13. You will not die in the Second Life. When the person behind the avatar dies in the real world, you may not know that in the game immediately. If someone in the game knew the deceased outside the game than he can spread the news and the profile of the deceased is eventually deleted. But a lot of fake deaths have been reported as well. In short, it is possible for you to be alive in the game even after you are not alive in the real world any more.
14. You can have kids and family as well. To give the game a more real look second life allows you to have kids. You can have kids by using different methods from adopting to making and from making to buying a kid.
15. You cannot kill an avatar in the Second Life.
16. Crimes like stealing can be committed but the penalty is quite big. If you are caught stealing in the second life, you can be banned from the game forever.
17. There is no one to control law and order in second life. This means that there is no official police and other similar departments in second life.
18. The laws of second life are based on the real laws in the country of the residence of the human behind the avatar.
19. Natural disasters do take place in the second life as they happen in the real world. By this, it means that it is possible for you to have an earthquake or a flood as it takes place in the real world.
You can arrange fund raising activities in case of disasters. It is used a mode of publicity by different fund raising authorities.
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what is under extrusion-3d printing troubleshooting guide for under extrusion
How to Fix Under Extrusion- What Causes Under Extrusion on Your 3d Prints and How to Fix Them
3D printing is considered to be efficient, cost-effective, and highly customizable. However, as powerful as things manufacturing technique is, it does come with a few flaws and challengers. Without resolving them and finding solutions as soon as you encounter them, you’ll have trouble achieving the results you’re looking for.
Keep in mind that the reason why 3D printing pros have so much experience in technical troubleshooting and improvisation is that so many things can go wrong during the 3D printing process. Furthermore, few problems require just one solution. So as a 3D printing enthusiast you need to get used to doing research and performing small adjustments.
Under-extrusion is one of these problems, but fortunately, it’s one of the easier ones to solve. It isn’t difficult to notice a printed object that didn’t end up as intended due to under-extrusion. For instance, you may spot random holes, a few missing layers, or at least layers that are too thin. In other words, a print that suffered from under-extrusion looks plain awful. In addition, the structure of the print is also severely weakened.
With that being said, we have to ask ourselves: what is under-extrusion, and what causes it? How can we change the settings to fix this serious problem? Let’s find out!
Understanding Under-Extrusion
As you can probably guess from the name, under-extrusion occurs when the hot nozzle doesn’t extrude as much filament material as needed. An object that’s printed with less material than required will contain empty spots inside the layer or miss a layer altogether. You need to learn how to spot the problem and accurately diagnose it. But that’s the easy part. Fixing the problem is more complicated, but not too difficult even if you’re just starting out in the world of 3D printing. So, why and when does under-extrusion occur?
The filament spool is stuck:
The filament material can easily get stuck if it wasn’t wound up correctly. But the 3D printer can also cause this issue if it fails to roll the filament thread correctly. When that happens, the spool will often get stuck and in turn cause so much friction that the motor fails to correctly grip the material when it's being fed to the printer. The result is less material going in or in other words, under extrusion.
The extruder is clogged:
Sometimes when we aren’t careful we’ll notice filament leftovers clogging the head of the extruder. When that happens any new filament material we feed through the extruder will cause additional friction. This friction is troublesome enough to slow the speed at which the material goes to the nozzle, and therefore we get to experience under-extrusion.
However, clogging can also occur inside the feeder motor. So make sure that the motor cog that’s responsible for feeding the filament through the nozzle doesn’t contain any material that doesn’t belong there.
half venom mask 3d printing stl file
The nozzle is clogged:
You need to clean the printer’s nozzle every now and then to keep it in perfect working condition. Filament material can gradually build up and in time it will clog the hole. When that happens, you won’t be able to admire a successful print anymore. A blocked nozzle is one of the most common causes of under-extrusion, so make sure you inspect it and test it. You can do that by pushing the filament by yourself and see how well it passes through the nozzle. If you feel some kind of resistance, or worse the material doesn’t go through at all, then you’re dealing with a clogged nozzle and you have to clean it.
Deformed or bent Teflon tubes:
Some printers use Teflon tubes to unroll the material and push the filament through the print head. If any of the tubes become deformed, there will be more friction applied to the filament. When that happens, there’s too much pressure on the motors of the feeder and that’s what causes the under-extrusion. Take note that Teflon tubes can be warped by overheating due to the printer emitting too much heat. Another common cause is a lack of printer maintenance, especially when using the machine frequently.
The printing temperature is too low:
You always need to pay attention to the printing temperature. If it’s too low while printing fast, you’ll end up with under-extrusion because the flow rate of the material is far greater than the required temperature. The material simply doesn’t melt quickly enough for it to be correctly fed through the nozzle.
Not enough pressure on the material feeder:
Usually, FDM 3D printers enable us to modify the material feeder’s pressure settings. The right pressure is crucial for controlling the amount of force the motor applies to the filament in order to establish a strong grip. If the pressure is too low, that grip is lost and we get to experience another case of under extrusion. Fortunately, the pressure level can be checked. All you need to do is hold the material when the motor is working and if you feel that the grip is being lost and the material slips, you need to increase the pressure.
With that in mind, you also need to verify and adjust the pressure whenever you change the filament. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s recommendations based on the filament’s diameter.
The printing speed is set too high:
Printing an object too fast is another leading cause of under-extrusion. It’s extremely important for the flow rate of the material to match print speed. If the speed is higher than the flow rate, you won’t have enough filament going through the nozzle. If that happens, make sure to lower the speed in small increments until it matches the flow speed.
How to fix the under-extrusion problem?
As you can see, a lot of things can go wrong and cause under-extrusion. While the problem itself isn’t all that complex, it’s challenging because you have to verify so many possible causes. For the 3D printer to work properly, we need to perfectly balance the extruder, hot end, and the printing head so that they work in perfect unison to create the best piece. Anything that goes wrong and ruins the balance between these three elements will throw off your results. To prevent that from happening, or to fix your under-extrusion problem if you already have it, you need to take a number of investigative steps and make adjustments to the printer’s settings.
Inspect the printer and the materials
• Inspect the filament diameter: This is the first thing you should check. Far too many people make this obvious mistake, including the pros, so don’t feel bad about it. For example, if you’re using a filament that is 3mm in diameter, but the slicer is set for a 1,5mm filament, the extruder won’t operate at the correct rate. Even when there’s a smaller variation between the two diameters you can end up with under-extrusion. So, first of all, make sure you buy good-quality filament from a reputable manufacturer or distributor. If that’s out of the way, take a caliper to verify the filament’s diameter. Make sure its value matches the diameter setting on the slicer.
• Inspect the Teflon tubes Since most printers use Teflon tubes due to the materials’ friction reduction characteristics, you need to make sure that they’re perfectly smooth and undamaged. As mentioned earlier, they need to have a perfect path between the filament and the extruder to work correctly. The problem is that these tubes get easily damaged, either due to a lack of maintenance, high temperatures, or because you’re printing a lot. Even when the tubes are just slightly damaged, that’s enough to lead to under-extrusion. So if you spot any problems with the Teflon tube, throw it away and replace it with a brand new one. There’s nothing you can really do to fix it. The other solution is to simply print your project without it.
• Inspect the filament spool: Sometimes the filament gets stuck. The spool needs to be tightened just right to make sure the material is steadily fed into the extruder. However, if you tightened it too much, it’s likely to get stuck sooner or later. When that happens, there’s too much friction inside the feeder and that will cause under-extrusion. If you encounter this problem often, you should start winding the filament by hand and make sure it doesn’t overlap anywhere. The filament has to flow without any interruptions or snags.
• Inspect the nozzle: If none of the above solutions solve your under-extrusion problem, there might be an issue with the nozzle. As mentioned earlier, the nozzle can sometimes get clogged. Luckily, you can unclog it without much difficulty. You don’t have to disassemble it. All you need for starters is a pin. Try to unblock the nozzle by sticking a pin to remove whatever is clogging it. If that doesn’t, then you’ll have to resort to removing the nozzle and cleaning it properly. Chances are you have some filament stuck inside it, so place the nozzle in acetone. If everything fails, it’s time to say your goodbyes and buy a new nozzle.
• Inspect the extruder idler: When something goes wrong with the extruder itself, you’ll have to disassemble it. There’s no shortcut around it. Nearly every single time we’re dealing with a faulty extruder we’re going to also deal with under-extrusion. So if this is your first time doing this, take a deep breath and pay attention to each step you take because you’ll have to reassemble it again. Take notes or pictures if you have to.
Batman 2021 cowl 3d printing stl file
Normally, the extruder is made out of two important components that push the filament to do the nozzle, namely the drive gear and the idler. While the purpose of the gear is to grip the material it can’t do that without a frictionless surface. This is where the idler comes in, allowing the gear to hold the filament against it. This means that there’s a lot of friction for the idle to handle and that force is constant throughout the printing process. As you can imagine, the idler will gradually wear down. When that happens, the extruder can no longer grip the filament. That’s how we get under-extrusion. So make sure to check the idler. As long as you know how a brand new idler is supposed to look like, you’ll be able to identify a worn out idler. If that’s indeed the problem, the solution is to buy a new one.
• Inspect the drive gear: As mentioned, the extruder is mainly made out of an idler and a drive gear. The gear is pushed by the stepper motor. Its teeth are used to grip the material and hold it against the frictionless surface provided by the idler. The filament is pushed gradually towards the hot end nozzle. What can happen here is the gear getting clogged. Sometimes material gets stuck between the gear’s teeth, preventing it from gripping the material further. As you can imagine, this results in under-extrusion. Fortunately, cleaning that drive gear is a simple process. The challenging part is reassembling the extruder once you're done.
Check the settings and adjust them
If you finished inspecting and adjusting the printer’s components and materials and you’re still dealing with the under-extrusion problem, the root of the cause may lie in the printer’s settings.
• Pay attention to the printing temperature: If the temperature doesn’t perfectly match the printing speed, the filament may not melt properly. This will obviously lead to extrusion problems. So check the temperature setting and make sure it matches the filament you’re using.
On the other hand, if the temperature is set higher than the filament’s requirements, you’ll have another problem on your hands. Each plastic reacts in a certain way at set temperatures. If you go beyond their melting point, you may weaken its structure or degrade it in some way. So always make sure you are within the recommended temperature margins.
• Inspect the feeder and monitor it: The first mechanism that pushes the material is the feeder, and you guessed it! The feeder can also cause under-extrusion. Pay attention to it and if you notice that it’s not pushing the filament as it should, you probably need to increase its pressure. However, if you’re uncertain, don’t increase the pressure too much or you’ll end up with a flat filament and a much slower feeding speed.
• Fine-tune the extrusion multiplier: Sometimes the extruder itself doesn’t feed the filament fast enough. If that’s the case, you need to increase the extrusion multiplier. Do it gradually, around 2% at a time, otherwise, you might speed things up to the point of causing a blockage. Furthermore, remember that when you increase the speed you need to increase the temperature as well, or you’ll end up with under-extrusion once again, but this time because of low temperatures.
Final thoughts
As you can see, a lot of things can cause under-extrusion. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, sooner or later you’ll have to deal with it. When the time comes, go through the checklist. Check one possible cause at a time. Don’t rush through the troubleshooting process or you’ll end up working a lot more than you should. And who knows, maybe you’ll discover new causes or solutions and share them with your fellow 3D printing enthusiasts.
batman samurai helmet 3d printing stl file
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Why Was Sperm Launched into Space?
The Doctors discuss the research taking place on how human might successfully reproduce while in space and share that researches have launched sperm into outer space to study how it is affected in this extreme environment. |
Mastering the Wild West
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Cowboys, who are they?
The first cowboys appeared in 1865, after the American Civil War. They worked on ranches (farms), which were located in states such as Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. In summer, cattle were grazed and raised, curbed and collected in the herds of wild bulls, and in the autumn they drove them east, to the railway for sale. The path was not close, for several months the cowboys made a 2,000 km drive.
The danger was present constantly, especially during long hauls. In order to keep the herd of thousands of heads intact, the cowboy had to have the good skills of not only a shepherd, but also a guard, a professional veterinarian and an experienced tracker. They had to protect the herd from wild animals, snakes and Indians; find shelter during a rainstorm or hurricane, and even in the event of a forest fire. Any loud sound could frighten the animals; if this happened, the herd would break loose and rush, blowing everything in its path. Only truly strong and brave people could prevent dangerous chaos. And that was definitely all the cowboys.
The life of cowboys was in many ways similar to the life of Native Americans:
1) They were completely dependent on the natural food of the Great Plains.
2) They constantly moved (cowboys with the goal of herding cattle, Indians – following wild buffaloes).
3) Their food and clothing was made from products obtained from cattle (beef and skin).
4) Like the Indians, cowboys raided animals – collectively.
5) They used certain signals or gestures to communicate over long distances.
Cowboys and Indians
Cowboys and Indians
Real cowboys had to endure a lot of difficulties:
1) winter cold (during hauls)
2) danger from scared or furious cattle or horses
3) dust from hooves
4) rain, hail and the scorching sun on endless plains
5) deep rivers
6) night guards
7) raids of the Indians
8) attacks from cattle thieves
MODERN Cowboys
The era of cowboys did not last long, about 40 years. Rails and roads began to be laid to the most remote ranches. The need for cowboys was gradually dying out. Herds were kept in corrals fenced with wire and fed from feeders. The cowboy profession has been preserved only in some places. But they are no longer those fearless, sprawling guys. Modern cowboys are detailed, sedate people traveling in jeeps and pickups. On some ranches the process of annual driving of horses or cows is considered a very interesting event, sometimes tourists and everyone who wants to enjoy this spectacle are invited there.
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Geographical Term Details
Nature reserve
Definition (
Areas allocated to preserve and protect certain animals and plants, or both. They differ from national park, which are largely a place for public recreation, because they are provided exclusively to protect species for their own sake. Endangered species are increasingly being kept in nature reserves to prevent them from extinction, particularly in India, Indonesia and some African countries. Natural reserves were used once to preserve the animals that landowners hunted, but, in the 19th century, they became places where animals were kept to prevent them from dying out. Special refuges and sanctuaries are also often designated to protect certain species or groups of wild animals or plants, especially if their numbers and distribution have been significantly reduced. (Gemet)
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N/ARoydon Common
Stover Country Park
Thompson Common
Pinkhill Meadow
Nansmellyn Marsh
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Primary homework help world war 2 timeline
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This was done in many ways, from speaking out against the nazis to taking up weapons and fighting.
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Ww ii pbl - mr. Adolf hitler was an austrian-born german politician and the leader of the nazi party. Pupils create identity cards before the day. Officially at war," the daily missourian headline. Immediately download the world war i summary, chapter-by-chapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more - everything you need for studying or teaching world war i. It then writing service names narrowing down a topic, and developing research questions. Not only did the number of female nurses increase significantly during the war, but the roles that nurses played became more critical. Life history of stuff timeline (years 2-7 hass, science, technologies) in this sustainability activity, students select a food item and explore the three primary homework help world war 2 timeline stages of the item's life. Queen elizabeth ii facts, biography & worksheets for kids.
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• Despite world war i's reputation as a senseless bloodbath whose military operations were devoid of any intelligent thought, the period 1914-1918 was history's single largest revolution in military tactics and technologies
• Washington, dc: center of military history, united states army, 1989
• Why is it so forgotten
• Wars and military info such as the civil war, the world wars, korea, vietnam and desert storm, click on the following: from colonies to revolution - french & indian war and the american revolution 19th century america - war of 1812, mexican war, & spanish-american war civil war world war i world war ii
• Is a country of machines
• World war i notes 2
• Mexico relations - council on foreign relations
• The united states was still recovering from the impact of the great depression and the unemployment rate was hovering around 25%
• The sections dealing with the asiatic-pacific and european-african-middle eastern theaters of world war ii were addressed differently than the other conflicts within this document
The world of 1898: the spanish-american war, philippines. American imperialism - united states history - primary resources - scsu. The world remained politically unstable, major cities had been turned to rubble by bombings, and modern weapons combined with germany's attempt to exterminate entire religious and ethnic groups brought death to millions of people. Nara resources archives surviving from world war ii an excerpt copied with permission of the author, gerhard weinberg, from his book a world at arms: a global history of world war ii. World war 2 was the most destructive. There is literally so much that you can do with this unit of work homework help with emperor penguin and it was almost sad to see it come to an end. World war ii lesson plans & activities share my lesson. What the royal family did during the second world war. Mexican war (1846-1848) - pbs invasi. The day before, nazi operatives had posed as polish military officers to stage an attack on the radio station in the silesian city of gleiwitz. Over 400,000 greeks die during the second world war, the vast majority civilians. For references for world war ii adolf hitler timeline - see the first page of the timeline live homework help alabama here. Certainly in comparison with the gloomy predictions to the primary homework help world war 2 timeline pre-war period, the military victory seemed good. Second world war scotland in the twentieth century. Tip of the week: 8 decades college essay help topics of super cool declassified cia maps. Glossary - includes a collection of topic vocabulary with definitions. Dunkirk, and the evacuation associated with the troops trapped on dunkirk, was called a "miracle" by winston churchill. Machine guns of all armies were largely of the heavy variety and decidedly ill-suited to portability for use by rapidly advancing infantry troops. Causes of world war i world war i occurred between july 1914 and november 11, 1918. How did world war ii help the. Primary sources scavenger hunt - national park service. Groups should then work in class to fill out a "how to win a world war - document analysis sheet" (page 2 of the text document) for each document primary homework help world war 2 timeline assigned to them.
Louisiana library homework help:
1. World war 2 for kids/children - what was it like
2. World war ii had an enormous impact on latinos in the united states, including mexican americans
3. Causes of wwi - mania
4. The world war ii history project is a 501(c)(3) organization working to preserve the stories of world war ii veterans - whether allied or axis - for the education of people of all ages across the world
5. America and world war one - history learning site
6. The informant the informant is a student created and run organization designed to inform primary homework help world war 2 timeline tennessee students of the bills being introduced, debated and voted on within the tennessee state legislature
7. Tucker, the second world war (houndmills, basingstoke, hampshire: palgrave macmillan, 2004); james l
8. See world war ii for more details about the dates and events of this war
10 facts primary homework help world war 2 timeline about rationing in world war 2 facts of world. World war two also saw the growth of the blood transfusion service from a primary homework help world war 2 timeline relatively primitive organisation at the start of the war to a sophisticated well-oiled machine at the end, storing blood and distributing it to where it was needed. Wilson cited germany's violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the north atlantic and the mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice mexico into an alliance against the united states, as his reasons for declaring war. Entered world war ii after japanese bombers attacked pearl harbor in hawaii, on december 7, 1941. As reproduced in anita price davis and james m. Search thousands of college and graduate school entries. Alongside our friend or foe (morpurgo) unit, the poetry has gone down an absolute treat with our pupils. In world war ii, the three great allied powers-great britain, the united states, and the soviet union-formed a grand alliance that was the key to victory. An online resource to support use of primary documents, the world war i archive is an electronic repository of primary documents from world war one, which has been assembled by volunteers of the world war i military history list (wwi-l). 1: a collection of source documents and official. During world war one, the role of airplanes and how they were used changed greatly. During world war ii american women took news jobs in the military and defense industry. Facts about rationing in world war 2 6: the pioneers of rationing. Eisenhower briefs american soldiers before d-day. Stokesbury, a short history of world war ii (new york: william morrow and company, 1981); williamson murray and allan r. Churchill to king george vi. Second world war second world war & scotland. This pack includes: topic guide - a pdf introduction to world war 2 that includes information about the countries involved, when it happened and the effects of the war. American factories were retooled to produce goods to support the war effort and almost overnight the unemployment rate dropped to around 10%. Shortly thereafter, president franklin roosevelt asked all citizens to join the primary homework help world war 2 timeline war effort to build a "great arsenal of democracy. Through the marshall plan, 1948 to1952, the united states gave almost billion (more than 0 billion today) in economic support to more than a dozen european countries still recovering from the war. Had battleships that could lob shells weighing as much as a small car over distances up to 25 miles. The imperial war museum wants us all to share stories of relatives who fought in the first world war. Essay women before, during and after world war one bartleby. Around the time of world war ii work for women began to mean something different. In the years leading up to the first world war, the education system had helped prepare children for what would be expected of them. World war ii (wwii) was the most widespread war in history with more than 100 million people serving in military units. Soon the war was filled with blimps, planes, and tethered balloons. The war, especially the effort of the allies to win it, was the subject of songs, movies, comic books, novels, artwork, comedy routines-every conceivable form of entertainment and. Make "shoebox floats" to represent and commemorate soldiers throughout history. Some american military leaders, such as lieutenant gen. The war also saw the first full-scale investigation into mosquito bites. List of american history readings worksheets for high. Undertaken by the home army (armia krajowa, ak), the polish resistance movement, at the time allied troops were breaking through the normandy defenses and the red army was standing at the line of the vistula river.
Homework help for metaphors
Messed up things that happened in world war ii. The reason why war erupted is actually much more complicated than a simple list of causes. Since world war ii in 1974 the australian capital territory schools authority assumed full responsibility for nearly 60 government schools that primary homework help world war 2 timeline were previously under the control of nsw.
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How To Use Green Energy To Heat Your Home
By using green energy, you can save on energy costs and care for the environment. Buying an electric car isn’t the only way to reap these rewards! Read on for information you can use to make your house energy-efficient.
Changing your heating to solar water can reduce the price to heat your water, hot tub and pool. Heating your water with natural gas or electricity is inefficient. However, solar water is inexpensive and more efficient. Making some of these changes will cost you some money up front, but you can recoup some of these costs with tax deductions for using green energy.
Saving energy and money is as simple as closing your curtains. Shading the windows with curtains and blinds will keep out the sun in summer and keep the heat from escaping in winter. Doing both these things will decrease your usage of the air conditioning during the summer because your house will be cooler. The result is a significant energy savings and money in your pocket!
Olored Clothing
During the heat of summer, wear natural-fiber fabrics instead of turning on the air conditioner. Moisture-wicking athletic fabrics pull moisture away from your skin, creating a cooling sensation. You may feel warmer when you wear warm-colored clothing, so wear light-colored clothing in order to use the air conditioner less.
Use window coverings when you’re not at home. This allows your home to be kept cool when you aren’t there, and in addition, it helps keep energy costs down. Usually, the windows facing the south get more sun because of where they are in the house. Try using coverings on all of the windows, such as dark curtains, roman shades, or some roller shades.
Solar Panels
Research solar panels to see if an active or passive set-up is right for your needs. When it comes to active power, the energy is stored for later use, while passive doesn’t need expensive cells in order to store power. Active solar power requires solar panels, cells, and mechanical systems. Passive power uses the simple sun to generate thermal energy to heat your house.
Desktop computers require a lot of energy, so why not opt for a laptop? Making this switch can reduce your power consumption by up to 75%. This is especially true if you are an Internet addict or do heavy word processing. Since laptops are portable, you can use them anywhere.
Pay attention to federal and local rebates associated with renewable energy for your house. Sometimes, you will find that a local utility company can give a rebate for the total price of the upgrades. If not, there might be tax credits or deductions available from the federal or state government. These rebates and credits can substantially reduce the cost of installing green energy technology in your home.
There are many ways you are able to save energy at home, such as replacing furnace filters, or replacing light bulbs. Lead by example and show the easiness of embracing green technology and lifestyle. Remember to start implementing these tips today. |
Edward Crichton
The Last Roman
Rome, Italy
September, 37 A.D.
The streets of Rome are not to be traversed carelessly by night, for all forms of vagabonds dwell within the shadowed corners and narrow alleyways that dominate the city during its nocturnal hours. It is there where many a pickpocket and thief lurk in anticipation, hoping for the simple chance that an aimless passerby would wander their way, and be it known that there were those who would do far worse. But such thoughts were far from the mind of young Marcus Varus, who could think of little else but how brazenly stupid the learned men of Rome actually were.
The thought dominated his mind as he approached the Palatine Hill and the great Temple of Lupercal located beneath. Now the home of the Caesars, legend told that this unassuming mound of earth was where the divine founders, Romulus and Remus, were raised by their adoptive she-wolf nearly eight hundred years ago. It was the place of Lupercalia, one of Rome’s most sacred rituals, and where Varus had come this night to defend with his life.
Where are they? This is where the manuscript said to go.
Varus, old at the age of twenty eight, was a scribe of the highest caliber. He was the personal documentarian, historian, linguist, and advisor to the Caesar himself, Caligula, but most importantly he was proud that Caligula also considered him a friend. As he entered the temple, however, Varus began to resent their friendship, as his most recent assignment to research a point of interest for the Caesar had led him to the precarious position he now found himself in.
Documents of a very strange origin had been discovered deep beneath the Palatine Hill, buried in a hidden chamber that was found during Caligula’s most recent renovation project of the Domus Augusti. They were wrapped around a perfectly round orb the size of a melon and were composed in a shaky hand, as though transcribed moments before death’s cold grip seized hold of the author. They were written in an antiquated dialect of Etruscan, a tribe that had resided North of Rome centuries ago.
When word of the discovery reached the Curia Julia, ambitious senators immediately sent word for both the object and the documents to be brought to the Senate building for inspection. But Varus had been overseeing the renovation project during the initial discovery, and was the first man to analyze the artifacts. In the short time he had with them, he’d held the sphere and attempted to translate the documents himself, but it wasn’t long before the Senate’s sycophants forced both from his possession.
Varus later learned that their linguists had transcribed a message that spoke of a treasure which the co- founder of Rome, Remus, had hidden away beneath the Palatine upon hearing of his brother’s treacherous plan to execute him. Riches were expected that far exceeded anything Rome currently held in its coffers, effectively guaranteeing its fiscal stability for centuries to come. The Senate dispatched its lackeys immediately to secure this treasure to help fund a private coup against the great leader of Rome, a plot Varus had suspected for months, but had only just confirmed.
But the Senate had been wrong.
Upon learning of this treachery from Varus, Caligula had sent him to reanalyze the documents and discover their true contents. What he found hidden in the nearly dead Etruscan language was a message that told of something far more powerful than a simple cache of lost treasure. Where the Senate had read of a treasure in the form of gold, silver, and gems, its reality was of something entirely different.
It hinted at Remus’ association with Druids from northern Germania, me who while currently simple priests, were once rumored to have possessed great power and mystical abilities. Although any magic they may have wielded in the past was long considered extinct and forgotten, the fact remained that those powers were feared by many. If they could indeed summon aid from realms unknown to Rome, the empire’s survival could be in question. Varus only hoped he was in time to stop the traitors from unleashing whatever untold evils the document spoke of.
Finally, with the short run from the Curia Julia completed, Varus entered the temple, bowing in reverence to the sacred tombs ensconced on either side of the small dome, the final resting places of both Romulus and Remus. Early each calendar year, all of Rome would gather outside the small temple to participate in the rituals of Lupercalia, an event meant to promote fertility for young men and women. He thought back to his teenage years, running around the walls of Rome, whipping young girls with bloody goat skins, full of energy and vigor with nothing in front of him but the future.
Varus felt sad that all that was left of those innocent days were distant memories, but forced himself to focus on his duty.
Creeping forward as quietly as he could, Varus found a small hole dug in the center of the magnificent structure. Grabbing hold of a rope, he slowly descended several meters into the dark abyss before making contact with the floor. He then followed a narrow tunnel before he emerged onto a slight ledge overlooking a vast chamber. It was large enough to contain the entire senate floor and Varus marveled at how it had remained undiscovered for so long.
Then he found who and what he was searching for.
Six men stood around two others facing a lone object at the far end of the chamber, their faces glistening in the dim flicker of their torches. It was too dark for Varus to identify any of them, but two were wearing their togas with a broad, purple stripe running along its border, likely identifying them as augurs, Rome’s priests and seers. Their skills at interpreting and analyzing omens made them crucial for directing the future, and decisions were never made unless these omens were read favorably. Varus had never put much stock in their mystical abilities, instead trusting hard work and determination to drive his own fate.
As Varus crept through the shadows, he noticed the rushed dig project had resulted in weak bracings holding back the tons of dirt above the freshly dug tunnel. His eyes panned the walls and ceiling, looking for any way to bring down the hill and crush his adversaries, when the two augurs approached the simply adorned and seemingly harmless altar at the back of the room. They were carrying the orb-like object that had been found with the documents which now exuded a dim greenish-blue glow.
Those below knew little about the object, except that it was adorned with illegible markings, but Varus knew better. His translation that associated Remus with the Druids convinced him that the object was the key to unlocking whatever evil secrets the document described.
Sorcery. Bah! If Druids could utilize such powerful magic, how is it that they no longer possess such power?
It was with this thought that Varus realized the Druids’ destruction perhaps had less to do with the overpowering might of the Roman war machine, and more with their own tampering in such dark realms.
By the time Varus found a cross beam he was certain would collapse the makeshift cavern, the object’s glow suddenly flared into a brilliant blue. His eyes turned towards the incandescent glow, and he found himself unable to turn away from the alluringly beautiful object for he had never before witnessed such a glorious sight.
How could something so beautiful be used for such evils?
As Varus stood there deep in thought, a magnificent blast emanated from the object that shone brighter than the sun itself, accompanied by a sound louder than the roar of a thousand legions’ battle cry. The force of the eruption was enough to knock Varus back against the wall and he knew he was too late.
When his vision cleared, he realized he was right. Emerging from the mist left over from the explosion were
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Magic Writing
Kids, let's try to write a message that will appear as if by magic on paper, using chemistry. You will need a soup bowl, some tincture of iodine, a lemon, some notebook paper, a cup, and an art paintbrush.
Procedure: - pour 1/2 cup water into the bowl - add 10 drops of iodine to the water and stir - squeeze the juice of the lemon into the cup - cut out a smaller-than-bowl-sized section of paper - dip the art brush into the lemon juice and write a message on the paper - let the juice dry on the paper - put the paper in the iodine solution in the bowl
What happens? The paper should turn a blue-purple color everywhere except where the message was written, so that the words are outlined by a dark background. Why? When starch molecules in the paper combine with iodine, the combination is blue-purple in color. But Vitamin C (from the lemon) combines with iodine to form a colorless molecule. The area covered with lemon juice remains unchanged in color because of this.
Kathleen Carrado Gregar, PhD, Argonne National Labs
[email protected]
September 1992 |
The Role of Sport Science in the New Age of Digital Sport
in International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
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As the editors of the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, we observe that more technology-driven studies are being submitted to our journal. Some of these studies are developments of new technological solutions and therefore not within our scope, while others are validating or using technology to gain valuable insights into sport physiology and performance.
Technology-driven digital solutions may provide knowledge beyond what standard measurements have previously allowed. Positioning systems, inertial movement units, and various sensors that measure physiological responses have become both small and accurate enough to provide valid information from athletes’ training and competitions. Many of these digital tools are already used as part of sport practice for various purposes, such as evaluating individual or collective behavior during training or competitions, developing sport-specific benchmarks, and providing a framework for load management, training prescription, and recovery strategies. Although some of these solutions provide helpful scientifically backed decision support, others give nonvalidated information that can either confuse or lead to wrong decision making among practitioners.
The main future possibilities in the new age of digital sport include the following aspects:
1. Measuring physiological and performance parameters during relevant sport-specific situations, thereby gathering comprehensive and complementary data from the daily training and testing process. This work has high relevance for long-term development of athletes. While most previous measurements have been done episodically in the laboratory, smaller and more accurate sensors can now continuously and seamlessly be used in real-life situations, including competitions.
2. Advanced mathematical models that enable intelligent analyses of information from various sources open up possibilities to interpret data beyond standard statistical methods and with more precision than our human capability to observe associations in complex data.
3. Development of digital twins (ie, models that can represent the physiological state of an individual) provides individualized decision support, communicated by “digital coaches” that are designed to motivate to change behavior and thereby improve performance.
However, these possibilities require further development, and there are related challenges as follows:
1. There is a risk of taking cutoffs with too much focus on the possibilities given by technology and data-driven results. We should meet this challenge by solving the same problems with different approaches, being open minded toward data-driven results, testing hypotheses derived from these approaches, and strive to understand the mechanisms underlying the new findings.
2. We should also acknowledge that a good coach is able to observe nuances that measurements cannot detect. Information provided by technology can lack the holistic context needed for taking optimal decisions among athletes and coaches. In this connection, many groups are also measuring more variables than they can digest and/or understand.
3. There is also a risk of losing human interaction by uncritically trusting technology. We have to ensure that digital technology does not replace the human dialogue but facilitates evidence-based discussions between scientists and coaches, as well as between athletes, coaches, and their support teams.
An important consequence for successfully meeting the future of digital sport is to develop good service systems, where valid technological solutions are part of the support system, and where athletes and coaches are well educated on how to use technology optimally as part of their development process. Therefore, sport scientists should critically evaluate digital solutions, their decision support, and the effect they have on improving performance. Here, domain competence is crucial for successfully developing useful products or services, and scientists in the field of sport physiology and performance should play an important role in the multidisciplinary work required for technologically driven projects in sports.
The same issues apply for comparable services in other parts of society, such as the health care and medical sectors. If sport scientists are at the frontiers of handling these issues, we will not only help to digitally transform sport but also be a role model for approaching the new age of digital society.
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Martensitic Stainless Steel: Properties, Grades, and Applications
Martensitic stainless steels are one of the four main types of stainless steels (Austenitic, Ferritic, Duplex, Martensitic). They were developed mainly to satisfy the property requirements for hardness, high strength, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. They are also ferromagnetic, meaning that they can retain their magnetic properties after the magnetic field is withdrawn. Unlike ferritic and austenitic stainless steels, they can be hardened by heat treatment. However, due to their relatively lower chromium content, martensitic stainless steels are not as corrosion resistant as ferritic or austenitic stainless steels [1].
Martensitic stainless steels make up the 400 series of stainless steels. The 410 grade is the base grade and also the most commonly used one. It typically contains 11.5 – 13% chromium, 0.15% carbon, 0.1% manganese and is used in applications such as gas turbines blades and cutlery. 416 is another popular grade. It contains more chromium and manganese with an addition of molybdenum and sulphur/selenium, and it is used to make screws and gears.
In this article, you will learn about:
• The properties of martensitic stainless steel
• Heat treatment of martensitic stainless steel
• The applications of martensitic stainless steel
• Grades & standards
Properties of martensitic stainless steel
Martensitic stainless steels typically contain between 11.5 to 18% chromium, up to 1% carbon, and other elements, such as nickel, selenium, phosphorus, vanadium, and sulphur are added in different grades to achieve specific properties. These steels have a face-centred cubic (FCC) structure at high temperatures, but when quenched during heat treatment, the austenite transforms into martensite with a body-centred cubic (BCC) structure.
Martensitic stainless steels are very amenable to heat treatment as they can be quenched and tempered to achieve improved mechanical properties, such as higher hardness and tensile strength. They are also among the group of stainless steels that are precipitation-hardenable to satisfy certain mechanical property requirements. Although martensitic stainless steels can be hot worked, they do not possess good formability or weldability, but the addition of sulphur can improve their machinability. If the carbon content is low, these steels undergo cold working with relative ease.
Table 1. Properties of selected hardened martensitic stainless steels.
AISI 410
AISI 420
AISI 431
Yield strength at 20 °C
540 MPa
760 MPa
1070 MPa
1650 MPa
1860 MPa
1900 MPa
Poisson ratio at 20 °C
Elong. at 20 °C
16 %
12 %
15 %
5 %
3 %
2 %
Tensile str. at 20 °C
740 MPa
980 MPa
1390 MPa
1790 MPa
1930 MPa
1970 MPa
Elec. cond. at 20 °C
1.68*107 S/m
1.68*107 S/m
1.45*107 S/m
1.57*107 S/m
1.28*107 S/m
1.28*107 S/m
CTE at 20 °C
1.1*10-5 1/K
1*10-5 1/K
1.2*10-5 1/K
1*10-5 1/K
1*10-5 1/K
1*10-5 1/K
Thermal cond. at 20 °C
30 W/(m·K)
30 W/(m·K)
25 W/(m·K)
30 W/(m·K)
15 W/(m·K)
15 W/(m·K)
Melting point at 20 °C
1480 °C
1450 °C
1450 °C
1370 °C
1370 °C
1370 °C
Specific heat capacity at 20 °C
460 J/(kg·K)
460 J/(kg·K)
460 J/(kg·K)
460 J/(kg·K)
430 J/(kg·K)
430 J/(kg·K)
Heat treatment of martensitic stainless steel
The heat treatment of martensitic stainless steels undergoes three processes, namely austenitising, quenching and tempering.
Austenitising involves heating the steel to a temperature between 980 °C and 1050 °C, which puts the steel in its austenitic phase with an FCC crystal structure.
Quenching occurs when the steel is rapidly cooled in air or other media, such as oil, which converts most of the austenite into martensite with a new BCC crystal structure. This newly created martensite is very hard compared to the austenite.
Tempering is when the mechanical properties of the steel are customised. It is a more intricate process than austenitising and quenching. Quenched martensite is not ready for most applications, and so, further heat treatment is required. Tempering involves heating the steel to about 500 °C and maintaining it at that temperature before cooling it in air. Tempering must be done at specific temperature ranges as they affect the mechanical properties of the finished steel, such as tensile strength, elongation and impact resistance.
Figure 1. Steel phase diagram showing the relationship between carbon content and temperature. Martensitic steel takes place at the lower end of the graph. (Fractory
The applications of martensitic stainless steel
Martensitic stainless steels have high thermal conductivity, which makes them suitable for applications that require good heat distribution, such as heat exchangers. Furthermore, their low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) makes them more likely to retain their shape at high temperatures. They are also used in aerospace applications, where a high degree of stiffness is required, thanks to their high Young’s modulus. Below are some applications for some of the common grades of martensitic steels.
Table 2. Typical applications of martensitic stainless steels [1].
AISI Grade
General-purpose martensitic steel. Used for applications where corrosion is mild. Applications include cutlery, steam and gas turbine blades, bushings, etc.
Contains additional sulphur and phosphorus to improve its machinability. Its variant 416Se replaces sulphur with selenium. Applications include screws, gears etc.
Contains increased carbon for improved mechanical properties. Applications include dental and surgical instruments.
Contains increased chromium for better corrosion resistance. Applications include valves and pumps.
Contains added nickel for improved corrosion resistance. Applications include springs.
Contains increased chromium and carbon for improved hardness and corrosion resistance. Applications include measuring instruments, ball bearings, gauge blocks, moulds and dies, etc. It has sub-grades, 440A, 440B and 440C which have varying amounts of carbon to increase/reduce its hardness and toughness.
Grades and Standards of Martensitic Stainless Steel
The chart below shows the various grades of martensitic stainless steels. Grade 410 is the basic martensitic grade, and it contains the least alloying elements of the martensitic family. It has a variant, 410S wherein the carbon content has been lowered to improve its weldability. Most martensitic grades contain no nickel except for the 414 grade, which has some nickel added for better corrosion resistance. Grade 440 has three main variants 440A, 440B and 440C with increasing carbon content respectively for higher hardness but reduced toughness.
Screenshot 2020-10-12 at 15.09.01
Figure 2. The martensitic stainless grades [2].
[1] Garrison Jr, W. M., & Amuda, M. O. H. (2017). Stainless Steels: Martensitic. |
Transforming treatments for Parkinson's disease
A revolutionary approach to targeting and treating walking problems in people with Parkinson's disease is being developed at Northumbria University, Newcastle.
Problems, such as slow and short steps, are very common in Parkinson's and lead to increased risks of falling, as well as reduced mobility and quality of life. However, there is no medication that can completely restore walking ability in people with Parkinson's, therefore physiotherapy is required to intervene.
Dr. Sam Stuart, a senior researcher in the Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation at Northumbria University, acknowledges that while existing physiotherapy strategies do help improve walking among Parkinson's patients, research needs to establish why these therapies work because not all patients are benefitting from this 'one-size-fits-all' approach.
His study, funded by a prestigious Clinical Research Award from the Parkinson's Foundation, will use state-of-the-art digital technology to measure walking and brain activity changes among patients when they are given various internal and external prompts.
Dr. Stuart said: "Numerous physiotherapy strategies have been used, such as stepping over lines on the floor or stepping in time to a metronome beat, to improve walking in Parkinson's. However, these interventions haven't changed in decades and we don't know why walking improves with these physiotherapy techniques. This has led to not all patients benefiting and only short-term walking improvements being seen."
"It is unclear if these strategies are effective with the progression of Parkinson's disease, and we don't know which type of is most effective at different stages of the disease or with more severe walking impairment, such as freezing, which is the inability to keep walking for short periods despite wanting to do so."
"By activating specific brain regions, and analyzing brain activity in response to these physiotherapy strategies using the latest , our aim in this study is to see a change in patients' response at different stages of Parkinson's disease."
Parkinson's is the largest growing neurological disorder in the world, with one in 37 people at risk of developing the disease in their lifetime.
Being able to use specific brain regions to pay attention to different physiotherapy strategies has often been suggested to be the reason why people with Parkinson's can overcome their walking problems, but this has never been tested.
According to Dr. Stuart, finally understanding the reasons why people benefit from these physiotherapy strategies and who benefits most from , will enable healthcare professionals to provide more timely and efficient treatment for people with Parkinson's.
"The strategies we currently provide for patients with Parkinson's don't work for everybody," he said. "It's a bit trial and error so we need more targeted and personalized interventions if we're going to see a real improvement in walking ability among patients. By developing a better understanding of why these strategies work, we can also develop more effective interventions in the future to further improve walking."
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Quick Answer: What Did The Bush Say To Moses?
How old was Moses at the burning bush?
80 years oldHe describes Moses as 80 years old, “tall and ruddy, with long white hair, and dignified.”.
Who saw God face to face in the Bible?
What did God say to Moses in the bush?
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! … “Do not come any closer,” God said.
What were the excuses Moses gave to God?
The next excuse was, “I don’t know what to say.” Yet, in the book of Acts it says, “Moses was great in words and deeds.” The third excuse was “I don’t have any authority or a position.” Number four was “I am not a good speaker” and number five is found in Exodus 4:13, “Oh my Lord, please send someone else.”
How does God reveal himself to Moses?
What does the burning bush symbolize?
However, given the fire is a sign of God’s presence, he who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) the miracle appears to point to a greater miracle: God, in grace, is with his covenant people and so they are not consumed. The current symbol of the Reformed Church of France is a burning bush with the Huguenot cross.
What did Moses say to say yes?
Moses ultimately said “yes” to dependence upon God, rather than paralysis to fear. Moses still experienced fear, but he looked to the Lord, not his fear. We must become immediately obedient in saying yes to the direction of the Holy Spirit, rather than offering excuses.
Did the burning bush talk?
In Exodus 3, Moses is tending to the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro in Mount Sinai, when he sees a bush consumed by flames but not affected by the fire. A voice from the bush rang out claiming to be God and ordering Moses to lead his chosen people to safety.
How long was Moses on the mountain with the burning bush?
What was the name of the burning bush?
Winged spindle treeWinged spindle tree (Euonymus alatus), also called burning bush, in autumn.
What does Yahweh mean?
Where does the burning bush come from?
Euonymus alatus, known variously as winged spindle, winged euonymus, or burning bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to central and northern China, Japan, and Korea. The common name “burning bush” comes from the bright red fall color.
What did God ask Moses?
The Bible says that the Israelites asked God for help and that he sent them a leader: Moses. … God asked Moses to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses was at first reluctant, thinking that the Israelites would not believe he had heard the word of God.
Where did God give the Ten Commandments to Moses?
What does Matthew 7 21 mean?
This verse states that some of those who claim to be good Christians will be rejected by Jesus if they have not carried out the will of God. |
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Python is an efficient object-oriented programming language, that is used for making CGI scripts and web applications. It has very clear syntax and it supports third-party modules - groups of variables as well as subroutines, that could be called in a script, saving you time when you are writing an application, as you are able to call a module instead of writing the code for all of the jobs that the module performs. Some examples of the software which you can generate using Python are database management interfaces, browser games, online education instruments, cms, scientific data processing tools, and many others. You're able to use Python script software in your sites even if you have applied another type of web programming language to create them, which will allow you to incorporate a number of attributes.
Python in Shared Hosting
As all of our servers come with a Python Apache module installed, you can use any script or an app written in this language with any of the Linux shared hosting that we supply and it will run perfectly. If you'd like to add extra characteristics to your sites, you're able to use ready-made Python modules which you find on third-party sites, you can write your own program code if you have the programming skills or you can combine both so as to get the best of the language. You can also combine Python with various other website development languages so as to have a custom-made solution for your site that will both meet your requirements about what the site has to do, and also improve the overall satisfaction of your visitors in terms of what they get. |
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Ocean Pollution
1 additions to document , most recent about 2 years ago
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Nov-02-18 Different perspective
Better Research About Sea Turtles Can Help Gauge Ocean Plastic Pollution
October 1st, 2018 by
50 years of plastic waste has brought the world’s oceans to a tipping point in which, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight). Sea turtles are a specific point of concern about ocean plastics, as the intestinal tracts of these large marine animals get blocked when they mistake soft plastics for jellyfish. Headlines about sea turtle deaths on the world’s beaches and community reactions seem to come at us daily. Because of their propensity to ingest debris, sea turtles can be bioindicators of the global marine debris problem, helping us to understand the extent of the plastic problem in our world’s oceans. However, recent research suggests that more can be done to grasp the effects of plastics and other refuse on sea turtles.
sea turtles
Scientists and the public in general are troubled about the increase in ocean trash and the effects of plastics on marine life. Ingestion of marine debris is an increasingly significant problem for marine wildlife and is known to affect more than 170 marine species worldwide. Many marine creatures can’t distinguish common plastic items from food, so they starve because they can’t digest the plastic that fills their stomachs.
Scientific literature about sea turtles tends to correlate their overall health and longevity to the stability and sustainability of the marine environment. Jennifer Lynch of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published a paper titled, “Quantities of Marine Debris Ingested by Sea Turtles: Global Meta-Analysis Highlights Need for Standardized Data Reporting Methods and Reveals Relative Risk.” In it, she argues that research on turtles over the last 50 years has often only focused on the presence or absence of debris while neglecting to note the amount of garbage found in each turtle gut. Lynch concludes from her own research that trash in turtles should really be handled no differently than any other kind of toxicological issue.
sea turtles
The Various Effects of Plastics on Sea Turtles
Toxicologists often paraphrase Paracelsus, a Renaissance physician who emphasized the value of observation in combination with received wisdom, by saying “the dose makes the poison.”
When doctors determine the risks of environmental toxins on a patient, they base their conclusions on the amount of the substance in question and the patient’s attributes such as weight, age, and size. Lynch explains that, while some people have difficulty imagining plastic as a toxic substance, for turtles, plastic very well could be poisonous to marine life.
“But right now, we don’t know the thresholds,” she said in an article for Science Daily. “We don’t know at what point plastic causes physiological, anatomical, or toxicological impacts on these creatures.”
But the problem may be easier to measure than other exposure issues, provided that the right data is gathered in future studies. Turtles could eventually provide important clues to where garbage is worst. Her research provides some suggestions for improving the science of turtle research.
The NIST researcher says that future sea turtle studies should include all of the following and identify:
• whether or not toxins were discovered in a sea turtle’s gut
• how much trash was discovered in the turtles’ digestive systems
• physiological details like whether the animal was a small hatchling or a large adult
• the turtle species, as different kinds of sea turtles travel in different parts of the oceans
CleanTechnica Exclusive with Dr. Jennifer Lynch
I contacted Dr. Jennifer Lynch after the recent publication of her research in Environmental Science and Technology. I was curious about the need for the public to understand the toxicology inherent in plastic pollution — how plastic is derived from chemicals that are now playing a large role in the functions of our ocean ecosystems.
Here are her replies.
“Does the public need to know about toxicology of plastic pollution?” Yes, I think it’s important for people that use and discard materials to be aware of what chemicals those materials are composed of, what they break down into, and what impacts the chemicals may have. Our daily lives are incredibly connected with plastics; it’s a material that saves lives (medical advances), helps move people and goods from one place to another (vehicle parts and packaging), makes life more convenient and easy (single-use items), among many other functions. Unfortunately, too much enters our oceans as intentional or accidental litter, and then it has the potential to negatively impact marine habitats and wildlife.
Back to the topic of toxicology, that’s not the focus of my review article. Toxicology is the study of chemical effects on organisms, and I am a Marine Environmental Toxicologist, so I could spend all day talking about this topic. However, my paper was about how much plastic sea turtles were ingesting. The impacts of that ingestion include possible toxicity of chemicals, but more importantly, they also include anatomical physical impacts, like plication, perforation, or obstruction of the gut. These are impacts that we understand better than the toxicity at this point.”
Dr. Lynch sent along a paper she published earlier that discussed toxicology specifically, “Persistent Organic Pollutants in Fat of Three Species of Pacific Pelagic Longline Caught Sea Turtles: Accumulation in Relation to Ingested Plastic Marine Debris.” That paper looked at persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which are human-made chemicals that are extremely persistent, globally transported by atmospheric and oceanic currents, and toxic. The data in that study suggest that sea turtles in the pelagic Pacific are accumulating POPs most likely from their natural prey, not from ingested plastics. The paper concluded with the admonition that these pelagic turtles had a high frequency of debris ingestion, which should highlight a greater concern of the wider problem of plastic pollution in the ocean. In other words, the prey that sea turtles eat contain POPs.
sea turtles
How Should We Rethink Previous Research about Sea Turtles?
Turtles live long lives and inhabit different regions of the globe. Different species feed at different depths of the water, too. Past scientific investigations have also determined that half of all the sea turtles living today have likely ingested plastic debris. Several turtle species are listed as endangered.
Lynch contends that monitoring debris in sea turtles via targeted geographic regions:
“has been disproportionate in the past, with too small a focus placed on the wrong areas. A lot of the focus has been on the Mediterranean, but I found that the turtles in the Central and Northwest Pacific and Southwest Atlantic have a much higher rate of ingestion of plastic. This unfortunately makes many of these past turtle studies worthless to those wanting to know where ocean debris is occurring in large amounts and what species are the most in need of conservation. It can be frustrating.”
Specifically, she suggests that grams of trash per kilogram of turtle (g/kg) is the metric scientists should be using. That kind of standardization in reporting would reveal how much trash the turtles are encountering and which species is being most affected by trash. It also could enable analyses on toxicity.
Lynch noted that much of the data on the topic of turtles and trash is based on autopsies of what were sick or injured animals, which can perhaps throw off data when trying to determine the role of trash in their deaths. “We need to develop noninvasive ways of getting turtle-trash data from healthy individuals,” she said.
Collection methods should be standardized to make cross-lab comparisons easy, she said. Trash pulled from the gut of a turtle should also always be washed and dried to remove excess water as well as excrement, vomit, and blood from weigh-ins.
sea turtles
Final Thoughts
It is important to acknowledge that garbage pieces, especially plastic bits, are unnatural and don’t belong in the ocean, Lynch noted. Exposure to chemicals in garbage is concerning to scientists because it remains unclear how many of the chemicals found in plastic trash are moving through the food chain and how they affect the health of both wildlife and humans who eat fish or live near the coast.
Turtles play a large role in the function of the ocean ecosystem, and several species are listed as endangered, so their conservation is of special concern. Finding ways to gather more efficient information on the amount of plastics that sea turtles inject can lead to valuable solutions for the turtles and the oceans.
“Plastic litter is one of the few contaminants that can be seen with the naked eye,” Lynch said. “The work can be painstaking, and sometimes kind of gross. But it only requires simple lab tools and methods and does not really demand expensive chemical instrumentation. If we improve our methodologies and data collection points and standardize our reporting and analysis, we will likely gain more useful info out of the process for managing our oceans and our garbage.”
The facts point to turtles as being clear indicators of ocean and marine health. Solutions to this environmental crisis, policies, and research funding are desperately needed for the most at-risk species, in the most problematic regions, and in regions that have yet to be monitored that may prove to be even worse, according to Lynch’s research.
Reusable coffee cups are just a drop in the ocean for efforts to save our seas
Films such as A Plastic Ocean, and the huge success of Blue Planet II, have brought ocean plastic pollution firmly into the popular domain. Plastic has become ubiquitous through the world’s oceans, with fragments found in deep ocean trenches and the Arctic ice sheets. Furthermore, pictures of charismatic animals such as whales and turtles consuming or entangled in plastic provide powerful imagery of the problem to the public.
There is no doubt plastic is a big issue. A study in the journal Marine Policysuggests plastic pollution might be reaching a planetary boundary, a term used to describe safe operational environmental limits within which the world can continue to function safely.
Yet, for all the attention given to ocean plastic, it is not the biggest threat to the marine environment. Both climate change and biodiversity loss (much of which is caused by the impacts of overfishing of our oceans) were shown to have exceeded their respective planetary boundaries when the term was first introduced, in 2009. More recent studies also flag climate change and biodiversity as the two core planetary boundaries. Excessively exceeding these for a prolonged period could cause rapid and major changes, such as runaway temperature rises or the collapse of important ecosystem functions.
The latest official report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation suggests that 33% of fisheries are overfished and 60% fully exploited, while a controversial new study contends that more than 50% of the area of the oceans is affected by fishing each year.The world’s largest living structure, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, has undergone successive and large-scale bleaching events in the past few years, with an estimated 50% of coral dead due to bleaching in the past two years. These events, along with degradation of other marine habitats such as kelp forests and seagrass beds, are directly attributable to climate change.
Nor can the effects of plastic on animal populations and their ecosystems be easily determined. Large plastic items break down into smaller microplastics, and many experts think the effects of these may be less than ingestion of larger items, which can cause choking and block digestive systems.
Given these facts, we should ask why overfishing and climate change do not get at least as much attention as plastic when considering the marine environment. We propose this is because plastic pollution provides a “convenient truth”, allowing individuals, corporations and politicians to appear environmentally conscious while ignoring the root of all environmental problems, which is overconsumption of resources.
Large-scale technological solutions, such as the Ocean Cleanup project, provide optimism from the concerned, documentary-watching public that the plastic problem is being addressed. Eliminating plastic straws, promoting reusable coffee cups or having a plastic-free supermarket aisle are easy PR wins for large companies that will barely affect profits. These same token gestures not only attract environmentally conscious customers, but make customers feel they are contributing to an environmental solution.
In truth, much bigger individual behavioural changes need to be made, such as drastically altering our diets to greatly reduce fish and meat, reducing car and aeroplane use and even reducing the number of children we decide to have.
To provide some context, if airlines eliminated single-use plastic, this might save about 20 grams of plastic a person on a typical transatlantic flight. However, each passenger on that plane would be responsible for roughly one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions, around half a million times more greenhouses gasses than plastic waste.
Governments have the power to enforce change, but are reluctant to do so. The world is not on target to meet the Paris climate agreement targets to keep temperature rises to 2C. One reason for this reluctance is the neoliberal agenda, which is still pervasive in most western countries.
Markets will adjust to consumer demand, but this is too little, too late to address the scale and urgency of the environmental threat. In terms of fisheries, the British government has a real opportunity to change fishing practices with Brexit. However, there is an apparent unwillingness to change the status quo significantly. Some foreign boats will probably be allowed into UK waters, either to secure export rights to those countries, or to sell fishing rights. Ultimately, most governments believe in the need for economic growth, beside which environmental concerns will generally be neglected.
While token gestures and technological fixes will have some effect in reducing plastic pollution in the marine environment, as a collective public we need to demand change from large corporations and from governments on all environmental policies. We also need to understand the sacrifices necessary to ensure the future of humanity.
At an international level, we need policies and legislation to prevent excessive overconsumption by individuals and companies, including the promotion of open source ideas around product reuse to maximise re-use and recycling of all products. It is also vital that we find alternative metrics to wellbeing, beyond our myopic focus on economic growth, if we are to reduce consumption and achieve global targets on climate, food production and even plastic waste.
Rick Stafford is professor of marine biology and conservation at Bournemouth University. Peter JS Jones is a reader in environmental governance at University College London
Trump Signs Bill to Improve International Cooperation on Ocean Trash Cleanup
President Donald Trump extended and expanded what he called a “very important” program to clean up sea-borne waste by signing a bill to boost international cooperation on removing debris from the planet’s oceans.
The Save Our Seas Act of 2018 extended the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program for an additional five years, and directed the State Department and other federal agencies to work internationally to prevent countries from using the ocean as a landfill.
The act charges NOAA to collaborate with other U.S. government agencies to deal with land- and ocean-based sources of the trash, both domestic and foreign.
“People don’t realize it, but all the time we’re being inundated by debris from other countries,” Trump said. “And we will be responding and very strongly.”
In attendance at the Oct. 11 signing ceremony were Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Okla.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the sponsor and co-sponsor of the bill, respectively, whose presence attested to the bipartisan nature of the bill. The House held a voice vote on it, which wasn’t recorded; the Senate passed it unanimously, Sullivan said.
Through its diplomatic channels, the United States has already been putting other countries on notice that the Trump administration will no longer tolerate trash being dumped in the ocean, Trump said.
“And I can tell you that Dan [Sullivan] and Sheldon [Whitehouse] were very insistent on trying to get that into the USMCA, the new agreement that we have with Canada and Mexico. And we’ll be putting it into other agreements also,” Trump said.
Whitehouse concurred and said they were in the process of working it into an agreement with the Philippines, which he named as “one of the worst three” ocean polluters.
For Trump, the issue is an economic one as well as an environmental one. The United States has to clean up the trash that floats into U.S. waters and onto U.S. beaches each year, which not only creates a burden on the government, but hurts businesses along the coast. In one national ocean cleanup, the Ocean Conservancy reported picking up 4,144,109 pounds of trash from over 8,500 miles of coastline.
“This waste, trash, and debris harms not only marine life, but also fishermen, coastal economies along America’s vast stretches,” Trump said. “As president, I will continue to do everything I can to stop other nations from making our oceans into their landfills.”
The act also requires a representative from the State Department, as well as from the Department of the Interior, to join the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee.
The nonprofit Ocean Conservancy called the legislation a “triumph of bipartisanship,” and praised it for addressing the “the ever-increasing global marine-debris problem.”
Even the American Chemistry Council, an association of chemical manufacturers and other chemistry-related businesses, applauded the passage of the legislation. “This important bipartisan legislation reinvigorates existing programs and includes language recognizing the need to address the lack of waste management systems in developing countries,” it said on its blog.
The Plastics Industry Association also thanked the Trump administration for “demonstrating your commitment to combatting marine debris.”
DMU Timestamp: September 17, 2018 17:21
Added November 02, 2018 at 2:02pm by Grace Wise
Title: Different perspective
Plastics in oceans are mounting, but evidence on harm is surprisingly weak
Unsupported speculation can lead to scarce resources being misdirected when they could be better spent on other environmental issues
Plastics in the world’s oceans are set to treble in the next 10 years, according to a new government report. They are also contributing to a rubbish heap in the Pacific Ocean that is estimated to be as big as France. These are the latest instalments of one of the most prominent environmental concerns of recent years.
It’s not surprising this has become a cause célèbre. Unlike many other human pollutants in the environment, plastic debris is very visible.
Images of birds or fish entangled in plastic are highly emotive – as is the idea that we could be harming ourselves by eating seafood containing tiny pieces of the stuff.
To be sure, this is a big problem. Plastics degrade the environment and we are certainly finding them in increasingly large quantities in our seas and oceans.
This may indeed harm marine life and their ecosystems, but when you look closely at the evidence, it turns out that we are far less sure than it might appear.
There are important gaps in our understanding about plastics. It’s not unreasonable for people to fill these with speculation to some extent – funding for research is limited and we cannot wait for scientific research to provide complete answers before taking action. On the other hand, unsupported speculation can lead to scarce resources being misdirected when they could be better spent on other environmental issues.
Certainly we produce large amounts of plastics each year. They continually end up as waste in the environment, and the polymers they comprise decompose extremely slowly. Large particles fragment into smaller pieces known as microplastics – technically 5mm in diameter or less. These are now recognised as one of the most prevalent human-made pollutants in marine environments across the world.
Microplastics could be accumulating in some places to levels that somehow compromise ecosystems. Deep-sea regions are a probable candidate, for example, though they are also the areas where we have the least information about quantities and effects. We need to do more work to say with confidence whether this is a serious problem.
On the question of how much damage microplastics cause to marine life, we certainly know these particles are readily transported throughout our seas and oceans and there is considerable evidence that organisms ingest them. However, the polymers that make up plastics are of minimal toxicity to marine life.
The question is whether they may cause harm in other ways. It could be that organisms absorb these particles and they accumulate in internal tissues, though it’s not clear whether or not that might be harmful to them. Microplastics may also accumulate in the gut and potentially interfere with processes like nutrient uptake or the passage of waste – or they may just be expelled without any negative effects.
A few studies have shown microplastics being absorbed by marine life in very small amounts, but other studies have found the opposite. We don’t even know whether very small nanoplastics with diameters of less than 1,000 nanometres can be absorbed. The studies that do exist on nanoparticles suggest that such absorption is minimal. In short, the jury is still out on absorption.
If microplastics are not appreciably absorbed, their potential to accumulate in tissues and cause problems is very low. It would also mean they can’t be passed on in any significant way to a predator who eats that organism. If so, it puts microplastics in a different category to toxic substances that end up in the food chain after accumulating in the internal tissues of fish – mercury, say.
There is considerable evidence to suggest that plastic particles are readily released from the gut of organisms without negative effects – and note that researchers have tended to test for concentrations in considerably higher amounts than are found in the environment.
Certainly, questions do remain. Perhaps of greatest importance is whether specific shapes of microplastics – fibres, for example – present particular difficulties for waste moving through the guts of some organisms.
Another concern is around toxic substances like DDT or hexachlorobenzene sticking to microplastics and potentially ending up in places they wouldn’t otherwise reach. Scientists have already found considerable evidence of this. Some people are alarmed that these substances could end up being ingested by marine organisms and harming them as a result.
In one study, the levels of toxic substances in the tissues of marine birds were actually lower when they had ingested plastics (Shutterstock)
Yet most studies have shown that toxicants associated with plastics are either at concentrations too low to be toxic – or that the substances stick too strongly to the plastics to be released into organisms and cause problems.
In one study, the levels of toxic substances in the tissues of marine birds were actually lower when they had ingested plastics. The investigators suggested the toxic substances already present within the bird tissues were sticking to the plastics and being removed. If so, toxic substances attached to plastics might be less of a concern for toxicity to marine organisms than is feared.
Then there are microplastics and the human food chain. We were intrigued by this possibility and conducted an experiment to check. While we cooked in our kitchens, we left open petri dishes with sticky tape to collect dust fallout in the surrounding air.
We compared the amounts of plastic fibres in this dust with the quantities we found in mussels collected around the Scottish coast. The results suggest that while a regular UK consumer might ingest 100 plastic particles a year from eating mussels, their average exposure to plastic particles during meals from household dust is well over 10,000 per year.
In sum, the evidence about the dangers of plastics and microplastics in the marine environment is far from conclusive. There are important gaps in scientists’ knowledge thneed to be filled, particularly where plastic particles are likely to accumulate in large amounts over long periods and how this potentially affects ecosystems.
We must avoid undue speculation and overstating risks, and instead engage with the actual evidence. Otherwise it will detract from our ability to manage plastic pollution in the most effective way and have a clear sense of the right priorities.
Ted Henry is a professor of environmental toxicology and Ana Catarino is an NERC research associate at Heriot-Watt University. This article was first published in The Conversation (
DMU Timestamp: November 02, 2018 17:13
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Exercise – Cry Wolf
Telling The Truth
The Boy Who Cried Wolf’
How do students become trustworthy?
What happens when we lie?
Character education is about doing the right thing and not lying.
Attached PDF is short story of ‘The boy who cried wolf’.
Read story to the class and have an open discussion focusing on what happens when we lie to people. |
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Apply a theme to all slidesIn the slide thumbnail pane on the left, select a slide.On the Design tab, in the Themes group, click the More button (illustrated below) to open the entire gallery of themes:Point the mouse at the theme you want to apply. Right-click it, and then select Apply to All Slides.
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A Presentation is the editable format where slides are added to. Presentations are created, modified, and shared in the Library and Editor consoles. … A SlideShow is a shareable format that contains one or more presentations. SlideShows can be provided to anyone by sharing a unique weblink (or URL).
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How to Apply a Theme to Only One Slide in PowerPointLaunch PowerPoint and open your presentation. … Click the “Design” tab. … Right-click the theme you want to apply, then click “Apply to Selected Slides.” To change your theme if you later becomes dissatisfied with it, simply right-click another theme and click “Apply to Selected Slides” once again.
How do I compare slides in PowerPoint?
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78 HEAPS UPON HEAPS SLAIV. made Samson so strong, to help to deliver the Jews from them. He was going through the woods once when a lion came out; Samson seized him with his hands and killed him. Soon after he married a Philistine woman, and at the wedding feast he gave a riddle, and promised thirty men a suit of clothes each if they could guess it. He told his wife the meaning, and she told it to the men: when they told Samson he went out and killed thirty of their men and took their clothes to give to those who answered his riddle. Of course they were angry at Samson, and his wife's father took her away from him. Then Samson caught three hundred foxes and tied them together two and two by their tails, and a burning torch or firebrand between each pair, and started them running through the fields where the standing grain was ripe, and burned it. Then they took Samson's wife and father and burned them! After this Samson killed so many of them that they gathered an army to fight him. The Jews were afraid when they saw this, and three thousand of them went to a rock where Samson was, and bound him and gave him to the enemy. When the Philistines saw him in their hands they shouted with joy; but Samson burst the ropes as if they were threads. He picked up the jawbone of an ass, and with that in his hand he killed a thousand men. He was a judge of Israel for twenty years. He went once to see a woman in one of the chief |
How the Trout are Saving Us:
Using Biomarkers to Improve Water Quality
By Katie Webb, CBB BiographerBernard Duncker
January 2, 2013
Drinking water, it is said, is the next petroleum; the next great scarce resource. And as such, the conservation of what water we have is becoming of increasing importance. We must be concerned with much more than merely conserving quantities of water, we must also be concerned that what water we have remains potable. The ability to consume water is however, being put at risk as we continue to allow industrial run-off and other pollutants to contaminate it. It is ensuring the availability of high quality water, for both aquatic and human life, which is one of the current areas of research for Dr. Bernard Duncker, Associate Professor in the University of Waterloo’s Department of Biology and member of the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology.
Duncker’s water-conserving work, in collaboration with Dr. Niels Bols, Dr. Brian Dixon, and Dr. James Sherry (Environment Canada), is based on his knowledge regarding DNA replication and how cells cope with the types of mutations that cause cancer. When successful, DNA replication results in two exact copies of the template genetic material being replicated. However, when this process fails, mutation can occur and it is such mutations that are a leading cause of cancer. Duncker has examined both the successful and unsuccessful end of these processes in budding yeast cultures to advance the understanding of what leads to cancer enabling mutations.
Cell cycle checkpoints—the mechanisms which cells use to recognize and cope with mutations—are at the centre of this work. Due to knowledge of cell cycle responses, specific damage can be mapped to specific toxins (and even to various levels of them). To do this, Duncker and his colleagues have examined how various budding yeast checkpoint proteins react to specific toxins or carcinogens. The level and type of damage caused by the specific toxin can then be studied and mapped to the reactions caused. This mapping allows them to also study the process in reverse, placing cells in a substance, identifying whether checkpoints have reacted, which ones, and how, and determining the presence of toxins and their concentration based on what is known to cause these reactions.
Based on this earlier work with cell cycle checkpoints in budding yeast, Duncker and his colleagues are now pioneering a biomarker-based mechanism of testing for the presence and levels of toxins, such as carcinogens, in water using rainbow trout cell lines (which they have also tested and mapped, and discovered that the reactions of fish cells operate similarly to those in budding yeast). Using the procedure they developed, the goal of Duncker and his colleagues is to check water for the presence and various levels of toxins and identify them. Not only should an initial test be able to determine levels of toxicity, but a further test after treatment could uncover the effectiveness of various treatments, determining which treatments are most successful in eliminating the toxins that human usage has permeated our water with.
It is Duncker’s goal that the use of cell cycle checkpoints in fish cell lines to test for toxins can influence the next generation of water quality tests, allowing greater precision in the analysis of water. Ultimately, providing a tool to conserve and improve the quality of a resource which is becoming ever more precious.
[Contact Information]
University of Waterloo
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What Is Hyperechoic Pancreas?
What makes a thyroid nodule suspicious?
A rapidly growing nodule..
What causes calcification in chronic pancreatitis?
What is the difference between a lesion and a mass?
Lesions are not isolated to the skin; there are also vascular lesions (vascular malformations of the venous, arterial, and lymphatic systems, i.e., infantile hemangiomas). Mass – A quantity of material, such as cells, that unite or adhere to each other.
What does hypoechoic mean?
A hypoechoic mass is tissue in the body that’s more dense or solid than usual. This term is used to describe what is seen on an ultrasound scan. Ultrasound uses sound waves that are absorbed by or bounce off of tissues, organs, and muscles.
Does pancreatitis affect bowel movements?
What are hyperechoic strands?
Hyperechoic strands appear as bright linear structures within the pancreatic parenchyma. … Cysts are anechoic areas within the pancreatic parenchyma. They can be due to focal side branch dilation or inflammatory foci.
What percentage of pancreatic masses are benign?
About 80% of pancreatic cysts are benign. About 20% are either precancerous or cancerous. Today, a greater number pancreas cysts are diagnosed due to advanced imaging technology and many are discovered accidentally while scanning the abdomen area for other medical issues.
What is hyperechoic mass?
Hyperechoic masses are frequently benign, including hematoma, fat necrosis, abscess, and benign neoplasm. Malignant hyperechoic lesions include invasive ductal and invasive lobular carcinoma, lymphoma, and sarcoma.
What is a hyperechoic focus?
Hyperechoic myometrial foci are sonographic observation where the myometrium contains numerous bright echogenic foci. They can be observed in very different situations and the clinical context is vital in their interpretation.
What percentage of hypoechoic nodules are malignant?
About 2 or 3 in 20 are malignant, or cancerous. Malignant nodules can spread to surrounding tissues and other parts of the body. Solid nodules in your thyroid are more likely to be malignant than fluid-filled nodules, but they’re still rarely cancerous.
What is a hyperechoic kidney lesion?
Objective: Because hyperechoic renal masses may represent angiomyolipomas or small renal cancers, CT is often used to reveal the fatty component, which allows diagnosis of angiomyolipoma in most cases.
What are the symptoms of a fatty pancreas?
Acute pancreatitis signs and symptoms include:Upper abdominal pain.Abdominal pain that radiates to your back.Abdominal pain that feels worse after eating.Fever.Rapid pulse.Nausea.Vomiting.Tenderness when touching the abdomen.
Are cysts hypoechoic or hyperechoic?
Cysts are generally black or echo-free in an ultrasound image, while solid tumours have a range of densities leading to a range of echos, from hypoechoic, to isoechoic, to hyperechoic. Cysts have typically features, which are explained in the following text.
Is hypoechoic or hyperechoic better?
Hypoechoic: Gives off fewer echoes; they are darker than surrounding structures. Examples include lymph nodes and tumors. Hyperechoic: Increased density of sound waves compared to surrounding structures. Examples include bone and fat calcifications.
What not to eat with pancreas problems?
What percentage of hypoechoic breast nodules are malignant?
Irregular hypoechoic breast masses on US are usually considered suspicious BI-RADS category 4, but BI-RADS category 4 lesions are known to have a broad range of malignant rates (3-94%), and these lesions on US vary significantly on histopathological examinations.
What is hyperechoic kidney?
Hyperechoic (bright) medulla from medullary nephrocalcinosis. Several kidney diseases may be associated with a hyperechoic medulla, including medullary nephrocalcinosis, sickle cell diseases, and gout.
What does hyperechoic mean on ultrasound?
Ultrasound is a very good tool to direct the diagnostic pathway. Ultrasound terms: Hyperechoic – more echogenic (brighter) than normal. Hypoechoic – less echogenic (darker) than normal. Isoechoic – the same echogenicity as another tissue.
What color is stool with pancreatitis?
Can a hypoechoic nodule be benign?
Spongiform nodules, purely or predominantly cystic nodules, nodules with well-defined hypoechoic halo and echogenic as well as isoechoic nodules are usually benign. None of the US characteristics have 100% accuracy in detecting or excluding malignancy.
What does hypoechoic pancreas mean?
Back to Healio. A: First, it is important to describe what a vague hypoechoic lesion of the pancreas means to an endosonographer (Figure 1). Any lesion that is large, well circumscribed, cystic, or distorts surrounding structures (main or side branch ducts, vessels, etc.) does not fall into this category.
What causes hyperechoic liver?
The presence of hyperechogenicity can be a result of fat within a liver lesion 2, although some non-fat-containing lesions may also be echogenic (e.g. hepatic hemangioma).
Why is breast fat hypoechoic?
Fat has classically been described as hyperechoic on sonograms because of its acoustic impedance relative to surrounding tissue, although certain types of fat in certain anatomic locations can be hypoechoic.
What size thyroid nodule is worrisome?
Can pancreatitis be detected by endoscopy?
Endoscopic Ultrasound Your doctor can detect gallstones or signs of chronic pancreatitis, such as damage to the pancreatic tissue, with this test.
Is blood hyperechoic on ultrasound?
Blood clots will be echogenic under the same conditions: red blood cells aggregated non hemolyzed. Their echogenicity appears more dependent of their structure than of the chronology. Better technical conditions will increase the clot echogenicity, too.
Is water hypoechoic?
Ultrasound “sees” water, thus when a muscle is full of glycogen, the ultrasound image is hypoechoic (dark). When glycogen leaves the muscle, water is lost from the muscle as well, thus exposing muscle fibers to the ultrasound beam and creating a hyperechoic (brighter) image. |
vertical farms-Building Concept
Building Concept-Can Vertical Farms End Food Shortage?
Why are we asking this now?
The world has seen the problem of population explosion in recent decades as never before. With this, it is time to address several other annoyances such as where to house the growing population, where to find jobs for most of them and most importantly, where they feed on a huge digital, given that most of the agricultural and forest area is gradually transformed into a residential area?Remaining patches and stripes become infertile farmland, increasing concerns about food supply. Naturally, there must be a way out! The only visible at this time is to go vertical farms, and we went to the vertical expansion of the architecture to accommodate the growing population.
vertical farms-Building Concept
Is it really that serious?
Of course it is. Imagine what it would be if the company developed within the buildings and part of your office building devoted to crops? Besides reducing the space needed for agriculture, would also partially solve the problem of urban pollution. They all go together. It is estimated that by 2020, world population will increase by three billion, naturally the place you need to grow plants that feed enough people would also be enormous. One estimate is that an area of 20 percent more than the country of Brazil, this would be necessary to address the cause. So you see? The matter is serious and damn if a solution is proposed.
What others are saying?
Proponents of this proposal are numerous. One of the most important of these is Dickson Despommier, a professor and researcher at Columbia University. He strongly believes that if the remaining tasks of agricultural land are under pressure to get the maximum use of artificial fertilizers and agricultural practices healthy, must be a way to end this. Vertical farming is the only possible solution. Taking into account the benefit of the doubt, problems as to where the sunlight for a vertical model of agriculture and overlap infe3station frequent pests, the idea is great and deserves to be given a serious thought. Another supporter is Gene Giacomelli, who is the Program Director for controlled environment agriculture.With collaborators, Gene has successfully completed a project involving the cultivation of vegetables and fruits in a building in the center of Amundsen-Scott research in Antarctica.
The developments
1. Columbia University vertical farm
This is only a concept and yet, has not yet been tested at pilot scale. However, the estimate is that the vegetation consumes the equivalent of the vertical farms surface of a building of eighteen plants would be enough to feed a population of fifty thousand.The only thing that has not been considered in this model is the place for livestock, agriculture in all cases the horizontal support vertical farms? Cows and pigs can not keep wandering in a building 80 plants to meet their quota of forage.Work and thought on this aspect is also moving. Chances are, sooner or later, you can find green vegetation to build their city too, remember the following bleating and cattle.
2. Chris Jacobs’ vertical farm
Chris Jacobs, an architect by profession and an easy to take anyone, by chance, became involved in the green movement in the design of vertical farms. In fact it was the first person who has designed an architecture of a vertical farm really viable. The proposed architecture vertical farming would be a tower with different floors devoted to different crops and livestock. The energy would be an obvious problem, which he feels can be easily overcome by research and efforts in this direction. The principle behind this idea is to hydroponics or the art to increase crop entirely in waters rich in nutrients and micro-macro, without the slightest trace of soil particles.
The main hurdles
Each new entry has to face the questions. As is the case here. The first challenge is to show how sunlight will enter at different stages in order to provide the desired wavelengths of light? This would require artificial sources of light. And if all artificial sources are used, how it is exactly what the proposal is green? The next question is whether the update of this concept is possible or not. The main reason is, the conditions of temperature, light and nutrients must be maintained in a critical way for a profitable yield of crops.
What can be done?
Steps are being taken and answers found to these questions. As difficult as the explanation may seem, the conclusion is just a proposal that will come true one day because a growing world population would have nothing more to live, if this practice is not used. The future is so called because it is not known. While waiting to see how this concept is given a good reason to exist and prosper! |
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A Discus Thrower Accelerates A Discus From Rest
Submitted by • November 2, 2018
1) A discus thrower accelerates a discus from rest to a speed of 24.9 m/s by whirling it through 1.22 rev. Assume the discus moves on the arc of a circle 1.01 m in radius.(a) Calculate the final angular speed of the discus.--------------- rad/s(b) Determine the magnitude of the angular acceleration of the discus, assuming it to be constant.------------------ rad/s2(c) Calculate the time interval required for the discus to accelerate from rest to 24.9 m/s.-------------------- s2) A car accelerates uniformly from rest and reaches a speed of 21.9 m/s in 8.92 s. Assume the diameter of a tire is 58.3 cm.(a) Find the number of revolutions the tire makes during this motion, assuming that no slipping occurs.-------------------- rev(b) What is the final angular speed of a tire in revolutions per second? ---------------- rev/s3) Find the net torque on the wheel in the figure below about the axle through O, taking a = 7.00 cm and b = 25.0 cm. (Assume that the positive direction is counterclockwis
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Voted by Simon Brooke
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Treatment of Sleeping Disorders
The Problem
There is an epidemic in the United States of health problems related to sleep disorders. A growing body of medical literature maintains that several common medical complaints many people experience throughout the day could be directly related to disorders of sleep. With over sixty percent of the US population struggling with obesity, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is becoming more commonplace. Many people that experience excessive daytime fatigue, loss of energy, or increased generalized anxiety could be suffering from OSA. If a person is overweight they are more at risk for this condition as excessive tissue in the neck or excessive adipose tissue in the chest can prevent the natural respiratory process at night. Often this condition goes unnoticed and the generalized fatigue experienced is thought to be the cause of another etiology. Patients often come to treatment with their spouse who may complain that their partner experiences excessive snoring or wakes up gasping for air throughout the night. All of these can be signs of OSA and indicate that a person should seek medical attention.
The Solution
A physician that suspects a patient has a sleeping disorder such as OSA will often refer a patient to a sleep disorder center where a complex sleep study can be conducted in order to better diagnosis a variety of sleeping disorders. In these centers, patients often stay the night to be fully evaluated by a team of experts that will monitor a variety of vital signs and various respiratory patterns throughout the night. Sleep disorder centers are often overseen by a qualified physician such as a pulmonologist who specializes in sleep related disorders. In the case of OSA there are two types. Central OSA happens when the brain actually shuts off the respiratory drive and prevents the person from initiating a respiration; this can be seen in people that are not obese and could be indicative of a more concerning underlying disorder. There is also peripheral OSA in which excessive tissue such as that seen with obesity prevents the body’s natural respiratory pattern. Both of these conditions can be evaluated and diagnosed in a sleep center by means of a complete sleep study.
Results from sleep disorder centers are sent back to the physician who ordered the initial tests and these results greatly aid in the general diagnostic work up of patients with suspected sleep disorders. The value of sleep is often unappreciated in American society and as a result the country’s health is suffering. A sleep disorder center will play a pivotal role in better optimizing overall health.
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Euclid's theorem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Euclid's theorem
FieldNumber theory
First proof byEuclid
First proof inc. 300 BCE
GeneralizationsDirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions
Prime number theorem
Euclid's theorem is a fundamental statement in number theory that asserts that there are infinitely many prime numbers. It was first proved by Euclid in his work Elements. There are several proofs of the theorem.
Euclid's proof[]
Euclid offered a proof published in his work Elements (Book IX, Proposition 20), which is paraphrased here.
• If q is prime, then there is at least one more prime that is not in the list.
• If q is not prime, then some prime factor p divides q. If this factor p were in our list, then it would divide P (since P is the product of every number in the list); but p also divides P + 1 = q, as just stated. If p divides P and also q, then p must also divide the difference of the two numbers, which is (P + 1) − P or just 1. Since no prime number divides 1, p cannot be on the list. This means that at least one more prime number exists beyond those in the list.
This proves that for every finite list of prime numbers there is a prime number not in the list. In the original work, as Euclid had no way of writing an arbitrary list of primes, he used a method that he frequently applied, that is, the method of generalizable example. Namely, he picks just three primes and using the general method outlined above, proves that he can always find an additional prime. Euclid presumably assumes that his readers are convinced that a similar proof will work, no matter how many primes are originally picked.
Euclid is often erroneously reported to have proved this result by contradiction beginning with the assumption that the finite set initially considered contains all prime numbers, though it is actually a proof by cases, a direct proof method. The philosopher Torkel Franzén, in a book on logic, states, "Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many primes is not an indirect proof [...] The argument is sometimes formulated as an indirect proof by replacing it with the assumption 'Suppose q1, ... qn are all the primes'. However, since this assumption isn't even used in the proof, the reformulation is pointless."
Several variations on Euclid's proof exist, including the following:
The factorial n! of a positive integer n is divisible by every integer from 2 to n, as it is the product of all of them. Hence, n! + 1 is not divisible by any of the integers from 2 to n, inclusive (it gives a remainder of 1 when divided by each). Hence n! + 1 is either prime or divisible by a prime larger than n. In either case, for every positive integer n, there is at least one prime bigger than n. The conclusion is that the number of primes is infinite.
Euler's proof[]
Another proof, by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, relies on the fundamental theorem of arithmetic: that every integer has a unique prime factorization. If P is the set of all prime numbers, Euler wrote that:
The first equality is given by the formula for a geometric series in each term of the product. The second equality is a special case of the Euler product formula for the Riemann zeta function. To show this, distribute the product over the sum:
In the result, every product of primes appears exactly once and so by the fundamental theorem of arithmetic the sum is equal to the sum over all integers.
The sum on the right is the harmonic series, which diverges. Thus the product on the left must also diverge. Since each term of the product is finite, the number of terms must be infinite; therefore, there is an infinite number of primes.
Erdős's proof[]
Paul Erdős gave a proof that also relies on the fundamental theorem of arithmetic. Every positive integer has a unique factorization into a square-free number and a square number rs2. For example, 75,600 = 24 33 52 71 = 21 ⋅ 602.
Let N be a positive integer, and let k be the number of primes less than or equal to N. Call those primes p1, ... , pk. Any positive integer which is less than or equal to N can then be written in the form
where each ei is either 0 or 1. There are 2k ways of forming the square-free part of a. And s2 can be at most N, so sN. Thus, at most 2k N numbers can be written in this form. In other words,
Or, rearranging, k, the number of primes less than or equal to N, is greater than or equal to 1/2log2 N. Since N was arbitrary, k can be as large as desired by choosing N appropriately.
Furstenberg's proof[]
In the 1950s, Hillel Furstenberg introduced a proof by contradiction using point-set topology.
Define a topology on the integers Z, called the evenly spaced integer topology, by declaring a subset U ⊆ Z to be an open set if and only if it is either the empty set, ∅, or it is a union of arithmetic sequences S(ab) (for a ≠ 0), where
Then a contradiction follows from the property that a finite set of integers cannot be open and the property that the basis sets S(ab) are both open and closed, since
cannot be closed because its complement is finite, but is closed since it is a finite union of closed sets.
Some recent proofs[]
Proof using the inclusion-exclusion principle[]
Juan Pablo Pinasco has written the following proof.
Let p1, ..., pN be the smallest N primes. Then by the inclusion–exclusion principle, the number of positive integers less than or equal to x that are divisible by one of those primes is
Dividing by x and letting x → ∞ gives
This can be written as
If no other primes than p1, ..., pN exist, then the expression in (1) is equal to and the expression in (2) is equal to 1, but clearly the expression in (3) is not equal to 1. Therefore, there must be more primes than p1, ..., pN.
Proof using de Polignac's formula[]
In 2010, Junho Peter Whang published the following proof by contradiction. Let k be any positive integer. Then according to de Polignac's formula (actually due to Legendre)
But if only finitely many primes exist, then
(the numerator of the fraction would grow singly exponentially while by Stirling's approximation the denominator grows more quickly than singly exponentially), contradicting the fact that for each k the numerator is greater than or equal to the denominator.
Proof by construction[]
Filip Saidak gave the following proof by construction, which does not use reductio ad absurdum or Euclid's Lemma (that if a prime p divides ab then it must divide a or b).
Since each natural number (> 1) has at least one prime factor, and two successive numbers n and (n + 1) have no factor in common, the product n(n + 1) has more different prime factors than the number n itself. So the chain of pronic numbers:
1×2 = 2 {2}, 2×3 = 6 {2, 3}, 6×7 = 42 {2, 3, 7}, 42×43 = 1806 {2, 3, 7, 43}, 1806×1807 = 3263442 {2, 3, 7, 43, 13, 139}, · · ·
provides a sequence of unlimited growing sets of primes.
Proof using the irrationality of π[]
Representing the Leibniz formula for π as an Euler product gives
The numerators of this product are the odd prime numbers, and each denominator is the multiple of four nearest to the numerator.
If there were finitely many primes this formula would show that π is a rational number whose denominator is the product of all multiples of 4 that are one more or less than a prime number, contradicting the fact that π is irrational.
Proof using information theory[]
Alexander Shen and others[who?] have presented a proof that uses incompressibility:
Suppose there were only k primes (p1... pk). By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, any positive integer n could then be represented as:
where the non-negative integer exponents ei together with the finite-sized list of primes are enough to reconstruct the number. Since for all i, it follows that all (where denotes the base-2 logarithm).
This yields an encoding for n of the following size (using big O notation):
This is a much more efficient encoding than representing n directly in binary, which takes bits. An established result in lossless data compression states that one cannot generally compress N bits of information into fewer than N bits. The representation above violates this by far when n is large enough since .
Therefore, the number of primes must not be finite.
Stronger results[]
The theorems in this section simultaneously imply Euclid's theorem and other results.
Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions[]
Dirichlet's theorem states that for any two positive coprime integers a and d, there are infinitely many primes of the form a + nd, where n is also a positive integer. In other words, there are infinitely many primes that are congruent to a modulo d.
Prime number theorem[]
Let π(x) be the prime-counting function that gives the number of primes less than or equal to x, for any real number x. The prime number theorem then states that x / log x is a good approximation to π(x), in the sense that the limit of the quotient of the two functions π(x) and x / log x as x increases without bound is 1:
Using asymptotic notation this result can be restated as
This yields Euclid's theorem, since
Notes and references[]
2. Ore, Oystein (1988) [1948], Number Theory and its History, Dover, p. 65
3. In general, for any integers a, b, c if and , then . For more information, see Divisibility.
4. The exact formulation of Euclid's assertion is: "The prime numbers are more numerous than any proposed multitude of prime numbers".
5. Katz, Victor J. (1998), A History of Mathematics/ an Introduction (2nd ed.), Addison Wesley Longman, p. 87
6. Michael Hardy and Catherine Woodgold, "Prime Simplicity", Mathematical Intelligencer, volume 31, number 4, fall 2009, pages 44–52.
7. Franzén, Torkel (2004), Inexhaustibility: A Non-exhaustive Treatment, A K Peters, Ltd, p. 101
8. Bostock, Linda; Chandler, Suzanne; Rourke, C. (2014-11-01). Further Pure Mathematics. Nelson Thornes. p. 168. ISBN 9780859501033.
9. Havil, Julian (2003). Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant. Princeton University Press. pp. 28-29. ISBN 0-691-09983-9.
11. Juan Pablo Pinasco, "New Proofs of Euclid's and Euler's theorems", American Mathematical Monthly, volume 116, number 2, February, 2009, pages 172–173.
12. Junho Peter Whang, "Another Proof of the Infinitude of the Prime Numbers", American Mathematical Monthly, volume 117, number 2, February 2010, page 181.
13. Saidak, Filip (December 2006). "A New Proof of Euclid's Theorem". American Mathematical Monthly. 113 (10). doi:10.2307/27642094.
15. Shen, Alexander (2016), Kolmogorov complexity and algorithmic randomness (PDF), AMS, p. 245
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Presqu'ile - Winter Wildlife
While the park is much quieter during winter, with both fewer people and animals around, in some cases it is actually a better time of year to see some very charismatic animals. Fox, Coyote, Owls and Eagles are all easier to see in winter than other times of the year.
Fox at the Park
One of the reasons that animals are easier to see is that there is just less greenery to hide behind. No leaves on the trees and bushes have animals standing out more. If there is a blanket of snow on the ground it can be even easier to pick out animals as most stand out better against the white.Best of all, the snow can be read to find tracks and areas where animals are hanging out. Another reason animals are easier to see is there is less food available, often concentrated in small areas, which will also concentrate the animals. The biggest food source here in winter is Lake Ontario itself. The lake is full of fish, mussels and other invertebrates, which attract ducks, which in turn attract owls and eagles. The importance of the lake is particularly noted in those extreme cold events, such as we had over the holidays. When all other water freezes, Lake Ontario remains open. This lake is always the last of the Great Lakes to freeze and the last bit of Lake Ontario to freeze is the deep waters off Presqu’ile. Lake Ontario has not frozen completely over since the 1930s.
So the first place animal watchers should check out is the lakeshore. Owen Pt, Chatterson Point and the Lighthouse are all easy to get to. One can scan the water to look at winter dusks such as Long-tailed Ducks and Common Goldeneye. Some Mute Swans usually manage to stay around and other species of waterfowl can be present as well. It is these ducks that the Snowy Owls and Bald Eagles hunt or scavenge while at Presqu’ile. Any reasonable perch, a post, tree, high snow bank, lighthouse or buoy out in the bay could have one of these predators on it. Snowy Owls are regular every year but often stay well out on Gull Is and take more effort to find. In addition to those birds a Snowie has been regular along the Presqu’ile Bay shoreline and is often seen down at Calf Pasture. This is also a good place to scan the bay ice for eagles, particularly when the ice starts breaking up.
Long Tailed Duck
Bird feeders are also another source of concentrated food. The Friends of Presqu’ile maintain a large feeder at the Camp Office parking lot. This is popular feeder for feeder bird and people alike. Being closed to the parking lot, many people use their warm cars as a blind and photograph the chickadees, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Cardinals, woodpeckers and other birds provide a constant avian parade to the feeder. And what bird feeder does not have its squirrels?Up to 12 Eastern Grey Squirrels can be seen sitting under the feeder at once. Eastern Grey Squirrels of course come in black and grey forms and 12 gives a pretty good sample size to see what the ratio is at Presqu’ile. It runs about 3 to 1 in favour of black. Sometimes you can get an odd one as well, like the white-tailed “black” squirrel that was around the last couple of years.
Squirrels at the Park Bird Feeder
Of course this concentration of food goes one step further with the birds and squirrels being of interest to other predators. Sharp-shinned Hawks often swoop by bird feeders looking to pick off a songbird or two. More likely at Presqu’ile, the camp office feeder and area around it is a good location to spot a fox. He comes for the squirrels. A few years ago a park employee stationed at the Camp office regularly saw a fox picking of squirrels that tried to escape a rush by climbing the bird feeder instead of a tree. Of course it has a squirrel guard on it and it could not get very high. The fox merely had to jump and chomp. This year I have seen a fox around the feeder a couple of times but without any drama.
Presqu’ile remains open all year, with the loop road and select parking lots kept clear of snow. You are welcome to come in and try your luck at winter wildlife spotting. Just remember a valid vehicle pass is required while in the park and can be purchased at the pay and display machine at the main gate or why not drop into the office during normal business hours and pick up an annual pass – cheaper in the long run and it makes searching for wildlife at Presqu’ile any time of the year an easy decision. |
Meat’s got it
1. Protein
The biological significance of a protein for the diet depends on the composition of amino acids. The essential amino acids, which the human body can no longer produce itself, are particularly key in this context.
The amino acids of animal proteins like milk, eggs, meat or fish better meet the needs of human beings in comparison with other foods. So we talk about the high value of proteins when it comes to meat products. For example the human organism can optimally use these proteins for cellular production or the immune system.
2. Minerals
If you consider the supply of minerals available through meat, the excellent availability of minerals is remarkable. For example the trace minerals iron, zinc and selenium are far better absorbed by the body if they originate from animal products and are not of plant origin.
And what is more: the absorption of iron and zinc from vegetable foodstuffs is improved if it is consumed together with meat. This effect, also described as the “meat factor” has not yet been explained in detail, but it is assumed that milk protein has an influence.
If the minerals are absorbed they can take effect in different areas of the organism. For example iron is important for blood formation, natrium and potassium for water balance.
3. Bioactive substances
Healthy ingredients in foods, that do not have any nutrient make-up are compiled under the list of bioactive substances. For example, well-known exponents are carnitine, coenzyme Q10 or creatine. Bioactive substances are not vital, but do contribute to the functionality of the body and its ability to maintain health.
Coenzyme Q10 for example has an influence on energy metabolism and works as an antioxidant. Some bioactive substances can only be found in animal food products.
4. Vitamins
Human beings are dependent on a supply of vitamins. Meat is a valuable source of vitamins and contains an especially ample supply of vitamins from the B group (B1, B2, B6, B12) and folic acid. For example pork is a particularly good source of vitamin B1. Adequate provision of vitamin B1 is important for the nervous system and carbohydrate metabolism.
Are you hungry?
Let’s get to the pans, ready, go! |
Brilliant German compound nouns- and what they actually mean
Long German compound nouns
When you hear or read anything about the German language chances are people complain about how awful the language sounds- only voiced by those who don't speak the language- how difficult German grammar is- true, but unlike other European languages, it is quite logical for the most part- or how long some German words are. What people don't often discuss is how brilliant some of those German compound nouns are. Yes, most of them are quite long, yet they usually offer a quite insightful take on a concept.
One of my favourite German words is “Fingerspitzengefühl”, literally the feeling you have in your finger tips, which captures quite vividly that kind of sensitivity that is required in certain emotionally charged situations. Another example of a word I love is "Neugier" (curiosity), which literally means greed for new things. And don't we all know the feeling of being "neugierig", greedy for new information?
I'm going to update this blog post with further examples as they come to me. Feel free to contact me with suggestions. Thanks for reading.
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The Importance of Vitamin D And How to Keep Up Your Body’s Vitamin D
One of the most crucial needs of our body is Vitamin D. And the primary source for it is the sun. However, not all of us share the luxury to enjoy the sun or be in it long enough to have all the Vitamin D our body needs.
For instance, if the sun is to be the only source for your Vitamin D intake, you will need to live somewhere close to the equator. Then, you will need to spend from 10-15 minutes, at least, in the sun from 10 am to 3pm.
Not only that, but you will also need to expose yourself to the sun completely. This means, no sunscreens. And then, you will also have to avoid a skin-damaging sunburn.
Isn’t that a hassle? Who has all that kind of time available these days? And let’s not even talk about the danger of not wearing sunscreen. This makes it complicated, doesn’t it?
So, how should we solve this problem? Simple. You let USANA take care of it. With USANA® Vitamin D, nourish your body and keep your health and skin perfectly fine. Take Vitamin D supplements daily and stay strong.
You may be wondering why bother? Here’s the thing. One out of every two people is actually deficient in Vitamin D. And it is crucial that your body has enough Vitamin D. And so, one in two people actually need to take supplements.
How does Vitamin D help your body?
Vitamin D is actually more important than some people think.This nutrient is essential to our body as it helps maintain health and strength. It helps keep us sturdy, assists our body in fighting off diseases, and in maintaining a healthy heart.
Here are some ways this nutrient strengthens our body:
• By retaining normal bodily health and function*
• By supporting bone and teeth grow and store minerals*
• By boosting immune function*
• By making muscles strong and active*
Vitamin D supplements are known to have long-term effects in promoting good health. And USANA’s Vitamin D formula carries the key to a healthy life. Since it is also rich in vitamin K2, it is really good for the heart as it promotes the heart’s health.
If you have significant exposure to the sun, like you spend a lot of time outdoors, you may not need an additional supplement for Vitamin D. However, most people do not have enough exposure or the right kind of sunlight available to them every day.
And those people need to keep their intake levels up to the mark. If you fall into this category, you need to start going out into nature and take your USANA Vitamin D supplements to stay healthy and strong.
Vitamin D Deficiency- A worldwide problem
Your Vitamin D levels are important in maintaining good health. However, numerous people suffer from its deficiency and insufficiency. Statistics show that almost 50% of the worldwide population is suffering from Vitamin D deficiency. Speaking specifically of the US, around 2/3rd of people don’t have enough daily Vitamin D intake.
Perhaps, many people do not take this deficiency as something serious. However, it has severe repercussions. Vitamin D is not an additional nutrient that boosts health; it is a vital nutrient that helps your body perform many of its important functions. Low levels of Vitamin D are associated with many health conditions among people across the world.
Reasons for Vitamin D deficiency
Studies indicate that one out of two people is suffering from Vitamin D deficiency. And Several factors contribute to insufficient levels of Vitamin D intake.
Lack of UVB Exposure
Our bodies absorb ultraviolet rays coming from the sun, in the form of sunlight. These rays are then converted into Vitamin D in our organs.
Let’s look at this in layman’s terms. What happened was that our ancestors grew up outdoors. Their bodies evolved and adapted to the sunlight exposure.
And so, the body developed an ability to convert the ultraviolet B (UVB) coming from the sun into a vital substance that promotes health and growth in our body. And that substance came to be known as Vitamin D.
However, times changed and exposure to sunlight became less and less favorable. Diseases such as skin cancer and fear of premature aging made us go out less. It also prompted the use of sunscreens. And as a result, people started becoming deficient in Vitamin D.
Your Location
Another reason why your body might not be absorbing enough Vitamin D is because of where you live. Believe it or not, the sunlight needs specific conditions to be absorbed properly in your body.
Take a globe and find the equator. Now, check how far away you live from it. The further you are, the more chances there are that you are not taking enough Vitamin D.
The reason behind this is that the sunlight is hitting at an angle and is not direct. In addition, if you live in a polluted area, it will affect how much UVB rays can get through your skin.
Timing is also important in absorbing Vitamin D from the sunlight. Now, the issue with this is that in fall and winters, sunlight does not shine directly during most part of the day. Instead, it forms an angle. This means, that fewer UVB rays pass during early dawn and dusk.
Midday is the only time when UVB rays would be absorbed more. You can perform a simple test to check that. See if your shadow is longer than your height, it means you are exposed to fewer UVB rays.
Age also impacts how much Vitamin D your body is absorbing. Firstly, older people tend to be less mobile and thus go out less. But importantly, age also impacts the absorption capacity of your skin.
Your skin does not absorb as much UVB as it once used to. And your kidneys do not convert UVB rays into Vitamin D as efficiently as it did in your youthful days. And as a result, your body does not have enough Vitamin D.
Skin Color
Research shows that skin pigment has a direct correlation with the absorption of Vitamin D in the body. Darker skin tends to produce less amount of Vitamin D. And thus, people with darker skin are at a greater risk of having Vitamin D deficiency.
Excessive Weight
Vitamin D is fat-soluble. It means that body fat is where it is collected and stored. Thus, people who have an excessive amount of fat in their body would need a comparable amount of Vitamin D for absorption as opposed to someone with a lower body fat percentage.
Diet and Digestive issues
Your Vitamin D absorption is also influenced by certain gut conditions. Moreover, your diet also influences your Vitamin D intake. Some foods contain Vitamin D such as fatty fish (salmon, trout), dairy, orange juice, and cereals (fortified). However, the amount of Vitamin D in these foods is too low.
Depending on your exposure to sunlight and your diet, your body may not make enough Vitamin D. Fortunately, you can overcome this gap by taking supplements. They are healthy and promote good health.
Keep Up Your Vitamin D Levels All Year
USANA formulated its vitamin D supplements in order to help people regulate their Vitamin D levels. Since most people do not have the necessary exposure to the sunlight or dietary habits that would assist in the absorption of Vitamin D, USANA made sure they stay healthy despite it.
USANA Vitamin D supplements pack 50micrograms (mcg) in a small tablet. Now, this may not sound like much. However, it is equivalent to Vitamin D you would get from drinking more than 14 cups of milk a day or having four servings of salmon.
And this is not the end. USANA’s Vitamin D supplement is a perfect choice to avoid deficiency. USANA’s supplements contain the most useful type of Vitamin D. They use Vitamin D3 instead of Vitamin D2, as the former is more effective. Research shows Vitamin D3 is more effective in producing active Vitamin D in your body.
This is not just a mere claim. USANA’s scientists have researched and studied the importance of Vitamin D3. And it was proven, individuals who take USANA’s multivitamin or Vitamin D3 are 6 times more likely to have optimal levels of Vitamin D in their system.
And this is not all of it.
In addition to Vitamin D, the supplements contain another essential nutrient. This nutrient is called vitamin K2. It helps your body make proper use of calcium (an important element for bones). Vitamin K2 helps maintain your heart and skeleton’s health.
Each tablet is packed with 30mcg of two important sub-types of Vitamin K2. By providing both types, the tablet provides you benefits you would get from a varied diet.
The first subtype is called MK-4 (Menaquinone) and comes from animal sources such as butter, eggs, and liver. Some of it comes from green leafy vegetables.
The second type MK-7 comes from fermented foods such as soy food, usually common in Asian foods. This type of Vitamin K has benefits equivalent to those you would get from exposure to nature.
Importance of Vitamin D and K in your body
Vitamin D and Cellular Health
You will find our Vitamin D supplements under USANA’s Cellular Health category. The reason is that many tissues and cells in our body require Vitamin D to function properly.*
Vitamin D produced in our body is unique because it goes through several conversions in our body. Firstly, it gets converted into a prohormone, which is a precursor of a hormone. Vitamin D3 from your skin and body reacts with enzymes in your liver to produce this prohormone. This prohormone becomes active upon metabolization.
When the body needs it, the prohormone form gets converted into the active form of Vitamin D also known as calcitriol.
The body keeps a firm check on the active Vitamin D levels. To regulate the optimal levels of active Vitamin D, your body needs to have enough of Vitamin D available for conversion.
Therefore, a supplement can ensure that the prohormone form is present whenever it is required for conversion. These active Vitamin D hormones are involved in many biological activities.
Our bodies are designed for the absorption of Vitamin D. Several parts of our body contain receptors for Vitamin D such as:
• Brain and central nervous system
• Skin
• Muscles
• Thyroid
• Breast
• Adrenal glands
• Colon
• Prostate
• It is estimated that Vitamin D also regulates some of our genes (around 200-300)
Even though the studies indicate that Vitamin D is crucial to the body; however, the extent of its importance is not fully discovered yet. Researchers continue to study the effects of Vitamin D deficiency on the body. Many health-related issues are connected to it. But the importance of the nutrient is unquestionable.
Vitamin D for Stronger Skeletal System
You must know that calcium is a very important element for your teeth and bones. However, there are other nutrients that are equally important for your skeletal system.
Vitamin D and K are vital to maintaining bone mass and reducing age-associated bone loss. This means, that you would need to consume ample amounts of these nutrients throughout your life. After all, stronger bones would help you stay stable on the ground.
Let’s see how these two nutrients work.
Vitamin D aids the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the intestine. Vitamin K helps the proper use of calcium in the body by activating the hormone that takes calcium from the blood to the bones and binds it there.
Moreover, Vitamin D also initiates the process of taking the mineral out of the bones if calcium is needed in your body and is absent from the diet.*
Vitamin D deficiency also causes weakness in the joints and limits their mobility. Plus, after intense workout sessions, Vitamin D aids muscle recovery. And so, USANA’s Vitamin D tablets contain nutrients that support healthy muscle and joint function.
Vitamin K2 for Your Cardiovascular Health
Studies have shown Vitamin D is related to your heart’s health. However, another important nutrient for your heart’s healthy functioning is Vitamin K2. And USANA’s supplement cares to provide both.
Vitamin K2 activates the protein called Matrix Gla or MGA. MGA protein acts like a guidance sign. Basically, this protein directs your calcium attaching hormone (called osteocalcin) regarding where the calcium should be attached. This prevents calcium from being accumulated in the wrong place such as soft tissues. Hence, your blood vessels remain healthy for normal blood flow.
Vitamin D boosts Your Immunity
Your immune system never sleeps. It is always at work keeping your body healthy and functioning. USANA Vitamin D tablets help you stay well, no matter the season and pace of your life.
Vitamin D plays an important role in keeping a healthy and balanced immune system. It plays a role in preserving healthy function throughout your body including the parts you don’t think are important in immunity such as your skin.
Vitamin D helps create specialized immune cells that play an important role in your body’s health and strength.*
In addition, Vitamin D also assists communication between these cells. Basically, most immune cells contain receptors for Vitamin D. And when Vitamin D attaches to these cellular receptors, messages are sent to induce certain natural responses from your body to regulate healthy functioning. For instance, the production of more active Vitamin D when required.
How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?
In simple words, a lot. Vitamin D is a crucial element that needs to be converted into its activated form to help our body perform many of its basic functions.
During the winter season, people tend to stay indoors and covered up from head to toe. Moreover, the sunlight is not as effective during most part of the day. This means that their exposure to the source of Vitamin D (the sunlight) is comparatively less. Therefore, supplementation is essential.
Now, you must be wondering that perhaps Vitamin D absorption is plenty in the summer. However, that is not the case. In fact, studies show that most people do not have sufficient exposure to the sun in summer. So, despite what they believe, their bodies do not have nearly as much Vitamin D as required.
For this reason, USANA Vitamin D tablets are formulated with high levels of Vitamin D so that you do not have deficiency throughout the year.*
Let’s talk about quantity.
Here’s the thing. What most experts believe to be the recommended amount of Vitamin D intake is actually not in accordance with what science suggests. Hence, DRI set by the Food and Nutrition Board for adults per day is 15 mcg (600 IUI). However, science suggests much higher concentrations are required for optimal functioning (40-60ng/mL).*
Symptoms of Low Vitamin D
If you wish to know the status of your Vitamin D levels, you ought to get a Vitamin D test. This is the only way to know for sure. However, there are certain symptoms that you can notice in yourself and get yourself tested.
Pay attention to the following signs
Feeling Down and Out
You must have heard people tell each other to go out in the sun if they are feeling low. And you know, they are right.
What happens is that Vitamin D is responsible for helping your brain develop what we call the ‘happy juice’ or the hormone serotonin. This hormone influences our moods. It is produced at a higher rate when you’re exposed to sunshine or bright light.
So, if you are feeling down and low, you may be low on Vitamin D.
Achy Bones and Joints
Another symptom is weakened bones. You might be experiencing lower back pain. Deficiency of Vitamin D may affect the absorption of calcium and phosphorus efficiently. And thus, it impacts the bone mass causing them to become weak.
Other symptoms include muscle cramps, pain, or weakness; fatigue; and hair loss. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor, and get tested to check your Vitamin D levels.
A study conducted in-house at USANA disclosed that supplementation of up to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 is needed to reach the optimal level. In simpler terms, 125 mcg of Vitamin D3 is required daily. And this is the amount recommended by Vitamin D Council.*
And USANA keeps it close to science. Here, we aim to give you the best of the best and support your body in staying healthy and strong. USANA’s Vitamin D supplements contain all the necessary nutrients. Besides, USANA’s Vitamin D supplement is designed to complement other supplements such as USANA’s CellSentials, MagneCal D, and BiOmega.
When an individual takes these supplements in combination, they boost his/her entire system. These supplements should be enough for most healthy adults in getting true health benefits.
When you take both the CellSentials and the Vitamin D supplement daily, you get 570 mcg of vitamin K. Out of this, 480 mcg is Vitamin K1 that promotes bone health and prevents blood clotting. The remaining 90mcg is Vitamin K2, another important type of Vitamin K.
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What Is Pronoun Reference And Agreement
Pronoun`s faulty reference errors also appear when the precursor of the pronos pair acts as an adjective rather than a nostantive. The pronoun “she” has no precursor in this sentence, although the author clearly called it “recipe.” Although “recipe” is a nostantif, it is used in this sentence as an adjective, a word that changes or describes a nostuntor. Therefore, this cannot be a precursor to a prognosis (a word that replaces a nobiss, not a modifier). A pronoun is a word used to stand for a nostantif (or to substitute). To fix the sentence, replace a name with the pronoun. Another type of defective pronoun/wave reference problem occurs when the authors use a pronodem without even giving a precursor to the pronopunkt. Pay attention to “these” and “what” pronouns. Often they are misused and cause faulty or vague Pronoun reference problems. Such ambiguities can be avoided by direct language or avoiding a pronoun, and rather by the use of a name. 7.
If the pronoun does not agree with its predecessor in number, sex or person In this example, the pronoun, to which it cannot refer. 8. If a name or pronoun does not replace exethetic precursor pronouns, that is, they replace a name: a person, place, thing, concept. They replace the students.B. The general reference means that the pronoun is used by the author to refer to a general idea in a previous sentence or sentence, instead of a certain identifiable nostun. NUMBER A characteristic of subtantives and pronouns, in relation to the singular and plural The pronoun is not clear: who receives the bonus – supervisors or workers? They could refer to one of the two groups. The reader of this sentence might think that the dish was eaten because the dish seems to be the precursor to the pronoun there. Use a singular pronoun in words like everyone else, either, neither, one, no, no, no, no Learn more about some undetermined pronouns.
If a pronoun can refer to more than one noun, the nameinus to which it refers is unclear or ambiguous. If in doubt, it is always safe to choose a plural subject, so that pronodem routinely sink them (and will be correct in number according to all style guides). GENDER A characteristic of personal pronouns and some subtantives that distinguishes men, females and castrated (it) In the example above, there is a defective pronomic reference because the pronoun has two potential nomadic precursors. Do you need to refresh the pronouns? Look at the Pronouns page in the field of writing update. However, a pronoun should always refer to a unique, clear and distinct NOUN ANTECEDENT. A pronoun is a word like me, you, him, her, she, she, which replaces a probisse. When we talk about Brenda, we don`t always need to use the Brenda Nominus, we can use a pronoun to replace the word: she or her. We do it after we have done it, to find out exactly who or what the pronoun relates to. |
ELL: Language Loss
Matthew McDaniel akha at LOXINFO.CO.TH
Wed Jun 20 01:42:04 UTC 2001
Half of world's 6,800 languages could die by 2100
Navajo, Maori and Cornish, to name just a few, may be lost forever
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One reason is that half of all languages are spoken
a private organization that monitors global trends.
Languages need at least 100,000 speakers to pass from generation to
generation, says UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization.
War and genocide, fatal natural disasters, the adoption of more dominant
languages such as Chinese and Russian, and government bans on language
also contribute to their demise.
"In some ways it's similar to what threatens species," said Payal
Sampat, a Worldwatch researcher who wrote about the topic for the
institute's May-June magazine.
The outlook for Udihe, Eyak and Arikapu -- spoken in Siberia, Alaska and
the Amazon jungle, respectively -- is particularly bleak.
About 100 people speak Udihe, six speak Arikapu, and Eyak is down to
one, Worldwatch says. Marie Smith, from Prince William Sound in Alaska,
is thought to be the last speaker of Eyak, in which 'awa'ahdah means
"thank you."
It's becoming a struggle, too, to find many who can say "thank you" in
the Navajo language of the American Indian tribe (ahehee), "hello" in
the Maori language of New Zealand (kia ora), or rattle off the proud
Cornish saying: "Me na vyn cows Sawsnak!" (I will not speak English!).
The losses ripple far beyond the affected communities. When a language
dies, linguists, anthropologists and others lose rich sources of
material for their work documenting a people's history, finding out what
they knew and tracking their movements from region to region.
And the world, linguistically speaking, becomes less diverse.
In January, a catastrophic earthquake in western India killed an
estimated 30,000 speakers of Kutchi, leaving about 770,000.
Manx, from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, disappeared in 1974 with
the death of its last speaker. In 1992, a Turkish farmer's passing
marked the end of Ubykh, a language from the Caucasus region with the
most consonants on record, 81.
Eight countries account for more than half of all languages. They are,
in order, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Mexico, Cameroon,
Australia and Brazil.
That languages die isn't new; thousands are believed to have disappeared
"The distinguishing thing is it's happening at such an alarming rate
right now," said Megan Crowhurst, chairwoman of the Linguistic Society
of America's endangered languages committee.
Linguists believe 3,400 to 6,120 languages could become extinct by 2100,
a statistic grimmer than the widely used estimate of about one language
death every two weeks.
While a few languages, including Chinese, Greek and Hebrew, are more
than 2,000 years old, others are coming back from the dead, so to speak.
In 1983, Hawaiians created the 'Aha Punana Leo organization to
reintroduce their native language throughout the state, including its
public schools. The language nearly became extinct when the United
States banned schools from teaching students in Hawaiian after annexing
the then-independent country in 1898.
'Aha Punana Leo, which means "language nest," opened Hawaiian-language
immersion preschools in 1984, followed by secondary schools that
produced their first graduates, taught entirely in Hawaiian, in 1999.
Some 7,000 to 10,000 Hawaiians currently speak their native tongue, up
from fewer than 1,000 in 1983, said Luahiwa Namahoe, the organization's
"We just want Hawaiian back where she belongs," Namahoe explained. "If
you can't speak it here, where will you speak it?"
Elsewhere, efforts are under way to revive Cornish, the language of
Cornwall, England, that is believed to have died around 1777, as well as
ancient Mayan languages in Mexico.
Hebrew evolved in the last century from a written language into Israel's
national tongue, spoken by 5 million people. Other initiatives aim to
revive Welsh, Navajo, New Zealand's Maori and several languages native
to Botswana.
Governments can help by removing bans on languages, and children should
be encouraged to speak other languages in addition to their native
tongues, said Worldwatch's Sampat, who is fluent in French and Spanish
and grew up speaking the Indian languages of Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
and Kutchi.
Credit Card Donation Site:
Your donation goes to infant care, vitamins, medical supplies, wells,
bread and fish for the villages.
Donations by check or money order may be sent to:
The Akha Heritage Foundation PO BOX 6073 Salem OR 97304 USA
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Circulation of 'disaster myths' in Haiti could hinder appropriate disposal of bodies
Myths about the infectious disease threat posed by dead bodies could lead to insensitive and inappropriate treatment of victims' bodies following the floods in Haiti, and need to be checked, according to a public health researcher who has studied the potential risks at length.
Although most of the media coverage of the disaster has been responsible and accurate, there have been some reports which wrongly state that dead bodies can cause epidemics.
'Fear that dead bodies cause epidemics in the surviving population has led to measures such as burial in mass graves without proper identification of the victims', comments Oliver Morgan, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, whose paper reviewing the scientific literature to assess the infectious disease risks of dead bodies following natural disasters appeared in the Pan American Journal of Public Health recently. 'However, in the current situation in Haiti, the risk that dead bodies pose to the public is extremely small', he adds.
Morgan found that most of the victims usually die from trauma rather then 'epidemic-causing' infections. He says: 'In many natural disasters, the risk of epidemics is used to justify measures such as rapid mass burial. The result is that the victims are often not identified, leaving family members searching for their loved ones'.
Unlike the general public, those who are involved in close contact with the dead--such as military personnel, rescue workers, volunteers, and others--may be exposed to chronic infectious hazards, including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV, enteric pathogens, and tuberculosis. Morgan advises that suitable precautions for these people should include training, use of body bags and disposable gloves, good hygiene practice, and vaccination for hepatitis B and tuberculosis.
Contact: Lindsay Wright
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Page: 1
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2. Study: Prenatal screening in Haiti region cut syphilis by 75 percent
3. Landmark agreement between Samoa and UC Berkeley could help search for AIDS cure
5. Marijuana use could cause tubal pregnancies
6. Gene chips research in cotton could lead to superior variety
7. Groundbreaking research could ignite new solutions to heat transfer in nano-devices
8. Bullish chemical could repel yellow fever mosquitoes
9. Termites could hold the key to self-sufficient buildings
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Home / Readers Forum / Impact of Self-Driving Cars
Impact of Self-Driving Cars
• One major technological innovation that I see on the horizon that has significant consequences for global society is the self driving cars in both beneficial and destructive ways . The self driving car is beneficial in the way that increases safety on the roads. Mortality rates due to car accidents are very high. By having self driving cars, the safety of people on roads is highly increased, mortalities due to drunk driving are eliminated, and the time taken to learn to drive is eliminated. Having self-driving cars allows for people that are blind or handicapped to still have the capabilities of transportation at their own convenience, and not have to rely on a service or people to help them reach their desired destinations. Parking is also a hassle for many people, as it is hard to park in tight spaces, but with self-driving cars that hassle is eliminated. Although there are many pros of self driving cars, there are also many cons to this major technological innovation. For one, the self driving cars will probably be very expensive to manufacture. The sensors are really expensive and the software can also be very expensive making them to be around 100,000 US dollars which is a lot for the average American. Moreover many jobs rely on the skillset of driving. Jobs like cab drivers , taxi drivers, bus drivers, and Ubers can easily be eliminated with the production of self driving cars. Also, people who teach driver education courses would also be at a loss of their jobs. Also the functioning of the sensors can be heavily deterred during inclement weather conditions making it unsafe to sit in a self driving car during inclement weather. There could also be an increase of hackers due to hackers trying to hack the systems that the car run on making targeted murder easy.
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The British Navy 1793 – 1815
By Alaric Bond
Alaric Bond, the well known and respected author of books about the sea, delivered the talk entitled “The British Navy 1793-1815 “ to Wadhurst History Society on Thursday 13th June 2019. When Mr Bond was introduced to the audience it was shared that although his given name is Alaric, he is always known as ‘Jim’ and Jim proceeded to give a fascinating and interactive insight into life in the Navy period he was speaking about.
Beginning with a brief resume of his background, Jim shared that his father had been a writer responsible for, among other works, the stories in ‘Eagle’ comic and later for BBC scripts including ‘Mrs Dale’s Diary’. Encouraged in his love of books, Jim grew up with the sea stories of C.S. Forester and the character of Horatio Hornblower, which began his depth of interest in the Georgian Navy. Jim explained that although 200 years have passed between the Georgian period and today, in his view, people have always been the same it is only circumstances that change. Therefore many of the issues which seem unthinkable today were much more reasonable when seen in the context of the time.
The talk began with the audience being supplied with multi choice questionnaires, which were challenging but actually great fun, and dealt with information associated with the Navy, reference to which still have relevance today. It was by following through this ‘exam’ as Jim described it, that the talk took shape. Before beginning on establishing the correct answers to the questionnaire, Jim made clear that the Navy was vital to the work force of England at this time. A large proportion of the population, were engaged in work that supported the Navy. Food had to be grown, ropes and sails made and of course the trees, which provided the timber for the ships, had to be grown and managed. It took 100 oak trees to construct the frame for one vessel! In this area ropes were made in Marden, Chatham and Hailsham, and cannon were forged in Ashburton.
As he went through the questionnaire, Jim covered a vast number of topics including Naval jargon which is now a part of the English language; the function of the Press Gang; the age of the average sailor; the function of the role of ‘Powder Monkey’; the presence of women on the ships (and babies being born) and many more aspects of Georgian naval life. Jim pointed out that Hollywood’s use of naval stories for films, has frequently concentrated on certain aspects of naval life at the time, which to the 21st century, mind appear deplorable. These aspects have frequently been exaggerated and shown out of context of the time, which tends to colour modern perception of conditions in the Georgian Navy. While some things were indeed very harsh, it is necessary Jim pointed out, to put things in perspective, retain an understanding of the current social context and to be aware that there were definite plus points to being in the navy.
For example, the sailors were far better fed than the average workman on land. The calorie intake for the average sailor was 3000-4000 calories a day and included plenty of meat. Another major advantage was the provision of free medical care. This was certainly not something available on land. The majority of medical intervention required resulted from illness or injury and the treatment would have been immediate, again not available on land.
Jim had brought with him an impressive array of artifacts from the period. These had been arranged for viewing on the table at the front of the hall but as the talk proceeded they did not remain on the table. Cannon balls rolled around the floor, a sword, a pistol and a musket passed from hand to hand and the job of the ‘powder monkey’ became incredibly real as the container, that would have weighed 42 pounds and had to be carried to guns in a battle situation, was handled by members of the audience.
Jim also spoke about the sharing of information in the England of 200 years ago. The Times circulation in the early 1800s was only 300 and that would not have been daily. So information was limited and often out of date and not always accurate.
Fascinating facts emerged in abundance throughout the talk. For example, probably the best known British sailor, Admiral Nelson, did say ‘Kiss me Hardy’ as he lay dying and that requested action was perfectly acceptable in Georgian England. It was the Victorians who could not deal with the idea of Nelson asking to be kissed and so changed the word to ‘kismet’. Actually Nelson said ‘thank God I have done my duty’ as he died. Nelson was a national hero and his funeral was attended by many thousands of mourners who considered him the nation’s saviour.
There are apparently indications that Nelson was not always a pleasant person. Jim said there is evidence that shows that he was a hypochondriac, that his behaviour to his wife was appalling and that he lived with Lady Hamilton but never married her, however these issues have never detracted from his fame. Jim pointed out that there were other brilliant naval officers in post at the time but Nelson’s overwhelming fame has resulted in their frequently being overlooked. And did you know that Nelson had a cat called Tiddles?
While he spoke, Jim was using the artifacts that he had brought with him to enable the members of the audience to relate far more closely to what he was describing. The cannon balls were rolled around the hall, and they were incredibly heavy. The sword, which would have been a boarding weapon for an officer, was also unexpectedly weighty as were the pistol and the musket. As these items passed from hand to hand it made it possible to understand how physically fit those sailors needed to be, just to manage the weapons of the time.
This interactive approach enabled a very lively rapport between speaker and audience, particularly as Jim welcomed questions as he went along, and was very happy to engage with points raised. Lots of questions and lots of laughter accompanied the talk throughout and the audience was riveted by the extent and depth of the knowledge Jim displayed. The speech of thanks to Jim included the comment ‘it was such fun and we have all learned such a lot’, and the members of the audience demonstrated their complete agreement with that.
Judy Alexander |
Home » 2011 » February » 28 » Digestive system
5:06 PM
Digestive system
Digestive systems
Digestive systems take many, many forms. There is a fundamental distinction between internal and external digestion. External digestion was the first to evolve, and most fungi still rely on it. In this process, enzymes are secreted into the environment surrounding the organism, where they break down an organic material, and some of the products diffuse back to the organism. Later, animals evolved by rolling into a tube and acquiring internal digestion, which is more efficient because more of the broken down products can be captured, and the chemical environment can be more efficiently controlled.
Some organisms, including nearly all spiders, simply secrete biotoxins and digestive chemicals (e.g., enzymes) into the extracellular environment prior to ingestion of the consequent "soup". In others, once potential nutrients or food is inside the organism, digestion can be conducted to a vesicle or a sac-like structure, through a tube, or through several specialized organs aimed at making the absorption of nutrients more efficient.
Secretion systems
Bacteria use several systems to obtain nutrients from other organisms in the environments.
Channel transport system
In a channel transport system several proteins form a contiguous channel traversing the inner and outer membranes of the bacteria. It is a simple system, which consists of only three protein subunits: the ABC protein, membrane fusion protein (MFP), and outer membrane protein (OMP)[specify]. This secretion system transports various molecules, from ions, drugs, to proteins of various sizes (20 - 900 kDa). The molecules secreted vary in size from the small Escherichia coli peptide colicin V, (10 kDa) to the Pseudomonas fluorescens cell adhesion protein LapA of 900 kDa.
Molecular syringe
One molecular syringe is used through which a bacterium (e.g. certain types of Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia) can inject proteins into eukaryotic cells. One such mechanism was first discovered in Y. pestis and showed that toxins could be injected directly from the bacterial cytoplasm into the cytoplasm of its host's cells rather than simply be secreted into the extracellular medium.
Conjugation machinery
The conjugation machinery of some bacteria (and archaeal flagella) is capable of transporting both DNA and proteins. It was discovered in Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which uses this system to introduce the Ti plasmid and proteins into the host which develops the crown gall (tumor). The VirB complex of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the prototypic system.
The nitrogen fixing Rhizobia are an interesting case, wherein conjugative elements naturally engage in inter-kingdom conjugation. Such elements as the Agrobacterium Ti or Ri plasmids contain elements that can transfer to plant cells. Transferred genes enter the plant cell nucleus and effectively transform the plant cells into factories for the production of opines, which the bacteria use as carbon and energy sources. Infected plant cells form crown gall or root tumors. The Ti and Ri plasmids are thus endosymbionts of the bacteria, which are in turn endosymbionts (or parasites) of the infected plant.
The Ti and Ri plasmids are themselves conjugative. Ti and Ri transfer between bacteria uses an independent system (the tra, or transfer, operon) from that for inter-kingdom transfer (the vir, or virulence, operon). Such transfer creates virulent strains from previously avirulent Agrobacteria.
Release of outer membrane vesicles
A phagosome is a vacuole formed around a particle absorbed by phagocytosis. The vacuole is formed by the fusion of the cell membrane around the particle. A phagosome is a cellular compartment in which pathogenic microorganisms can be killed and digested. Phagosomes fuse with lysosomes in their maturation process, forming phagolysosomes. In humans, Entamoeba histolytica can phagocytose red blood cells.
Trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica with ingested erythrocytes
Gastrovascular cavity
The gastrovascular cavity functions as a stomach in both digestion and the distribution of nutrients to all parts of the body. Extracellular digestion takes place within this central cavity which is lined with the gastrodermis, the internal layer of epithelium. This cavity has only one opening to the outside that functions as both a mouth and an anus: waste and undigested matter is excreted through the mouth/anus, which can be described as an incomplete gut.
Aboral end
Oral end
Oral end
Aboral end
Digestive cavity
Medusa (left) and polyp (right)
In a plant such as the Venus Flytrap that can make its own food through photosynthesis, it does not eat and digest its prey for the traditional objectives of harvesting energy and carbon, but mines prey primarily for essential nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus in particular) that are in short supply in its boggy, acidic habitat.
Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) leaf
Specialized organs and behaviors
Catalina Macaw exhibits its seed shearing beak.
Squid beak and ruler for size comparison.
Teeth of a Carcharodon megalodon.
Rough illustration of a ruminant digestive system.
To aid in the digestion of their food animals evolved organs such as beaks, tongues, teeth, a crop, gizzard, and others.
Macaws primarily eat seeds, nuts, and fruit, using their impressive beaks to open even the toughest seed. First they scratch a thin line with the sharp point of the beak, then they shear the seed open with the sides of the beak.
The mouth of the squid is equipped with a sharp horny beak mainly made of chitin[13]proteins. It is used to kill and tear prey into manageable pieces. The beak is very robust, but does not contain any minerals, unlike the teeth and jaws of many other organisms, including marine species. The beak is the only indigestible part of the squid.
The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing (mastication) and swallowing (deglutition). It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva. The underside of the tongue is covered with a smooth mucous membrane. The tongue is utilised to roll food particles into a bolus before being transported down the esophagus through the use of peristalsis. The sublingual region underneath the front of the tongue is a location where the oral mucosa is very thin, and underlain by a plexus of veins. This is an ideal location for introducing certain medications to the body. The sublingual route takes advantage of the highly vascular quality of the oral cavity, and allows for the speedy application of medication into the cardiovascular system, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract.
Teeth (singular, tooth) are small whitish structures found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates that are used to tear, scrape, milk and chew food. Teeth are not made of bone, but rather of tissues of varying density and hardness. The shape of an animal's teeth is related to its diet. For example, plant matter is hard to digest, so herbivores have many molars for chewing.
The teeth of carnivores are shaped to kill and tear meat, using specially shaped canine teeth. Herbivores' teeth are made for grinding food materials, in this case, plant parts.
A crop, or croup, is a thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion. In some birds it is an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat. In adult doves and pigeons, the crop can produce crop milk to feed newly hatched birds.
Certain insects may have a crop or enlarged esophagus.
Fiber, especially cellulose and hemi-cellulose, is primarily broken down into the volatile fatty acids, acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid in these chambers (the reticulo-rumen) by microbes: (bacteria, protozoa, and fungi). In the omasum water and many of the inorganic mineral elements are absorbed into the blood stream.
The abomasum is the fourth and final stomach compartment in ruminants. It is a close equivalent of a monogastric stomach (e.g., those in humans or pigs), and digesta is processed here in much the same way. It serves primarily as a site for acid hydrolysis of microbial and dietary protein, preparing these protein sources for further digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Digesta is finally moved into the small intestine, where the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs. Microbes produced in the reticulo-rumen are also digested in the small intestine.
Specialized behaviors
A flesh fly "blowing a bubble". One explanation of this behaviour is that the fly regurgitates its food into a bubble in order to increase the concentration of its food by evaporating excessive water content
Regurgitation has been mentioned above under abomasum and crop, referring to crop milk, a secretion from the lining of the crop of pigeons and doves with which the parents feed their young by regurgitation.
Many sharks have the ability to turn their stomachs inside out and evert it out of their mouths in order to get rid of unwanted contents (perhaps developed as a way to reduce exposure to toxins).
Other animals, such as rabbits and rodents, practice coprophagia behaviors - eating specialized feces in order to re-digest food, especially in the case of roughage. Capybara, rabbits, hamsters and other related species do not have a complex digestive system as do, for example, ruminants. Instead they extract more nutrition from grass by giving their food a second pass through the gut. Soft fecal pellets of partially digested food are excreted and generally consumed immediately. They also produce normal droppings, which are not eaten.
Young elephants, pandas, koalas, and hippos eat the feces of their mother, probably to obtain the bacteria required to properly digest vegetation. When they are born, their intestines do not contain these bacteria (they are completely sterile). Without them, they would be unable to get any nutritional value from many plant components.
In earthworms
An earthworm's digestive system consists of a mouth, pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard, and intestine. The mouth is surrounded by strong lips which act like a hand to grab pieces of dead grass, leaves, and weeds, with bits of soil to help chew. The lips break the food down into smaller pieces. In the pharynx the food is lubricated by mucus secretions for easier passage. The esophagus adds calcium carbonate to neutralize the acids formed by food matter decay. Temporary storage occurs in the crop where food and calcium carbonate are mixed. The powerful muscles of the gizzard churn and mix the mass of food and dirt. When the churning is complete, the glands in the walls of the gizzard add enzymes to the thick paste which aid in the chemical breakdown of the organic matter. By peristalsis the mixture is sent to the intestine where friendly bacteria continue chemical breakdown. This releases carbohydrates, protein, fat, and various vitamins and minerals for absorption into the body.
Overview of vertebrate digestion
In most vertebrates, digestion is a multi-stage process in the digestive system, starting from ingestion of raw materials, most often other organisms. Ingestion usually involves some type of mechanical and chemical processing. Digestion is separated into four steps:
1. Ingestion: placing food into the mouth (entry of food in the digestive system),
2. Mechanical and chemical breakdown: mastication and the mixing of the resulting bolus with water, acids, bile and enzymes in the stomach and intestine to break down complex molecules into simple structures,
3. Absorption: of nutrients from the digestive system to the circulatory and lymphatic capillaries through osmosis, active transport, and diffusion, and
4. Egestion (Excretion): Removal of undigested materials from the digestive tract through defecation.
Underlying the process is muscle movement throughout the system through swallowing and peristalsis. Each step in digestion requires energy, and thus imposes an "overhead charge" on the energy made available from absorbed substances. Differences in that overhead cost are important influences on lifestyle, behavior, and even physical structures. Examples may be seen in humans, who differ considerably from other hominids (lack of hair, smaller jaws and musculature, different dentition, length of intestines, cooking, etc.).
The major part of digestion takes place in the small intestine. The large intestine primarily serves as a site for fermentation of indigestible matter by gut bacteria and for resorption of water from digesta before excretion.
In mammals, preparation for digestion begins with the cephalic phase in which salivamouth and digestive enzymes are produced in the stomach. Mechanical and chemical digestion begin in the mouth where food is chewed, and mixed with saliva to begin enzymatic processing of starches. The stomach continues to break food down mechanically and chemically through churning and mixing with both acids and enzymes. Absorption occurs in the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, and the process finishes with defecation.[1] is produced in the
Human digestion process
Salivary glands Parotid gland Submandibular gland Sublingual gland Pharynx Tongue Esophagus Pancreas Pancreatic duct Stomach Ileum Anus Rectum Vermiform appendix Cecum Descending colon Ascending colon Transverse colon Bile duct Duodenum Gallbladder Liver Oral cavity
Upper and Lower human gastrointestinal tract
The whole digestive system is around 9 meters long. In a healthy human adult this process can take between 24 and 72 hours. Food digestion physiology varies between individuals and upon other factors such as the characteristics of the food and size of the meal.
Phases of gastric secretion
• Intestinal phase - This phase has 2 parts, the excitatory and the inhibitory. Partially digested food fills the duodenum. This triggers intestinal gastrin to be released. Enterogastric reflex inhibits vagal nuclei, activating sympathetic fibers causing the pyloric sphincter to tighten to prevent more food from entering, and inhibits local reflexes.
Oral cavity
In humans, digestion begins in the oral cavity where food is chewed. Saliva is secreted in large amounts (1-1.5 litres/day) by three pairs of exocrine salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual) in the oral cavity, and is mixed with the chewed food by the tongue. There are two types of saliva. One is a thin, watery secretion, and its purpose is to wet the food. The other is a thick, mucous secretion, and it acts as a lubricant and causes food particles to stick together and form a bolus. The saliva serves to clean the oral cavity and moisten the food, and contains digestive enzymesamylase, which aids in the chemical breakdown of polysaccharidesstarch into disaccharides such as maltose. It also contains mucous, a glycoprotein which helps soften the food into a bolus. There is an additional enzyme named lingual lipase which break down lipids into di- and monoglyceride.
The pharynx is the part of the neck and throat situated immediately posterior to (behind) the mouth and nasal cavity, and cranial, or superior, to the esophagus. It is part of the digestive system and respiratory system. Because both food and air pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue, the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or asphyxiation.
The oropharynx is that part of the pharynx which lies behind the oral cavity and is lined by stratified squamous epithelium. The nasopharynx lies behind the nasal cavity and like the nasal passages is lined with ciliated columnar pseudostratified epithelium.
Like the oropharynx above it the hypopharynx (laryngopharynx) serves as a passageway for food and air and is lined with a stratified squamous epithelium. It lies inferior to the upright epiglottis and extends to the larynx, where the respiratory and digestive pathways diverge. At that point, the laryngopharynx is continuous with the esophagus. During swallowing, food has the "right of way", and air passage temporarily stops.
The esophagus is a narrow muscular tube about 20-30 centimeters long which starts at pharynx at the back of the mouth, passes through the thoracic diaphragm, and ends at the cardiac orifice of the stomach. The wall of the esophagus is made up of two layers of smooth muscles, which form a continuous layer from the esophagus to the open and contract slowly, over long periods of time. The inner layer of muscles is arranged circularly in a series of descending rings, while the outer layer is arranged longitudinally. At the top of the esophagus, is a flap of tissue called the epiglottis that closes during swallowing to prevent food from entering the trachea (windpipe). The chewed food is pushed down the esophagus to the stomach through peristaltic contraction of these muscles. It takes only about seven seconds for food to pass through the esophagus and now digestion takes place.
The stomach is a small, 'J'-shaped pouch with walls made of thick, elastic muscles, which stores and helps break down food. Food which has been reduced to very small particles is more likely to be fully digested in the small intestine, and stomach churning has the effect of assisting the physical disassembly begun in the mouth. Ruminants, who are able to digest fibrous material (primarily cellulose), use fore-stomachs and repeated chewing to further the disassembly. Rabbits and some other animals pass some material through their entire digestive systems twice. Most birds ingest small stones to assist in mechanical processing in gizzards.
Food enters the stomach through the cardiac orifice where it is further broken apart and thoroughly mixed with gastric acid, pepsin and other digestive enzymes to break down proteins. The enzymes in the stomach also have an optimum, meaning that they work at a specific pH and temperature better than any others. The acid itself does not break down food molecules, rather it provides an optimum pH for the reaction of the enzyme pepsin and kills many microorganisms that are ingested with the food. It can also denature proteins. This is the process of reducing polypeptide bonds and disrupting salt bridges which in turn causes a loss of secondary, tertiary or quaternary protein structure. The parietal cells of the stomach also secrete a glycoprotein called intrinsic factor which enables the absorption of vitamin B-12. Other small molecules such as alcohol are absorbed in the stomach, passing through the membrane of the stomach and entering the circulatory system directly. Food in the stomach is in semi-liquid form, which upon completion is known as chyme.
After consumption of food, digestive "tonic" and peristaltic contractions begin which help to break down the food and move it through.[17] When the chyme reaches the opening to the duodenum known as the pylorus, contractions "squirt" the food back into the stomach through a process called retropulsion, which exerts additional force and further grinds down food into smaller particles.[17] Gastric emptying is the release of food from the stomach into the duodenum; the process is tightly controlled liquids are emptied much more quickly than solids.[17] Gastric emptying has attracted medical interest as rapid gastric emptying is related to obesity and delayed gastric emptying syndrome is associated with diabetes mellitus, aging, and gastroesophageal reflux.[17]
The transverse section of the alimentary canal reveals four (or five, see description under mucosa) distinct and well developed layers within the stomach:
• Submucosa, composed of connective tissue that links the inner muscular layer to the mucosa and contains the nerves, blood and lymph vessels.
• Mucosa is the extensively folded innermost layer. It can be divided into the epithelium, lamina propria, and the muscularis mucosae, though some consider the outermost muscularis mucosae to be a distinct layer, as it develops from the mesoderm rather than the endoderm (thus making a total of five layers). The epithelium and lamina are filled with connective tissue and covered in gastric glands that may be simple or branched tubular, and secrete mucus, hydrochloric acid, pepsinogen and rennin. The mucus lubricates the food and also prevents hydrochloric acid from acting on the walls of the stomach.
Small intestine
• Bile, which emulsifies fats to allow absorption, neutralizes the chyme and is used to excrete waste products such as bilin and bile acids. Bile is produced by the liver and then stored in the gallbladder. The bile in the gallbladder is much more concentrated.
• Pancreatic juice made by the pancreas.
• Intestinal enzymes of the alkaline mucosal membranes. The enzymes include maltase, lactase and sucrase (all three of which process only sugars), trypsinchymotrypsin. and
As the pH level changes in the small intestines and gradually becomes basic, more enzymes are activated further that chemically break down various nutrients into smaller molecules to allow absorption into the circulatory or lymphatic systems. Small, finger-like structures called villi, each of which is covered with even smaller hair-like structures called microvilli improve the absorption of nutrients by increasing the surface area of the intestine and enhancing speed at which nutrients are absorbed. Blood containing the absorbed nutrients is carried away from the small intestine via the hepatic portal vein and goes to the liver for filtering, removal of toxins, and nutrient processing.
[edit] Large intestine
After the food has been passed through the small intestine, the food enters the large intestine. Within it, digestion is retained long enough to allow fermentation due to the action of gut bacteria, which breaks down some of the substances which remain after processing in the small intestine; some of the breakdown products are absorbed. In humans, these include most complex saccharides (at most three disaccharides are digestible in humans). In addition, in many vertebrates, the large intestine reabsorbs fluid; in a few, with desert lifestyles, this reabsorbtion makes continued existence possible.
In humans, the large intestine is roughly 1.5 meters long, with three parts: the cecumsmall intestine, the colon, and the rectum. The colon itself has four parts: the ascending colon, the transverse colon, the descending colon, and the sigmoid colon. The large intestine absorbs water from the bolus and stores feces until it can be egested. Food products that cannot go through the villi, such as cellulosedietary fiber), are mixed with other waste products from the body and become hard and concentrated feces. The feces is stored in the rectum for a certain period and then the stored feces is eliminated from the body due to the contraction and relaxation through the anus. The exit of this waste material is regulated by the anal sphincter. at the junction with the (
Fat digestion
The presence of fat in the small intestine produces hormones which stimulate the release of lipase from the pancreas, largely to the liver for further processing, or to fat tissue for storage.
Digestive hormones
Action of the major digestive hormones
There are at least five hormones that aid and regulate the digestive system in mammals. There are variations across the vertebrates, as for instance in birds. Arrangements are complex and additional details are regularly discovered. For instance, more connections to metabolic control (largely the glucose-insulin system) have been uncovered in recent years.
• Motilin - is in the duodenum and increases the migrating myoelectric complexpepsin.
Significance of pH in digestion
Digestion is a complex process which is controlled by several factors. pH plays a crucial role in a normally functioning digestive tract. In the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus, pH is typically about 6.8, very weakly acidic. Saliva controls pH in this region of the digestive tract. Salivary amylase is contained in saliva and starts the breakdown of carbohydrates into monosaccharides. Most digestive enzymes are sensitive to pH and will not function in a low-pH environment like the stomach. A pH below 7 indicates an acid, while a pH above 7 indicates a base; the concentration of the acid or base, however, does also play a role.
The pH of the stomach is very low (highly acidic) which inhibits the breakdown of carbohydrates while there. The strong acid content of the stomach provides two benefits; it serves to denature proteins for further digestion in the small intestines, and provides non-specific immunity, retarding or eliminating various pathogens.
Uses of animal gut by humans
• "Natural" sausage hulls (or casings) are made of animal gut, especially hog, beef, and lamb. Similarly, Haggis is traditionally boiled in, and served in, a sheep stomach.
• Animal gut was used to make the cord lines in longcase clocks and for fuseebracket clocks, but may be replaced by metal wire.
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Technologies for the automated collection of heat stress data in sheep
The automated collection of phenotypic measurements in livestock is becoming increasingly important to both researchers and farmers. The capacity to non-invasively collect real-time data, provides the opportunity to better understand livestock behaviour and physiology and improve animal management decisions. Current climate models project that temperatures will increase across the world, influencing both local and global agriculture. Sheep that are exposed to high ambient temperatures experience heat stress and their physiology, reproductive function and performance are compromised. Body temperature is a reliable measure of heat stress and hence a good indicator of an animals’ health and well-being. Non-invasive temperature-sensing technologies have made substantial progress over the past decade. Here, we review the different technologies available and assess their suitability for inferring ovine heat stress. Specifically, the use of indwelling probes, intra-ruminal bolus insertion, thermal imaging and implantable devices are investigated. We further evaluate the capacity of behavioural tracking technology, such as global positioning systems, to identify heat stressed individuals based on the exhibition of specific behaviours. Although there are challenges associated with using real-time thermosensing data to make informed management decisions, these technologies provide new opportunities to manage heat stress in sheep. In order to obtain accurate real-time information of individual animals and facilitate prompt intervention, data collection should be entirely automated. Additionally, for accurate interpretation on-farm, the development of software which can effectively collect, manage and integrate data for sheep producer’s needs to be prioritised. Lastly, understanding known physiological thresholds will allow farmers to determine individual heat stress risk and facilitate early intervention to reduce the effects in both current and subsequent generations.
High ambient temperature is a major constraint to livestock productivity, such as sheep maintained in arid and semi-arid environments [1], making future farming decisions complex [2]. Annual average warming is predicted to be approximately 1.0 °C across Australia in the coming decade and, depending on the level of greenhouse gas emissions, between 0.8 to 2.8 °C by 2050, and up to 5 °C by 2070 [3]. The negative effect of rising temperature is aggravated when it is accompanied by high ambient humidity [4]. Further, global warming will result in an increase in the frequency and duration of extreme heat events, one of the major problems affecting the sustainability of livestock production worldwide [5]. Climate change influences animal agriculture in four main ways: (1) feed-grain availability and price; (2) pasture/forage production and quality; (3) direct effects of weather and extreme conditions on animal health, growth and reproduction; and (4) distribution of livestock diseases and pests [6]. In some scenarios and geoclimatic zones, water availability can also be influenced by temperature [7, 8]. These impacts are especially consequential for free-ranging animals living in hot and dry areas all over the world. Although climate change presents a variety of challenges for global agriculture, the direct effects of hot conditions on animal production and wellbeing is one of the most difficult to manage and hence, is the primary focus of this review.
Production animals, such as sheep, which are exposed to high ambient temperatures (> 30 °C) experience heat stress which consequently affects their overall productivity and reproductive performance [9]. Heat stress arises when the effective temperature of the environment exceeds the animals’ upper critical temperature, which in sheep ranges from 25 to 31 °C, depending on breed, age and physiological state [10]. The implementation of effective amelioration strategies requires greater understanding of the physiological and behavioural impacts of heat stress on extensively grazed sheep. Core temperature is one of the most reliable indicators of heat stress in livestock [11]. Furthermore, it is an economically significant measure due to the close association with health [12], reproductive success [9] and overall productivity [13].
To circumvent the stress associated with handling and restraint, a number of remote sensing methods have been developed for the continuous and longitudinal measurement of body temperature. These technologies aim to closely monitor body temperature in real-time, allowing for early detection of heat stress, illness or disease [14]. The advantage of this technology is that it reduces the level of human interference, improves animal welfare and provides an accurate representation of thermal status. It also allows a greater temporal and diurnal resolution of data, which is practically and physically not possible with manual measurements [15]. The main methods used to measure body temperature via remote sensing technology include vaginal and rectal probes [16, 17], rumen boluses [18], ear canal sensors [19] and wearable and implantable devices such as microchips [20] (Tables 1, 2). These methods are constantly improved and tested for efficacy in various parts of the body [20, 21]. Furthermore, thermal imaging or infrared thermography (IRT) has also been used in livestock as a tool for investigating thermal status by measuring the surface temperature of an animal’s infrared radiation [22,23,24,25].
Table 1 Features of cost, accuracy and data storage of different technologies used to infer ovine heat stress
Table 2 Advantages and disadvantages of different methods used to measure body temperature and activity in free-ranging sheep
In addition to temperature-sensing technology, behavioural and activity monitoring technologies are used to measure body movement and spatial behaviours. Animal attached Global Positioning Systems (GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are being adopted for the ongoing assessment of the activity levels, shelter utilisation and behavioural responses of livestock species during heat exposure [26]. For instance, tri-axial accelerometers record animal body movements and can be used to deduce different behaviours. These behaviours include, ruminating and grazing [27] and walking/running behaviours [28], as well as increased respiration rates (RR) or occurrence of ‘heavy breathing’ [29], a physiological response to heat stress [11]. In livestock, the majority of research relating to the use of temperature sensing technology has been conducted in cattle (see review; [30]). In contrast, the information available regarding its effectiveness in extensive sheep production systems is limited (Table 1). Continuous measurement of body temperature may be an essential factor in the effective control and management of sheep herds by not only monitoring health status of individuals, but also minimising the outcomes of heat stress. The technologies currently available for the remote identification of heat stress fall into two discrete categories; (1) monitoring body temperature to identify heat stress based on known physiological thresholds and, (2) monitoring animal behaviour to determine individual heat stress based on specific behaviours. The aim of this manuscript is to review the temperature sensing and behavioural tracking technologies available and, investigate their suitability for inferring ovine heat stress.
Bioclimatic indices
It is important to recognise that thermal stress is not initiated by ambient temperature alone, and that there are a variety of cardinal weather variables that can assist in the assessment or prediction of high heat load [31]. The Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) is the simplest approach, combining ambient temperature and relative humidity to estimate livestock productivity responses as a function of climate [32]. Using calculated THI, livestock specific safety indices are then commonly used to categorise heat stress severity; no stress (THI ≤ 67), mild (THI 68–74), moderate (THI 75–78), severe (THI 79–83) and extreme (THI ≥ 84) [33]. As temperature and humidity are often readily collected, the minimal inputs make THI, and its variants [34,35,36], an easy tool for retrospective studies in most regions. However, air temperature has found to be just as effective as THI for predicting core temperature [36]. Additionally, the THI excludes direct and indirect solar radiation as well as wind speed, both important weather variables that can have consequences with regard to thermoregulatory stress [37]. In turn, subsequent methods have since been developed to address these limitations by including these parameters. The Black Globe Humidity Index (BGHI) was developed to incorporate the impact of solar radiation and was found to have a stronger correlation to rectal temperature and respiration rates in dairy cows when compared to THI [38]. More recently, the Heat Load Index (HLI) was developed and is currently applied by the Australian feedlot industry as a predictive model, incorporating the contribution of black globe temperature, relative humidity and wind speed [39]. In this scenario, heat stress levels were assessed by the use of panting scores and core temperature measured by tympanic thermistors. As with THI, there is then thresholds which have been nominated as a guide for assessing heat load in cattle, ranging from thermoneutral (HLI < 70) to extreme (HLI > 96), with the ability to adjust the model around specific animal parameters such as age and health status [39]. Newer indices include the Comprehensive Climate Index (CCI) which uses air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation [40], the Equivalent Temperature Index for (dairy) Cattle (ETIC) [41] and Accumulated Heat Load (AHL) [39].
Although bioclimatic indices can act as a guide for estimating heat stress severity on livestock wellbeing, they carry a set of limitations. One of the main limitations of bioclimatic indices is the lack of relationship to the core temperature and respiratory dynamics of animals experiencing excessive heat load. Additionally, the aforementioned indices are based on measurements at a single time point and fail to incorporate the duration and intensity of heat exposure [42]. Further, the most important aspect of using bioclimatic indices as predictive models for heat stress, is the collection of accurate and representative meteorological data. Although the placement of weather stations can be in relatively close proximity to the animals at risk, some may fail to accurately represent the conditions of the pen or paddock in question [43]. Differences between weather variables are specifically evident when comparing paddock conditions with those measured by the closest government weather station, demonstrating an effect of habitat [44]. It is also possible to use incorrect threshold settings, for example, thresholds can be set as if all pens are unshaded [43]. With regard to the measurement of heat stress in sheep, research on heat load indices used in extensive sheep grazing systems is limited when compared to the research conducted on feedlot and dairy cattle. Irrespective of the available information, measuring and remotely monitoring the physiological responses, such as core temperature, is going to provide a much more informative and accurate reflection of animal wellbeing.
Rectal and vaginal probes
It is assumed that an animal’s core temperature reflects the temperature of the main internal organs such as the heart, brain and viscera [30]. Rectal temperature (RT) has long been used to evaluate core temperature and to quantify the heat stress response in livestock [11]. Although accurate and repeatable, manual measurement of core temperature using a digital rectal thermometer only provides a cross-sectional sample due to the need to handle and restrain the animal. Another limitation is that restraint during manual temperature assessment leads to stress-induced hyperthermia and increased metabolic heat production associated with the flight response [45]. Therefore, manual thermometry is not appropriate for the assessment of continuous, longitudinal patterns of body temperature in free-range animals or those in extensive grazing systems [46]. Indwelling thermal sensors such as rectal probes have the advantage over traditional thermometry as they enable producers to remotely measure temperature changes without removing animals from production [20]. Despite a relative degree of invasiveness, indwelling rectal probes record core temperature most consistently, particularly in male animals [14]. However, external physical attachment or support is necessary to maximise stability and resist expulsion during defecation. Although this has been achieved in cattle using a tail harness [47], the concept would prove more difficult in sheep, typically lacking a comparable tail. Therefore, it is likely that the stability of rectal probes and ability to keep them stationary, as well as expulsion and faecal temperature during defecation, will limit the collection of accurate temperature data in sheep [14, 46].
Another common location for measuring core temperature is the vagina, which is well insulated and characterised by thermal gradients [48]. Indwelling vaginal temperature (VT) sensors demonstrate a high correlation with RT measurements [49], with differences between the two found to be negligible when using identical temperature measuring devices [50]. An extremely high correlation, as well as a clear response of both devices to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration, which is used to stimulate an immune response, was found when comparing the use of rectal and vaginal probes in beef heifers [16]. More recently in ewe-lambs, VT sensors were effective in measuring body temperature under grazing conditions, as well as determining shade use and the effects of various tree species on animal physiology [51] (Fig. 1). Although a small number of devices became loose or fell out, this is likely to be a sensor specific problem which could be mitigated through appropriate design alterations. An important consideration with VT devices is the changes in uterine and vaginal blood flows which occur at different stages of reproduction [52]. In sheep, changes in vaginal blood flow have shown to alter VT during gestation [53], and are likely to influence VT during other stages of the oestrous cycle. Lastly, the main limitation of this technology as it currently stands, is that the data is stored on the device, preventing access to the data in real-time [14]. Therefore, technological advancements that can allow this technology to be truly automated would increase its practicality.
Fig. 1
The modification of a controlled internal drug release (CIDR) device and temperature logger for sheep. Device developed to monitor vaginal temperature automatically in sheep where, (a) a blank CIDR is modified to house the temperature logger, (b) dimensions of the temperature logger, (c) an opening is made and the temperature logger is inserted just before the junction of the two arms, and (d) the temperature logger and whole device is sealed with Super 33 + vinyl electrical tape. As described by Pent et al. [51]
Rumen/reticular boluses
Over the past decade, intra-ruminal insertion of temperature sensors has emerged as a non-invasive alternative to the surgical implantation of devices [54]. Temperature loggers consisting of a chip, antenna, battery and temperature sensor are built into a bolus which is orally administered and naturally transported into the rumen [55]. This technology enables real-time data collection through instant wireless transmission [56] or stores the information until the animal is in close proximity of a receiving antenna [14]. Given their weight for use in cattle (~ 120 g), ingested devices are located in the reticulum or near the junction between the rumen and reticulum [14]; however, variations in exact positioning cannot be ruled out [56]. One study investigated strategies to anchor the bolus to the rumen to ensure consistency in temperature data amongst individual animals [57]. Mostly used in cattle, rumen or reticular temperature (RuT) has been investigated as a tool for the remote measurement of core temperature (CT) [58, 59]. RuT correlated with RT and RR in beef cattle [60] and has been investigated as an indicator of heat stress in dairy cattle [61]. Although an increase in RuT in response to increasing THI was observed (Fig. 2) [61], it was reported that both water intake and milk yield had a significant influence on median RuT. This finding is supported by another study which observed the influence of water intake on RuT [60], where the effects were mitigated by excluding all RuT readings associated with drinking events (2 × SD of the mean/cow). As RuT is affected by water intake, reticulorumen boluses have the potential to remotely monitor drinking events and investigate factors which may affect drinking behaviour in free ranging animals. A recent study assessed drinking events through ruminal temperature drops and found cow threshold characteristics and ambient temperature to have significant effects on drinking events [62]. Further, feed intake and milking increases the frequency of drinking events in dairy cattle [63]. More research in this area has been conducted in dairy cattle than sheep, as a reduction in water intake can decrease milk yield by up to 26% [64]. However, the detectability of drinking events could also be utilised to monitor and predict the health and physiological status of free ranging sheep under hot conditions. Another study used RuT to assess the effects of heat stress in cattle [18], concluding that RuT was influenced by breed and ambient temperature and that shade was able to reduce the magnitude of increases in RuT. The effective measurement of real-time body temperature was demonstrated; however, despite reductions in rumen temperature [58], water intake was not investigated, and was likely to have impacted data validity.
Fig. 2
Adapted from Ammer et al. [61]
Average daily median rumen temperature of cattle in relation to daily mean temperature humidity index. Daily median rumen temperature was calculated using least square means (RuT; n = 28 cows, different letters indicate significance at P < 0.05).
Despite the potential impact of hyperthermia on rumen function in sheep [65], literature surrounding the use of RuT to investigate heat stress in sheep is scarce. One study found RuT to consistently exceed CT by between 0.45 and 0.75 °C in shorn and fleeced sheep under varying environmental conditions [66]. However, as the method for measuring CT was invasive in nature, the sample size was low (n = 8/treatment). The same authors compared RuT and CT in cattle housed in climate controlled rooms and found RuT to be consistently 1 °C higher than CT, which was sustained throughout elevated ambient temperatures [67]. One of the impacts which heat stress has on rumen function, is unfavourable changes in the microbiota profile which is heavily influenced by feed intake and diet composition [65]. Although it has previously been shown that RuT exceeds CT by approximately 2 °C, this difference can be reduced to 0.7 °C during fasting [68]. The microbial activity associated with these factors is the likely cause of discrepancies in measured differences between RuT and CT [56]. Although the ability of rumen boluses to accurately reflect CT remains dubious, this technology may be an extremely valuable tool for monitoring the rumen ecosystem by measuring other factors associated with hyperthermia and rumen function. For example, changes in diet composition has the potential to reduce the amount of heat released during feed fermentation and improve heat tolerance [69]. It has also been demonstrated that different breeds regulate RuT differently [18] and that thermoregulatory capacity varies among individuals of the same breed, effected by age and physiological state [70]. Lastly, despite some variations in retention rate depending on the bolus size in sheep [71], the devices can be safely retrieved at slaughter ensuring the animal remains safe for human consumption.
Thermal imaging/infrared thermography
Thermal imaging, also known as IRT, is a non-invasive, contactless technique which measures real-time surface temperature distribution [72]. Since its introduction to human medicine in 1956 [73], this technology has revolutionised the field of temperature measurement in the livestock industry, and has potential to be a useful tool for monitoring animal body temperature [24]. Thermographic images can be used to demonstrate an increase in body temperature and changes in blood flow related to stressful environmental conditions such as high heat load (Fig. 3) [74]. Due to the non-obstructive nature, this technology is well-suited for the assessment of stress and welfare [75] and has been used as a diagnostic tool to predict heat stress [23]. With regard to well insulated animals such as sheep, it is known that environmental heat exchange is heavily impacted by fleece length [66]. One effect of shearing is that it causes the skin to thicken which then influences heat transfer at the surface of the skin [15]. Despite fleeced sheep having insulation against environmental heat gain [76], shorn sheep tolerate hot-humid conditions better than fleeced sheep, whilst fleeced sheep have improved tolerance to hot-dry conditions [66]. Consequently, peripheral temperature measured through IRT would vary depending on the presence or absence of wool when considering skin as the thermoregulatory organ. IRT is commonly used in the veterinary sciences to identify infection [77, 78] lameness in horses [79], mastitis in both sheep [80] and cattle [81] as well as assess scrotal temperature in buffalo [82]. Additionally, studies have assessed the use of IRT in livestock to determine heat tolerance [24, 25], thermal thresholds [83] and to predict the effects of heat stress on reproductive output [84].
Fig. 3
Sourced with permission from McManus et al. [74]
Temperature gradients of specific regions of a sheep using infrared thermography.
With regard to using IRT to accurately measure body temperature, different regions of the body have varying degrees of correlation to RT as well as association with ambient temperature [22, 85]. For example, in cattle, forehead IRT had the highest association with RT (r = 0.90) and also showed the highest association with THI (r = 0.81), followed by the right and left flank regions (r = 0.85 and 0.81, respectively) [22]. Eye temperature of hair sheep was strongly correlated to VT (r = 0.77) and RT (r = 0.76) [85]. While skin locations, such as eye base, eye region and udder, may be the best thermal window, the reliability of these locations may be affected by age and stressors, as well as gender and reproductive state. This notion is supported by an earlier study, which found that ocular IRT images were correlated with RT in rams but not ewes [86]. A limitation of ocular IRT was that ocular temperature was significantly lower than core temperature and not able to detect short-term changes of temperature. In contrast, IRT was effective in detecting small temperature variations during different phases of the oestrous cycle in ewes using vulva and muzzle temperature [87].
Heat dissipation through respiration is an important thermoregulatory mechanism for sheep [1]. To circumvent the difficulties associated with evaluating RR under field conditions, panting score indices have been developed [88]. While trying to predict heat stress events in feedlot cattle, both mean body surface temperature and panting score increased with THI [23], confirming a close relationship between body surface temperature and panting. Although panting score can be used to assess the heat load status of sheep, it still requires labour intensive visual appraisal. Additionally, the main limitation of quantifying respiration based on panting scores is that they are subjective and thus, it is advantageous to include measurements of core temperature as a comparative, objective measure of thermal status. Surface temperatures measured by IRT in lambs showed a high, positive correlation to RR when measured at the flank (r = 0.72), rump (r = 0.75) or nose (r = 0.68), as well as RT temperatures correlated with IRT images of the rump (0.62) and nose (r = 0.72) [25]. Due to the medium–high correlations with traditional heat tolerance measures (RT and RR), these findings demonstrate that IRT may be efficient in inferring heat stress in lambs. Lastly, IRT has also been used for the remote measurement of RR in dairy cows with little difference observed between RR collected by IRT and measures collected through direct observation or video recording methods [89].
To summarise, the areas for IRT images to best resemble CT vary within and between species. Computation of software-based assignment of body temperature is necessary for IRT to be used on a large-scale commercial setting [30]. It is also important to consider appropriate camera positioning, how IRT is affected by ambient temperature and UV light, as well as the high costs and labour associated with use of this technology [14, 75]. In addition to its use for measuring body temperature, automating the extraction of RR from IRT images could also make it a valuable on-farm tool for the management of heat stress; however, further research is required to test its efficacy in sheep.
Subcutaneous temperature sensors/implantable devices
A range of subcutaneous microchips and other implantable devices are also being developed for the continuous measurement of body temperature in livestock [20, 90, 91]. Typically, microchip transponders are injected under the skin and activated through a handheld receiver where the temperature reading is then relayed instantaneously [92]. Temperature sensing microchips have been used as a measure of CT in sheep to determine the relationship with RuT over a range of environmental temperatures [66]. In this instance, the temperature loggers were surgically implanted into the peritoneum region and changes were evident when sheep were exposed to hot conditions and when shorn and unshorn sheep were compared. The peritoneum region, also referred to as intra-peritoneal or intra-abdominal, is the most common site for implants when long-term body temperature profiles are desirable [46]. Some manufacturers recommend adding 2 °C to microchip temperatures to obtain a better estimate of CT [20]; however, the temperature difference depends on the site of the body [20].
Microchip devices have been used to measure temperature at different body sites in goats that were kept at different ambient temperatures [20]. Temperatures measured by the microchip implanted into the retroperitoneal region showed the highest association (mean 0.2 °C lower) with both RT and CT (measured in the abdominal cavity), when compared to the groin, semimembranosus muscle, flank and shoulder [20]. Another study found that subcutaneous microchips inserted under the tail of ewes (Fig. 4) showed a significant correlation with RT; however, they were found to be approximately 1.5 °C lower on average [86]. The aforementioned studies suggest a relationship between CT and the subcutaneous temperature measures. Hence, the measures of temperature sensitive microchips may be used to estimate core temperature, if implanted in the appropriate anatomical locations [20]. Other similar types of implantable devices are being investigated; however, all require surgical procedures for implantation. In addition to their invasive nature, subcutaneous temperature is influenced by environmental conditions and physiological state as this directly effects the flow of blood to the skin [93]. Ways to measure body surface temperature through wearable devices may be an appropriate alternative to subcutaneous implants. One study attached a wearable thermometer to the leg of cattle and reported a high correlation between the temperature measured at close contact to the muscle and RT [94].
Fig. 4
Sourced with permission from Abecia et al. [86]
Subcutaneous temperature sensing transponder inserted underneath the tail of a sheep to measure body temperature.
Tympanic temperature
Despite being considered as a reliable indicator of CT in humans at the level of the hypothalamus [95], the use of tympanic temperature (TT) as a measure of body temperature in domesticated livestock has not been thoroughly investigated. TT is taken by inserting a thermometer into the external ear canal and directing the device towards the tympanic membrane [96]. More research using ear temperature monitoring systems has been conducted in cattle than sheep, with the primary purpose to detect fever due to illness [19, 97]. Temperature sensing ear tags (Fever Tag®) were used to detect illness in calves; however, tag placement and probe dislodgment limited the detection of sick calves [19]. Additionally, the tags were not tested under different environmental conditions such as high ambient temperature and/or direct sunlight which may be misinterpreted as fever. The same technology (Fig. 5) has been used to detect bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in feedlot cattle, concluding that treating animals on the basis of high TT through Fever Tag® alert was just as effective as the traditional pull and treat method based on RT and signs of BRD as monitored by experienced personnel [97]. In order for tympanic temperature tags to be useful to detect elevated body temperature and hence the onset of heat stress, more research is required, particularly on the influence of ambient conditions, as well as the durability of these tags.
Fig. 5
Adapted from Richeson et al. [97]
Tympanic temperature probe for the automated measurement of body temperature in sheep. Schematic of (a) FeverTag before application, and (b) after application. Probes are inserted into the ear canal and the attached external tag is secured using an ear tag applicator.
With regard to heat stress, collection of hourly TT under thermoneutral and heat stress conditions has enabled the efficacy of restricted feeding regimes and sprinkler use to be tested as strategies to reduce the effects of heat stress in feedlot cattle [98]. Changes in TT were recorded in response to both sprinkler use and alteration in feeding regime, suggesting that it may be an effective tool to monitor physiological responses. Although care is taken to ensure secure and consistent placement of the data logger within the ear canal, inconsistencies and displacement are to be expected. For this reason, smaller, self-contained temperature loggers have been designed to record TT in cattle [99]. However, as a result of the poor recovery rate and large variability in temperature profiles both within and between animals, more research is required to characterise TT profiles. Lastly, although most of these technologies transmit data wirelessly for remote use, current designs make it difficult to measure TT continuously for more than several days due to displacement of the temperature sensor and potential risk of infection [100].
The use of automated systems for behavioural monitoring is of increasing importance to both researchers and farmers, due to its many advantages over visual appraisal. Monitoring the behaviour of an animal has the potential to increase the efficiency of animal production through improved management and early detection of illness, disease or stress [101]. Accelerometer tags are small and lightweight which ensures minimal obstruction or interference with an animal’s natural behaviour. These tags measure linear acceleration along one or more axes and can accurately depict animal body movement [102]. Additionally, the sampling frequency can influence the accuracy of identifying a certain behaviour, for instance grazing, and should be carefully selected [103]. Accelerometers consist of integrated data loggers and can be attached to various parts of the body, depending on the behaviours which are being observed [104, 112] (Fig. 6). For example, an accelerometer sensor positioned under the lower jaw measured grazing behaviour accurately in sheep [105]. Further, sensors attached to the ear, were used to correctly identify grazing, standing and walking in sheep with an accuracy of 94%, 96% and 99%, respectively [106].
Fig. 6
Sourced with permission from Barwick [112]
Use of triaxial accelerometers to identify sheep behaviour. Schematic of (a) sensor axis orientations and, photographs of (b) standing (left) and lying (right) postures and the corresponding X axis orientation of a leg deployed accelerometer, (c) orientation of a collar mounted accelerometer during grazing activity (note the forward tilt of the sensor) and (d) changes in the X axis orientation of an ear deployed accelerometer during walking behaviour.
More studies have been conducted to classify cattle behaviour compared to sheep behaviour [103]. Simple behavioural classification used in conjunction with GPS tracking in sheep has led to the distinguishability between “active” and “inactive” behaviour which mainly represents grazing and recumbency [107]. More complex behaviours such as rumination [27], kicking and foot movements [89], grazing, standing and walking [106] as well as laying down and running [28] have been successfully classified using accelerometers. More recently, accelerometers have been used to identify behavioural changes in ewes during parturition [108]. Furthermore, the development of commercially available activity monitors known as ActiGraphs are being adopted for research in both human and animal health. Unlike standard accelerometers, ActiGraphs include a Bluetooth function for measuring proximity and have been used to on ewes and rams during joining to indicate the birth date of lambs [109]. In addition, this Bluetooth technology has been used to determine maternal pedigree and ewe-lamb spatial relationships in extensive farming systems [110]. These flagship activity monitors are a discrete way of measuring mating behaviour and could be used to monitor the effects of hot conditions on ewe-ram interactions throughout the joining period.
The use of accelerometer and Bluetooth technology to identify behaviours directly indicative of heat stress has not been thoroughly investigated. RR is one of the primary physiological responses to heat stress and can be responsible for up to 60% of total body heat loss [1]. Measurements of RR are widely used to evaluate and quantify heat stress through direct or remote observation of animals through counting the number of flank movements in a 60 s period (breaths/min) [11]. Although it has proven an effective measure of heat stress in livestock, it can become difficult to accurately assess at higher temperatures as RR can increase by around 3 breaths/min for every 1 °C increase in ambient temperature [111]. Additionally, manual collection of RR data is labour intensive and on-farm application is relatively impractical. One study reported an approximate 10% increase in RR for every 0.5 °C rise in VT when accelerometer-based tags were used to quantify heavy breathing in dairy cows [29]. The use of accelerometers to quantify RR in sheep has not yet been validated. Nevertheless, accelerometers could be a promising technology to identify heat stress in extensive sheep production systems.
GPS tracking
GPS technology allows for the remote monitoring of animal movement, thus providing researchers and farmers with an insight into the spatial behaviour patterns of free-ranging livestock. Monitoring the behaviour of livestock in extensive grazing systems can assist in managing both the animal and its interactions with the environment [113]. The popularity of GPS for tracking animal movement has increased since the mid-1990s with a total of 20 experiments published between 2011 and 2015 on sheep alone (see review; [114]). Its use for behavioural monitoring is more effective than direct flock observation [115], and there are no significant long-term effects on the natural behaviour of paddocked ewes [116]. In livestock production research, GPS tracking collars are mostly used for the assessment of grazing behaviours and distribution patterns [117], as well as identifying the presence of grazing or recumbent behaviour [107]. GPS collars have also been used to track shelter utilisation in Merino ewes [26], where sheep used sheltered areas significantly more often than the remainder of the paddock. Additionally, GNSS technology has been used to identify the onset of oestrus, through a period of increased movement speed followed by a return to ‘normal’ activity [118].
With reference to environmental conditions, sheep will seek shelter during periods of both heat [119] and cold stress [26], suggesting that the wellbeing of sheep may be compromised if inadequate shade or shelter is provided. The availability of shade to reduce radiation load is recognised as a necessary management tool to reduce the effects of heat stress among livestock [120]. Through the assessment of GPS data, shade usage and preference can be mapped within a grazing herd to better manage them under heat load. Another environmental modification to reduce the effects of heat stress in extensive grazing systems is the strategic positioning of water points through assessment of GPS data. One study using GPS collars found that Merino sheep travelled quicker and further from water on cool days compared to warm and hot days [121]. This is consistent with literature surrounding the behaviour of livestock under heat load, suggesting they adjust their behaviour during hot weather to facilitate improved thermoregulation and energy conservation [122, 123]. Although one study compared the effects of behaviour and thermal status in free-ranging Merinos [119], environmental monitoring was carried out through manual observation rather than the use of remote tracking technology. Thus, pairing the use of GPS tracking with longitudinal, remote measures of body temperature may provide valuable insight into how different behaviours such as shade seeking or grazing modulate individual body temperatures and maintain homeothermy in pasture-based sheep production systems.
Summary and conclusions
Methods to circumvent problems associated with human presence during data collection is of increasing importance to animal researchers and farmers. Body temperature is the most important parameter for assessing heat stress among domestic livestock species and is associated with health, well-being and reproductive success. Automated temperature-sensing technology has the potential to provide continuous, real-time measurements of body temperature in livestock for a longitudinal representation of herd thermal status. This would allow for the detection of heat stress thereby facilitating prompt management intervention which could prevent associated animal losses and improve farm productivity. Before we can bridge the gap between research and industry, there are a number of important considerations. First and foremost, true automation of data collection should be a priority. Wireless transmission of real-time data is essential in providing producers with the relevant information which facilitates informed management decisions in relation to reducing the effects of heat stress as the event is occurring. Additionally, sensitivity, accuracy and variability of temperature measurements must be well-understood. To evade the effects of individual variation, measurements at the animal level would be the most useful in managing heat stress. Considering that individual animal variation is likely to exist at stable body temperatures, collecting longitudinal temperature data will enable specific body temperature thresholds to be established. The development of predictive model software which facilitates ease of data collection, management and integration would be a key milestone in adopting this technology at an industry level. The associated costs of these technologies and their comparable relationship to core temperature is likely to be a key determinant in which technologies provide the most helpful information in preventing and managing heat stress.
Availability of data and materials
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generate or analysed during the current study.
Global Positioning Systems
Global Navigation Satellite Systems
Respiration Rate
Rectal Temperature
Vaginal Temperature
Controlled Internal Drug Release
Rumen Temperature
Core Temperature
Temperature Humidity Index
Infrared Thermography
Tympanic Temperature
Bovine Respiratory Disease
Black Globe Humidity Index
Heat Load Index
Comprehensive Climate Index
Equivalent Temperature Index for Cattle
Accumulated Heat Load
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The corresponding author, BE Lewis Baida, holds a Research Training Program Stipend and is supported by a top-up scholarship granted by the Davies Livestock Research Centre. Additionally, this author was the recipient of a small seed grant funded by the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Campus. Lastly, senior author, ST Leu, receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DE170101132).
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Author contributions are listed below. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. WHEJ van Wettere—Conceptualisation, Contribution of knowledge, Writing—original draft, review and editing, Supervision, Acquisition of research information. AM Swinbourne— Conceptualisation, Contribution of knowledge, Writing—original draft, review and editing, Supervision, Acquisition of research information. ST Leu— Conceptualisation, Contribution of knowledge, Writing—original draft, review and editing, Supervision, Acquisition of research information. J Barwick—Contribution of knowledge, Writing—original draft, review and editing, Acquisition of research information. BE Lewis Baida—Conceptualisation, Contribution of knowledge, Writing—original draft, review and editing, Acquisition of research information.
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Lewis Baida, B.E., Swinbourne, A.M., Barwick, J. et al. Technologies for the automated collection of heat stress data in sheep. Anim Biotelemetry 9, 4 (2021).
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• Telemetry
• Remote temperature
• Heat stress
• Livestock monitoring
• Thermoregulation
• Temperature data logger
• Ovine
• Animal attached sensors |
Your face has become a barcode without your consent
Face barcode
You’ve probably noticed that Facebook’s facial recognition technology is extremely accurate. You can upload a photo of friends and before you can identify everyone, Facebook has already made accurate tag suggestions for you.
Facebook’s facial recognition technology is powered by a system called DeepFace, and uses machine learning, or, Artificial Intelligence, to increase its accuracy. Each time your face is tagged in a Facebook photo, the database collects even more identifying information about your face.
DeepFace derives identities from a nine-layer deep neural network involving more than 120 million parameters with an accuracy of 97.35 percent.
Because this technology identifies faces and tags them for you, it’s safe to assume your face is completely captured in their database, and the privacy of your identity no longer exists.
DeepFace is in deep trouble in Europe
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner, along with Hamburg’s Data Protection Authority, have forced Facebook to delete its entire European database of facial recognition data. This should make you wonder why it’s being tolerated in the US.
Pay attention to the signs
What, exactly, is Facebook going to use this data for? Why would it spend millions of dollars developing an AI platform for 3D facial recognition? Just to make it easy for you to automatically tag your friends? Probably not.
Facial recognition can be used to keep track of where people go when implemented with Wi-Fi security cameras. Theoretically, a person could be tracked throughout their entire day going to the grocery store, to the bank, and back home. Imagine what would happen if facial recognition was used in security cameras?
Actually, it already is, and Israel-based startup D-ID (de-identification) is one of the only companies on a mission to preserve your privacy. Its software alters the video files from security cameras before they’re saved or analyzed by AI while maintaining the integrity of the video stream for human eyes.
Is Facebook really just a social media platform?
Some people believe Facebook is owned by the government, which could explain why it apparently beat the FBI at facial recognition. If it is secretly a government agency, it hasn't really beaten anyone. It’s interesting to note that the FBI isn’t trying to take over Facebook's database (at least not as far as we know), which could be an indication of an existing relationship.
All of that is pure (and rather daft) speculation, but regardless of what this data is being used for, it’s a complete invasion of privacy. This brings up another important point. Many people believe Facebook’s facial recognition software is an invasion of privacy, but if it helps capture the identities of criminals, it’s worth it.
Giving up privacy and rights for security
Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." This famous quote appropriately surfaces with technological advances that limit the privacy of individuals, including facial recognition technology.
In September 2011, a study was published that revealed a majority of airline travelers were willing to give up privacy for what they perceived to be security -- even when it undermined constitutional rights.
Worried about terrorism after the World Trade Center attacks, travelers were quick to submit to enhanced pat down procedures and full-body scanners with questionable health consequences. The majority of travelers surveyed were happy to give up their rights to privacy and fully supported religious profiling in the name of safety.
Self-preservation is a natural instinct, so it makes sense that a majority of people would be willing to give up a little privacy in order to feel secure. However, to be fair, Franklin’s expression carried a different context.
Franklin’s quote was written on behalf of the Pennsylvania General Assembly in response to a tax dispute with Pennsylvania’s ruling family. The legislature wanted to tax the Penn family lands to pay for defense during the French and Indian War. The Penn family had the governor veto this request. Franklin believed this obstructed the legislature’s ability to govern the people.
The Penn family offered a lump sum of money in exchange for the assembly’s acknowledgment that it didn’t have the right to tax it. Franklin’s quote was a statement supporting taxation to support military defense spending, and was unrelated to privacy.
Although the context of Franklin’s quote has been lost in current times, it remains a powerful reminder to seriously contemplate how much of our privacy and constitutional rights we are willing to give up in order to feel secure.
Photo credit: Imilian / Shutterstock
AJ-3Anna Johansson is a freelance writer, researcher, and business consultant. A columnist for, and more, Anna specializes in entrepreneurship, technology, and social media trends. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Parkinson’s disease
Published on 13/06/2015 by admin
Filed under Basic Science
Last modified 13/06/2015
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Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative disorder of the basal ganglia that affects the initiation and execution of voluntary movements (and is usually associated with a tremor). It is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. The lifetime risk is 0.1%, but the incidence increases with age and the prevalence is 1–2% in people over 65. The mean age at onset is 60 and it is more common in males. Although there is no cure, symptoms can usually be well controlled for several years with dopamine replacement therapy (discussed below).
Clinical features
Most cases of Parkinson’s disease are idiopathic (meaning that the cause is not known). The main symptoms and signs of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) are illustrated in Figure 13.1. The central feature is akinesia or poverty of movement (Greek: a-, without; kinesis, movement) together with marked muscular rigidity. It is therefore classified as an akinetic-rigid syndrome. Another prominent component is bradykinesia, meaning that movements are slow and deliberate (Greek: bradys, slow). In most cases there is also a coarse tremor. Parkinson’s disease is sometimes referred to as an extrapyramidal movement disorder since the pyramidal (primary motor) pathway is unaffected.
Rest tremor
Tremor is a rhythmic ‘back-and-forth’ movement in the limbs, head or jaw and occurs in 75% of patients with Parkinson’s disease. The parkinsonian tremor is usually asymmetric and often begins in one hand or arm. It is classified as a rest tremor because it is much more prominent between movements. It is of large amplitude and low frequency (4–6 Hz) and is not present during sleep. Some patients have a classical ‘pill-rollingtremor (Fig. 13.2) which is strongly suggestive of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. The combination of lead-pipe rigidity and tremor creates a jerky or ‘ratchet-like’ sensation on examination. This is termed cogwheeling and is best appreciated at the wrist.
Other features
Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease reflect: (i) the role of the basal ganglia in cognition, emotion and behaviour (see Ch. 3); and (ii) the presence of widespread pathological changes in the brain stem, limbic lobe and neocortex. Anxiety, depression or apathy occurs in 40% of patients. There may be sleep disorders including: nocturnal hallucinations, excessive daytime somnolence, vivid dreams, nightmares or sleepwalking. Subtle cognitive changes are common, such as bradyphrenia (generalized slowing of thought) or executive dysfunction (difficulty with organization, planning and decision-making). One in five patients will eventually be diagnosed with dementia (Clinical Box 13.1).
Diagnosis and course
The diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is primarily clinical. Routine MRI scans are often normal, but dopamine deficiency in the basal ganglia can be demonstrated using specialized tests (Fig. 13.3). Without treatment there is progressive decline over a 5–10-year period, with gradual deterioration of motor function, worsening postural instability, gait freezing and frequent falls. However, symptoms can usually be controlled for a number of years with dopamine replacement therapy and this is associated with a near-normal life expectancy.
Some patients presenting with an akinetic-rigid syndrome do not have idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. This is referred to as parkinsonism and there are many underlying causes. Response to dopamine replacement tends to be poor, symptoms are typically more symmetric in distribution and there may be other atypical features such as gaze palsy, axial rigidity, early falls or pyramidal tract signs. The most common forms are drug-induced, vascular and neurodegenerative.
Vascular pseudoparkinsonism
Patients with cerebrovascular disease may develop an akinetic-rigid syndrome. This is due to microinfarcts (small ischaemic strokes, see Ch. 10) in the basal ganglia or hemispheric white matter. In contrast to idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, symptoms tend to be more severe in the lower limbs, response to dopamine replacement is poor and tremor is usually absent.
Neurodegenerative causes
A number of other neurodegenerative disorders may be confused with Parkinson’s disease. The most important are progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple system atrophy (MSA), each with a prevalence of approximately 1 in 20,000. An even rarer form is corticobasal degeneration (CBD), discussed in Clinical Box 13.2.
Progressive supranuclear palsy
This is the most common neurodegenerative mimic of Parkinson’s disease, accounting for about 5% of people with a parkinsonian syndrome. In more than 50% of cases there is axial rigidity, a hyperextended posture and a characteristic supranuclear gaze palsy with failure in the cortical (‘supranuclear’) control of vertical eye movements. There may also be apathy, cognitive decline and outbursts of inappropriate laughter or tearfulness, termed emotional incontinence. This classical form of PSP is also referred to as Richardson’s syndrome. In up to a third of cases the clinical features closely resemble idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. In this subtype, referred to as PSP-P, the pathological changes are less severe and the clinical course is more favourable. Features of PSP and Parkinson’s disease are compared in Figure 13.4.
Multiple system atrophy
Multiple system atrophy is characterized by parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia and autonomic dysfunction. There are two patterns. MSA-P is dominated by rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability and closely resembles idiopathic Parkinson’s disease; whereas MSA-C combines features of cerebellar ataxia with corticospinal tract signs including increased muscle tone and reflexes (see Ch. 4).
Multiple system atrophy encompasses three entities that were previously regarded as separate diseases: striatonigral degeneration (corresponding to MSA-P), olivopontocerebellar atrophy or OPCA (corresponding to MSA-C) and the Shy–Drager syndrome (representing a form of primary autonomic failure). Autonomic features such as postural hypotension and erectile dysfunction may occur in both MSA-C and MSA-P and also in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease.
Pathology of Parkinson’s disease
The key pathological change in Parkinson’s disease is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain (Fig. 13.5). This is associated with degeneration of the nigrostriatal tract, leading to a profound reduction of dopamine in the basal ganglia (typically below 20% of normal at presentation). Surviving nigral neurons contain cytoplasmic inclusions called Lewy bodies, which can be identified by antibody labelling for the major component, alpha-synuclein protein. This reveals widespread pathological changes throughout the brain stem, limbic lobe and neocortex.
Neuronal loss
The substantia nigra is a large midbrain nucleus that can be divided into compact and reticular parts. The pars compacta contains the cell bodies of dopaminergic neurons contributing to the nigrostriatal tract, whereas the pars reticulata consists of GABAergic neurons and is analogous to the globus pallidus. The substantia nigra is almost black in the adult brain (Latin: nigra, black) due to the accumulation of neuromelanin as a by-product of dopamine synthesis (see Ch. 7). Loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease causes pallor of the substantia nigra which can be seen at post-mortem examination. The lateral part of the substantia nigra (which projects to the putamen or ‘motor striatum’) is more severely affected than the medial portion (which projects to the caudate nucleus).
Neuronal loss is also seen in other parts of the nervous system in patients with Parkinson’s disease. These include the noradrenergic locus coeruleus of the pons (see Ch. 1). Post-mortem examination of the brain in Parkinson’s disease may therefore show pallor of the loci coerulei as well as the substantia nigra. Despite normal age-related degeneration of the substantia nigra, most people have sufficient reserve capacity so that striatal dopamine levels never fall below 20% of normal.
Lewy bodies
The pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease is the Lewy body (Fig. 13.6). This is a type of pathological inclusion (abnormal protein aggregate) found in the cytoplasm of surviving neurons. Lewy bodies are spherical structures, measuring 5–30 µm in diameter. They are pink on standard histological preparations (because they take up the red tissue dye eosin) and are surrounded by a pale halo.
Progression of Lewy body pathology
Lewy body pathology begins in the medulla and olfactory bulbs, spreading progressively through six Braak stages to involve the pons, midbrain, limbic lobe, amygdala and neocortex (Fig. 13.7). Cortical Lewy bodies are similar to those encountered in the brain stem, but do not have a halo and are present even in cases without dementia. Pathological inclusions are also found in the autonomic nervous system, including the enteric nervous system in the gastrointestinal tract.
Spread of Lewy body pathology may reflect selective vulnerability of certain brain regions (so that they are affected earlier) or could be due to stepwise spread along anatomical pathways. Since the olfactory bulb is affected first, the possibility of a pathogenic virus infection gaining access to the brain via the nasal mucosa has been postulated.
The main constituent of Lewy bodies is alpha-synuclein. This is a synaptic protein that is present in presynaptic terminals in association with synaptic vesicles. It seems to be involved in neurotransmitter release and synaptic plasticity (which is critical for learning and memory; see Ch. 7). It may also take part in the regulation of dopamine storage and synaptic vesicle recycling.
The synuclein gene (SNCA, on chromosome 4) has six exons and encodes a natively unfolded 140-amino-acid protein. This has three domains, including a central hydrophobic region that is involved in protein aggregation. The most common familial forms of Parkinson’s disease are caused by duplications or triplications of the synuclein gene. In other cases SNCA point mutations encourage alpha-synuclein aggregation and Lewy body formation.
Accumulation of alpha-synuclein (within neurons and glia) occurs in several other parkinsonian syndromes including Parkinson’s disease with dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and MSA (Fig. 13.8) which are all classified as synucleinopathies. In other forms of parkinsonism such as PSP and CBD there is accumulation of the microtubule-associated protein tau and these disorders are therefore classified as tauopathies. The molecular classification of neurodegenerative diseases is discussed in Ch. 8.
Familial Parkinson’s disease
Five to ten percent of Parkinson’s disease is familial. Around a dozen genes have been identified and the six best understood are shown in Figure 13.9. Some genes have one name connected with the protein encoded and another that is based on the order of discovery (PARK1, PARK2, etc.). The names can be confusing (for instance, it turns out that PARK1 and PARK4 are the same gene).
Autosomal dominant PD
The first Parkinson’s disease gene to be identified was SNCA (also known as PARK1/PARK4), which encodes alpha-synuclein. This led to the discovery that alpha-synuclein is the main constituent of Lewy bodies. The gene was identified by genetic linkage analysis in a large Italian family known as the Contursi kindred. This family carries an alanine to threonine point mutation (A53T) in the alpha-synuclein gene on chromosome 4. Different point mutations (A30P, E46K) have been found in other families, all of which produce a severe, autosomal dominant Parkinson’s disease with variable penetrance. The clinical and pathological features are similar to sporadic Parkinson’s disease.
The most common form of autosomal dominant Parkinson’s disease is caused by mutation of the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2/PARK8). This is a large gene composed of 51 exons which encodes a 2,527-amino-acid protein called Dardarin (Basque: dadara, tremor). The protein is part of an intracellular second messenger cascade which activates intracellular kinases. A number of pathogenic mutations have been identified. These produce a late-onset, dopamine-responsive parkinsonian syndrome that resembles idiopathic Parkinson’s disease.
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Working With Dragons in Your Magickal Practice
Dragons Aren't All the Same
Not all dragons have wings or breathe fire—and some do. There are dragons for every element and season. Dragons of storms, thunder, and lightning. There are chaos dragons and baby dragons. Dragons that guard great treasures, and dragons that will take you for a flight. Many Dragons are also shapeshifters. Dragons hold great power, magick, and ancient wisdom, and they can be either harmful or helpful. Overall, working with dragons can lend great power to your spells, workings, and rituals.
Seasonal Dragons
Seasonal Dragons
Dragons Around the World
The word "dragon" conjures different images throughout the world. It can refer to any number of dragon families and subspecies depending on the region. In general, there are thought to be six families of dragons based on locale:
• One in northern Germany, Scandinavia, and the islands of the North Atlantic.
• A second in France, Italy, and Spain.
• A third in the British Isles, including Ireland.
• A fourth in the Mediterranean, Greece, Asia Minor, southern Russia, and northern Africa.
• The fifth and largest is in the Asian dragon of China, Japan, Indonesia, and the surrounding nations.
• The sixth and smallest is in the Americas and Australia.
The locale tends to determine a lot about the physical appearance of the dragons including whether they have two, four, or no legs, have wings or are wingless, and whether they breathe fire and/or smoke, or have scales.
Chinese Dragon
Chinese Dragon
Types of Dragons
We can see that not only are there Dragons connected to different forces of nature; Dragons look different depending on where they are from. Your personal Dragon will show you what s/he looks like over time. As you ‘see’ more of your personal Dragon you may wish to draw what you see or journal a description. Be sure to take in as many details as possible such as: color, scales, wings, legs if any, etc.
Let's explore some of the different appearances Dragons may have.
Classifications of Dragons
Two hind legs and two wings. No front legs.
Wingless serpentine body. Two clawed forearms. Scales or reptilian skin.
Oriental Dragon
Serpent-like body. Often with body features of other animals, such as a lion.
Western Dragons
Two front legs, two hind legs and two wings.
Where Does Dragon Lore Come From?
Thanks to the LOTR Trilogy and Game of Thrones, dragons have been gaining in popularity over the last decade. However, their lore goes back to ancient times and can be found all over the world. There are many theories as to how these stories began. Let's explore a few of the most common.
One theory which I personally believe to be plausible suggests that dragon lore rose as a result of dinosaur bones and fossils being found. As people discovered these relics, they created stories to explain who these creatures had been. A Chinese historian from the 4th century B.C.E., Chang Qu, even mislabeled a dinosaur fossil as a dragon.This would also help explain why dragon lore exists across the globe. In addition to dinosaur bones, dragon stories were also created with the discovery of whale bones and fossils from other large predators such as mastodons and megalodons. Some dragon pictures even show them with horns or tusks.
Another theory that connects dragons and dinosaurs is that there were still a small handful of dinosaurs alive at the same time as humans. It is thought they did their best to hide in remote areas such as mountain ranges, caves, and deep underwater and eventually died out completely. In fact there are some who think that the Loch Ness monster could been an example of this phenomenon. Is it possible that there were still some dinosaur descendants alive during the time humans created dragon lore? Could the stories of dragons guarding treasures in caves and mountains be a metaphor for the inability to access the rich minerals and ores found both places because it was guarded by a dinosaur or dinosaur decedent?
Armadillo Girdled Lizard
Armadillo Girdled Lizard
A third theory is that the dragons referred to in legend were actually just larger versions of lizards, crocodiles, snakes, or eels.
There are some lizards and snakes alive today that have acidic spit and some that spit poison. Could the concept of ‘fire breathing dragons’ come from these creatures? In fact, there are several species of lizards that are associated with dragons, including: Komodo dragons, bearded dragons, armadillo gilded lizard, and frilled lizards, and monitor lizards.
All plants and animals were bigger the further back in history we go so it is possible that smaller versions of these creatures still exist today. The Nile crocodile, for example, is among the largest of its species and it is possible that its territory as well as its size was once much larger than it is today. If that's true it's easy to see how early people may have considered it a dragon.
What do you think?
Dragon Symbols, Magical Associations, and Offerings
Use these items with intention on your altar or in your daily practices to welcome the energy of dragons.
Though there are some general items favored by all dragons, for the most part, picking the right offering depends a lot on what type of dragon you are working with.
Below are some suggestions to get you started. However, you will find over time that the best offerings are the ones your personal dragon requests so be sure to be open to hearing your dragons' whispers.
• General: Sword, athame, dragon’s blood resin, egg-shaped crystals and stones, dragon eggs, dragon statues, and whatever offerings your personal dragon(s) likes.
• General Food offerings: Dragon eggs, deviled dragon eggs, dragonfruit, and dragon noodles
• Fire and Smoke breathing Dragons: Offerings of smoke and fire, such as incense (especially Dragon’s Blood), burnt offerings of tobacco and/or herbs, candles, and sacred/ritual fires.
• Water Dragons: Shells, pearls, mermaid money (sand dollars), sea glass, sand from a favorite beach, and magickally charged Water.
• Earth Dragons: Stones, crystals, gems, geodes, herbs, plants, and coins.
• Storm Dragons: Rain, melted snow or ice collected during a storm, wind chimes, and weather vanes.
• Asian Dragons: Gold coins and pearls.
And again, once you have connected with a dragon you will learn the offerings that particular dragon appreciates. Remember, any stone, crystal, rock, or geode that is special to you is an appropriate offering. Simply dedicating altar space to dragons, having a small statue, dedicated candle, or dragon art in your home is an offering if done with intention.
Dragon's Blood Resin
Although dragons differ in physical appearance, there is one thing that all dragons have in common and that is their blood is extremely Magickal, and often poisonous and corrosive. The tree resin dragon’s blood can be used as a substitute for dragon blood in magick and spell work.
Some attributes of dragon’s blood are: protection, purification, power, healing, love, sexual potency, and of course dragon magick. It lends an oomph factor to any spellworking or magickal endeavor.
Sadly the dragon’s blood tree is currently endangered therefore the resin is as well.
Dragon Eggs
Dragon’s eggs represent potential and power. They symbolize baby dragons. There are many decorative dragon eggs for sale online and occasionally at renn faires. They make great decorations on your dragon altar. Recently the show Game of Thrones made both dragons and dragon eggs more popular and therefore easier to find for purchase.
Dragon Eggs
Dragon Eggs
Dragon’s Blood Ink by Scott Cunningham
• 15 parts high proof alcohol
• 1 part dragon’s blood
• 1 part gum Arabic
1. Grind the dragon’s blood down to a fine powder.
2. Steep in alcohol until dissolved.
3. Add powdered gum Arabic.
4. Shake to mix. Strain and bottle.
Use your dragon’s blood ink to add potency to any spell especially dragon spells and workings.
Incense Recipes
Since most dragons appreciate an offering of smoke, I’ve included some of my favorite incense recipes that I’ve created over the years working with dragons.
However, you don't have to limit these blends strictly to incense use. You can also roll ritual candles in these blends, add them to herbal sachets, mojo bags, dream pillows, or poppets, bottle it and label as 'dragon dust'. If you make your own bars of soap they can be added to create a soap for pre-ritual purification. And of course, they can be sprinkled about your altar or left as an offering in a small bowl to your dragon allies.
Sun Dragon Incense
• 2 parts frankincense tears
• 1 part chamomile
• 3–5 drops orange essential oil
1. Using a mortar and pestle, grind up the frankincense tears.
2. Once ground to a consistency you like, add some chamomile flowers.
3. Grind and combine.
4. Add the orange oil a drop at a time combining between each addition. Keep adding one drop at a time until the fragrance is where you want it to be.
Use to attract sun dragons and to honor and invite their solar energy into your space and/or working.
Dragon’s Sight Incense
• 3 parts copal
• 2 parts mugwort
• 1 part clary sage
• 1 part eyebright
1. Grind up the copal then add the loose herbs.
2. Grind and combine. Mugwort can sometimes be a challenge to incorporate into an incense blend. It can be helpful to chop or cut it up first, then add to the copal.
Use dragon’s sight to increase psychic abilities, for divination, and to increase prophetic dreams.
Dragon's Eye
Dragon's Eye
Dragon’s Breath Incense
• Equal parts dragon’s blood and white sage
Grind the two together using a mortar and pestle. Use dragon’s breath to cleanse yourself, your space, tools, and belongings.
Dragon’s Lair Incense
• Equal parts dragon’s blood and frankincense
Grind the two together using a mortar and pestle. Use to increase personal power and to invite the energy of dragons into a specific space, ritual, or working.
Closing Thoughts
Dragons are powerful, magickal creatures, and I hope the suggestions and ideas here encourage you to develop or deepen your relationship with them.
I’d love to hear some of your experiences with dragons as well. Feel free to comment with any encounters you’ve had. What are some of your favorite dragon offerings? Have any of you ever flown with dragons? What was your experience like? What would you recommend to others?
Blessed Be.
Smaug by Aja
Smaug by Aja
References and Resources
Scott Cunningham’s Incense, Oils, and Brews
Dancing With Dragons by D.J. Conway
© 2019 Jennifer Jorgenson
Coelophysis on February 24, 2020:
The 1983 article on gator bipedalism ,stand and gait in theropod dinosaur .the YouTube video that show modern crocodilian bipedalism ,bipedal by reitsen .black caiman hd by bibibinobi
Coelophysis on February 06, 2020:
The Coronavirus I wonder if they can use cave dwarf crocodile blood to fight it they eat bats the say it came from eating bats cave dwarf crocodile swim in bat waste they never get sick they think it’s a separate species the skull is different they say dwarf crocodile mite be 4 or 5 species it seem like a very tough animal modern crocodilian can bring dinosaur past like some have primitive feature not found in archosaur and they have advance feature like synsacrum the fossil wons and paper clip neural spine and binocular vision . The blood is more advance than human and mammal it can hold more oxygen .that blood allso fight sickness it’s like that because it’s warm blooded animal allso very fast animal a high up warm blooded animal that need a lots oxygen for the muscle it’s a reptile version of warmbloodness it’s skin croc bum mite be advance warmblood feature more they live on land the bigger they become like stegosaurus they do not need it whale wons have smooth skin and pterosaur these are very aquatic dinosaur they have to solve the drag problem it’s a primitive feature because it’s heavy most mammal have smooth skin like lizard .lizard evolve in the tree they have better design skin some have croc bum like caiman lizard .tuatara modern crocodilian skin look alike but it’s complete different skin design dinosaur skin is like the turtle. tuatara is like lizard. turtle gator are archosaurmorph animal thecodont feature animal .thermoregulation bum skin of dinosaur is advance kind because dinosaur was allways fast animal the first mesoeucrocodylia spinosauridae had fast legs like carnotaurus a dog like predator dinosaur .its all about animal have a system that can make a lot of oxygen bird and gator have poor lungs when compare to mammals that why birds have air sac a very advance feature and flow true lungs mammal lack that advance feature but make up for it true by advance lung gator allso has flow true lungs and hepatic piston and diaghragm and big lungs like extreme good flying birds and gator has better blood fatty battery and advance spleen.that is myth that modern crocodilian did not change true history.you can not use gator to study modern crocodilian you have to use all of them.
Coelophysis on December 08, 2019:
Modern crocodilian missing feature I mean archosaur any way the both feature is missing in there primitive ancestor Nile crocodile .its like American gator 2 nose hole in the skull it’s fuse like spinosauridae it’s ancestor Nile crocodile it’s not fuse one hole like a whale and horses and dog and Tasmanian tiger a advance feature .all scientist know gator was a dinosaur because of fossil proterochampsa a quadrupedal archosauriformies that has dinosaur ankle the 2 ankle bone fuse together then to tibia then fibula in 4 finger dinosaur only one of this bone is fuse ether fibula or tibia all fuse bone is tetanuran feature the 3 finger dinosaur. Proterochampsa was found in 1959 clearly is a dinosaur it’s ankle is more advance than 4 finger dinosaur. Ancient people mite have went too far with dragon blood meds result work sometime not every time that why some animal are gone
Coelophysis on December 04, 2019:
Dinosaurs did not die that the tabloid report on crocodilian the badit scientist report the scientist know that the gator and dinosaur are the same animal from the 1800 dwarf crocodile was found in that time it’s scientific name in Greek mean shield like mesoeucrocodylia shieldcroc it’s skin is like frill dinosaur like triceratops and t.rex was found in 1908 a full palate dinosaur clearly link to mesoeucrocodylia gator ok the past dragon they mite have seen sebecus type of mesoeucrocodylia they were alive at that time of man they look a bit different from modern crocodilian with nose point forward mostly walk bipedal they look more like theropod dinosaur they are not strong as eusuchian mesoeucrocodylia these were early land mesoeucrocodylia eusuchian did not kill them yet but in future they will looks like man kill them gator can easily live in a cave dwarf crocodile Nile crocodile does that most modern crocodilian hunt at night they have cat eyes they are more like mammal then other reptile likely they are warm blooded with heart kidney spleen a reptile version of warm blooded .modern crocodilian blood is use to fight aids and they are not same inside there body so the blood is different and can fight different sickness some modern crocodilian is missing archosauriformies feature black caiman broadsnout caiman this is in a high end modern crocodilian it was a primitive feature and dwarf caiman temporal fenestra is like dinosaur it’s not fuse one hole one of them fuse when juvenile not when adult same as Chinese t.rex so some of modern crocodilian species can bring back dinosaur past of 250 years ago to help man that why important save them and stop the tabloid nonesense
Silas777 on November 28, 2019:
This is a very good article. It gives plenty of information on dragons and draconic magic. |
Screenshot of example.py
geo.py is a small python module with no external dependencies that can do some simple vector calculations with geographic coordinates, primarily give the direction and distance from a start point to a destination.
Moreover, it contains a parser for geographic coordinates that aims to accept all possible input formats of simple geographic coordinates.
Example application
example.py is an example application that shows the capabilities of geo.py (see screenshot). The map is drawn by python-osmgpsmap.
get distance between two points on a sphere
#!/usr/bin/env python
import geo
print geo.distance(berlin,munich)
This will print 504131.727339, the distance from Berlin to Munich in meters.
determine travelling direction for a compass
#!/usr/bin/env python
import geo
print geo.great_circle_angle(munich,berlin,geo.magnetic_northpole)
This will print 204.239820331, the direction in degrees you would have to adjust your compass to when you want to go from Berlin to Munich if there were no declination.
This does NOT work, because there are strong irregularities of the magnetic field of the earth, that's why the compass needle does not point to the magnetic northpole on every point of the earth. A database containing the magnetic declination, the angle between local magnetic field and true north, for every point on the earth is necessary to compensate this.
There is a python module called geomag that can compensate this effect using the IGRF Model:
#!/usr/bin/env python
import geo
import geomag
berlin_lat = 52.518611
berlin_lon = 13.408056
true_north = geo.great_circle_angle(munich,berlin,geo.geographic_northpole)
print geomag.mag_heading(true_north,dlat=berlin_lat,dlon=berlin_lon)
This will print 192.976306521, if you adjust your compass to this angle you will actually get to Munich.
get cardinal directions from angle
#!/usr/bin/env python
import geo
print geo.direction_name(337.)
This will print "NNW", the cardinal direction corresponding to an angle of 337° from north.
Parse a position
#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import geo
print geo.parse_position("48° 8′ 0″ N, 11° 34′ 0″ E")
print geo.parse_position("48° 8′ 0″ N, -11° 34' 0'' W")
print geo.parse_position(" 11° 34′ O 48° 8´ 0″ N")
print geo.parse_position(" +1134.0 O 48° 8` 0″ N")
print geo.parse_position("48° 8′ 0″ 11° 34′ ")
print geo.parse_position("48.133333333333333; +11.566666666666666")
This will print six times the same (latitude,longitude) tuple (48.133333333333333, 11.566666666666666), as all these strings represent the same position.
Examples and this page
I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. There is no warranty. |
What’s an Infodemic? | inSagrado
What’s an Infodemic?
This was one of the topics covered in our 2020 Mental Health Conference.
By Kimberly Batista Romero
Journalism Student
In times of COVID-19, the infodemic is one of the factors that has most contributed to the deterioration of mental health. The World Health Organization defines “infodemic” as the excess of information that begins to be generated because people need and want to obtain data on the coronavirus.
It was precisely one of the main topics of the second Mental Health Conference recently held by Sagrado Corazón University. The goal of the virtual event was to educate about the importance of preserving mental health as a human right by promoting practices to strengthen it in the midst of the pandemic.
During the discussion entitled “The infodemic, mental health, and risk behaviors: What do we do?,” Dr. Juan Aníbal González and Dr. Teresa Gracia, an associate professor at our Interdisciplinary School of Humanistic and Social Studies, shared their knowledge with the Sagrado community.
After Gracia explained the concept of infodemic, González stressed that exposing oneself to too much information could have a harmful effect on health. In fact, there is such a term as “infoxication,” which occurs when a person feels confused, fearful, and uncertain due to an excess of data. This could cause psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress, among others.
“This phenomenon happens not only in open social networks, but also in closed ones such as WhatsApp,” clarified the clinical psychologist.
Meanwhile, in social terms, these disorders could cause the patient to suffer rejection and stigmatization.
“One of the recommendations that we should follow in order to discriminate between information is to go to the scientific source. Also, experts recommend disconnecting from cell phone use 30 minutes before going to bed,” suggested Professor Gracia.
At the end of the activity, the public was able to learn how to use various techniques to care for their mental health during the pandemic.
Check out their lecture here!
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John Gittings
China through the Sliding Door; Chapter XIV
Peace writings
Journal articles
Newspaper articles
Family links
1995 - 1998
A Nation of People
(a) The beggar girl
(b) The `revolutionary'
(c) The drivers
(d) The upright official
(e) The missionaries.
Without the people, Mao Zedong used to say, we are nothing. (The tragedy is that he forgot his own advice). And without the people, any attempt to understand China also means nothing. Even during the Cultural Revolution, the individual Chinese whom we met were never `faceless' as Western writers often described them - although it might be hard to read their features. Developments since then have made it easier for Chinese people to express their feelings and their personalities. Anyone pronouncing on contemporary China should bear in mind the simple fact: there are 1.2 billion Chinese and they are all individuals.
So often in my travels I have briefly chanced upon persons whose life stories I wish I had been able to learn from beginning to end. The list of them would include: the itinerant bee-keepers of Fujian, seen on the road in Shaanxi; a circus troupe in a small Zhejiang town who invited me to travel with them; the would-be entrepreneurs whom I met in railway restaurant cars as they were heading south or north to seek their fortune; all sorts of people from outside Beijing who congregated in Tiananmen Square in May-June 1989; restless junior officials drinking in cheap hotels and chafing at their empty lives; and, up and down the country, students, teachers, painters and poets, some merely marking time but many clinging to high ideals.
There are others too, more fortunate, with money and connections who aspire to a modern Asian lifestyle, eating and shopping in the new fast food restaurants and department stores of the big cities. If I have identified less with them in these pages, it is because their aspirations are more familiar, but they form the most dynamic sector now of Chinese society. Their lives and those of the parents have changed immensely in the last ten or twenty years. And when the grandparents die, so many of their life histories contain unimaginable tales of upheaval and of - often tragic - drama.
Chinese officials too are people, with their own complicated histories from the past and ambivalent views on the future. Though the bureaucratic tradition maintains its strong and deadening grip, some officials do show a sense of responsibility, an eagerness to help their nation modernise and reform itself. The other tradition of the upright official, asserting what is right even if it should offend the imperial authorities, also survives among a minority.
In the course of nearly thirty years of travel, how many of this vast nation of individuals have I got to know? If I am honest, it is only a tiny handful compared to the multitude. Yet however few they may be, they provide a small window into the huge complexity of human existence which is China. Whatever we may understand about China can only be achieved through their words, their feelings and their lives.
March 1995, Guangan, Sichuan province
Reading the walls in China opens windows to human experience which cannot easily be gauged by other means. In these post-Mao entrepreneurial times there may be no revolutionary slogans or manifestos, but there is still life, and death, in plenty.
Li Meiying, aged thirteen, has turned herself into a living wall-poster. She stands against a plain brick wall in the main street of Guangan, Deng Xiaoping's home town in Sichuan province. With silent bowed head she displays, hung around her neck, a plea for help.
It is market day in Guangan: peasants with bamboo baskets, students on their way to school, and passers-by gather to read. Hers is an everyday story of the kind of tragedy which can so easily overwhelm a Chinese family now that state employers or communes no longer provide all their needs.
Meiying - her name means `beautiful and courageous' - comes from a family of five. Her father, a rural tractor-driver, had dumped a load of sand one day and was returning home with some passengers on the back. He skidded in the rain and plunged 300 yards down a hillside: three passengers were wounded and one died. Insurance is almost unknown. He was jailed and ordered to pay compensation to the wounded and provide for the schooling of the dead man's son.
Meiying's mother sold their livestock and furniture, but it was not enough. Distraught, she has become mentally ill. She also suffers from heart trouble. The family cannot afford medicine for her. `I beg all the aunties and uncles who read this to show their generosity,' Meiying's placard concludes. `I shall never forget your kindness!'
Such a tale might arouse scepticism in cynical Beijing, but not in small-town Guangan. `It's a very sad story: you must give her some money,' the spectators urge.
Written Chinese has a visual and cultural power not easily comprehended by those used to the Western alphabet. Writ large, it conveys a graphic sense of urgency commanding attention. Writ small, it packs a surprising amount of human detail into the most laconic account. During the Cultural Revolution, most notices were ritual denunciations of officially-targeted `capitalist-roaders'. But small groups of Red Guards turned the `big character poster' to their own purpose, arguing for a genuine revolution instead of the one stage-managed by the sycophantic elite around Mao Zedong.
In 1979 and 1980, when Deng Xiaoping was challenging Mao's successors, a wider range of radical arguments appeared on Beijing's Democracy Wall. Ten years later, these blossomed in the leaflets and posters of Tiananmen Square.
Any notice soon attracts a crowd puzzling over subtle allusions. But, with politics banished from the walls, the most topical subject is now crime. The most compulsive reading remains the `execution poster', easily spotted because it carries a large tick in red ink to signify that the job has been well done. When I visited Guangan it had just completed the traditional Chinese New Year purge of those on death row. The Guangan intermediate court's proclamation listed twelve names. Their appeals to a higher court had been rejected and all were `dealt with by shooting'. The details make tawdry, pathetic, reading: six murderers, two persistent robbers, two rapists and two guilty of serious wounding. Who knows what inadequacies, frustrations and perhaps miscarriages of justice these may conceal.
In each case the court pronounced that `the crime was severe and the circumstances atrocious'. The accused were sentenced to death and - as if it mattered - to `deprivation for life of all political rights'.
Amnesty International's partial list of Chinese executions for 1993 totals 1,419. The real figure may be twice as high. The sentences are intended to deter, but the number of violent crimes is rising. Photographs of young men paraded in the streets on their way to execution have been smuggled out. Some show defiant gestures. In pre-Communist China, the boldest criminals sang snatches of opera to the waiting crowd. What do they call out today? Long live the socialist market economy?
Next to Guangan's execution poster is a more hopeful list, of high school graduates who have been successful in college entrance exams. For the spectators, many of whom are young and unemployed, they are the ones who will escape.
October 1996, London
Wang Li, who has died aged 77, had his finest day on 22 July, 1967, at the height of the Cultural Revolution. With his foot in plaster, he was greeted by almost the entire Chinese leadership at Beijing airport, after winning a fierce battle between rival Red Guard factions in the central city of Wuhan. He had scored a revolutionary victory, the banners proclaimed, against the dogs' head counter-revolutionaries.
Six weeks later, when his `ultra-left' faction was itself condemned as counter-revolutionary, Wang was denounced as a traitor against Chairman Mao. Confused? So were thousands of Red Guards who took their lead from him: famously, one group had seized control of the Foreign Ministry and stormed (setting on fire) the British charge d'affaire's office in Beijing.
Wang did not exactly have `revolution' written on his face. Nancy Milton, a foreign `polisher' of official documents at the Chinese news agency, described him as a handsome man, `stout in his khaki padded overcoat, his suave bankerly appearance seeming strangely out of place amid the admiring swarms of excited Red Guards.'
No youthful worshipper himself of the Red Sun, Wang was one of a group of` middle-aged ideologues who took Mao's side against the Communist Party bureaucracy for mixed reasons. Like many leftwing intellectuals, the ideologues were attracted by Mao's idea of building communism at full speed - even if the country was not ready for it. Joining Mao's camp also protected them from being labelled `bourgeois scholars'.
Born to a property-owning family in the central province of Jiangsu, he joined the Party in 1939 and worked his way up the national hierarchy of propaganda departments. By the early 1960s, he was helping to produce anti-Moscow polemics as part of the bitter Sino-Soviet dispute. Wang was closely connected to the mayor of Beijing, Peng Zhen. But when Peng became the first target of the Cultural Revolution in the spring of 1966, Wang made a quick switch to the Maoist camp.
The ultra-left excesses of this camp led to the first split a year later. Mao's wife Jiang Qing and her group (who were later known as the Gang of Four) gained political space by ousting Wang's clique. Wang was accused of seeking to undermine Premier Zhou Enlai: Jiang Qing had exactly the same intention but went about it more circumspectly later on.
Wang's downfall came about through two errors. Mao personally criticized his speech encouraging the Red Guards to seize the Foreign Ministry; the Chairman knew that revolution must be kept within the family. Wang also erred by sponsoring a controversial play, Madman of a New Age. Its real-life hero was a young man, Chen Lining, who had denounced Mao's main rival, the Head of State Liu Shaoqi, several years earlier when Mao and Liu were still officially on good terms. Chen had then been certified as mentally ill. Wang now claimed that the unfortunate patient was a political dissident suffering from `fascist persecution.'
Whether the claims could be substantiated or not was never discovered; but it was foolish of Wang to get involved in the theatre which was, as everyone knew, the domain of ex-film actress, Mao's wife Jiang Qing. In 1967 Wang was imprisoned. He spent the next fifteen years in jail without being charged with a crime. Outside, Mao died, others rose and fell - including eventually the Gang of Four.
Wang emerged in 1982 to rejoin his wife, filing more than 100 petitions for rehabilitation by the Party. Wang denied that he had ever encouraged violence and claimed to have been the scapegoat for the chaos which almost destroyed China in mid-1967. He also claimed to have helped Deng Xiaoping write a letter of `self-criticism' which saved him from the fate of Liu Shaoqi, who was beaten and died in prison. More recently Wang has claimed that Deng was prepared to rehabilitate him, but that other leaders objected.
He spent his last years in Shanghai where he was said to live comfortably in a a spacious house in Shanghai - with a red carpet. Wang said that he would take the secrets of his brief period of fame to his grave. They were not really so mysterious. Revolutions have a habit of getting hijacked by the ambitious and the amoral. Wang may have looked `suave', but he was out of his depth.
November 1996, Yanzhou, Shandong province
Sitting on a stone bench in front of Yanzhou station I look across the square. It is vast, like most such places in China. A plinth in the centre carries a rusted statue of a worker, labelled `Building the nation'. He is shown guiding the hook and tackle of a hoist, which descends from nowhere. Yanzhou, in the eastern province of Shandong, is an industrial centre - although the rural birthplace of Confucius is just down the road.
In front of the plinth there is a parked bus: it turns out to be a public lavatory. In a little booth, its custodian hands out small wadges of paper to customers in exchange for tiny sums. He also provides a public telephone service.
An idle group of waiting passengers peer at my note-taking. `Your writing is hard to read', says one, as if I were writing in Chinese. They comment, laughing, on my left-handedness, and drift away.
A beggar in cotton shoes, black felt hat and padded coat, approaches me. Suddenly he pulls back his coat to reveal that his right arm is no more than a fingered flipper attached to the shoulder. Startled, I give him a note so large that he is surprised in turn.
It is time to move off before I become an object of general interest. I walk over to a magaazine stall, with rows of periodicals displayed behind glass. The practice is to ask for one, study it carefully, then either buy or toss it back with a casual buyao - `don't want.' I am making a general collection, so cause a stir by buying a dozen different titles without reading them first.
They include a military magazine with a picture of a British UN soldier on thefront, a fashion journal, one advizing young people on how to set up home, a short story collection, several police and romance titles, and what proves to be aremarkable expose of the hardships of peasant life, part of a series called `an eye on the real China'. (Afterwards I regret not buying them all).
Some taxi drivers come up with friendly curiosity. Where am I from, where did I learn Chinese? The conversation moves quickly to another familiar topic: how `backward' China is compared to Britain. And yet China, they lament, is a nation with five thousand years of history!
I am asked how long ago England was `established as a nation' - jianguo? In this special sense, China was only `established' in 1949 when the communist revolution succeeded. England has been established for several hundred years, I loosely reply. This helps to explain why we are more `advanced'.
The conversation takes a different turn. How many wives are you alllowed im England - some disbelief that it is only one. This leads on to Aids and drugs, and a less favourable comparison between the West and China. But the balance tips again.
Is the government corrupt in England? Here in China, it's really terrible. There are laws but they are worth nothing. The ordinary people have no trust in them. And we finish on another familiar topic: China's population is far too large: its social discipline is too bad. Singapore is mentioned admiringly.
I move on, past the bus station. The most popular routes are lined up on the square, waiting for passengers from the trains. They include buses to Qufu where Confucius was born, one of China's best-known tourist destinations.
There is a trick to catching buses here. No one wishes to board one - especially the private minibuses - till it is nearly full, because it may wait for ever. A few exhausted train passengers are lured in, while people linger outside. Then the driver gets in: there is a quick rush. He cunningly moves a few feet, and switches off again.
I take out my camera to photograph the line of buses: some are grimy beyond belief. One of them has broken down and is being pushed away by hands. Husbands, sisters and children are urged to look at the Old Foreigner Taking a Picture (Old as in Honourable, I must explain).
I continue the circuit, past the plinth with the statue and the lavatory bus. I now see several large vats behind it, some empty and some full, serving an obvious purpose.
At the foot of the square is a huge department store of the type which every town in China now requires. It has lots of tinted blue glass and a dome on top.The store calls itself Nine Oceans Goods Store. There is a much smaller globe above the traffic cop at the road junction. This contains the lights and - an ingenious device widely used in China - a countdown showing the number of seconds till they will next change.
On the last side of the circuit, I pass the `Calfnia Restaurant' and the `YZBG Hotel', both in Roman lettering. California is easily recognized, but YZBG? Like many modern shop signs, this one has taken the initial letter of each word in its title (as spelled in the Chinese phonetic alphabet) to form a meaningless acronym. YZBG stands for Yan Zhou Bin Guan or Yanzhou Guest House.
Finally, the female touts outside a couple of small restaurants urge me to eat, but accept with good humour my reply that I have chihaole - `eaten well'.
It is time to enter the dim waiting hall and see whether this is a railway station with good or bad social discipline. It is good, to a fault. The smartly uniformed staff makes us line up in twos, and march on to the platform. Travelling in China can be exhausting but it is always full of surprises.
25 June 1998, Xian
Chinese security officials have ensured that human rights will remain a source of contention during the visit of President Bill Clinton by taking heavy-handed action against critics of the Beijing regime even as the president was on his way to Xian.
A former government official in Xian, Lin Mu, well known for his advocacy of political reform, was barred from receiving visitors today. The Guardian's attempt to pay a quiet visit to his home was frustrated by half a dozen plainclothes police.
It was a journey that quickly exposed the limits of Beijing's tolerance of dissidents. An unmarked black car stuck close to my taxi through the morning rush hour of Xian and plainclothes police were waiting at the gate as I tried to enter. Forced to leave the car, I walked quickly into the compound but was soon surrounded by a group of people tugging at my clothes and demanding to know my identity.
They were sharp-faced and agitated, wearing the anonymous uniform of loose trousers and white shirt. `You would not just walk into the house of the British prime minister, would you?' asked one accusingly.
Back at the main gate, I was shoved to one side when the distinguished ex-official I was trying to visit emerged, furious at the news of my detention. He denounced one policeman he knew by name to the gathering crowd in this side street in the city's south.
`It is my right under the constitution to entertain guests,' he shouted. `Calm down, old Lin,' another policeman said patronizingly. Mr Lin became even more furious.
I was told I had to register as a visitor before I could see a resident within the compound. On trying to register, I was told that according to unspecified `regulations', no visit could be made. The argument that Mr Lin was entitled to speak freely to a foreign journalist because China had now opened up did not impress a Mr Han - the only policeman willing to show his identity card.
`Yes, China is an open country,' he said. `But openness has its limits.'
It was a stalemate: I walked away slowly to have a late breakfast - a bowl of hot spicy noodles on a pavement stall - and consider what I had seen. For many Chinese it was an everyday incident, but it provides a sobering counterpoint to assertions that China's human rights policy will improve if the regime is left to its own devices.
Two dissidents in the Xian area were reported to have been sequestered by
the police the previous day. They were taken to separate hotels, presumably to ensure they could not be contacted by foreign journalists.
Mr Lin is a former Communist Party official who has petitioned the government urging reform. He was dismissed from the Party for supporting the student movement in 1989 but is still a free citizen. Last month Mr Lin and 11 other critics of the regime sent an open letter to the National People's Congress calling for the release of Zhao Ziyang, the Party Secretary-general who was ousted after opposing military action in Tiananmen Square. One of the men detained in Xian yesterday has also signed a letter urging Mr Clinton to meet Mr Zhao while in Beijing.
It is beginning to look as though any reference to Mr Zhao, whose job was appropriated by Jiang Zemin - now China's president - touches a highly neuralgic nerve in Beijing.
In a letter to the Communist Party leadership apparently written earlier this month, leaked to Reuters agency yesterday in Beijing, Mr Zhao called on it to admit that the massacre was `a historical mistake'. Otherwise, he argued, the incident would continue to undermine China's reputation. He welcomed the Clinton visit as a `turn for the better', but he said that relations with the West continue to be marred by the human rights issue.
The more open atmosphere of debate which has emerged this year focuses, often outspokenly, on the harmful social effects of economic reform, including corruption, widening income gaps and unemployment. But the concept of political reform is still left on the margin.
The letter takes issue with this gradualist approach. A repudiation of the Beijing massacre, it says, `would bring one hundred benefits and no harm'. It is time to give a fair appraisal and `not carry a historical burden into the next century'.
As a Party member, Mr Zhao entitled to petition the leadership: there is a long tradition going back to imperial times of exiled officials who refused to remain silent. Even some of Mao's colleagues spoke out and are now hailed for their courage.
Mr Lin belongs to the same tradition as Mr Zhao of `upright officials' who refuse to be silenced. Before the Cultural Revolution he worked for Hu Yaobang who, as Party Secretary-general in the 1980s, encouraged talk of political reform. Mr Hu was ousted by hardliners and his death sparked the 1989 democracy movement.
Last year Mr Lin issued a manifesto appealing to the leadership to tackle corruption, release political prisoners and begin a transition towards multi-party democracy. By doing so, he argued, the Party would actually win back the trust of the people, and it would `retain the status of the ruling party in future democratic elections'. The present rulers appear to have no intention of taking any such chance.
`It is only democracy and the rule of law that China can turn to,' Mr Lin wrote, `not the cult of violence or the suppression of dissent.' He said repression only aggravated social tensions, citing growing unemployment.
Most Chinese would regard the small scuffle at Mr Lin's gate yesterday as he norm. `This is just the way they behave,' said one witness with contempt. `They go their way and we go ours.'
Those responsible may be minor officials who are not used to national diplomacy. `Beijing is Beijing,' one of the policemen said, `but this is Xian.' But they are part of a countrywide policy to stifle dissent during the American President's visit. It is a paradox that Mr Lin is able to send messages and articles he outside world - although his telephone was being tapped yesterday - but still may not be interviewed in his home town.
June 1997, Jinggangshan, Jiangxi province
Seventy years after Mao Zedong launched the Red Army from these mountains in southern China on the path of peasant revolution, some young Chinese are adopting new ideals.
These come in a strange assortment, as I have just discovered travelling in a wide sweep through Guangdong to Jiangxi province. Many young people are too busy looking for work to set their sights higher, but others claim a sense of missionary zeal to do something `good for the nation'. The nationalist students of the 1920s would have recognized the sentiment, though it can take dubious forms today.
In a filthy third-class carriage on the new railway which passes through southern Jiangxi, I was greeted by a band of modern evangelists. Their cause was not immediately apparent, but the commitment was clear in their shining eyes and almost over-warm handshakes. The mission, they told me, was too complex to be explained here among the peanut shells and banana skins, against the noise through broken train windows. Fortunately we were heading for the same town. When we arrived late at night, their leader was met by a dozen followers, clasping his hands and vying to carry his luggage.
I extracted the truth in a long session the next day, probing the philosophy they expounded to reach, at last, a solid material basis. This took the form of a glossy pamphlet for the Futian Oxygenating Health Machine, with a cover picture of two dozen happy Westerners, including dog and baby, beaming behind a moulded plastic box with two indentations at the top. It was an electric foot massager of the kind sold in Hong Kong health shops.
The young evangelists insisted they were not just selling a product: they were engaged in `cultural communication'. They were forming a network of like-minded people `of high moral worth' to disseminate advanced market information whichwould improve the people's health and contribute to the nation's wealth. They quoted the writings of an American guru whose name I could not quite translate back from the Chinese.
It is true that they were not selling the Health Machine as such: they were selling information about it to a network of those who would then sell it. It was, in other words, a classic pyramid scheme. Members of the network paid a `premium' - a figure of 700 yuan (fifty pounds) was mentioned - before setting up their own subsidiary network. It was possible, I was told, for an individual to earn 200,000 renminbi in a month: just think how profits of this size could then be invested in successful industry for the good of the nation!
The actual gadget (if anyone buys it) is marketed for 3,900 yuan (300 pounds). The user puts his or her feet in the indentations, plugs it in, and it will then, says the brochure, `communicate oxygen to the autonomic nervous system'. It is to be found, I was told, in every three-star hotel in Japan. Did they have another product in mind to `culturally communicate' to the Chinese nation? Yes indeed. The next item to be disseminated to those of high moral worth was an electric lavatory seat.
Spooky though they were, the Futian Net display in an extreme form the connection - and confusion - between personal and public goals which characterizes this former revolutionary society. The ambivalence is often shown in answers to the standard conversational question: `What is your lixiang?' The dictionary translation of the word is `ideal', but it can also denote `ambition', and answers range uncertainly between the two.
An out-of-work graduate in English replies she is heading for Guangzhou to look for work, preferably in a firm with foreign connections: that is pure ambition. Another with a degree in physics hopes to go abroad to make money, and also `learn new ideas' which will help his country. A language student says she has no `ambition' but just wants to be a good teacher - an unfashionable ideal these days.
Around the economic zone of Shantou, in eastern Guangdong province, I came across some actual missionaries. Just 140 years after the first Presbyterians built a church in Shantou, an amazing revival is under way. Most of the 600 who turned up for the weekly bible class at Shantou West Church were in their twenties or thirties. Many rode scooters and wore brightly coloured helmets. But they were not just attending for social purposes. A visiting Hong Kong Chinese minister was envious of the congregation's commitment. `They're not content with an hour's bible class but insist on more,' he said. `In Hong Kong our young people have too many distractions.'
Out in the Shantou countryside, new churches have been built as high as block of flats. One fine example stands alone by a wooded hill, dwarfing the pagodaon the summit, and blocking the view from several dozen Chinese tombs on the hillside. Such conflicts of interest between Christian missions and local tradition led, 100 years ago, to the Boxer rebellion. Today there is still resentment, but money speaks louder. In another county town, a new church of more modern design gleams with blue reflective glass. Together with a smaller church, it baptises 100 people every year; they have a combined congregation of 2,000. The pastors of both churches are young and open-faced, too young to remember the dark years when the faithful could worship only in secret.
The missionary impulse in China today is not confined to charlatans or to the Christian Church: it infuses much of what we might regard as normal commercial activity. Perhaps the traditional contempt with which entrepreneurs were regarded still requires a higher purpose to be invoked. The impulse is so well internalized that those who invoke it may be unaware of the mental sleight of hand. This is particularly true of the overseas Chinese investors who put their money in the motherland.
The Shantou West Church has been an incidental beneficiary: the Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-hsing gave it three million Hong Kong dollars (240,000 pounds) to rebuild on the old site. He has put up 100 times as much to build a university on the hillside overlooking Shantou, complete with swimming pools, conference centre, and a 600-bed teaching hospital. Other investments in Shantou include new ports, a power plant, and a bridge.
Mr Li, praised as a patriot by China's President Jiang Zemin, is the best known of a number of overseas Chinese tycoons who sustain much of the coastal economic boom. They are regarded as gurus as well as investors. Guangdong television portrays the superior wisdom of men such as the Indonesian Li Guihua, who is shown lecturing communist cadres on the virtues of competition and efficiency.
Li Ka-hsing is the hero of books and magazines, preaching his own religion: that success depends upon knowing when to give ground. `Why did the Yangzi become a long river?' he asks. `Because it can accept smaller rivers and can become big. If you're too powerful and reject the smaller waters, you cannot become a long river.' Such sentiments delight native Chinese entrepreneurs. They are written up in a monthly magazine called Rich People.
It is obvious - and has been for some time - that these new evangelisms have filled a gap left by the declining appeal of the Chinese Communist Party. Yet some of the Party's fifty million members still believe in making a contribution to society - though `serving the people' has given way to `making the people rich' - and they take a tough view on law and order.
The question of what will emerge out of this ideological jumble in present-day China is difficult but vital for the future. Quite a large minority seeks some sort of intellectual prop, whether fashioned from superstition, religion, business mantras or socialism turned into muscular patriotism. Perhaps none will prevail: will this mean that China evolves into a more pluralist society of ideas, or descends into universal cynicism - or will some new -ism arise to sweep the country again? |
CPD Workshops
by Amy Collins January 9, 2019
You will need (per team of 4):
• 1 x Deep Gratnells tray with lid
• 1 x Picture of two woodlice or two live woodlice in a petri dish (handle with care) (A)
• 1 x Piece of copper pipe in a jar (B)
• 1 x Strip of litmus paper (C)
• 1 x Sealed transparent jar with copper sulphate in it (D)
• 1 x Sealed transparent jar with calcium carbonate in it (E)
• 1 x Sealed transparent jar with a piece of carbon/graphite in it (F)
• 1 x Model brain (G)
• Question cards and labels for all the items
• Pencil and paper for noting down the answer
This activity can be repeated multiple times, reusing the same equipment for each team.
Tips: Parafilm is great for sealing jars. If you don’t have some of the items on the equipment list, the question cards also show a photograph of the item and can be used alone without a prop, however, some of the questions may be more difficult to answer from just looking at a picture.
• Follow the instructions on the question cards and labels download.
• Label all the items with the corresponding question card.
• Place all the labelled items into the tray and put the lid on.
What to do:
• Approach the tray and lift the lid.
• Explore the contents of the tray and answer each of the seven questions (A to G).
• Substitute each answer into this equation (A + B + C + E + F + G) x D = ?
• Make a note of the final answer (?) and show your workings.
• The team closest to the answer gets 5 points, next closest 4 points and so on. Or, or award one point for each correct answer A-G and a bonus point for getting the total correct.
• Do not open any of the sealed pots or remove any of the question card labels.
Tidy up time:
• Put all the items back into the tray and replace the lid.
1. How may legs on two woodlouse = 14 x 2 = 28
2. What is the atomic number (piece of copper pipe) = 29
3. Most alkaline number on the pH scale = 14
4. How many atoms of sulphur in one molecule (Copper Sulphate, CuSO4) = 1
5. The number of different elements in Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) = 3,
6. What is the atomic number (piece of carbon/graphite) = 6.
7. How many cells? 1 billion, 10 billion or 100 billion (model of a brain) = 100 billion
Total: (28 + 29 + 14 + 3 + 6 + 100 billion) x 1 = 100 billion and 80 OR 100,000,000,080
Other things to try:
Health & Safety
As with all Gratnells Learning Rooms What’s In My Tray activities, you should carry out your own risk assessment prior to undertaking any of the activities or demonstrations. In particular, see the appropriate CLEAPSS HazCards |
Collodion: A nitrocellulose solution in ether and alcohol. Collodion has a wide range of uses in industry including applications in the manufacture of photographic film, in fibers, in lacquers, and in engraving and lithography. In medicine it is used as a drug solvent and a wound sealant.Ichthyosis: Any of several generalized skin disorders characterized by dryness, roughness, and scaliness, due to hypertrophy of the stratum corneum epidermis. Most are genetic, but some are acquired, developing in association with other systemic disease or genetic syndrome.Ichthyosis, Lamellar: A chronic, congenital ichthyosis inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Infants are usually born encased in a collodion membrane which sheds within a few weeks. Scaling is generalized and marked with grayish-brown quadrilateral scales, adherent at their centers and free at the edges. In some cases, scales are so thick that they resemble armored plate.Transglutaminases: Transglutaminases catalyze cross-linking of proteins at a GLUTAMINE in one chain with LYSINE in another chain. They include keratinocyte transglutaminase (TGM1 or TGK), tissue transglutaminase (TGM2 or TGC), plasma transglutaminase involved with coagulation (FACTOR XIII and FACTOR XIIIa), hair follicle transglutaminase, and prostate transglutaminase. Although structures differ, they share an active site (YGQCW) and strict CALCIUM dependence.Encyclopedias as Topic: Works containing information articles on subjects in every field of knowledge, usually arranged in alphabetical order, or a similar work limited to a special field or subject. (From The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)PrintingPhotography: Method of making images on a sensitized surface by exposure to light or other radiant energy.Dictionaries, MedicalHemostatics: Agents acting to arrest the flow of blood. Absorbable hemostatics arrest bleeding either by the formation of an artificial clot or by providing a mechanical matrix that facilitates clotting when applied directly to the bleeding surface. These agents function more at the capillary level and are not effective at stemming arterial or venous bleeding under any significant intravascular pressure.Dictionaries as Topic: Lists of words, usually in alphabetical order, giving information about form, pronunciation, etymology, grammar, and meaning.History, 20th Century: Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.Lighting: The illumination of an environment and the arrangement of lights to achieve an effect or optimal visibility. Its application is in domestic or in public settings and in medical and non-medical environments.History, 17th Century: Time period from 1601 through 1700 of the common era.Electronic Mail: Messages between computer users via COMPUTER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS. This feature duplicates most of the features of paper mail, such as forwarding, multiple copies, and attachments of images and other file types, but with a speed advantage. The term also refers to an individual message sent in this way.Ultrafiltration: The separation of particles from a suspension by passage through a filter with very fine pores. In ultrafiltration the separation is accomplished by convective transport; in DIALYSIS separation relies instead upon differential diffusion. Ultrafiltration occurs naturally and is a laboratory procedure. Artificial ultrafiltration of the blood is referred to as HEMOFILTRATION or HEMODIAFILTRATION (if combined with HEMODIALYSIS).Periodicals as Topic: A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.Journal Impact Factor: A quantitative measure of the frequency on average with which articles in a journal have been cited in a given period of time.Meningocele: A congenital or acquired protrusion of the meninges, unaccompanied by neural tissue, through a bony defect in the skull or vertebral column.Encephalocele: Brain tissue herniation through a congenital or acquired defect in the skull. The majority of congenital encephaloceles occur in the occipital or frontal regions. Clinical features include a protuberant mass that may be pulsatile. The quantity and location of protruding neural tissue determines the type and degree of neurologic deficit. Visual defects, psychomotor developmental delay, and persistent motor deficits frequently occur.PaintScalp: The outer covering of the calvaria. It is composed of several layers: SKIN; subcutaneous connective tissue; the occipitofrontal muscle which includes the tendinous galea aponeurotica; loose connective tissue; and the pericranium (the PERIOSTEUM of the SKULL).Water: A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)Diffusion: The tendency of a gas or solute to pass from a point of higher pressure or concentration to a point of lower pressure or concentration and to distribute itself throughout the available space. Diffusion, especially FACILITATED DIFFUSION, is a major mechanism of BIOLOGICAL TRANSPORT.Membranes: Thin layers of tissue which cover parts of the body, separate adjacent cavities, or connect adjacent structures.LuxembourgMicropore Filters: A membrane or barrier with micrometer sized pores used for separation purification processes.Cellulose: A polysaccharide with glucose units linked as in CELLOBIOSE. It is the chief constituent of plant fibers, cotton being the purest natural form of the substance. As a raw material, it forms the basis for many derivatives used in chromatography, ion exchange materials, explosives manufacturing, and pharmaceutical preparations.Biochemical Processes: Chemical reactions or functions, enzymatic activities, and metabolic pathways of living things.LacquerEstoniaIndonesia: A republic stretching from the Indian Ocean east to New Guinea, comprising six main islands: Java, Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo), Sulawesi (formerly known as the Celebes) and Irian Jaya (the western part of New Guinea). Its capital is Djakarta. The ethnic groups living there are largely Chinese, Arab, Eurasian, Indian, and Pakistani; 85% of the peoples are of the Islamic faith.History, 19th Century: Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.History, 18th Century: Time period from 1701 through 1800 of the common era.Police: Agents of the law charged with the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing law and order among the citizenry.BooksScience: The study of natural phenomena by observation, measurement, and experimentation.African Americans: Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the black groups of Africa.NewsNewspapers: Publications printed and distributed daily, weekly, or at some other regular and usually short interval, containing news, articles of opinion (as editorials and letters), features, advertising, and announcements of current interest. (Webster's 3d ed)Mass Media: Instruments or technological means of communication that reach large numbers of people with a common message: press, radio, television, etc.Indians, North American: Individual members of North American ethnic groups with ancient historic ancestral origins in Asia.Social Sciences: Disciplines concerned with the interrelationships of individuals in a social environment including social organizations and institutions. Includes Sociology and Anthropology.Falkland Islands: A British colony in the Atlantic Islands, comprising two principal islands, East Falkland and West Falkland. Its capital is Stanley. Discovered in 1592, it was not occupied until the French settled there briefly in 1764. Later the English settled there but were expelled by the Spanish in 1770. The Falklands were claimed by Argentina but were occupied in 1833 by the British who, after an April 1982 invasion by Argentina, regained them in June. The islands were named by British Captain John Strong in 1690 for the fifth Viscount Falkland who financed Strong's expedition. The Spanish name for the islands, Malvinas, is from the French Malouins, inhabitants of St. Malo who attempted to colonize the islands in 1764. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p389 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p182)Oxidation-Reduction: A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).Mammoths: An extinct genus of large mammals in the family Elephantidae that fed by grazing on low vegetation. Most died out at the end of the last ice age.Portraits as Topic: Graphic representations, especially of the face, of real persons, usually posed, living or dead. (From Thesaurus for Graphic Materials II, p540, 1995)Glass: Hard, amorphous, brittle, inorganic, usually transparent, polymerous silicate of basic oxides, usually potassium or sodium. It is used in the form of hard sheets, vessels, tubing, fibers, ceramics, beads, etc.Silver: Silver. An element with the atomic symbol Ag, atomic number 47, and atomic weight 107.87. It is a soft metal that is used medically in surgical instruments, dental prostheses, and alloys. Long-continued use of silver salts can lead to a form of poisoning known as ARGYRIA.MuseumsComputing Methodologies: Computer-assisted analysis and processing of problems in a particular area.GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gs: A family of heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein alpha subunits that activate ADENYLYL CYCLASES. |
Japanese ship found after 70 years
MICROSOFT co-founder Paul Allen said Wednesday he had found one of Japan’s biggest and most famous battleships on a Philippine seabed, some 70 years after American forces sank it during World War II.
The battleship Musashi, sunk by US warplanes in 1944, was found 1km
beneath the Sibuyan Sea.
Allen posted photos and video online of parts of what he said was the battleship Musashi, found by his M/Y Octopus exploration vessel one kilometer (1.6 miles) deep on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea.
“World War II battleship Musashi sank 1944 is found,” Allen announced in a Twitter post that has been re-tweeted close to 19,000 times.
The discovery was the end of an eight-year search for the Musashi, backed by historical data from four countries and using “advanced technology” that surveyed the seabed, Allen said in a statement on his website.
“I am honored to play a part in finding this key vessel in naval history and honoring the memory of the incredible bravery of the men who served aboard her,” Allen said.
Undersea footage on Allen’s website showed what were described as a valve, a catapult for planes, a gun turret and a starboard anchor.
It also showed the space on the bow for the Japanese empire’s Chrysanthemum seal.
This is a unique feature of the three biggest warships that Japan built during World War II, according to Kazushige Todaka, director of the Kure Maritime Museum in Japan.
“I’m almost certain that what was discovered is the battleship Musashi,” he said, adding the find had huge historical importance.
“There have been so many efforts over the years to locate Musashi, but they all failed. I feel like the warship might have been destined to show itself this year -- the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II,” Todaka said. AFP
“With the memory of war slipping further and further from people’s minds, I hope this discovery will help make the public think about history.”
Manolo Quezon, a prominent historian in the Philippines and the presidential communications undersecretary, also said the Musashi wreck would be a “major” historical find if verified.
“This would be like finding the Titanic, because of the status of the ship and the interest on the ship,” Quezon told AFP.
The Musashi was one of a trio of vessels built by Japan during the war that, at 263 metres (863 feet) each, were its biggest battleships ever.
American warplanes sank the Musashi on October 24, 1944, at the height of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, regarded as the largest naval encounter of the war in which US and Australian forces defeated the Japanese.
Dozens of Japanese warships that were sunk during World War II have since been found in the Philippines, with some of them now popular dive locations.
The Sibuyan Sea where the Musashi was reportedly found is at the heart of the Philippines’ central Visayas islands, and is home to busy shipping lanes.
The Seattle-born Allen, 62, who founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, is the world’s 51st richest person with a net worth of $17.5 billion, according to Forbes Magazine.
He is also a famous philanthropist and businessmen with a focus on innovation.
Allen is working on a project called Stratolaunch, which aims to put “cost-effective” cargo and manned missions into space.
He launched SpaceShipOne, the first privately built spacecraft, into sub-orbital space in 2004.
In Allen’s statement on his website, he said he been driven to pursue the Musashi for many reasons.
“Since my youth, I have been fascinated with World War II history, inspired by my father’s service in the US Army,” he said.
Topics: Paul Allen , Japan biggest battleship , Musashi , Octopus , Chrysanthemum seal , World War II
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Co-ownership is a modality of property in virtue of which the property of an immovable is distributed by lots in between co-owners. The term co-ownership often refers to the judicial state of property relative to the modality of property. The creation of a divided co-ownership can be relatively long and complex and implies the participation of many professionnals, including the land surveyor.
Divided co-ownership is used in Québec in order to designate the « condo » type of property. It is often used in opposition with undivided co-ownership which wrongly designates another modality of property in which many persons own the same object or piece of land without possible material division of themselves. In divided co-ownership, each owner is proprietor of a privative part (condo) and a share of the common part (parking, walls, etc.). Undivided co-ownership is, most of the time, seen when two or more persons decide to buy one house for example. Both modality of property have their own characteristics and should not be put into opposition since they are not contraries by definition. |
Can Kittens Have Milk Or Cream
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Can Cats Eat Ice Cream And Drink Milk When They’re Kittens? Kittens are definitely more tolerant of dairy products than full-grown cats! Lactase enzyme is the compound responsible for breaking down milk in cat stomachs. Kittens are born with more lactase enzymes as they get milk nutrients from their mother while they’re young. The short answer: The only milk that is healthy for kittens to drink is either their mother’s, or they will need a kitten milk replacer, which can also be called KMR or kitten milk formula. Kittens lack the proper enzymes to digest the lactose in cow milk, and feeding cow milk to kittens can cause diarrhea and dehydration very quickly in very.
2017 New Hot Sale Baby Kitten Pup Milk Bottle Flexible For
Cats and Dairy Fact 4: Kittens Don't Need Cow’s Milk. Despite those charming storybook illustrations, “cow’s milk is completely inadequate for kittens,” Wynn says. Though kittens have lactase in their system, there’s just not enough of it to tackle the lactose overload found in cow’s milk. But lactose isn’t the only problem.
Can kittens have milk or cream. Goat milk for kittens is a little more salutary than cow’s milk, but the difference between them is negligible at best. A cup of goat’s milk has only one less gram of sugar in it than a cup of. Kittens. Veterinary experts at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine indicate that cow's milk and cream are also not nutritious options for young kittens, either. One of the most prominent ingredient's in cow's milk is the aforementioned lactose, which is a type of carbohydrate. Newborn kittens should ideally feed through their mother's breast milk.If, unfortunately, you are in the care of a kitten that has been orphaned, we do not recommend giving it cow's milk. The reason for this is because the composition of cow's milk is different from breast milk and, therefore, the animal would not be receiving the nutrients, lipids and proteins that it really needs .
Cats can have almond milk in moderation. There are a few reasons why this nut milk gets the green light: First of all, almond milk (by definition) does not contain any dairy products. This means that there is no lactose, which, as we know, most cats don't have the stomach for. Secondly, almond milk also does not contain ingredients that are. Other traits of ice cream include the high-fat content as well as the carbohydrates found in the ice cream/whole milk. Do Kittens Like Icecream? Absolutely, kittens may actually be more interested in ice cream since their main diet is their mother’s milk and they’re already very used to the high carbohydrates/fat. When cats consume cream, milk, or any other dairy products with lactose in, they are unable to digest the lactose and it simply passes through their intestinal tract while taking water with it. Bacteria in the cat’s colon also ferments with the undigested lactose sugars and this causes a pretty nasty cocktail of fluid that needs to come out.
Standard cow milk has much more lactose and casein than many dairy-loving kitties can digest. “Most adult mammals have at least some degree of lactose intolerance — and cats are no exception,” explains Dr. Heinze. “The amounts of lactase (the enzyme that digests lactose) that the body produces declines after weaning.” The traditional image of a contented cat lapping from a bowl of milk is a misleading one. Cats are very fond of cream, which they value for its high fat content, and so they are especially attracted to milk that has come straight from the cow, especially after the cream has been allowed to rise to the top. Now, most milk doesn’t have that much fat for cats to enjoy anyway. But even cats who lap up fatty cream still have to deal with upset stomachs afterward. It’s best to keep cats away from dairy products in general, despite the myth that felines can’t get enough of them. When Kittens Can Drink Milk
Can cats eat vanilla ice cream. If your cat just has to have ice cream, vanilla might be best. A good way to give your cat ice cream without worrying about a particularly foul litter box is to use ice cream made of goat's milk. Goat's milk does not require pasteurization. What this means is that some of the natural enzymes are left within the. Since cats don’t have the enzyme necessary for digesting lactose, drinking milk can lead to gastrointestinal issues such as an upset stomach, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weight. For many years, people thought that milk was the ideal drink for cats. You only have to look at children’s picture books to see countless images of cats lapping up milk. But in recent years, attitudes have changed. Milk is no longer considered a healthy choice for felines. Most cats are lactose intolerant, which means that they’re unable to digest the lactose (sugar) in milk. These cats.
Chocolate ice cream on the other hand is a different story. Ice cream has milk in, so it’s very enticing for most cats and they will eat it if they come across it. Why Cats Shouldn’t Eat Chocolate Ice Cream. They shouldn’t eat chocolate ice cream for the same reasons that they shouldn’t eat chocolate. Therefore, while kittens can tolerate milk from a cow or a goat, if they are lactose intolerant they just may suffer the side effects of adult cats, such as vomiting and diarrhea. It is true that barn cats love cream. When farmers milk their cows, and the fat from the cream rises to the top, barn cats lap it right up. Cats can be addicted to tuna, whether it's packed for cats or for humans. Some tuna now and then probably won't hurt. But a steady diet of tuna prepared for humans can lead to malnutrition because it won't have all the nutrients a cat needs. And, too much tuna can cause mercury poisoning.
Kittens have the ability to digest mother’s milk, but after eight weeks, cats are unable to digest milk because their digestive system has evolved. Cow’s milk is an essential component of ice cream and feeding your cat ice cream is quite likely to cause a stomach ache or even diarrhea. Cats love milk and ice cream so how could it be bad for them? But the truth is the ASPCA has determined that cats, and especially kittens, can’t digest dairy products or milk-based products very well. While the truth is cats can eat ice cream without it being fatal, it’s not the best treat for them to have. Ice cream as you know is a dairy. I grew up on a dairy farm. We had 30 to 40 cats at any given time. We gave them two shallow pans a day of milk and nothing else. If milk was bad for cats, then they would all be dead. They begged for milk when we stripped out the cows. They did no…
Now, these are usually digested in the gut, but cat’s enzymes have issues breaking them down and can cause them to throw up, or again… have digestive issues. Soy Milk doesn’t have the nutrients a cat needs to survive anyways… A lot of times what folks don’t realize is cats actually don’t benefit from a lot of milk.
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JAVA - Environment Setup
Local Environment Setup
If you are still willing to set up your environment for Java programming language, then this section guides you on how to download and set up Java on your machine. Please follow the following steps to set up the environment.
Java SE is freely available from the link Download Java. So you download a version based on your operating system.
Follow the instructions to download java and run the .exe to install Java on your machine. Once you installed Java on your machine, you would need to set environment variables to point to correct installation directories:
Setup the path for windows:
Assuming you have installed Java in c:\Program Files\java\jdk directory:
1. Right-click on 'My Computer' and select 'Properties'.
2. Click on the 'Environment variables' button under the 'Advanced' tab.
Setup the path for Linux, UNIX, Solaris, FreeBSD:
Environment variable PATH should be set to point to where the Java binaries have been installed. Refer to your shell documentation if you have trouble doing this.
Example, if you use bash as your shell, then you would add the following line to the end of your '.bashrc: export PATH=/path/to/java:$PATH'
Most Java Editors:
To write your Java programs, you will need a text editor. There are even more sophisticated IDEs available in the market. But for now, you can consider one of the following:
2. Netbeans: is a Java IDE that is open-source and free which can be downloaded from
3. Eclipse: is also a Java IDE developed by the eclipse open-source community and can be downloaded from |
The US has confirmed its first case of the new, more transmissible coronavirus strain
(Business Insider) Roughly two weeks after the UK announced that a new coronavirus strain was likely responsible for an uptick in cases in the south of England, the US confirmed its first case of that same strain.
The infected person, a man in his 20s in Colorado, had no recent history of travel outside the US, the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement. Local authorities are working to identify any potential chains of transmission while the man isolates.
UK researchers first detected the new variant three months ago, as a second wave of infections started to mount at the end of the summer. Government leaders have suggested the new variant may be 70% more infectious than its predecessors. Between mid-November and December 9, the variant jumped from being responsible for 28% of London’s new cases to 62%. But there’s no reason to believe it’s more deadly, and experts think existing vaccines will likely still work.
“There is a lot we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious,” Gov. Polis said in a statement. “The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. We are working to prevent spread and contain the virus at all levels.”
Countless versions of the coronavirus are circulating, each separated by a handful of tiny changes in its genetic code. The virus typically accumulates two mutations a month, most of which don’t affect its infectiousness or deadliness.
But every so often, “a mutation, or combination of mutations, can arise which confers an advantage to the virus in some way,” Lucy van Dorp, a researcher at University College London’s Genetics Institute, told Business Insider.
That may be the case with the new UK strain, which geneticists have named B.1.1.7. It collected at least 17 mutations at once. Some of the strain’s mutations affect the virus’ spike protein, which it uses to invade cells. That could make it easier for the virus to infect people. Experts believe the strain could have emerged in a patient who was infected for a long time, allowing the virus to mutate in their body, Science magazine reported.
More than a dozen countries have already reported cases of the new strain.
In all likelihood, the variant probably entered the US long before this Colorado case was detected. The US keeps tabs on the genetics of far fewer coronavirus samples than the UK does: Only 51,000 of the 17 million US cases have been genetically sequenced.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told PBS NewsHour last week that he “would not be surprised” if the UK strain was already in the US.
“When we start to look for it, we’re going to find it,” he said.
Public health experts say the new strain’s spread is all the more reason to continue wearing masks and social distancing.
“Virus mutations can only accumulate if the virus is allowed to be transmitted,” Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Medicine, told Business Insider. “So the longer that we allow the uncontrolled transmission to occur, the more chances that the virus will have to adapt to human transmission.”
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Why is our science superior to all the other companies offering similar tests?
Most companies you will see use single genetic variations that are available in publicly available studies to assess whether or not you may have a predisposition. There are many problems with this approach. For one you may have multiple genetic variations that are associated with a wellness trait and still have low predisposition likelihood for that trait. This can be because some genetic variations have a lower influence on the total likelihood for some ethnicity than another, and it can also be because there are inhibiting variations that balance the impact of the contributing variations.
Our technology looks at genetic patterns cumulatively impacting a cluster of genetic traits and is enhanced by a learning artificial intelligence algorithm that automatically adds new scientific knowledge as it becomes available and gets smarter as it absorbs new genotype-phenotype data.
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UA / Biology / BSC 114 / isotopes of an element will always differ in
isotopes of an element will always differ in
isotopes of an element will always differ in
School: University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa
Department: Biology
Course: Principles of Biology I
Professor: Kimberly caldwell
Term: Fall 2016
Cost: 50
Name: BSC 114 Exam 1 Study Guide
Description: The first exam is over chapters 2-7. This study guide covers chapters 2, 3, 4, and 6. I will post the study guides for chapters 5 and 7 soon.
Uploaded: 09/18/2016
6 Pages 10 Views 14 Unlocks
Chapter 2 Study Guide:
Why intestinal cells do not leak fluids?
1. Although all forms of life require ion, other elements are required only by certain species.
2. Elevated concentrations of some trace elements such as cobalt and chromium can be toxic.
3. Compounds have emergent properties that are different than the properties of the elements that form them.
4. There are 92 naturally occurring elements.
5. The main essential elements are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. 6. The four most abundant elements in living systems are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen.
7. Electrons have negligible mass.
8. Neutrons’ mass affects the atomic mass but neutrons lack a charge. 9. In an uncharged atom, the number of protons equals the number of electrons.
10.If an element has 8 protons, 9 neutrons, and 8 electrons, its atomic number is 8 and its atomic mass is 17.
11.An uncharged atom of nitrogen would have seven protons and seven electrons.
What is the difference between Eukaryotic cells and prokaryotic cells?
12.Isotopes of an element will always differ in atomic mass.
13.A carbon isotope with an atomic number of 6 and an atomic mass of 14 would have 6 protons, 6 electrons, and 8 neutrons.
14.Phosphorus-32 is a radioactive isotope of phosphorus-35. Phosphorus-32 has 3 less neutrons than phosphorus-35.
15.If calcium usually has 20 protons, 20 neutrons, and 20 electrons, an isotope of calcium would have the same number of protons and electrons but a different number of neutrons.
16.Radioactive isotopes are useful in scientific research because they can be used to trace particular atoms and molecule through metabolic breakdown. 17.A neutral atom of chlorine, atomic number 17, has 7 electrons in its third shell.
18.The chemical characteristics and reactivity of an element depends mainly on the number of electrons in the outermost shell.
Why Carbon is tetravalent?
19.Similarities in chemical characteristics and reactivity occur when different elements have similar numbers of valence electrons.
20.The valence shell of a sulfur atom with an atomic number of 16 and a mass number of 32 would have six electrons in its valence shell.
21.A stable configuration of an atom is attained when the atoms has eight electrons in its outermost shell. Don't forget about the age old question of astro 001 penn state
Don't forget about the age old question of john krigbaum uf
22.An atom that normally has eight electrons in its valence shell typically does not form chemical bonds with other atoms.
23.An atom with an atomic number of 4 and a net charge of +1 would have 4 protons and 3 electrons. The number of neutrons could only be determined if we knew its atomic mass.
24.Covalent bonds are formed when one or more pairs of valence electrons are shared by two neutral atoms.
25.A covalent bond is polar if the atoms sharing the electrons have different electronegativities.If you want to learn more check out p-edu110
26.When an atom or molecules has an unequal number of protons and electrons, the atom or molecule is an ion.
27.Copper has an atomic number of 29 and an atomic mass of 64. If an uncharged copper atom lost two electrons, the atomic number would still be 29, the atomic mass would still be 64, but the atom would be a cation with a +2 charge. Don't forget about the age old question of ucsc computer science
28.When CaSO4 ionizes into a calcium ion and sulfate ion, the calcium has two electrons in its outer shell that it loses so the sulfate ion gains a charge of -2. 29.Ionic bonds form between ions with opposite charges. Don't forget about the age old question of venturesome personality
30.A hydrogen bond is a weak chemical bond.
31.Hydrogen bonds occur when a partial charge on one molecule attracts the opposite partial charge on another molecule.
32.Van der Waals reactions are weak but they help to reinforce the 3D shapes of large molecules.
33.Methane has the shape of a completed tetrahedron.
34.The shape of a molecule is the most important property when it comes molecular recognition.
35.Chemical reactions involve the making and breaking of chemical bonds. 36.A reversible reaction has reached chemical equilibrium when the rate of the reverse reaction equals the rate of the forward reaction.
Chapter 3 Study Guide:
1. Cells are surrounded by water and cells themselves consist of mainly water. Because of this, the temperature of living things changes slowly, a variety of nutrient molecules can dissolve as solutes, waste products can be easily removed, and dissolved substances can be easily transported within a cell or between cells.
2. Water is a polar molecule because the atoms in a water molecule have partial charges due to unequal sharing of electrons in a covalent bond. 3. The partial charges on water molecules occur because of the unequal sharing of electrons between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms of a water molecule. 4. In a group of water molecules, hydrogen bonds form between the oxygen atom of one water molecule and the hydrogen atom of another water molecule.
5. Ice floats because it is less dense than water. Floating ice insulates water below the surface and provides a habitat for species. Increasing air temperature in the Arctic is causing a reduction in ice, compromising these insulated underwater habitats. Don't forget about the age old question of kenneth chaiprasert
6. If water were not a polar molecule, the effects of global warming would be worse because the loss of polar nature would decrease water’s specific heat and its ability to moderate temperature.
7. The tendency of water molecules to stay close together as a result of hydrogen bonding is called cohesion, helps moderate temperature, provides surface tension, and helps water move up through vessels in tree trunks.
8. Cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension are all properties related to hydrogen bonding.
9. Most of water’s unique properties are a result of oxygen having a higher electronegativity than hydrogen.
10.Water’s partial charges allow it to form hydrogen bonds with water molecules as well as allow it to dissolve substances that have charges or partial charges.
11.Cohesion keeps the upward movement of water through vessels in a tree trunk.
12.Adhesion is the clinging of one substance to another substance. 13.Surface tension explains why you can fill a glass of water to just slightly above the rim without it spilling over the glass.
14.Condensing 5 grams of steam to liquid water would involve a great transfer of heat.
15.If organisms consisted mainly of alcohol instead of water, systems for temperature regulation would have to be much more efficient. 16.Specific heat is the amount of heat required to change the temperature of 1 gram of any substance by 1 degree Celsius.
17.Heat of vaporization is the heat required to convert 1 gram of any substance from a liquid to a gas
18.Coastal climates are more moderate than inland climates due to water’s high specific heat.
19.Sweating has a cooling effect because of water’s high heat of vaporization. 20.Water has a higher boiling point than other liquids so it can absorb larger amounts of heat.
21.Ice floats because water molecules are farther apart in solid ice than liquid water, making ice less dense than water.
22.Water is a versatile solvent because it is polar.
23.Water’s polarity allows its negatively charged oxygen atoms and positively charged hydrogen atoms to be attracted to other negatively and positively charged ions and molecules.
24.Hydrophobic molecules are nonpolar molecules that move away from water molecules.
25.A molecule with all nonpolar covalent bonds would be hydrophobic. 26.Cell membranes are composed of hydrophobic molecules in order to separate the aqueous solutions outside and inside the cells. They cannot be soluble in water.
27.Hydrophilic substances have charges and partial charges that attract water molecules.
28.Sucrose has a molecular mass of 342 daltons. To make a 2 molar solution of sucrose, stir 342 grams of sucrose into water to dissolve the sugar and then add enough water to bring the total volume up to 0.5 L.
29.A mole of ethyl alcohol weighs 46 grams. 0.092 grams are needed to produce 1 L of a 2 millimolar solution.
30.An acid is a compound that increases the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution.
31.Adding acid to a solution increases the hydrogen ion concentration and lowers the pH.
32.Hydrofluoric acid breaks down to release hydrogen ions, making it an acid. 33.A glass of juice with a pH of 3 contains ten times as much hydrogen ions as a glass of tomato juice with a pH of 4.
34.A solution with a pH of 6 contains 100 times more hydrogen ions than the same amount of solution with a pH of 8.
35.Adding a base lowers the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution and increases the pH.
36.When a pH changes from 7 to 3, the hydrogen ion concentration has increased by 10,000 times.
37.Buffers minimize the changes in the concentrations of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions in a solution.
38.The increasing amount of carbon dioxide being taken up by the oceans is a cause for concern because more carbon dioxide increases the presence of carbonic acid, which leads to a decrease in the concentration of carbonate ion.
39.The absorption of human generated carbon dioxide by the oceans increases the hydrogen ion concentration of the oceans but decreases that carbonate ion concentration and threatens the livability of oceans for organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells.
Chapter 4 Study Guide:
1. The six most important chemical elements for life are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphate, and sulfur.
2. Methane is an organic molecule.
3. Carbon is always associated with organic chemistry.
4. When carbon bonds with four other atoms, it forms a tetrahedron with carbon in the center.
5. Enantiomers are mirror images of each other flip-flopped around an asymmetrical carbon.
6. 6 hydrogen atoms and 3 carbon atoms in a straight chain carbon compound would contain at least one carbon-carbon double bond.
7. Carbon is the most versatile building block used by living organisms because it acts as an intersection point from which a molecule can branch off in up to four directions.
8. Carbon is tetravalent because it only needs to form 4 covalent bonds to complete its valence shell.
9. Hydrocarbons are hydrophobic, nonpolar, and a good source of stored energy. 10.Two cis-trans isomers exist for a molecule with one carbon-carbon double bond and four monovalent atoms.
11.Isomers have the same chemical formulas but different structures. Hydrocarbons are compounds made solely of carbon and hydrogen. Organic compounds contain carbon. Double bonded compounds are represented by double lines.
12.One enantiomer may provide effective treatment in a drug while the other enantiomer may be ineffective or toxic.
13.All amino acids contain an amino group.
14.All amino acids contain an amino group and a carboxyl group. 15.Ethanol, propanol, and methanol can be grouped together because they are three simple alcohols sharing a hydroxyl functional group.
16.A carboxyl functional group can be written as –COOH
17.NH2 amino group is a weak base.
18.–COOH is a weak acid.
19.Amino groups, carboxyl groups, -COH, and –OH all increase the solubility of organic compounds in water.
20.Carboxyl groups are unique because the covalent bond between oxygen and hydrogen is so polar that hydrogen ions tend to dissociate from oxygen. 21.A phosphate group is associated with a release of energy when removed from a carbon skeleton with water. The phosphate group comes from leaving ATP. 22.Carboxyl groups are part of abscisic acid.
23.Carbonyl groups, hydroxyl groups, amino groups, and carboxyl groups are all capable of hydrogen bonding with an oxygen atom on another functional group.
24.Carboxyl is to acid as amino is to base.
25.A thiol is a molecule containing a sulfhydryl but just the –SH alone is NOT a thiol.
26.ATP is important to cells because it stores the potential to react with water, thereby removing a phosphate group and releasing energy for cellular processes.
Chapter 6 Study Guide:
1. A cell is the simplest collection of matter that can live.
2. A light microscope is the best microscope to use to observe the movement of chromosomes in cell division because the specimen is alive.
3. Cell fractionation separates cells into their component parts. 4. Two cells with the same volume can have different surface areas due to differences in shape. The cell with the larger surface area is likely to be involved in rapid uptake of compounds from the environment.
5. The shape of a cell, the cell’s surface to volume ratio, and the time it takes molecules to diffuse across the cell are likely to limit the maximum size of the cell.
6. Eukaryotic cells have mitochondria while prokaryotic cells do not 7. A substance must pass through the plasma membrane to get in and out of the cell.
8. Eukaryotic cells are compartmentalized through membrane bound organelles which allows for specialization. Prokaryotic cells lack this
compartmentalization and specialization.
9. Bacteria cells are prokaryotic so they lack membrane bound organelles in their cytoplasm.
10.Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have ribosomes, a plasma membrane, and cytoplasm.
11.A cell with a nucleus and chloroplasts in addition to the other fundamental structures of life could be a photosynthetic protest cell or plant cell. 12.Subunits of ribosomes are assembled in the nucleolus and pass through the nuclear membrane via the nuclear pores.
13.Chromosomes are always present in a cell, even before it divides. 14.If radioactive phosphorus was found in nucleotides, it probably accumulates in the nucleus.
15.The ribosomes, rough ER, and smooth ER are involved in synthesizing molecules needed by the cell.
16.Free cytoplasmic ribosomes will be less common than bound ribosomes in pancreatic cells because pancreatic cells produce enzymes for secretion. 17.The rough endoplasmic reticulum is the site of manufacturing for proteins. 18.A cell with an extensive Golgi apparatus will secrete large amounts of protein. 19.The Golgi apparatus alters protein.
20.If a protein is finished and located in the ER membrane, it might also be found in the plasma membrane.
21.A protein made in the rough ER moves through the endomembrane system through the Golgi apparatus and then lysosomes.
22.Free cytoplasmic ribosomes are most likely to be involved in producing proteins for the chloroplast or mitochondria.
23.A protein that ultimately functions in the plasma membrane of a cell was most likely made in the rough endoplasmic reticulum.
24.Mitochondrial outer membranes are distinct.
25.Chloroplasts and mitochondria are thought to be of prokaryotic origin. One piece of evidence that supports this hypothesis is that these organelles contain prokaryotic-like ribosomes. These ribosomes are probably most similar to ribosomes found in bacterial cells
26.Chloroplasts and mitochondria synthesize some of their own proteins. 27.Peroxisomes, chloroplasts, and mitochondria all appear to increase in number by dividing.
28.Muscle cells in the legs of a marathon runner are most likely to have the largest number of mitochondria.
29.Mitochondria do not contain ribosomes in the intermembrane space but they do have more than one membrane, have inner folds called cristae, are involved in energy metabolism, and possess their own DNA.
30.Protein synthesis typically occurs in the cytoplasm, mitochondria, and rough ER of eukaryotes.
31.Ribosomes can be found inside other organelles.
32.Ribosomes do not have membranes.
33.Microtubules and microfilaments often work with the Golgi apparatus to perform their functions.
34.Centrioles are found in animal cells but not plant cells.
35.Components of the cytoskeleton mediate the movement of organelles within the cytoplasm.
36.Cilia and flagella move due to the interaction of the cytoskeleton with motor proteins.
37.Proteins involved with movement of structures within the cell are found on the cytoskeleton.
38.Basal bodies are associated with cilia.
39.Dye injected into a plant cell can enter an adjacent cell through plasmodesmata.
40.Intestinal cells do not leak fluids because they are bound by tight junctions. 41.Plant cell walls and animal cell extracellular matrices are permeable to water and small solutes.
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What is CAA
CAA is a type of DNS record that allows site owners to specify which Certificate Authorities (CAs) are allowed to issue certificates containing their domain names. It was standardized in 2013 by RFC 6844 to allow a CA “reduce the risk of unintended certificate mis-issue.” By default, every public CA is allowed to issue certificates for any domain name in the public DNS, provided they validate control of that domain name. That means that if there’s a bug in any one of the many public CAs’ validation processes, every domain name is potentially affected. CAA provides a way for domain holders to reduce that risk.
---- Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA)
Confirm CAA is enabled on your domain name.
1. Ask certificate provider, access ControlPanel or run DIG command to check your domain name has CAA record
The command to check CAA record is enabled
If CAA is enabled, some records will be return.
Goto Step 2.
dig example.com CAA +short
0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
0 issuewild "comodoca.com"
0 issuewild "digicert.com"
0 issuewild "digicert.com; cansignhttpexchanges=yes"
0 issuewild "letsencrypt.org"
0 issue "comodoca.com"
0 issue "digicert.com"
0 issue "digicert.com; cansignhttpexchanges=yes"
If CAA is disabled, no records will be return.
dig example.com CAA +short
No CAA records, back to Custom Domains on Shifter to complete steps.
2. Add CAA records to DNS provider
Add one of the following DNS record to your domain name
Here are some samples for setting up CAA records DNS providers.
Add amazon.com for example.com
Add amazon.com for www.example.com
Add amazontrust.com for example.com
Add amazontrust.com for www.example.com
Route 53
Add amazonaws.com for example.com
Add amazonaws.com for www.example.com
3. Go to Custom Domains on Shifter to complete Setting up Custom Domain steps.
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Quick Answer: How Do I Keep My Battery Warm In The Winter?
Does putting a dead battery in the freezer work?
As a rule, batteries work best at room temperature so when they get too cold or too hot, they don’t work as well.
So a battery in the freezer might not work at all until it warms up.
When it warms back up to room temperature, it will deliver all the power it is supposed to..
What happens if batteries freeze?
Storing batteries at freezing or near freezing temperatures will greatly extend the amount of time they hold a charge, but only for some kinds of batteries. A number of studies have shown that storing batteries in the freezer helps them retain their charge longer. …
Can a trickle charger ruin a battery?
Do batteries work better in hot or cold?
Can cold weather drain your battery?
Cold weather slows everything down, especially the chemical reaction happening inside your car battery. In fact, at 32°F, a car’s battery loses about 35% of its strength. And at 0°F, it loses up to 60% of its strength—but your engine requires nearly twice as much power to start!
How do I stop my battery from draining in cold weather?
5 Winter Weather Battery TipsAvoid cold temperatures. The best plan of all is to keep your electronics away from the cold whenever possible. … Keep a charger handy. If you’re using your devices in the cold, expect batteries to drain much faster than usual. … Carry extra batteries. … Check your battery’s capacity. … Consider using an alternate device.
How do I keep my battery from freezing?
In winter it’s especially critical to make sure there is plenty of water in them. A battery with low water levels is more likely to freeze. Likewise, keep them charged up. The acid in the water prevents freezing, so a battery with a low charge is more likely to freeze than a charged one.
Can you leave a trickle charger on all winter?
Do car batteries charge while idling?
How do I keep my car battery warm in the winter?
Wrap your car battery in a thermal blanket. Battery warmers, insulators, electric battery blankets, thermal wrap — they go by many names, but they’re all a corrosion-resistant heat blanket for your battery. They’re available online or in stores.
Can I leave my block heater plugged in all night?
You don’t want to waste money, but at the same time, you want to make sure your vehicle starts in the morning. One thing that most can agree on is that the maximum amount of time you should leave the engine block heater plugged in for is four hours. Any more and you’re just wasting electricity. |
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Activities to Do at Home With Your Kids
Social distancing at home with children is a whole different experience. Although it’s wonderful to have been given unexpected, quality family time, there is no doubt that being at home in quarantine for a continuous amount of time with children can pose challenges – even more so when you have to practice social distancing and have been advised to not leave the house unless it’s for something essential. Suddenly trips to the park, play dates, taking the kids for a day trip or even on a family vacation, is out of the equation.
Childhood is a beautiful phase of life where life is innocent, mysterious, magical, and exciting. It’s the phase of life where an incredible amount of learning occurs and helps prepare the little person for the future. Because of this, kids love to be active, stimulated and entertained. Activities, games, and schedules help with a child’s growth and development and for them to establish healthy lifestyle patterns from a young age.
To help you keep your little ones active and energized, we have assembled a number of great activities for kids that you can practice and have lots of fun doing at home with them, ranging from making puzzles and coloring mandalas to children’s yoga.
Activities To Play at Home
1. Make a Tangram Puzzle
A Tangram is a geometric Chinese puzzle consisting of a square cut into seven pieces that can be arranged to make numerous other shapes. Your children will have a great time coloring the puzzle, which will keep them entertained for hours at home, as well as teach them about the different shapes!
Materials needed:
• Card or thick paper
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Black felt-tip pen to draw the outline of the shapes
• Colored felt-tip pens to color the shapes
• Eraser
1. With your ruler and black felt-tip pen, draw an 8-inch square on your card or thick paper.
2. Next, it’s time to draw a grid of smaller squares inside your current square. With your pencil and ruler, draw out a 2-inch by 2-inch grid of squares.
3. With the black felt-tip pen, begin drawing the lines that will mark out the shapes of each tangram piece. Firstly, draw your first line from the bottom left corner to the top right corner, effectively creating two large triangles.
4. Next, create another triangle in the top left corner. Begin the line from halfway down your main piece on the left side and draw a diagonal line that meets the top of your square in the middle.
5. Now, draw a diagonal line from the bottom right corner of the grid through the center of your first line and stop at your second line.
6. Your fourth line will join your first and second line together. Draw a diagonal line from the point where your second line intersected the top edge. Draw through one square to the point where it meets your first line. It should meet the line at the bottom right corner of the grid square.
7. Your last line should be drawn from the point where your second and third lines meet (also the middle of your second line). Draw the line downwards on your grid until it meets your first drawn line. Now that your tangram set is completed, you should be able to see 5 triangles, a parallelogram, and a square.
8. Lastly, rub out the grid lines and color in the shapes whichever color you like! Enjoy!
2. Make a Tin Can Telephone
The tin can telephone is an original and old-school source of fun for kids, dating back many years! A tin can telephone is a type of acoustic speech-transmitting device made up of two tin cans that are attached together by string. It offers endless fun at home and is a great idea that also teaches kids about how sound works!
Materials needed:
• String (not yarn as it can act as a vibration dampener).
• Two tin cans – for example, empty soup cans or paper (not Styrofoam)
• A pointed sharp tool or a hammer and nail
1. Wash the empty cans and take off any labels/packaging. Let cans to dry before moving onto the next step.
2. The side of the can that has been opened will act as the phone’s receiver and the other end will hold the phone’s wire. With your sharp tool or hammer and nail, make a hole in the base of the cans.
3. Thread the end string through one of the holes. Tie a knot in the string on the inside of the can, so that they stay attached. Repeat the same process with the other can, using the other end of the string. The cans should now be attached to one another.
4. Once the tin cans are connected, hold one tin can and give the other to someone else. Walk away from each other until the string between the can is taut.
5. Let the fun begin!
3. Shadow Shapes
Children love this interactive activity and watching their little fingers and hands turn into birds or fish! There is something magical about shadows and exciting and artsy about creating shapes with your own hands. This is a family friendly activity at home and you can have a great time creating marvelous shapes with your hands too. Compete with the little ones to see who can make the best shapes.
Materials needed:
• A dark room or darkness
• A lamp or torch
• Your hands
• A lot of imagination
There are hundreds of interesting shapes that you can make with your hands, ranging from beginner to advanced level, all of which can be found online. Below, however, are the instructions for three fun beginner hand shadows!
1. The delightful dove
1. Bring your hands together and wrap your thumbs around one another.
2. Flutter your fingers to mimic the dove’s wings and recreate flight.
3. Get your whole family involved and recreate a flock of birds flying through the air!
2. The swimming swan
1. Firstly, create the swan’s head. Raise one arm, bend your elbow, and bring your fingertips together until they touch your thumb.
2. Using the other hand, spread out your fingers and press them against the bend of your elbow to create the swan’s feathers. Voila!
3. The howling hound
1. Straighten your hand, stick your thumb upright, and then bend your index and middle finger down until they’re flat on your palm.
2. Using your ring and pinky finger, put them straight
3. There you have it! A hound!
4. Make a Heart Collage
Photographs play an important role in everyone’s life – they connect us to our past, people, places, and stories! You could make a heart collage using photos from your favorite vacation, or a family occasion, or pictures from your time spent at home together as a family during the pandemic!
Materials needed:
• 25 small photos, all of which need to be roughly the same size. If you run out of photos you can use post-it notes with messages on them from loved ones.
• White canvas or piece of white cardboard
• Superglue
1. Begin by organizing the photos into lines that will create a heart shape. The first line should comprise of 4 photos, the second 6, the third 6, the fourth 5, the fifth 3, and the last line should only be 1 photo. Think logically about the positioning of your photos.
2. Arrange them until they are in a recognizable heart shape.
3. Once you have decided on positioning, you can begin gluing each photo down on your canvas or cardboard using the superglue.
4. Leave to dry for 2-3 hours. Voila!
5. Mandalas
The Mandala is a sacred symbol used in Buddhism and Hinduism to represent an imaginary palace that is contemplated during meditation. It’s a symbolic representation of the universe that comprises an inner and outer world. The mandala’s purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones and to assist with meditation.
In Sanskrit, which is an ancient Indian language, the word mandala translates to ‘circle’. The circle is seen as a magical form, that has no beginning or end, and it is meant to represent the universe. It’s a very spiritual symbol and coloring mandalas can be very calm and meditative.
Children don’t have to use particular colors or coloring materials. They can fully express their creativity and color it however they wish. They could use their favorite colors, use colors that represent their current mood, or use colors to create a pattern. Coloring a mandala is a great and calming activity that offers hours of entertainment at home.
Materials needed:
• A Mandala
• Colorful felt-tip pens
Below are some mandala templates that you can print out and use. If you are a confident drawer and are able to mimic a mandala design, then there are hundreds of designs online to pick from!
6. Watch a Movie At Home!
Get the popcorn in the microwave, grab a comfy blanket, close the curtains to create a theatre-like atmosphere, and put on a family movie! Children love to watch a good movie and cuddle up on the sofa. You can make this even more exciting by making cinema tickets and serving their favorite soda!
Materials needed:
• A good movie
• A sheet of white paper
• Black felt-tip pen
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Soda and snacks
1. Take the piece of paper and lightly sketch out a 2-inch by 1-inch rectangle with a pencil. This shape will represent the ticket.
2. Once you are satisfied with the shape of the rectangle, begin cutting it out by using the scissors.
3. Write on the ticket ‘admit one’ and if you have space you could write the name of the movie.
Enjoy the movie!
7. Take a Trip Around the World!
You can explore famous museums and learn the history of their treasures all from the comfort of your living room. Below are links to some of the best museums in the world. Each website gives virtual tours, offers educational videos, a history of the art and treasures, and even some family games! It’s an exciting learning experience that the whole family can join in on.
After exploring the museums, you could turn this activity into a scavenger hunt and have your children find things around the house that associate with each museum and country. For example, in respect of the Athens Archaeological Museum, have them look for items around the house that resonate with Athens or Greece, such as an ornament or picture. You could also have your children sketch out their favorite piece of artwork or statue that they saw during the tours!
Athens Archaeological Museum
Prado Museum in Madrid
Louvre museum in Paris
Metropolitan Museum of New York
8. Writing with Alphabet Soup
Spelling is an important part of a child’s development and a skill that is necessary for life. One way to make it a fun game at home is by spelling with alphabet soup! You can get your child to write their name, the name of the family pet or their favorite color. You could also have them write a note to a family member that you haven’t seen during social distancing, such as ‘I miss you’ or ‘see you soon’.
Materials needed:
• Raw alphabet soup
• Brushes
• Acrylic paint
• Card stock or a piece of cardboard
• Pencil
• Glue
1. Begin by deciding what you would like to write. Once chosen, sketch the words out using a pencil.
2. Select the letters that you are going to use and glue them onto the card stock or cardboard carefully. Do not worry about using too much glue as it dries clear. Leave the glue to dry before painting.
3. Once the letters are glued down, you can begin painting them! You can also decorate the surrounding card area with a picture of a flower, an animal, or a swirly pattern.
9. Yoga and Meditation for Children
Children gain enormous benefits from yoga and meditation, both physically and emotionally. Physically, it amplifies their strength, flexibility, coordination, and body awareness. Emotionally, it helps improve their concentration, sense of calmness and supports positive mental health. Yoga helps enhance and encourage the marvelous inner light that all children have to rise to the surface. It offers children possibilities to exchange wisdom, share good times and set the foundation for a lifelong practice and love for yoga.
What is the difference between meditation and yoga?
While there are some differences between yoga and meditation, the two wonderful practices are undeniably synergistic and interchangeable. Meditation is focused on a person’s thought, mind, and ability to be able to maintain attention, using a specific meditative object such as a person’s breath or a mantra. Meditation is practiced during yoga but the differentiating factor between the two is the physical aspect of yoga or known as the ‘Asana’.
Yoga professes a complete system of physical, mental, and spiritual development. All yoga poses are structured to help stretch, strengthen, and relax your body all while focusing on your meditative state. The essential idea of yoga is to bring your whole body into a peaceful union and rejoice as one.
Materials needed:
• Yoga mat
• Comfortable exercise clothes
• Meditative, calming music – possibly a child’s podcast that talks you through the yoga poses and breathing methods (there are numerous children’s yoga podcasts and channels online that will guide you through the sessions, process and help start your yoga journey. If you do not have access to online materials, you can follow the steps in the images seen below).
• A quiet room or space
Carefully follow the steps seen in the images below or the instructions in the podcast that you are listening to. Ensure that your child is focusing on their breathing and practicing each yoga pose to the best of their ability. It’s perfectly normal for them to not execute each pose perfectly the first time! It takes practice and commitment.
We hope that you have found these activities at home useful. Please feel free to interact with us on social media and post a photo of your child(ren)’s creations (or your own) and tag Garza Blanca Preserve @garzablancapvr.
Happy creating! |
Frankenstein Essay
Submitted By Lyds8
Words: 620
Pages: 3
Lydia Snyder
Mr. Church
Will the REAL Monster of Frankenstein, Please Stand Up It has often been argued that the definition of a monster is something inhuman, something or someone who has no regard for life and nature and that which is good. There are three monsters, all three of these monsters have qualities that are threatening and lead to harm. In the story, the most obvious representation of a monster is the creature that Frankenstein created. The being had a hideous and disturbing physical appearance that was able to frighten and disgust any human being. To go along with his monstrous looks, the monster became a killing machine. He killed William, Frankenstein's younger brother, Elizabeth, his wife, and also Henry, his best friend. This beast possessed all the necessary characteristics of a true monster: unnatural and extreme deformities, wickedness, lack of humanity for other humans, and the ability to kill. In the story of Frankenstein, there are three real monsters: society, Frankenstein, and the creature. The first “person” to be thought of as a Monster would be Victor’s creation. The Creature was created for Frankenstein’s amusement. To the creature Victor was a father. He was all that the creature ever knew and Victor casted him off and ran in disgust. Even though Victor did not treat the creature the way he deserved he should have never killed. Though the creature did what he did in revenge it will never be okay to kill no matter who you are. If the Monster wasn’t hideous and was an everyday person he would be a monster for killing innocent people including a child, and framing other innocent people for his dirty work. While the creature may have had all the traits of a monster, Frankenstein, his creator, is a different definition of a monster. Frankenstein was a monster being that he toyed with nature and tried to play the role of God; he used his genius to unmorally create a human being. The scientist ultimately became a monster because of the results of his experiments. He put not only himself, but his family and the world as a whole in danger because he longed to find and recreate the spark of life. Frankenstein's lack of cognition and his selfish desire to achieve outrageous scientific goals made him a dangerous and harmful being as well. Society’s first trait of this story brings out that it is |
Teacher training in Burkina Faso
Our current project is intended to improve primary education in Burkina Faso. This African country is one of the poorest in the world.
It is our ambition to both increase the school enrolment ratio of girls and increase the number of children concluding primary school education with success.
According to the traditional role perception in Burkina Faso, there is not much importance attached to female education. There are hardly any female examples for professional success due to education. Violence at schools is very common and is another reason for girls not to attend school.
In a two-year training, future primary school teacher (male and female) are now being prepared for the teaching profession, improving in the end of course the instruction quality for all children. At the same time, there are efforts for motivating the population in the communities and the families to accept the importance of better educational opportunities, also for girls and women.
In order to achieve a sustainable improvement of the general living conditions in Burkina Faso we focus on helping people to help themselves by providing teacher training. |
3.5.4. C-Style Character Strings
Image Warning
Although C++ supports C-style strings, they should not be used by C++ programs. C-style strings are a surprisingly rich source of bugs and are the root cause of many security problems. They’re also harder to use!
Character string literals are an instance of a more general construct that C++ inherits from C: C-style character strings. C-style strings are not a type. Instead, they are a convention for how to represent and use character strings. Strings that follow this convention are stored in character ...
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Audio Codecs
Unless you’re going to stick to films made before 1927 or so, you’re going to want an audio track in your video. Like video codecs, audio codecs are encoding algorithms, in this case used for audio streams. As with video codecs, there are lossy and lossless audio codecs. And like lossless video, lossless audio is really too big to put on the Web, so I’ll concentrate on lossy audio codecs.
Actually, we can narrow the focus even further, because there are different categories of lossy audio codecs. Audio is used in many places where video is not (telephony, for example), and there is an entire category of audio codecs optimized for encoding speech. You wouldn’t rip a music CD with these codecs, because the result would sound like a four-year-old singing into a speakerphone. But you would use them in an Asterisk PBX, because bandwidth is precious, and these codecs can compress human speech into a fraction of the size of general-purpose codecs. However, due to lack of support in both native browsers and third-party plug-ins, speech-optimized audio codecs never really took off on the Web. So I’ll concentrate on general-purpose lossy audio codecs.
As I mentioned in Video Codecs, when you “watch a video,” your computer is doing several things at once:
1. Interpreting the container format
2. Decoding the video stream
The audio codec specifies how to do #3—decoding the audio stream and turning it into digital waveforms that ...
Get HTML5: Up and Running now with O’Reilly online learning.
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Never Before Told Stories on What Is Quantum Theory in Physics That You Really Need to Read or Be Left Out
The vehicle, for instance, is made from small metallic pieces that come together in a unique way. In the same way, the form of the second does not reveal anything useful regarding the form of the first. Since you can see in the figure, the result is a string of bright and dark bands on the last screen.
The Secret to What Is Quantum Theory in Physics
The observer is the essential element. Though spectroscopy proved to be a reliable way of determining the elements inside objects like distant stars, scientists were puzzled about why each element gave off those particular lines in the very first spot. This is called time dilation.
1 way to comprehend this is via the related observer effect how making a measurement can alter the outcome. The objective of his experiment was supposed to prove that large objects shouldn’t be considered in tiny quantum states because you wind up with ridiculous effects, such as, for instance, a cat that’s dead and alive at the very same time. In order to produce this array into a bona fide field, one should introduce some type of coupling between the balls.
Because, it’s impossible to divide by a direction. The parallel part of the force of gravity isn’t balanced by another force. It’s the parallel part of the weight vector that leads to the acceleration.
Definitions of What Is Quantum Theory in Physics
Everything on earth is built from smaller things and it’s interesting to understand what these things are and the way in which they work. The initial one is that all men are made equal. If you wish to draw more money in your life, you must know why you desire it, what you’re going to do with it and the way that it will create the world better.
Whatever They Told You About What Is Quantum Theory in Physics Is Dead Wrong…And Here’s Why
In the world of quantum physics, observing something actually influences the bodily processes occurring. Knowledge is power, and there are lots of people who want all of the power for themselves. Let us all share all the spiritual wisdom and wisdom we’ve got online.
essay writers
The majority of these systems aren’t outcroppings of a Judeo-Christian religionism. The ability of perception can be utilized to produce your own reality and most importantly can be employed to conserve the world. It only means they arrive in levels.
1 I also have supplied references for those cases where I’ve omitted some essential facts. Leggett sees two strategies to spell out the issue of the cat. It’s just various language describing the exact mathematical object.
Robert Todd Carroll is the perfect case of the phenomenon of pseudo-skepticism. For instance, you might feel that Bell experiments demonstrate that nature is nonlocal, but only as long as you have first made a decision to accept different assumptions, such as realism and no-retrocausality. Reading books and utilizing the countless resources on the web are also important tactics to construct the knowledge that will fuel your inspiration.
Quantum entanglement is just one of the biggest sections of quantum mechanics which makes it difficult to comprehend when it comes to the everyday world. By way of example, mechanics is a set of theories studied beneath a branch of science called physics. Quantum theory was used in popular fiction to explain various things.
Organs are made from cells. Cells are produced from organelles. Scientists are attempting to use quantum entanglement for various things.
Life After What Is Quantum Theory in Physics
Scientists and researchers concentrate on this region to use this knowledge to comprehend the behavior of particles at the subatomic level. Amino acids are produced from atoms. You could think, blood, tissue, muscle and so forth.
1 species seems to be composed of mostly electron neutrinos and a second species is composed of an almost equal mix of all 3 flavors. Another means is to pass the 2 photons through a maze of mirrors so you maynot possibly know which direction each travelled. A light particle, on the flip side, requires just a small bit of energy.
It’s only when you are able to receive info concerning the other particle which you will be in a position to determine if your particle is one particular part of an entangled pair. If quantization were observed for a great number of unique phenomena, then quantization would turn into a law. One of the primary tenets of quantum theory is that the job of a particle is described by means of a wave function, which gives you the probabilities of locating the particle at numerous unique places, or superpositions.
The Nuiances of What Is Quantum Theory in Physics
And the issue of living space is just one of among many that humankind would need to deal with in a situation like this. There are lots of proposals for how to accomplish this, but none has achieved sufficient coherence with the remainder of physics to persuade most researchers that it’s correct. Basically, the act of observation makes a definite reality.
Keep in mind this to discover the general force you have to take away the frictional force. A fog that’s stopping our evolution and destroying our wellness. There are a number of ways to create entangled states.
The New Angle On What Is Quantum Theory in Physics Just Released
Therefore the strongest mantra you’ll be able to use is one which connects you directly to the God force. The very first step is to produce your own Healing Chair. There are lots of levels of consciousness on Earth.
It’s known as the Age of Aquarius. It’s the Science of Astrology. Knowledge is an extensive ocean.
Updated: December 16, 2019 — 8:38 pm
Pempek Palembang Empek Empek |
History thing
Updated: 1/12/2021
History thing
Storyboard Text
• The AoC was a document that was meant to not have a centralized government and to give more power to the people. The document is also used to give trust and friendship to the states, but you will see later why people call this a massive failure.
• Lets make it where we really cant make laws and cant get a military because of our low funding and because of that the states are being independent from the actual government!
• Ah yes, a document that was meant to be good for the people but it actually isn't! Because we don't want to be tyrants like King George!
• Does everyone agree with this law?
• One of the weaknesses that the AoC did have is that when making laws they needed 9/13 of the states "Yes" votes to make it an official law this made making laws a lot harder.
• Yeah, pretty much...
• Mmm. Nah, I dont like that law so we cant make it because you need 70% of the votes to call it a law.
• They couldn't tax the states or the people after they fought a war specifically for Taxation Without Representation.
• We have no money to get an army. We don't collect taxes for it.
• Haha! I've found enough land suitable for my 5000 followers! Now it can become a territory! If I have 60000 it can become a state!
• The Northwest Ordinance is a document for making new states in the union. They needed 5000 free white men to make a territory then you need 60000 free white men to make it an official state.
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Question Description
I’m stuck on a Programming question and need an explanation.
Write a program metric.c that asks users for their height in feet and inches, written for example as 5’7”, and converts it to centimeters, printed to a single-digit accuracy. Note that feet are represented by a single forward quote ’, and inches by a double open quote ” (not by two single quotes). Also recall that a foot is 12 inches and an inch is 2.54 centimeters. The program should run as follows:
(˜)$ a.out
Your height in feet and inches: 5’6"
You are 167.6 cm tall.
(˜)$ a.out
Your height in feet and inches: 6’5"
You are 195.6 cm tall.
Write a program sum.c that prompts the user for the sum of up to five real values and prints the number of terms and their sum with a two-digit precision.
(˜)$ a.out
Type a sum of two to five reals: 2+3.3+4.44=
Your 3 terms add to 9.74.
(˜)$ a.out
Type a sum of two to five reals: 2.222+4.444=
Your 2 terms add to 6.67.
Write a program precision.c that prompts the user for a real number between 0 and 9, and outputs a table showing this number to 1, 2, 3, and 4 digit precision as follows. Make sure your output matches the following table exactly, including the blank line and the table format.
Real number between 0 and 9: 3.14159
| 1 |3.1 |
| 2 |3.14 |
| 3 |3.142 |
| 4 |3.1416|
but the lines have to be lined up on the edges and middle, and the digits column has to be centered, while the number column is justified to the left
Final Answer
kukistars (136)
UT Austin
Thanks for the help.
Outstanding. Studypool always delivers quality work.
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• Justine
Banana & Tarte Tartin
The banana is without a doubt my favourite plant we have growing in our home garden. We absolutely love their fruit, we eat their flower, we use their leaves, and even their stem! Aren’t they just the epitome of The Giving Tree? There are plenty of exotic varieties out there but my mum has been growing the same dwarf Cavendish for more than a decade. It is a stout plant that puts out large heavy bunches, which most of us know from the supermarkets.
A distant relative of gingers and bird-of-paradise flowers, the banana is actually a herb (rather than a tree) because it does not have woody tissues and the aerial parts of the mother plant dies down to the ground after each growing season. Their fleshy trunks, considered pseudostems, consist of leaf stalks wrapped around each other. New leaves are formed by the apical meristem on the rhizome (below ground) and push up through the middle of the pseudostem. They emerge from the centre of the crown over time as rolled cylinders aka cigar leaves.
At the base of the banana plant, underground, is a big rhizome called the corm. The corm has many growing points which break the surface as new suckers (baby banana plants). Word on the street is that you get bigger fruit if you take off unwanted suckers. We usually remove or transplant them, leaving only the best one or two in position to replace the mother plant.
Growing happy banana plants is a lot easier than you think! All you need are:
Fertile soil
Whether you are growing them in the ground or in large pots, bananas are heavy feeders and appreciate soil rich in nitrogen and potassium. Think chicken manure, homemade compost, and lots of mulch. Like, LOTS. Just keep piling it on. Once our plants start fruiting, we focus on feeding them a steady diet of potassium by scattering dried banana peels and seaweed around their base. Fertilize close to the trunk as bananas don’t have big root systems.
Warmth and moisture
Bananas love sun and heat, and require regular watering to sustain their large leaves and produce sweet tasty fruit. They are susceptible to root rot and don’t like continually wet soil, so it is best to water them deeply every two to three days if it hasn’t rained.
A sucker
The best way to start is with a sucker. Know of someone who grows bananas? Make them your friend with benef – I mean, bananas! Every banana plant produces more suckers than one actually needs, so people usually have plenty to give away.
Only take suckers from vigorous banana plants. Choose suckers with small, spear shaped leaves NOT the pretty ones with the big, round leaves. This is because a sucker that is still fed by the mother plant does not need to do much photosynthesis, thus doesn’t need to produce big leaves yet. A sucker that is well looked after by the mother plant will produce better fruit and be stronger than one that’s had to struggle on its own.
Left: Sucker A small corm, big leaves, not so ideal; Right: Sucker B – big corm, small leaves, ideal
Use a sharp shovel to remove suckers from the main plant. Cut downwards, through the corm, between the mature plant and the sucker. Getting a good chunk of corm and many roots with it is not an easy job. Chop the top off the sucker to reduce evaporation while you transplant it and while it settles into its new home.
Ideally you want a sucker about 1m high, but we always dig them out when they are much smaller as they tend to be a bit easier to get out of the ground. The disadvantages of starting with smaller suckers are that they will take longer to bear fruit and the first banana bunch will typically be smaller.
First picture: Sucker B, day of transplant (spot it near the yellowing mulch); Second picture: Sucker B, three weeks after transplant
After about five months, a sucker reaches maturity and is ready to produce fruit. The inflorescence emerges from the centre of the crown and begins its descent. It will reach its final position in a couple of days and stay in this position for the next three to four months as the fruits fatten and ripens.
Bracts lift to expose the female flowers which will develop into a hand of fruit. Once all hands are developed, we cut the blossom off so that the plant puts all its energy into growing big bananas.
The blossom (or heart) is a popular ulam, traditionally used in south-east Asian and Indian dishes. Its chunky, flaky texture makes it an ideal substitute for fish. Preparing the blossom can be a rather tedious and messy process. Its sap leaves a stubborn stain on clothing and fingers, so get ready to get dirty.
1. Peel bracts off.
2. Remove yellow florets on the underside of bracts and immediately soak in acidic (vinegar) water to avoid discoloration and bitterness.
3. Peel off the scale-like outermost petal and pluck out the matchstick-shaped pistil (tough and unpleasant tasting) in each floret.
4. Soak cleaned florets in acidic water immediately, for several hours or overnight. Then rinse in cold water, drain, and squeeze out excess water. Finally, they are ready for use. You can cook them in curries or soups, or use them in a simple stir-fry. They can also be eaten raw in salads.
Banana bunches become very heavy over time and eventually need a little help being propped up. We usually fix a couple of pieces of wood against the stem to straighten it, but couldn’t find any wood around the house that day and had to make do with using a stool to help support the weight of this bunch.
Bananas are ready to be picked when they look well-rounded and the little flowers at the end are dry. You can harvest the top hands first or just cut the whole bunch off and hang it somewhere inside to protect them from birds and thieves. Once they start ripening, they ripen quickly and all at once – so be prepared for a banana bonanza!
After the fruit is harvested, the rest of the plant will die quickly. You can either cut it to the ground and throw on some chicken manure and let the next sucker grow while you process the mother plant and all her bananas or have a go at harvesting banana stem juice.
All you need to do is cut the top half of your plant off and get carving. The goal is to carve out the inner bit of the stem to create a bowl for the juice to pool. Then cover with a piece of muslin or cheese cloth and fasten with a string. (This ‘string’ was made from fibres of the banana stem!)
If your banana tree is growing on good land, the juice from the inner core of a tender banana stem can help reduce and regulate blood pressure, treat diabetes, cleanse the urinary tract, help regulate the acidity level in our body, and help prevent kidney stones. My brother-in-law, an environmental consultant, was very against us drinking the juice we collected because according to him our ground in Singapore is full of nasty stuff that a banana tree ain’t gonna be able to filter. We collected enough juice to fill an entire jar in just one day! We drank it and live to tell the tale.
The outer stem can be dried and its fibre shredded to make ‘string’ or processed more finely to make fabric – a popular practice in the Philippines.
Their big leaves make great plates for eating on (kamayan dinner!) and eco-friendly food packaging. Eating on banana leaves is a custom that dates back thousands of years and its benefits are still relevant today. Banana leaves are packed with polyphenols (natural antioxidants). While banana leaves are not easy to digest if eaten directly, our food absorbs the polyphenols from the leaves so that we get the benefits. They are also believed to have anti-bacterial properties that kill germs in our food.
Banana leaves are also a valuable source of mulch for our garden. Instead of using black plastic sheets to kill off weeds and retain soil moisture, we use banana leaves which break down and also help amend our heavy clay soils with organic matter over time.
When it comes to the fruit, the best way to enjoy them in my opinion is as they are. But Man liketh to tinker, to maketh the perfectly healthy and nutritious snack that Nature has bestowed on us into something even better. So if you have 45 minutes to kill and are in the mood for sin, here’s a simple recipe for a decadent banana tarte Tartin best had fresh from the oven.
Ingredients (makes 1 tart, feeds 5 people)
4 bananas (firm, just about to ripen), sliced into 2cm-thick pieces
100g golden caster sugar (only use refined granulated sugar)
75g butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1 orange, zested (nice to have but not necessary)
1 sheet of puff pastry
Crème fraîche or ice cream
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Melt sugar and butter together on a low heat, ideally in a dish that can go on the stove and in the oven. Once the sugar has melted, turn up the heat and bubble until it turns a deep amber colour. Stay focused as just a few seconds can mean the difference between perfect and ruined.
3. If the butter separates from the caramel, take the pan off the heat and add 1 tablespoon of warm water, stirring until the butter emulsifies again. Take care and maybe wear mitts as there might be some sputtering.
3. Arrange banana pieces in the caramel, then sprinkle a pinch of sea salt, cinnamon, and some orange zest over.
4. Get a sheet of puff pastry out from the freezer and lay it on top of the bananas. Tuck the edges down inside the tin.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
6. Leave tart to cool in the dish for 5 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a large plate. Wear mitts as the hot caramel might splash. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche. We could only find ice cream at the shop and it was like diabetes on a plate. (I’m not big on overly sweet stuff at the moment.)
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12 Mar
Epic Lion and Hyena Clashes in the Manyeleti
Text and images by Christof Schoeman
Hyenas and lions have always been age old foes!
Although they are enemies, their lives are closely intertwined on the savannah. Hyenas are scavengers – and opportunistic hunters – and they like to eat very similar prey species to lions. Clans of hyenas often encounter lions on a fresh kill, and we often encounter epic battles when the big cats try to overwhelm the smaller but more numerous hyenas.
There is no doubt about it: a single hyena attempting to chase off a lion from a kill would end badly for the hyena. But when large clans of hungry hyenas get together, they can be a formidable force against lions.
We have had the privilege of witnessing many of these raw and primal clashes in the Manyeleti. The eerie woops of the hyenas mingled with the growls and roars of the lions echoing in the night can be a frightening, yet magical thing to see and hear.
One of our rangers, Christof Schoeman, has put together a collection of some of the most amazing clashes we have seen.
The opportunists
This image was taken a while back when the Red Road male lion attempted to a hunt the Zebra in the background. Before he launched his attack, there were many hyenas in the area. It shows how opportunistic these scavengers are. They will persistently follow the predators to see if they can get a piece of the cake. The young lion ended up turning back towards his pride with his tail between his legs.
The hunters
This image was taken on a morning drive where a female giraffe was fighting off hyenas from her calves carcass. The hyenas kept on persisting until the Giraffe finally gave up. Because of the excitement and vocalisations from the hyenas, a close by pride of lions (Birmingham Pride) was attracted by the skirmish. In the end, the hyenas held their ground and pushed of the lionesses and the giraffe from the carcass, displaying strength in numbers.
The fighters
When hyenas start to arrive at a carcass where predators are feeding, they watch carefully for any sign of vulnerability and weaknesses. They will keep their distance until more hyenas arrive. As the numbers grow, their confidence grows. In this sighting, a huge lioness was still feeding on the remains of a buff. Her pride left to the nearest waterhole and took a nap there. The hyenas completely underestimated the lone lioness and two of the scavengers became to bold and pushed their luck, because of this, one of them were mauled but survived to tell the tale.
No mercy
Seeking out weaknesses. In this sighting, Manorhouse Pan, a lone and injured Mbiri lioness, is watched by a clan of hyenas. During the night, we heard the noises uttered from the skirmish. Clear sounds of a lioness fighting for her life echoed through the night. The next morning we found her in the same area badly bashed up with a deep gash beneath her upper tail. She was fortunate to survive the night.
The scavengers
On game drive, we instinctively keep a watchful eye on the tree tops for any sign of vultures. Its general knowledge that when two or more different species of vultures sits on a tree, you can be guaranteed to find some sort of carcass below. The scavengers will follow the predators on a daily basis, either from the sky or on the ground. Lions or leopard are usually being watched. Lions will also follow the distant cries of hyena and vultures descending onto a carcass.
Amazingly, the red road lioness lost her patience and charged after one of the hyenas that came to close. The charge, chase and mauling took only five seconds, but felt like an eternity. The fight attracted more hyenas, and of course another lioness not far off. The lioness eventually left the carcass due to a full belly, and also because of the irritation built up by the noisy presence of the hyenas. The constant whoops and wild cackling for which they earned the common name of ‘laughing’ will drive of predators. This is especially true when hyenas are bunched up and stick together as a unit or when encircling the predator. This constant noise that comes from all directions, will make the predator feel overwhelmed and most of the time, they will abandon the carcass.
The killers
More than a year ago, we found one of the older Mbiri males up at sky beds dam in very bad shape by himself. It’s amazing to note that lions in these circumstances will become scavengers themselves when they know that hunting a big and strong bovine is out of the equation.
Due to injuries and a lack of energy, they are left with no other option then to switch from the role as predator to scavenger, and this they will do in a heartbeat. Young nomads like this male will remain silent when moving through territories of other male lions in order to remain undetected. If discovered, it may lead to certain death. I’ve noted that the 10 year old Giraffe males that’s in bad shape and not able to hunt like in their younger days, will remain still in areas where lionesses have cubs without pride males. The moment they hear the distress calls of an animal that’s being killed or the frantic calls of hyenas.
They will follow up. When they arrive in that area, they mimic the behaviour of the hyenas and scan the situation quietly from a distance- merely to see if there are any signs of pride males. If not, they will vocalise and scare of the lionesses, cubs, and surrounding scavengers with a powerful roar and move in to take over the carcass , scavenging the kill. These older and experienced males know that the hunting success rate of lionesses with cubs are much higher than their own hunting abilities and they take full advantage of this.
Back to the sighting. This boy saw an opportunity to steal a wildebeest kill that the hyenas had made! This could’ve been a wildebeest with a broken leg, and hyenas were lucky enough to be the first to arrive on the scene. They, in turn, then switched from primary scavengers to becoming predators themselves and killed the wildebeest collectively. Per coincidence, this 4 year old male lion was close by. Out of desperation he moved in. Firstly, he watched from a distance and noticed that there were only hyenas on the carcass, about 12 of them.
Hyenas in general are extremely scared of male lions and not so much lionesses. He finally decided to move in and take over the carcass. At first glance, the hyenas ran off merely because of the intimidation factor and the Mbiri male moved in without a hassle and started feeding. Not long after, the hyenas returned. They moved in ever so slightly to investigate the situation and saw that there was in fact only one male lion – which was his first sign of weakness. They moved closer and intensified their whoops and cackling, but the nomad wasn’t fazed by it. He was driven by hunger. |
Reduced water intake
Reduced water intake can cause multiple issues during the winter season. From frozen water troughs and horses not liking ice cold water, getting your horse to drink water is somewhat of a challenge. A horse drinks on average 10-12 gallons of water daily and when this is reduced this can lead to the horse reducing its feed intake and subsequently reduce its energy intake required to maintain their core body temperature.
Increased intake of hay or haylage rather than grass, requires more water intake, therefore, the effects of reduced water intake due to cold temperatures can be further amplified. Kwikbeet can support your horses’ intake of both fibre and water.
You can provide extra fibre and moisture through feeding a small amount of soaked. Kwikbeet with each meal. Kwikbeet is a quick-soaking, unmolassed sugar beet which is low in sugar yet high in fibre. Ready to feed in 10 minutes, it doesn’t require long periods of soaking. If you have automatic waterers, it can be hard to monitor exactly how much water your horse is drinking so it may also be beneficial to offer fresh, luke-warm water regularly and make up a very sloppy bowl of soaked Kwikbeet.
Hydration is also helpful in preventing winter weather colic in horses. There is evidence of a connection between reduced water intake and impaction colic in horses. The majority of impaction colics are caused by reduced movement of the large intestine - being stabled due to bad weather causes a reduction in exercise, and this in turn can reduce motility within the colon and caecum.
Stay ahead of the game – Winter is better with us!
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10 endangered species saved from extinction by zoos
10 endangered species saved from extinction by zoos
Zoos across the world are keeping endangered species safe from extinction. Meet 10 amazing species saved from the brink by zoo conservation?
Image for postAfter being almost wiped out by disease, Australia?s tiny Corroboree Frog is being helped back from the brink of extinction by zoos like Taronga Zoo in Sydney
Wildlife is in a fight for survival. The WWF found that there?s been a 58 per cent decline in populations of vertebrates between 1970 and 2012. But despite these shocking statistics, some endangered species are making a comeback thanks to the conservation work of zoos worldwide. Here are 10 amazing animals that might not still be here without the conservation work of zoos?
Arabian Oryx
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Przewalski?s Horse
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But Przewalski?s Horse has made an incredible comeback. Zoos have been working together to create a stable population across the world and now the Przewalski?s Horse is being slowly reintroduced to its natural habitat.
Help endangered species and join the fight against the illegal wildlife trade.Download the Wildlife Witness app today.
California Condor
The California Condor was once on the brink of extinction ? there were only 27 left. The birds were taken into captivity to begin a breeding program to help save the California Condor from extinction.
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Corroboree Frog
These tiny black and yellow Corroboree Frog frogs only lives in a small sub-alpine area of Australia and have been almost wiped out due to a particularly nasty fungus disease.
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The Eastern Bongo is a large antelope that lives in a dense and remote region of Kenya. It?s an elusive creature and was one of the last large mammal species to be discovered.
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Regent Honeyeater
This brightly coloured Regent Honeyeater from Australia relies on the nectar of a particular species of eucalypt tree for food. Unfortunately, deforestation has meant the loss of this important food source and now it?s estimated that there may be fewer than 1,500 Regent Honeyeaters in Australia today.
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Panamanian Golden Frog
This stunning little Panamanian Golden Frog is also incredibly poisonous, a defence it uses to ward off predators. However, this wasn?t enough to protect it from a devastating outbreak of a fungal disease. It?s thought the frog has been extinct in the wild since 2007.
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Bellinger River Turtle
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Golden Lion Tamarin
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Since the early 1980?s, there?s been concerted effort from conservation organisations and zoos worldwide to protect the Golden Lion Tamarin from extinction. Today, about a third of wild Golden Lion Tamarins came from those raised in human care.
Amur Leopard
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However, a breeding program started in the 1960s means 200 Amur Leopards now exist in zoos worldwide, ensuring a future for the species. Reintroduction into the wild is difficult but conservation organisations and governments are working together to bring the leopard back to its North-East Asian habitat.
Originally published at taronga.org.au on May 19, 2017.
Taronga?s vision is to secure a shared future for wildlife and people.
Find out more at taronga.org.au.
Story: Adam Browning
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Quick Answer: What Is A College Course Of Software Development Class Entail
What skills do software developers need?
Key skills for software developersMathematical aptitude.Problem-solving skills.Programming languages (different types of developer role require different languages)Excellent organisational and time management skills.Accuracy and attention to detail.More items….
How do I start coding?
Which degree is best for software developer?
Is software engineering hard to study?
Software engineering is not a difficult career at all. The course requires lots of work and input from the students but that does not qualify it to be considered a difficult course to do in any way. … Only then will you be in a good position to start your career in software engineering.
Should you learn vim as a developer in 2020?
There are many benefits if you use that to write your code. Conclusion: Yes you can learn VIM as a developer. … Having said that, it’s good to know basic stuff of VI as it will make your life easier to edit small things in . sh files which you have to open remotely.
What skills does a software developer need in 2020?
Here are TOP 4 essential soft skills every software professional needs to consider in his career.Communication.Self-management.Effective thinking.Leadership.
Is programming a good skill to have?
Programming can also be an essential skill for individual projects and hobbies that require connecting to large audiences. … For this reason, jobs involving programming emphasize traditional education less than many other jobs, instead seeking portfolios and physical evidence of your ability to get the job done.
What is the course of software engineering?
Software Engineering Courses:Name of CoursesType of ProgrammeDurationB.Tech. Software EngineeringBachelor Degree4 yearsM.Tech. Software EngineeringMaster Degree2 yearsME in Software EngineeringMaster Degree2 yearsM.Sc. in Software SystemsMaster Degree2 years3 more rows•Sep 20, 2017
What do software engineers study in college?
The apply the principles of mathematics, computer science and engineering in designing and creating software. It is a technically-driven field and candidates who wish to pursue the same must have a technical degree in the respective field.
How many years of college do you need to become a software developer?
four yearsBachelor of Science Degree: A bachelor of science degree in software engineering should take about four years to complete, full-time. Some students may find their coursework challenging and decide to invest more time in their learning and understanding, but still should be able to finish up in approximately four years.
Which course is best for software engineering?
What do you study to be a software developer?
Most computer software development jobs require bachelor’s degrees in computer science or software engineering. These programs have significant math requirements that include a sequence in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. A sequence in physics is also required. |
Technology Has Changed The Lives Of Teenagers (Essay Sample)
Technology has changed the lives of teenagers
The world has changed thanks to new technological inventions; many teenagers have embraced modern technology, forming part of their daily routine. It is not surprising to see young children using mobile phones everywhere to do almost everything from getting directions, connecting with friends to reading online materials. Even though technology makes work easier, parents are worried by this trend because of some of the negative effects of technology on teenagers. Most parents supervise their children to ensure that they are safe from some of the technological threats.
With new inventions coming up every day, it is not easy to predict what will happen in the next coming year. It goes without saying that modern technology has revolutionized the world. Modern technology like the internet has a strong impact on teenagers. The Internet has become one of the modern tools that offer fun activities and is a great source of information. Internet provider’s users with everything at their fingertips. There are billions of websites with information that can help one learn new things. With other new inventions, advanced technology like the internet has its negative and positive effects, especially among teenagers.
As the world becomes wireless every day, teenagers have devised ways of connecting and sharing views and information. Many teenagers are found on social networks sites posting issues that affect them .The internet has become an interactive tool for many of them that help them learn and share valuable information. Teenagers heavily rely on the internet to perform almost every task limiting their ability to think independently.
The negative side of technology is evident when teenagers access pornographic contents, engage in internet crimes causing harm to others. Teenagers have become heavily addicted to the internet causing health problems. Some young people have devised ways of hacking into the school database, their friends and other people’s computers sharing sensitive data to the public. One of the most striking effects of technology among teenagers is limited family time. Many teenagers text while eating at the dinner table, they spend their weekend and many nights behind their computers playing games and chatting.
Several studies have revealed that teenagers develop health complications at an early age due to lack of adequate exercise. Most teenagers spend their free time on their phones instead of getting outside to get some fresh air. Teenagers rarely see their friends face to face. Instead, they talk through Facebook or Skype. Most teenagers who spend their time on their computers are at a higher risk of abusing drugs and are poor performers in school. They are at risk of engaging in sexual activities due to early exposure to sexual contents. Obesity is one of the major health concerns among teenagers because of their unhealthy lifestyle.
Teenagers are likely to spend their weekends and holidays playing games instead of engaging in active sport or any other healthy leisure activity. Technology is addictive; teenagers find themselves using their phone throughout the day with realizing the effect. Modern technology is the new form of addiction that needs to be addressed immediately. Most parents have developed various ways to limit technology usage among teenagers, to save our future generation; we need to educate our teenagers on the harmful side of technology.
Many teenagers only see the positive side to modern technology because they can connect with their friends forgetting about the long-term effects of some of the gadgets they use. Even though technology is one the greatest invention of all times, we need to address some of its negative effects among our teenagers, by limiting its use.
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Searching for files
As the number of files in your folders increases, browsing through folders becomes a cumbersome way of looking for files. However, you can find the file you need from among thousands of photos, texts and other files by using the search function of your operating system.
The search function allows you to look for files and folders based on file properties such as the file name, save date or size.
Using the search function
In Windows, you can search for files quickly by clicking the Start button at the bottom left of the screen. Then, simply type the full or partial name of the file, program or folder.
The search begins as soon as you start typing, and the results will appear above the search field (see the image below). If the file or program you are looking for does not appear right away, wait a moment, as the search can take a while. Also note that the search results are grouped by file type.
Narrowing down search results
If you are unable to find the file you are looking for by using the quick search, you can narrow the search results by file type by clicking the icons above the search term (see the image above). You can narrow down your search results to:
• apps
• settings
• documents
• folders
• photos
• videos
• music
You can also specify the file extension by typing it in the search field. For example, to search for RTF files, type *.rtf as your search term. You can also use different combinations to specify the file name, such as k*.ppt or *memo.doc. You can also search for several file types simultaneously, such as *.doc, *.txt, *.rtf, *.pdf.
Wildcards make searching easier
If you do not remember the name of the file you are looking for, you can use wildcard characters. The characters ? and * can replace one or more characters in your search phrase. The table below shows examples of the use of wildcard characters. Note, however, that the use of wildcard characters may vary between operating systems, applications and search engines! For example, you cannot use wildcard characters in Google search.
* = any character string
a* Find all files beginning with a
report.* Find all files beginning with report (regardless of file extension)
*memo* OR memo Find all files with the word memo in the name
? => replaces one character Find all files called invite with an extension that starts with do (e.g. .doc or .dot) |
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