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The connection methods of power connector
Power connectors generally consist of plug and socket,the plug also called free ending connector,the socket called fix connector.The connection and disconnection of the circuit is achieved by the plugging and disconnecting of the plug and the socket,then it create various connections of the plug and the socket.
The bayonet type connection has a advantage of high speed connection because the lead of the three bayonet slots is longer, but it is more complicated to manufacture and has a higher cost.
The pin-type connection is the fastest connection type among the three connection modes. It does not require a rotary motion, and it can be connected, separated and locked by linear motion. Because it is a direct push-pull connection, it is only suitable for power connectors with little total separation force. Generally more common in small connectors.
For round connectors, there are three main types: threaded connection, bayonet connection and marble connection. Among them, the threaded connection is the most common, which has the advantages of simple processing technology, low manufacturing cost, wide application range, etc., but the connection speed is slow, which is not suitable for occasions requiring frequent insertion and removal and rapid connection.
Among the above methods the most commonly used is the threaded connection, this method is more practical and simple.
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A question with which to I often compare, especially in Italy, is the phrase “But what does exactly an osteopath is?”. This uncertainty is also the first reactive effect by various listeners, when I talk about my profession.
“Osteopathy”. A confused concept. A concept that fails to distinguish between the many professions, back in vogue especially in recent years.
With this first article, I will try to give you not only welcome on my website, but clearify especially the differences between the figures of professionals, both on the health sector both on the parasanitario one, in order to ensure full conceptual clarity on “who” is “what” and “how” it does.
The term “Osteopathy” derives from the Greek, from the union of the terms ὀστέον (ostéon= “bone”) and πάθος (páthos=”suffering”). Translated literally, therefore, means “technique that takes care of the bones’ pain”. But to define this technique, this translation is limiting and misleading because, in reality, this technique takes care of much more.
Its founder, Andrew Taylor Still, an american surgeon who lived between 1828 and 1917, discovered this technique as a result of a long research aimed at finding an alternative remedy is to those known by him and tested, both in terms of pharmacological both in terms of surgery, practiced especially on the battlefield during his period as military doctor in the war of secession. This research was not motivated only by the mere desire to give a turn to medical science and its foundations, but especially by a tragic fact that forced him to get in his knee by facing illness, despite all the knowledge that he possessed: the loss of three of his sons, due to a cerebrospinal meningitis.
There, so, everything began. He theorized that the human body was a perfect machine since its deep anatomical root, the skeletal structure, and with full capacity of cure itself, where this same one ceded adequate space to vascular structures and nerves, responsible for the correct operation of each mechanism. It was, then, the practical demonstration of the above mentioned theory, through the successful healing of a child affected by a strong dysentery, to conclamare the reason of his statements and to define the success. The latter, in fact, was the event that laid the foundations for the birth of the first osteopathic schools and the fight to the official recognition of the same.
Then, what is Osteopathy? Osteopathy is that technique, which allows, through only the help of the hands of professional, the freeing of the skeletal structure, responsible for the support of all the elements which allow the correct operation, i.e. muscles, other structures in general, blood vessels and nerves.
Absolutely no.
The noisy manipulations, those defined with the term “crack”, but technically known as “thrust”, are part of the myriad of techniques that a professionist can use to “free” the structure from one of its possible limitation, but are not the only ones.
The skeleton is kept in axis by the ligaments, and coordinated in motion by the action of the muscles. Therefore, often the osteopaths prefer to move through these two structures, through the so-called “indirect” techniques, to return the rigid structure to its physiologic harmony.
Also in this case, the answer is no.
Chiropractic is a technique founded by Canadian Doctor Daniel David Palmer, lived between 1845 and 1913.
Basically, both as A.T. STILL, as D.D. Palmer, had the same intuition: eliminate the structural limitations. But while the first believed in the importance that this limitation did not involve the free flow of the blood in the blood vessels, in order to ensure an efficient supply of oxygen to the rest of the body, the second was searching simply that this block should not impinge on any nervous structure, causing an alteration of the electric pulse so much sensory (aches and paraesthesia), as motoric (hypotonia, atrophy, areflexia, iporeflessia and paresis).
Here is why the common goal contributes to the mixing of the two figures. But the techniques used by an osteopath, are not the same as those used by a chiropractor. Because although it appears tiny the difference of intent that exists between the two disciplines, it becomes a fundamental element of the way of proceeding of a professional: an osteopath can start from the cranial structure, to correct a banal ache of the shoulder, and, if not sufficient, proceed to examine organs such as the heart, stomach, pancreas and liver, until getting to evaluate the support at the level of the ankle, to make sure that all the body works in perfect harmony; a chiropractor, confines itself to liberate the nerve branches that affect the limb in question.
The osteopath uses only the help of hands to perform its therapy, but this does not make him a simple massager.
The osteopathic technique is a technique based on the biophysical laws of human anatomy. Every movement, each manipulation, both direct (Thrust), both indirect, these are meant to move in depth the key milestones which give stability, strength and agility to the whole organism, and to allow every single component or viscera to operate correctly, through a correct irrigation on the part of the blood vessels. It all cannot and must not be confused with a relaxing massage, energizing or decontracting one, which instead is interested in simply exerting an action on the muscle fibers, without taking account of everything that these rule or that passes through them.
In the same way, the osteopath must not be confused with the physiotherapist, which deals with the rehabilitation of all those structures which have suffered an injury, that with the simple manipulation is not possible to correct (serious injury ligamentous, severe inflammation at the level of the nerve fibers, serious lesions at the level of the muscle tissue, serious lesions at the level of the spine’s structures, etc.), and for which therefore becomes necessary the aid of suitable machinery (tecarterapy, electrical stimulation Transcutaneous Nerve – T.E.N.S., ultrasound, hydrotherapy, etc.).
Although osteopathy originate from studies, surveys and centuries of medical practices, the latter, even today, in some areas of the world, does not fall between the health sciences, and therefore is not recognized as medical science. As, on the contrary, for example, the figure of a physiotherapist.
Italy, is part of this case.
Other countries recognize its full effectiveness, especially as preventive therapy and healing in the above cases, therefore entitled to an official recognition that falls in a branch “para-health care”, which means “flanking” health techniques, together with techniques such as acupuncture, naturopathy, homeopathy, Reiki, etc. An example of such countries are Spain, France and Germany.
Other still fully recognize Osteopathy as medical technique, without any exception of genre. Among these last, are included United States, Australia and New Zealand.
This difference implies a difference in terms of years of study, of recognition of schools through various institutions and opens new issues on the plane of recognition of qualifications at European level.
The associations are strugglimg to ensure that these bureaucratic dynamics soon will be clarified, both for the benefit of all the professionals of the sector both, in primis, for patients.
One thing is certain: be osteopaths, means that you have chosen to embrace a mission. The mission to return the welfare, to those who fear to have lost it.
If you are not clear in this, there is no year of study, nor diploma nor graduation, that makes of a professional, a true osteopath. |
Preventative Medicine
There are Risk Factors You Can Control!
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. A large number of people are living with AD and with each passing year, another 25,000 Canadians will be diagnosed. Worse yet, this number is expected to increase considerably as a reflection of the aging population.
AD is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that causes a decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. AD is characterized by the accumulation of two types of protein in the brain: tangles (tau) and plaques (beta-amyloid) and the loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain.
Symptoms of AD usually develop slowly, worsening over time, progressing from simple forgetfulness to widespread brain impairment. The symptoms, the order in which they appear, and the duration of each stage vary from person to person.
There are some major risk factors beyond control:
Age: The strongest risk factor for developing AD is aging. Most cases begin after age 60 and as you age the risk increases. It makes sense since your body’s self-repair mechanism effectiveness declines as you age.
Genetics: Certain genes make you more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Researchers have identified three genes that determine definitively whether you will have Alzheimer’s, and all three relate to amyloid-beta production.
Gender: There has been some debate that women may be more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than men but more research is needed to determine if this is accurate, or due to other factors.
Medical conditions: Some medical conditions increase your likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s. These include Parkinson's disease, Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, chronic kidney disease and HIV.
As with most degenerative conditions, there are many risk factors that are within your power to control:
Physical activity: Moderately vigorous exercising for at least 30 minutes, three to four days per week.
Toxins: Alcohol and smoke are both toxins your body doesn’t need. They tax your detoxification systems putting them under stress. Try and reduce alcohol consumption and eliminate smoking of all kinds.
Blood: Keep your blood healthy. Have your doctor check your blood parameters regularly and make sure they are in the healthy range. (blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides)
Weight: Keeping your weight in check will help all your body systems stay healthy. Making healthy food choices by eating a balanced diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruits; whole grains; olive oil; nuts; legumes; fish; with moderate amounts of poultry, eggs, dairy. Try keeping red meat to a minimum and eliminate processed foods.
Be socially active: Keep meeting people and spending time doing activities with them. Keeping social circles active helps to keep your brain fit and engaged.
Challenge your brain: Keep trying to build new pathways by learning new things and pushing your brain. Word searches, Sudoku, crosswords, math games and the like all keep your brain fit. Try taking classes to learn new concepts or really challenge yourself by learning something completely new like a language or skill set (piloting, motorcycle driving, computer coding, etc.)
Reduce stress: Stress in small amounts is a healthy motivator. When it is constant and serious it causes unhealthy chemical release and inflammation. Keep your stress to healthy levels.
Sleep well: Your body (and brain) needs sleep to refresh, recharge and repair. Unfortunately getting less sleep or sleeping poorly is tied to an increase in brain levels of beta-amyloid (one of the proteins of concern in AD).
There are several medications that can help alleviate some of the symptoms, however, despite the long years of research, there is currently no cure for AD nor can its progression be reversed. Non-drug therapies (such as herbal remedies, aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage, music etc.) hold vast potential for AD but a lack of clinical data prevents us from truly understanding their safety and effectiveness.
Some of the non-drug treatments that have been studied include:
-Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are naturally occurring fats that are abundant in coconut oil. Our bodies rapidly convert them into ketones, which can be used as an energy source by the brain. Some evidence suggests that patients with dementia might find short-term benefit using MCTs.
-Huperzine A is an alkaloid extract derived from moss (Huperzia serrata) that can improve the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Studies suggest that huperzine A may improve memory and protect nerve cells, which could slow the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's but long time safety use information is lacking.
-Omega 3 essential fatty acids can help prevent cognitive decline. Unfortunately, your body cannot synthesize omega-3s itself, so it must be incorporated into your diet (olive oil, flax oil and fatty fish) so make sure that you consume plenty of these foods each day.
-Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, E, and C (found in dark coloured fruits and vegetables), may help prevent damage caused by free radicals.
-Curcumin is a compound found in the spice turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that might play a role in the prevention of Alzheimer’s. More research is needed to understand how curcumin reaches the bloodstream and through the blood-brain barrier.
-Myricetin is a polyphenol found in red grapes, cranberries, blueberries, parsley, currants, and walnuts. This compound exhibits a wide range of activities such as powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities suggesting that the compound may be beneficial to protect against diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
-Ginkgo biloba is derived from the leaves of the Ginkgo tree. A number of small studies have found slight improvements in cognitive function for older adults with dementia but it’s too early to determine its role in preventing or delaying Alzheimer's disease.
-Vitamin E. Although vitamin E isn't effective for preventing Alzheimer's, taking 2,000 international units (IU) daily may help delay progression of the disease.
If you are considering any treatment, you should always consult with a doctor to determine any potential drug interactions or side effects.
Unfortunately the prevalence of Alzheimer disease in our society will only continue to increase. This disease will end up affecting all of us; either directly by us contracting it or indirectly by our loved ones contracting it. Either way, we need to understand the risk factors for Alzheimer’s and do all we can to minimize its effects.
Joel Thuna, MH, is a master Herbalist with over 30 years of experience. Dr. Claude Gallant holds a PhD in Microbiology. |
Cardiosphere-Derived Injections Improve Heart Function in Children with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome or HLHS accounts for 2 to 3 percent of all congenital heart disease. It shows a prevalence rate of two to three cases per 10,000 live births in the United States. HLHS is the most common form of functional single ventricle heart disease. The National Inpatient Sample database has estimated that there were an estimated 16,781 cases of HLHS among neonates born between 1988 and 2005 in the United States. More males have HLHS than females with the male to female ratio being about 1.5:1. Despite its low incidence relative to other congenital cardiac disorders, HLHS, if left untreated, is responsible for 25 to 40 percent of all neonatal cardiac deaths.
In HLHS patients, the left ventricle (the main pumping chamber of the heart), aorta, and related components are underdeveloped.
Children born with HLHS typically require surgery within a few days of birth and additional long-term treatment is required to address issues associated with right ventricular-dependent circulation.
Results from a clinical trial conducted by researchers at Okayama University and Okayama University Hospital show that children who suffer from HLHS seem to benefit from injections of cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs).
Apparently in children, cardiac progenitor cells that can differentiate into several different heart-specific cell types are more abundant and self-renewing in children than adults.
The research group, led by Hidemasa Oh, monitored the heart function of seven patients who had received injections of cells and a control group of seven patient who had not received any such injections. They concluded that, “Our prospective controlled study, the first pediatric phase I clinical trial of stem cell therapy for heart disease to our knowledge, suggests that intracoronary infusion of autologous cardiac progenitor cells is a feasible and safe approach to treat children with HLHS.”
The cardiac progenitor cells used in this study came directly from the hearts of the patients. When these heart-specific progenitor cells are isolated and grown in cell culture, they form tiny balls of cells called “cardiospheres.” These patient-derived cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) were administered to the experimental subjects in this study after they were confirmed to contain a normal number of chromosomes and express a host of heart-specific genes. The transcoronary administration of the CDCs did not produce any adverse effects.
The heart functions monitored by the research group included the right ventricular ejection fraction or RVEF, end-systolic volume (ESV), which is the volume of blood within the ventricle at the maximum point of contraction, and the end-diastolic volume or EDV, which is the volume of blood at the maximum filling point, stroke volume, and cardiac output. Additionally, the levels of brain natriuretic peptide or BNP (a direct measure of heart failure) were also monitored. BNP is made by the ventricles of the heart in response to excessive stretching of the heart muscle.
Because of the rarity of this disease, this study was necessarily small. This study was also a non-randomized study. Therefore, this study is more of an evaluation of the safety of this procedure rather than its efficacy. However, the improvement in the RVEP in the stem cell-treated patients compared to the non-treated group 18 months after CDC administration provides possible evidence of the efficacy of this treatment.
Clearly more work is needed, but we will know more as the data rolls in. |
The Praetorian State and Its Owners
The concept that best describes the regime in Turkey is praetorian republic. In a praetorian republic, the state may be a disorderly, anarchic power tool of a less than professional army marching behind adventurous chiefs as seen in Latin America in the past. The most significant example to these kinds of praetorian states is the last period of the Roman Empire. Initially, the praetorian guards (cohors proetoria), were established for the protection of high rank military officers and consuls. In Augustus era, the praetorian guards were given the authority to enter into the sacred corners of the Roman rule with their arms. Thus, they became the imperial guards. Then, they turned out to be a powerful and influential class and played a significant role in selecting of consuls and emperors as well as in influencing the decisions of the senate. They started to take side in favor of the political surroundings that best served their own interests. Furthermore, they transformed their own interest into the interest of the state. This has to be defined as an archaic praetorian power type.
In the 19th century, the adjective “praetorian” was used to define this type of a dominant political body which violates the principles of representative democracy and yet seemingly leaves a certain political space to the parliament in order to enforce its authority. For example, Marx used this term to criticize Napoleon III’s regime[2]. Then followed the new praetorian regime definitions in the modern world, especially those after the World War II.
The modern praetorian state, like its predecessor in the Roman Empire, is a regime where the military and civilian bureaucracy is lodged in the very center, dictating the actual course of the political regime. However, it is decidedly different. It would be more appropriate to mention here the presence of a praetorian clique as much as that of a praetorian power. The presence of military powers in it ensures that dictating, directing, and restricting actions come into play with forcefulness at critical moments or that they are internalized to a certain extent by the societal players. Nevertheless, a praetorian regime is not an openly military dictatorship. It is the regime of the tutelage of a military-civilian clique.
In this context, we can define the regime in Turkey as a “limited pluralist system” under the influence of the military. An analysis of the regime setting out from such a definition cannot remain confined to the presence of praetorian powers and circles. One must also evaluate the capabilities of these circles to intervene effectively in political-social life.
The praetorian nature of the republic in Turkey is inherent in its foundation. To illustrate this, we can consider the intervention on 28 February 1997 centering around the National Security Council (MGK) as a typical action of the modern praetorian republic without having to go as far into the past as the militarized state and nation practices in the early Republic, i.e the military coups that took place in 1960 and 1980, and the military memorandum of 12 March (see Radikal2, A. İnsel, “Praetorian forces and the regime”, 25 February 2007; Yeni Yüzyıl, 21 and 28 March 1998). The ways in which the praetorian regime operates and dictates the course of society at critical moments are not static. They vary depending on social developments, world conjuncture, and the nature of the forces they oppose. This is one of the major differences between the archaic praetorian regimes and the modern ones. The modern praetorian regime possesses the methods of intervention and influence that do not require resorting to a coup or direct rule of the military bureaucracy. In this kind of regime, the military coup bears greater productivity for the regime’s economy as long as it remains a very distant albeit real possibility. Other political and social actors never disregard the possibility of a military coup even though they explicitly claim the opposite. A belief like “there would not be another coup d’etat” is in itself a sign that, the hegemony of the praetorian regime is, to a great extent lasting.
The developments immediately preceding the memorandum of 27 April, the legal obstacles put up in order to prevent the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from electing the president single-handedly. The organizations of certain demonstrations against the government were organized directly by the praetorian powers while the others were indirectly encouraged by them. This therefore, afforded us the opportunity of observing at a degree of keenness akin to that of a laboratory how the praetorian republican regime in Turkey adapts itself to the conditions of the times and how it operates. The presence of significant differences with the past practices of the praetorian regime does not mean that its essential characteristics have changed. They point to the regime’s capability of adaptation and its resilience in the face of social and political developments, which in turn expose the difficulty of exiting from the praetorian regime.
On 28 February, the “mobilization of the civilian public” was made to happen not by means of public demonstrations but by summoning people and institutions directly to the MGK and the General Staff headquarters and briefing them on the situation. In those days, we witnessed non-governmental organizations, labor unions, professional chambers, journalists, businessmen, and the community of higher education line up outside of the offices of the MGK and the headquarters of the General Staff in Ankara and the military garrisons in a number of provinces in order to receive briefings. The representatives of the “briefed civilian public” from the Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions (DISK) to the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) were so enthusiastic and in such a hurry to “get in as soon as possible” that quarrels occasionally broke out for front places in the queues.
The process that led to the suspension of the presidential election, of which the 27 April memorandum played its part, was however different from that of 28 February. This time, the mobilization of the civilian public was ensured by means of “Republic demonstrations” and the support of a newspaper, a television channel, and several associations rather than military briefings. Viewed from a very narrow angle, this may be seen as a step towards further “civilianization” and democratization. But it cannot be construed as altering the essential nature of the praetorian regime or inching open the door to its end. On the contrary, it has somewhat more impact than the public opinion polls, primarily in the West, in the sense that it explicitly demonstrates the public support given to the praetorian regime. This situation would at the same time, one way or another, play a part in the legitimization of a potential coup d’Etat,.
What gives the praetorian powers the legitimacy to carry out all these interventions in a parliamentary regime based on free elections is the power of “ownership.” In a praetorian regime, the prevalent idea is that the regime and the state have their “owners.” In order to amount to something more than an idea and a belief, this needs to be associated with a unified entity of political practices.
The political institutions established or strengthened by the 12 September regime, and the authority given to them, the rules that narrowed the political sphere, the authoritarian tendencies ignited in the social area, all together exhibit the operational side of the praetorian regime. Beneath this, there lies the phenomenon of ownership which has been gradually imprinted on the public perception in an increasing manner since the foundation of the Turkish Republic. The praetorian regime functions effectively to the extent that it succeeds to reconstruct the public imagery according this principle of ownership. Because then, it becomes more plausible to pass off the regime’s institutions and the course of political life as a natural development.
At the moment, the praetorian regime supporters resort to effective means like separating the government and state authority nearly in an absolute way, creating a distinct “state authority” conception, or even defining those two as the opposing poles. For example, the political party which is let to be the government can openly be denied to exist in the sphere of the state. This is a perfect indicator that the state authority has an area of ownership whose owners are determined outside the scope of democratic deliberations. This phenomenon of ownership does not necessarily have to reside with the military forces or the security forces alone in a praetorian regime. The ever existence of a clique in the heart of the military and civilian bureaucracy together with societal factions under its ideological sphere of influence frees the praetorian regime from the burden of maintaining its existence as a military or police republic.
The acknowledgement of the presence of certain owners of the state and the regime requires acquiescence to the powers and responsibilities associated with this right of property. As is known, ownership is based on exclusion. Owning something creates the consequence that someone else cannot own it. Or, as in the case of public property, it leads to the consequence that no single person or group can lay claim to what is owned by everyone (all citizens). The rights of use arising from ownership cannot be relinquished to individuals or groups in true communal ownership. Therefore, in a regime where sovereignty is unconditionally invested in the nation, no one can claim, “this regime has its owners,” “the state is not without its owners,” or “we are the owners of the state.” Even if they do, they cannot find the legal and institutional grounds to turn their claims into reality. In a praetorian republic, however, it is this very sense of ownership that lies at the ideological and institutional core of the regime.
The praetorian republic may keep the boundaries of the pluralist “democracy” relatively spacious under the tutelage of the praetorian powers as long as it enjoys a solid circle of support around it. This gives rise to the illusion that there is a possibility to break free from the praetorian regime by acting within these broadened boundaries and by having the regime’s own mechanisms operate. Such a possibility does exist on paper but one of the most important factors preventing it from happening is that the attempt at breaking free from this tutelage is made by the opposing powers, which ironically, owe their very strength mainly to their reactionary position. These reactionary powers, however internalized the principles of the praetorian political imagery such as limited pluralism, and the indivisibility of the right of ownership a long time ago. For example, we have seen on various instances that the AKP’s “democraticness” derived from reaction and its conservatism bear the genetic stamp of the praetorian republican mind set.
Although the AKP defines itself as the “periphery” as opposed to this praetorian center, in the final analysis it displays an attitude precisely matching the dialectic opposition Hegel referred to in the master-slave relationship. Because, in fact what the AKP wants is mainly to take the place of the owner. It demands a change of owners in the regime, not an end to the practice of ownership itself. The AKP does not realize that the problem lies with the system or it feels that ignoring this fact is to its advantage. Therefore, it confines its struggle to the domain of praetorian power by countering its adversary’s moves in the race for ownership. It demonstrates an understanding of democracy based on the superiority of the majority. It fills the government posts with people known for their sectarian affiliations. Rather than consolidating its hegemony by making compromises at its own initiative from a position of advantage, it surrenders to excessive conviction about the righteousness of its actions, which makes the latter impossible. It upholds formalism just as strongly. The reaction the AKP administration and staff feel against their rivals cause them to lock on to this reactionary approach, enslaved by the attitudes of their opponents that assume the nature of humiliation with a patina of class discrimination.
The praetorian regime will enjoy the capability of emphasizing its continued monopolization of the status of ownership of the regime as long as it can produce an opposing force largely possessing its own authoritarian codes. This is its basic need to have its existence confirmed at every opportunity. The political imagery of the AKP gives the praetorian powers more room for maneuver because of the former’s focus on reacting against the powers, groups, and their surrounding circles that declare themselves to be the owners of the state and the regime. The AKP turns itself into a copycat of its rivals the more it allows its political actions and even its political vision to be defined in terms of this reaction. This may indeed be the case, which gives the praetorian powers the chance to cry wolf and to press once again the button to mobilize the guided civilian public, an opportunity they more than welcome.
Well, does this whole situation mean that we are destined to remain as the watchers, victims, or beneficiaries of this endless bout of tactical moves and countermoves? Isn’t it at all possible to break loose from this regime?
One way of getting out of the praetorian regime lies in the aftermath of a massive political or military defeat where the praetorian powers will totally lose their prestige. The signs of such a defeat are not in Turkey’s horizon. Besides, it’s worth remembering that the social price to be paid for this way would generally be extremely great and would aggravate the traumas in society.
The second way out is for a democratic, libertarian voice, that refuses to narrow down its political horizons to reaction against these powers and to reduce its public psyche to a sentiment of reaction and revenge, a voice that offers a program for exiting from this regime to the public in a clear way that instills confidence and avoids doomsday prophecies and to manage to enlist public support. The fact that the rhetoric for getting out of this regime has been abandoned to the monopolization of the right-wing political powers in Turkey is the biggest obstacle blocking this second path.
The upcoming elections in Turkey and their probable results bear no hope of a clearer perspective in getting free of the praetorian regime for the time being.
[1] This is a english version of the article published in Birikim, 218, june 2007 .
[2] A. İnsel, “Praetorian powers and regime”, Radikal2, 25.2.2007; Yeni Yüzyıl, 21 and 28 March 1998. |
Not all tremors represent Parkinson’s disease
Patients frequently come to see me for evaluation of their tremor. Invariably the history is that the tremor was first brought to their attention by a close friend or a family member. The patient is worried that he/she has Parkinson’s disease and hence seek a neurologist’ s attention. Rarely are they bothered by the tremor per-se. By that I mean the tremor is usually not disabling and does not impair their quality of life at least initially. So do all tremors represent Parkinson’s disease? Are there any benign tremors? Which tremors warrant medical attention? These are some of the issues I plan to dwell on in this blog post. I hope some of my readers shall find the information useful.
So what exactly is a tremor. Well neurologically a tremor is characterized by rhythmic oscillatory and involuntary movement across a joint. I used the work involuntary because tremors at times can be voluntary. Voluntary tremor is usually psychogenic (meaning it has a psychological basis to it). We shall not discuss psychogenic/voluntary tremors in this post though. Suffice to say that a doctor shall be able to identify psychogenic tremor based on the history and examination findings alone.
So what do I look for when a patient with tremor comes to me seeking an explanation. Well the age of the patient is the first clue to the etiology of the tremor. Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease usually starts off in the sixth to seventh decade of life. Familial Parkinson’s disease can start at a younger age but usually the tremor is not so prominent nor is it the initial manifestation. There can be many causes of tremor in the “young”. Various medical conditions some more common such as hyperthyroidism, hepatic and renal diseases and some more exotic such as Wilson’s disease (due to a problem with copper metabolism in the body)come to mind. At times the answer is more innocuous and the tremor is either due to stress or excessive intake of coffee and other caffeine containing drinks. In that case all that is needed is reassurance. One other disease that needs to be kept in mind is multiple sclerosis though usually more findings are documented in exam (meaning that the tremor is not see in isolation). One should never forget to ask patients about the use of prescription, over the counter and illicit drugs. Many drugs such as sodium valproate (commonly used to treat seizures and at times bipolar disorder), bronchodilators (drugs used to treat asthma, reactive airway disease and chronic obstructive airway disease) cause a coarse postural and kinetic tremor as a side-effect. Once the drug is stopped the tremor abates.
Another common entity frequently confused with Parkinson’s disease is what is called essential tremor or also sometimes referred to as benign essential tremor. Patients who have essential tremor are usually in the same age group as patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease and hence the confusion and concern arises. Essential tremor has the following characteristics: it is usually a postural tremor (meaning that the tremor is most prominent when the hands are kept out and maintained at a posture such as having them stretched out in front of you. Remember the classical tremor of Parkinson’s disease is a resting tremor. Meaning the tremor is most prominent when the hands are at rest like for example resting on the patient’s lap and the patient’s attention is diverted). Essential tremor is a faster and finer tremor as compared to the tremor of Parkinson’s disease which is a slower (2-5 Hz) and of higher amplitude. A point to note here is that tremors are frequently classified based on their frequency, amplitude and position (rest Vs postural Vs kinetic). Patients who have essential tremor frequently in addition to the hand tremor also may have a head tremor (the head shakes either from side to side [no-no tremor] or up and down [yes-yes tremor]). They may also have a tremor in their speech (voice tremor). On further questioning some of them may admit to having the tremor run in their family (meaning their father and grandfather also had a similar tremor). They may have also noted that when they drink alcohol the tremor becomes less prominent. Infact some patients start drinking excessively for this very reason! Essential tremor usually progresses very very slowly (if at all) and may never become problematic and disabling in the patient’s lifetime. Hence it does not need to be treated unless it is socially disabling (“Doctor Sethi I cannot drink a glass of wine without spilling it over my dress!” “Dr Sethi I am so embrassed when my hands shake in a business meeting!”). Essential tremor is not accompanied by the other signs and symptoms which accompany Parkinson’s disease such as gait problems, freezing, stiffness, rigidity and mask like facies.
So not all tremors represent Parkinson’s disease. A quick visit to your “local” neurologist shall give you an answer to what kind of tremor you have.
The tremor of Parkinson’s disease
The tremor of Parkinson’s disease
Nitin. K. Sethi, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
New York-Presbyterian
Weill Cornell Medical Center
New York, NY 10065
Since many of the readers of my blog and website ( have written in asking about tremor, I thought in this post I shall describe the tremor seen in Parkinson’s disease in detail. The classical tremor described in Parkinson’s disease is a resting tremor which has a frequency of about 2-5 Hz. Let me explain in more simple terms what I mean by that.
The tremor in Parkinson’s disease is present at rest and not when the hands/ limbs are in motion (when the patient’s hands are placed on a table and are completely at rest, the tremor comes out. Now if you ask the patient to hold the hands in front of themselves or to perform some action like picking up a glass of water and bring it to their lips, the tremor becomes less prominent and may not be noticable. Hence it is called a RESTING TREMOR). Another way to observe the resting tremor is to see the patient walk. When we walk, our arms are held by the side of the body and are completely at rest, if a person has a resting tremor it is clearly visible.
The tremor in Parkinson’s disease has a frequency of about 2-5Hz ( meaning that the tremor is not very fast). It also has a large amplitude (meaning that it is not fine rather it is a gross tremor and can be well appreciated by the naked eye from a distance).
The tremor of Parkinson’s disease disappears/ stops when the patient falls asleep (most of the tremors abate on sleeping and hence this quality does not aid in differentiating the tremor of Parkinson’s disease from other tremors).
The classical tremor of Parkinson’s disease is a pill-rolling tremor (meaning the tremor consists of flexion and extension of the fingers in connection with adduction and abduction of the thumb. Imagine yourself rolling a pill, that is how the tremor looks like!!!)
Most importantly the tremor in Parkinson’s disease is accompanied by other signs of Parkinson’s disease such as rigidity (the tone of the muscles of the limbs is increased), bradykinesia (slowness in the execution of movement) and a disturbance of gait and posture (the gait is slow, stooped forward-we call this a festinating gait and their posture is off so patients are more prone to falls). That said and done signs of Parkinson’s disease may appear at different times and not all at once. At times the first/ earliest manifestation of Parkinson’s disease is the presence of an asymmetrical resting tremor (meaning the tremor usually appears asymmetrically/ only in one hand).
Tremor: its essentials and management
In this post I shall talk a little bit about tremors. What exactly is a tremor you may ask. The way we define tremor in neurology is a rhythmic oscillatory movement across a joint. One may have a hand tremor (your hands shake), leg tremors, head tremor and even speech and tongue tremors. One way to classify tremors is to divide them into physiological and non-physiological tremor.
Physiological tremor is present in each and every one of us. If you hold your hands straight out and balance a sheet of paper on it, you can see the paper shaking a little. This is due to the physiological tremor in our hands. We all have it and the thinking behind it is that it is due to cardioballistic motion. Now suppose you go and have a large (I think they call it venti size) Starbucks coffee and repeat the above test again. You shall find that your tremor is now more prominent, this enhancement of the physiological tremor by coffee and some drugs like aminophylline is what is called enhanced physiological tremor. Physiological and enhanced physiological tremors do not need to be treated as they do not disturb the patient in any way. You may ask the patient to cut down on his coffee though.
Non-physiological tremor: as the name suggests these tremors are pathological. One way to classify pathological tremors is on the basis of how they present. So one may have a tremor which is most prominent when the hands are completely at rest and is not present once the hands come into motion (or start doing some activity). This is called a resting tremor (tremor at rest) and is classically seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Other tremors are prominent only when the hand is engaged in some action and hence those tremors are called action tremor.
When a patient comes to us for the evaluation of a tremor what we look for is whether the tremor is isolated (meaning there are no other manifestations apart from the tremor) or whether the tremor is a part of a larger neurological syndrome. We want to rule out neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease which may present with tremor. Secondly we want to know whether the tremor shall remain static or whether it is going to worsen as time goes by. Then we try to classify the type of tremor and try to identify its etiology. Is it drug induced? What are its exacerrbating factors and what factors make the tremor become less prominent? Does the tremor become less prominent after consuming alcohol? Does the tremor run in the family (meaning is there a family history of tremors)? What does the tremor involve: just the limbs or also the head and speech?
In my next post I shall talk about the management of tremors.
Dr. Sethi |
Monthly Archives: September 2019
Until the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Price in 1989, Buddhism had been largely portrayed as a peaceful religion. But since the 1990s, several articles and books have appeared that critically investigated this image. By now, western scholars and the public have a much more balanced view of the history of Buddhism and the violence that was a part of it. Unfortunately, not all contributions to this new critical assessment have applied the necessary care and fairness. In this posting, I would like to investigate two recent and influential contributions to the study of violence in tantric Buddhism. Both portray particular kinds of Buddhist tantric practices as involving “real” violence; both conclude that people are really getting killed here. While I do not want to argue that such a thing—killing of people in the context of mantra—did not happen in the history of Buddhism, I do want to point out that the sources that were used for these studies not only do not allow that conclusion but are actually prime examples for texts that leave no doubt that the ritual activities are only imagined (: text) and that this kind of imagining has a particular training purpose (: context).
How could such a misjudgment have come about on the part of the authors? I will show that this is mainly due to mistranslations of the texts and to a lack of cultural context.
Interestingly, Jacob Dalton’s recent book, The Taming of the Demons (2011),♦ 1 provides – despite its many attempts to prove that the texts he investigates speak of real actual violence – the best arguments for the contrary.♦ 2 In his introduction, Dalton first concedes that “[c]onclusive proof of early tantric ritual killings may never be found; indeed, it is unclear what such evidence would even look like” (p. 3). But then he speaks throughout his book of “ritual killing of actual people” (p. 3), “a Buddhist rite for human sacrifice” (p. 4), “the [bestowed] right to enact violence” (p. 14), and that “several details suggest that a live person may be intended” [to be killed] (p. 77).
Dalton knows that later Tibetans were adamant about killing “not being performed on a live person, and their ritual manuals bear this out” (p. 4). His thesis is that the old 9th century (or earlier) Tibetan texts found in the famous library cave of Dunhuang do not “bear this out,” but rather are explicit in stating instructions for actual killing of living persons.
His chief evidence for the alleged existence of actual violence in these early rites is contained in two texts from Dunhuang. One of them (PT 840/1), which he presents in Appendix C of his book, he translates thus (p. 212, my square brackets):
“When citta [the consciousness] is led forth by the mudrā, imagine that it is grabbed with ʻja’ʼ (bzung bar bsam),” … “imagine he [sic!] is led (’dren par bsam),” and “imagine that he [sic! ] is sent (bton par bsam),” [i.e., to nirvana].♦ 3
This passage of the text extends over five and a half lines in his translation. The object that is “led,” “grabbed,” and “sent” remains the same: the consciousness (citta) of the enemy. Consciousness has the neutral gender, and thus “it” is grabbed—surely “grabbed” in a metaphorical sense. But then, suddenly, in that same passage, Dalton switches to the male gender when he translates “he is led” and “he is sent” to nirvana. What justifies this switching from consciousness to a real person—for which there is no indication in the Tibetan text? Was the wish to prove that this is an instance of killing of a real person the father of this not so subtle slip? Moreover, even if one could label this as violence, one could not state more clearly that it is entirely imagined violence (note the Tibetan verb bsam in all quotes).
The second example (PT42/ITJ419) is presented as his supposedly strongest evidence of the entire book for the possibility that a real and human victim is actually to be sacrificed. It begins with the following line (in my translation):
Imagine that a demonic iron ax that one holds aloft performs the activities of the Lady of Death.
Dalton translates “holding aloft the demonic iron axe, imagine that one performs the activities of the Lady of Death.” The Tibetan text says sta re thogs pa gcig, lit. “an ax held aloft.” The gcig in this syntactic position must refer to the ax; it cannot mean “one.” Thus, it is not oneself, the performer of the ritual that one imagines to carry out the destructive activities; it is the ritual ax. Therefore, the violence is thrice removed: (1) It is imagined, (2) it is carried out by the ax, (3) and that ax is not a real ax, but a ritual simulacrum. In exactly this manner the text continues (my translation):
Then♦ 4 imagine a dark blue syllable KRONG atop the head [of the being that is liberated]. … From the DRONG (!) atop the head, many razor-[like] weapons cleave and chop, the consciousness emerges, and it is offered to the principal [deity]. (…) Having made all these visualizations (bsam ba’i rnams) clear in his mind, the master must revive the consciousness and hold it. He throws it on top of the mandala and then has to examine the signs.♦ 5
In previous passages, the enemy to be liberated, termed throughout the text “the object of compassion,” is placed in the middle of the mandala, facing west, and smeared with white mustard seed paste. Is this a real person, a real body of a living being? Even if that should be the case—for which there is no evidence—it is clear that everything else is imagined: A syllable is imagined atop the head, from that appear visualized weapons, and it is imagined that the consciousness appears and is offered to the visualized deity. The text makes this as explicit as one could wish: “Having made all these visualizations (bsam ba’i rnams) clear in his mind”—thus, the ritual master is visualizing the activity. Other than the visualized weapons there are no real weapons mentioned in the text through which a head could be chopped off. Also, what else but a visualization would be the emerging consciousness? Tibetans do not have a concept according to which any part that could be chopped out of the head would be seen as the consciousness.
Now the master “must revive (sos) the [visualized] consciousness and hold it. He throws it on top of the mandala and then has to examine the signs.” As Dalton himself has noted a few pages before (p. 79), in the Guhyasamāja Tantra, i.e., the canonical work from which this ritual manual derived, the thing that is beheaded is, in fact, a paper effigy. Moreover, in a footnote (p. 239, n. 40) he states: “The interlinear notes to the same lines in the tantra make the use of a paper effigy still more explicit (ITJ438, 53v5: ri mor bris pa de’i mgo gcad par byas pa).” The interlinear note says: “The head drawn in the picture is chopped off.” Isn’t thus the most probable scenario that the “object of compassion” is represented in the described ritual by a picture drawn on a piece of paper or by any other effigy, such as one made of dough? The signs that are to be examined after the effigy is thrown onto the mandala are in accordance with that: The effigy faces into one particular direction, it lands “face down,” or it may “split at the crown” (which indicates an effigy made of dough).♦ 6
Despite all this evidence and virtually no evidence to the contrary, Dalton insists in his translation that what is thrown onto the maṇḍala is a real head. Moreover, he describes the above ritual procedure with these words:
Certainly the most violent text to emerge from the library cave ofDunhuang is a ritual manual for the performance of the notorious “liberation rite” (sgrol ba). Many early Mahayoga writings from Dunhuang and elsewhere mention the liberation rite, but none is so explicit or detailed as this manual. … The instructions have the victim brought in and placed at the center of the ritual altar so that he faces west; the weapon is blessed and the victim purified, before being beheaded with an axe. Finally, the position in which the head comes to rest is interpreted to determine the rite’s success. The description is unusual, as it supplies so much detail yet makes no mention of an effigy.
To repeat: The iron ax is a ritual instrument that is clearly not used to chop off any heads (“imagine[!] that a demonic iron ax that one holds aloft performs the activities”); the “weapons” that arise from the syllable are visualized, and whatever activity they perform can therefore only be imagined; according to the text, it is not the head that is thrown onto the mandala, but the consciousness; and although the ritual text itself does not mention an effigy, the tantra from which it is derived and its interlinear notes do. Dalton’s above description of the ritual is forced. If this is his “most violent” and most explicit example, his thesis that the old 9th century (or earlier) Tibetan texts from Dunhuang are explicit in stating instructions for actual killing of living persons is failed.
My second example is an article by David Gray (esp. pp. 248 ff.).♦ 7 In it, he refers to an interesting passage in Atishaʼs Abhisamayavibhanga.♦ 8 Atisha discusses here destructive means in a ritual text. Gray concludes from his translation of the passage that Atisha “justifies” and “legitimate[s] such [violent] actions.” Moreover, Gray states: “This justifies violence by those who have controlled their minds, and are thus not motivated by the passions, but rather by the cool calculus of compassion (…).” Apart from his rather eccentric formulation “cool calculus of compassion,” which is obviously a contradiction in terms, and other strange expressions (“Atisha finds solace”), Gray has, in fact, not done justice to the subtlety of Atishaʼs argument. For my discussion I would like to begin the passage Gray investigates two lines earlier because these lines provide the context for Atishaʼs reply (all translations are mine):♦ 9
Query: Are, conventionally speaking, the one who is going to be harmed and the harm doer inexistent? Reply: That would be to disavow cause and result!
The interlocutor asks if the person who is going to be harmed, namely oneself (attacked by the demon or enemy) and the harm doer (namely the demon or enemy who will have to be repelled) are, conventionally speaking, inexistent. (Alternatively the one who performs the rite could be the harm doer and the demon or enemy the one to be harmed. This does not make a difference in the logic of the argument.) Atisha denies their inexistence because that would mean to disregard the teaching of cause and result on the level of conventional reality. In other words, conventionally speaking, both oneself and the enemy/demon do exist. The next query follows:
Query: Is there not a contradiction concerning a repelling by way of [seeing the enemy] as something separate?
This question concerns the teaching that all appearances are only the mind. If that is the case, is the enemy not also nothing but oneʼs mind? Is it, therefore, not a mistake to see him as a separate entity? Now follows the part that Gray has presented in his article, again in my own translation:
ཀུན་རྫོབ་ཏུ་རྒྱུ་འབྲས་མེད་པ་མ་ཡིན་གྱི། འོན་ཀྱང་ཞེ་སྡང་གིས་བསླང་བའི་སྦྱོར་བས་བཟློག་པར་བྱ་བ་མ་ཡིན་ཏེ། ཀུན་རྫོབ་ཉིད་དུ་ཡང་བྱམས་པ་ལ་སོགས་པའི་གོ་ཆ་དང་དོན་དམ་པར་སྐྱེ་མེད་དུ་ཤེས་པས་སོ། ད་ཡང་ཅི་ཞེ་ན། ཀུན་རྫོབ་ཏུ་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་སེམས་ཙམ་ལས་གཞན་མ་ཡིན་ཏེ། དེ་བས་ན་སེམས་ལོག་པར་གཡོ་བ་ཉིད་བདུད་དང་བགེགས་ཡིན་ནོ། དེ་ཡང་ངན་སོང་སྦྱོར་བའི་རྒྱུད་ལས། ཇི་སྲིད་ཡིད་ཀྱིས་ལོག་གཡོ་བ༎ དེ་སྲིད་བདུད་ཀྱིས་སྤྱོད་ཡུལ་ལོ༎ ཞེས་གསུངས་སོ༎ སེམས་གཉེན་པོ་ལས་འཁྱར་བ་ཉིད་བདུད་ལ་སོགས་པ་ཡིན་ནོ༎
Reply: Conventionally, cause and result do not fail [lit. “are not inexistent”]. However [even though the enemyʼs harm is experienced as a real threat] it is wrong to repel [harm doers] by the application of a vengeful motivation because conventionally [one wears] the armor of love, and so forth, and ultimately one understands [harm doers] to be without birth. How is that? Conventionally, all phenomena are nothing but merely mind, and, therefore, the very deviation from [the understanding that phenomena are only] the mind is the Mara and the demons [that one must repel]. As the Sarvadurgati Tantra says:♦ 10
“Just as much as one wavers off with the mind,
just that much is the sphere of Mara.”
The very straying from [the understanding that all phenomena are] the mind, which is the antidote, is Mara and so forth.
Gray concludes from this:
Atisha here invokes the Yogacara theory of the baselessness of imputations of independent existence to phenomenal reality in order to deny the external reality of the demons who are the targets of the sadhanaʼs ritual violence. (…) This argument seems a bit inconsistent; if the demons do not in fact exist as independent entities, what need is there to insist that their destruction should be performed with a compassionate motivation?
Gray says: Since appearances are only mind, the demon doesn’t exist, and, thus, to say that he is destroyed with compassion is inconsistent. However, the passage translated from Atishaʼs text so far only pertains to a first and conventional part of his argument. Here, however, Atisha does not at all “justify” or “legitimate” a violent killing of a victim. On this conventional level, he instructs to apply love as an antidote to hatred and, still conventionally, to understand that the phenomenon perceived as the enemy is nothing but oneʼs mind. He also briefly alludes to an absolute level that is without the arising of such conventional phenomena like enemies and demons, but this will be only discussed later. Here, on the conventional level, one applies antidotes: love and the understanding that all phenomena are one’s mind.
One of the most important requirements for understanding this kind of ritual is that this is a training. As in all Mahayana practices, love for all sentient beings is cultivated at the beginning. Then, based on that, when there is a disturbance, one applies first of all that loving-kindness, and secondly one trains one’s understanding that all phenomena are only mind. This is the typical and well-known Mahayana training as it is expressed, for instance, in the Thirty-seven Trainings of the Bodhisattvas:
(16) Even if someone whom we have taken care of like our own child,
is seeing us as an enemy, we only increase our love for him,
like a mother for her sick child.
That is the training of the bodhisattvas.
(20) When hatred, our enemy, is rampant,
we may defeat the outer enemies, but they still increase.
Thus, one’s mental continuum is to be tamed with the armies of love and compassion.
That is the training of the bodhisattvas.
(22) Whatever appears is our mind.
Its nature is primordially free from proliferation.
Knowing that, not to indulge in the characteristics of perceived objects
and perceiving mind is the training of the bodhisattvas.
Up to this point in Atisha’s text, there is no one killed or repelled, neither with anger nor with compassion. This is a training of the mind. And here now follows in the text the crucial line:
… the very deviation from [the understanding that phenomena are only] the mind is the Māra and the demons [that one must repel].
Who or what is the enemy? It is one’s own deviating from this training. Just as much as one deviates from that, Mara can operate. The ritual practice of repelling enemies is, up to this point, explained by Atisha as a training in love and the understanding that appearances, even if they are threatening, are only one’s mind. Within a ritual practice such as the one commented upon by Atisha, the training takes place within several “frames,” from the outside to the inside: renunciation (when one contemplates the four thoughts that turn the mind away from samsara), love, compassion, and the resolve for awakening, purity and emptiness (with the shunyata-mantras, etc.), and, when appearances are mentally deleted and once again arise from the syllables, the understanding that all appearances are only the mind.
It can hardly be stated in clearer terms than Atisha provides them here, that the enemy one has to remove is oneʼs inability to cultivate these “frames” in one’s meditative practice. Whatever happens within these frames is a training of the mind to realize the true nature. The very wavering from these frames is the Mara that one must (metaphorically) “kill.” Since there is no person here that one must kill—only one’s own shortcomings in the training—to call this a “justification for killing” is to misunderstand the whole character of this endeavor as Atisha describes it. The enemy that appears is obviously an instance of training, and, as I have understood from interviews, it can become a particularly powerful training when it is done under adverse conditions, i.e., when, conventionally speaking, one perceives a real threat.
Atisha also clearly states that it would be wrong on the level of conventional truth to attack a real enemy, because the enemy conventionally exists for a deluded mind, and to attack him would have karmic consequences for the attacker in agreement with the teaching of cause and result. Therefore, the antidote to hatred for an enemy perceived as real is “the armor of love.” Once the yogi or yogini has removed the gross obscuration of hatred, he or she should train in the manner described above to realize that the threat that is perceived is nothing but mind. Atisha nowhere says, as Gray claims, that the enemy must be killed with compassion. The “armor of love” is not to prevent the yogis from karmic consequences; its purpose is to train and tame the mind.
Atisha provides the above explanation on the level of conventional truth. What follows is his brief argument on the level of absolute truth, which has been briefly alluded to with the above line “and ultimately, one understands [harm doers] to be without birth.” The text continues:
དེའི་ཕྱིར་ངེས་བརྗོད་ལས། མི་གསོད་གསོད་པ་མེད་པ་ཡིན༎ གང་གིས་རང་སེམས་ཐུལ་བ་ཡིས༎ བདག་གི་སེམས་ནི་བཅིངས་པ་ཡིན༎ གང་ལ་གང་གིས་གསོད་པ་ཡོད༎ ཅེས་པ་དང།
(…) Thus the Abhidhānottara says:
“There is neither killing nor not-killing.
One who has tamed his mind
is binding his mind.
Who is killed by whom?”
Note that Atisha does not primarily argue that “harm doers have no birth” with a mere “intellectual” argument of emptiness, but that he embeds his teaching in the “practical” instruction of binding the mind by taming it. This refers to exactly the training and taming of the mind as it was explained above, i.e., by entering successively into renunciation, love, and so forth, up to the realization of “only the mind” within the ritual of liberation embedded in mahayogatantra sadhana practice. Within such a realization of “only mind,” one must indeed ask the question “who is killed by whom?”♦ 11 Atisha concludes the argument with a continuation of the quote and his conclusion:
ཡང་། བྱམས་པའི་གོ་ཆ་བགོས་པ་དང་༎ སྙིང་རྗེ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་གོ་ཆ་ཡིན༎ ཤེས་རབ་མཚན་ཆར་ལྡན་པ་ཡིས༎ ཉོན་མོངས་བདུད་རྣམས་བཟློག་པར་བྱ༎ བཀའ་ཡི་འཁོར་ལོ་སྲུང་བ་ཆེ༎ ཕུར་བུས་བགེགས་མེད་དངོས་གྲུབ་འགྱུར༎ སྲུང་བའི་ཆོ་ག་འདི་དག་གིས༎ སྒྲུབ་པ་པོ་ལ་བྱང་ཆུབ་སྩོལ༎ གཙོ་བོའི་བཀའ་ནི་བླང་བར་གྱིས༎ རྣལ་འབྱོར་པ་ནི་གར་གནས་པར༎ བགེགས་རྣམས་ཐམས་ཅད་མེད་པར་མཐོང་༎ ཞེས་གསུངས་པའི་ཕྱིར་རོ༎ དེ་ལྟར་མ་ཡིན་པར་བཀའ་ལ་ལོག་པར་རྟོགས་ཏེ་ངན་པའི་ལས་དང་ལྡན་པ་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་ཀྱིས་འོག་ཏུ་འགྲོ་བ་ལ་ཕྱོགས་པ་ཉོན་མོངས་པ་ལ་སོགས་པའི་ཞགས་པས་བཅིངས་པ་ཟོ་ཆུན་ལྟར་འཁོར་བ་རྣམས་དང་ཁྱད་པར་མེད་པས་ལམ་ལ་གནས་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་པ་ཡང་མ་ཡིན་ནོ༎
He wears the armor of love
and the armor of the Dharma of compassion.
Being endowed with discriminative knowledge as a weapon,
he should repel the afflictions, which are the Mara.
This wheel of instruction is a great protection.
With the kila it turns into the siddhi of freedom from obstruction.
With these armors of protection
awakening is bestowed on the adept.
Hold this principal instruction!
Wherever he abides, the yogi
will perceive all obstructions as not existent.
To understand the instructions not like that and, thus, wrongly [means that] one is not a yogi abiding on the path since one possesses bad karma, moves towards the lower realms through oneʼs very nature, is bound by the noose of affliction, etc., and is not different from samsaric beings, roaming [in samsara] like a water wheel.
Gray, however, concludes from the above passage:
This justifies violence by those who have controlled their minds, and are thus not motivated by the passions, but rather by the cool calculus of compassion, which calls for violence as a defensive strategy, that is, as a way preventing evildoers from committing greater acts of violence. This denial of the reality of violence …
Such a complete misunderstanding of the intention of Atisha’s texts is only possible through several translation mistakes and a biased reading. If there ever existed a Tibetan text that justified violence, then it is certainly not this one.
1. [] Dalton, Jacob P. 2011. The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism. New Haven: Yale University Press.
2. [] The qualities and problems of this book were reviewed by Matthew Kapstein, 2013, Review of The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism by Jacob P. Dalton (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011). Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 73.1: 177–84; and Cathy Cantwell, 2014, Review article of The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism by Jacob P. Dalton. History of Religions 54.1: 106–12.
3. [] Lines 37–9 in the Tibetan text.
4. [] The first sentence quoted ends with the Tibetan particle las, and Dalton connects this to the Lady of Death: “from her” appears a syllable. However, that cannot be because such a function of the las particle is only possible when it is attached to a noun. In the text, it is attached to a verb, “imagine,” and in this case it simply continues the action.
5. [] Cf. Dalton 2011, 208.
6. [] It is difficult to explain that according to one sign the effigy “does not stop shaking.” But that is as difficult to explain for an effegy as for a real human head once it is chopped off.
7. [] Gray, David B. 2007. “Compassionate Violence? On the Ethical Implications of Tantric Buddhist Ritual.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 14: 239–71.
8. [] Abhisamayavibhanga by Atisha, 188r f. Mngon par rtogs pa rnam par ’byed pa, D vol. 22, 185v7–202v3.
9. [] These and the following quotes are taken from Atishaʼs Abhisamayavibhanga, 188r f.
10. [] One of the more obvious problems of Gray’s translation is that he did not recognised the Sarvadurgati Tantra quote and has translated the words of the title and the quote as if they were part of Atishaʼs speech.
11. [] But Gray translates: “Yet those whose minds are bound kill one another,” which is syntactically impossible. He also overlooks that this is a question. |
1. Game Development
2. Tile-Based Games
Unity 2D Tile-Based 'Sokoban' Game
Final product image
What You'll Be Creating
In this tutorial we will be exploring an approach for creating a sokoban or crate-pusher game using tile-based logic and a two-dimensional array to hold level data. We are using Unity for development with C# as the scripting language. Please download the source files provided with this tutorial to follow along.
1. The Sokoban Game
There may be few among us who may not have played a Sokoban game variant. The original version may even be older than some of you. Please check out the wiki page for some details. Essentially, we have a character or user-controlled element which has to push crates or similar elements onto its destination tile.
The level consists of a square or rectangular grid of tiles where a tile can be a non-walkable one or a walkable one. We can walk on the walkable tiles and push the crates onto them. Special walkable tiles would be marked as destination tiles, which is where the crate should eventually rest in order to complete the level. The character is usually controlled using a keyboard. Once all crates have reached a destination tile, the level is complete.
Tile-based development essentially means that our game is composed of a number of tiles spread in a predetermined way. A level data element will represent how the tiles would need to be spread out to create our level. In our case, we'll be using a square tile-based grid. You can read more on tile-based games here on Envato Tuts+.
2. Preparing the Unity Project
Let's see how we have organised our Unity project for this tutorial.
The Art
For this tutorial project, we are not using any external art assets, but will use the sprite primitives created with the latest Unity version 2017.1. The image below shows how we can create different shaped sprites within Unity.
How to create sprites within United 20171
We will use the Square sprite to represent a single tile in our sokoban level grid. We will use the Triangle sprite to represent our character, and we will use the Circle sprite to represent a crate, or in this case a ball. The normal ground tiles are white, whereas the destination tiles have a different colour to stand out.
The Level Data
We will be representing our level data in the form of a two-dimensional array which provides the perfect correlation between the logic and visual elements. We use a simple text file to store the level data, which makes it easier for us to edit the level outside of Unity or change levels simply by changing the files loaded. The Resources folder has a level text file, which has our default level.
The level has seven columns and five rows. A value of 1 means that we have a ground tile at that position. A value of -1 means that it is a non-walkable tile, whereas a value of 0 means that it is a destination tile. The value 2 represents our hero, and 3 represents a pushable ball. Just by looking at the level data, we can visualise what our level would look like.
3. Creating a Sokoban Game Level
To keep things simple, and as it is not a very complicated logic, we have only a single Sokoban.cs script file for the project, and it's attached to the scene camera. Please keep it open in your editor while you follow the rest of the tutorial.
Special Level Data
The level data represented by the 2D array is not only used to create the initial grid but is also used throughout the game to track level changes and game progress. This means that the current values are not sufficient to represent some of the level states during game play.
Each value represents the state of the corresponding tile in the level. We need additional values for representing a ball on the destination tile and the hero on the destination tile, which respectively are -3 and -2. These values could be any value that you assign in the game script, not necessarily the same values we have used here.
Parsing the Level Text File
The first step is to load our level data into a 2D array from the external text file. We use the ParseLevel method to load the string value and split it to populate our levelData 2D array.
While parsing, we determine the number of rows and columns our level has as we populate our levelData.
Drawing Level
Once we have our level data, we can draw our level on the screen. We use the CreateLevel method to do just that.
For our level, we have set a tileSize value of 50, which is the length of the side of one square tile in our level grid. We loop through our 2D array and determine the value stored at each of the i and j indices of the array. If this value is not an invalidTile (-1) then we create a new GameObject named tile. We attach a SpriteRenderer component to tile and assign the corresponding Sprite or Color depending on the value at the array index.
While placing the hero or the ball, we need to first create a ground tile and then create these tiles. As the hero and ball need to be overlaying the ground tile, we give their SpriteRenderer a higher sortingOrder. All tiles are assigned a localScale of tileSize so they are 50x50 in our scene.
We keep track of the number of balls in our scene using the ballCount variable, and there should be the same or a higher number of destination tiles in our level to make level completion possible. The magic happens in a single line of code where we determine the position of each tile using the GetScreenPointFromLevelIndices(int row,int col) method.
The world position of a tile is determined by multiplying the level indices with the tileSize value. The middleOffset variable is used to align the level in the middle of the screen. Notice that the row value is multiplied by a negative value in order to support the inverted y axis in Unity.
4. Sokoban Logic
Now that we have displayed our level, let's proceed to the game logic. We need to listen for user key press input and move the hero based on the input. The key press determines a required direction of motion, and the hero needs to be moved in that direction. There are various scenarios to consider once we have determined the required direction of motion. Let's say that the tile next to hero in this direction is tileK.
• Is there a tile in the scene at that position, or is it outside our grid?
• Is tileK a walkable tile?
• Is tileK occupied by a ball?
If the position of tileK is outside the grid, we do no need to do anything. If tileK is valid and is walkable, then we need to move hero to that position and update our levelData array. If tileK has a ball, then we need to consider the next neighbour in the same direction, say tileL.
• Is tileL outside the grid?
• Is tileL a walkable tile?
• Is tileL occupied by a ball?
Only in the case where tileL is a walkable, non-occupied tile should we move the hero and the ball at tileK to tileK and tileL respectively. After successful movement, we need to update the levelData array.
Supporting Functions
The above logic means that we need to know which tile our hero is currently at. We also need to determine if a certain tile has a ball and should have access to that ball.
To facilitate this, we use a Dictionary called occupants which stores a GameObject as key and its array indices stored as Vector2 as value. In the CreateLevel method, we populate occupants when we create hero or ball. Once we have the dictionary populated, we can use the GetOccupantAtPosition to get back the GameObject at a given array index.
The IsOccupied method determines whether the levelData value at the indices provided represents a ball.
We also need a way to check if a given position is inside our grid and if that tile is walkable. The IsValidPosition method checks the level indices passed in as parameters to determine whether it falls inside our level dimensions. It also checks whether we have an invalidTile as that index in the levelData.
Responding to User Input
In the Update method of our game script, we check for the user KeyUp events and compare against our input keys stored in the userInputKeys array. Once the required direction of motion is determined, we call the TryMoveHero method with the direction as a parameter.
The TryMoveHero method is where our core game logic explained at the start of this section is implemented. Please go through the following method carefully to see how the logic is implemented as explained above.
In order to get the next position along a certain direction based on a provided position, we use the GetNextPositionAlong method. It is just a matter of incrementing or decrementing either of the indices according to the direction.
Before moving hero or ball, we need to clear their currently occupied position in the levelData array. This is done using the RemoveOccupant method.
If we find a heroTile or ballTile at the given index, we need to set it to groundTile. If we find a heroOnDestinationTile or ballOnDestinationTile then we need to set it to destinationTile.
Level Completion
The level is complete when all balls are at their destinations.
A Completed Level
After each successful movement, we call the CheckCompletion method to see if the level is completed. We loop through our levelData array and count the number of ballOnDestinationTile occurrences. If this number is equal to our total number of balls determined by ballCount, the level is complete.
This is a simple and efficient implementation of sokoban logic. You can create your own levels by altering the text file or creating a new one and changing the levelName variable to point to your new text file.
The current implementation uses the keyboard to control the hero. I would invite you to try and change the control to tap-based so that we can support touch-based devices. This would involve adding some 2D path finding as well if you fancy tapping on any tile to lead the hero there.
There will be a follow-up tutorial where we'll explore how the current project can be used to create isometric and hexagonal versions of sokoban with minimal changes.
Looking for something to help kick start your next project? |
People in the US often talk about how some laws, decisions, ruling, executive orders are "unconstitutional", but what does that word mean?
Does "constitutional" mean "obeying only the Constitution", or does it expand to "exceptions under constitutional laws", too?
For example, if A says B is an evil person and should die, is it A's constitutional right to say whatever they want, under the First Amendment, without being suppressed by the government? Or is it exempted from constitutional protection because it is "insulting" or "fighting words" according to Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, and therefore A should be punished with civil remedies? What if, as a result of what A says, C, a die-hard fan of A, goes out and tries to assault B? Would A be criminally liable too?
Usually these words refer to whether something (e.g. a law or government action) is or is not in accordance with the Constitution, including its amendments, as currently interpreted by US courts including the Supreme Court.
So in view of Chaplinsky, the Constitution (as interpreted) does not protect "fighting words", and therefore a law that forbids "fighting words" is constitutional.
As phoog points out in the comments, the word can also be used to refer to whether something is in accordance with the Constitution, as the speaker thinks it ought to be interpreted. So somebody might say that a certain law or action is (un)constitutional, even if a court has not considered it, if their own personal interpretation of the Constitution is (or isn't) consistent with it. Or, if a court has struck it down (or upheld it) but the speaker thinks they erred in doing so.
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• 1
There is a common case that is related to the definition presented here, but strictly speaking falls outside it, which is that the term may be used to assert, whether directly or indirectly, that a supreme court decision was wrong. For example, many people refer to the border patrol checkpoints authorized by the Martinez Fuerte decision as "unconstitutional." – phoog Jun 22 '19 at 17:49
An act is "unconstitutional" if it is not permitted by the Constitution. Everything else is "constitutional." The only way to know whether a law is constitutional is for the U.S. Supreme Court to addresses it; until then, most discussions of constitutionality are purely opinion.
But because the Constitution is almost exclusively limited to rules about the government, we would rarely describe something as "constitutional" or "unconstitutional" unless it was an action taken by the government. Private conduct rarely implicates the constitution, so asking whether it is "constitutional" is about as useful as asking whether your pool was built in compliance with the Hippocratic Oath.
For example, if the government imposed a new restriction on abortion, we would debate whether it was constitutional or unconstitutional. But if a woman obtained an abortion -- even in violation of that new restriction -- no one would talk whether the abortion was constitutional or unconstitutional.
To your example, then, laws restricting speech are generally unconstitutional, but there are exceptions (e.g., restrictions on fighting words) that are constitutional. So the law itself would be constitutional, but regardless of what the law is, saying that someone is evil would not be described as constitutional or unconstitutional.
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• 1
And just as a side note, a law prohibiting you from saying that someone "is evil" or "should die" would be unconstitutional. Those are not fighting words. – bdb484 Jun 23 '19 at 20:08
Your Answer
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Industry 4.0
As the world changes, the practices and concepts associated with the original industrial revolution, have changed along with it, bringing us to what is now called Industry 4.0. In this world, we see the increased ability to harness information generated by products, allowing humans to drive further innovation in new service offerings and improved physical product iterations. Industry 4.0 highlights the smart management of energy, relying on templates for IT development, taking advantage of digital assets, intelligent scheduling, and more.
The impact of Industry 4.0 can be seen across the manufacturing industry, wherever digital disruption, due to the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and Digital Factories, is present. The increase in manufacturing tech startups is proof that digital disruption is real and changing how the manufacturing industry operates. These startups are shaping a more diverse and complex supply chain, putting pressure on traditional market leaders to stay competitive in this new reality.
Six Key Developments in Industry 4.0
Let’s take a look at some of the exciting - and highly disruptive - developments associated with Industry 4.0:
1. Additive manufacturing is the next evolution of 3D printing, going beyond simple prototyping. Leading engineering and manufacturing companies are now using additive manufacturing technology to design and produce a range of products, from complex engine parts to simpler, yet customized items, such as food trays. Additive manufacturing has helped manufacturers reduce warehouse management and inventory costs by manufacturing parts on-demand, and reducing overall time-to-market.
2. Digital factories use real-time production data to create predictive data as a product. This predictive data is then applied to processes and product, allowing manufacturers to see where improvements can be made. Digital factories have a clear advantage over the more common static, retroactive approach of data-gathering and analysis, allowing those with digital factories to see great cost-savings, process improvements, and increased agility, due to the proactive nature of data analysis.
3. Digital twins are the virtual equivalent of a physical product, containing all the information needed to design, build, and use the product. These product “twins” are used as the basis for testing, experimentation, and improvement on the physical good, and they act as the digital fingerprint for future versions of improved physical products. Digital twins offer a significant increase in agility by which an organization can offer new iterations of existing products to a more diversified customer base and simply iterate faster for increased product innovation.
4. In Industry 4.0, we see information technology is playing a significantly bigger role in manufacturing than it has in years past, allowing manufacturers to produce more high-tech services and products and explore new markets. As an example, the defense sector has been seen retrofitting big weapons platforms with offensive and defensive encryption and electronic warfare solutions. For these companies, this is a logical extension of the physical goods already being manufactured and is changing the foundation on which their companies are built.
5. The rise of systems thinking is a key component of Industry 4.0, as System Lifecycle Management (SysLM) becomes a more prevalent term. SysLM refers to the concept of combining the tools and processes associated with Application Lifecycle Management, Product Lifecycle Management, and Enterprise Resources Planning into a cohesive, unified value stream. In many ways, SysLM represents a logical evolution in manufacturing -- as technology begins to play a bigger role in the products and services offered, software engineers, product engineers and designers, and resource planners are brought together, and so must their tools and processes.
6. Data-based decision-making, using Big Data, IoT, and AI, enables manufacturers to offer smart products that can predict user needs that benefit the consumer, and usage patterns and opportunities for improvement or revenue to benefit the producer. This creates a clear competitive advantage and attractive proposition for both the consumer and manufacturer. This development is especially relevant to the after-sales market, where preventative maintenance is often a key goal of complex product manufacturers, and therefore also a potential source of new information-based, service-driven revenue.
Is there room for Lean within Industry 4.0?
The short answer is yes -- not only is there room for Lean, but manufacturers must turn to Lean to remain agile enough to stay ahead of the competition. The real question should be -- is your company Lean enough to adapt to opportunities presented by Industry 4.0?
As the industry is transforming, so too must processes and tools which foster innovation, retain top talent, and attract the next generation of innovators and thinkers. Modern engineering and manufacturing value streams are looking more like software development value streams -- because increasingly, they are. Manufacturers are hiring more and more software engineers as their product lines evolve to incorporate more software. This means that software development practices and tools are significantly influencing the culture of these organizations. Leading manufacturers are turning to proven methods in software development practices to achieve sustainability, agility, and growth in a volatile market.
Industry 4.0 represents both a threat and an opportunity for complex goods manufacturing companies. Industry 4.0 and its associated disruptive technologies are forcing engineering and manufacturing companies to not just do different, but to think different. Organizations that adopt a Lean mindset will be in the best position to identify their priorities in this new reality, adapt their processes, and flourish.
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Wednesday, November 20, 2013
National democratic struggle and the people's trial of US imperialism and its puppets
Founding Chairman
Communist Party of the Philippines
I. The National Democratic Struggle in the Philippines
The Filipino people have the distinction of being the first nation in the whole of Asia to carry out and win a revolutionary war of national independence against a Western colonial power. The Philippine revolution started in 1896 and triumphed over Spain in 1898. But after pretending to be friendly and helpful to the revolution, the US ignited the Filipino-American War in 1896 and carried out a war of aggression in order to destroy the Philippine republic and impose its own colonial rule over the Philippines.
The Philippine revolution of 1896 was anticolonial and antifeudal and had therefore a national democratic character. The bourgeois liberal intelligentsia (ilustrados) successfully provided the leadership to end Spanish colonial rule. But it failed to prevail over the newly risen modern imperialist power of the US, based on industrial monopoly capitalism, with superior military weapons and with the capacity to use the bourgeois liberal ideology to coopt the Filipino intelligentsia and deploy investments to extract superprofits..
The US carried out a barbaric war in order to defeat the Philippine republic. It killed a total of 1.5 million Filipinos out of a population of 7 million in the course of the officially designated Filipino-American War of 1899 to 1902 and further pacification campaigns up to 1914. It used a brutal strategy and tactics it had applied against the First Nation and Mexicans. It unleashed food blockades, forced relocations of entire communities and the extensive use of torture and extrajudicial killings.
The US forced the Filipino people to finance their own military conquest and subjugation. It floated war bonds in Wall Street and subsequently made the people pay for these through taxation. To extract superprofits, it made investments in the expansion of plantations, opening of mines, establishment of a few monopoly enterprises and acceleration of domestic and foreign trade. It generated a semifeudal type of social economy dependent on imported manufactures and raw material exports from a persistent feudal base.
It established an educational and cultural system that perpetuated colonial mentality but this time servile to the US instead of Spain. It superimposed bourgeois ideas and values on those feudal and religious ones previously propagated by the dominant Catholic church. It systematically used education and culture to breed a new and bigger corps of puppet politicians and to produce the professionals and clerks to serve the expanded bureaucracy and businesses.
The social structure that has arisen from the semifeudal economy includes the basic ruling classes of the comprador big bourgeois and landlords, who are fractions of one percent of the population. The intermediate social strata are the middle bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie which are around 1 percent and 8 percent, respectively. The basic exploited classes are the workers and peasants, which are around 15 and 75 percent respectively.
Since the early years of the 20th century, the trade union movement has developed among the workers. Since 1930 upon the establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippine Islands (CPPI), the revolutionary idea of the working class leading the people in the national democratic revolution and consequently the socialist revolution has acquired reality and taken roots in the Philippines.
As soon as it was established in 1930, the CPPI was suppressed by the US colonial regime.
It was allowed to operate legally under the auspices of the anti-fascist Popular Front in 1937.
It organized the People's Army Against Japan in 1942 after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. The opportunities and prospects for advancing the Philippine revolution were undermined by strategic errors of the CPPI leadership, swinging from Right opportunism (from 1942 to 1946) to “Left” opportunism (1948 to 1952) and again to Right opportunism (1954 to 1962).
In 1946 the US granted nominal independence to the Philippines. Since then, the political system has become semicolonial, no longer ruled directly by the US but indirectly through puppet politicians who are essentially bureaucrat capitalists and who serve the US as well as the interests of the big compradors amd landlords in the semifeudal economy. The US has retained its dominance and control over the economic, political, cultural and security system of the Philippines.
The Philippines was touted by the US as the show window of democracy (in fact a cesspool of neocolonialism and semifeudalism) because the duopoly of the Liberal Party and Nacionalista Party alternated in taking presidential power through periodic elections. But after getting himself reelected through fraud and terrorism in 1969, Marcos carried forward his scheme to impose a fascist dictatorship and carried it out through the proclamation of martial law in 1972.
While the socio-economic and political crisis of Philippine society was rapidly worsening in the latter half of the 1960s, the proletarian revolutionaries who were guided by Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought separated from the old Communist Party in 1966. They criticised and repudiated the wrong line and strategic errors of the Lavaite leaders of that party since 1942.
They clarified the character of Philippine society as semicolonial and semifeudal and the corresponding character of the Philippine revolution as national and democratic under the leadership of the working class. The motive forces of the revolution are the workers, peasants and the urban petty bourgeoisie. The enemies are US imperialism, the big compradors, landlords and bureaucrat capitalists. The current stage of national democratic revolution through protracted people's war is directed towards reaching the stage of socialist revolution.
Accordingly, the Communist Party of the Philippines was established under the theoretical guidance of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought on December 26, 1968. It founded the New People's Army on March 29, 1969. It initiated the formation of the National Democratic Front on April 24, 1973. In the progression of these events, the revolutionary cadres and the people fought the frenzied and violent preparations and imposition of the fascist dictatorship on the people.
The revolutionary advance of the CPP, NPA and NDF was the decisive factor in the overthrow of the Marcos fascist dictatorship in 1986. But since then, one regime after another has masqueraded as democratic and has oppressed and exploited the people for the benefit of US imperialism and the local exploiting classes of big compradors and landlords.
The new democratic revolution through protracted people's war has therefore continued in order to fight for national liberation, democracy, social justice, development through land reform and national industrialization, a national, scientific and mass culture and international solidarity for peace and development. The revolutionary forces and people have gained strength through the people's war in the countryside and the legal mass movement in the urban areas.
II. Crimes of US Imperialism and its Puppets
For the purpose of the people in putting on trial US imperialism and its puppets, we must be aware of the comprehensive range of crimes that they are culpable for.
US imperialism must be held accountable. When we speak of US imperialism, we refer to the US federal state and its various agencies, the corporations and banks which are impelled by monopoly capitalism to engage in aggression and plunder.
1. The genocidal killing of 1.5 million Filipinos amounting to 20 percent of the Philippine population of 7 million is a horrendous crime. It was the brutal way by which US imperialism violated the national sovereignty of the Filipino people and destroyed the Philippine republic.
2. The direct colonial occupation of the Philippines from 1902 to 1946, except for the interregnum of Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, meant the oppression and exploitation of the Filipino people. The people were taxed by the colonial state to pay for the costs of US aggression and colonial occupation.
3. The US monopoly capitalists extracted superprofits from the Philippine colony by plundering its natural resources, subjecting the workers to inhumanly low wages in public works and in US enterprises, promoting the unequal exchange of raw-material exports and manufactured imports and subjecting the country to debt peonage to US banks.
4. The US used the Philippines as launching base for aggression against China and for getting a piece of the Chinese melon in the colonial game. This started the criminal use of US military bases in the Philippines for aggression against the neighboring countries of the Philippines, especially after World War II, against China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia.
5. The US engaged in cultural imperialism and perpetuated colonial mentality. It imposed on the people not only the English language but also pro-imperialist ideas and values that obscured the blood debts of the US and misrepresented the exploitation of the people as beneficial. It bent the feudal and medieval belief system of the dominant Catholic church to serve the interests of US monopoly capitalism.
6. The US trained the bureaucrats, politicians and professionals to be servile to US imperialist power and to use the language of pro-imperialist liberal democracy to deceive the people. It was most responsible for promoting bureaucrat capitalism. It taught the children of the exploiting classes and the urban petty bourgeois to seek and hold power and amass private wealth through bureaucratic corruption.
7. The US has fostered the comprador big bourgeoisie as its principal trading and financial agents in the country. This class is responsible for ensuring raw material production for export and for importing foreign manufactures and distributing them in the country. The US has also retained the landlord class for the purpose of controlling food production and agricultural production for export.
8. When the US pretended to grant independence in the Philippines in 1946, it was sure of being able to rely on its puppets: the big compradors and landlords and bureaucrat capitalists. Since then it has retained control over the economy, the politics, the culture, security and diplomatic relations of the Philippines.
9. The US is culpable for the semicolonial system of exploitation, underdevelopment and rampant poverty. The daily violence of exploitation has caused the untimely death of many more Filipinos than those 1.5 million killed from 1899 to 1913.
10. To this day, the US provides arms, indoctrination, training and strategic planning to the military and police forces of the reactionary state and is culpable for military campaigns of suppression and the gross and systematic human rights violations. It has forces of military intervention in the Philippines and uses these to dominate the Philippines and threaten neighboring countries under the US pretext of a permanent war on terrorism and the US strategic policy of pivot to East Asia.
US imperialism maintains hegemony over the Philippines because it is assisted by the big compradors, landlords and bureaucrat capitalists. These reactionary puppets are complicit with the US in grave crimes against the Filipino people and they take their own initiatives to oppress and exploit the people.
1. Puppetry to US imperialism is a grave crime against the people. It is treason. It is the betrayal and violation of the people's sovereignty and national independence in an all-round way. Traitors are subject to trial by the people.
2. Bureaucratic corruption is a grave crime committed by the bureaucrat capitalists. They auction off the economic sovereignty, the national patrimony and business privileges to foreign monopoly corporations and big compradors. They impose a heavy tax and debt burden on the people and rob the national treasury through the pork barrel system.
3. The big compradors based in the cities collaborate with and assist the foreign monopoly capitalists in undertaking super-exploitation and extracting superprofits through investments, trade and finance. In combination with US imperialism, they get the most out of the sweat and blood of the people.
4. The landlords hold sway over the countryside and impose feudal and semifeudal forms of exploitation on the masses of peasants and farm workers. The despotic landlords wield political power and use the armed personnel of the state and private guards to suppress any form of resistance from the exploited.
5. The rights of the workers are curtailed. The law of the reactionaries is slanted against the workers' right to form trade unions and exercise their democratic rights. Violence is easily employed by the proprietors and the state against the workers' trade unions and their strikes. Thus, the wage and living conditions of workers are always deteriorating.
6. The puppet reactionary state engages in bogus land reform program to deceive the peasant masses and preserve landlordism in the Philippines. The landlords sell land to the state for the purpose of “land reform” only upon their volition and compensation at the current market price. Landlordism is rampant and so is landgrabbing for the purpose of unbridled mining, logging, plantation and real estate speculation.
7. Every regime of the reactionary puppet state has a campaign plan for the suppression of peasants who demand land reform and the workers who fight for their trade union rights. The puppets receive arms and advice from their imperialist master for the purpose. The US and every puppet regime wantonly engage in human rights violations.
8. The share of public education, health, housing and other social services is ever subject to diminution while the funds flow mainly to military expenditures, bureaucratic corruption and debt service.
9. The right to self-determination of the national minorities and indigenous people is grievously violated. They are deprived of their right to ancestral domain and their land and other natural resources are grabbed from them by the local exploiting classes and by the mining, logging, plantation and real estate companies.
10. The reactionary puppet state constantly invites the US military forces to further entrench themselves in the Philippines and provides facilities to them in violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines. It also supports US imperialism in realizing its hegemony and strategic plans over the Asia-Pacific region.
III. The Process of Trying the Malefactors
Upholding, defending and promoting the people's culture is a crucial and necessary part of the comprehensive program for the people's democratic revolution in the Philippines. People's culture has a national, scientific and mass character.
By having a national character, it upholds national independence and serves the needs and aspirations of the nation. It cherishes and harmonizes all the regional and local cultures in the country. It learns from other countries but is not subservient to them or dependent on them. It contributes what it can to the advance of human civilization and international solidarity.
By being scientific in character, it is free from the shackles of medieval belief and superstition and at the same it respects the freedom of thought and belief. It adopts revolutionary ideas from the high road of human civilization. It seeks to modernize and develop society by benefiting from scientific and technological advances.
By having a mass character, it serves the rights and interests of the toiling masses of the people and not of the few who belong to the exploiting classes. The culture of the people is opposed to the culture of the exploiting few.
The arts are a great part of culture. They include architecture, sculpture, painting, creative writing, music, dance, theatre, photography and comics. All these art forms and their creations are not simply passive objects of appreciation or static reflectors of reality, they should be an active force for exposing and opposing the crimes of malevolent forces in society, for arousing, organizing and mobilizing the masses and for making fundamental social change.
It is fine that we have with us in this session Walkie Miraña who can explain to us the role of the cultural worker as an an organizer of resistance and how the various art forms are concentrated in the theatre as a distinct form of art and done so with minimal costs but with maximum effect in activating the people against injustices and crimes. It is also fine that we have Lisa Ito who can explain to us the art of protest puppetry and how effigies of the malefactors are made and burned in an act of judgement and condemnation. We appreciate the New World Academy for inviting them and also for arranging the exhibition of the works of art that have been created to reflect and advance the national democratic struggle in the Philippines.
It will still take some time before the people's democratic revolution can overthrow the existing ruling system on a nationwide scale in the Philippines in order to put on trial the worst of criminals, mete out punishments to them and put to an end the root causes of oppression and exploitation. But while the juridical processes of the people's democratic state system are not yet available, except in the countryside where revolutionary organs of political power and people's courts have come into existence, the cultural process of putting on trial the criminals through the various art forms can run ahead and have influence and effects on a wide scale.
In reflecting social reality and exposing and opposing the crimes of oppression and exploitation, the various art forms metaphorically, symbolically or allegorically perform the various stages and functions of the criminal trial, such as preliminary investigation, indictment and the trial proper in which facts are established on the basis of evidence and testimonies and the application of law in the judgment. It is the moral court of public opinion rather than a court of law that is addressed in the people's trial of the malefactors. The people's trial can be further invigorated and reinforced by integrating or coordinating it with artistic works and performances.
The existing courts of the oppressors are theatrical in trying and deciding cases within the parameters of the unjust ruling system. The revolutionary people and forces in the Philippines have all the right to stage people's trials of US imperialism and local reactionaries in order to expose and oppose the real criminals and fight for justice. The people's trial has been demonstrated by Philippine organizations since a long time ago. During the First Quarter Storm of 1970, the mass meetings at public squares were referred to as people's tribunals. There have also been internationally well-known indoor trials like those of the Russell Tribunal since 1967 and the Permanent People's Tribunal since 1979.
The people's trial acquires moral authority and political weight 1. because the people themselves and their organizations establish it; 2. because it takes up serious issues which affect the life of an entire nation or the entire humankind but which are ignored or suppressed by the oppressive authorities and by their courts, 3. because it has for judges those respected for moral integrity, knowledge and a high sense of justice; 4. because it adopts the process of hearing out the conflicting sides, especially the long repressed aggrieved side; 5. because it applies the principles and standards provided by international law, especially the International Bill of Rights and International Humanitarian Law; and 6. because the people further legitimize the decisions by propagating and carrying them out.
The people's trial of US imperialism and puppets by the various art forms is meant to arouse, organize and mobilize the masses for the revolutionary movement to get rid of the oppressive and exploitative ruling system and establish a new system in accordance with the people's demands for national Independence, people's democracy and social justice, economic development through land reform and national industrialization, national, scientific and mass culture and international solidarity of peoples for peace and development.
The highest and most serious purpose of the cultural people's trial is to arouse, organize and mobilize the masses and consequently to replace the unjust ruling system. Thereafter, it is the people in a just system that exercise revolutionary power to end national and class oppression and exploitation and authorize and oversee the real juridical people's trial of the criminals.
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Class Notes (1,100,000)
CA (650,000)
U of S (3,000)
PHSI (100)
PHSI 208 (100)
PHSI 208 Lecture Notes - Cortisol, Thalamus, Electra Complex
Course Code
PHSI 208
Neil Hibbert
Psychological problems take a physical form, no known physiological explanation and are not under
voluntary control.
The bodily symptoms of these disorders fall typically into two groups:
(a) One group of symptoms reflects arousal in the autonomic nervous system and is
accompanied by palpable distress in the form of anxiety and depression.
(b) The second group of symptoms reflects thoughts and intentions that are not consciously
recognized. (SEE TABLE 7.1, page 194).
Argument that somatoform disorders should be removed from the pending DSM-V has seven
The terminology of the somatoform category is often unacceptable to patients
The distinction between symptoms that are disease-based vs, those that are psychogenic may
be more apparent than real
There is great heterogeneity among the disordersthe only common link is physical illness that
is not attributable to an organic cause
Somatoform disorders are incompatible with other cultures
There is ambiguity in the stated exclusion criteria for the disorders
The subcategories have often failed to achieve accepted standards of reliability.
Somatoform disorders lack clearly defined thresholds in terms of the symptoms needed for a
Pain disorder: the person experiences pain that causes significant distress and impairment;
psychological factors are viewed as playing an important role in the onset, maintenance, and severity
of the pain. The patient may be unable to work and may become dependent on painkillers or
- The pain may have a temporal relation to some conflict or stress, or it may allow the individual
to avoid some unpleasant activity and to secure attention and sympathy not otherwise available.
- Accurate diagnosis is difficult because the subjective experience of pain is always a
psychologically influenced phenomenon.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDB): a person is preoccupied with an imagined or exaggerated
defect in appearance, frequently in the face – eg; facial wrinkles, excess facial hair, or the shape or size
of the nose.
- Women tend also to focus on the skin, hips, breasts and legs, whereas men are more inclined to
believe they are too short, that their penises are too small, or that they have too much body
- Occurs mostly among women, typically begins in late adolescence, and is frequently comorbid
with depression and social phobia, eating disorder and thoughts of suicide.
- BDB is chronic. Preoccupation with imagined defects in physical appearance may not be a
disorder itself, but a symptom that can occur in several disorders.
Hypochondriasis: is a somatoform disorder in which individuals are preoccupied with persistent
fears of having a serious disease, despite medical reassurance to the contrary.
- Patients are frequent consumers of medical services and are likely to have mood or anxiety
- Is evident in ~5% of the general population and is about as common as other psychiatric
- Not well differentiated from somatisation disorder.
- Focus is more on health anxiety rather than hypochondriasis per se.
-Health anxiety: health related fears and beliefs, based on interpretations, or perhaps more often,
misinterpretations, of bodily signs and symptoms as being indicative of serious illness.
- Whereas hypochondriacs have a fear of having an illness, an illness phobia is a fear of
contracting an illness.
- The Illness Attidutes Scale (IAS) is one self-report measure that is used commonly by
researchers to assess heath anxiety. Consists reliably of four factors:
(1) worry about illness and pain (i.e. illness fears)
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(2) disease conviction (i.e. illness beliefs)
(3) health habits (i.e. safety-seeking behaviours)
(4) symptom interference with lifestyle (i.e. disruptive effects
- Health anxiety is mostly learned.
- Cognitive factors are featured in the model of health anxiety outlined by Salkovskis and
Warwick. This model has four contributing factors:
(1) a critical precipitating incident
(2) a previous experience of illness and related medical factors
(3) the presence of inflexible negative cognitive assumptions (i.e. believing strongly that
unexplained bodily changes are always a sign of serious illness
(4) the severity of anxiety. The severity of anxiety is a function of two factors that will increase
anxiety and two that will decrease it.
oHealth anxiety will increase multiplicatively as a function of related increases in (1)
perceived likelihood or probability of illness and (2) the perceived presence of rescue
factors (i.e the availability and perceived effectiveness of medical help).
In conversion disorder, physiologically normal people experience sensory or motor symptoms,
such as a sudden loss of vision or paralysis, suggesting an illness related to neurological damage of
some sort, although the body organs and nervous system are found to be fine.
- Sufferers may experience paralysis of arms or legs; seizures and coordination disturbances; a
sensation of prickling, tingling, or creeping on the skin; insensitivity to pain; or the loss or
impairment of sensations, called anaesthesias.
- Vision may be severely impaired, the person may become partially or completely blind or have
tunnel vision.
-Aphonia, loss of the voice and all but whispered speech and anosmia, loss or impairment of the
sense of smell, are other conversion disorders.
- Conversion symptoms appear suddenly in stressful situations, allowing the individual to avoid
some activity or responsibility or to receive badly wanted attention.
- Term conversion derived originally from Freud, who thought that the energy of a repressed
instinct was diverted into sensory-motor channels and blocked functioning. Thus, anxiety and
psychological conflict were believed to be converted into physical symptoms.
- Prevalence or conversion disorder is less than 1%, and more women than men are given the
- Co-morbid with other axis 1 diagnosis, such as depression and substance abuse, and with
personality disorders, notably borderline and histrionic personality disorders.
Hysteria: the term originally used to describe what are now known as conversion disorders, has a
long history, dating back to the earliest writings on abnormal behaviour.
It is important to distinguish a conversion paralysis or sensory dysfunction from similar problems
that have a neurological basis. (i.e. glove anaesthesia a rare syndrome in which the individual
experiences little or no sensation in the part of the hand that would be covered by a glove.
-Carpal tunnel syndrome: can produce symptoms similar to those of glove anaesthesia. Nerves in
the wrist run through a tunnel formed by the wrist bones and membranes. The tunnel can
become swollen and may pinch the nerves, leading to tingling, numbness, and pain in the hand.
oMalingering: an individual fakes an incapacity in order to avoid a responsibility such as
work or military duty or to achieve some goal such as being awarded a large insurance
oin trying to discriminate conversion reactions from malingering, one aspect of behaviour
that can help is la belle indifference, characterized by a relative lack of concern or a
blasé attitude toward the symptoms. Patients with conversion disorder sometimes
demonstrate this behaviour, they also appear willing and eager to talk endlessly and
dramatically about their symptoms. In contrast malingerers are likely to be more guarded
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Table of Contents
Bardet-Biedl Syndrome
What is Bardet-Biedl syndrome?
Bardet-Biedl syndrome is a rare disorder that affects many systems of the body but is primarily characterized by the deterioration of cells that receive light (i.e. cone and rod cells) and in the retina, an extra finger or toe, truncal obesity, renal abnormalities, and learning difficulties. Bardet-Biedl syndrome shows significant overlap with Laurence-Moon syndrome, and these conditions, now distinguished, were once thought to be the same.
What causes Bardet-Biedl syndrome?
Most cases of Bardet-Biedl syndrome are caused by a mutated gene and inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. The most common gene mutation associated with Bardet-Biedl syndrome is on the BBS1 gene, but researchers have determined 12 separate genes that have been known to cause cases of the disease and still more are yet to be discovered. All of these genes are associated with cilia, which are the hair-like structures that cover almost all of the types of cells in the body. These cilia, specifically immotile ones, are responsibility for normal health and development, and many of the current symptoms from Bardet-Biedl syndrome can be attributed to the dysfunction of these cilia.
What are the symptoms of Bardet-Biedl syndrome?
The specific signs and symptoms of Bardet-Biedl syndrome, as well as their severity, varies greatly between individual patients. Visual impairment is one of the most characteristic symptoms of the condition, and it progresses (worsens) throughout the patient’s life, amounting to tunnel vision, nightblindness, or even complete vision loss. Additional vision abnormalities include crossed eyes, rapid eye movements, cataracts, and glaucoma. Along with an additional finger or toe near the fifth digit, webbing of the fingers or toes, abnormally short digits, and short, wide, and flat feet may also occur in patients. Other associated symptoms of Bardet-Biedl syndrome include the following:
• Delayed puberty or problems with development of the sex organs in both males and females
• Delays in speaking or speech impairment
• Behavioral problems, such as anxiety, depression, and OCD
• High blood pressure
• Abnormal gait
• Loss of the ability to smell
• Ataxia
How is Bardet-Biedl syndrome diagnosed?
Bardet-Biedl syndrome is usually able to be diagnosed in childhood after a clinical evaluation and a detection of the characteristic findings of the disease. In some cases, molecular genetic testing can help confirm a diagnosis.
What are the available treatments for Bardet-Biedl syndrome?
There is currently no cure for Bardet-Biedl syndrome, so treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Sometimes, surgery can correct any abnormalities of the fingers and/or toes or any congenital heart defects. Age-appropriate diets and exercise plans can help manage obesity in patients. The other complications of the disease need to be screened and managed by specialists.
Where can I find more information on Bardet-Biedl syndrome?
Bardet-Biedl Syndrome Articles
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The Daily Blog Open Mic – Sunday 10th June 2018
1. ‘5 Ways Mushrooms Will Save The World’
“…Mushrooms are an overlooked resource. Research into the many applications for mushrooms is just now catching some momentum. From food source to industrial material, from medicine to water filter, mushrooms are dynamic and unique.
Truffle. Birch Polypore. Portabella. Oyster. Button. Maitake. There are an estimated 1.5 million species of mushroom. What we see is only the flowering portion of the fungus. An intricate root system known as mycelium develops under the surface of the earth.
Mycelium is the weblike vegetative portion of fungi that can form an 8-mile labyrinth of cells in just one cubic inch of soil. Like humans, mycelium cells inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.
Mushrooms’ rapid growth and reproduction make them a perfect picture of sustainability. Harnessing the power of these organisms can change our landscapes, our daily lives, our health and our world…
1. Heal the Environment
Scientist and inventor Paul Stamets calls mycelium “soil magicians.” Mushrooms can help to rebuild after natural disasters by filtering chemicals and pathogens out of the water system to supply drinking water for disaster relief. Habitat restoration is enhanced by rapid reproduction and cell growth as well as slowing soil erosion and offering multi-directional transfer of nutrients among plants….Not only can mushrooms prevent the environment from being polluted, but they can also help clean up the pollution that is already present.
There is a project that has successfully produced plastic consuming mushrooms. The mushrooms can break down and “eat” the plastic–though more research needs to be done to determine if it is then safe for humans to eat the mushroom. But either way, it is promising to know there is a natural organism that can start munching away the vast piles of plastic waste on earth.
According to Paul Stamets, mushrooms have the capability to filter contaminated soil and water. Fungi can clean up oil spills, and absorb toxic waste from the soil. Fungi break down and feed nutrients to plants, and can even be used as an alternative to dangerous pesticides for crops.
2. Provide Sustainable Raw Materials
Using mushrooms to create environmentally friendly everyday products can help reduce the amount of pollution.
But it can also reduce the cost, time, and effort of producing materials.
A startup company called MycoWorks produces raw materials out of fungus. They grow mushroom bricks that are stronger than concrete, fire retardant, and lightweight. They can grow a leather-like mushroom hyde in just a few weeks. It takes years to grow the same amount of leather on a cow… not to mention having to kill the cow. They have even grown furniture from mushrooms…
3. Feed the World
A mushroom by definition is a macrofungus with a distinctive fruiting body large enough to be seen with the naked eye and picked by hand. Scientists speculate that we have only identified 10% of the species of fungi on earth.
Most edible shrooms are low carbohydrate, calorie, fat, sodium, and sugar, but high in antioxidants, B vitamins, copper, and selenium. Mushrooms are one of the only non-fortified food sources of Vitamin D and the only source of vitamin D found in the produce aisle.
The many varieties of edible mushies benefit weight management plans, reduce inflammation, balance ph levels, and lower cholesterol.
Chido Govera, an entrepreneur from Zimbabwe, changed her life using mushrooms. Orphaned at the age of 8 and left to care for her 5-year-old brother and almost 100-year-old grandmother, she was abused, hungry and nearly sold as a child bride until she took a one-day class that taught her to grow and harvest mushrooms…
4. Cure Disease
Because of the overuse of antibiotics, some harmful diseases are becoming resistant to common drugs used to treat them.
But mushrooms are being used to develop treatments for drug-resistant bacteria.
“The best situation I could describe is something everyone has gone through, like a strep throat culture,” Cotter says, imagining a scenario in which an infected patient walks into the doctor’s office, gets a throat swab, and then has the swab dropped into a specially designed module containing a fungus. That fungus would then sweat metabolites into a reservoir that would be naturally calibrated to combat the patient’s illness.
Fungi can also be used to create antibiotics for “incurable” viruses, such as AIDS, the flu, and smallpox.
But what about the potential for “magic mushrooms” to sort out mental health issues?
Surprisingly, mushrooms containing the psychoactive compound psilocybin have been proven to help reduce and reset the brain for those suffering from severe depression.
One study conducted by the Imperial College of London found the brain activity in patients who previously were not responding to conventional medicines to show less depressive symptoms and longer lasting relief.
The idea is that people with depression have certain highly trafficked circuits in their brain. But while some brain activity sits in traffic, other routes go entirely unused.
Normally, information is exchanged in the brain across various circuits, or what Paul Expert, who coauthored one of the first studies to map the activity in the human brain on psilocybin, described to me as “informational highways.” On some highways, there’s a steady stream of traffic. On others, however, there are rarely more than a few cars on the road. Psychedelics appear to drive traffic to these underused highways, opening up dozens of different routes and freeing up some space along the more heavily used ones…
5. Provide a Better Understanding of Interactive Ecosystems
Mycelium, with its ability to form intricate web structures underneath the soil, allows for both mutual and parasitic relationships. Both are vital to the environment.
2. The HDC (Health and Disability Commissioner) is facing increasing pressures about at times bizarre decisions by his Office, and also questions about some staff members’ conduct. In one such case the HDC has been covered for by the Ombudsmen Office, a paper trail:
OIA + Privacy Act request to the HDC:
The HDC Office’s response:
Anonymised letters by a complained about WINZ Designated Doctor, that were part of a number of matters at issue:
Also at issue was the correctness of a for years illegally withheld ‘phone log’, created by an HDC staffer, which was despite of repeated earlier requests not made available for over three years.
An anonymised scan copy of that HDC ‘phone log’ is found via the links shown here:
They claimed that a number of emails sent in by a complainant were ‘freezing’ their system, and could thus not be processed!?
Despite of proof of the opposite:
Further letters by the unhappy OIA and PA requester, seeking answers and explanations:
Explanations by the HDC’s Legal Advisor, making no sense:
A resulting Ombudsmen complaint:
There is much more to this story, revealing how our so called ‘watch dogs’ are doing much else, but not acting all that sincerely and seriously as such a ‘watch dog’ should be expected to act. Read the whole revealing story here:
New Zealand likes to uphold the (false) image of being a country where government, business and the people are so honest, transparent and accountable for all kinds of things.
The truth is far from that, as we saw with the meth testing scandal, as state agencies ran for cover, denied mistakes, denied all knowledge of things, and where all participated in passing the buck, endlessly. Add EQC in Christchurch, add the scandal about the ‘Dotcom Mansion Raid’, add so many stories like the leaky building scandal, health system failures, tax evasion (Panama Papers).
Even our ‘watch dogs’ are not that honest, it seems.
3. From every account I have heard the HDC needs an overhaul, or needs to be completely done away with. It is not fit for purpose. It does NOT represent the rights of health consumers …quite the reverse…it is a brazen COVER UP agency.
“Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights. The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights (the Code) establishes the rights of consumers, and the obligations and duties of providers to comply with the Code. It is a regulation under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act.”
There urgently needs to be a Commission of Inquiry into the Health and Disability Commission
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web crawler
or web·crawl·er
[ web-kraw-ler ]
/ ˈwɛbˌkrɔ lər /
noun Digital Technology.
(sometimes initial capital letter) a computer program that retrieves data from a website, as in order to index web pages for a search engine.
Question 1 of 11
Also called spider.
Compare bot1.
Origin of web crawler
First recorded in 1990–95
OTHER WORDS FROM web crawler
web crawling, noun |
Dining Room
The Room
Urban middle-class dining was formal in the 19th century. The Edwards family meals involved multiple course with an array of dishes and utensils. The Edwards family employed a full time cook along with a "dining room girl" to serve meals. Helen would step on a button to ring a bell after each course to alert the servants that it was time to clear the dishes and bring a new course. When we were putting in carpet during the restoration, we could see the place where the call bell ran through the floor toward the kitchen.
The clock on the sideboard was originally the kitchen clock that the cook used. Mrs. Edwards gave it to the cook (named Ellen Bonner) when she left service, and it was passed down through the Bonner family and eventually donated back. We know what we know about Mrs. Bonner because of that connection. Normally, very little is known about servants.
Abraham Lincoln was a frequent dinner guest here and with other prominent family in town. More than just an opportunity to socialize, these gatherings were chances to form political and professional connections. Lincoln had to be able to conduct himself like a gentleman, and Mary Lincoln helped him do that by imparting her knowledge of the social norms of the time.
The portraits on the wall are of other frequent Edwards guests, the Judd family. They are George Judd, his wife Lucy Judd, and their child, Lillie Judd. George Judd was a judge. Lillie died (probably of illness) shortly after her ninth birthday in 1865. Her grieving parents had this portrait painted later that same year as a memorial to their lost child. Their portraits were done later by George Healy.
The table is original to the Edwards family, but it did not start life as a table. It began as the family's square grand piano, and the legs were later re-purposed as a table. We think that the family's actual dining table was much larger, or would have had extension leaves, as the household was large and they frequently had dinner guests.
The sideboard was signed by the cabinetmaker, Thomas C. Estep of Cincinnati, and dated February 14, 1831. It originally belonged to the Enos family of Springfield. Our neighborhood, the oldest in Springfield, is named Enos Park in honor of that family.
Why do you think these dishes are broken? In the 19th century, there was no garbage collection, so when people wanted to discard a broken dish, they usually threw them in the privy, or outhouse. These artifacts were recovered from an archaeological excavation of one of the Edwards' privies. It is essentially a sampling of the Edwards' garbage.
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Why does Patrushev warn of an American plot against Russia?
Putin and Patrushev in a 2006 photo. [The Kremlin]
Coming from Nikolai Partushev, a senior Russian official, and former head of the intelligence service close to President Vladimir Putin, statements about an American plot against Russia have to be taken seriously, writes George Friedman for Geopolitical Futures.
George Friedman is an American political scientist, author and businessman, and the founder of Geopolitical Futures, a global analysis company.
Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council, said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets that the United States was trying to weaken Russia in order to gain access to its mineral resources. He added that the “disintegration of the Russian Federation is not ruled out” by the United States. “This will open access to the richest resources for the United States, which believes that Russia possesses them undeservedly.”
Coming from a senior Russian official and former head of the Russian intelligence service close to President Vladimir Putin, this statement has to be taken seriously. This is not because the statement is true, nor even that Patrushev believes it’s true, but because it gives us a sense of how the Russians are framing the ongoing confrontations with the United States and in turn, the reasons for Russia’s problems. The United States is being framed as an existential threat to Russia’s survival because of conscious, intentional US strategies. As the Russian economy disastrously declines and real wages plunge, explaining the country’s troubles as the result of the malignant intentions of an outside power shifts the blame from a failure of the Russian government to an American plot. The Russian government becomes the victim and the protector of the Russian people, who in turn are expected to rally behind the Kremlin.
Putin has recently made several statements praising Josef Stalin. Stalin had miscalculated the Nazis’ intentions and signed a treaty with them in 1939, only to then face a German invasion of the USSR in June 1941. Stalin used the invasion to create a bond between himself, the Soviet state and the Soviet people. Whatever questions the public might have had about Stalin’s wisdom in being so unprepared for the invasion became unimportant. Germany threatened the Soviet public, the state protected them and only Comrade Stalin could keep the state and the people together. There is a link between Putin’s slow resurrection of Stalin and the idea that the United States is plotting Russia’s destruction.
The reality of Russia’s dire economic situation and the sense of embattlement the Kremlin is creating are two different things. To begin with, the Russian explanation for the American strategy is a desire to control Russian resources. The problem with this theory is that the United States is itself mineral rich, and the development of American energy technology dealt with whatever oil shortages existed. Most of the minerals the US lacks are readily available in the Western hemisphere.
If the United States did need minerals, the idea that it would look for them in a massively destabilized Russia is far-fetched. Accessing, extracting and shipping the minerals would present political, military and logistical nightmares. In the past, Germany and Japan have each considered accessing Russia by various means to alleviate mineral shortages. The United States has never entertained the notion because it either already has the minerals or can easily find them elsewhere much more cheaply.
The United States, in fact, would not like to see the disintegration of the Russian Federation. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it collapsed largely into orderly parts, with Russia as the successor state. If Russia were to collapse, there would be no order. Russia borders Scandinavia, the European Peninsula, Turkey and China. The United States gains little advantage from chaos and might be drawn into situations that could spiral out of control.
Also, Russia has several thousand nuclear weapons and missiles. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Washington and Moscow worked to transfer all nuclear weapons in former Soviet territory into the control of a responsible state. The thought of loose nuclear weapons and missiles in Tajikistan or other former Soviet republics was an American nightmare. If Russia disintegrated, it could lose control of these nuclear weapons, posing an existential threat to the United States and to other countries. The idea that the United States would risk this level of chaos in order to secure control of Russian minerals runs counter to all strategic or geopolitical thinking.
The problem is not that the United States is plotting the disintegration of the Russian Federation. The problem is that the Russian Federation is moving toward disintegration on its own. The single greatest failure of post-Cold War Russia was not using oil revenues to underwrite, possibly with outside investment, a robust and diversified economy. Putin wanted to do this, but the complexity of the Russian political system resulted in the diversion of revenue from a drastic modernization drive to creating a stable coalition to maintain the status quo. Political reality blocked economic necessity, as has frequently happened in the Russian system.
The Russians could not control the price of oil – the foundation of the Russian economy. When the China bubble burst and Europe entered a long-term crisis, expectation of growth in demand for oil evaporated. At the same time, due to irrationally high prices and new technology, oil surged into the market. The outcome was the collapse in oil prices and eventually the realization that these prices might represent the new normal. Russia funds much of its national budget and regional governments through oil revenues. There is a growing funding problem as resources dry up, and the regions’ umbilical cords to Moscow are disintegrating.
Money cannot hold Russia together because it is disappearing. What can hold Russia together is a belief. That belief is that the United States wants to destroy the Russian Federation out of envy and that only the Russian state can protect Russians, even if it can’t pay its bills. And finally, only Putin can hold the state and the people together. For this to work the United States must become the threat.
This strategy can work for a while, but it suffers from defective parallels. The Germans wanted Russian resources, they invaded Russia and they behaved in such a monstrous fashion that even Stalin looked like a saviour. The Americans don’t want Russian resources, they won’t invade Russia and they will not savage the Russian people. The Putin government can construct the threat around America, but the German threat materialized fairly quickly. After a while, the American threat will dissipate in Russian minds and they will focus instead on their own government.
But here is the disturbing part. The United States does not want to invade Russia and can’t. However, it is interested in reducing Russia’s buffer (the Baltic states, Belarus and Ukraine) to contain Moscow. As Russia creates the American threat scenario, the United States will become more adamant about holding on to most of the buffer states. The Russians must paint this as preparation for war, and the more the Russians raise the temperature, the more Americans will increase their presence. It will be a race of sorts.
The Russians will increase weapons procurement, as they already have and as they did during the 1980s. Increasing defense spending while the economy is sputtering because of erratic energy prices is also what the Soviets did in the 1980s. The result was the collapse of the Soviet Union. Our model expects the Russian Federation to collapse from these pressures. It is not because the US is planning this, but because the Soviet Union’s fundamental contradictions inevitably recurred in the Russian Federation. A mineral-based economy, rapid development of the military and the failure to create a sustainable economy have combined to destroy it before.
We believe that this will happen again to the Russians over the course of this decade. Right now, there are indicators that Moscow is reaching out to the West to formulate short-term accommodations, but over the coming years the Russians will have domestic and geopolitical reasons to challenge the status quo, at the very least in Ukraine. The Russians defeated Napoleon. They held in World War I for three years and defeated Germany in World War II, despite economic failures. If Patrushev is to be taken seriously, and he is a very serious man, Russia is trying to hold the regime together by painting the Americans as if they were the French or Germans. The US is neither, but its interests in the buffer states will be interpreted that way. And that is the danger. Not miscalculation, but the fact that desperate men calculate differently.
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Burnt clay bricks Vs Concrete blocks, which is better?
A burnt clay brick is a building material made of clay bearing soil, sand and lime or concrete with its standard measurement being. The rectangular units are joined together using mortar, adhesives or by interlocking them and are in various sizes depending on what they are used for. Concrete blocks are similar to bricks, only larger and heavier weighing; One block is equivalent to four bricks. Blocks are made using cement or concrete and are used for a wide variety of purposes such as the construction of load bearing walls, retaining walls, partitions and foundations. Both of these building materials are used all over the world but one might be preferred in some cases over the other and here is why;
• Strength
Blocks are stronger than bricks. This is because they are made out of concrete or cement, components that are way heavier than clay, sand or lime. Due to such a quality, a house constructed using blocks will last much longer than one constructed with bricks. However, bricks have a high compressive ability which is a very good quality
• Duration of construction
Constructing a wall using blocks will take a much shorter time than bricks. This is because, as mentioned earlier, one block is equivalent to four bricks. It is also much easier to estimate the number of blocks to be produced from a given amount of concrete than it is for bricks because of their porosity. However, their porosity nature is useful in regulating temperature and humidity in structures.
• Cost
Bricks have lower maintenance costs compared to blocks and their raw materials such as sand, clay and lime are readily available hence affordable. Blocks on the other hand are quite costly right from the material which is cement and concrete to the finished material. Cement is quite is readily available but not really affordable by anybody.
• Environmental impact
For burnt bricks, a lot of trees have to be felled and converted into firewood to burn the bricks and make them come out hard. This entire process has disastrous effects in deforestation and environmental pollution. Blocks on the other hard are dried using automated heaters that have no impact on the environment.
• Aesthetics
Bricks can be used in different colors, sizes and orientations to get different surface designs that beautifies a building. Blocks on the other hand are not good looking, concrete is not easily covered and is difficult to visually enhance.
• Weight
Bricks, due to their raw materials ae quite light. This makes them easy to move around the construction site using conventional methods too which reduces site costs. Blocks on the other hand are very heavy, one would need machines such as pulleys to move a up block especially on high rise structures. This will automatically increase the budget
• Recyclability
Bricks are made from materials that can be easily recycled and used for landfills. The same cannot be said about blocks. They are not as recyclable as bricks as they are made concrete. All the renovation work that calls for breaking down of old structures to build new would only leave behind heaps of waste products that cannot be recycled.
• Quality
The quality of blocks is extremely good as compare to that of the bricks. When a concrete block falls, it stays intact and can be used again. However, when a brick falls it becomes completely dismantled and cannot be used again.
Grey Oak |
Tokenization Overview
Since the dawn of time, one of the premier challenges of mankind has been the securing and safe sharing of information. They say that knowledge is power and as a result, information has always been a valuable asset. Like all valuable assets, it needs to be protected. In the digital age, data has become almost a form of currency and in some cases can be directly converted to currency. Storing data presents much less of a security challenge than sharing data. Since financial data inherently needs to be shared, however, in order to create a transaction, it makes financial data extremely vulnerable.
Financial transactions have always been challenging to secure. Hard currency can be stolen and once it is gone, it is impossible to prove who the rightful owner is. This gave rise to credit and debit cards or a means of payment that has no inherent value in and of itself. The data contained on the card does, however, and that gave rise to credit card theft and data dumps. All criminals or cybercriminals needed was the information contained on a credit card and they could drain a person's accounts. Since most merchants save the financial data gained with every transaction, all thieves have had to do was find a vulnerability to download the financial and personal data of millions of individuals.
Why Financial Data is Vulnerable
The more institutions that save financial information, the less secure that information becomes. This problem is even further compounded when institutions that implement proper security protocols grant access to financial networks to institutions with much less stringent protocols. The Target data breach, for instance, was actually conducted remotely by exploiting the much more lax security of an HVAC company that had access to Target's financial network. The need to share financial information with other institutions that in turn save that data made consumers, banks and card issuers extremely vulnerable.
On any given day, an individual may pass their financial information on to upwards of 30 different businesses. Each one of these businesses has the ability to store that data and any data that is stored can also be stolen. Some businesses may do their due diligence to secure the data but not all do. Ultimately, however, the responsibility lies with the merchant to secure the data. If they do not store the data securely, there is not a lot that banks or consumers can do. Tokenization is a way of ensuring that merchants are not given information that can actually be used if it were ever stolen.
What is Tokenization?
Tokenization is the creation of a digital token that works like a one-time-use key. The key can be used to unlock certain information rather than giving away the information itself. Tokenization itself is simply the breaking up of long strings of information into smaller blocks or "keys." Tokenization has far broader applications outside of the financial world, but at the moment the most prevalent usage of tokenization is for financial transactions.
The use of tokenization to secure digital transactions on a broad-scale basis started with digital chip or EMV cards but is also the basis of digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay. With tokenization, merchants are not given credit card numbers or other information that can be reused. Instead, a one-time-use code is created and generated for that one transaction. The code or token can be used to complete that one transaction but then is worthless after that. The information can be saved or even stolen, but it is essentially worthless since it cannot be used beyond that single transaction.
Other Applications For Tokenization
While the most predominant use of tokenization is currently for financial transactions, tokenization has much broader applications in the business world. For instance, at current, many businesses divide information into classification levels. Newer or more junior employees only have access to certain levels or classifications of information while more senior employees have access to higher levels or more sensitive information. Once an employee has been granted access to a certain level of information, however, they often have unrestricted access to all of the information granted at that level. Tokenization can help businesses grant single-use access to certain information rather than granting wholesale access to certain levels of information. This allows even junior employees to access certain information as needed and even limits access by senior employees to a case-by-case basis as needed.
Tokenization is also the foundation for cryptocurrency transactions that are administered by blockchain. As blockchain technology expands to offer a variety of services such as smart contracts, tokenization will begin to take a more central role in an even wider range of transactions.
iovation is a leading provider of advanced fraud detection and fraud prevention software applications as well as real time user authentication software services.
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Knee Kinesiography
Myth or reality? Running on trails increases the risk of knee injury.
Some urban runners claim that diversifying the type of running surface increases the risk of knee injury. This section will provide some important concepts to consider.
Training on a varied, irregular and relatively stable surface, the cross-country trail would modulate the impact on our joints. Recent studies have shown that this type of training would allow a wide variety of adaptive movements for the lower limbs. It would reduce the constant mechanical stress on a joint and thereby help limit the overuse of anatomical structures (muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilages …).
As a result, no surface is more likely than another to cause injury. Everything is a question of adapting! Our body must be ready and adapt to a modification of its biomechanics. For example, if the environmental conditions (asphalt, sand, snow) change abruptly and quickly, the body cannot adapt adequately in response to this new stimulus, making it easier for the athlete to sustain an injury due to increased stress on the joints. We need to quantify our mechanical stress and gradually transition into a new sport. In order to minimize the risk of injury, it is in our best interest to prepare our body for future changes. To do this, it is essential to integrate the principles of progression: volume, intensity, altitude difference, surface and/or change of shoes. We should also subject our body to a training program that solicits new biomechanical (range of motion), physiological (muscle strength/flexibility) and neurophysiological (proprioception/motor control) factors.
Although fundamental, proprioception and motor control remain vague concepts for many runners. Let’s treat them as our sixth sense! It is they that modulate the deep sensitivity in our joints. Having a good proprioceptive system and motor control requires development and training like any other physiological element! It must, therefore, become automatic, in order to focus on other aspects such as performance and determination.
In conclusion, we should always respect the adaptability of our body and quantify our mechanical stress. Although cross-country is an excellent running choice to gradually improve our training and maximize our performance, preparation is inevitable. Our body can adapt to everything, you just have to give it the chance to do it! In short, vary your training by modulating your duration, your intensity and your slopes (inclines/hills) without neglecting the proprioceptive training. Careful planning of the training will allow the runner to ward off injuries and attain the necessary adaptations. This way, you can avoid unpleasant and unexpected injuries and get closer to the desired goal. |
Traceability from Farm to Table with Blockchain
Traceability from Farm to Table with Blockchain
The future of virtual assistants
Utilizing blockchain technology in agriculture
Have you ever found yourself stuck in the produce aisle of a grocery store debating over a selection? You have been craving a sweet, crisp apple. Organic apples are your preference, but they are double the price of the conventional produce. You wish you could verify the source of the apples to justify the price, but in the end, you realize you just have to place your trust in the supply chain involved in placing those apples in the bin in front of you. This common scenario highlights one of the biggest issues with the current food supply - the lack of transparency between the suppliers, distributors and consumers. One new technology is poised to solve that problem – blockchain.
You may have heard of blockchain technology recently due to the popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is the underpinning technology making cryptocurrency transactions possible. Basically, blockchains are digital ledgers that are permanent, transparent and secure, with no institutional intermediary management. Instead blockchains are maintained and kept secure by a network of participants. Blockchain can be useful for logging all kinds of transactions. In this article, we are focused on the food supply chain, but blockchain can be useful for creating visibility and integrity into any type of supply chain.
So, let’s follow those apples through the food supply chain and see how blockchain can improve visibility and efficiency along the way.
The farmer
Those apples originated at a particular orchard as blossoms on trees, and they were cultivated by some of the most important producers in our society – farmers. Farmers are starting to combine traditional methods with new technological solutions to improve visibility in many aspects of their business. There are several ways farmers can benefit from blockchain technology.
Sync with sensors
If the farmer is already using Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, such as crop sensors, blockchain can be used from the very beginning as seeds or trees are planted. As the IoT devices collect data about the plant health, that data can be stored in a blockchain, creating a sequential log of the life of the plant from planting to harvest.
Timely payments
Another impressive feature of blockchain is how they integrate with smart contracts to automate payments when certain milestones are achieved, such as product received into processing facility. This eliminates the lag time for farmers getting paid for their product. Smart contracts can also be configured to spread out payment to farmers throughout the year versus the traditional method of paying farmers seasonally.
The processors
After the apples are harvested, they move on to processing. This involves packing, storing, sales and marketing. There are many instances in processing where blockchain can be used to increase operational efficiency.
Inventory tracking
As each apple moves through the processing facility, it’s location can be tracked and entered into a blockchain ledger automating record keeping. This blockchain carries with it each fruit’s origin and certifications and possibly other data, such as the conditions under which it grew and its quality when picked. The tracking during processing is just continuing the sequence of records of the fruit’s journey.
Sorting and storing conditions
In order to ensure top quality be maintained during processing, the quality of the fruit and the environmental conditions in which the fruit is stored can be logged into the blockchain.
Tracking sales and finance
As the processors are securing sales of apples to the distributors, all of the sales, shipping and payment information can be included in the blockchain.
The distributor
By the time an apple reaches a distributor, it has quite a digital ledger record. Blockchain can give distributors insight into how much inventory will be available for purchase and when. That visibility allows distributors to plan accordingly, better anticipate their inventory, and avoid food waste. Is an order stuck at customs? Both processors and distributors will be notified immediately and can quickly deal with any issues that may threaten food spoiling. With blockchain, distributors also have record of the food quality, origins and certifications, and food storage history. Because of this technology, distributors can ensure that they are offering customers the best possible selection.
The consumer
So, now the apple is finally in the hands of the consumer. The consumer debating whether to trust the organic certification can view the entire journey of that apple, if they are so inclined. One day, they may simply be able to scan the apple’s QR code in the store and quickly see the entire blockchain ledger: the source, certification and complete voyage of the apple in question. All of the improved efficiencies along the supply chain, due to blockchain, mean lower product prices for consumers.
The hurdles
Because blockchain technology is relatively new, it’s use in supply chains is still being sorted out. For the technology to become widespread in supply chains, there are a few obstacles to overcome:
Understanding and trusting the technology
It is important that the participants in the supply not become bogged down by becoming experts in the details of blockchain. There are already many out-of-the-box blockchain applications geared towards different industries, several with a focus on supply chains. It is important to choose a trusted partner to help guide businesses through the process of planning for and implementing this technology. Many technology consultancy firms are well-versed in blockchain.
Investment in technology
Implementing new technology can require hefty start-up costs and extra time for testing, but usually ROI is realized quickly. For mid-to-large companies, start with buy-in from leadership level, and have them drive the message of why blockchain is valuable for the business. For small farmers, start with a basic blockchain for simple record keeping. Once the foundation is established, smart contracts and integration with IoT device data can be added over time.
Getting everyone on board
Blockchain is most useful when all participants involved in the supply chain are equipped with the right technology and committed to the technology. If there are gaps in the digital ledger, the integrity of the product could suffer.
Over the next few years, technologists anticipate a surge in the use of blockchain for recording transactions and data. Supply chains are a prime environment to benefit from all that this technology can offer. Blockchain is the answer for automating record keeping, reducing lag time along a supply chain, and improving product integrity and traceability.
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DNS Hijacking: What Is It and How Does It Work?
DNS represents the abbreviation for a Domain Name Server which is used to interpret domain names such as www.yourdomain.com into an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The Internet Protocol address consists of numbers such as that give the domain a unique identification. An IP address is one-of-a-kind and unique so it can be used to trace Internet activity back to the PC user as well as identify the exact location of a website. Domain names are used to identify websites because they are easier to remember than a series of numbers that make up an IP address.
How DNS Hijacking Works
DNS hijacking is used by hackers with malicious intent who redirect or "hijack" the DNS addresses to bogus DNS servers for the purpose of injecting malware into your PC, promoting phishing scams, advertising on high traffic websites, and any other related form of criminal activity.
Once the DNS address is hijacked to a bogus DNS server, it translates the legitimate IP address or DNS name into the IP addresses of malicious websites. DNS hijacking can occur with any website large or small and turn those websites into malicious websites without the knowledge of the Web surfer.
Since the website owners depend upon legitimate DNS server that are issued by their Internet Service Providers (ISP), DNS hijackers use malware in the form of a Trojan to exchange the legitimate DNS server assignment by the ISP with a manual DNS server assignment from a bogus DNS server.
When Web surfers visit the reputable websites with legitimate domain names, they are automatically hijacked to a malicious website that is disguised as the legitimate one. The switch from the legitimate DNS server to the bogus DNS server goes unnoticed by both the surfer and the legitimate website owner. This opens up the malicious website to perform any criminal act that the hacker wishes because the user thinks they are on the real website.
Other Dangers of DNS Hijacking
Another danger of DNS hijacking occurs when the surfer is unaware that they are on a bogus DNS server. If the user continues to surf on the bogus DNS server and they search for other websites, they most likely will end up visiting more malicious sites.
For example, let's say that they search for a website and the domain is non-existent due to a misspelling typed during the search. Generally a legitimate DNS server will display an error message or provide site suggestions that relate to what the user typed into the search. With a bogus DNS server, instead of the error message they will be directed to yet another malicious website because the server has been created for the purpose of performing criminal acts. Regardless of what is typed in, it malicious websites replace the error message.
DNS hijacking also promotes click fraud with such programs as Google Adsense. Since there are numerous DNS servers that are bogus, they form a network of websites which results in a lot of traffic. When you get a lot of traffic you of course get a lot of people clicking which results in click fraud. The hackers can rack up a lot of money with click throughs from programs like Google Adsense who pay a commission for each click.
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A computer crash can occur at anytime and on any computer.
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Volvo Cars safety center in Torslanda, Gothenburg
We created The E.V.A. Initiative to help make cars and roads safer for all. As the next step, we wanted to learn more about how people use the safety belt, so we turned selfies into safety research. Our global #SelfieForSafety study is now ready for download.
Infographics saying 4 out of 10
What did we find out?
4 in 10 participants in the study wore the safety belt incorrectly. Which means that even though the three-point safety belt has existed for 60 years, sometimes people do not use it correctly or know how to do so. Adjusting the position of the safety belt by just a few centimetres can make a real difference.
How can this contribute to better road safety?
Illustration of person wearing safety belt correctly
What you can do
When you buckle up, keep this in mind: The shoulder part of the safety belt should fit across your chest and over the shoulder, instead of on your arm. The lower part of the safety belt should be adjusted so that it’s snug and lies low over your hips. It should never go across your stomach. You should also be seated upright with your back against the seat backrest. Adjusting the seat and safety belt can help keep you both comfortable and safe.
Illustration of how to tighten the safety belt setting when seated
What we can do
These findings and insights can help us in our work to make cars and roads safer for all. For example, we learned that some people are not wearing the safety belt optimally, and there may be many reasons for that. We can use this knowledge in our safety development work and since many people took part in the project, we also hope this can spur similar studies in the future.
How did we get here?
We wanted to learn how people use the safety belt in everyday situations. So, we asked ourselves: what if we could turn selfies taken in the car into safety research? That’s why we started #SelfieForSafety — an initiative aimed at boosting our knowledge and further improve the safety of our roads.
All people had to do was take a selfie in a safely parked car, put on the belt and tag us in the photo. More than 2000 people participated in the project. We hope this study inspires more research with potential to further boost safety across the board.
People taking selfies using the safety belt |
The Learning & Resource Section
Express Trusts
Express Trusts
An express trust is one that is intentionally declared by the creator of the trust, who is known as the settlor, or, if the trust is created by will, the testator. Essentially, the legal owner holds the property on trust for a specific beneficiary. There are two categories of express trusts:
1. Executed and Executory:
a. An executed trust is one in which the testator or settlor has marked out in appropriate technical expressions what interest are to be taken by all beneficiaries.
b. An executory trust is when the execution of some further instrument is required in order to define the beneficial interests with precision. The property is immediately subject to a valid trust, but it remains executory until the further instrument is duly executed.
i. The distinction between the two is such that executed are governed by strict rules of construction while executory are construed more liberally.
ii. Appear most commonly in marriage articles, providing certain property to belong to one of the parties and settled upon them and their children
2. Completely and Incompletely Constituted Trusts:
There cannot be a trust unless the trust is completely constituted
Thus, this is simply a rule that if it is incompletely constituted the trust is void
A trust is only valid if the title to the property is in the trustee and if the trusts have been validly declared
Requirements to create an express trust:
1. There must be an intention to create the trust. Meaning, the legal owner must make it clear that the land is for the benefit of another.
2. Must be in writing and signed by the person declaring the trust
3. There must be a transfer of legal title to a trustee (note: this only applies if the legal owner intends to create an express trust for a third party)
4. The trust must not offend the rule of perpetuity
Your Are Correct !
Your Are Incorrect ! |
Hi I am very new to Arduino, with very little programming experience.
I am using mega 2560 and trying to understand how interrupt works.
I have a code written, it is very similar as the example code Memsic2125, so i am gonna use that in here.
For my case, I am reading from my hardware, 5x5 array of sensors.
What I would like to do is to have it -- print out x and y using interrupts , I want to print outputs the x and y every 10ms. Instead of printing it continuously right now.
I will be sending it out in 16 bits. I tried some other example and read a lot of material. but still couldn't get it to work.
Any idea, suggestion, help, comment is appreciated.
const int xPin = 2;
const int yPin = 3;
void setup() {
pinMode(xPin, INPUT);
pinMode(yPin, INPUT);
void loop() {
int pulseX, pulseY;
int x, y;
// read pulse from x- and y-axes:
pulseX = pulseIn(xPin, HIGH);
pulseY = pulseIn(yPin, HIGH);
x= ((pulseX / 10) - 500) * 8;
y= ((pulseY / 10) - 500) * 8;
// print x,y
Serial.print("x,y= ( ");
Serial.print(x); Serial.print(,);
Serial.print(y); Serial.println(")");
• You are already printing every ~100 ms. – gre_gor Jun 29 '17 at 22:03
• You can’t truly have an interrupt within the code (it’s a hardware thing) but you can simulate an interrupt through an ISR which you don’t have – Aaron Jul 27 '19 at 20:22
There isn't any interrupt code in what you posted. What exactly is the problem? One important note is that you shouldn't try to print to Serial line in the interrupt handler as serial is itself driven from interrupts which are switched off during your handler code. If all you really want to do is to print something every 10ms then you don't need any interrupt. Just use the "Blink Without Delay" style of timing and keep the other code from blocking.
|improve this answer|||||
The simplest would-be to read the data and loop around for your desired time.
Alternatively, time stamp the events and onkybread the data if the desired time has elapsed.
Or to use a timer interrupt for that.
|improve this answer|||||
Your Answer
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class Semaphore
Control access to shared resources by multiple threads
class Semaphore { }
Protect your shared code, data or device access using semaphores. An example is a printer manager managing a pool of printers without the need of storing print jobs when all printers are occupied. The next job is just blocked until a printer becomes available.
class print-manager {
has Array $!printers;
has Semaphore $!print-control;
method BUILDInt:D :$nbr-printers ) {
for ^$nbr-printers -> $pc {
$!printers[$pc= { :name{"printer-$pc"} };
$!print-control .= new($nbr-printers);
method find-available-printer-and-print-it($job{ say "Is printed!"}
method print$print-job ) {
Another example is a protection around code updating sensitive data. In such a case the semaphore is typically initialized to 1.
It is important to have a release on every exit of your program! While this is obvious, it is easy to fall in traps such as throwing an exception caused by some event. When the program dies there is no problem. When the exception is caught your program might eventually come back to the acquire method and will hang indefinitely.
method new
method newint $permits )
Initialize the semaphore with the number of permitted accesses. E.g. when set to 2, program threads can pass the acquire method twice until it blocks on the third time acquire is called.
method acquire
method acquire()
Acquire access. When other threads have called the method before and the number of permits are used up, the process blocks until threads passed before releases the semaphore.
method try_acquire
method try_acquire(--> Bool)
Same as acquire but will not block. Instead it returns True if access is permitted or False otherwise.
method release
method release()
Release the semaphore raising the number of permissions. Any blocked thread will get access after that.
Type Graph
Type relations for Semaphore
perl6-type-graph Semaphore Semaphore Any Any Semaphore->Any Mu Mu Any->Mu
Expand above chart |
Memories R Us
How accurate are your memories?
Do you remember things exactly as they happened? What about the memories you have that are not your own – memories from events you’ve been told about by your parents and others? How real are those? While your memories may feel real, and you may be certain that you remember exactly what happened, the truth is: memories are not only subjective, they’re constantly changing. In addition to this, certain memories you have will not even be yours – they come from what you’ve been told by others. However, these memories will often feel just as real as your own memories.
Second-Hand Memories
Have your parents told you about events that happened when you were a baby or very young child? If you think about it, you couldn’t remember those events before you were told about them. But as you were told about them, your mind started to fill in the pictures, sounds and other qualities of these memories until they became just as real as the rest of your memories. Think of an event now that you were told about from when you were very young. Notice that you are seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling or tasting something in your mind. These sensations are based on your interpretation of someone else’s account of an event.
In addition to second-hand memories of your early life, you will also have memories of events you weren’t even around for! You will notice that as your parents or grand-parents tell you stories of their own life experiences – many of which occurred before you were even born – you again represent these in your mind in exactly the same way your memories of your personal experiences are represented. Take a moment now to think of a story you heard from anyone else – it needn’t be a parent, it could be something a friend told you about yesterday – and notice what happens in your mind as you recall it. You will find that the way this experience is represented in your mind is the same way your own personal experiences are represented.
What Does it Mean?
If you are able to access a memory of an event you were not around for, what is that memory? It certainly isn’t an accurate record of what happened since you weren’t there. It is your mind’s great ability to create references for itself, based on interpretation rather than on reality and fact. When someone tells you about something that happened to them, your mind will interpret the event and then create a memory of it that may be very different to the original occurrence. Memories from other people that you pick up as an adult may or may not affect you personally; however, the memories you are told about when you are a child can form foundation beliefs and a “reality” that will affect your life experiences as you grow.
For example: If your mother told you, when you were a child that as a baby you were always sick and crying, this may be interpreted and stored by your subconscious mind as important information regarding who you are and your relationship with your mother – regardless of your conscious understanding. Depending on what other data is already stored in your subconscious, and your other experiences in your life so far, along with how you perceive your mother’s recounting of the story, your subconscious may interpret that event as meaning that there’s something inherently wrong with you. It may result in a belief that you are weak or an inconvenience; that your mother regrets your birth or that you’ve been the cause of her problems.
The way in which your subconscious interprets that story, will cause your mind to form a representation of it. You will have a picture, sounds, smells, tastes and/or feelings of that event. And these are the records your subconscious will be referring to in your daily life. This will affect your perception of yourself, the world around you and how life works. It will have an impact on the decisions you make, the actions you take, your behaviors, communication skills, and everything else. And all of this will naturally have an effect on the results you experience in your life.
The Solution
Using FasterEFT you can change all of your bad memories to good. Why would you want to do that? Because it gives your subconscious different references – which in turn will affect all areas of your life. Changing your memories changes the records your subconscious is accessing to determine how you experience the world. While the second-hand memories you’ve inherited from others are not real, neither are you own memories. If you think back to an event that bothers you, you’ll notice you still feel it and believe it is real. However, although it may have happened, it is no longer happening. And the mind, unlike a camera, is not objective. What you are remembering is your interpretation of the event, not the actual event itself. In addition to this, you will also notice, if you pay careful attention, that you can add and subtract from this memory. It is not exactly the same as when you first remembered it.
The fact that you are not required to maintain the accuracy of events for a court case or historical record means that the only purpose your memories serve is to affect your current and future life experience. Reminiscing achieves no practical benefit; it simply causes a reaction – a physical and emotional response. Considering this, it makes sense to ensure that these responses are as enjoyable and beneficial as possible by changing any bad memories to memories good. This may sound like a challenge – it may even sound impossible – but the great news is that the FasterEFT process is designed to go into the original records held in your subconscious and change them naturally and quickly.
As you change these memories, you will start to notice the most remarkable knock-on effects as your subconscious uses the new records as references of what is real and true for you – and your perception, actions, choices and abilities reflect that.
How to Change Your Memories Using FasterEFT
Step One
Pick a memory that bothers you. Take a moment to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and go back to that moment in time. See what you saw, hear what you heard and feel what you felt. Notice how real it feels right now. Notice any objections your mind comes up with – objections to changing this memory. You may find that a part of you is arguing that it’s wrong to change it, or that it serves a valid purpose – whatever comes up, simply notice it.
Step Two
Using two fingers, and focusing on the feeling of your fingertips on your skin, gently tap on the following points while saying the phrases:
* Between your eyebrows – “I release and let this go”
* Beside your eye (it doesn’t matter which one) – “It’s okay to let it go now”
* Under your eye – “It’s safe to let it go”
* Just below your collarbone – “It’s time to let this go now, and I’m okay”
Step Three
Grab your wrist, take a deep breath, blow it out and say “Peace”. Then think of a peaceful memory. Remember the feeling of that memory and enjoy it for a moment.
Step Four
Now, go back to the memory you focused on in Step One, and notice what’s changed. Has the feeling changed? Is it less intense, more intense or the same? Just notice whatever’s there (this is how you aim) and repeat steps Two to Four until the bad feelings have been replaced by good, and the memory has flipped.
What Now?
Using this process, work your way through every bad memory you have. Notice how your life starts to change in different areas – how you start to think differently and respond differently to the way you did before. In addition to this, make sure that you tap in the moment whenever possible. In other words, whenever something bothers you, tap right then, as you feel it. If you can’t tap physically because you are with other people or you’re doing something else, use Mental Tapping. The more you are able to tap in the moment, the faster and more significant your transformation will be.
For more information on how and why FasterEFT works, visit: The FasterEFT Belief System. For more guidance on using the FasterEFT technique effectively, visit: Tips on Using FasterEFT. To see transformations in others, watch the videos in the FasterEFT in Action Playlist.
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The foundations of this ancient system are generally attributed to a great Indian sage known as Patanjali, who presented a summary of the approach in what is known as the Yoga Sutra. This complete model of Yoga is sometimes known as Raja Yoga – the highest or Royal Yoga. Throughout the centuries since the time of Patanjali, a number of different approaches to Yoga have developed, based on one or more of the ideas found in the foundations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. Today, the most popular of these more recent approaches is generally known as a form of Hatha Yoga, and is considered to be the beginning or early stages of the process towards fullness of what Yoga offers. Yoga cultivates health and well-being (physical, emotional, mental and social) through the regular practice of a range of many different techniques, including postures and movement, breath awareness and breathing exercises, relaxation and concentration, self-inquiry and meditation. Yoga is an approach to life that values appropriate effort, based on balance and harmony, within each person and with each other.
The most widely recognised form of yoga today is an integration of several yoga practices, primarily body movement, traditionally known as postures or asanas. They serve to strengthen and invigorate the body, helping all physical systems to work properly. These include the skeletal and muscular structures as well as the circulation, respiratory, glandular and nervous systems. The postures are performed with awareness, with a focus on the breath and the internal experience, leading to greater mindfulness and mental ease. Yoga is a remarkably effective practice on its own or can be part of other physical training such as aerobics, weight training, running, swimming or other sports. Yoga at its heart is a practice of mindfulness and with regular practice, this mindfulness can be incorporated into other activities and areas of life.
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning “extension of the prāṇa or breath” or, “extension of the life force”. The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prana, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and “ayāma”, to extend or draw out. (Not ‘restrain, or control’ as is often translated from ‘yam’ instead of ‘ayāma’). The origin of this yogic discipline lies in ancient Bharat (India) and what is known as present day Hinduism. Meditation is the yogic practice of being connected to the deepest part within. A wide range of meditation techniques are designed to help you observe and explore the world of thoughts and feelings, and go beyond to an experience of deep peace and contentment. Neglected by many, but pranayama and meditation are important part of Yoga.
Alternatively you can email us at enquiry@yogaguru.sg or contact us at +65 90683785 |
The fate is that a person can maintain life in any natural or created environment. These technologies are aimed at satisfying the basic needs of people’s lives, including water, food, and shelter. Skills also support good knowledge and interaction with animals and plants to maintain their livelihood over time.
Survival Skills
Survival often involves the need to survive in a disaster. Survival skills are often the basic ideas and skills that ancient people have invented and used for many years. Outdoors, such as hiking, backpacking, horse riding, fishing, and hunting, you must gain survival skills in the desert, especially in extreme situations. Bush’s championship and primitive life are usually self-fulfilling, but they need many of the same skills.
First aid
First aid is to help all who suffer from sudden illness or injury, survive, avoid deterioration of health or promote recovery. Before providing professional medical assistance, for example, through a heart and lung resuscitation (CPR), providing emergency medical assistance, as well as full treatment of minor diseases, such as B. adding a patch to the incision. First aid is usually provided by a person with the basic medical education. The first aid for mental health is to extend the concept of first aid to mental health.
For people who are going on trips and walks, the search and rescue services recommend that a trusted contact person should be informed about the planned return and inform them of their return. You can talk to the police if they did not return within a certain time (eg 12 hours before the planned return).
Survival Films
Survive a movie is a movie genre in which one or more characters try to survive physically. It often overlaps with other species. This adventure is a movie genre along with film mantle and sword, movie and war safari movies. Movie Survival is darker than most other adventure movies that usually focus on the character, usually the hero. The films tend to be mainly a contemporary context so that the film audience is familiar with the area, which means that the characters’ actions are less romantic.
Best Survival Films
1. Cast Away
2. 127 Hours
3. Into The Wild
4. The North Face
5. The Descent
Survival Items
Often survivors have a “survival package” with them. It consists of several elements that depend on the anticipated challenges and possible survival situations, an essential or useful place. Presentations of the exposure package differ significantly depending on the expected demand. To survive in the wild, there are often things like knife, water tank, fire starter, first aid devices, food supply devices (safety wire, fish hooks, firearms or other), light tools, navigational aids, and transducer communication signals. Often these articles offer several applications because frequencies and weights are often helpful.
Enterococci and Staphylococci on Hospital
Gram-positive bacteria, in particular multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in patients, is an increasing problem. An important aspect of bacterial transmission is the body’s ability to survive in various standard hospital areas.
Materials and methods
All microorganisms recently isolated from patients or hospitals. Isolated strains include four strains of Enterococcus faecalis (two sensitive to vancomycin, CEE and CEE b) four strains of Enterococcus faecium (two sensitive to vancomycin, A CEE CEE B) Enterococcus casseliflavus isolating (AER stages c) Enterococcus gallinarum isolating (C CEE) sixth staphylococcus coagulase-negative (CNS) (three sensitive to methicillin and resistant to methicillin), three and six S. aureus isolates (susceptible and three three resistant to methicillin). S. aureus was determined using the VÍTEK GPS 101 sensitivity card (bioMerieux VÍTEK Inc., Hazelwood, MO) tested for antibiotic susceptibility to antibiotics. Three methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Antibiotic-resistant strains less than three to isolate and three MRSA isolates to antibiotics six times in resistant isolates. Therefore, in this study, MRSA can also be considered a lot of resilient S. aureus.
Types of Survival Training
Comprehensive training in firearms can be a great way to learn the safety of weapons, get self-defense, and even become an experienced warrior. Consider precision classes using weapons, pistols, weapons and precision weapons. Many schools across the country can offer this kind of adult education. Some even work with children.
Martial Arts
Although some martial arts are unsuitable for real combat, each martial art is better than none. Try to find a local dojo that seems to be based on reality, without too much cult usage. Learn unpredictable methods and learn weapons, such as sticks, knives and sticks, because it means more sense than just learning to avoid fighting skills.
Wilderness Survival
Protection skills, water, fire, and alarms never go out of fashion. Take a lesson or spend time in the wild. These skills are ideal for people traveling on the coast and are an important addition to the concept of wisdom.
Food production
Learning to grow your own crops and animals can be a source of self-confidence, and these skills can provide you and your family with great food. These skills are much more than just survival. Learning how to do it can serve you throughout your life. These skills really benefit from a food or financial crisis.
Urban Survival
Asylums in the structure, like a table or door
Cover your mouth with your dust-proof shirt
Use a light bulb to receive a signal or ask for help
Remove yourself until you are sure that nothing is poorly connected
Survival of the Fittest
“Surviving Strong” is an expression of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, which describes the mechanism of natural selection. The concept of bisexual fitness is defined as reproductive success. From the Darwinian point of view, this term is best understood as “a form of survival, leaving most of its copies in several generations.”
The Final Verdict
When you often meet people who may be in a “survival situation,” you often talk about the “mentality of survival”. The mentality of survival simply means knowing that you can do what you have to do to overcome your failures. We count on their position and get involved in the world in which they are. And when they survive, they learn from them and are grateful for the experience they have made.
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August 23, 1942. On this day, according to historians, the Luftwaffe aircraft made up to two thousand sorties in the Stalingrad region. As a result, according to rough estimates, more than 90 thousand people, mostly civilians, died.
To understand the extent of the bombing
Death toll
Dresden bombing 35,000
Nagasaki 60.000-80.000
Stalingrad Over 90,000-200.000
It was a cloudless morning on August 23. The sun, which had risen from behind the Kazakh steppe, illuminated the front-line city and its environs ever brighter. In Stalingrad itself, the morning began as usual. Puffs of smoke from undamped fires rose in many districts of the city, the MPVO engineering battalions raked up numerous debris, sanitary litter blocks crowded with dusty streets, circling piles of bricks and anti-tank obstacles, drove the victims to crowded hospitals and hospitals. Day shift workers were in a hurry to work, because all enterprises, despite the bombing, continued to work. Unpainted T-34 tanks regularly left the tractor plant workshops and, clanging caterpillars, immediately went to the front. Hasty loading of evacuated equipment was in progress, ships and ferries clumsily snooped between the left and right banks in the morning haze. Crowds of refugees who spent the night right on the slopes of the shore woke up waiting for loading onto steamboats. In the west, where the horizon was still dark, a distant rumble of artillery cannonade was heard. For a month now, the Stalingradites had been living in constant tension, but no one suspected that it was precisely at these hours that a terrible threat loomed over the city.
In the center of Stalingrad in 1942, a few days before the battle on the Volga
Photograph of the southern outskirts of Stalingrad, taken from the board of Ju-88 from KG76
A 12.7 mm DShK machine gun is being watched by a pair of Il-2 during battles in Stalingrad. 42
Back at 06.30 in the morning, Moscow time, German tanks, crossing the Don at night, rushed at full speed across the steppe directly to the Volga. Roaring engines and raising clouds of dust, armored vehicles raced forward, ignoring the scattering rear units of the Red Army. Stalingrad was about 40 km away. "Junkers" and "Heinkels" struck another blow to the Soviet fortifications on the outskirts of the city. At the same time, replenishment arrived at the airfields of bomber aircraft. He-111 from the KG55 headquarters, as well as the I./KG100 Viking Air Group, landed in Morozovskaya. This was due to the fact that the command of the 4th Air Fleet in the coming hours was preparing massive raids on Stalingrad. At noon, when the August heat was in full swing, the Luftwaffe made a new massive raid on Soviet positions. Tankers of General Hube, rolling along the deserted steppe, not meeting resistance, leaned out of the hatches and saw clouds of planes flying east. Black shadows covered the steppe, and the air was filled with a howl of sirens. Soon, machine guns crackled in the sky and smoky traces of falling cars appeared.
2-Fighters of the 178th shooter. NKVD regiment build defense. construction in Stalingrad. 07.42
A giant pillar of black smoke over burning oil storage facilities. Photo taken by gunner Ju-87D from StG2 Immelman
The downed German bomber He.111 on the street of Stalingrad.
Two groups of the 51st Bomber Squadron were already on their second mission to support the advance of the 4th Panzer Army, moving from the southwest along the Salsk-Stalingrad railway. At 13:00 Berlin time, Ju-88 of Commander III./KG51, Major Ernst von Bibra, was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery during a dive bombing and made an emergency landing in the steppe near the Soviet positions of the Nar. Chir. Seeing this, the pilot of one of the "Junkers" from the 7th squadron landed right there, and all the crew members of the downed aircraft quickly got into it. After that, the bomber, packed full of people, took off under the fire of Russian infantrymen and headed for the airfield. Landing in Tatsinskaya, von Bibra immediately took the new Ju-88 in order to immediately participate in the next flights. Around this time, painstaking work was going on. Mechanics refueled the aircraft, eliminated minor problems, gunsmiths hung high-explosive and heavy incendiary bombs from the aircraft. The next target was directly the city of Stalingrad
On the outskirts of the hometown
Aerial view from a German reconnaissance aircraft. An explosion of a tank with oil products is circled in the center, the number “1” indicates a burning barge on the Volga
Messerschmitt Bf.109E in Stalingrad
In order to completely destroy the main engineering and transport infrastructure of the city, to prevent organized resistance in the city blocks and to demoralize the retreating Soviet troops, Wolfram von Richthofen decided to use all the bomber and assault forces at his disposal from the 4th and 8th air corps, throwing them at Stalingrad in waves that are constantly replacing each other. Each squadron and group received a specific sector, on which it was necessary to drop high-explosive, incendiary and fragmentation bombs. Large objects (factories, factories, train stations and large buildings) were divided between squadrons, with each navigator receiving a detailed aerial view of the city. The main objectives were water intake stations on the Volga, plants: tractor them. Dzerzhinsky, "Red October", "Barricades", the factory "Lazur", as well as oil storage on the banks of the Volga. Flight routes and attack levels were also determined individually for each air group.
Residents of Stalingrad install anti-tank hedgehogs.
Ju-87D from StG2 Immelman over a plant in the northern part of Stalingrad
Horse on the street of destroyed Stalingrad
At 16.00 Moscow time, the entire steppe in the Stalingrad region was filled with the ominous rumble of aircraft engines. He-111 from KG27 Belke, III./KG4 General Wefer, I./KG100 Viking, I. and III./KG55 Greif participated in the raid; Ju-88 from I. and III./KG51 Edelweiss and KG76; Ju-87 from II./StGl, StG2 Immelman and I./StG77. They were accompanied by the Messerschmitts Bf-109 from I./JG53 “Peak Ac”, JG3 “Udet” and III./JG52.
The first bombing of Stalingrad. anti-aircraft gun fires on him. airplanes
In the sky over Stalingrad.
Soviet soldier fires on German aircraft
The anti-aircraft gunner of the 748th ZenAP M.I. Matveeva recalled:
“I hear a rumble different from what comes from the north. Go!
- The air! Course 90, massive aircraft noise! Olga pushes me to the side:
- What are you! This is the same course 180!
They are already visible. And a course of 90, and a course of 180, and 45, and 125, and ... from all sides. Heinkels. These are above all. The Dornier [99]. Too high. Behind them - below more, and more, and more. "Junkers-88", "Junkers-87" - the entire album of German aircraft, on which we once studied them. "
Stalingrad anti-aircraft gunners
Richthofen's air squadrons hit Stalingrad. August 23, 1942
In the sky over Stalingrad.
Reflection enemy air raids
At 4.20 p.m., an air raid was once again announced in Stalingrad, anti-aircraft guns rumbled angrily, and soon the first bombers appeared in the sky. Workers did not have the right to leave the workshop without the permission of the director and, hearing the beeps of air raid, continued to work. Many tried to remain calm, some still panicked, others quietly prayed for salvation. Soon, against the backdrop of deaf pops of anti-aircraft guns, a terrifying howl of aircraft sirens and motors was heard, and then a chilling whistle of falling bombs.
Me Bf. 109 from the 3rd group of the 3rd fighter squadron "Udet" in flight to Stalingrad
German aircraft bomb ferry across the Volga with evacuating residents of Stalingrad
People flee from a bombed ship
Work continued at the Krasny Oktyabr metallurgical plant when nine Ju-88s, coming from the Volga, dropped bombs on its hull from a dive. Powerful explosions raised the roofs of the workshops, tossing pillars of fire and smoke into the sky. Then the Junkers roared over the rooftops, howling from the peak. The hell began at the factory. In foundry building No. 3, multi-ton channel channels and beams, roof fragments fell right on the workers with a roar. A blast wave blasted from blast furnaces, streams of liquid metal poured onto the floor, burning fuel oil flowed from the broken pipelines. Those who had not yet been crushed or torn to shreds immediately flared up and screamed with frantic cries in the smoke. Workers who were lucky enough not to be in the hotbeds of defeat, no longer waiting for an “official order”, rushed to run into the street. Some jumped into cracks dug nearby, while others rushed away from the workshops.
German aerial photography of one of the districts of Stalingrad.
Stalingrad repels Nazi aerial attack
The Stalingraders, whom the bombing found at home, did not immediately appreciate the scale of what was happening. Those who were afraid for their property remained in the apartment, nervously glancing out the windows, others descended into the basement or through the cracks. Thousands of townspeople found a raid in transport or just on the street. After the first explosions, all of them, looking at the sky, saw the following groups of bombers approaching from all sides from across the river, from the south and the west. Pillars of fire and smoke rose already in the northern part of the city above the tractor factory and somewhere in the south. When they reached shelters, often in the form of simple trenches, Stalingraders looked up with fear. It was clear that silver-white objects fell out and immediately scattered from fans of planes in steady order. Soon they turned into huge "umbrellas", so that the whole sky soon turned milky white.
Above the ruins of Stalingrad
These were the special Luftwaffe incendiary bombs, which the Soviet MPVO service called "incendiary leaflets." Tens of thousands of strips of phosphorus-coated foil, flashing upon contact with the air, slowly descended into the city center and surrounding neighborhoods. It was as if spellbound Stalingraders looked up, watching in a daze, as a fiery leaf fall approaches the roofs of houses. In contact with the surface, the "leaves" began to glow with a violent blue-white flame of enormous temperature. And in a matter of minutes, hundreds of fires had already occurred throughout the city.
Ju-87 in flight over Stalingrad.
But after a while new groups of Heinkels and Junkers appeared. Many black dots are separated from them. These are already high-explosive and fragmentation bombs. A long whistle, then the dull sounds of explosions, clods of earth, fragments, broken glass, smoke .... Those who have not died breathe a sigh of relief and pray that the next series of infernal machines will not fall on them. Chuyanov later recalled: “Houses are burning, the buildings of the Palaces of Culture, schools, institutes, theaters and many institutions are collapsing. The city is turning into hell ... Firefighters and air defense fighters do everything possible: they pull down burning roofs, remove people from the wreckage ... And bombs continue to pour from the blackened sky from smoke ... The central part of the city is engulfed in flames of incredibly large proportions. From the overheating of the air and tremors, an unprecedented force rose in the wind, it lengthens the fiery wings of fires, and now it seems that the sky and the whole space are being ignited - from horizon to horizon. ”
Richthofen's air squadrons hit Stalingrad. August 23, 1942
Due to numerous explosions of high-explosive bombs, the operation of the water intake stations at 16.42 was completely paralyzed, and extinguishing mass fires was practically impossible. In all areas, telephone service failed, and power was cut off. Silent even loudspeakers monotonously taldychivaya "Citizens! Aerial alert! ”Meanwhile, bombers, wave after wave, again entered the city. Several bombs fell on the territory of the city zoo. The frightened elephant, who was his main exhibit in peacetime, overcame the fence and began to scamper along the streets, complementing the eerie picture of the apocalypse ...
Ju 87 in the sky of Stalingrad
Fighters of the 102nd Air Defense IAD also performed a combat mission and were constantly in the air. During the day, some pilots completed seven sorties. First they flew up with regiments, then with squadrons, units and individual planes. In the confusion, they landed at the first airdrome that came across to replenish ammunition and fuel, and again rose into the air. However, the effect of these flights was small. Soviet fighters approached the city in scattered groups and were immediately intercepted by the Messerschmitts. Only pilots of one I./JG53 won that day in the sky over the Volga city 17 victories.
Ju 87 in the sky of Stalingrad
Meanwhile, the raid continued. New waves of bombers approached the city. One of the pilots of the 5th KG27 Squadron Belke recalled: “The first attack, consisting of several units connecting to the city of Stalingrad. Together with us, the Stucks, attack aircraft and fighters attacked. The grand anti-aircraft defense of the Russians. We fly at an altitude of 7500m. "The bombs were dropped at a drop point above the outskirts of the city, because otherwise they could hit their own planes flying below us."
Ju 87 in the sky of Stalingrad
Anti-aircraft gunner Matveeva said: “On the Volga, she still peers through the curtain of explosions, closing the half-sky, a gigantic fire fountain rises. The flame explodes upward, swirling in clubs there, emits black smoke. Flames scatter to the sides. Flames fall into the river. The flame licks water, eats it, and a wide ribbon of fire flows along the Volga. I was stupefied - the Volga is on fire! Everything burns - earth, sky, water. In this conflagration, nurse girls scurried, they carried the wounded from the battle to the crossing on a stretcher, and they themselves fell under fire. No screams could be heard from the volleys of guns. The wounded jumped from the fifth floor, because the houses scattered from the explosions ... In order not to suffocate from smoke, the anti-aircraft gunners took cotton wool from the medical orderlies, soaked in liquid ammonia and brought it to the nose. The guns were heating up red-hot. The soldiers dipped bags on the Volga and so cooled gun barrels. "
Ju 87 in the sky of Stalingrad
Soon, pungent black smoke covered the whole sky, black flakes of soot flew in the air, a shortage of oxygen began to be felt. Many residents who did not die from the bombs and hid in the basements and ravines began to die from suffocation. In addition to smoke, limestone mist, which rose above the city, covered a tall sheet with a white sheet, the Volga, stretched for tens of kilometers, crawled south to Beketovka and Krasnoarmeysk. Gradually, the whiteness of the fog disappeared, mixing with the yellow-gray smoky haze of fires. Hundreds of bombing explosions merged into a monotonous hum, the cast-iron weight of which made the earth tremble in the Volga region, there the glass of wooden houses tinkled and the leaves on the oaks moved.
Children of Stalingrad
Residents of Stalingrad leave their hometown after the barbaric bombing
Residents of Stalingrad leave their hometown after the barbaric bombing
The fire that burned over one building connected with the neighboring fire, and as a result, entire streets burned. Flames were thrown from tree to tree, bursting into apartments, onto landings, instantly burning everything in its path, jumping from roof to roof. Even the asphalt burned! In the center of the city, trying to escape from the flame, people jumped from the upper floors, climbed onto balconies and cornices, hung on gutters, but death overtook them there. Fire engines at first still tried to fight the fire, but due to lack of water and numerous debris in the streets, their actions were completely useless.
Stalingrad. Hitler's first air raids
Soon giant fire whirlwinds formed, drawing in the remnants of oxygen and engulfing the street outside the street. The most powerful tornadoes occurred in the area of the factory "Red October" and in the city center. Running away from them was useless. Choking with suffocation, people fell one by one, writhed on the ground for a while and froze. Then their bodies flashed like torches and instantly charred.
Aerial photography of fires in Stalingrad
A huge conflagration was visible for dozens of kilometers on the left bank of the Volga, and the inhabitants of the farm of Burkovsky, Verkhnyaya Akhtuba, Tumak and Gypsy Dawn, as if spellbound, watched this end of the world. Fleeing the flame, thousands of residents rushed to the banks of the Volga and to the city ravines, hoping to escape there. Bombs were tearing around, some fell into the thick of the people, tearing them to pieces. The rest, splattered with blood and blinded by flashes of explosions, darted from the corner of one building to another and, tripping over corpses, colliding with each other, rushed on.
Ruined stalingrad, heroic fire brigade trying to put out fires
Fire fighting
Olga Kozyreva, who was living in Stalingrad at that time, recalled: “I was 10 years old then. I grabbed my seven-month-old brother in my arms and ran. Mom is behind us. The doomsday began, it was even worse than an earthquake. Everything was shaking, cracking and crumbling. Children shouted not in their own voices ... Houses, schools, theaters, kindergartens, train stations and piers, poles and trees fell apart and burned down. In the black smoke, both the sun and the sky disappeared. Crowds of people fled to the Volga. Mom and I hid in the basement of our house. Brother cried all the time. The old women read “Our Father” and asked: “Repeat after us.”
Residents of Stalingrad carry their things, going to the evacuation
Explosion of a bomb on a square in Stalingrad.
Residents of Stalingrad after the bombing
. Burning oil products swiftly covered an ever-increasing surface of the water, hundreds of people trying to swim across the river were choked with fuel oil, burned. Some frantically raked into clean water, but fire quickly overtook them. The inhuman dying screams screamed endlessly over the river. The ships, trying to maneuver among the flames and smoke, also perished one after another. Those who remained on the shore watched in horror as the next ship was engulfed in flames, and it flashed with a torch, burning sailors jumped into the river and their figures quickly disappeared in fire and smoke. The burning skeleton carried away downstream. And from above, the shadows of German planes chasing the surviving ships sometimes flashed through the smoke. Powerful explosions shook the coast from time to time, and fragments of buildings flew from adjacent streets. In total, on that day, 25 different steamboats and barges were lost on the Volga near Stalingrad. In the port, 19 floating cranes, 14 warehouses, 25 stationary conveyors, as well as hundreds of units of auxiliary equipment, were destroyed.
Stalingrad after the bombing
A resident of Stalingrad near a burned-out house
After 19.00 local time, the bombing ended, but huge fires continued to burn. When it got dark, a fiery glow was visible 150 km from Stalingrad, it was observed by the residents of Elton, Gorny Proleika and Kamenny Yar. On the night of August 24, German bombers raided the city, dropping bombs on burning ruins from an altitude of 300-400 m. Anti-aircraft guns were demoralized, the ammunition ran out, and the Germans practically did not encounter resistance from air defense.
Stalingrad in the station area, burning from German bombing.
Residents of Stalingrad look at the consequences of German air raids
Only after midnight, when the bombing finally stopped, the city leadership was able to fully appreciate the consequences of what happened. The chairman of the city defense committee Chuyanov made a detour of the streets, and his eyes saw the most terrible paintings that he had ever seen in his life. The collapsed walls of the houses exposed the stairwells, apartments with burnt beds. Burnt corpses and pieces of human bodies lay everywhere, entire blocks of the once beautiful high-rise buildings towering over the Volga turned into piles of ruins, among which were swarmed women, old people and children looking for relatives. Later he recalled: “Suddenly the door of the burning hut opened wide and a boy of six and a girl of four ran out of it, holding hands. They are almost half-naked: a boy in pants and a T-shirt, a girl just in a nightgown. The boy said that their mother was killed, and they are waiting for their father from work. I stood in front of the children in a daze. The wrecker lay the murdered mother of these children. He called the girls from the rescue team and instructed them to send the children to the left bank of the Volga. ”
Central crossing in the early days of the bombing of Stalingrad
Artist of the Stalingrad Youth Theater rescues his instrument from a broken theater
Of the large enterprises, the Krasny Oktyabr metallurgical plant suffered the most, where all blast furnaces failed and hundreds of workers died. Tractor Plant them. Dzerzhinsky Germans bombed relatively weakly, because they were afraid to cover their units, which went to the Volga nearby. Therefore, here, despite the damage to a number of workshops, work continued, and on the night of August 24 several T-34 tanks were again launched.
Stalingrad in the smoke
The raid on Stalingrad on August 23, 1942 became the most massive operation of the Luftwaffe bombing aircraft since the beginning of the war. At the same time, the task set by Hitler's directive of July 23 was completely completed. Stalingrad, as a city and an industrial center, was destroyed. Dry hot weather, prolonged intense bombing, the Germans using a large number of different incendiary bombs - all this gave a huge destructive effect. Such important enterprises for the country as the Krasny Oktyabr factory and the Barricades artillery factory were completely disabled. According to unknown source data, over 40 thousand people died as a result of the bombing, and about 150 thousand were injured. In fact, no one was seriously involved in counting victims. As well as the number of civilians who were in the city at that moment was not known. Therefore, it is impossible to talk about a specific figure, it is only clear that there were tens of thousands of dead.
Smoke over Stalingrad after the bombing
The aircraft of the 4th and 8th air corps performed about two thousand sorties on August 23, only the KG51 Edelweiss bomber squadron flew five times in full force! At the same time, the losses of the Luftwaffe were minimal, only three aircraft. Among them was He-111 from III./KG55, which was damaged by anti-aircraft fire over Stalingrad, and then finished off by a Russian fighter. His entire crew - pilot sergeant-gunner Gunter Hoyer, navigator Hauptmann Hans Eismann, flightradist non-commissioned officer Gunter Raiman and flight mechanic chief corporal Johan Armani - went missing.
Smoke over Stalingrad after the bombing
On the same day, at about 2 pm Moscow time, another important event occurred: at the height of air raids, tanks Pz.III and Pz.IV from the 16th Panzer Division reached the Volga coast north of Stalingrad. Thus, the Volga region was cut by the Wehrmacht into two parts and through navigation on the river was in danger of a complete stop. In connection with this, the People's Commissar of the River Fleet 3. A. Shagpkov soon ordered the cessation of movement along the Volga through Stalingrad. Ships earlier sent from Astrakhan with 165 thousand tons of oil products were forced to turn back.
Aerial photograph of Stalingrad
On the morning of August 24, the view of the city was truly terrible. Overturned trams, burning cars, rows of funnels, pieces of bodies lying around everywhere and fragments of buildings - all this made a depressing impression on the survivors. Some streets almost turned into heaps of ash, even asphalt was charred and spread in places along the side of roads. Hundreds of people wandered between the ruins, some were looking for water, others - for their relatives, others were simply in a trance.
The attack aircraft Ju-87D from StG2 Immelman over the Stalingrad Kremlin (now extinct)
In some places, the MPVO fighters tried to disassemble the rubble and provide assistance to the victims, but there were so many of them that most people were left to their own devices. There were no time to carry numerous corpses and remains to cemeteries, meanwhile, decomposition in the heat of August occurred very quickly. Therefore, the dead were thrown into large funnels from bombs, becoming mass graves, or buried directly in squares and in the yards. Thousands remained to lie under the rubble. Fires in the city from now on did not stop.
The bombing of a cannery in the southern part of Stalingrad. Top left is the Ju-87D coming out after the attack.
In addition to bombs, the Germans literally overwhelmed Stalingrad with leaflets urging them to stop senseless resistance, avoid new casualties and give up. In response to the decision of the city defense committee, a sticking-up of appeals began on the streets with a call to turn every house and every street into an impregnable fortress. Residents were also encouraged to go out on the construction of the barricades. The appeal ended with the words: “Bey, who is able to carry weapons, to barricades, to defend his native city, home!” True, the printing house of the newspaper “Stalingradskaya Pravda” was also destroyed by bombardment, so the circulation of the appeal turned out to be small, and the German campaign on the streets turned out to be more. The work of the NKVD, which was responsible for collecting leaflets, was also disorganized for a while, as the regional government building completely burned down and numerous damage to telephone lines interrupted communication with the district police departments.
by aleksak |
Native Americans Essay
746 Words3 Pages
Native Americans Dear Angela, I am so pleased to hear from you again. How is the family? My family and I are doing well. I am honored that you asked me to help you research your paper on Native Americans. Being as I am a Native American I can give you details to benefit your research. Please forgive me if I start to ramble on about my heritage, I don’t want to sound bias, but this is who I am and it is important to me. Anyways, I hope this helps. The Native Americans have struggled for many years throughout history. When the Europeans came to North America they really thought that they were in India, which is where they received the name Native Indians. The name has been with my people for over 500 years. In the beginning it, seemed that the Native Americans and the Europeans were getting along. Some of the Native Americans would actually try to adapt to the Europeans ways of life, while the others wanted to stick to their traditional values of life, and move to others areas where the Europeans were not. As time passed the Europeans were starting to show disrespect to the resources and the land, they were displaying greed and selfishness. Their intent was to take over the new continent with brutal force and along with that the Europeans brought diseases, for example, measles, small pox, cholera and yellow fever. The Native Americans population was soon diminishing. What came next were the attitudes of the white man which led to the Indian Wars. The massacre of 1890, in Wounded Knee, South Dakota, this is where the U.S. Cavalry took our warriors, women and children and had them slaughtered, so much devastation to my people back then. My people were now under the siege of the U.S. Government. The Government wanted to relocate my people and take them from their homes, they could not practice their customs or speak are native
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by Archaeology Newsroom
The effects of atmospheric pollution on the deterioration of ancient monuments
The marbles of the Acropolis, the symbol of the city of Athens, apart from other causes of deterioration have heavily suffered recently from the onset of atmospheric pollution hanging over the Greek capital. The text that follows is based on the report of the Professor of the National Technical University Th. Skoulikidis made during the International Conference on Environmental Pollution, held in Thessaloniki between 21 and 25 September 1981. Emphasis has been given by the editor to the part concerning the effects of atmospheric pollution on limestone and especially on marble. There are six main kinds of limestone and marble deterioration caused by atmospheric pollution and its attack: 1. Water freezing and expanding in the fissures thus causing the stone to cracking. 2. Erosion caused by suspended particles. 3. Biodeterioration. 4. Marble cracking produced by the corrosion of steel clamps and junctions introduced either during construction or, mainly, restoration. 5. Attack by acids contained in the atmosphere that, combined with rain-water, result in dissolution of the stone. 6. Attack by SO2 that, in absence of rain water, creates a gypsum formation (sulfation) on the stone surface.
The study of the latest case, that of sulfation, proved that the sulfated film on the marble surface contained 80-97% gypsum, while the thickness of gypsum film measured by a new method, the “pin probe method” – that of Prof. Skoulikidis’ group- was found 1-15 mm. The comparison of ancient statues in their present situation to old photographs or modules made ten to sixty years ago, led to the conclusion that the severe deterioration started twenty to twenty-five years ago, a period that coincides with the intense industrialization of the area of Athens and, consequently, with the increase of pollution. Moreover, it was observed for the first time that the sculpture details have been preserved, as if printed, on the thin gypsum film. |
Can You Get A Tick Bite In A City Park? Here's What You Need To Know
Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images
With all of the recent news about the spread of Lyme disease, you probably think that you're safe from tick bites if you stay out of the forest. However, you might not be aware that you can get a tick bite in a city park, even if you live in a dense urban area. A study published in the journal Parasites & Vectors found that ticks are indeed well established in cities. "Despite twice higher tick abundance in natural areas in spring, the mean abundance in both urban and natural areas is not dramatically different, particularly in late summer-autumn or in parks," the study reported.
So, even though you're twice as likely to be bitten in a natural environment, you can still get a tick bite in the city. This could be just as dangerous because you're likely less vigilant at your neighborhood park than you are when you're out in the woods. And, just like most environmental hazards, humans are to blame for this phenomena. Northeastern University reported that urban sprawl is bringing an abundance of mice into cities, and mice bring the ticks. "While ticks can crawl slowly, their main mode of transport is hitchhiking," University Distinguished Professor of Biology Kim Lewis, who directs Northeastern’s Antimicrobial Discovery Center, said in the article.
"Ticks will gladly take a lift from deer, dogs, and people. But their primary host is the white-footed mouse, which is common in the New England forests, towns, yards, and cities, and is the primary transmitter of Lyme disease." Seriously, if you're looking for an excuse to spend less time outside, this makes a pretty good case for spending a majority of the year indoors.
If you want to reduce your risk of being a blood meal for a tick, and potentially contracting Lyme disease, Northeastern University recommended using a DEET insect repellent, covering yourself when venturing into parks, and showering immediately upon returning home. This all sounds like a lot of work for what should be a relaxing afternoon in urban nature, but it's better to be safe than sick.
While ticks are especially prevalent in the northeastern U.S., they can be found all over the country. On its website, Western Exterminator Company identified Portland, Ore., San Diego, Los Angeles, Eureka, and Santa Rosa, Calif., as western cities with high tick populations. "Traditionally, ticks are a big problem for the Midwest and eastern United States, but lately, scientists are seeing an expanding geographic range for tick activity. Living on the West Coast no longer guarantees that you’ll be safe from ticks," Ashley Smith wrote for the company's blog.
If you do find a tick attached to your clothes, body, or even your pet, don't panic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the blacklegged deer tick must be attached to its host for between 36-48 hours before it can transmit Lyme disease. This is why it's important to check yourself and your pets immediately after returning from the park. If you do find a tick, remove it properly using tweezers, and following the steps outlined by the CDC.
What's more, before you apply tick repellent to yourself or your pets, make sure to read all of the warnings carefully. For example, pyrethrin insecticides are toxic to cats, so you never want to use this in your home, on your dog (cats can get poisoned from close contact), or on your clothes if you have a cat, VCA Hospital advised on its website.
In general, practice the same vigilance in city parks as you would venturing out into the wilderness. If you do discover a tick on your body, and you're not sure how long it's been there, see your doctor. The CDC noted that Lyme disease can be successfully treated if it's caught early. |
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Johnny Cade
(Novels for Students)
Beaten by his father and ignored by his mother, he stays around town only because he is the gang's pet, "everyone's kid brother." Johnny reminds Pony of a "little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers." He was jumped once by the Socs and beaten very badly. Since then he has carried a blade and has become even more suspicious and jumpy. Johnny and Pony are friends by default. They are the youngest in the gang and also the most sensitive. They are quiet around the older boys and reflective between themselves.
Johnny echoes Pony's frustration at their predicament in life, scared of being beaten or killed and not able to change anything about it. Johnny was considered dumb by his teachers, and yet he realizes things that completely pass by Pony. While Pony reads from Gone with the Wind about Southern gentlemen riding into certain death, Johnny sees Dally. And when Pony recites Robert Frost Johnny understands the meaning of the poem. They have to stay gold, stay young, and stay true to themselves. It is this message that Johnny sends to Pony in his final letter and the one Pony is left to struggle with.
Darrel Curtis
(Novels for Students)
Darrel has been taking care of the family ever since Mr. and Mrs. Curtis died in a car wreck, eight months before the start of the novel. A judge allows the brothers to stay together under twenty-year-old Darry's supervision—so long as they stay out of trouble. Rather than go to college on a football scholarship, Darry has to go to work in order to keep the three together and Pony in school. He has had to give up a lot and has become an adult too fast. "Darry's hard and firm and rarely grins at all." A big and powerful young man, Darry has "eyes that are like two pieces of pale blue-green ice ... He doesn't understand anything that is not plain hard fact. But he uses his head." Darry takes his custodianship very seriously by keeping a tight hold on Pony.
Ponyboy often has conflicts with his oldest brother, not realizing how similar the two are. Darry is different from the other greasers; as Two-Bit says, "the only thing that keeps Darry from being a Soc is us." He is the leader of the gang by mutual consent and respect. He wears his hair short like a Soc and he is clean shaven. While Darry likes fighting for the athletic challenge of it, Pony realizes that Darry is too smart to stay around the greasers forever. "That's why he's better than the rest of us, [Pony] thought. He's going somewhere." Pony finally comes to understand his brother really does love him.
Ponyboy Curtis
(Novels for Students)
The story is Ponyboy Curtis's narrative about his experience seeing three young men die. Pony is a good student, a track star, and a greaser. It is this latter distinction, rather than his orphan status, which brings him trouble. In addition, he is a solitary, sensitive boy who likes movies, watching sunsets, and reading. His consumption of these poetic pursuits often foils his common sense. Thus, his desire to see movies without the distracting fidgets of friends or brothers leads to his lonely walk home from the cinema and his run-in with a group of Socs. Luckily for him, his brothers and the gang hear his cries for help and he doesn't receive anything like the beating that spooked Johnny.
A great deal of the tension in Pony comes from his attempts to figure out his oldest brother Darry. He complains to Two-Bit, Johnny, and Cherry that his brother doesn't like him. He believes that Darry resents him because he had to turn down a football scholarship to college in order to support him. Everyone tries to tell him otherwise, but Pony doesn't believe in Darry's love for him until he is injured in the fire. Even so, he only comes to understand his brother after their fighting drives Sodapop, the middle brother, to tears.
The beauty of Ponyboy's character is that though he emerges strong and confident at the end of the book, it is not the result of becoming a tough hood but of remaining true to himself. The positive tone is not so much...
(The entire section is 2,043 words.) |
Animal Stall Tethering Stone
Limestone rectangular block pierced at one end for a tethering rope to be passed through. Used to tether an animal in a stall. Carved into one side of the block is a cartouche containg a name of king Akenaten. Of the two tethering stones in the museum this is the largest and has the best preserved inscription. The object doesn't seem to match with the two inscribed tethering stones listed in the Amarna Small Finds Database (29/334 and 31/473). The stone comes from a building units intended for the housing of different kinds of animals such as the North Palace. Similar tethering stones from Amarna are now in other museums: e.g., Brooklyn no. 25.886.18; Penn Museum E648B. |
Scientific name:
Tyto alba
How to identify:
These medium-sized owls have long, rounded wings and short tails, which combine with a buoyant, loping flight to give them a distinctive flight style. The legs are long and the head is smoothly rounded, without ear tufts. Barn owls are pale overall with dark eyes. They have a mix of buff and gray on the head, back and upperwings, and are white on the face, body and underwings. When seen at night they can appear all white.
Barn owls require large areas of open land over which to hunt. This can either be marsh, grasslands or mixed agricultural fields. For nesting and roosting, they prefer quiet cavities, either in trees or man-made structures such as barns or silos.
Where to find one:
Barn owls nest and roost in cavities, abandoned barns and other buildings, and dense trees. At night, barn owls hunt by flying low, back and forth over open habitats, searching for small rodents primarily by sound.
How to attract one to your yard:
Interesting fact:
Barn owl myths and folklore:
Some call it "ghost bird." Others have named it "demon bird." In fact, colloquial names abound for the widespread barn owl. Found on every continent except Antarctica, and with about 30 subspecies filling its range, the majestic barn owl has not always been looked upon favorably.
Despite their bad reputation in folklore, barn owls do a lot of good. Many farmers forge beneficial relationships with barn owls, as a single owl family can consume approximately 3,000 rodents a year. The majority of their diet is gophers, and they also eat mice, voles, moles and rats. In exchange for a nest box, they will keep fields clear of rodents, reduce crop damage and loss and eliminate the need to put out rodenticide. Seeing a barn owl is simply a good sign that the ecosystem is healthy and resilient. So remember, barn owls are only a scary bird if you’re a mouse!
For more information on barn owls, visit one of the three Moana Nursery store locations: 1100 W. Moana Ln. and 11301 S. Virginia St. in Reno and 7644 Pyramid Hwy. in Sparks.
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This blog has been created to provide an area for economics students to read about how economics impacts daily life. It is especially useful for students to understand the application of macroeconomics as communicated through the media and governmental websites.
This online resource has been set up for educational purposes.All rights are reserved by the various websites.
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20/11 Reading Casestudy 1?
Carbon credits: How they help reduce GHG
Publication:The Business Times 24/03/2008
No. of words:596
What are carbon credits? Each carbon credit allows the holder to emit one tonne ofcarbon dioxide equivalent.
Carbon credits have no physical underlying product – unlike derivative contracts like oil or grain futures, which are written on the actual commodities.
Rather, credits are created in two ways. The first type of credits are allowances, which are handed out to developed countries and effectively set a quota on their pollution.
The second type are project-based. They are created when an entity in a developing country completes a project that permanently reduces its greenhouse gas emissions. The project is verified by the UN, which issues credits to the entity. The entity can then sell the credits to developed country buyers.
The market exists because of the Kyoto Protocol, under which some developed countries, mainly in Europe and North America, agreed to cut their GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by an average of 5 per cent from 1990 levels by 2012.
Who buys carbon credits? End demand comes from two sources. The first and largest consists of compliance buyers, located mainly in Europe, such as power generators. They must buy credits to offset their emissions, if they are exceeding their allowances.
The second, far smaller, source comes from voluntary buyers – both companies and individuals - from the US, Japan, Australia or elsewhere, who want to help fight global warming (or give the impression they are doing so).
Some 23.7 million tonnes worth of voluntary credits were bought in 2006, compared to nearly 1.64 billion tonnes worth of UN-issued credits.
Where do credits come from? The largest source is the European Union Allowances (EUAs), which are handed out to European countries based on the pollution quotas each state is allowed. 1.13 billion tonnes, or US$24.6 billion worth, of EUAs were traded in 2006.
The second source are project-based, such as under the Joint Implementation (JI) programme or the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). About 500 million tonnes of project-based credits, worth US$5.5 billion, were traded in 2006.
How are credits traded? Trading takes place on exchanges, like the European Climate Exchange, or the Chicago Climate Exchange.
They are also traded through hedge funds, banks, or other intemediaries, which aggregate credits from projects all over the world, structure them into portfolios, then sell them on to end-buyers.
Many funds also invest directly in projects that cut emissions, with plans to hold or sell the generated credits.
Further, buyers can purchase directly from sellers, though this may again be arranged through a broker, or an online auction platform, like Singapore's own Asia CarbonExchange.
How does carbon trading help the environment? The carbon markets are essential to setting a price for carbon. This is important because companies then recognise there is a monetary benefit from reducing their pollution, because they either need to purchase fewer credits, or can sell off excess credits.
The market exists because of the commitments from countries to cut emissions and the political will to follow through with these promises. While the market enables countries to meet commitments by buying credits from others, any efforts to fight climate change must begin with commitments from governments, companies and individuals.
Some say that a carbon tax would be more efficient to administer, and less vulnerable to lobbying by industry groups than a cap-and-trade system. Industry players counter that atrading system allows the free market to discover the price for emissions. |
Home / Common Questions / Are Sweet Potatoes Better than White Potatoes?
Are Sweet Potatoes Better than White Potatoes?
Are Sweet Potatoes Better than White Potatoes?
Are Sweet Potatoes Better than White Potatoes?
In recent times, white potatoes have fallen victim to plenty of misinformation regarding their nutritional value and their effects on the human health. There are people who claim that white potatoes are unhealthy and should not be a part of a person’s daily diet. There is no scientific evidence to the support the claim that white potatoes are not good for you. What makes people believe in the idea that potatoes are unhealthy is the fact that they are cooked in a way that turns them into junk food. For instance, most Americans have potatoes in the form of fries that are sold in the popular fast food outlets. These factory produced fries are extremely unhealthy and could lead to sickness if consumed on a regular basis. However, when potatoes are cooked in a healthy way with the use of healthy ingredients, there is no reason to think that they are going to cause you any harm. Many people who are afraid of eating white potatoes have switched over to sweet potatoes as the latter has been dubbed as the healthier cousin of the former. Are sweet potatoes any better than white potatoes? Let’s find out!
Basic Differences Between Sweet Potatoes and White Potatoes
Sweet potatoes and white potatoes both originated in South America (you can thank the people of Peru and Bolivia for their farming skills). That being said, sweet and white potatoes are in a way distantly related. You may be surprised to know that sweet potatoes and white potatoes do not exactly arise from the same plant family. There is a big difference in their genealogy. Although both of them are considered to be root vegetables, there are distinct differences in their chemical and physical properties. In terms of survival skills, the white potato is a lot hardier. It can be grown under different climates and in different soil types. On the other hand, sweet potatoes do not do too well in cold climates. They are unable to handle frost. They are also a lot more sensitive to direct sunlight exposure. The white potatoes that are sold to consumers usually have coats of brown or red. They are called white because of the white flesh or interior they have. Sweet potatoes on the other hand have a unique orange flesh with a rough brown coat on the outside. However, it is not impossible to find sweet potatoes that have white flesh.
Calorie Count
The white potato is generally heavier than its sweet counterpart. A medium sized white potato has a weight of around 173 grams. The sweet potato on the other hand weighs in at only 114 pounds. In terms of calories, there is not a lot of difference between the two products. A 100 gram serving of baked white potato will provide you with 93 calories. A same sized serving of sweet baked potatoes will lead to a calorie intake of 90. The difference in calories becomes more evident when you take into account the USDA method of measuring nutritional content. According to the USDA method, a single medium white potato contains 170 calories, whereas a single medium sweet potato only has 105 calories.
Nutritional Content
The amount of fibre in the two potatoes is more or less the same. Sweet potatoes clearly have the advantage in terms of sugar content (hence, they are named sweet potatoes). A medium sized sweet potato will provide you with 13 grams of sugar. A white potato on the other hand only has 2 grams of sugar on offer. What it lacks in sugar, it makes up for it in carbohydrates and protein. White potatoes 37 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of protein compared to the 24 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of protein found in sweet potatoes.
In terms of essential minerals, both sweet potatoes and white potatoes fill up 4% of your daily requirement for calcium. They also have nearly equal amounts of Vitamin C. Sweet potatoes contain 37% of the daily Vitamin C requirement, while white potatoes contain 35% of it. It is also worth noting that the regular potato provides 10% of your daily need for iron, whereas the sweet potato only chips in at 4%. When it comes to Vitamin A though, sweet potatoes are clearly head and shoulders above most vegetables as they can offer a whopping 438% of your daily requirement.
Which Potato is Healthier?
It is quite difficult to come up with a verdict on which potato wins the challenge of being the healthier food option. As you can quite clearly see, both potatoes have their fair share of special nutritional values. Both can offer unique health benefits to the human body. Both can be cooked to create incredibly delicious dishes. This makes it difficult for people to compare them, let alone choose one between them. At the end of the day, your selection of potatoes should depend entirely on your taste preferences and your dietary needs.
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Gas Pricing
The basis on which natural gas is sold and priced varies dramatically between global markets. As natural gas becomes an increasingly important source of energy, understanding of gas pricing concepts is crucial for energy producers, consumers, and regulators.
Though natural gas and oil share many characteristics (both are hydrocarbons, both are found and produced using similar methods and equipment, and both are often produced simultaneously) they contrast in the way they are sold and priced.
Oil is sold by volume or weight, typically barrels or tons. By contrast, natural gas is sold by unit of energy. Common energy units include British Thermal Units (Btu), Therms, and Joules (J). Natural gas, when produced from the reservoir, contains majority methane plus various other hydrocarbons and, undesirably, some impurities. Natural gas liquids (NGLs), a term that includes ethane, propane, butane, and condensates, are composed of longer chains of carbon molecules than methane, and thus, per unit volume, they burn hotter than methane. Because they burn hotter, NGLs have a higher energy content than methane and even small quantities of NGLs in a natural gas flow can have a large impact on the overall energy contained in the natural gas. By contrast, impurities such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen are largely non-combustible. The presence of these compounds has the overall effect of reducing the energy content of the natural gas flow.
If sufficient quantities of NGLs exist in the natural gas, it is often more economic for the field operator to remove the NGLs from the natural gas flow for direct sale. NGLs are desired by global markets to produce various petrochemical products, to be blended with crude oil to make more valuable products, and can also be combusted directly. Readers would be familiar with using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPGs), which is a subsector of NGL containing propane and butane, for domestic cooking gas as well as transport fuel in many countries. NGLs prices tend to track crude oil prices and thus are much more valuable sold separately than sold with the majority methane natural gas flow. Removing NGLs requires relatively sophisticated gas processing units which may not be economic to construct if the particular natural gas flow does not contain sufficient quantities of the more valuable NGLs. Since NGLs are easier to transport than methane (which requires either a pipeline, or expensive compression or liquefaction transformation), NGL prices are more influenced by global prices. If NGL relative volumes are low, they are usually left in the natural gas stream and sold at gas prices.
A large majority of crude oil is bought and sold directly or indirectly through highly liquid global markets. Quoted oil prices usually refer to a specific type of crude oil (with unique characteristics) at a specific delivery location. For example, in the United States, crude oil price usually refers West Texas Intermediate, a specific type of oil, sold at a defined location in Oklahoma. Any oil traded in the United States would ‘benchmarked’ against this value, and be sold at a premium or discount to this benchmark price.
In contrast, because natural gas is difficult to transport, natural gas prices tend to be set locally or regionally. The large majority (over 90%) of traded natural gas is transported by pipeline. A pipeline may connect a single producer with a single buyer of gas – such as a case of a gas field supplying to a dedicated power plant – or may consist of a sophisticated grid connecting thousands of individual gas producers and thousands (or even – in the case of a urban grid - millions of gas consumers). Natural gas prices in the first case, involving a single producer and single buyer, would be negotiated between the parties. The seller would require a price that covers his capital and operating costs, as well as compensate him for the risks that he took to discover the gas field, plus a sufficient profit to please his shareholders. The buyer (electricity generator) would agree to pay a price that allows him to earn a sufficient margin (ie: differential between the price he receives for the generate electricity and the total costs of generation, including capital and operating costs, plus his gas fuel costs) that give him a sufficient profit to please his shareholders. The price of other fuels, such as diesel or coal, would also factor into his decision to buy gas from the producer – however, if the electricity generator does not have the ability to substitute gas for these other fuels, the influence of diesel or coal prices may be limited.
In the second case, where there are many buyers and sellers of gas, traded prices are most influenced by supply and demand. If the weather is cold, and most of the gas is used for space heating, gas prices may rise in the winter months. If most of the gas is used to generate power mainly used for air conditioning, gas demand would rise in the hotter summer months. If gas is used, either directly or indirectly, by industrial consumers, influence of weather would have a minimal impact on gas demand. Disruptions in gas supply (due to offshore hurricanes in the US Gulf of Mexico, for instance) would limit supplies and thus increase prices.
Most gas markets in the world are between the two extremes as described above. The graphic below divides the world gas markets into four groupings;
Group 1:
Gas-on-gas pricing:
In this group, gas prices are set in relation to regional gas supply and demand, where gas competes with other gas—hence the term gas-on-gas pricing. This group includes North America and the United Kingdom, the most liberal and traded gas markets in the world. Northwestern Europe has been added to this group owing to the remarkable transition toward hub pricing that has taken place there since the early 2010s. In a relatively short period of time, much of the gas sold and consumed in Northwestern Europe has switched from formula-based oil product–linked prices to hub gas-on-gas prices. This transition has resulted largely from the development of common regulations, standardized contracts, increased infrastructure, government support, and general market liberalization. Remarkably, this transition has occurred despite the resistance of major gas suppliers, Russia and Norway in particular, who had benefited from the previous oil- and oil product–linked price regime. Undoubtedly, the rise in oil prices between 2008 and 2014 and the resulting rise in oil-linked gas prices demonstrated the benefits of delinking gas and oil prices to European consumers who were unhappy about paying significantly higher prices than their counterparts in the United Kingdom, where the National Balancing Point (NBP) hub price has been long established.
Group 1 regions are characterized by large numbers of buyers and sellers largely competing without governmental intervention. Gas is traded on open exchanges such as NYMEX, and there are established benchmark or hub prices where pricing information is transparent, readily available, and updated regularly. Infrastructure is openly accessible, and usage fees are either regulated or fairly priced.
Because North America and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom and Northwestern Europe have extensive pipeline and gas storage systems with opportunities to both export and import gas from outside the markets, gas can be traded on both current and future contracts. This makes it possible for a buyer to purchase a defined volume of gas, to be delivered at a specified location on the gas grid, at a date in the future, at a price established today. This sophistication allows the gas market to be very efficient by maximizing usage of infrastructure and allowing both buyers and sellers to plan their financial future. Risks can be managed; however, short-term gas price tends to be volatile, continuously reacting to supply and demand.
An added advantage of a highly traded system is the spread of infrastructure over the entire network, not just at gas producing or consuming regions. A newly discovered gas field can be developed and marketed relatively easily, assuming that the pipeline grid is within a short distance, because there is confidence that produced gas can be sold at an established price. No prolonged gas marketing efforts are needed because the market has an established price-setting mechanism and all new gas volumes can usually be absorbed by the system without requiring that new purchase agreements be negotiated with individual buyers. Different parties can own different parts of the chain—from upstream to gas processing to pipelines, storage, and local distribution—because pricing is transparent and all services are competitive. In theory, no individual supplier or buyer is able to control prices, and the presence of intermediary parties, such as gas traders, usually results in more efficient markets and lower prices.
Over the past decade, massive shale gas reserves have been developed in North America. Although Alaska (Kenai) has been a modest LNG exporter for many decades, the United States has only recently (in 2016) begun to export larger volumes of LNG to global markets. Pricing of US exported LNG is based on the US gas-on-gas pricing system, not based on a formula linked to oil prices. US upstream producers prefer to sell their gas using established gas-on-gas hub prices, and almost all US LNG export projects are structured independently of upstream production. LNG exports from the United States will have growing influence on global LNG markets where most long-term contracts continue to be linked to oil prices—with a fallout impact on non-LNG prices as well.
The United States enjoys some of the lowest-cost conditions for gas production in the world, outside the Middle East and Russia. There is a large volume of gas in the United States that can be produced for less than $3.50/MMBtu, and because much of the gas is NGL-rich, it could actually be sold for much lower than this price depending on the relative price of NGLs, which can essentially subsidize gas prices. Labor, regulatory, and environmental costs are also lower in the United States, and efficient industrial infrastructure is present, allowing fast and predictable construction. Compared to many other countries, the United States has more stringent permitting procedures, and as a consequence, antidevelopment opposition groups have more opportunities to delay projects, thereby increasing permitting risk for new projects; however, this is offset by increased political stability and the advantage of having no nationalization risk.
Group 2:
The second group of gas markets includes Central and Southern Europe, South Africa, and to a lesser extent, Southeast Asia. Whereas many countries in Northwestern Europe have rapidly evolved to gas-on-gas pricing with robust gas pricing hubs, much of Central and Southern Europe has yet to evolve toward group 1 characteristics. In group 2 markets, there is a limited but growing gas grid. There are some gas storage facilities, and an emerging traded gas market. However, most gas remains priced in relation to other energy such as oil products, coal, or even electricity, explicitly linked by formula under majority long-term contracts.
The net effect of linking gas prices to oil products, such as diesel or kerosene, is that gas is usually sold at a discount relative to the oil fuel, on an equivalent energy basis. The reasons for this are largely historical because gas production and consumption began after oil and coal markets were established. By linking the markets and ensuring that the formula-priced gas at an energy equivalent discount, gas producers could convince reluctant buyers to switch to gas, away from traditional fuels such as oil and coal. Because oil prices—and, thus, oil product prices—have long been driven by oil market supply and demand, linking gas to oil products allowed gas buyers to derive gas prices from understood and more transparent benchmarks. Linking also establishes a perception that energy products can be substituted for each other, and when the price of the substitute energy product changes, formula-linked gas prices would also change.
The early European gas price formula contracts that linked gas price to displaced fuel were developed when the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands began production in 1962. Once a starting price was set, prices could fluctuate proportionally to changes in the price of substitute fuel, which in the case of Groningen, was coal. Gas producers in Norway, Algeria, and especially Russia encouraged this pricing scheme. They, as well as their government accountants, understood oil markets and thus could use the same concepts to negotiate gas sales contracts.
Predictably, during periods of relatively high oil prices, when oil product–linked gas prices rise more than gas supply-versus-demand fundamentals would suggest, gas buyers question the value and logic of linking these disparate commodities. However, when oil prices fell, as they did in 2015–16, gas buyers, enjoying cheaper gas prices, largely muted their complaints and accepted the link even though the rationale for linking prices remained questionable. Nevertheless, much to the disappointment of large state-owned gas exporters such as Russia, Norway, and Qatar and major energy company partners such as Shell, Total, Chevron, ENI, and ExxonMobil, the trend toward delinking oil and gas is established and gaining converts—and there will be fewer gas markets that will be in groups 2 and 3 in the future. This trend will accelerate as trading companies sell short-term cargoes at negotiated prices with no direct relationship to oil or oil product prices and as US LNG enters traditional LNG markets in Europe and Asia.
As the number of buyers and sellers of gas in these markets increase, the link to oil prices will weaken and, in time, this markets in this group will begin to resemble the more liberal and open ‘gas-on-gas’ markets of Group 1.
Group 3:
This group is largely characterized by the traditional LNG markets of North Asia—especially Japan, Korea, and Taiwan—and emerging LNG markets, such as India and China, are also following this model. The North Asia region, with the exception of China, has limited domestic energy resources and does not have the infrastructure to import gas by pipeline. Thus, essentially all of their gas is delivered via LNG imports. China has significant domestic production and pipeline imports, but its growing LNG imported gas is largely priced on oil linkage on the model set by Japan and followed by Korea and Taiwan.
Before the introduction of LNG in the late 1960s, Japanese power utilities relied on imported crude oil and coal for power generation. Similar to the European experience, these risk-averse buyers insisted on a guaranteed discount to convince them to substitute liquid and solid fuel for LNG sourced from potentially unstable and risky countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The 1973 oil shock convinced them to take a chance on this new fuel, but only if the LNG prices were guaranteed to be at a discount to current oil prices. Japanese buyers also wanted a ceiling (price cap) so that future oil price shocks would not translate into immediately higher gas prices. In return, Japanese consumers agreed to guarantee a minimum LNG price and to long-term contracts, thereby allowing their credit to be used by the project sponsor companies to fund the export projects.
The solution was the innovative ‘S’ curve concept as shown in the diagram below:
The horizontal axis is the weighted average of Japan crude oil import price, known as the Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC) price. This protected Japan against regional crude oil price shocks since Japan imports oil from Middle East, south-east Asia, South America, and Africa. The vertical axis is the imported LNG price.
The middle section of the line is the range where changes in the JCC have a direct impact on LNG prices. The slope of the line determines the relationship between the two prices. If the slope is 16.7%, LNG prices are equal, on an energy equivalent basis, to crude oil. Slopes less than 16.7% imply that LNG is sold at a discount to oil, and slopes greater than 16.7%, though rare, imply that LNG will sell at a premium price to oil.
In the 1970s to 2000 period, the slope was in the 14% range, implying a large LNG price discount. As the markets tightened in the period between 2006 and 2008, the slope increased to 16% and in some cases, exceed the 16.7% threshold. The slope for new LNG contracts signed in 2011 is in the 15% range.
The lower slope sections below and above the ‘kink points’ in the line are the ‘S’ curve legs. If these sections are horizontal, they would be ‘floor ‘and ‘ceiling’ prices where the LNG prices are flat and no longer linked to oil prices. The floor prices protect the LNG seller – the seller is guaranteed a certain minimum price irrespective if the oil prices drop below the kink-point. The ceiling price, on the other hand, protects the LNG buyer, who is guaranteed a maximum price for the LNG, even if oil prices rise over the defined kink-point. The ‘S’ curve model has been followed by most of the LNG contracts to Japan, Korea and Taiwan. This model allowed long-term contracts and financing arrangements that facilitated multi-billion dollar investments in LNG chain.
The following is a typical S-curve pricing formula: PLNG = (A × PCrude Oil) + B, where PLNG is the price of exported LNG; A is the slope linking oil and gas prices (where 16.7% indicates energy equivalent parity between oil and gas prices; most LNG contracts have slopes between 12% and 15%); PCrude Oil is the crude oil price, which may be a weighted average of a basket of oils (e.g., JCC) or a single oil type such as Brent, and typically would be an average price over a defined period, usually of at least one month; and B is a constant added to reflect fixed costs, often related to shipping costs from LNG plant to importing port. This formula would usually also include kink points, the upper and lower limits where the slope flattens, thereby decreasing the impact that further oil price changes have on the LNG price.
Emerging buyers of LNG, such as China and India, are resisting the explicit link to oil prices as they see a future period of high oil price and relatively low gas prices – thus they see no benefit in linking the cheaper gas to more expensive oil. LNG is used by gas combusting power generators who do not have the ability to burn oil as a substitute for gas making the link harder to justify.
The Japanese market is characterized by a handful of LNG buyers, each who operate a local pipeline grid radiating from their own LNG receiving terminals. There is no real national pipeline grid in Japan and it is relatively difficult to trade gas from one company’s system to another. The consequence of this is that there is no national gas market and high inefficiencies in the system. The few gas trading companies are relegated to trading LNG cargoes, not actual pipeline gas deliveries.
The situation in Korea and Taiwan is even more dominated by the market leaders. In both markets, one company effectively controls the entire the pipeline grid and buys a majority of the LNG cargoes imported by the country.
The S-curve model has been followed by most of the pre-US LNG contracts to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. This model did allow long-term contracts and financing arrangements facilitating multibillion dollar investments in LNG chain. It remains to be seen how the oil-linked S-curve pricing formula will survive the onslaught of US LNG into the region. The key driver for change would be the relative price of US domestic gas prices, which determine the feed gas prices for US LNG export projects versus the global price of oil, which drives non-US LNG prices into North Asia. However, it is clear that the dominance of S-curve LNG pricing is fading, and the future of LNG pricing will involve a healthy mix of different indices and links.
Group 4
Regulated markets dominate much of the other regions of the world. In these regions, the gas markets are relatively immature and largely controlled by the State. The gas prices may be nationally set (by decree in many cases) and all supply in entered into a gas ‘pool’. The state manages the differences in supply prices, and may chose to sell gas at prices less than the average ‘pool’ price for political reasons. There is no transparency in prices, no markets, and very little incentive – unless they receive special licence from the government – for private sector investment in supply or infrastructure. If the mandated gas prices are artificially low, such as in the Middle East, inefficient consumption of energy often occurs.
In the future, natural gas pricing around the world will continue to be divergent and unlinked between markets. As the LNG industry grows and links more and more markets, there may be some convergence at the margins – however, since a large majority of gas will continue to be transported by pipeline, the overall impact of this will be limited. The link to oil price has worked for many decades - to the benefit of entrenched LNG suppliers. However, with the growth of US LNG exports and the realization by LNG customers that there are alternatives to artificial and increasingly irrelevant oil price links, expect to see many future LNG contracts with hybrid or completely delinked prices. This will benefit markets and also suppliers who are willing to be transparent in their pricing.
A good article (published in Sept 2014) about the trends can be found here.
Gas Contracts
Gas Sales and Transportation Contracts
The volume of gas available for sale by the oil and gas company is a function of the volume of gas produced and the fiscal terms in place. Cost of production, taxes, government controls, or market forces set by local or regional supply and demand often determine the price of gas sold.
Gas prices that the producing company actually realizes are a function of:
→ Market price of gas, determined by supply, demand, and price of substitute fuels, such as coal or oil
→ Terms of the sales contracts
→ The relative distance of the customer to the producing field
→ Terms of the transportation agreements
→ Host government fiscal terms
The technical and financial status of both the consuming and producing companies
Transmission tariffs may be based on distance transmitted or on a postage-stamp basis, where all consumers pay the same tariffs regardless of distance transmitted, similar to a domestic mail postage rate. Tariffs may also be a function of the volume reserved for a particular buyer (a set capacity charge) and a variable based on the pipeline volume actually consumed by the buyer (a commodity charge). As mentioned previously, gas is sold by unit of energy, not by volume. Prices are usually stated in price per unit of energy, such as dollars per million British thermal units, rather than price per unit volume, such as dollars per thousand cubic feet. Transportation tariffs, on the other hand, are often priced per unit volume, not per unit energy. This can be a source of confusion and mistakes if not correctly handled.
Gas sales agreements
The pipeline gas sales agreement (GSA) is also known as a gas purchase agreement (GPA) or a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA). These agreements between a producing company or sales agent (seller) and a consuming company (buyer) usually cover a number of provisions.
→ Term. The term of a GSA can be as short as one day or as long as the economic life of the field from which the gas is produced. Internationally, especially where a gas development project will have a limited number of potential customers, the terms could reach 20 or 30 years.
→ Quantity. Broadly speaking, there are two distinct types of volume commitments contracts: depletion contracts and the more common supply contracts. Under depletion contracts, also called output contracts, the producing company dedicates the entire production from a particular field or reserve to a buyer. In contrast, supply contracts commit the seller to supply a fixed volume of gas to the buyer for fixed term, typically 20 to 25 years. The seller is responsible for sourcing the gas, either from its own reserves or from third parties, if its own reserves are inadequate to fulfill the obligations.
→ Price terms. Gas must be priced at a level competitive with alternate fuels in the marketplace and provide an adequate return for all parties in the chain. Pricing may be fixed, fixed with escalators, or floating. A fixed price is a set negotiated price over the term of the contract and is usually found in shorter-term contracts. A fixed price with an escalator is a fixed price that changes by a certain percentage every year or other specified time frame to reflect an inflator or an index of a known variable. Indexing prices helps to ensure gas price competitiveness to alternate fuels and helps to integrate changes in the marketplace without renegotiating long-term contracts. Most gas contracts in Europe are indexed to the price of crude oil or other liquid fuel products imported by the gas buying country. Alternatively, a floating price varies according to prices reported by unbiased sources, such as newspapers and NYMEX quotations. In this case, the contracts are revalued every month or every week according to the reported prices. Prices, both fixed and floating, may also be limited to a maximum ceiling price or a minimum floor price for the term of the contract. Contracts may also have combinations of fixed and floating prices.
→ Delivery obligation. The terms of delivery may be firm or flexible. Firm delivery implies an obligation by the producing company or seller to deliver the specified quantities over the term of the contract. If the delivery obligation is not fulfilled, the seller may be obliged to pay damages or cover the costs of alternate fuels used by the buyer. Flexible delivery obligates the producing company to make attempts to fulfill the delivery obligation but does not require fulfillment of all the delivery obligations.
→ Take-or-pay (TOP) obligations. The basic premise of take-or-pay (TOP) is that the buyer is obliged to pay for a percentage of the contracted quantity. This is true even if the buyer is unable or fails to take the gas supplied by the seller, other than due to fault of the seller or force majeure incidents. The seller usually imposes this obligation on the buyer to guarantee a predictable minimum cash flow, and financial institutions involved in the gas field or pipeline development may require these obligations as a condition for financing.
→ Delivery point. This is the physical location where gas is delivered to the buyer. It could be at the gate of the power plant, the hub for a city grid, an interconnection of two pipeline systems, the site of a compressor, international border, or the fence of an LNG plant. This is often, but not always, the same geographic point where custody transfer—transfer of ownership and responsibility-of the gas takes place.
→ Gas quality. The GSA clearly states the quality of gas, including its maximum and minimum heating values (in Btu/MMcf units); maximum level of impurities like oxygen, CO2, SOx, and NOx; the delivery pressure; and water vapor content. If the seller delivers off-specification gas, buyers may be able to demand a discount, a reduction in TOP obligations for the period, or other remedies as specified in the GSA.
LNG sales and purchase agreements
Because of the large capital expenditures, the international nature of the business, and number of discrete elements in the value chain, the LNG business requires numerous legal agreements. The LNG SPA shares many of the features of the pipeline-delivered GSA described previously, but the LNG SPA includes additional unique features.
→ Buyer. Typically, Pacific region LNG buyers are large, government-supported, creditworthy gas or power utilities. However, today, many LNG buyers are no longer exclusively large monopoly utilities. Deregulation has created a host of smaller energy suppliers, many of whom are willing to sign LNG contracts and have access to receiving and storage facilities.
→ Price. When companies negotiated the first generation of SPAs, many of the power plants operated by Japanese utilities were able to use either oil or natural gas to generate electricity, so the price of LNG was linked to the price of oil. Today, prices are often tied to market gas prices, especially in North America and Europe. LNG exporters are forced to accept fluctuating prices linked to market gas prices in the buying country, with or without floor and ceiling prices.
→ Shipping terms. Deliveries may be on
1. Free-on-board (FOB) basis, where the buyer takes ownership of LNG as it is loaded on ships at the export LNG facility. The buyer is responsible for LNG delivery, either on its own ships or ships chartered by the buyer. The contracted sales price does not include transportation costs.
2. Cost-insurance-freight (CIF) basis, where the buyer takes legal ownership of the LNG at some point during the voyage from the loading port to the receiving port. The seller is responsible for the LNG delivery, and the contracted sales price includes insurance and transportation costs.
3. Delivered ex-ship (DES) basis, where the buyer takes ownership of the LNG at the receiving port. The seller is responsible for LNG delivery, and the contracted sales price includes insurance and transportation costs.
→ Transfer of title. Under CIF contract, transfer of title or ownership of the LNG cargo, and associated risks, can legally occur at the regas facility, the international marine boundary, or any other mutually agreeable point on the ship voyage. DES contracts usually involve transfer of title at the unloading berth at the regas facility. By contrast, FOB contracts always transfer title and risk at the loading terminal of the liquefaction facility.
Please watch the video below to hear the author explain these concepts in detail. The video is the sixth module of Natural Gas Dynamics , an online natural gas / LNG course developed by the author |
What is it? Overview Usage Side Effects and Warnings
What is Pygeum?
The pygeum tree (pronounced pie-jee-um) is a tall evergreen native to central and southern Africa. Its bark has been used since ancient times to treat problems with urination.
Today, pygeum is primarily used as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) , or prostate enlargement. This use is supported by scientific evidence about as strong as that for the more famous natural BPH remedy, saw palmetto. However, saw palmetto is probably the better treatment to use. The pygeum tree has been so devastated by collection for use in medicine that some regard it as a threatened species. Saw palmetto is cultivated rather than collected in the wild.
Besides BPH, pygeum is also sometimes proposed for prostatitis, as well as impotence and male infertility; 1 however, there is little real evidence that it works for these conditions.
Safety Issues
Pygeum appears to be essentially nontoxic, both in the short and long term. 2 The most common side effect is mild gastrointestinal distress. However, safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established. |
Facts About Tabun
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What tabun
• Tabun is a human-made
chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent. Nerve agents are
the most toxic and rapidly acting of the known chemical warfare agents.
They are similar to insecticides called organophosphate insecticides
in terms of how they work and what kinds of harmful effects they cause.
However, nerve agents are much more potent than insecticides.
• Tabun was originally
developed as an insecticide in Germany in 1936.
• Tabun is also known
as “GA.”
• Tabun is a clear,
colorless, tasteless liquid with a faint fruity odor.
Where tabun is found and how it is used
• Tabun is not found
naturally in the environment.
• It is possible
that tabun or other nerve agents were used in chemical warfare during
the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
How people
can be exposed to tabun
• Following release
of tabun into the air, people can be exposed through skin contact, eye
contact, or inhalation (breathing in the tabun mist).
• Following release
of tabun into water, people can be exposed by drinking contaminated
water or getting contaminated water on their skin.
• Following contamination
of food with tabun, people can be exposed by eating the contaminated
• A person’s clothing
can release tabun for about 30 minutes after contact with tabun vapor,
which can lead to exposure of other people.
• Tabun breaks down
slowly in the body, meaning that repeated exposures to tabun and/or
other nerve agents can have a cumulative effect (build up in the body).
How tabun
• The extent of poisoning
caused by tabun depends on the amount of tabun a person was exposed
to, how the person was exposed, and the length of time of the exposure.
• Symptoms will appear
within a few seconds after exposure to the vapor form of tabun, and
within a few minutes to up to 18 hours after exposure to the liquid
• All the nerve agents
cause their toxic effects by preventing the proper operation of the
chemical that acts as the body’s “off switch” for glands and muscles.
Without an “off switch,” the glands and muscles are constantly being
stimulated. They may tire and no longer be able to sustain breathing
• Tabun vapor is
heavier than air, so it would be more likely to settle in low-lying
• Tabun mixes easily
with water, so it could be used to poison water.
• Compared with other
nerve agents, tabun is more volatile than VX but less volatile than
sarin. The higher a chemical’s volatility, the more likely it will evaporate
from a liquid into a vapor and disperse into the environment. People
can be exposed to the vapor even if they do not come in contact with
the liquid form.
• Because of its
high volatility, tabun is an immediate but short-lived threat and does
not last a long time in the environment.
• Because tabun is
more volatile than VX, it will remain on exposed surfaces for a shorter
period of time compared with VX.
• Because tabun is
less volatile than sarin, it will remain on exposed surfaces for a longer
period of time compared with sarin.
Immediate signs and symptoms of tabun exposure
• Although tabun
has a faint fruity odor, the odor may not be noticeable enough to give
people sufficient warning against a toxic exposure.
• People exposed
to a low or moderate dose of tabun by inhalation, ingestion (swallowing),
or skin absorption may experience some or all of the following symptoms
within seconds to hours of exposure:
• Runny nose
• Watery eyes
• Small, pinpoint
• Eye pain
• Blurred vision
• Drooling and excessive
• Cough
• Chest tightness
• Rapid breathing
• Diarrhea
• Increased urination
• Confusion
• Drowsiness
• Weakness
• Headache
• Nausea, vomiting,
and/or abdominal pain
• Slow or fast heart
• Abnormally low
or high blood pressure
• Even a tiny drop
of nerve agent on the skin can cause sweating and muscle twitching where
the agent touched the skin.
• Exposure to a large
dose of tabun by any route may result in these additional health effects:
• Loss of consciousness
• Convulsions
• Paralysis
• Respiratory failure
possibly leading to death
What the long-term health effects are
Mild or moderately exposed people usually recover completely. Some studies
in animals and people suggest that severe nerve agent poisoning can cause
long-term central nervous system effects, such as changes in brain activity.
However, it is unclear what such changes may mean, if anything, regarding
the function and long-term health status of a person who has been mildly
or moderately exposed to tabun.
How people
can protect themselves and what they should do if they are exposed to
• Recovery from tabun
exposure is possible with treatment, but the antidotes available must
be used quickly to be effective. Therefore, the best thing to do is
avoid exposure. If exposure cannot be avoided, rapidly decontaminate
and get medical care as quickly as possible.
• Leave the area
where the tabun was released and get to fresh air. Quickly moving to
an area where fresh air is available is highly effective in reducing
the possibility of death from exposure to tabun vapor.
• If the tabun
release was outdoors, move away from the area where the tabun was
released. Go to the highest ground possible, because tabun is heavier
than air and will sink to low-lying areas.
• If the tabun
release was indoors, get out of the building.
• Remove any clothing
that has liquid tabun on it, and if possible, seal the clothing in a
plastic bag. Then seal the first plastic bag in a second plastic bag.
Removing and sealing the clothing in this way will protect you and others
from any chemicals that might be on your clothes.
• If helping other
people remove their clothing, try to avoid touching any contaminated
areas, and remove the clothing as quickly as possible.
• Rinse the eyes
with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes if they are burning or vision
is blurred.
• As quickly as possible,
wash any liquid tabun from the skin with large amounts of soap and water.
Washing with soap and water will protect people from any chemicals on
their bodies.
• If tabun has been
ingested (swallowed), do not induce vomiting or give fluids to drink.
Seek medical attention right away.
• Stay calm. Dial
911 and explain what has happened.
• Wait for emergency
personnel to arrive.
How tabun poisoning is treated
Tabun poisoning is
treated with antidotes and supportive medical care. The most important
thing is for victims to be rapidly decontaminated and get medical treatment
as soon as possible.
How people can get more information about tabun
People can
contact one of the following:
• Regional poison
control center (1-800-222-1222)
• Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention Public Response Hotline (CDC)
• English (888)
• Español (888)
• TTY (866) 874-2646
• Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) (1-888-422-8737)
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Full text of "The horse in motion as shown by instantaneous photography, with a study on animal mechanics founded on anatomy and the revelations of the camera, in which is demonstrated the theory of quadrupedal locomotion"
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. . ;
I 2
- "
Copyright, 1SS1,
I HAVE for a long time entertained the opinion that the accepted
theory of the relative positions of the feet of horses in rapid motion
was erroneous. I also believed that the camera could be utilized to
demonstrate that fact, and by instantaneous pictures show the actual
position of the limbs at each instant of the stride. Under this con-
viction I employed Mr. MUYBRIDGE, a very skilful photographer, to
institute a series of experiments to that end. Beginning with one,
the number of cameras was afterwards increased to twenty-four, by
which means as many views were taken of the progressive move-
ments of the horse. The time occupied in taking each of these
views is calculated to be not more than the five-thousandth part
of a second. The method adopted is described in the Appendix
to this volume.
When these experiments were made it was not contemplated to
publish the results; but the facts revealed seemed so important that
I determined to have a careful analysis made of them. For this
purpose it was necessary to review the whole subject of the loco-
motive machinery of the horse. I employed Dr. J. D. B. STILLMAN,
whom I believed to be capable of the undertaking. The result has
been that much instructive information on the mechanism of the
horse has been revealed, which is believed to be new and of suffi-
cient importance to be preserved and published.
The HORSE IN MOTION is the title chosen for the book ; for the
reason that it was the interest felt in the action of that animal that led
to the experiments, the results of which are here published, though
the interest wakened led to similar investigations on the paces and
movements of other animals. It will be seen that the same law
governs the movements of most other quadrupeds, and it must be
determined by their anatomical structure.
The facts demonstrated cannot fail, it would seem, to modify the
opinions generally entertained by many, and, as they become more
generally known, to have their influence on art.
The Horse considered as a Machine. Necessity of understanding its Construc-
tion. General Physiological and Anatomical Facts. Architectural Prin-
ciples involved in the Construction of the Skeleton. Of the Joints. The
Vertebra. The Cartilages and Ligaments. The Muscles, Voluntary and
Involuntary. General Facts, Anatomical, Physiological, and Mechanical,
regarding the Muscles. Articular Ligaments. Tendons. The Law of
Repair in Muscles and Tendons. Relation of the Form of Organs to their
Functions. Utility made to conform to Beauty in the Form of Organized
Beings 22
Special Anatomy. Necessity of Technical Terms. The Ilio spinalis. Defi-
nition of Terms. Psoas magnus. Iliacus. Tensor Vaginas Femoris.
Sartorius. Pectineus, Small Adductor, etc. Great Gluteus. Deep Glu-
teus. Long Vastus. Semi-tendinosus. Semi-membranosus. Great Ad-
ductor. Gracilis. The Adduction and Abduction of Muscles. Triceps
Femoris. Gastrocnemii. Automatic Action in the Hind Leg. The Per-
forans and Perforatus Muscles and their Tendons. Suspensory Ligament.
Difficulties in the U'ay of determining the Amount of Work done by Muscles.
Elongation and Contraction of the Limbs. Interference and Stifle Ac-
tion. The Action of the Hock Joint to prevent Interference. The Order
of Action in the Various Muscles of the Posterior Extremity in Locomotion . 35
The Comparison of the Anterior Extremity to the Spokes of a Wheel considered.
Its Three Characters of Crutch, Passive Tool, and Active Automaton. -
The Great Serratus. Its Double Character of Tendon and Muscle.
Centre of Motion. The Trapesius and Yellow Cord. Levator Angu'.i
Scapulae. Trachelo subscapularis, its Function hitherto unknown. The
Great Dorsal and Pectoral as Propellers. The Mastoido humeralis as an
Extensor. The Muscles of the Shoulder-Blade. The Pair of Muscles that
flex the Shoulder. The Function of the Triceps in resisting the Fall of the
Body and in Locomotion. Function of the Flexors of the Forearm. High
Action. Obstacles to a Full Understanding of the Functions of the Loco-
motive Muscles removed by the Camera. Analysis of the Movements of the
Anterior Extremity. Mechanical Points desirable in a Horse for Speed or
Strength. Low Centres of Motion. Long Levers. Comparison between
the Anterior and Posterior Extremities. Why Quadrupeds rise from Recum-
bent Positions with Difficulty. Why Boxers and Others liable to be placed
suddenly on the Defence have their Limbs semi-flexed. Elements of
Speed 60
Influence of Gravity constant. Momentum accelerated. The Law of Falling
Bodies and its Application to Locomotion. The nearer the Trajectory of the
Centre of Gravity is to a Straight Line the more perfect the Locomotion.
The Theory of Quadrupedal Locomotion stated. Analysis of the Run.
The same in all the Domestic Animals. The Bound of the Deer. Why the
Flexor Tendons of the Fore Legs are more liable to be injured in the Run.
What is the Gallop? Objections of Artists answered. Truth must prevail
over Conventionalism. The Canter 83
The Leap not properly a Pace. Action in the Leap described. The Danger
to be apprehended in the Leap. The Standing Leap. Correspondence in
the Action of the Horse in the Leap and the Deer in the Bound. Action in
the Trot. Distinction between a Step and a Stride. The Difficulty to be
encountered in increasing the Speed of Trotters. Difference in the Action in
the Trot and the Run. Difficulty in restraining a Horse from breaking into
a Run explained. Fast Trotting cultivated in America in Thoroughbreds.
Trotting not Hereditary, but a Habit. Theory and Mechanical Action in the
Trot. The Action in Ambling, or " Pacing." Definition of the Walk appli-
cable to Bipeds, not to Quadrupeds. The Action in the Walk. The Action
in the Pace known as Single-Foot IO S
OF THE PACES (Heliotype) Frontispiece
Colored rafotngs.
THE STRIDES (Hdiotype) 124
THE Horse, of all animals, holds the most important relations to
the human family. Though the earliest traces of his existence on the
globe are found as fossils in North America, as an historical char-
acter he is traced to Central Asia with the Caucasian race. There
was no representative of the race living in America at the time of
the discovery of the New World, but it was introduced by Columbus
and his followers, and its descendants became feral on the Prairies
of North and the Pampas of South America. They were undoubt-
edly of Arabian stock, through the Moors ; small, active, and hardy.
Their descendants were very numerous in what were the northern
provinces of Mexico, previous to the invasion of Texas.
The genera were well represented in Africa and the deserts of
Arabia, but we have no evidence that the historic horse was known
in Africa before the time of Rameses the Great, in the Eighteenth
Dynasty, after the wars with the Persians. Nowhere in all the tem-
ples and tombs of Memphis, Sais, Abydos, of the First Empire, is
there a sculpture that could lead us to infer that the horse was
known to the Egyptians of that early age. There are no sculptures
in India older than the dawn of Buddh, or about five centuries
before our era. The oldest written account of the horse is found in
the book of Job, and that is a very spirited description of a war-horse;
and it is probable that that is the oldest of the sacred writings of
the Hebrews, though there is no clew to the date or origin of that
curious production.
Though the relative importance of the horse as a factor in the
progress of civilization has been reduced by the introduction of steam
in our century, it cannot be forgotten that he has been the con-
stant companion of the Caucasian race in all its migrations, an in-
dispensable ally in all its conquests, and the most efficient agent of
its civilization. We have no history that is not interwoven with his;
and if by some sudden cataclysm he should be eliminated, we should
then be made to realize how indispensable he still is to our business
and pleasure. Whatever concerns him will never cease to interest
The interest in the paces of the horse is not new : it had engaged
the attention of philosophers from ancient times. Aristotle, the
father of Philosophy, thought it not unworthy his investigation ; but
with all other rational questions, it was lost to human thought dur-
ing the long reign of religious bigotry. When the intellects of men
were again set free, and Science woke from her slumber, Anatomy
was studied and taught in the schools, and attention became directed
to that of our subject ; but even Borelli, who wrote about two hundred
years ago, and published the work on Animal Mechanics that most
later writers have drawn upon, thought it necessary that he should
not confound flesh and muscle. Vital force was as yet unknown,
and all treated the subject as a physical science, and deduced its
laws from the motions of the pendulum, and mathematically formu-
lated them.
Two brothers, named Weber, who are quoted much by the author of
"Animal Motion," in the "Encyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology,"
followed Borelli on the purely physical theory of Animal Motion.
Professor Marey has contributed the result of many laborious and
painstaking experiments on the slow paces, by means of apparatus
attached to the feet, and connected by elastic tubes with registers in
the hands of the rider. This apparatus would determine the force
of the footfalls and time of pressure, and by the system of notation
a chart could be made of the paces. But it failed to interpret the
paces correctly, or furnish the basis of a theory of quadrupedal loco-
motion. The importance of the subject had been fully appreciated by
him, as appears in the following quotation from his work on Animal
Mechanics : " There is scarcely any branch of animal mechanics
which has given rise to more labor and greater controversy than the
question of the paces of the horse. The subject is of great impor-
tance to a large number of persons engaged in special pursuits, but
its extreme complexity has caused interminable discussion. Any one
who proposed at the present time to write a treatise on the paces of
the horse would have to discuss many different opinions put forward
by a great number of authors."
Bishop, the author of the article on "Animal Motion" in the
"Encyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology," says: "The study of
the mechanism of which the locomotive organs of animals is com-
posed, of the laws by which their progression is accomplished, and of
the vital force which they expend in propelling the body from one
point in space to another with different velocities, serves to interest
alike the anatomist and the physiologist, the artist and the mechani-
cian. Ignorance of these laws has been productive of grotesque
delineations of the human figure as well as of the lower animals, when
represented in motion. We have abundant evidence of this in the
productions of painters and sculptors, both of the ancient and modern
The difficulty in this, as in many controverted questions, is to
determine the facts; and the facts have been most difficult to obtain.
It seems to many unaccountable, that the horse, whose movements
are so open, should play such a leger-de-pied as to deceive all eyes,
and give rise to controversies as earnest as did the colors of the cha-
meleon in the fable. All attempts hitherto made to analyze these
movements have failed, for it is not possible for the eye to distinguish
them ; or rather, to state the case more accurately, the mind is unable
to distinguish the impressions conveyed to it through the eye.
Controversies were going on to the last as to which foot was ad-
vanced first in the trot ; whether the toe or heel first touched the
ground ; whether in a gallop the legs were stretched out fore and aft,
or the knees were flexed. All were dabbling in the shallow waters
of a sea whose depths there was no known method of exploring, and
artists of all degrees fell into the false and conventional manner of
representing animals in rapid motion, as untrue as were the Greek
conceptions on the subject thirty centuries ago. To understand how
little progress has been made in modern times, it is only necessary to
look at the productions of the best animal painters of our day.
Why is it that there have been such widely different interpre-
tations of these movements from the time of Aristotle down to the
present ? These positions, as well as all others that have been rep-
resented, are proved by the unerring finger of light to be incorrect ;
as mechanical anatomy, had it been properly consultec 1 ., would have
demonstrated to be impossible.
It is difficult at a glance to conceive how the eye could be so
deceived ; but a little consideration of the physiology of that organ
will teach us that no dependence can be placed on it to interpret the
motion of an object moving irregularly, even at a comparatively slow
rate of speed.
It has been shown that the retina of the eye is capable of receiv-
ing a distinct image of an object in an almost inconceivably short
space of time, as that of the flash of an electric spark, or a millionth
part of a second, and that the impression remains for the space of a
third to a seventh of a second, according to the experiments of D'Arcy
and Plateau ; and the mind is incapable of distinguishing between
the first impression and the last made during that space of time, and
the images run together and are confused. A familiar illustration of
this phenomenon is furnished by the spokes of a wheel in motion ; yet
these spokes will appear stationary, if, revolving in the dark, they are
suddenly illuminated by an electric flash ; or if the end of a stick be
ignited, and moved rapidly, a continuous line of fire will appear. Here
there is a continuous line of impressions made upon the retina, and so
conveyed to the mind. The same is true of the auditory nerve ; when
vibrations of air are too rapid, they are heard, but not distinguished.
The reader may ask why it is that the artists of all time, with the full
accord of all men, and our own eyes confirm the tradition, represent
the horse in galloping as extending his feet to the utmost, as seen in
all the pictures of horses racing. My answer is this : We now know
that it is not true that a horse ever did put himself in the position
portrayed by the best artists ; and the explanation that I have to offer
is, that in the gallop the horse always moves his feet alternately, and
to the same extent; at the limit of extension there is a change of
direction given to them, nnd their image dwells longer upon the retina,
and the impressions are more lasting than of the intermediate and
more rapid movements which the mind is unable to distinguish any
more than the order in which they are made.
The ear has been relied upon to determine by the rhythm of the
footfalls the order in which the feet strike the ground ; and bells have
been attached to the feet, each giving a different sound. Others have
studied the footprints, and the feet have been differently shod to dis-
tinguish the impression made by each foot upon the ground.
The study of the mechanical anatomy of the horse is a necessity in
order to a proper understanding of the forces employed and their
combined action. This necessity has now become more imperative,
as the action is better understood from the revelations of the camera.
All the systematic works on the anatomy of the horse have followed
the plan of those on human anatomy, and apparently for the same pur-
pose, namely, the intelligent treatment of the diseases and accidents to
which horses, as well as men, are liable, while the action and relation
of the machine, as such, have been treated as of secondary importance
or altogether neglected. It has not been possible to study the action
of the muscles singly without falling into errors ; the correlation of
all of them is necessary to the understanding of any one. It is to this
cause that so many errors and contradictions found in all authorities
that have been consulted are to be ascribed. Indeed, how was it pos-
sible that it should have been otherwise, so long as it was not known
what those actions were ?
The progressive motions of a quadruped, which must be considered
as a unit, are very complex ; when so studied it will be found that all
the parts are mutually dependent, that the forces employed are com-
pound and often indirect, and that the compensation of one indirect
action may be found quite remote. When thus considered it will be
found that the horse in motion is as perfectly harmonious in the dis-
play of his forces and their balance as a steam hammer, which may be
adjusted to a force sufficient to forge a shaft for an ocean steamer or
to crack a nut.
It cannot be expected that many of those persons who are inter-
ested in the movements of the horse will be familiar with the anatomi-
cal terms necessary to be used in the description of the simplest
motion, and it cannot be made intelligible without them ; much less
can it be expected that one will be able to comprehend a full stride
from any analysis that can be given without such knowledge.
The writer thinks himself warranted in the assertion that the correct
interpretation of the mechanical action of the horse cannot be obtained
from any existing work. It is very desirable that it should be under-
stood by every one who is interested in his achievements, and by artists
as well. To facilitate this study, technical terms will be emitted as far
as possible, and where they are employed they will be accompanied by
popular ones as far as they are known.
One of the sources of difficulty to the non-professional student is
the distinctive names given to different tissues whose mechanical
function is the same. Whether a muscle has its termination in facia
aponeurosis or at the bone on which it acts, either directly or in-
directly, may be important to the anatomist or surgeon ; but to those
who desire to understand the mechanical action it is a matter of indif-
ference, very perplexing, and a fatal bar to the comprehension of the
subject ; to such it is of little consequence whether the action is direct
by muscular attachments to bones, or indirect through facia or other
fibrous tissue. In all cases I shall use such terms as will most cor-
rectly give my meaning in the interpretation of their action.
Another source of confusion in the study of the muscles of mo-
tion in quadrupeds is the conflicting names given to them. When,
on the restoration of the cultivation of science, comparative anatomy
began to attract the attention of naturalists, human anatomy had
already received much attention, and names had been bestowed upon
all the principal organs. Some of them were purely fanciful ; others
were based on their resemblance to other objects. The muscles were
often named from their supposed function, or their correspondence to
muscles found in the human body. This last has been the most fruit-
ful source of confusion, and the mind of the student is constantly
biassed by this correspondence of names to muscles that do not have
corresponding functions. It may be taken for granted that organs
have the same diversity of form in man and animals as there is
diversity of function, and in each the organisms are just such as best
serve the offices which they were designed to perform. Some of the
later authorities have attempted a reform in the nomenclature of the
muscles, based on their supposed uses, and have only added to the pre-
vious contusion. Adductors and abductors have been so multiplied
that it would seem that a horse, like a crab, was made to go sidevvise.
Anatomy will be treated no further than is necessary to demonstrate
locomotion ; and those who would pursue it further, and those who
would be more minute in their knowledge of structure, must dissect
for themselves.
The writer has already had occasion to allude to design, and will
have frequent necessity for doing so in describing the complicated
mechanism by means of which locomotion in the higher orders of
animals is effected, and he wishes it understood that he uses that term
in its literal and highest signification. He does not shrink from the
use of terms that imply an intelligent Creator and all-pervading Spirit,
who, from the beginning, established the foundations of the earth, and
who, in incomprehensible wisdom and power, has fixed the laws which
govern the organic world from the beginning through all its changes.
In using the term " higher orders of animals," he follows custom. If
that distinction is founded on the complexity of his locomotive powers
or organization, then man could not justly claim the first rank; for if
his preservation had depended upon his speed in locomotion, he would,
in the long struggle for life through which he must have passed, have
taken his place in the earliest paleontological deposits.
It may seem presumptuous to compare objects, the lowest of which
are beyond our comprehension. The finite cannot comprehend the
infinite ; there must be a limit, in the nature of things, to all inquiry
into the phenomena of life. If physical science could determine the
laws of that which is hyperphysical, then to its court we might
carry all cases involving ethical or aesthetical questions, and form
might be confounded with color. To this pans asinorum all the old
writers on animal mechanics came. They would test vital force by the
laws governing the motion of the pendulum or those of gravity. If
physical science could establish the laws and solve all the questions
that arise in the investigation of vital phenomena, and algebraic expres-
sions could represent the unknown quantities, the task would be easy.
We could calculate the force of the right arm of a warrior as we could
the weight of his sword ; but when that arm descends, it falls with
more than the force of gravity. There is a power that must enter into
all our estimates of vital force, and that is the will. It cannot be
ignored in any calculation on animal motion ; and yet who can estimate
it, weigh it, and formulate it, as in the exact sciences ?
Thomas Starr King used to tell a story of a countryman who
attracted the attention of a traveller by the fine physical development
he displayed, and of whom he inquired his weight. " Well, stran-
ger," said he, " ordinarily I weigh two hundred and thirty pounds, but
when I am mad I weigh a ton."
The progress that science has made in every department, and is
still making, is wonderful, and who can say where it will end ? But in
the knowledge of the laws which govern the origin of life, the vital
organs and their functions, of the nature of that force by which one
form becomes altered or modified by the altered conditions of its life,
it has made no progress since the days of Job.
The whole question of life and vital force is still a great mystery,
although it is receiving at this time the concentrated attention of the
most intelligent naturalists of all nations. There are not many who
deny that organic forms may be modified within certain limits by arti-
ficial means. There are many who believe that all organic beings, of
whatever nature, had their origin in the most rudimentary element, as
a cell possessing certain inherent tendencies to develop by aggregation
into other and higher forms, unequally modified in various ways by
surrounding influences, with a tendency to variation by imperceptible
degrees in every direction, the useful variations favoring the existence
of the individuals possessing them. This idea has become familiar
under the terms " natural selection" and "survival of the fittest." This
hypothesis docs not presuppose design, and denies a Creator. Under
the name of " Darwinism" it has become popular and invaded all ranks.
It found the soil of Germany especially fitted for the propagation of a
theory of such an atheistic character, and it was proposed at a meeting
of the Society of Naturalists at Munich, a few years ago, to teach it in
the national schools. It has become so generally diffused in our own
scientific circles that a reference to a Supreme Being in an essay read
before a society of naturalists would be considered to be a poetic license,
if one had the courage to make it; and nature is usually personified to
meet the necessity. We have long been familiar with the reference to
the laws of nature, and we now begin to hear of the laws of evolution.
In all ages there has been a tendency on the part of the masses to
follow some leader whom they desired to do their thinking for them ;
to pin their faith to his, or what they supposed to be his: it is no less
so in the scientific circles than in the religious. Dogmatism seems to
be leaving the latter to attach itself to the former; at all events, it is
inherent in the human mind; no person is utterly free from it; and to
appeal to the opinions of those whom we believe to be better informed,
rather than to examine the foundations of those opinions, has been
the vice of all ages.
It is well known that faculties and functions are strengthened
by use and weakened, or altogether lost, by disuse. We shall look
in vain for proofs of an organ changed in the mechanical principle
of its construction, or one evolved by imperceptible degrees where
none existed before; but we shall, on the other hand, find proofs
in anatomy that the changes could not have been gradual. Every
stable-boy knows that qualities are transmitted by heredity, and that
desirable ones may be bred by judicious crossing within certain lim-
its; and he knows as much as any one of the force, or influence, by
means of which this is brought about. Speculation should not be con-
founded with science, as was said by Virchow, or science will lose its
claim to the respect of mankind ; and this whole question of evolution
is speculative when carried beyond proof; and science, when it crosses
the vital boundary-line, is lost in speculation. We know that organic
matter is subject to physical laws like other matter: it is attracted
by the earth, and will fall with a force as great as if it were inanimate,
and is equally subject to the law of falling bodies; it acquires mo-
mentum, and its momentum is equal to the weight multiplied by
the velocity, the same as that of a railway-car, or a cannon-shot ;
and when vitality leaves it, it is resolved to its original elements,
oxygen, carbon, etc., which the chemist can prove by analysis. But
has the most skilful chemist ever been able by synthesis to restore
the lost element, the vital spark ? Has he ever been able to imitate
the products of that vital laboratory the stomach, and form the
aliment that replenishes the blood?
With all the knowledge of physics ever acquired by man, can he
make a pump so perfect as the heart, that organ that forces the
blood loaded with fresh sustenance to every part of the body ? And
what does he know of that power that has kept it in alternate action
and rest every instant since before the earliest memories of his child-
hood ?
He has been familiar with the laws of optics for centuries, and has
made instruments of glass and metal, in imperfect imitation of the eye
of an animal, to exalt the powers of his own vision ; but what would
not an optician give to be able to construct a concentric achromatic
lens, with automatic power to adapt itself to the distance of objects,
such as the eye of the lowest of the vertebrates ?
Acoustics is another of the physical sciences of which man is a pro-
fessor, and he has just invented an instrument by means of which he
can communicate in ordinary vocal sounds to a person miles distant.
He has recently invented another, by which he can register and pre-
serve the intonations of his voice to be returned to him at will at any
future time ; but that most wonderful instrument, the ear, he can only
wonder at and admire. Without it the world would be without music,
voice, or sound ; the faculty of speech, our consciousness, memory,
imagination, affection but it is needless to multiply this class of
facts. In nothing does man show himself to be the creation of an
intelligent power more than in his own creative faculty. How great
have been his achievements in mechanics ! But what comparison does
the highest bear to the locomotive apparatus or machinery of the horse,
with its compound system of levers, pulleys, tendons, springs, and mus-
cular powers, and. that marvellous ingenuity in arrangement to produce
results which man has not been able to understand until now, and all
set in motion through telegraphic communication distributed to every
muscular fibre, and the whole of this complicated system of organs
co-ordinated and controlled by one central will ? Another incompre-
hensible mystery of life is, that this complicated machine should pos-
sess the power, not only to preserve and protect itself through a long
life, but of reproducing from generation to generation indefinitely,
and transmitting to posterity its own peculiarities of form and mental
qualities !
Does the whole organic world furnish no proofs of intelligence and
design, that we must be told that all these marvellous manifestations of
both are but the inherent properties of matter,
" And that were true which nature never told "?
If it were an " attainment and an aim " to escape moral responsibility
by getting rid of a creator, do we approach any nearer the solution
of the question of the origin of life by removing it farther off into the
mytho-geologic eras ? Or is the difficulty in any way diminished by
attributing to matter all the high intellectual functions that have been
by unschooled people in all ages ascribed to supernatural powers ?
Can the microscopist, when he discovers vibriones in a vegetable
infusion, or protoplasm in a drop of serum, be excusable for running
naked, like the philosopher of Syracuse, through the streets, shouting
" Eureka " ? Can one who finds a shingle or a brick claim that he has
discovered the cause of a house ? Let him account for the origin of the
brick and the shingle !
Because a fossil skeleton of a four-toed horse, which failed to con-
nect his species with our time, has been found in the fossiliferous
deposits of the interior of this continent, does it follow that our noble
soliped had an origin less remote and independent, or that he found
it necessary and practicable to concentrate his four toes into one, or
succumb to the altered conditions of his life ?
All science, in whatever department of knowledge, is retarded much
by the ignorance and zeal of the multitude who follow on the heels of
genius. Medicine has its mountebanks, who are dragging a noble
science into public contempt ; religion has its harlequins, and natural
science its buffoons, who, as itinerant lecturers, perambulate the towns
as representatives of learning they do not possess, and put forth as
proved truth the wildest speculations of enthusiasts, and call them sci-
ence. It is very common to hear of the origin of man from the ape,
as if the relation were a scientific truth, when in fact it is only a specu-
lation ; and all the evidence so far collected from fossil remains as early
as the tertiary deposits gives no confirmation to the speculation. As
far away as any trace of the prehistoric man has been found, he was as
perfectly developed as he is to-day, and as far removed from the ape.
Darwin is not responsible for what is known as Darwinism. He
is a model for a naturalist, collecting facts and placing them in their
relation, drawing his conclusions cautiously, and candidly admitting the
difficulty when a fact antagonizes the hypothesis he is framing. Not
so with his zealous disciples, who rush to their desired conclusions
over his facts, as the fanatical Christians of Alexandria did over the
last vestal altar of Greek philosophy.
Organic life is the result either of chance or design ; there can be
no middle ground.* If the latter, the question of how it was brought
about will never be solved by man, nor is it important that it should be.
It is sufficient that a Supreme Intelligent Will is the author and sus-
tainer of all, a beneficent Spirit, who
* Virchow, who will be recognized as one of the leaders in the new departure in science and
the cell theory of development, says :
" This much is evident. If I do not choose to accept a theory of creation, if I refuse to be-
lieve that there was a special Creator who took the clod of earth and breathed into it the breath
of life, if I prefer to make for myself a verse after my own fashion, then I must make it in the
sense of generalio equiroca (spontaneous generation). Tertiam non datur. No alternative re-
mains when once we say, ' I do not accept creation, but I will have an explanation.' If that first
thesis is laid down, you must go on to the second thesis, and say, ' Ergo, I assume the generalio
equivocal But of this we do not possess any actual proof. No one has ever seen a generatio
equivoca really effected ; and whoever supposes he has is contradicted by the naturalist, and not
merely by the theologian." PROF. VIKCHOW, in a lecture delivered before the German Asso-
ciation of Naturalists and Physicians at Munich, 1877.
" \V;irms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees,
Lives through all life, extends through all extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unspent ";
who has endowed us with faculties to admire the beautiful, the good
and true, to know why so many things arc as we see them, but none to
know how*
\ laving given some of the reasons for his belief in the spiritual ori-
gin of the organic world, the writer claims his right, whenever he has
occasion in the following pages to do so, to speak, without danger of
being misunderstood, of design or contrivance in the same sense that
he would when referring to similar manifestations of design in a
humanly constructed machine.
In a theory of evolution, as the expression of the method in crea-
tion, the writer has little doubt that the thoughtful mind will in
due time rest satisfied.
* " The consciousness of an inscrutable power, manifested to us through all phenomena, has
ln.i n growing ever clearer, and must be eventually freed from its imperfections. The certainty
that, on the one hand, such a power exists, while on the other-hand its nature transcends intui-
tion, and is beyond imagination, is the certainty towards which intelligence has from the first
been progressing." HERBERT SPENCER, First Principles, 3d edition, p. 108.
' When the remarkable way in which structure and functions simultaneously change is borne
in mind, when those numerous instances in which nature has supplied similar wants by similar
means are remembered, when, also, all the wonderful contrivances of orchids, of mimicry, and
the strange complexity of certain instinctive actions, are considered, then the conviction forces
itself on many minds that the organic world is the expression of an intelligence of some kind.
. . . Organic nature then speaks clearly to many minds of the action of an intelligence resulting,
on the whole and in the main, in order, harmony, and beauty, yet of an intelligence the ways of
which are not as our ways." ST. G. MIVART, F. R. S., in Genesis of Species, pp. 272, 273.
"There is something in organic progress which mere natural selection among spontaneous
variations will not account for; this something is that organizing intelligence which guides the
action of the inorganic forces, and forms structures which neither natural selection nor any
other unintelligent agency could form." MURPHY, Habit and Intelligence, Vol. I. p. 348.
IT is proposed to present as concise a view of the locomotive
organs of the horse as may be consistent with a proper knowledge of
the parts, and the functions they perform in progressive motion.
There can be no just appreciation of the qualities of a complicated
machine without a comprehensive understanding of its construction,
and the manner in which each of its parts acts to produce the com-
pound movement for which it was designed. So, in order to under-
stand the paces of the horse, we must understand the action of all
the parts of the machinery by which they are produced. It need
not be said that it is very complex, and has never been understood,
for the reason that the motions themselves have been altogether mis-
This study of the mechanism of the horse is a necessity which will
become apparent to any one who undertakes to analyze these move-
ments by the aid of any manual of anatomy yet published. The dis-
tinction of muscles into adductors, abductors, extensors, and flexors
gives a very inadequate idea, and sometimes a very erroneous one, of
the action of the muscles to which those terms are applied, as well as
to their general agency in locomotion. In fact, these terms are used
to express the action abstractly with reference to the bones to which
they are attached, and not sufficient attention has been given to their
action in correlation to the others with which they are coworkers.
The forces employed in each limb, considered alone, are very complex.
The same muscle may be an extensor at one time and a flexor at an-
other in the same stride, as we shall show further on.
In order to enable the reader to understand the muscles and their
relations without too great a tax on the powers of abstraction, the ser-
vices of Mr. William Hahn.a Diisseldorf artist, were secured to delineate
the most important muscles as they were exposed in dissection ; but no
skill can do justice to the nacreous tints of the tendinous envelopes
of the deep muscles. With all the aid which art can render, the
complicated mechanism of the horse cannot be presented by written
description in such a manner as to dispense with a little close attention.
A perfect familiarity with the subject, so as to enable one to carry
the plan of the whole machine in the mind, can only be attained by the
aid of dissection. A knowledge of the construction of the machine
is imperative upon one who would comprehend its action. It is
as necessary as for an engineer to understand the construction of his
engine. With that knowledge one can understand the elements of a
horse's strength and speed, analyze his movements, and appreciate the
source of the danger from injury in great trials of speed.
Let us first review certain physiological and general anatomical
facts, well, but not so generally known, as could be wished. The me-
chanical parts divide themselves into two classes, the active and pas-
sive. The passive parts are the bones and ligaments ; the active parts
are the muscles in which dwells all the power.
Of the bones it may be said, in general, that they are the levers on
which the muscles act, and by means of which their power is made
available ; their form depends upon the uses which they are designed
to serve. When intended for bases of action, they are thin, angular,
and ribbed, like the shoulder-blade, or scapula. When they are to serve
as columns of support, they are cylindrical ; and as there is always
the utmost economy used by the Creator where it is needed, they are
made hollow, for it was known, as long ago as the first mammal was
made, that there was no loss of strength as a support in being so con-
structed. It was long afterwards discovered by man, and the law was
learned by him, that the lateral strengths of two cylindrical bones of
equal weight and length, one being solid and the other hollow, are to
each other as their diameters ; and the spaces in the shafts of these
bones, being needless for the purpose of support, are made depositories
of fat or marrow for fuel, literally, coal-bunkers, as are all the angu-
lar spaces not needed for more important uses throughout the body,
by means of which heat is developed, which primarily is the source of
all motion in the animate as well as the inanimate world.
The extremities of these bony columns are spread out to give
broader articulating surfaces ; at the same time the single hollow of
the shaft is divided into innumerable small ones, so that greater
strength is attained to resist the wrenching force to which they are
liable, without increase of weight ; roughened ridges, spines, and pro-
tuberances * are formed to give greater surface for the attachment of
muscles. For the purpose of still further increasing the surface for
attachment of muscles, supplemental bones are added, as in the splint
bones, or, as they are called by anatomists, the little metacarpels,
which not only serve to widen the articulating surface, but, by a strong
ligamentous membrane that connects them with the main pillar, give
the necessary space for attachment of important muscles, and where
the distance from the centre of motion renders the reduction of weight
very important, as the rapidity with which these extremities move
increases greatly with the distance from the centre of motion. The
bones are composed of animal and earthy matter, in the proportion
of about one of the former to two of the latter. If the proportion
of the former is increased, they will bend under the force applied to
* Atheists maintain that function makes the organ ; but how can we conceive of function
without previous conception of the organ ? What conception can be formed of sight without
the existence of the eye ? It is held by them that the roughened ridges and protuberances of
bone are developed by traction of muscles upon the bony surfaces. If this is so, why is it that
the surface of the bone above the acetabulum which receives the insertion of the recttts fctno-
ris is smooth ? It certainly is not because there is want of traction on the part of that muscle.
On the other hand, the tensor vaince femoris and the superficial glutens, whose insertions are
low down on the femur for the necessary leverage, must find room between other muscles, and
a rough protuberance is formed to give the most surface for attachment in the least space.
them ; and if the proportion of the latter is increased, they are liable to
break. Variation from the normal proportions is the result of disease,
and is more common in the human family than among quadrupeds.
The bones are covered with a compact, inelastic fibrous membrane,
the periosteum, which adheres so closely to their surfaces that consider-
able force is required to detach it. This membrane serves not only to
nourish the bones through its blood-vessels, or vascular system, but to
strengthen them and increase their elasticity. The Californian Indian
adopts the same method, for the same purpose, in the construction of
his bow. In studying the architecture of the skeleton, as a whole, it
will be found that no element of strength is wanting, or principle of
mechanics violated, in its structure. The bones are arched or bent
when such forms give greater strength. They are connected to each
other by a strong tissue, so flexible as to allow of the greatest free-
dom of motion, but inextensible, and, under all ordinary use, too strong
to be broken or detached from the bony levers whose motion it is
designed to limit. It is, however, sometimes torn, either completely
or partially, in dislocations or sprains ; and the slightest injury to this
tissue is a serious accident to an animal whose value depends on the
soundness of his locomotive organs.
The extremities of bones which move upon each other, as at the
joints or articular surfaces, are covered with a peculiar formation
known as cartilage. It is insensible in a state of health, and very
elastic to pressure ; thickest where most exposed to concussion, and
covered with a membrane which secretes a glairy fluid adapted to
lubricate the opposing surfaces and reduce friction. These joints are
all closed to the admission of atmospheric air and all foreign sub-
stances, for their admission would soon cause serious injury.
The joints are divided by anatomists into several classes, according
to their mechanical construction. Some are simple hinges, admit-
ting of motion in one direction only, as those of the lower parts of
the extremities. The heads of all the four columns of support are
provided with a kind of joint known to mechanics as the ball and
socket. This form admits of the greatest freedom of motion in every
direction ; but the motion is limited in extent by capsular ligaments
which surround the joints as a continuous collar, whose borders are
attached to each of the bones so far from the opposing surfaces as not
to intervene, and yet not so far that they may not limit the motion to
its needs. These capsular ligaments serve another useful purpose.
Being air-tight, when the limb is off the ground it is supported in its
place by the pressure of the atmosphere, estimated by Borelli to be
equal, in the hip joint of a man, to a lifting force of twenty-six pounds.
The force thus gained is set free to be employed in locomotion. Each
joint constitutes by itself an interesting subject for study, as they all
differ in some important particular, according to their uses. The
construction of the hock joint is quite unique, and has no analogue
in man ; and that of the hock of the ox is quite different from that of
the horse. The interlocking grooves are oblique, so that when the
posterior extremity is brought forward to pass its fellow, fixed upon
the ground, it is carried obliquely outward, independently of volition ;
and when all danger of interference is passed, and the limb is again
extended to reach the ground, the foot is carried obliquely inwards, to
resume its place under the centre of gravity. This will be referred to
more fully when considering the action of the posterior extremity.
The construction of the joints at large would serve as a subject for a
monograph of great interest; but to be fully understood it must be
studied ensis in manu.
A detailed description of the bones will not be attempted. They
are proverbially a dry subject ; but for the convenience of those
who require it, a reference plate is presented, lithographed from a
photograph; and it is hoped that it will, through the eye, give the
necessary information to enable the reader to understand the mechan-
ical movements without the study which abstract description would
require. But the vertebra, or spinal column, as the keel or bed-plate
connecting the various parts of the machinery, requires further
The term "spinal column," as applied to the skeleton of quadrupeds,
is a misnomer, derived, like most anatomical names in comparative
anatomy, from its analogue in man. The spine being horizontal
in quadrupeds, and not vertical, as in man, the term " column "
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is inapplicable to them. The word " spine " is also objectionable,
as it is derived from the processes which superficially mark its
course. There seems to be no objection to the term " vertebra," as
a collective noun applied to the whole or any number of its parts. As
it is the keel and connection of the various parts of the animated
engine, so it is the term from which has been derived the name for the
whole divi>ion of animals to which quadrupeds belong, Vertebrates.
The vertebra of the horse is divided into five groups, differing ma-
terially in their mechanical, even more than in their physiological rela-
tions. These groups are the Cervical, the Dorsal, the Lumbar, the
Sacral, and, lastly, the Caudal. The cervical vertebras have an im-
portant relation to locomotion, second to no other division. They are
provided with spines along the median plane, as are all the vertebrae,
and transverse projections or processes, which afford attachments to
ligaments to maintain their relative positions ; and with important
muscles, as will be shown in a subsequent chapter. There is great
freedom of motion of these bones upon each other, in comparison
with those of the next two divisions, especially at the articulation with
the head and the first vertebra of the trunk. This last is a ball and
socket joint of a peculiar construction, to enable the animal to reach
the ground, as in grazing and drinking.
The second group is the dorsal, and it consists of those vertebras
that are articulated with the ribs. Like the cervical, these are pro-
vided with transverse processes, which serve not only for muscular
and ligamentous attachments, but as braces to the ribs. The spinous
processes are longer than those of any of the other vertebras, especially
along the withers, where the suspending muscles of the anterior extrem-
ity originate. It will be apparent to the most superficial observer that
the motion, either lateral or vertical, of the dorsal vertebrae upon each
other is very circumscribed, being limited in a vertical direction by the
long spinous processes and their intermediate inelastic ligaments, and
in a lateral direction by the transverse processes and their articulating
ribs. The next division is that of the lumbar region, or the vertebras
of the loin, with which there are no connecting ribs. As the former
group was more intimately related to the thorax, so those of the lum-
bar are in the same relation with the abdomen. Their broad and
long transverse processes afford a protecting roof to the abdominal
viscera, and give attachment to important muscles of locomotion on
the under surface. There is very little movement of these bones
upon each other, even less than in the dorsal series, so little that
bony union takes place between them in old age ; and the elastic
cartilages that, at an earlier period of life, were interposed between
each of the vertebra become degenerated into bony matter, and that
condition obtains technically known as ankylosis.
The next series, and fourth in order, is the Sacral. Though in
the embryotic stage the sacrum is developed from several centres as dis-
tinct vertebra, yet before birth they are united into one broad triangular
bone, which, uniting with the iliac bones on each side, and the pubic
bones in front, forms the ring known as the pelvis. It is in the lower
or pubic portion of this pelvis that the cuplike cavities are formed
into which the heads of the hip bones are lodged, and where the force
of the levers of the posterior extremities is applied. The difficulty
in locomotion that would be experienced from the want of flexibility
of the spine, especially in old age, is obviated by the freedom of
motion that is secured in the articulation of the last of the dorsal
vertebra with the sacrum. This is what is known as the "coupling,"
as it unites the two distinct systems of locomotive organs, the anterior
and posterior extremities. In the skeleton the connection seems very
slight; but the ligamentous connections are very strong, and the long
muscle of the back (longissimus dorsi or ilio spinalis), reaching out
from its spinal attachments, lays hold of the hip bone (crest of the
ilium) on each side as far as possible from the centre of motion at the
coupling, the more effectually to limit the flexion at that point.
The last group of vertebral bones is known to anatomists as the
coccyx, from its resemblance in man to the beak of the cuckoo; but as
the resemblance totally fails in the Mammalia and all other vertebrates,
we shall call them by the more general name of Caudal bones. They
have no function in locomotion ; but " thereby hangeth a tale."
Between all the vertebral bones is interposed a layer of clastic carti-
lage, of the same nature as that which covers the opposing surfaces
of the joints in the extremities. These cartilages by their elasticity
admit of slight flexion of the vertebra, and they also deaden the force
of the shock transmitted from the powerful impulses of the posterior
limbs. As has been already stated, the flexion is limited by the liga-
ments which bind them to each other. This restriction of motion is
necessary for the protection of the vital organs of the thorax and
abdomen, as well as the great nerve trunk transmitted through a
continuous canal above the bodies of the vertebra, and which is dis-
tributed thence to all parts of the body.
While the three central divisions of the vertebra may be curved
slightly, they cannot be shortened, even temporarily, as may be readily
:i ; and the apparent shortening that takes place when the animal's
limbs are gathered under him is an illusion. The elasticity of the
cartilages and ligaments is greatest in the young ; as age advances,
these tissues become stronger and less flexible, and resist the move-
ments of the joints; they are said to become "stiff." Hence the
importance of early training to give greater sweep and freedom of
motion. This physiological principle is made the basis of gymnastic
training by acrobats, being commenced at a very early age; and the
same is not lost sight of in the exercises of colts.
In contemplating the passive parts of the animated machine ab-
stractly, we see the results of organic life ; they are without sensi-
bility or power of spontaneous motion ; we are familiar with the
mechanical principles involved in their action, and are impressed by
the perfect adaptation of means to ends ; we look upon them as we
look upon the piston, connecting-rod, and crank of a steam-engine :
but upon the muscles we look with far different thoughts ; their action
has no similitude in the inanimate world.
The general appearance of muscle is too familiar to every one to
need description ; its special vital property is contractility. The mus-
cles are both voluntary and involuntary, but it is only the former that
are concerned in locomotion.
If we remove a fragment of muscle from an animal recently killed
and examine it closely, we shall find it to be made up of longitudinal
fibres of a red color bound together by gray fibres of a different tissue.
If we lay this flake of muscle upon a plate and scrape it gently in the
direction of its fibres with a dull knife, we shall find upon the edge of
the knife a red pulp without apparent fibre or tenacity, and there will
be left behind a bundle of strong cellular tissue. It is to the former
that the tractile property belongs ; the latter has no more active power
than other cellular tissue ; yet this pulpy bundle of fibres, as muscle,
contracts under the stimulus of the will with almost inconceivable
power. Borelli estimated that the force exerted by the deltoid muscle
of man in supporting a weight held horizontally in the hand was two
hundred and nine times greater than the weight. Therefore a weight
of sixty pounds held horizontally requires an expenditure of contractile
force of the extensor muscles at the shoulder of more than six tons.
He demonstrated that the force of the extensors employed by a porter
in carrying a weight of one hundred and fifty pounds upon the shoul-
der exceeds three tons.* It follows that this enormous power is
exerted on the extensors of each leg alternately.
The natural stimulant to the muscle is the will transmitted through
the nerves; but the will is not necessary to muscular contraction, as it
has no influence on the muscles of animal life or the vegetative func-
tions of animals, and any of the voluntary muscles may be cut off from
communication with the brain by severing its nervous connection ; yet
contraction may be excited in the muscle so cut off, and this may be
continued indefinitely by further division to a microscopic degree ; still
the fibres will be observed to contract upon the slightest touch, so
closely are the nervous fibres interwoven with those of the muscle.
Electricity when passed through the muscle in a broken current is
a strong excitant to muscular contraction, overmastering the will, and
will even cause contraction after life has left it ; but if the current is
continuous, it has no such power.
The muscular fibres are paralyzed by certain poisons, and stimulated
to violent contraction by others ; and in disease, as tetanus, they may
be so violently stimulated as to be torn asunder. This subject, though
very interesting, is leading away from the special inquiry to which we
* Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology, art. " Animal Motion."
are limited. The muscles are subject to fatigue, and are unable to
respond indefinitely with equal force to the will.
Muscular fibre has other properties to be considered in relation to
motion. Its contractility is limited to one fourth* or one third t of the
length of the fibre, and with a power proportioned to the area of the
transverse section of the muscle. It will be found that the relation of
length to thickness is as action to power.
Deep-seated muscles are often attached to the bones upon which
they act directly ; but as there is insufficient space on the surface of the
bones for all that depend upon them, the extremities of the muscles are
often changed into tendon, a substance altogether different in its me-
chanical properties, being compact, very flexible, and incapable of elon-
gation, in order that it may not give away the contraction effected by
the muscular tissue. By means of this tendinous tissue the power of
the muscle is transmitted when necessary to a considerable distance, or
its direction may be changed by the tendon passing through a sheath
or groove, as a pulley, over an angle. In a humanly contrived machine
it has been found necessary, when the direction of the action of the
power requires to be changed, to use a friction roller or pulley ; but
nature has done better, and contrived a way to avoid friction and wear
that human ingenuity cannot hope to rival. By these means the power
generated in the heavy muscles is exerted at the extremities of the
limbs where all needless weight requires such great expenditure of
power to give it the needful velocity. The power which is conserved
in the body as momentum would be lost in the extremities, for the
motion of the limbs is arrested at every stride. $ The attachment
of these tendons to the bones and the periosteum enveloping them is
so great that detachment by natural means is not mentioned in
works on farriery as among the possible accidents to which the horse
is liable.
* Bishop.
t Bowman, Cyc. Anat. and Phys.
J If a weight of 25 Ibs., sustained by the hand of an arm extended horizontally, requires the
expenditure of an energy equal to 2oq times that weight, or 5,225 Ibs., what amount of muscular
force is expended by the muscles of one of the extremities of a horse to move a 4-ounce shoe on
his foot when he is trotting at the rate of a mile in 2 min. 20 sec.?
During the life of the animal the tenacity of the muscle is greater
than that of its tendon, but when vitality no longer animates it it may
be easily torn.
While the articular ligaments are subject to extension and elonga-
tion by early use and frequent tension, so that greater freedom of
motion than, is normal is acquired, it is otherwise with the muscular
tissue and its tendons. By exercise within certain limits, at regular
intervals, and with proper nutrition, the thickness and power of the
muscles may be increased, and by neglect of these conditions they will
become thin and pale, while contraction will be feeble and not well
sustained ; but they will not become elongated under whatever violent
and long-sustained exercise ; they may increase in thickness, but not
in length. But for this exception to the rule the whole plan on which
animal mechanics was founded would have fallen to the ground with
the animal himself. Were the muscles to become lengthened by use
without corresponding increase in length of levers, the tension neces-
sary to prompt action would be lost, and the effect would be similar
to that upon the tiller ropes of a ship were they to become relaxed.
What would be the effect upon the length of the bones in the period
of time contemplated by some it is useless to inquire, but we know
that the increase of muscular power by increase in the bulk of the
muscle takes place in a short period, and in the lifetime of the indi-
vidual. But while the muscles and their levers will retain their nor-
mal relation of length during life in a healthy subject, that balance is
sometimes lost as the result of injury. A child has been run over by
a wagon ; the wheel has passed over the muscles of the calf so as to
disorganize the muscular tissue; in due time the injured part is re-
stored to health, but the muscle does not develop fully ; it is shortened,
and a form of club foot is the result, in which the person cannot, while
walking, reach the ground with the heel. The child has grown to
manhood, but no amount of use and no length of time will elongate
the muscle. Nature cannot elongate that muscle without anarchy.
The Creator works by law, and to claim an exception is virtually an
admission that we do not understand the law. But what He cannot
do without anarchy his creature can ; he slips a tenotomy knife
beneath the tendon, severs it with scarcely a visible external wound,
the muscular fibres retract the severed ends, and that ever-present,
inscrutable power fills in the space left by the parted extremities of the
tendon with new tendon, the organ is restored to proper length, and
the deformity is removed. If, on the other hand, one of the bony col-
umns of support be broken, for example, the thigh, the creative
power called nature soon sets at work to repair the damage. A seques-
trum, or casing, is formed around the broken extremities, consisting of
inelastic bony matter, to fix them in their position as a temporary expe-
dient, while the slower processes of the more thorough organization of
perfect bone is effected, and the fracture is repaired, after which the
sequestrum is absorbed and carried off through the circulation. While
this change has been taking place in the bone, it would, without surgi-
cal interference, in most cases be shortened by overlapping through the
contraction of the muscles on all sides of it. The consequence would
be that the same disaster would be encountered as in the last case,
where the muscles were supposed to be elongated from use ; but another
law is observed. The muscle that could not elongate will shorten, and
the proportion between the length of the lever and the muscles which
act upon it is restored.
It is said by Professor Marey that " the comparison between ordinary
machines and animated motive powers will not have been made in vain
if it has shown that strict relations exist between the form of the organs
and the character of their functions ; that this correspondence is regu-
lated by the ordinary laws of mechanics ; so that when we see the mus-
cular and bony structure of an animal we may deduce from their form
all the characters and functions they possess." This statement, which
/;/ the main appears to be true, requires qualification. The form of
many muscles is made to conform to the situation and relation of sur-
rounding organs. Nature, while prodigal where she can afford to be,
i.^ economical where there is need of it. This is shown in numerous
ways, and especially in the form and arrangement of muscles.
Beauty of form is never lost sight of in the construction of the
horse; and even great sacrifices of mechanical power are made to
maintain graceful lines, and that general contour of form that gave
to him his matchless beauty, beauty so great that to the eye of a
superficial observer it is difficult to decide whether it is subordinate to
strength or conversely. Both are developed in a perfect horse to such
a degree that he has been a favorite theme of poets and painters since
aesthetic culture has had a place in the history of our race.
Numerous instances might be referred to where use has been sacri-
ficed to economy of space and to beauty; but they cannot fail to occur
to the mind of the anatomist ; and it is premature to introduce them in
this place for the general reader.
FROM the general observations of the last chapter we will proceed
to a consideration of the special anatomy, and analyze the locomo-
tive organs of the horse ; without this preparatory study it will be
impossible for any one to analyze its movements.
Those who have studied and suppose they understand this action
must study again. Let no one be turned from this subject by tech-
nical terms ; they are indispensable in order to make one's self under-
stood by those who have already made a study of anatomy, as well
as to those who would follow the movements by which the various
paces are performed, and speak of a horse in more intelligible terms
than the slang of jockeys and the stables. I think I am warranted
in the belief that we are on a new era in the history of our old
friend and fellow-traveller; the increasing interest that is felt in
America as well as Europe, and the impulse that is sure to be com-
municated by the wonderful revelations of the camera, justify me
in that opinion. I shall not follow the usual order of descriptive
It has already been stated that it is not the purpose of this essay
to teach anatomy any further than is necessary to demonstrate the
mechanism of the locomotive organs, and the manner in which the
muscles act upon their bony levers to produce the movements in
progressive motion.
The long muscle of the back holds the same relation to the loco-
motive muscles that the vertebra does to the bones ; it is a very com-
plex muscle or system of muscles ; it is called by Chauveau the ilio
spinalis, so named from its attachments. It fills the angular space
on each side of the spinous processes, giving roundness to the back.
It is very broad and thick over the loins, and is attached to the
whole anterior border of the ilium and strongly to its crest, or the
hip bone, as seen in Plate III., q; it is attached anteriorly to all
the spines of the vertebra, as far as the neck, and a strong mem-
brane, tendon-like in its construction, that is firmly fastened to the
same bones. This tendinous membrane, called aponeurosis, has
not been mentioned thus far, but it is tissue very important in
its relation to the muscles; it differs from fascia in several respects,
but specially in thickness and strength. It covers nearly all the
superficial muscles, and its strength is so great that the muscular
fibres are attached to its inner face as to a bone, and it serves them
often the same purpose as fixed attachments.*
If one takes an elevated seat with the driver on a coach, and
looks down upon the wheel horse nearest him, he can see the action
of this muscle, and to the best advantage if the horse is trotting.
It will be noticed that the spine is flexed in a serpentine manner
as the diagonal legs move alternately. This movement is caused
by the impulses given to the pelvis by the heads of the femurs
alternately, which would seriously strain the articulation of the pel-
vis with the lumbar vertebra called the coupling, but for the action
of the ilio spinalis, which contracts simultaneously with the impulse
communicated to the opposite side of the pelvis, acting as a brace
checking the wrenching violence of the action and preventing
injury to the coupling. This is the function of the iliac wings, as
* A familiar example may be seen in a porter-house steak of beef. The part known as
the tenderloin is a section of the psoas ; that above is a section of the ilio spinalis over-
laid by its aponeurosis.
referred to in Plate V., a, a, a. The great mass of the muscle
which fills the angular spaces on each side the spines is called
into action in rearing, or supporting, the anterior half of the body
when not supported by one of the fore legs. The greater part
of the ilio spinalis is concealed in the plate by the great glu-
tcus, f, f, c. The centres of motion between the vertebra are in the
bodies of those bones which are most distant from the spines, and
which form the rounded ridge of the backbone as seen in the great
cavity of the trunk. In man they constitute the supporting column.
The ilio spinalis muscle lies wholly above this axis, and its action
abstractly would curve it downward ; it can have no influence, there-
fore, in aiding to support a back load. The mechanical action of
this long and powerful muscle is therefore, first, when they both act
in unison to support the anterior half of the body while the pelvis
is fixed by other muscles; and in the second place, when they act
alternately, to counteract the wrenching effect of the propulsion of
the heads of the thigh bones.
Before we proceed any further with the consideration of the mus-
cles of locomotion, we must agree upon the signification of terms
necessary to be employed.
The words " flexor " and " extensor " may be proper enough in some
of their applications and express fully the action, but not in all. Some
muscles act as flexors and extensors at the same time ; others are exten-
sors at one part of the stride and flexors at another ; and some of the
most powerful propellers in the whole machine are flexors, as we shall
show in the course of this treatise. It will be seen that the actions
of the muscular powers are sometimes quite too complicated to be
expressed in one word.
The term " extensor " is commonly applied to all muscles whose
action is to enlarge the angles and by so doing elongate the limbs ;
but this extension may be forward when the foot is in the air, or back-
ward when the foot is on the ground. There is no word in use by
anatomists to express the fundamental idea, propulsion. The terms
" flexion " and " extension " will be used in the following pages to
express the action of a muscle upon its attachments, without reference
to its functions in locomotion. The words " adductor " and " abduc-
tor," meaning the function of drawing to or away from the vertical
plane passing through the axis of the body, are well enough, but we
must not be misled by the application of these names to muscles which
may have such action to the extent only of five per cent of their work,
and the rest, or eighty-five per cent, devoted to propulsion.
I have already referred to the misnomers in muscles ; they mislead
the mind no less with regard to their action than to their form and
construction. 'What can be more inappropriate than the names semi-
membranosus and semi-tendinosus, meaning half membrane and half
tendon, when applied to the muscles so named in the horse ? They
are well enough when applied to the corresponding muscles in man,
but in the horse they are not at all membranous or tendinous.
We should be glad to dispense with names altogether, and apply
abstract or algebraic terms to avoid misconceptions, if practicable, but
we must use such as are given, and, where there are synonymes, use
such as are least liable to the objection referred to.
There is a group of muscles whose action is to advance the whole
posterior extremity after the act of propulsion is complete. They are
all deep-seated, with two exceptions.
1\\Qpsoas magnus (Plates VI., VII., a, a) has its origin in the abdo-
men, along the under surface of the lumbar vertebra ; its fibres, which
determine the course of its action, are directed backward and down-
ward, and it terminates in a long tendon which is inserted into a rough
ridge on the inner side of the femur, or thigh bone, just below the head
of the bone ; another of this group is the iliacus (c, Plate VII.), which
arises from the lower face of the ilium, or hip. The course of its fibres
is similar to that of those of the psoas, but its origin being farther from
the median plane, its direction is more inward to join the last-named
muscle at the same point on the inner face of the femur. These two
muscles are of delicate organization, and, though differing in form, unite
in their function of flexing the femur upon the pelvis, and so carrying
the whole leg forward. The iliacus, having its course more inward
than the 'other, has the effect of carrying the free end of the femur out-
ward, the " stifle action," so important in the trotting horse.
' '. t
The ten nor vagimc femoris (Plate III., a, a) has its fibres spread
out beneath the skin and the broad fascia of the thigh. It has its fixed
insertion in the crest of the ilium, or hip; its fibres arc about eight
inches in length, and its weight not less than two pounds; its action,
direct and indirect, is upon the thigh to flex that bone upon the
pelvis ; from the shortness of its fibres its action as a flexor cannot
extend beyond three inches, but, being exerted at the commencement
of the flexion, when its aid is most required, it is very useful. It
is intimately associated locally and functionally with the superficial
glutens, which lias one of its attachments at the hip bone, and an-
other at the thigh bone, or femur, about one third of the distance
from its head. This portion, therefore, acts with the last mentioned
in flexing the thigh; the other branch extends alongside of the long
vastus, filling the angular space made by that muscle where it crosses
the great glutens. (This is made clear by Plate IV., where the muscle
under consideration is dissected away, along with the tensor vaginae
femoris.) It will be seen that it arises from the spine, in front of the
origin of the long vastus, v, v, v, and its tendinous insertion is at 6,
or third trochanter of the femur (see skeleton, Plate II., 6); the action
of this division is therefore that of an extensor, and directly over the
head of the femur at e, as we shall see when we come to consider the action
of the posterior extremity as a unit in locomotion. The action of this
muscle has been a controverted question. Blain teaches that it is a
flexor of the thigh, Bourgelot classes it with the extensors, and Chauveau
is of the opinion that it is an adductor. This confusion has evidently
arisen from confounding the action of its two branches. From these
two fixed insertions, so remote from each other, the fibres converge to
the movable insertion at the ridge on the femur, as already stated,
about one third down the length of the shaft, and between them the
fibres of the muscle are lost in the fibres of the underlying muscle and
barely distinguishable in the plate. The form of this muscle has never
indicated its use in locomotion, but when removed, as in Plate IV., its
value as an element of beauty is made apparent.
The sartorius (Plate VI., i>) of the old authors, so called from its
analogue in man, and so called in man because it is the muscle which
enables him to assume the cross-legged position of a tailor, is named
by Chauveau the long adductor. It has its origin on the tendons of
the psoas muscles at a distance from the mesian plane equal, in the
normal position of the animal, to that of its insertion at the inner head
of the tibia. The distance of its corresponding origin in man would
carry it fully seven inches farther outward and across the great body of
the iliacus muscle. Its action, therefore, is simply as a flexor of the
thigh upon the pelvis, but from its great length, eighteen inches, it has
a sustained action in carrying the limb forward to a new position.*
There are some' other small muscles, such as the pectincus, small
adductor, etc., whose weight is so inconsiderable, and whose action is so
near the centre of motion, that they cannot be supposed to have any
special influence in locomotion. They are of more interest to com-
parative anatomists, but mechanically they are of small weight. The
action, such as it is, seems to be allied to the last, or that of adduction,
to preserve the balance between the adduction and abduction of the
great propelling muscles, for it appears to be true that nothing in the
animal economy was made in vain, and no vacuum exists. When
the ancients propounded the law that "Nature abhors a vacuum," they
" builded better than they knew."
In the complicated mass of muscular forces involved in each of the
propelling limbs of the horse, it is impossible to determine whether
adduction or abduction predominates: under the exercise of the will,
either may do so ; but when the mind of the quadruped is directed to
some exterior object, to the attainment of which the co-ordination of
all the locomotive forces are necessary, the adductor and abductor
action of the muscles may be considered literally side issues, and the
* Herein lies a curious conundrum for the Darwinians of the atheistic school. If changes
were by insensible degrees, how did the origin of this muscle become transported from the
superior spinous process of the ilium in man, to the tendons of the psoas muscles across that
body of the defenceless iliacus ? That it should have been effected by imperceptible degrees
seems entirely out of the question ; and as there is a doubt as to priority in order of descent,
or ascent as the case may be, we will take the liberal side, and admit that the two families,
Equus and Homo, are of equal age and still evolving, but like parallel lines they can never meet ;
that the Equus can never be so much as a ninth part of a Homo, or a Homo so much as an
Equus asinus without tangling his legs worse than with a too free use of his favorite beverage,
or an interchange of the origins of the sartorius.
propelling forces alone are called into play, and every muscle "of the
line " has to contribute its part, and the action is automatic.
The muscles not employed as propellers or carrying weight are
few and small, as we have seen, bearing no comparison to the others.
We will consider the latter in their order, commencing with the great
glutens (Plates III., IV., V., c, c, t,). It is a muscle of the first rank.
As seen in the plates, it reaches forward over the loins and adheres to
the strong aponeurosis, or tendinous membrane overspreading the ilio
spinalis. It passes over the concave border of the ilium, or ridge
between the hip and the angle of the croup, covers the upper surface
of the ilium and the ligaments that cover its openings, and is at-
tached to the spines of the lumbar vertebra and those of the sacrum ;
it is also attached to the strong aponeurosis that covers it externally
like all superficial muscles of the back. This aponeurosis is repre-
sented as dissected away in the plate. Its fibres all converge outward,
downward, and backward to their insertion into the great trochanter
behind the head of the bone, best represented in Plate V., c, c, c. (The
great trochanter is so largely developed that it forms the short arm of
a lever, bent at almost a right angle to the shaft of the bone, whose
length does not exceed four inches from the head of the bone as a
fulcrum.) The length of its longest fibres is twenty-six inches, and
its average weight in two well-bred mares * was found to be sixteen
pounds. It occupies a very advantageous position to give speed to the
movements of the leg. The length and volume of its muscular fibres
enable it to keep up a sustained action from the time the hind foot
takes the ground under or in advance of the centre of gravity, until
it leaves it after completing its propulsive effect. When the foot is
off the ground it furnishes the sinews of war, offensive and defensive.
The distance from the insertion to the fulcrum or head of the bone
being so short, it causes the foot when free from the ground to move
with great velocity.
The weight of the animal from which the measurements and weights of muscles are given
was about 1,100 Ibs. These figures must not be considered absolutely correct, but relatively.
In a horse regularly worked the muscles will be found to be heavier than in the better bred but
idle ones sacrificed on the altar of Science.
If the reader will refer to Plate III. he will see only a portion of
this muscle ; its extent forward is concealed by the pearly-colored apo-
neurosis which completely covered it and is only partially dissected
away; and by comparison with Plate VIII. and the skeleton, Plate II.,
he will find little difficulty in understanding the relations of this muscle
with the surrounding parts. In the 'succeeding Plate IV. the whole
outer face of it is exposed except the extreme posterior border, which
is covered by the long vastus muscle crossing its fibres diagonally; the
concavity in the ridge of the ilium from b to g, Plate VIII., shows also
the aponeurosis which covers the ilio spinalis and which serves as
a base for the attachment of the gluteus forward of the ilium. At
Plate V., h, are seen the attachments by tendon of the great gluteus to
the trochanter. (See skeleton, Plate II.) The centre of motion, or
head of the femur, for the posterior limb is a little in front of this, lies
deeper, and cannot be felt externally. This trochanter, therefore, is
relied upon by horsemen as a point for measurement, and is known to
them as the " whirlbone." Referring again to Plate VIII., the severed
tendons of the great gluteus may be seen at c, c.
The deep gluteus is well shown at P, Plate VIII. It arises on
the shaft of the ilium, and its fibres follow the course of that bone and
adhere to it as they descend. Its muscular fibres are intermingled
with tendinous bands following the same course, and the insertion of
the muscle is into the neck of the femur, or thigh bone, just outside
of the capsular ligament. Its curious construction of mingled bands
of tendon and muscle gives it the properties of both, the passive re-
sistance of the former and the active aggressive force of muscular fibre.
The spiral course of its fibres indicates that it is intended to rotate the
leg outward, but more especially to hold the head of the femur in its
socket. Its influence in locomotion must be small.
The long vastus is second only to the great gluteus in weight,
its equal in length, and from its great advantage of position much
superior to it in effective power to perform the work required of
it. Its position may be seen in v, Plates III., IV., IX., and in Plate
V. its absence is more conspicuous than its presence could be. Its
insertion is into the external condyle of the femur (see Plates II.
and V.), and its relations are so perfectly shown in the plates as to
scarcely require description. Plate IV. shows the superficial gluteus
removed and the anterior margin of the long vastus exposed. It
has its origin on spines of the sacrum posterior to those occupied
by the superficial gluteus ; it fills the deep fossa anterior to the
tuberosity of the ischium, and overlaps the hip joint four inches ;
being lodged in this deep fossa, its position is fixed at that point;
its direction is then changed so as to run downward and forward
until it reaches the lower end of the femur, where its tendon is con-
founded with that of the patella.
.\s thus described, the posterior branch, which is admitted by
anatomists to be distinct in structure and function, is detached. (It
is marked s' in Plate V.) This is done for reasons which will be
given when we come to consider the semi-tendinosus. Its weight,, as
so limited, is nine pounds, its length twenty-six inches. The space
occupied on the surface in front of the tuberosity of the ischium
is eight inches, or four inches over the trochanter of the femur, and
the circumference of the body of the muscle at that point is fifteen
It is nearly uniform in thickness throughout, except as its mus-
cular fibres give way to tendinous ones toward its lower insertion.
While the great gluteus has some of its fibres measuring as long, the
great mass of them, on which its strength depends, are not half that
length. The concentration of the fibres of the gluteus before their
insertion into the trochanter is very great, and as their power depends
upon their number and not upon their length, that of this muscle is
enormous. Though it acts on the short end of the lever, the line of
its action is very direct. But the vastus acts upon the extremity
of the long end of the lever, and from the great length of its fibres
sustains its action for a long time. These muscles hold a very
interesting relation ; they supplement one another. The power of
the gluteus is effective in giving velocity, as in kicking; that of
the vastus is effective in pushing the body over the foot on the
corresponding side, when it is fixed upon the ground, as in rearing
and leaping ; in the hare, whose mode of progression is by a sue-
cession of bounds, it is developed enormously in comparison with
the gluteus.
The semi-tendinosus is represented in Plates III., V., IX., s, s, s,
where its situation is shown immediately behind the vastus. It
has two origins, one from the sacral spines and the first of the tail
bones or their ligaments, the other from the lower face of the
ischium (Plate V., i), below which they unite. It divides into three
branches; the central is attached to the strong fascia covering the
muscles of the calf, the other two reach forward to be attached to
the same common fascia, one on the inner and the other on the
outer face of the leg; the latter is spread out as far forward as the
insertion of the long vastus ; the inner to a corresponding position
on the inner face. These lateral branches overlay the muscles of
the calf, or gastrocnemii, and give that compressed form that distin-
guishes the calf of the horse's leg. It is a powerful muscle. Its
weight is eleven pounds. The distance of its origin at the spine
to its insertion at the head of the tibia is twenty-eight inches.
The part of the muscle which has its origin at the ischium, to the
same point of insertion, is nineteen inches, and its greatest circum-
ference is ten inches.
The action of this muscle cannot be represented by any abstract
terms. It has two functions : it lifts the leg when the act of
propulsion is complete, flexing the leg upon the thigh until the
line perpendicular from the centre of motion is passed, when it
relaxes, while the extensor proper of the leg, the triceps femoris (/, /),
carries the foot to a new position in advance. As soon as the foot
is upon the ground and the limb feels the weight thrown upon it,
then the full power of this muscle is called into play, no longer
a flexor, and not as an extensor, nor even as a propeller, but as a
supporter, which character it performs until the direction of its fibres
passes the perpendicular, when they cease to act until the next stride
begins, so that when the foot is off the ground in the first quarter
of the stride it is a flexor; it is inactive in the second quarter,
and a supporter in the third, while it plays no part in the fourth.
The importance of the proper understanding of the action of this,
as of other muscles of the haunch, will be appreciated when we come
to the consideration of the fast paces.
The external branch of the semi-tendinosus has by all anatomists
been claimed as the posterior part of the vastus, while it was admit-
ted to be anatomically and functionally distinct. There is really no
relation between them except in their juxtaposition and in their super-
ficial appearance. Their connection is by a thin layer of cellular
tissue, while the connection between the branch in question and the
semi-tendinosus is most intimate, the partition being an aponeurosis
to which both are attached, as in penniform muscles, from which it
is impossible to separate the muscular fibres without laceration. I
have no doubt that the point will be conceded by all anatomists when
their attention is called to it, especially since it is shown that the
annexation I propose makes a complete organ of the semi-tendinosus,
with all its parts acting in perfect accord.
The semi-membranosus adjoins the last-described muscle and is
concealed by it in Plate V. Their relation is seen in the posterior
view, Plate IX., /. This muscle also has two origins like the last,
but that at the spine is by a thin tendon, and this branch is small
(Plate VI., a). The great mass of the muscle (/, Plate VII.) arises
from the lower surface of the ischium (Plate VII., c]. It is thin pos-
teriorly where it overlaps the semi-tendinosus (at /, Plate IX.), but be-
comes thick where it unites with the so-called great adductor (g, Plate
VII.). The lower insertion is broad, the posterior portion of it is into
the fascia of the leg, and the anterior by tendon along with that of the
great adductor into the interior condyle of the femur opposite that
of the vastus ; its weight is six pounds. The thin posterior portion
of the muscle acting on the fascia of the leg flexes it like the semi-
tendinosus, but the great mass of it acts in unison with the great
adductor (g, Plate VII.), with which it is so closely united that it is
difficult to separate them.
The great adductor also rises from the ischium in front of the
last described, and is inserted into the internal condyle of the femur;
its weight is three and a half pounds, and its fibres are fifteen inches
in length, though fibres are thrown off along its course to the femur,
4 6
on which it acts as an adductor when the animal is at his ease, but the
joint action of these two muscles is as supporters. They have no
attachments forward of the centre of motion at the head of the femur,
but like the semi-tendinosus they permit the limb to be advanced to
the extended position to support the centre of gravity, and then, in
common with all the great muscles of the posterior extremity, they
support the whole weight of the body, and then only for a limited time
do they act as extensors. This will be better understood when we
analyze the movements in the gallop.
There is only one other muscle of the thigh which we will notice,
\hzgracilis (Plate VI., m). (It is dissected away in Plate VII.) It is
superficial on the face of the thigh, and is nearly as broad as it is long.
It has its origin on the symphasis of the pubis where it meets its
fellow of the opposite side. It is about an inch in thickness in the
centre, thins off each way, and is attached to the fascia of the leg
for a distance corresponding to its origin at the pubis. It corre-
sponds to the gracilis in man, and is called by Chauveau the short
adductor. Its weight is about two and a half pounds. The course
of its fibres is downward and about five degrees outward. In its
contraction the force is as an adductor about ten per cent, but as a
supporter to the weight of the body when it rests on one foot its value
is not to be overlooked.
The want of knowledge of the action of the limbs in locomotion
has led the student of anatomy into a too circumscribed view of the
action of the muscles. It has led him to give first consideration to
forces of secondary importance. It will be seen by a general view of
all the muscles of the haunch that those acting upon the thigh bone,
or femur, from above are inserted on the outer face of the bone, while
those from the lower surfaces of the pelvic bones are inserted into the
inner face of the femur. The primary object in both is locomotion, but,
from the indirect manner of the application of the forces, they are all
necessarily compound ; for example, the great gluteus acts as a pro-
peller and adductor, while the great adductor acts as a propeller and
adductor, the Eduction of one being compensation for the seduction
of the other. In a humanly constructed machine, as a locomotive,
where the angles are right angles, and the application of power is direct,
there is less need of composition of forces ; but the design of nature
was higher: beauty was superadded to power, and for this end great
sacrifices of power were made. Though difficult of demonstration, it
may be taken for granted that at full speed the adduction and abduc-
tion of all the muscles in action counterbalance each other; if they did
not, either the feet would interfere or they could not be brought to
support the centre of gravity, and in either case the animal might fall.
How is it possible for the student to learn the action of the machine
when the muscular forces are represented as chiefly composed of
adductors and abductors, as if the animal was designed to move side-
wise like a crab ? These names may be perfectly proper to express
the action of their analogues in man ; for man, of all his relations, has
the most inefficient locomotive apparatus, but the greatest diversity of
action in his extremities.
Leaving the muscles of the haunch, we descend to those of the leg.
The triceps fcmoris (Plates III., IV., V., IX., /, f) is the great
muscle that occupies the front of the thigh. As its name implies, it
has three heads. The middle one has its upper insertion in the
smooth facet of the pubis, directly above the acetabulum, or cup, in
which the head of the femur rests (Plate II., 6), and is called the
rcctns. The other two heads are attached to the broad face of the
femur, as close as possible to the head of the bone without inter-
fering with its free action. Its length is eleven inches only, but
its circumference is twenty, and its weight nine pounds. It cannot
parated into distinct muscles, and it acts as a unit in extend-
ing the leg forward through the patella, or knee cap, its point of
insertion ; but the rectus, or middle head, being attached to the pel-
vis, has the power of moving the femur on which it lies, as well as of
extending the leg in common with its fellows, so that the action is to
extend both bones on a line forward ; but the patella is not, like that in
man, a part of the knee, or articulation, between the femur and the tibia;
it has a place of its own. The front portion of the lower extremity of
the femur is elevated or built up, and furnished with a trochlea, or
grooved surface, with cartilage and synovial membrane, expressly for
the patella to play on as over a pulley ; the tendon of the triceps, after
being inserted into the patella, is extended beyond it to be inserted into
a rough tubercle in the head of the tibia. Anatomists call the portion
below the patella, ligament. Physiologists may say that the patella is
developed in the tendon. We will not discuss the question. It is to
us as if , the bone was developed in the tendon as it is developed in ten-
dinous fibres elsewhere, and the ligament below the patella does the
same office as the tendon above. The force of this powerful muscle
as determined by its circumference can only be compared to the great
gluteus, and is called into action after the extreme of flexion has been
passed, and the femur has been brought forward by its flexors already
referred to, and in which the rectus may have borne a part. After the
foot has taken the ground it steadies the stifle, or knee, and regulates
the flexion of that joint as the angles close to shorten the limb. After
the perpendicular is passed, it again resumes the offensive and extends
the leg in giving the propulsive impulse, which it maintains to the
close of the stride. It rests, therefore, but for one fourth of a stride,
and if the rectus acts as a flexor of the thigh at the same time with
the flexors of the thigh upon the pelvis it has but little rest.
The gastrocnemii (Plate VIII., in, m), or superficial muscles of the
calf, hold a corresponding position on the leg to that of the triceps on
the thigh, as well as to the levers on which they act; but while the
action of the triceps is very simple and easily comprehended, that of
the muscles of the calf is very complicated, and can only be understood
by a study of the whole limb as a machine of which the voluntary
muscles form a part. Whether it will be possible for me to interpret
the action of the muscles and the use of the tendons with their checks
and reinforcements without the actual limb before us is a question to
be determined. An attempt was made to represent the parts by the
aid of the camera, but the results were not satisfactory. Plate X. is
from a careful drawing by Hahn. The gastrocnemius of the right side,
g, is dissected away from its origin in the femur and raised by hooks
to show the perforatus tendon,/. This tendon is inserted into the
femur about two inches from the joint, along with the gastrocnemii
muscles. It has a muscular body of its own, not distinguishable in
the drawing, being there confounded with the body of the muscle lying
upon it. On their way to their insertion into the point of the hock the
tendons of these two muscles are twisted upon each other half round, so
that the pcrforatus tendon, which was beneath, reaches its insertion at
the outside of that of the gastrocnemius. The tendon of the latter is
fixed immovably to the bone, and acts to extend the metatarsus below
it, but the tendon of the pcrforatus passes over the point of the hock,
where it is provided with a pulley similar to that at the knee, over
which it glides to a very limited extent, being strongly secured by liga-
ments to the point of the hock, /i; it then passes down behind the
metatarsus, or cannon bone, to the pastern, or fetlock joint, where it
throws out a ring to encircle the tendon of the perforans, as seen at
r. (These two tendons, forming the " back sinews," would be liable,
from the extreme flexions and extensions which take place at that
joint, to be dislocated, but for the extraordinary provisions made to
prevent it.) It then passes to its insertion into the bones of the foot.
When the knee is flexed, as in the plate, this tendon (perforatus),
being inserted into the femur above the knee joint, is relaxed, and the
extensors of the foot, which are located in front (a), are permitted to
straighten or extend the foot, as may be seen in all the plates where
the hind foot is in the act of taking the ground ; but when the leg is
extended upon the thigh the tendon is drawn upward, and flexion at
the joints of the foot is effected, the extensors at a offering no oppo-
sition, so that extension of the superior joints, as in the act of propul-
sion, causes flexion of the inferior. This movement is independent
of muscular action, and may be shown in the dead subject, except so far
as the act of the extensor of the foot (extensor pedis, a), is concerned ;
but the spindle-form body of the perforatus muscle connected with the
tendon contracts by volition, and flexes the foot with its added force.
If we consider the limb in the position as given in the plate, and
then forcibly extend the foot until the pastern joint, S, is in the posi-
tion it takes when the horse is standing, the tendon, /, will become
tense, and also the ligaments that limit its motion at the point of the
hock,//; beyond that it cannot be moved by any force that we can
apply short of breaking. It is tied by the ligaments at the apex of
the hock; and if the knee and hock joints are both extended it will
not change the relations, for the tendon, c, m, and the shaft of the
tibia, n, k, being parallel, and the distance from the hock joint, n, to
the apex of the hock, c, and that from the centre of motion, /, at
the knee to the insertion of the tendon at the femur, m, being equal
and parallel, they form a parallelogram, and changes in the angles,
as in flexion and extension, will not affect the length of its sides.
When the knee or the hock joint is flexed or extended, the other
must follow. When the horse is standing, and the knee joint is ex-
tended, as well as the hock, the horse rests mechanically upon the
tendons, but the knee is extended by the triceps, b, whose tension
requires an effect of the will and tires in time, so that we see him
when at his ease rest on his hind legs alternately, which he never
does with his fore foot, except when one of them is lame.
The perforans muscle, which is so intimately related to the last
has its origin below the knee joint and on the upper and posterior
face of the tibia and fibula, below the popliteus (Plate X., e\ and its
action is not influenced by the flexions of that joint. Its tendon takes
a more direct course to its insertion ; it passes through a groove at the
base of the calcaneum, near , on its inner side and as near the joint as
possible. Strong ligaments cover the groove where the course of the
tendon is changed, to prevent its displacement. It then passes down
behind the metatarsal bone and inside the tendon of the perforate
On its course it receives the tendon of another small flexor, and fror
the posterior surface of the metatarsus an auxiliary tendon or ligament
of nearly its own size. In the plate this branch is shown relaxec
The tendon, thus reinforced, is of twice the size it was before the
union, and passes above the pastern through the ring, r, of the perfc
ratus, and is inserted into the bones of the foot.
This muscle, being entirely independent of the femur and the
muscles attached to it, may flex the foot independently, and does so ii
propulsion in the last part of the stride, and also in the same contrac-
tion aids by its pressure at the back of the hock in extending that
joint, thus extending one joint while it flexes another. When the foot
rests in the standing position, the auxiliary tendon, t, above mentioned
converts the part below it into a continuous tendon, which performs
the office of a ligament, in common with that of the perforatus, to
aid the suspensory ligament in supporting the weight of the body in
the extreme extension which the pastern undergoes when the centre
of gravity is over it, as in rapid locomotion.
Muscular fibres are found by anatomists scattered through the
tendons below the hock ; but for all mechanical purposes the sources
of power are above and away from the extremities, where the velocities
are, at times, more than twice that of the body and the momentum
must be arrested at every stride. The hock in quadrupeds represents
the heel in man, and the elongations of bones and corresponding
tendons are necessary modifications of the plan for the development
of speed.
There is a group of small muscles which form what is called, by
some horsemen, the second thigh ; they are on the outer face of the
thigh and below the stifle, or knee, and in front of the calf. The
perforans (d, Plate X.) is in this group, occupying the intermediate
The flexor of the metatarsus has its upper attachment on the
tibia, in front of the perforans, and its lower in the metatarsus, below
the joint, after passing under the annular ligament. It is minutely
described by Chauveau. It flexes the hock joint and is a feeble an-
tagonist to the gastrocnemii, but only acts when the foot is off the
The lateral and anterior extensors occupy, as their names indicate,
spaces on the tibia in front of the latter, and their tendons, after passing
under the annular ligament, in front of the hock, descend to be in-
serted into the anterior face of the foot ; they act, therefore, to flex the
hock and extend the foot, raising the toe as the limb is thrust forward
to take the ground.
The suspensory ligament is one of the most wonderful contrivances
in the whole locomotive machinery of the horse. Though a ligament
only, with its action beyond the control of the will, it is no less an active
organ, whose function is indispensable to locomotion, and the interest
in it has been much increased by the developments of the camera.
It is not necessary, in order to consider the relations and functions
of this organ, that we should enter into a detailed account of all the
ligaments of the foot; they are very numerous. Anatomists limit the
name to the strong band that has its upper attachment to the meta-
tarsus below the hock, and its lower one into the sesamoid bones, and
they have given the name of sesamoid ligament to that continuation
from those bones to the foot. We will not discuss with anatomists the
question of their identity, but, mechanically considered, they arc one,
and, like the patella, the sesamoid bones may be said to be developed
in the ligament. If the name were limited to the first, it would be a
misnomer; for, to suspend the weight that is thrown upon it, it is
necessary that a counter force should act upon the opposite border of
the sesamoid bones equal in strength to that above it. If either part
were divided, the other would have no function, but united they con-
stitute an instrument that often bears the weight of the whole body.
It is a broad, thick band, resembling tendon, and may be felt above the
fetlock between the splint bones and the tendons of the perforatus
and perforans or " back tendons." This ligament fixes the sesamoid
bones in the position above and behind the articulation of the first and
second metatarsals, so that when the second metatarsal or pastern
bone is thrown out from under the first metatarsus they are drawn
into its place, and, their articular surfaces forming an arc of the same
circle, the loss of the pastern is not felt ; but the sesamoids now bear
the whole weight of the body, and they have no support but the sus-
pensory ligaments in which they are imbedded, and the tendons of the
perforans and perforatus, which cross the bridge between the sesa-
moids. The perfect equilibrium between the strength of the ligament
and the force it is required to resist is of the utmost importance.
When the horse is standing upon all four feet, the weight is equally
distributed, and the angles formed by the pasterns with the bones
above are small, for the weight upon each one is not great enough to
spring it far; but in running, the whole weight in every stride is
borne by each foot in turn for a short time, and the elasticity and
strength of its suspensory ligament must be, with that of its reinforc-
ing tendons, just equal to its requirements to support the body, for
they are all placed beyond the control of the will. If it yields too
much, the fetlock is liable to strike the ground ; if it is too rigid and
it does not yield enough, there will be stiffness and a hobbling gait.
\Ve shall have occasion to refer to this again when we analyze the
There is no one fact, brought out by the experiments of Mr. Stan-
ford with instantaneous photography, of more interest than the action
of the suspensory ligament.
When the horse is standing, it will be seen that the pastern forms
an acute angle with the metatarsus. Its position indicates the length
of the ligaments, and it is their resistance that prevents the further
extension of the joint ; but in running and fast trotting, this ligament
is put upon the stretch, when the limb is shortened by the weight of
the body, to such an extent that the pastern is made to take a position
at right angles to the metatarsus and horizontal with the ground. (See
the plates of horses speeding, passim.) Elongation of the limb begins
immediately after the perpendicular is passed, and as the fetlock was
the last joint to reflex in shortening, so it is the first to recover its
normal extension. This spring continues its action during the rest
of the stride, straightening the fetlock joint as the leg becomes elon-
gated after the passage over it of the centre of gravity, still sustain-
ing the body with undiminished force until it leaves the ground, when,
being relieved from the superimposed weight, the flexor muscles re-
gain control ; and it is the reaction of these ligaments, with that of
the flexor tendons acting as ligaments, that produces the quick move-
ment, quicker than is possible in muscular contraction, which causes
the feet to throw dirt ; it is effected after the weight is off the foot
and the propulsive effort is complete. There is no muscular action
en the foot until after the pressure is removed and the flexors regain
It is an exceedingly difficult problem to determine the absolute, or
even the relative, work performed by the different muscular powers
employed in locomotion. There are many different elements entering
into the calculation, that are impossible to be weighed. Muscles
differ in quality as well as quantity ; some contain a larger proportion
of cellular or fibrous tissue than others, and will have less power, other
things being equal. For example, the glutens and vast us are coarse
muscles capable of resisting external force, and therefore popularly
believed to be strong ; but it is in a meaning corresponding to tough-
ness, and that quality depends upon the amount of interstitial cellular
tissue they contain, which tissue has no contractile property, and can-
not originate motion; while the psoas and iliacus, having but little
such cellular or fibrous tissue, have little power to resist external force,
but have a larger contractile power as measured by the areas of their
Muscles do not often have their force concentrated at both extremi-
ties, but it is distributed over the face of their levers at different dis-
tances and at different angles, as in penniform muscles, and nearly all
others in a greater or less degree, and at different angles at each change
in the position of the levers. Though we recognize the same general
mechanical principles, we cannot apply the same mathematical rules
usual in mechanics ; add to these elements of uncertainty the com-
position of forces often in the same muscle, and we see how for-
midable are the difficulties in the way of reducing animal mechanics
to an exact science.
But while we cannot accurately determine the forces in detail, we
can in the aggregate. We see all these different and often antago-
nistic forces united in their action around a common centre of motion,
as the hip joint, to effect one result. There are certain general princi-
ples, however, that we can deduce from the facts before us. In order
that the foot shall reach the ground as far in advance as possible, to
support the centre of gravity as early as may be, and as long as pos-
sible, and that it may use its propulsive force later, it is necessary
that it should be possessed of sufficient length ; but it is bearing a
burden whose weight we will suppose to be a thousand pounds, and
going at the rate of twenty miles an hour, and the momentum is the
product of that weight multiplied by the velocity. This is a respon-
sibility that could not be borne on stilts. The difficulty is overcome
by so constructing the whole limb that it shall be extensible, thus
having all the advantage of length without its disadvantage ; and the
centre of motion is actually lowered several inches that its practical
length may be increased. For this purpose the system of levers is
iiM'd, which, by their flexion and extension, practically shorten and
lengthen the limb. The acutcness of the angles at which these bones
intersect each other is, therefore, an important element in the mechan-
ical action ; the angles to be acute require long levers, and long levers
-Mtate long and powerful muscles to "man" them. These quali-
ties must be bred.
Flexibility of articular ligaments may be acquired by early training
and regular exercise, but the proportions of the body are inherited.
Length of muscular fibres and acute angles of the levers on which they
act, give sweep of limb, and strength depends upon the number of them,
and the effective power of both depends upon the will or courage ; but
all these qualities would be vain if the motion of the extremities were
not so co-ordinated that their functions should be performed without
interference one with another.
When the speed of the horse is twenty-five miles an hour the rate
of the hind foot in passing that on the ground is twice that, or fifty
miles an hour. It is even greater than that, for the velocity of the foot
in its stride is an accelerated one during most of the distance, and may
be supposed to be most rapid midway. Now the movements of the
posterior extremity on its centre are controlled by voluntary muscles,
liable from various causes to be irregular, as they must necessarily be
from the ever-changing centre of gravity which it is designed to sup-
port. There would have been danger of one foot striking the other leg
in passing, an accident technically called interference, but another
danger still greater existed at the stifle from the blows that joint would
be liable to give the abdomen in its extreme and violent flexions. It
is the duty of the iliacus muscle to guard the abdomen from this vio-
lence, and when it performs its office well, it gives the " stifle action "
so much admired ; but while the upper end of the leg (tibia) is thrown
out in this action, the lower end is correspondingly thrown in, and the
foot would be still more so but for the unique construction of the hock
joint. .The interlocking grooves of this joint are not direct, as in other
hinge joints of the body, and as the corresponding joint in man is, but
oblique, so that when flexion takes place at that joint, the lower ray
is carried obliquely outward, and when the other leg is passed, and the
extension takes place again, its action is reversed, and the foot is
returned to the position required to support the centre of gravity.
By this simple contrivance the danger of this accident is placed beyond
the will of the animal, and in well-formed horses beyond the possibility
of accident. Some horses circumduct the hind feet more than others,
and in others the stifle action is most marked ; but it is not common
to see both excessive in the same horse.
There is often considerable difference in different horses in the
length of the hock. The long hock gives the greatest power, for the
reason that the leverage is greater; but what is gained in power is
lost in speed.
Sometimes there is a looseness in the articulations of the tarsal
bones immediately below the hock joint, which, by their freedom of
motion upon each other, enables the joint to become more extended,
and the last effort of the gastrocnemii muscles is given with great
advantage of mechanical power from the practical shortening of the
arm of the lever on which they act, and from the ability the limb
acquires of retaining its position upon the ground for a longer time.
It is a point in some fast animals, but would be considered a defect in
a draught horse.
Having given a detailed description of the parts concerned in the
motion of the posterior limb, and their action, I will now endeavor to
show how the machine acts as a whole. If the reader has familiarized
himself with the parts by reference to the plates, while he has followed
the description, he will experience no difficulty ; but if he has not, it
would be as well for him to pass over the rest of this chapter. The
analysis has no reference to any particular gait or co-ordination of the
limbs with each other, but it is confined to the action of one posterior
limb alone, and it will be found to be the same in all the paces, differ-
ing only in the degree of action according to speed.
We will take for our guide the posterior extremity as it has just left
the ground, after the act of propulsion is complete, and in the medium
pace, the trot.
In order to aid the mind in understanding the actions of the muscles
upon their levers, the skeleton is mounted with movable joints, by
which means we are enabled to adapt it to. every position required.
By this means it is a comparatively easy matter for one to understand
the action throughout (See Plates II., XIV., XV.)
Retraction begins by the relaxation of the gluteus maximus, the
vastus, semi-membranosus, and the great adductor. The triceps also
relaxes, and the tibia is free to respond to the contraction of the semi-
tt nclinosus lifting its lower extremity. The tensor vagina?, acting from
the hip upon the knee, the psoas magnus, iliacus, and sartorius from
the inner and upper wall of the pelvis, with the anterior branch of the
superficial gluteus from the hip, all act in concert to advance the thigh,
the knee becoming more flexed as it is advanced ; and with the knee,
or stifle, goes the hock joint, by the relaxation of the gastrocnemii and
the mechanical arrangement before described.
The flexors of the foot act at the instant their tendons are released
from the forced service as ligaments, and continue their action until
the perpendicular from the centre of motion to the ground is reached,
which marks the point of greatest flexion of all the joints. The flexors
of the thigh, already mentioned, maintain their tension to keep the
Imver extremity of the femur in its advanced position. The semi-
tendinosus relaxes, while the triceps extends the tibia upon the femur
already well thrust forward, and the muscles of the calf, acting on the
point of the hock, extend the metatarsus synchronously with the feeble
action of the extensors of the foot. The perforans and perforatus do
not take part in this movement, as their action would counteract that
of the extensor. In this order the foot takes the ground, the heel
being the first to make the contact, and by its elastic frog it is pecul-
iarly fitted to receive the shock. It will be observed, by reference to
the plates, that the bones of the entire limb are at angles best adapted
to meet the contact with the ground. The toe is raised to avoid trip-
ping, and allow the elastic frogs of the foot to make the first contact.
The instant of contact, when the foot is as far forward as possible
to sustain the centre of gravity, marks a sudden change. The flex-
ors of the thigh, the sartorius, tensor vaginae femoris, iliacus, and the
anterior branch of the superficial gluteus, give way, while the weight
of the body relieves the extensors of the foot. The function of the
limb at this time is to support the weight of the body and prevent it
from pitching headlong ; and to this end, with the exception of the few
small muscles just mentioned, the entire mass of the muscles of the
limb is called into action ; and now that the foot is a fixed point, the
semi-tendinosus acts in unison with the others to take the weight of
the anterior half of the body. This is the use of all the vast mass of
muscular power developed in the haunches and long muscle of the back
(ilio spinalis). In this manner there is no act of extension, further
than the extension of the body upon the thigh ; it is not until tht
centre of motion, or head of the thigh, has passed over the foot that
extension is possible ; and then the nearer to a horizontal the directior
of the force applied, the more effective it will be. When the limb is per-
pendicular, the whole force is employed in supporting weight ; but when
it is exerted upon the ground at an angle of forty-five degrees, one half
of the force is spent in supporting weight, and the other in propulsion
if it could be exerted horizontally, it is plain it would be exclusive!]
spent in propulsion. From the time when the foot is planted ir
advance, until the leg has passed the perpendicular, the force is alsc
compound, a part being employed in supporting weight, and the other
in resistance which must be drawn from the momentum ; this last is
reduced to the minimum by the gradual giving way of the triceps anc
gastrocnemii, and contraction of the great propellers of the hauncl
especially the vastus, which forces the trunk over the supporting liml
The act of propulsion by the vastus begins from the moment that the
hind foot takes the ground and its contraction begins. The effect of
the contraction of this muscle is to shorten the distance between its
two extremities ; one of these extremities is attached to the lower
end of the femur and the other to the spines of the sacrum behind
the croup, but the course of the muscle is not direct (see Plate V.),
being deflected at the head of the femur, and most so when the
foot first reaches the ground. At that time it presses with most
force against the articulation pressing it forward, so that it extends
the trunk upon the limb and forces it forward in the same act.
After passing the perpendicular, and the angles of the extremity are
increased, the semi-tendinosus ceases to act, and the extension is con-
tinued by the vastus, gluteus, triceps, and muscles of the calf, to the
end of the stride. In the flexion of the limb that takes place as it
shortens in order to give uniform support, and not be itself crushed,
the flexion is effected by the weight borne, in which the flexors proper
bear no part ; their action could have no other effect than to bring the
body to the ground, but it is effected by the gradual giving way of the
triceps and the suspensory ligament.
It will be seen that but a small part of the immense power of the
extensors, or propellers of the posterior extremity, is spent in the act
of propulsion, even when the animal is in full motion, but in supporting
weight; and as the extension of the leg increases and the burden is
assumed by another limb, it is the better enabled to exert its propelling
power. As the limbs are successively relieved of that duty by their
alternates, they are in better position to exercise their functions as
This analysis of the mechanism of the posterior extremity will be-
come of importance when we come to apply it to the run or greatest
speed of the horse. The reader who has not had the patience to fol-
low us through the study to the end of this chapter will not be able
to master the next, and we would advise him to pass it over, and take
up the fifth chapter, where we will endeavor to apply the demonstra-
tions contained in these two ; but such must take the facts on which
the theory of motion is based for granted.
THE anterior extremity furnishes a subject for the study of anirm
mechanics of more interest even than that which has demanded our
attention in the preceding chapters.
There appear at first sight greater difficulties in the way
human ingenuity in the application of mechanical power for propul
sion to the anterior part of the trunk. The mind is led by the simili-
tudes of comparative anatomy, and the popular hypothesis of evolu-
tion from one common parentage, to look upon the anterior extrem-
ities as limbs in progress of development into arms or tool-makers.
The mind jumps, like the kangaroo, from the marsupials to the mon-
keys, to the orang-outang, and then to man by such easy leaps that
it is difficult to persuade one that he has advanced to his opinions
without substantial
To these causes must be ascribed th
universal opinion of writers on the horse that the fore legs are
merely supporters; and the latest and standard authority on the
horse, in England, compares them to the spokes of a wheel, and asserts
that their only functions are to support the centre of gravity and keep
out of the way of the propellers, the hind legs. It will be apparent
to the reader before the conclusion of this chapter, if it is not ,so
already, that each limb is required to support the body and act as
propeller in turn, and that the anterior one does more than its share
of both offices.*
It will be shown, when we come to analyze the fastest pace of
the horse, that the strongest propulsive force of either of the legs
is given with the anterior one in each stride ; indeed, it is so strong
as to raise the centre of gravity several inches above the horizontal
line of its motion. As the case now stands between the anterior
and posterior extremities, they may be compared to a peasant and
his wife in certain foreign lands, in which the latter is required to
share equally with her husband in all his labors and also to bear
burdens which he cannot share with her.
The beautiful contrivances by means of which the anterior limb
is enabled to support weight as a crutch, to be acted upon as a
passive instrument in propulsion, and at the same time to consti-
tute an autonomy of its own, independent of both the others, for the
accomplishment of the same general result, cannot fail to excite the
most profound admiration, and wonder that its mechanism has not
been better understood.
On reference to Plate IV., s, one will see the posterior half of
the great serratus brought into view by the removal of the superficial
muscles that hide it in Plate III. It is so called because its lower
border is serrated or notched, the lower attachments being to the
first eight ribs ; the anterior half of the muscle is concealed by the
shoulder. This muscle is fan-shaped, its fibres converging upward
* Mr. Walsh (Stonehenge) gives the authority of M. Baucher for the statement that
the weight borne by the anterior and posterior extremities, as determined by placing them
upon different weighing-machines, was as 210 for the former to 174 for the latter, the total
weight of the horse being 384 kilogrammes.
to a common centre on the inner face of the upper border of the
shoulder-blade, or scapula, as seen in Plate XL, .$, s.
When this muscle is recently exposed it presents delicate nacre-
ous tints rivalling pearl. The artist has suggested them only in his
drawing. This pearly coat of the muscle is tendinous in its struc-
ture, and extends over the whole exterior surface of the great serra-
tus. These tendinous fibres extend throughout the muscle, but are
in greater proportion near the centre or long axis (Plate XI., a).
These tendinous fibres, concentrated at a, mav be considered the
centre of motion for the whole limb when supporting the weight of
the body, whether acting alone, or in conjunction with one or more
of the other limbs, and whatever may be the direction of its axis
with reference to the trunk ; but this centre of motion must not be
confounded with the centres of motion existing in the joints ; it
holds a corresponding position with the " whirlbone," or hip joint
of the posterior extremity. This intermixture of muscular and
tendinous fibres existing in this muscle is found in others, as the
deep gluteus described in the last chapter, enabling it to perform
the functions of both muscle and ligament. The tendinous fibres
which are in the greatest proportion in the long axis, when put
to their tension absolutely limit elongation to that degree, and ar
useful when the animal is standing ; as these tissues are incapable
of fatigue, so he has no occasion to rest them. With the aid of
another muscle, which we shall describe further on, having the same
characteristic construction as the serratus, the horse is enabled to
stand in his stall all day without resting either of his fore legs ;
while in the hind leg the labor falls upon the triceps (Plate IV., /),
of pure muscular fibre, and he will be observed to rest his hind legs
alternately. (See page 50.)
The muscular fibres of the serratus are most abundant at the
anterior and posterior borders. The former aid in preventing shock
when the foot first takes the ground, and the latter in giving the
final propulsive effort when it leaves it ; and by their joint action
they relax the tendinous fibres, or bands, which, being passive, have
no such power in themselves.
The centre of motion in the anterior extremity may, in its
mechanical function, be considered as a joint, and the only kind of
joint possible in that position; were it constructed like the corre-
sponding joint in the posterior extremity, it would be inevitably
broken by the contact with the ground, thrown out as it is in
advance of the centre of gravity. For the same reason it is not
provided with a collar-bone, or clavicle, as in man and the anthro-
poid animals, in whom that bone fixes the shoulder and makes it
the centre of motion for the limb.
On reference to Plate IV., s, the great serratus will be seen as a
fan-shaped muscle which has its lower attachments spread out over the
first eight ribs. From the attachment to the different ribs its lower
border is like a saw, from which its name, "serratus." The artist
has vainly attempted to represent the nacreous color, in which it vies
with the mother-of-pearl. This is the tendinous covering to the
muscle, and it is much intermingled with tendinous fibres, which
limit elongation and take the strain from the muscular fibres when
their contraction is not called for. The upper attachment of this
muscle is on the inner face of the scapula, or shoulder-blade (Plate
XI., (?), below the cartilaginous border, with the dark line mark-
ing the boundary between it and other muscles. In the centre
are seen the gray fibres of tendon, which are continuous below,
and enable the animal to rest the muscular fibres and limit their
elongation. The space covered on the inner face of the scapula is
nine inches in its greatest measurement by two in its least.
The space below the section of the serratus, as seen in s, s,
Plate XL, and between that muscle and those of the inner face of the
shoulder-blade, is lined with loose cellular tissue, which, while it con-
nects the opposing surfaces, allows of unrestricted motion upon the
centre, a, and prevents friction. The body in a standing position
rests the weight of the anterior half upon these serratus muscles as
upon a sling to which the anterior extremities correspond to crutches.
. But when the foot of one of these limbs is off the ground the
serratus is relaxed, and the limb would drop but for another set of
muscles, which, though feeble, are sufficient for the purpose which
they serve. This is the special function of the trapezius (g, g,
Plate III.). It is so perfectly represented in the plate that it requires
but little description. It is divided into two parts by the spine of
the scapula (see Plate II.), into which both divisions are inserted
along with a band of the ligament of the neck, which seems to be
sent off for the purpose of aiding with its passive force the trape-
zius in holding the limb to its place. The upper insertions or origins
of both divisions are in the same ligament of the neck, or yellow cord,
as it is well called by hippo-anatomists. This cord is distinguished
not only by its color but by its elasticity from all other ligaments.
It seems to be, indeed, a special contrivance to afford means for the
attachment of important muscles when the spines of the vertebra
are too remote to afford it. It extends from the head to the strong
spines of the dorsal vertebra, where it becomes merged into ordinary
ligament. It may be that the branch of this cord that is inserted
into the spine of the scapula is itself sufficient to support the weight
of the anterior limb, and that the muscle under consideration is used,
the two parts acting alternately, to aid in locomotion, exerting their
forcj at the upper or cartilaginous extremity of the scapula and above
the centre of motion or attachment of the serratus ; but however that
may be, its aid in locomotion cannot be great, as its entire weight
does not exceed two ounces. Its thickness does not vary much from
half an inch. It is separated from the skin only by the general
aponeurosis, or fibrous covering described in a former chapter, and
which has been dissected away from the whole body in the subject
of the drawings.
When the trapezius is removed, the rhomboideus is brought into
view. This muscle is so named from the corresponding muscle in
man, in whom it is in the form of a rhomboid ; and if the name were
limited to the muscle so far as it corresponds to that in man there
could be no objection to it, but since Cuvier's time it has been made
to embrace another muscle, the levator anguli scapula (Plate IV., /)
To this union in the horse there can be no objection, anatomically
or mechanically; but when so united they are no more like a rhom-
boid than a tent-pin, and the name of levator anguli scapulae should
have been applied to the united muscles, if either; but the worst
part of the history is that the name of levator anguli scapula? was
applied to another muscle, the trachclo subscapularis (Plate IV., g, g).
No name could be more inappropriate than this; in no way, directly
or indirectly, can it be said to lift the angle of the scapula, as may be
seen by reference to the plate. The function of this last-named mus-
cle has, so far as I know, never been understood until now, and will
be explained further on. But this furnishes another example of the
confusion arising from hippo-anatomists being misled by human anat-
omy. The levator anguli scapulas is quite distinct from the rhom-
boideus in man, having its origin in the transverse processes of the
vertebra of the neck, while in the horse its origin is in the spinous
processes of the vertebra, as far back as the withers and along the
yellow cord. (See Plate IV.) In man, its name, lifter of the angle
of the scapula, is good, for that expresses its function ; in man,
however, it is no locomotive organ, but even more necessary to
the complicated movements his superior extremities are required to
From the necessity which exists, for the reasons given, of restoring
the old name to the trachelo subscapularis, the restoration of the
name levator anguli scapulae to its old association becomes necessary,
if it is not to be abandoned altogether. In order to make intelli-
gible a description of the mechanical action, there is need of definite
terms, and we will apply the name levator anguli scapulae to include
the rhomboideus as well.
The contraction of its fibres does not take place until the leg is
extended and the foot rests upon the ground ; it then acts to draw
forward the tipper or short end of the whole extremity as a lever
with its fulcrum on the ground and its weight at the centre of motion.
The course of its fibres is accurately drawn in the plate, the limb
being in its normal position. Its posterior fibres are few, but as it
extends forward they become numerous and more powerful. Their
insertion is into the inner border of the cartilage (Plates IV. and XL,
, , ;/); at the anterior border, ', is the insertion of the muscle known
before the time of Cuvier as the levator anguli scapulae ; they form a
considerable mass, and join on to the serratus, s, so nearly in the
line of the centre of motion that it may be that they act in con-
junction with the trachelo subscapularis, whose insertion is at g,
Plate XI.
The last-named muscle is well exposed in Plate IV., g, g. As
there seen, it is triangular. It arises from the transverse processes of
the last six cervical vertebra, and its fibres converge to their inser-
tion on the inner face of the scapula, in front of the insertion of the
serratus, or centre of motion. Its muscular fibres are in little fasci-
culce, or bundles, separated by interstitial fibrous or cellular tissue,
to admit of great freedom of motion upon each other in the extreme
vertical flexions of the neck while grazing. It is a powerful muscle,
its weight being three and a half pounds ; but its action has not been
comprehended, its fibres being nearly horizontal on an average, or a
little upward, and their insertion on a line with the centre of motion ;
it can have no active agency in locomotion, though with the joint
action of the levator anguli scapulae it may move the upper end of the
scapula forward, as far as permitted by the tendinous fibres of the
serratus and the branch from the yellow cord ; but that cannot be
much. Until the theory of quadrupedal motion was understood its
function may well have been overlooked. It is now clear. Its attach-
ment being on a line with the centre of motion and directly upon a
fixed point, it cannot be supposed to aid in the motion of the scapula
about that point; but when the animal is running, and the fore leg
is thrown forward and takes the ground, it is required alone to
receive the weight of the whole body or be itself crushed by its
momentum. This will be resumed after the action of the triceps
brachii at the same instant is shown. It is sufficient for the present
that the action of this muscle abstractly be understood and remem-
bered. Its general appearance is so like the muscle above it, the
scale nus (m, m, m), having similar origins along the cervical ver-
tebra nearer the head, and its insertions into the spines of the dorsal
vertebra (hidden in the plate by the overlaying levator anguli scap-
ulae), that it is apt to be confounded with it; but the scalenus is
not a locomotive muscle, its function being to raise the head when
the pair act unitedly, and to bend the neck laterally when each
muscle acts separately.
\Ve have shown how the anterior extremity is used as a supporter
to the trunk, or crutch, and how it is itself supported in its position
when not so acting. The mechanical principles involved are very
simple. The method in which mechanical power is applied to the
same limb as a lever in locomotion will be found to be no less so, and
if the contrivance does not display as great ingenuity as some parts
of the locomotive organs, it is because there was no occasion for such
display : it has the merit, at least, of being very primitive.
\Yhile there is no bony connection between -the anterior extremity
of the horse and its trunk, therefore no fixed point of resistance
and reaction, as in the posterior extremities, the centre of motion is
attained equally well, and it is difficult to conceive how it could serve
its different relations to the trunk any better. The centre of motion
in the anterior extremity is in the scapula, as high as a bony base could
be reached. This, if not anatomically so, is mechanically a joint, and
corresponds to the hip joint of the posterior extremity, the shoulder to
the stifle, and the elbow to the hock. In this view, there is no reversed
order in the joints, as has been stated, but the same mechanical relation.
The freedom of motion at its centre in the limb is less than in the
corresponding joint in the posterior extremity, but there is all that
is required ; it is placed considerably higher than in the latter, in
order that more motion should not be required ; and the restriction
at that point is compensated for by the superior flexibility of the lower
joints. The total result is that the stride of one limb is just equal to
that of the other.
The limb, acting as a lever of the third order, having its centre of
motion as high as possible, should have the power to move it applied as
low down as possible, within the periphery of the body ; but the farther
from the fulcrum, or centre of motion, the power is applied, the greater
will be the space moved over, and, consequently, the longer must be
the fibres of the muscle.* This requisite is furnished by the great
dorsal (Plate III., d, d), which has for its base the spines of the last
See page 31.
fifteen dorsal and the lumbar vertebra. Though spread over so much
space, the muscular tissue is not correspondingly extensive. The pur-
pose was to gain advantage of position as far back as possible to give
the most direct action in the line of motion to be produced. As the
fibres of its thin tendon (Plate III., /,/") converge forward and down-
ward, they become more muscular, and most so just behind the scapula,
which is covered at its posterior angle by it, and it is covered in turn
in the same region by the dorsal division of the trapezius, g ; after pass-
ing beneath the muscles of the shoulder (as seen in Plate XL, d,) its
fibres again change to a thin, flat tendon, which unites with the tendon
of the muscle, f, and is inserted with it into the internal tubercle of the
humerus, about one third of the way from the shoulder to the elbow.
If this muscle acted when the foot is off the ground, it is plain that it
would flex the shoulder; but its function as a propeller is called into
play when the foot is the fixed point, and the limb is supporting the
weight of the body, and its articulations are all set. Under such con-
ditions it forces the body forward over the foot; but its power as a pro-
peller is second to that of the great pectoral (Plate III.,/, p). The
limits of this muscle are a little in doubt. It is represented in the
plate with the boundaries as given by Chauveau, but it is confounded
so closely with the superficial muscle of the skin (paniculus carnosus)
on its upper border that it is difficult to separate them. For our
purpose, it is sufficiently shown in the plate, extending from the tenth
rib over the thorax, covering the serratus magnus as high as the lower
border of the great dorsal, and as low as the middle of the thorax,
where it unites with its fellow of the opposite side. Its fibres con-
verge as they are directed forward, and form a mass of muscle between
the arm and thorax so great as to be second in power to no other loco-
motive muscle in the body. Its insertion is into the inner tubercle
of the head of the humerus, as seen at p, Plate XI., as near to the
shoulder joint as possible. The great dorsal may perform two func-
tions, flexion or propulsion, as mentioned. The muscle now under
consideration has but one. Acting directly upon the angle of the
shoulder, there is no loss of its immense power by indirect force, and
from the moment that the foot touches the ground, its power is felt in
forcing the body over it. As there is no loss of force in indirect
action, so there is none spent in adduction or abduction, or in sup-
porting weight ; that office is performed by the muscles of the limb
acting automatically, and the effect of its traction upon the shoulder
is to support it and prevent it from giving way while the limb is
playing its independent part in sustaining the superimposed weight
of the body.
There seems no room for a doubt that the conjoined action of the two
sets of muscles last described is the most powerful propelling force in
the whole locomotive organism of the horse. To make this apparatus
complete, there was necessary some force to return the limb to its posi-
tion forward when the act of propulsion was completed. This force is
found in two sets of muscles, the masloido humeralis and the superficial
pectoral; the former has its fixed insertion at the mastoid process of the
temporal bone, or base of the skull, behind the ear, and to the first four
cervical vertebra.* It is shown in Plate III., m, m, m, passing downward
and backward along the whole length of the neck and over the point
of the shoulder, enveloping it, and is inserted at the humerus, about
half-way from its two extremities. (See Plate IV., i, where the muscle
has been cut away from its tendon of insertion. It is also severed at/,
leaving only its upper portion in situ.) It is six inches in width where
it envelopes the shoulder joint, and an inch in thickness, and gives
off, about thirteen inches above its insertion, a branch to be inserted
at the anterior border of the sternum, or breast-bone. This branch,
which could not be well shown in the drawing, is known to anatomists
as the cuticularis colli. There does not appear to be any occasion to
consider it a distinct muscle ; its fibres are interwoven with those of
the muscle under consideration ; its function is to aid that muscle,
and fix it in its position over the shoulder joint. Though so thin,
the weight of the mastoido humeralis is not less than five pounds.
To give effect to this muscle,- it is necessary that its base, the head,
should be fixed. This is effected by the complexus, and its allies of
' This relation is not well shown in the drawings, owing to displacement, caused by the
cord used in suspending the subject ; the artist drew the parts as he saw them, and the
inaccuracy was overlooked until too late to be corrected.
the neck. From this it follows that the horse, in speeding, should be
allowed to follow its instinct in fixing the position of the head. The
ally of this muscle is the superficial pectoral, which has its insertion
on the anterior extremity and lower margin of the sternum, or breast-
bone. The course of its fibres is backward, downward, and outward ;
they divide into two branches : one is inserted into the anterior ridge
of the humerus, along with the mastoido humeralis ; the other is
spread out on the fascia of the inner face of the leg. The action of
this muscle is to carry the whole limb forward, in common with the
last described, and at the same time to adduct it to counteract the
abduction of that muscle.
The action of these two sets of muscles is so unlike any other that
it is not readily understood. Let us suppose a man propelling a boat
through the water by means of an oar, and the handle end of the oar
made fast to the side of the boat opposite to that on which he is
seated, but free to move about a pin ; then let the man remove the
rowlock from its place and substitute for it his hands ; next make fast
the blade of the oar in the water, and the man shall then apply his
strength to the oar : the boat will move. Now, if this illustration be
modified so that the oar shall be vertical, and the blade of the oar be fixed
to the bottom, and the handle to a fixture above the man's head, the
similitude will be complete. Of course the nearer the power is applied
to the foot, or fulcrum, the faster the upper end will move, but the
greater must be the expenditure of power. There is another muscle,
acting from without upon the shoulder, whose office has been doubtful,
the small pectoral. It arises from the keel of the sternum, or breast-
bone, and passing between the shoulder and the neck, fills the angular
space in front of the scapula. It is thick below, where it is turned over
the breast, and becomes smaller as it is reflected on the scapula, tri-
angular in form, to fit the space it fills, and is the muscle against which
the collar rests ; this is a muscle of considerable power, being two and
a half pounds in weight. It is attached to the muscles of the scapula
by strong cellular tissue, and to the strong aponeurosis that covers it.
Besides being an element of beauty, by giving graceful contour to the
parts, it seems to have no other function than to pull forward the whole
limb, rendering tense the tissues connecting it with the trunk, and by
so doing extending the limb to enable it to take the ground farther in
advance, and leads us to infer how great importance was attached by
the Master Mechanic to utilizing every available means to enable the
fore foot to reach the ground as far in advance as possible, that no
time might be lost in giving support to the centre of gravity.
We have thus far considered the anterior extremity as a passive
tool taken as a unit ; it remains to study it as an active automatic
machine. It is difficult to trace any analogy between the mechan-
ism of the anterior and posterior extremities thus far; but in the
system of levers, by the closing of which the limb is shortened, and
in the opening of which it is lengthened, we recognize the same
mechanical combinations that are employed for the same purpose in
the posterior extremity.
In Plate IV. the external view of the shoulder and arm is given
showing its relation to the trunk and that of the muscles to each other.
The pearly-colored upper border of the scapula, n, n, is seen with
the levator anguli scapulae still attached. This border, which is car-
tilaginous, is not seen in the prepared skeleton, but a rough margin
to the bone indicates its former connection. No muscle of the ante-
rior extremity, as an automatic machine, is attached to this cartilagi-
nous border. It has not sufficient firmness to resist force from below,
but its tenacity is sufficient to withstand great traction, and its flexi-
bility is such as to prevent any danger of fracture by force so applied.
The spine of the scapula may be traced from the cartilage downward,
near the middle of it, to which the trapezius and branch of the yellow
cord were attached. This spine divides unequally the scapula ; in front
of it is the superspinatus muscle, s s, whose terminal tendons pass
over the head of the humerus, or shoulder, one to be inserted into the
external tubercle on the outside, and one third of the distance from
the point of the shoulder to the elbow. This is the most consider-
able division, and acts to extend the humerus on the scapula and
rotate it outward. The other tendon is inserted near the internal
tuberosity; it unites with its fellow in extending the humerus. Con-
sidering this muscle mechanically, it would be proper to regard its
lower insertions as one, overlaying the joint beneath the mastoido
humeralis, and acting on the head of the humerus as a direct extensor
of the humerus ; its weight is two pounds, and its length seventeen
The shoulder joint is constructed on the same principle as that
of the hip, but the head of the humerus is broader and less convex,
and the cavity of the opposing articular surface of the scapula too
small to lodge it; but it is supplemented by cartilage and ligaments,
and held still more strongly in its position by the powerful tendons
which envelop it. The head of the humerus is held in its place
by the further assistance of the atmospheric pressure equal to one
hundred pounds. Though freedom of motion is not so great as in the
corresponding articulation in man, it is much greater than that of
the hip joint.
The two muscles that especially guard the joint and prevent later
displacement are : the infraspinatus (i s), which is attached to the ex-
ternal surface of the scapula, and nearly fills the space below its spine.
It is inserted into the head of the humerus, at <?, directly opposite the
shoulder joint; the other is the subscapularis ( Plate XL, /), having
its attachment on the inner surface of the scapula, and occupying the
whole face of the bone below the insertion of the serratus, s, and
is inserted into the inner side of the head of the humerus, directl)
opposite to the insertion of the infraspinatus. These two muscles
are of the same power, each weighing two and a half pounds, and of
the same length. Acting simultaneously, they neither flex nor extend
the humerus, the abduction of the one cancelling the adduction of
the other, but they are powerful braces to the joint.
There is another pair of muscles, whose functions cannot be under-
stood unless considered together. If the reader will refer to any one
of the silhouettes of the trotting horse, and watch the action of the
fore leg from the time that the foot leaves the ground until it takes a
new position in advance, he will perceive that all the joints are flexed
rapidly before the foot passes the perpendicular. The flexion at the
shoulder is performed by these two muscles. One is called, by Chauveau,
the long adductor ; teres minor, by Percivall ; and the scapula hume-
ralis, by Legh. The other is called the adductor of the arm, by
Chauveau ; (ors major, by Percivall ; and the great scapula humeralis,
by Legh. One acts on the outer and the other on the inner aspect of
the humerus, at equal distances from the shoulder joint, and nearly one
third of the distance from the articulation ; one from the outer, and the
other from the inner surface of the scapula; and the weight of each is
one pound, while their length is the same. They cannot be conceived
as acting independently of each other, and it is useless to consider
what their function would be when so acting. Conjointly they are
neither adductors nor abductors, but flexors of the shoulder. While
the bone is thus flexed, the limb is brought forward by the mastoido
humeralis, which is inserted into the same ridge as the external of
these two muscles.
When the time comes for a thorough revision of the names of the
muscles of the horse (and that time must come soon, for it is now con-
fusion worse confounded), it is to be hoped they will be determined by
their mechanical action without reference to the action of corresponding
muscles in man. The camera has now made the task comparatively
easy. When that time comes, these muscles should be known as the
flexors of the shoulder, internal and external.
There are two flexors of the forearm. The flexor brachii is a short
tendinous muscle, originating from the lower anterior extremity of the
scapula, just above the centre of the shoulder joint, by a strong tendon,
which is developed into a patella-formed cartilage, moulded to the
double groove on the anterior angle of the humerus, over which it
glides as a synovial articulation, or a pulley, in the same manner as the
patella of the stifle joint, the grooves being deep so as to prevent
lateral displacement in extreme flexion. Below the shoulder it forms
a cylindrical muscle ten inches long. Its muscular fibres are inter-
mingled with tendinous bands, by which its elongation is limited, and
it is enabled to act as a ligament to support the weight of the body
without fatigue.* It is inserted into the capsular ligament of the
elbow joint, and the rough tuberosity at the head of the radius. It
raises the forearm, and is one of the muscles on which, in part, the high
See description of serratus muscle, page 62.
action of the knee depends. The other is the humeralis externus of
Percivall. It originates behind and below the head of the humerus,
and, winding around that bone, fills the furrow of torsion (Plate II., 34).
It is inserted into the anterior heads of the radius and ulna, and acts
as an assistant to the flexor brachii : the two muscles originate from
opposite sides, but act as a unit lifting the forearm. It has greater
power than its associate, being larger and more muscular, and from
its spiral course its fibres are longer ; it is capable, therefore, of giving
higher action than its' associate.
The triceps of the arm is a powerful muscle which plays a very
important part in the mechanism of the anterior extremity. As its
name implies, it is a three-headed muscle, if we choose to consider it
one muscle, and it is an extensor; but the correspondence in name
with the triceps extensor of the thigh should not lead us to confound
its mechanism with that of the latter. The triceps of the arm
(Plate IV., K) fills the angular space between the point of the elbow
(olecranon process) and the lower border of the scapula. The infra-
spinatus, i s, covers the origins of the three heads, but their com-
mon insertion at the short end of the ulna, as their lever, is clearly
shown in a strong tendon. The two upper heads are attached to the
lower border of the scapula, and when these divisions contract they
tend to close the angle between these bones ; but the third, or lower
head, is not attached to the scapula, but to the posterior face of the
humerus. This branch, sometimes called the short extensor, being
independent of the scapula, may act in extending the arm when the
angle formed by the latter bone and the humerus is so small that
the limit of contraction of the other two branches is reached, as is the
case in every instance before the fore foot leaves the ground in run-
ning. The triceps is a powerful combination of muscles. Its length,
varies with the distance from the joint at the shoulder, being seven-
teen inches at its greatest and eight at the least distance. Its weight
which is eight pounds, does not give a full conception of its power,
for its action is nearly direct.
The anconeus is a small muscle attached to the capsular ligament
of the elbow joint, and is inserted into the olecranon process of the
ulna, or point of the elbow. It contracts synchronously with the
triceps, and its action is upon the capsular ligament to pull it out
of the way and prevent its being pinched in the elbow joint as it
becomes relaxed in the extension of the forearm.
The muscles of the forearm are, like those of the posterior ex-
tremity, simple and direct in their action in extending and flexing
their levers, and, like those of the foot, their functions have been
well studied and are well known. But the complex forces are the
more difficult to understand the nearer we approach their sources,
and have led to great diversity of opinion ; the manner in which a
movement was produced could not be explained for the reason that
the motion itself was not understood. Now that the camera has ren-
dered those motions easy of analysis, it is not difficult to show how
they are produced.
The corresponding angles being reversed, the anatomical relations
of the great flexors of the feet are changed. In the posterior limbs
their tendons passed over the angles of the hock to be inserted into
the bones of the feet. In the anterior extremities the corresponding
tendons are enclosed in a sheath of the strongest possible construc-
tion, into the outer wall of which the pisiform bone is placed, to afford
better protection to the tendons in the flexions of the knee joint, which
is double, so that when the flexion of one is completed it is continued
in the other, and greater flexion of the metacarpus upon the radius
is effected than would be possible were the joint single. It will be
noticed, on reference to the silhouettes, that the knee is never bent
when the corresponding foot is on the ground. It plays its part in the
role of a crutch consistently, but it performs a lively part in another
character when relieved from the weight of that responsibility.
The tendons of the perforatus and perforans are utilized as liga-
ments as in the posterior extremities, but with some variations rendered
necessary by the different conditions. From the posterior surface of the
metacarpus, or cannon bone, below the knee, a ligament is thrown out
to the perforans tendon to reinforce it, and other ligaments or tendinous
connections are made to prevent extension of the joints beyond that
of the standing position, by which the tension is taken from the flexor
7 6
muscles, and their tendons act as ligaments, their size being out of
all proportion to their use as tendons ; and in the extreme extension
of the pastern the strain comes upon both tendons and the suspensory
ligament, and extension beyond that in the standing position is effected
only by the weight of the body, and at the expense of the elasticity of
all combined. While rupture of these tendons is of rare occurrence
under the strain thus put upon them, the sheaths through which they
glide above the pastern are not unfrequently torn transversely, giving
rise to inflammation and adhesions.
It is stated as a general proposition that the tendons are inexten-
sible. This statement requires qualification. That they are so under
all ordinary uses as tendons must be admitted, but when they are serv-
ing as ligaments, in concert with the suspensory ligaments, they are
put upon a strain that muscle is incapable of applying or resisting. It
is therefore, as we have elsewhere shown, that powerful branches are
attached to the cannon bone to relieve the muscle of a strain it is not
capable of resisting. The organic tissue is tendon, but its use in exten-
sion of the foot beyond a certain point is that of a ligament to limit
extension ; but as a ligament it does not absolutely arrest extension,
for it is elastic and allows of further extension after it is put upon the
stretch ; or the extreme extension that takes place in the fetlock, to
allow the pastern to take a horizontal position, would not be pos-
sible. Further proof of this will be given after a quotation from Mr.
Percivall, which I shall give in extcnso, for the reason that the informa-
tion conveyed by it is very important, and few in America will have an
opportunity to consult his works, from their extreme rarity.
" The parts sprained are naturally supposed to be ' the sinews.' But
sinews or tendons, being both inelastic and (per physical force) inexten-
sible, they themselves can neither be stretched nor strained so long as
they maintain their cohesion of substance. To discover, therefore, in
what part the sprain or lesion is likely to be situate, it will be advisable
to submit the leg in its normal state to anatomical examination.
" If we strip or dissect off the skin from the flexor tendons, \ve find
underneath, between them and the skin, a quantity of loose cellular
tissue, cutting away which we come to a close, or proper, tunic of the
same substance immediately enveloping the tendons. This under, or
proper, covering, however, is fibrous as well as cellular in composi-
tion. For the space of a hand's breadth below the knee the glistening
(tendinous) fibres may be seen crossing obliquely over the tendons, as
they run from the annular ligament of the knee to be implanted
into the external border of the cannon bone behind the external
splint bone. This forms the sheath of the tendons. And when we
slit it open we discover a cavity possessing a surface of a synovial
nature ; and a sac, or dursa, thereby formed, which extends half-way
down the leg, and is then closed. Through the bursa runs the per-
forans tendon, which may indeed be said to form a posterior boundary
to it. The interval between the flexor tendons and the suspensory
ligament, in their front, is likewise filled with interuniting cellular sub-
stance. This brief and imperfect anatomical sketch may serve to illus-
trate the nature of sprain. It will at once strike us that, although
the tendons themselves are incapable of extension, and are too firm
ind strong in their texture to sustain hurt from any common accident,
that they are surrounded and connected together, as well as to the
aarts contiguous to them, by a soft, delicate tissue which must, every
ime they are forcibly pulled or stretched, be extremely liable to stretch
and lacerate ; and this, in fact, it is which in all ordinary cases consti-
tutes the true and sole nature of ' sprain of the back sinews.' "
What is proved from the facts presented in the above quotation
is that laceration of the sheath of the tendons could not take place ex-
cept by the elongation of the tendon itself, and on that elasticity, or
spring, of these tendons, in conjunction with that of the suspensory
ligament proper, the mechanical action depends and in it their chief
value consists.
The action of the anterior extremity as a unit in locomotion may
now be studied. As the limb is thrown forward and in the act of
taking the ground, it forms a straight line from the elbow to the heel ;
the toe is raised, as in the posterior extremity, and contact is made
with the heel. When the weight comes upon the foot the suspensory
ligament is put upon the stretch by the reflexion of the pastern. The
knee is kept in a straight position by the tension of the extensors,
7 8
while the impulse is transmitted to the humerus at the angle of the
elbow, too rapid flexion at that joint being prevented by the force of
the triceps at the point of the elbow and the contraction of the great
pectoral, which, acting on the shoulder, prevents the sudden flexion of
that joint, at the same time that it forces the body over the limb ; in
which action it holds an analogous relation to the vastus of the pos-
terior extremity, the application of mechanical power being utterly dis-
similar, but the result in locomotion the same. The great dorsal aids in
this office, though less efficiently. The superspinatus, acting from the
scapula upon the upper end of the humerus over the shoulder joint, per-
forms the same function for that joint, preventing its flexion too rapidly.
The traction of the triceps upon the scapula is so great that it would
be torn away from its position but for the counter action of the trachelo
subscapularis, which transmits it to the cervical vertebra, as already ex-
plained. In this order the angles at the shoulder and elbow close while
the fetlock joint is bent until the pastern is horizontal with the ground.
In this action the limb is practically shortened, until from the position
of the hypothenuse it becomes the perpendicular of a right-angled
triangle, and during this change of position it has given uniform
support to the centre of gravity without deviation of the direct line of
its motion. During this time the levator anguli scapulas has been
contributing its force by acting on the short end of the lever, drawing
it forward and adjusting the axis of the limb to its changing require-
ments. The passing of the body over the limb in a position perpen-
dicular to the ground enables the limb in its character as an automaton
to exert a propelling force as well as a sustaining one. It is necessary,
however, that the support should be constant, as before; the angles must
open as gradually as they had closed, and the fetlock joint must be as
gradually straightened. Some changes take place in the action of the
forces. The superspinatus, that had been yielding to allow of flexion,
now contracts with greater force, and its labor is rendered easy by the
continued traction of the two great propellers acting from the thorax.
The branches of the triceps acting from the scapula relax altogether ;
that from the humerus by its continued contraction extends the fore-
arm upon the humerus. This order continues to the close of the first
half of the stride, when it is in the power of the animal to give an
impulse to the movement, that settles effectually the question of the
power of the anterior extremity as a propeller. The proof will be
given hereafter, but the modus operand! is as follows: As the foot
is about to leave the ground, the angles of the limb being extended to
their utmost, the great pectoral, the great dorsal, and the great serratus,
by a vigorous and simultaneous effort, in conjunction with the spring
of the suspensory ligament and its reinforcing tendons, are capable of
deflecting the centre of gravity of the whole body of the horse, going
with a velocity of twenty miles an hour, four inches in a distance
of ten feet !
At the completion of the stride, the last impulse given by the
reaction of the suspensory ligament is like the spring of a bow, and
the flexor muscles regain control of their tendons, which had just been
serving as reinforcements to the suspensory ligament.
At this moment, the foot being off the ground, the knee bends
under the contraction of the perforatus and perforans muscles. The
niperspinatus and all the muscles of the triceps are relaxed ; the
flexors of the shoulder and of the arm contract ; at the same time the
mastoido humeralis and superficial pectoral, acting on the shoulder,
carry the whole limb forward on its centre, the great pectoral and
great dorsal consenting. In this order they pass the perpendicular,
when the order is quickly reversed ; in twice the speed used in the
retrograde movement, the foot is again in position to take the ground.
The extensors of the feet, after a rest of three fourths of a stride, again
straighten the knee, raise the toe, and the triceps is ready with all its
heads to take the shock. The sterno prescapularis pulls the slack out
of all the tissues connecting the shoulder with the trunk, that nothing
may be lost to effect the last line in extension.
The action of the anterior extremity in the three characters whose
parts it performs at the same time, we have endeavored to represent. In
these three characters it is a complicated machine. The object in its
construction was to enable the limb to support the body for the
greatest length of time, and to graduate that support so that it should
be uniform and constant, and that there should be no loss of momen-
turn or waste of power by correcting deflection of the line in which it
is intended the body shall move. This rendered necessary the use of
the legs alternately, so that while one should be performing these
functions the other should be moving in the reverse direction, to take
its place and permit as little loss of time as possible between the end
of the performance of one limb and the beginning of that of the next.
If we have comprehended the movements of a limb and the relative
value of the forces that produce them, the levers on which they act
and the relation of the limbs to each other, we ought to be able to
determine the mechanical elements of the qualities desired in a horse.
If speed is desired we must look for those mechanical conformations
of parts that determine speed, but this speed must be attained at the
expense of power. The anterior limbs must conform in their mechan-
ical force to the posterior, and vice versa. It was observed of the pos-
terior limbs that long full propellers (the vasti and glutei), low hip joint
set well back, so as to afford room for long femur and tibia, gave great
length of limb when extended, enabling it to support the weight of the
body and exert its propulsion for a longer time, at the same time the
power was more directly applied when the head of the bone was lower
down. So far as these principles can be applied to the anterior limbs
they hold true of them as of the posterior extremities.
It was observed by Bishop that all animals distinguished for great
speed have the angles of the bones most inclined to one another. But
while this mechanical arrangement gives great advantage for speed it
is a source of weakness in bearing burdens and hauling.
The requirements for the anterior extremities, to be in harmony
with the posterior ones, would be a long oblique scapula and long
humerus : these bones long, the angle formed by them would neces-
sarily be less obtuse. The great pectoral and great dorsal are the
muscles that hold the mechanical relation to the anterior extremity
that the great gluteus and vastus do to the posterior; and to give equal
advantage to them the thorax should be long to give sufficient distance
between the ribs of origin and the insertion at the shoulder.
The application of propulsion to the anterior limb is unlike that to
the posterior, and as it is an advantage in the latter to have the heads
of the femurs low down to push more directly, in the former, on the
contrary, the centre of motion corresponding to the head of the
femur is not at the shoulder, but as high under the withers as pos-
sible, and the application of the propulsion as low as possible, as
was shown when describing the action of the great pectoral ; for,
the foot being the fixed point, the nearer the power is applied to it
the greater will be the velocity of the upper end of the extremity
acting as a crutch.
In the extreme of flexion and extension, as represented in leaping,
the muscles act at great disadvantage, as is illustrated by the difficulty
and slowness with which an animal rises from a recumbent posture.
They are positions incompatible with speed.
Whether the muscles act with the greatest energy at the earlier or
later stage" of contraction has not been determined with certainty as
far as I know. There is no doubt, however, that they act with the
greatest promptitude in response to the will when the limbs are
.-lightly flexed. Boxers will instinctively put themselves in that po-
sition when in attitude for offence or defence. Boys when about
to start for a race will relax their extensors to get a good send-off, and
they do not fully extend them again until the trial of speed is over.
So the horse in fast trotting "settles to his work," as it is technically
called. In this expression it is intended to represent the idea that
the centres of motion are nearer the ground in order that the muscles
shall act to the best advantage, and that in propulsion the act shall be
most direct and longer sustained ; or, in other words, the points of
action and reaction are in a line forming a more acute angle with
the ground.
M. Weber asserted that the velocity in walking will be greater the
nearer the head of the femur is to the ground ; as this height in-
creases the velocity decreases. One sometimes arrives at a truth by
a very devious route, though he may have lost himself on the way.
He proved his position by the pendulum, which has been made to
demonstrate many a knotty proposition ; but while the leg of his
physical horse has swung three feet, our living horse has gone forty,
and his extremities have performed two complete revolutions. The
speed of the horse does not depend upon the length of the limbs
acting as pendulums, but upon the length and thickness of the
locomotor muscles, the angles and lengths of the bony levers on
which they act, the freedom of their articular ligaments, the corre-
lation of all the mechanical parts, and much also on the nervous
energy or will transmitted to the muscles, technically known as
THE attraction of gravity, or that force which is constantly drawing
all bodies toward the centre of the earth, is a phenomenon so familiar
to us that we fail to realize it at all times, and the consequences that
would ensue were it to be for one moment suspended. Like the air
we breathe, it is one of the necessary conditions of our existence, and
the force with which it acts on all bodies is exactly measured by their
weight; but this is the measure of that force in bodies in a state of
rest or inertia. The instant that support is removed and the body
yields to that force, there enters another element that must be taken
into account, and that is momentum. While gravity is a constant
quantity under similar conditions, momentum is a constantly varying
By yielding to the force of gravity an object does not escape from
its power, neither is it reduced one grain in its influence at whatever
rate the body falls. It is therefore an increasing quantity in a rapid
ratio.* It is this force, which is constant and measured by the weight
* The formula for the determination of the distance which a body will fall in any given
time is, D = J g f in which D = distance ; g, acceleration of gravity, or 32 feet ; /, time
in seconds. From this we learn that the distance which a body unsupported would fall in the
first \ second would be 4 feet ; in the first \ second, 7.68 inches ; in the first J second, 3 inches.
of the horse, that renders necessary the great development of the loco-
motive organs and columns of support. The power of resistance of
these organs must be equal to the attraction of gravity and counteract
it, and at the same time be in such excess as will afford .the means of
propulsion in a horizontal direction. The influence of gravity is not
affected by motion in the body subject to it, at whatever rate it may
be moving. It may be projected into the air by a force greater than
that of gravity, but it does not escape from it in any degree. The
force that projected it was stronger than that of gravity at the time of
the impulse ; but the resistance of the air and the constant force of grav-
ity would soon bring the motion to an end without the continuation
of that projectile force.
It is the result of this continuation of force in such directions as will
resist the attraction of gravity, and overcome resistance to a movement
in a horizontal direction, that we call locomotion.
There is another physical law to the effect that a body put in mo-
tion will continue in motion in the given direction until diverted by
another force from another direction. The force with which a body
moves above the surface of the ground is determined by multiplying
its weight by its velocity, and is called its momentum ; therefore the
force of gravity, represented by the weight, being constant in the same
body, the momentum will be as the velocity. If the body be repre-
sented by an iron ball weighing one thousand pounds, moving at the
rate of twenty-five miles an hour in a horizontal direction, it will
represent the momentum of a horse of equal weight at full speed.
To arrest it suddenly would be its destruction.
To continue its motion without diminution of velocity requires a
continuous application of force, and the greater the velocity the greater
is the necessity that the trajectory or line of motion should suffer no
deflection, for the force necessary to correct it increases with the
From what has been said it follows that the only muscular power
required to keep a body in motion, at whatever speed, is that which is
necessary to resist the attraction of gravity and overcome resistance.
It is plain that, in order to maintain a uniform support of gravity, and
a continuous impulse in the direction of motion, the limbs must move,
at whatever pace, in such manner as best to attain that end; that the
more rapid the motion, the more uniform must be the support.
If the time occupied by a racing horse in going a mile be one
minute and forty seconds, and the length of stride twenty-five feet,
as represented of some horses, it would follow that he must be off the
ground a full half-second at each bound, and according to the law of
falling bodies he would, if he moved horizontally, during that time fall
a distance of four feet. But in the gallop he is supposed to be moving
by a succession of bounds in which he rises as far as he falls. This
would give one fourth of a second as the time of descent equal to one
foot of vertical fall to twelve and a half feet movement in a horizon-
tal direction, and a consequent deflection of the centre of gravity to
that extent.
We can imagine the effect that would be produced upon a railway
car of any description if, when going at the same rate, it should pass
over an obstruction that would produce such a deflection of the line of
motion ; and if instead of the railway car we substitute the horse, what
but a broken neck could be expected ? There is no suspensory lig-
ament, or back tendon, or joint of the body that could be submitted to
such a shock in a state of tension, and not go through bankruptcy
It is this deflection in the line of motion that constitutes the great
obstacle to be overcome in all methods of locomotion. It is that
which retards the progress of a ship in a rough sea; a certain amount
of momentum is lost in every undulation, and power is spent in lifting
the ship against the force of gravity that might in a smooth sea be
spent in accelerating velocity. But a ship is an inanimate object
acted upon by inanimate forces, and though speed is sacrificed, there
is no exhaustion from waste of strength, as is sustained by all living
beings in contending against the law of gravity, which requires a
greater expenditure of force to arrest a body in its fall than is required
to sustain it in a state of rest.
The most perfect method of quadrupedal locomotion, therefore, is
that in which the greatest speed is attained with the least expenditure
of vital force. This is found in those quadrupeds in which the devia-
tion of the line of motion from the horizontal is least. Pre-eminent
among these are the horse and hound, whose mode of progression is
the same. Though the deer and hare may have the advantage for
a short run, yet the method of progression by bounds, used by these
animals, sooner fatigues them, and in a fair field they will be run down
by the former from sheer exhaustion. To this subject we shall refer
again when we analyze the paces of the deer and dog.
In the two preceding chapters we have condensed the anatomy of
the locomotive organs into as small a space as possible, and at the
same time have, with the aid of accurate drawings, endeavored to
make the mechanical action of all the limbs individually so intelligible
that any one of ordinary information may comprehend them. We will
now proceed to show how these forces are co-ordinated in the produc-
tion of the different paces when all the limbs are in action. Instead
of the mingled confusion of limbs and display of brute force, one may
see the most perfect order and regularity. In the slow movements
the limbs of the horse are without doubt much under the control of
the will ; he may use his anterior ones to strike, paw the ground, and
in various ways show the control he has of different muscles in the
performance of their various functions ; he may rear and kick, toss his
head and lower it to the ground, as in drinking, grazing, or sauntering;
but when speeding, whether from ambition or terror, all this trifling is
laid aside, the position of the head becomes fixed as a base of action
for the muscles of the neck and head, the detailed action of the va-
rious parts of the animal are lost in the complicated machine, and
the whole acts automatically, as the movements of the various parts
of a locomotive are lost in the combined action of the engine to
which they are subordinate.
The run is the perfect gait of the horse, for it is that which displays
most perfectly the play of all his locomotive organs, by which he at-
tains his greatest speed, and to which he owes his preservation in the
long struggle for existence through which he must have passed before
he came under the protecting care of man. It is the gait, therefore,
which best serves as a subject to study the law, or the theory of his
locomotion. To any one who has followed the anatomical analysis
of the last t\vo chapters, the theory may have already outlined itself;
but it is desirable that it should be made clear to all, and many of the
anatomical facts demonstrated in the last chapters must be taken for
granted in this by those who have not given the necessary attention
to the anatomical descriptions. Perfect quadrupedal locomotion re-
quires uniform support to the centre of gravity and continuous pro-
pulsion by each extremity in turn.
In order to avoid the abstract study of the co-ordination of the
limbs in locomotion, figures are given to aid the mind in following the
movements. They were executed by a process called photo-engraving,
after drawings made with great care from a series of photographs, and
represent twelve views of as many positions of a running horse. Three
horizontal lines are drawn above the base at intervals of one hand, or
four inches, as a guide to the eye in determining the elevation of the
feet, and a fourth near tlvj back to show the deviation from a horizontal
line of the centre of gravity, which we will suppose to be under the
saddle. These cuts are not introduced for their accuracy ; they have
been subjected to too much manipulation to lay claim to that precision
of outline that will be found in the heliotypes and silhouettes in photo-
lithography given in illustration of the paces.
FIG. i.
Fig. i. gives the position of the animal in readiness to start,
height is a little in excess of sixteen hands.
We have inserted two plates of the skeleton in the positions corre-
sponding with Figs. 6 and 1 2 in order to enable the reader to under-
stand their action in the various movements, and by reference to Plate
II. he will be enabled to follow the descriptions in this chapter, and
the action of the various muscles that produce them, as described in
the previous chapters.
FIG. 2.
Fig. 2 represents the left fore foot upon the ground nearly under
the centre of gravity; the centre of motion for the corresponding limb
has passed in advance of the foot, and a line drawn through these two
points would not be perpendicular to the surface of the ground ; or, for
brevity of expression, we will say he has passed the perpendicular.
The limb is being elongated or extended by the straightening of the
pastern joint and the joints at the elbow and shoulder ; by these means
the support given by the muscles is continued. In this position there
is no muscular force exerted upon this limb below the knee. It was
shown at page 76 how the " back tendons," while the limb is in this
position, are converted into ligaments over which their muscles have
for the instant surrendered control, and in conjunction with the suspen-
sory ligament are supporting the weight of the body by their passive
resistance. As the body advances by its own momentum and the con-
tinual action of the great pectoral and dorsal muscles, the pastern joint
becomes nearly straight, and the pastern bone resumes its position
under the metacarpus, or cannon bone, and while that joint is still
supported at its convex posterior surface by these powerful ligaments ;
and as the limit of extension is reached and the limb is at an angle
with the ground of forty-five degrees, a vigorous concerted action of the
propellers sends it forward and upward in the direction of the axis of
the limb with a force so great as to close the space between the croup
and the gauge line above it, and all his feet are in the air. If this force
had been applied, as is popularly supposed, by the posterior extremity
and behind the centre of gravity, the result would inevitably have been
to pitch the animal headlong to the ground. The position of the fore
leg just before it leaves the ground is best shown in Fig. 12.
FIG. 3.
Fig. 3 shows the feet all in the air. The foot which rested last
upon the ground is now eleven inches above it and moving rapidly
to the front. The interval of time between the photograph of the
horse in position No. 2 and that of No. 3 was greater than that which
passed between No. 3 and No. 4, owing to want of uniformity in the
tension of the threads making the magnetic circuit. This defect was
subsequently remedied ; and in the series of views illustrating the run,
in which the gait was more thoroughly analyzed by a larger number
of cameras, the intervals are very regular.
9 o
FIG. 4.
In No. 4 the upward impulse given by the fore leg may be supposed
to have reached its limit, the croup having passed above the gauge-
line marking the elevation, and the feet are all gathered under the
trunk more than a foot above the ground. There is now an oppor-
tunity for the animal to change their order ; for, as has been stated,
he cannot change the order of his feet when one of them is on the
ground, and he is going at a rapid rate, without subjecting himself to
a fall. Although the distance passed over from the time the last foot
left the ground until the next one reaches it is only equal to the
interval of any of the feet, and the time that has elapsed while this
has been taking place does not exceed perhaps a fifth part of a
second, still it is sufficient to enable the animal to choose whether
he shall lead with one foot or the other in the next stride. But the
time, short as it is, is sufficient to cause a descent of four inches, and
the momentum acquired makes the contact with the earth a much
more serious matter than in any other portion of the stride. To make
it with either of the anterior extremities, or both, as is popularly be-
lieved to be the case, would seriously check the momentum, if it did
not result disastrously to the unlucky member. But this has been
shown over and over, by numerous observations at Palo Alto, never to
take place in running. The first check to the descent of the centre
of gravity is given by one of the hind legs, and by that one which
is diagonal to the fore leg leaving the ground 'last; but, to reach
it in such manner as to prevent a catastrophe, it must be planted
beneath the centre of gravity or in advance of it, and then, in order
to prevent the anterior part of the body from falling forward, it is
necessary that all the available force should be brought to bear
upon the right hind leg as a lever with its fixed point upon the
ground. How this is effected, and by what muscles, is shown at
page 58.
This situation is shown at Fig. 5. The picture was taken almost at
the instant of contact by the right hind foot with the ground. The
anterior portion of the body is arrested in its downward course, not
by its own limbs, but by the contraction of all the muscles forming
the external periphery of his body, from the neck to the flexors of the
foot ; by which combination of forces the whole body forward of the
head of the femur is not only arrested in its downward course, but
lifted, while the momentum in a horizontal direction is maintained
chiefly by the contraction of the vastus shortening the distance be-
tween the lower extremity of the femur and the spines of the sacrum,
pushing the pelvis forward from its fossa behind the head of the
femur. The body is propelled forward with a part of the same power
that lifts it. In this manner it does not check the momentum ac-
9 2
quired, as would have been the case had one of the fore legs been
thrust forward to the ground, and the danger of stumbling is averted.
FIG. 6.
As progression continues, the limbs are all taking positions in the
order they will be required to perform their functions. The right leg
in Fig. 6 is passing the perpendicular; the pastern is bent to the
ground to shorten the limb, and the left hind foot is descending to
repeat the same action, when the right, from the advancing position of
the body, will be unable to continue its support, and the right or diago-
nal fore leg is straightening to take its turn after the left hind one.
FIG. 7.
In Fig. 7 the left hind foot is supporting the weight, and already the
centre of gravity has passed over it, while the right, relieved from that
duty, is exercising its function as a propeller, and the right fore leg
is reaching forward to take the ground as far as possible in advance ;
the foot is extended to bring the heel, with its elastic cushion, first in
contact. The left fore leg is straightening to take its place in the
order of succession.
FIG. 8.
The right hind leg has given its final propulsive impulse in Fig. 8,
and the tensor vaginas femoris, the iliacus, sartorius, and superficial
gluteus are in the act of flexing the stifle and advancing the leg to
a new position. The left hind leg has passed the perpendicular, and is
no longer in a position to give much aid as a supporter to the centre
of gravity ; but the right fore foot has reached the ground, and takes
its position as a supporter of the weight of the body, dividing the
burden with the left hind leg still upon the ground.
In the last chapter it was shown how the limb is thrown forward
into this position, and how the shock of contact is transmitted, through
the straightened extremity, to the humerus and scapula ; and unneces-
sary flexion of the elbow and shoulder joints is prevented by the tri-
ceps of the arm and superspinatus muscles, while it continues to give
uniform support to the body, at the same time that it shortens by the
gradual flexion of those joints and the bending of the fetlock as the
body passes over its point of support.
The danger to be apprehended in the use of the fore leg to arrest
the downward movement when the body was falling, as in Fig. 5, does
not exist in this position, as the momentum of gravity has been ar-
rested by the posterior extremities, and the centre of gravity has
reached its lowest point, while the weight is divided with the hind leg.
Propulsion is now going on in the fore leg through the great pec-
toral and dorsal, and in the hind leg through its propellers proper.
FIG. 9.
The right fore leg in Fig. 9 is now taking the entire weight of the
body, is nearly perpendicular, is correspondingly shortened, and its
fellow is extended forward in the position to take its turn. The left
hind foot is clear of the ground, and the right has been elevated by the
action of the semitendinosus slightly flexing the stifle. The settling of
the body has not varied much from the position seen in the last figure.
Propulsion by the great pectoral and dorsal on the fore leg, which is
also bearing alone the full weight of the body, is most energetic, and
to the best advantage.
In the interval that has passed between the position of Figs. 9 anc
10 the left fore foot has descended twelve inches, is only four inches
from the ground, and must be considered as in the position in whicl
FIG. 10.
the heel makes contact with it. The right leg is elongating, and
making propulsion by so doing, in its function as an automaton and
also as a passive tool, by the great dorsal and pectoral making traction
from the flanks upon the shoulder. The support it is giving to the
weight of the body is shown by the narrowing of the space between it
and the gauge line. This action is not yet complete. Both the hind
feet are nearly equally elevated, but the right leg is more flexed. The
increased flexion of the stifle renders necessary the flexion of the hock-
FlG. II.
joint, for, as already shown, they act together automatically. The
flexors proper of the thigh are now making their force felt with that of
the semitendinosus, and the stifle is being drawn forward. The flexors
of the foot, being propelling muscles, are inactive, and the semiflexec
position of the joints of the feet is owing to the reaction of the suspen-
sory ligaments.
In Fig. 1 1 the right fore foot is clear of the ground, and the left is
in a position corresponding with that of the right in Fig. 9, but
right is not in a corresponding position with the left in the same
figure. The right hind foot is preparing to take its place in the order
of succession, to be followed by the other hind foot in its turn.
FIG. 12.
In Fig. 1 2 the stride is completed. On comparison with Fig. 2, it
will be seen that the body is advanced somewhat beyond that in the
latter, and it is again about to leave the ground with the left fore foot,
and the energy of the propelling forces have already sent the body up
nearly to the horizontal gauge-line. This order in the movement is
continued until the animal feels fatigue in the left fore leg from the
continued use of it in giving the final impulse to clear the ground,
when, as before said, it is in his power to change it and leave the
ground with the other fore leg.
It seems, at first thought, from the manner in which the labor is
thrown from the leading fore foot to the diagonal hind one, during
which the body has no support from cither, that the theory of constant
support and continuous propulsion does not hold true, that a perfect
machine should require no such hiatus. If the machine had been
constructed of inorganic and inanimate material, incapable of fatigue,
it could have been so arranged that the hiatus would not have been
necessary; but the Creator did not, if he could, build an animate
machine that would not tire. The animal is shown in the above
figures as moving his feet in the same order, and, but for some ar-
rangement that would permit of a change, fatigue would be inevitable;
but that change would not be possible until all the feet are clear of
the ground. If the attempt should be made while one foot is on the
ground, the result would be called a misstep and a fall. The opportu-
nity is afforded when the extraordinary propulsive force, given by the
fore leg that leaves the ground last, projects the body upward, giving
a time equal to one fifth of a stride for the hind foot of the same side
to take the place of the one that would have followed had the same
order continued. The coincidence of the act of changing the order of
the feet with the exposure of the negative plate in the camera, which
is too short a time for computation, must be very rare, and has not
been observed in any of the many pictures taken at Palo Alto ; but
the change is felt by the driver when the feet again take the ground,
and it is said to have been discovered in the changed order of the
While the run requires that each limb in turn should act as
propeller and supporter in regular order, it cannot be executed at
a low rate of speed, for the base of support is confined to one foot,
and it must be rapidly adjusted to the changes of the position of the
centre of gravity, for the same reason that a boy on stilts requires
to be continually in motion. If the horse's speed is diminished to
a great degree, he will change to a canter, which is a pace modified
from the run, as may be seen by reference to Plate XXVII., or,
what is more usual, to a trot, in which he uses two diagonal feet as
bases of support.
The order and action of the limbs are uniform in all the numerous
trials of running horses photographed at Palo Alto ; so that it may b
considered that they are in conformity with a law. Five series of th
photographs are given, of horses representing different rates. Th
first is that of "Mohammed," whose stride is 15 ft. 9 in.; and the
last, that of " Florence Anderson," with a stride of 20 ft. 6 in. All of
them were going at a moderate rate. The numbers, and correspond-
ing lines on the ground, indicate spaces of one foot ; and as the pho-
tographs were taken in succession at the same intervals, they will
be understood to show the position of the limbs at each interval of
one foot. The position of the camera is indicated by the direct line
on the ground, and is that of the observer. In the last series the
gauge line shows how little the centre of gravity is deflected in its
trajectory from a direct line, and this line will be found to vary least
when the speed is the greatest. By the aid of these lines and their
figures the reader may be able to measure the strides and parts of
strides, and determine their respective intervals.
It has been observed that there is not perfect regularity in the line
of the footprints of a running horse, especially if the ground is uneven.
This is owing to the variations of the centre of gravity, which compel
the corresponding variations of the positions of the small base which
supports it ; through an instinct of the same kind which we recognize
in ourselves, and make use of when we fail to give proper attention to
the ground on which we are walking and govern the movements of
our feet accordingly. This we do not always do, and the effect is to
cause us to stagger even when we are sober. This instinct must be
regarded as existing in a higher degree in a horse, as his locomotive
apparatus is more complicated and of a higher order than that of man.
If the reader is interested in knowing how far this law of the mech-
anism of running holds, he may follow it in the succeeding plates.
He will see the same movement in the greyhound, Plates XVIII.,
XIX., and in Plate XX. two hounds running at unequal rates of
speed. It is the same in the ox running, Plate XXL, and has been
proved true of the goat, and will be found to hold true of all those
quadrupeds whose four limbs are of like proportions.
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There is another class of quadrupeds, whose posterior extremities
are developed to a much greater degree than the anterior ones, and
their mode of progression varies more or less from the theory of motion
as given in the preceding pages. The only one of this class of whose
stride \ve are able to present an analysis is the deer. In this animal
the same order of succession of the feet may be observed ; but, at the
moment when it might be expected that he would, as in the horse, rise
from one of the fore legs, owing to its feebleness he fails to do so, but
the hind legs are thrust forward to the ground, one of them in advance
of the fore foot and the centre of gravity, and, while one of the fore
legs still supports the weight of the anterior part of the body, by the
combined action of the posterior extremities he projects himself by
a bound, and alights, not upon one of the hind feet, but upon one of
the anterior extremities ; but the action of the limbs in pairs is not
synchronous, one of them being a pace in advance of the other, to dis-
tribute the shock. This mode of progression the deer is able to per-
form by reason of the length and angles of the bones of his limbs
and the lightness of his body, and it is adapted to the nature of the
ground among the hills where he finds his only safety, and where
the horse would be at as great a disadvantage as the deer is upon the
plain. For reasons already stated, it is not possible to sustain this
gait for a long time from the exhaustion which it produces. The
action of the horse in leaping will be reserved for another chapter.
From the knowledge we have gained, by the use of instantaneous
photography, as to the action of the feet in running, the answer to the
questions propounded by William Percivall thirty years ago is obvious:
" What is the reason why the flexor tendons fail so much more fre-
quently than others ? Another, Why those of the fore limb should
fail rather than the flexor tendons of the hind leg." *
In the following quotation he gives the answer to his own question,
in accordance with the heretofore accepted theory of the run. " I
have more than once had occasion to direct attention to the important
functions performed by the hind limbs in the acts of progression, and
to contrast these with the comparatively light duties of the fore limbs.
Hippopathology, Vol. IV. p. 346.
While the former, like a pair of oars at work in a boat, are plying for-
wards and backwards, forcing the body onward, the latter, more like
stilts, are employed in sustaining the propelling parts, lest the body fall
forward to the ground. I have likewise afore observed, that two such
different functions necessarily distress different parts of the limbs,
the hock being the part most exerted in the hind, the feet and legs the
parts most tried in the fore limbs. What distresses the sinews of the
fore limbs so much is the extreme distension, almost preternatural, to
which these legs are put in hard galloping and leaping every time the
weight of the body descends upon them, at a moment when they are
stretched out to their utmost, as they must be, to receive it ; and it is
to this identical position of the limb, whenever any weight or force
of extraordinary amount, or in any sudden or unexpected manner,
descends upon it, that strain or sprain is produced." *
It is now perfectly clear that it is in their action as propellers
that the flexors of the fore leg become injured in their tendons, and
in the position shown in Fig. 12; though there is little doubt that
if the weight of the rider were not superimposed to that of the horse,
this accident would rarely happen. Sprains involving the ligaments
of the joints may occur at any time when the foot from any cause is
not set squarely upon the ground, but this is an accident of quite a
different nature from that to which reference is made above.
We have designated the pace under consideration as the run,
the pace used in racing, or the fastest known to the horse and other
domestic animals. What, then, is the gallop ? If we are to be con-
fined to the definition of the gallop given in the dictionaries, and
generally accepted by all writers on the horse, we are forced to the
conclusion that there is no such pace, that it is a fiction. Webster
defines the gallop as " a mode of progression by quadrupeds, par-
ticularly by a horse, by lifting alternately the fore feet and the hind
feet together, in successive leaps or bounds " ; and Worcester, " to
move forward as a horse by such leaps that the hind legs rise before
the fore legs quite reach the ground." That the pace which we call
the run is not such as will bear the definition given is very clear.
* Hippopathology, Vol. IV. p. 346.
The camera has, under the direction of Mr. Stanford, been made to
analyze all the paces, and none has been discovered that answers to it ;
yet it is to this pace that the term "gallop" has been always applied.
When, three or four years ago, the results of Mr. Stanford's experi-
ments with twelve cameras were distributed in art circles, the photo-
graphs sent met everywhere with surprise and incredulity, and in some
quarters with ridicule and burlesque. Such result ought to have been
expected. They were not understood, and the revelation was so an-
listic to all received opinions from the earliest times, that one
could not help but laugh ; and that they do not understand them
now does not surprise us, for hippo-anatomy has been always taught
under the light of a false hypothesis. When we consider how little
the simple movements of the trot were understood by the most learned
of the teachers of animal motion, is it a matter of wonder that the
complicated mechanism of the run had been kept so profound a secret
in the open face of day from time immemorial ?
A revelation so startling as that made by the camera carried results
too far-reaching and revolutionary to be at once accepted, though it
came direct from heaven. There is too much capital invested in
works of art all over the civilized world to permit the innovation
without protest, and ridicule is the cheapest argument that can be
employed in controversy, for it does not require truth for its founda-
tion, and but a low order of talent for its display.
All artists know the value of the horse as a chef d'ceuv re, and he
is made, next to the human figure, the first subject in elementary
studies in art ; but from what source have been derived all the models
of horses in motion ? Who does not tire in looking over the monot-
onous repetition of outstretched legs, as if their bearers had been shot
from a cross-bow, and were moving at a mark without any agency of
their own, and when the slightest variation of that inflexible form
would spoil the pose and ruin a picture. We are told that the object
is to represent action. \Yould not that object be more readily attained
if some position were represented that is known to be true, instead of
one that is proved to be impossible ? " But art must represent things
as they seem," says an objector. Those who think they see a horse in
the positions given in the conventional way have their conceptions
formed by a false hypothesis; those' who are initiated into the true
theory of the movement experience no difficulty in perceiving the
movements of the limbs in precisely the manner represented in the
plates here given, and wonder they never saw them so before. One
will recognize this movement more readily in a dog running than in
a horse.
Some of these positions seem grotesque, but for no other reason
than because the action is not understood. When it is so, they will
appear as necessary progressive stages in a never varying series of
movements, the result of which is locomotion, and it will appear that
it cannot be performed without them ; the eye that understands them
can never be deceived, and the slightest deviation from the law of their
co-ordination will instantly be detected in a silhouette as surely as the
animal would be to suffer the consequences of a misstep.
Quadrupeds will be recognized as being possessed of locomotive
machinery, self-moving, with all the parts acting in perfect harmony,
and not passive projectiles. If Art is the interpreter of nature, as is
claimed, she is false to her mission when she wilfully persists in per-
petuating a falsehood. But in this case she cannot if she would.
Once attention is called to the true theory of quadrupedal motion,
the truth of each one of these positions, and the interpretation of them
in relation to progression, is so quickly recognized, while the error of
the old theory of the gallop becomes so manifest, that artists will no
more be able to claim that they represent nature as she seems, when
they depict a horse in full run in the conventional manner, or the
mythical gallop.
Plates XXV. and XXVI. represent sketches taken from elemen-
tary drawing-books manufactured in London and Berlin and used in
the schools. They are heliotyped, on a reduced scale, in order that
there shall be no suspicion of inaccuracy in the copies.
After what has been said, comment is unnecessary ; but I would
ask, if animal motion is to be always taught to follow such severely
false models, wherein is it better teaching than that of the priests of
Osiris, with whom all forms were .stereotyped for thousands of years,
and the last stages of their art were worse than the first ? And here
1 would diverge still farther from the path I had marked out for
myself, to protest against the soundness of that dogma that art should
represent things as they seem. I will not enter upon a discussion of
the general proposition, it would carry me far beyond the special
subject of this essay; but I will limit myself to the consideration
of the proposition as it is applied to the representations of the move-
ments of the limbs of the horse in motion. I am often told that
we do not represent the spokes of a carriage -wheel in motion as dis-
tinct spokes, but they are made to run together as they really appear
to the eye, where new images are made upon the retina before the
first are lost. Lightning is represented as a zigzag line, when in
reality it is a spark ; but this spark moves with such inconceivable
rapidity that it is quite impossible to calculate the time of its passage.
The track of the electric spark is unquestionable, and when that is
represented there is no untruth : it would be impossible to represent
lightning in any other way. Lightning is not only the spark, but
the track it describes in the sky also. To represent them thus is
to represent the actual truth, and so it expresses action, and no error
is inculcated. But does one ever represent the horse's legs in that
manner to express their action ? Why not ? If it cannot be done,
why assume a false and hackneyed position that cannot be true ?
Why must every equestrian statue in Europe follow the model of the
Antique Balbi in the Neapolitan Museum, with the bones of the fore
leg flexed at right angles, and the other three feet upon the ground ?
No such position was ever true, nor can it seem to be so to any one
who gets his impressions from nature.
The theory of the run and the mechanism of the locomotive
apparatus of the horse will soon be common property among admirers
of the animal ; and when that knowledge becomes general, all the
famous paintings in which he is a prominent figure in the " gallop "
will be relegated to the museums as examples of old masters, to
illustrate the progressive stages in the development of art.
If the theory of the run is understood, the action in the canter will
present no difficulty ; for the theory is the same in both, and the varia-
tions in the order of movement of the feet are changes rendered neces-
sary by the low rate of speed in the latter. In Fig. i, Plate XXVII., the
cantering horse is seen in the act of leaving the ground with one fore
foot as in the run, and his feet are clear of the ground only for the dis-
tance of two feet and five inches, as indicated by the lines on the ground,
when the diagonal hind foot comes to the support of gravity, not under
its centre, as in the run, but behind it (see Fig. 4), and therefore cannot
prevent the body from falling forward. In order to prevent this result,
it is necessary that one of the fore feet should support it, and it is
always that fore foot which is diagonal to the hind one that is upon the
ground. The other hind foot follows at the usual distance from its fel-
low. He has now, through three Figures, three feet upon the ground, as
in the walk, after which the order of the run is resumed. Fig. 1 1 nearly
corresponds to Fig. i ; the difference observed is owing to a want of cor-
respondence in the time of exposure of the sensitive plate of the camera.
In Fig. i the fore leg has given its quick thrust, and the knee is slightly
bent as it is about to leave the ground, while in Fig. 1 1 it is still acting
as supporter and propeller.
It is clear that if the animal moved with more will and greater speed,
planting his hind foot farther forward in support of the centre of gravity,
there would have been no necessity for the fore leg to have performed
that office ; and the pace would not have differed from the run. The
length of time during which three feet support the body gives time for
the rider to settle in the saddle, and causes that easy cradle-motion
which makes it a favorite gait with ladies.
THE leap cannot be properly considered as a pace ; although it is a
mode of progression, it is not a continuous one. Before any quadruped
will venture to undertake it, he must have acquired a considerable
degree of experience in locomotion, and that confidence in the use of
his limbs which experience only can give. That it is naturally
acquired, there cannot be a doubt, as it is necessary to all quadrupeds
in a wild state to enable them to overcome obstructions otherwise
insurmountable. The weight of the horse's body, however, renders it
necessary for him to reduce his speed, and with it his momentum,
before he can safely attempt it, even when the obstruction is of mod-
erate height. It is a feat in which he is excelled by most quadrupeds,
all the quadrumana, and even by man himself.
I'rom the mode of action of the various parts of the locomotive
machinery, as shown in Chapters IV. and V.; the reader will experience
little difficulty in understanding what takes place in the leap. The
action is so full of interest that we have given a number of illustrations
to enable the reader to observe the many different phases the leap
presents. All the plates show the horses approaching the barrier at a
run ; but no sooner is it observed than they begin to shorten their steps
and apparently measure its distance. In Plate XXVIII. the hurdle is
placed at an elevation of three feet six inches, and the horse betrays
his anxiety by shortening his paces, and advancing with both hind feet
nearly simultaneously and alternately with one fore foot, or what is
called prancing, until he has approached the barrier sufficiently near
to satisfy himself that he can surmount it, when he plants his hind feet
well under the centre of gravity, and instantly the fore leg resting upon
the ground gives the thrust explained in Chapter IV., by which the
anterior portion of the body is raised, and the action is immediately
followed by all the muscles of the haunch, which project the body to
the required height. The anxiety and want of confidence of the
animal are betrayed by the nearness of his approach to the obstacle
and the arrest of his momentum before he ventures the leap. By
the arrest of his momentum he has diminished the danger of injury
to the back tendons on reaching the ground again.
In Plate XXIX. we see the same horse under somewhat altered
conditions. The hurdle is six inches lower, and he advances with
increased confidence, leaving the ground eleven feet from it.
The relations of the levers, or passive parts of the machine, in the act
of leaving the ground in leaping, are shown in Plate XXXV. Fig. i,
where the positions of the posterior extremity are the extreme of
The next plate represents a full series of views by twenty-four cam-
eras, by means of which the movements in leaping are carried four feet
farther. The posterior extremities from the extreme of extension, on
leaving the ground, pass to the opposite extreme of flexion as they pass
the barrier, and both the posterior and anterior limbs, as they pass suc-
cessively in pairs, are so nearly in unison that they seem in the silhou-
ette to coincide. Plate XXXII. shows the same horse as seen in the
last preceding plate, after he has passed the hurdle and is nearing the
ground. The anterior extremities, that coincided in passing the hurdle,
are now separating in order that they shall not make contact with the
ground at the same time. One of the fore legs is extended as in the
* fc
J> W
run, to check the force of the descent, which, from the loss of hori-
zontal momentum, has little more than the momentum of gravity to
deal with. This is the moment of extreme clanger to the pastern joint
and flexor tendons; but before these parts are put to the extreme test
the other fore leg comes to the relief of its fellow, and immediately
after the posterior extremities, one after the other, are planted under
the centre of gravity, and by their great lifting force relieve the ante-
rior extremities, and all the limbs are free to act their various parts in
the run, which is not fairly resumed in this series, the velocity at
no time being sufficient to enable the animal to clear the ground.
The action after the leap may be still further traced in Plate XXXIII.
where the run is not yet fully resumed, the speed being only equal to
the disposition of the limbs as in the canter, the order being the same
as in the run. The last illustration of the leap that we offer is very
curious. The horse was very reluctant to perform the leap required of
him, and came to a standstill immediately in front of the hurdle, and
only after great urging did he attempt to surmount it. The action of
the locomotive organs is shown to be the same in this as in the other
series representing the leap, only with less courage manifested ; and
there is little danger in its execution. As the horse lost his horizontal
momentum before leaping, so he had none when he reached the ground
on his descent. It should be observed that in all these series the
intervals between the successive pictures are those of space and not of
lime, as the horse makes his own pictures in a manner that will be
fully explained in the Appendix. The intervals in all the series of
twenty-four pictures represent distances of one foot in a horizontal
direction. Fig. 2, Plate XXXV., shows the position of the skeleton
as the animal meets the contact with the earth. By means of these
skeleton views the reader is enabled to build up the entire loco-
motive apparatus with the aid of the anatomical plates, and satisfy him-
self as to the forces that are employed in producing the movements.
On reference to Plates XXIII. and XXIV., it will be perceived how
great is the correspondence in the action of the deer in bounding and
the horse in leaping. In both the action on leaving the ground is
the same. When the hind feet are upon the ground, well under the
centre of gravity, the spring of one fore leg lifts the anterior half
the body, and, the action of the posterior extremities immediately fol-
lowing, the whole body is projected into the air; but, the deer being in
more rapid motion, his feet take the ground at longer intervals and
more regular order, and so diminish the danger of stumbling, as well
as distribute the shock of contact and equalize the support of the
weight of the body.
When the horse reduces his speed in running so that he can no longer
maintain his balance upon one foot, he will usually drop into a trot, which
is a gait having two feet as bases of support instead of one. The theory
of the trot is the same as that of the walk, but adapted to a higher rate
of speed. It differs from a walk in that the latter has always two feet
upon the ground, while in the trot there is always a space of time, of
greater or less amount, in which all the feet are off the ground. Other
differences will be noticed when we come to analyze the walk. They
correspond in that the weight of the body is borne by the diagonal
extremities alternately, and in the general co-relation of the limbs in
their mechanical action. The action in the trot is the more vigorous
as the distance in which the body moves unsupported is increased.
The definition of the word step in its general use is somewhat
ambiguous. It is often used synonymously with stride. In the step
of both quadrupeds and bipeds it is understood to mean the distance
spanned by the two feet both resting on the ground. This will vary
with the muscular energy, but is limited by anatomical proportions.
The stride is here used to signify the distance passed over by one
foot from the time it leaves the ground until it reaches it again,
measured to corresponding points, and is equal to two steps ; but in
the trot this definition will not hold good, for there must be added a
certain distance, differing according to speed, in which neither of the
feet will be on the ground. If a represents the step in the walk, and
x the distance passed over by the foot after the other foot is raised,
the step in the trot would be expressed by a + x, and when a
constant, the step will vary as x. In the run, there being four steps,
and an interval when all the feet are off the ground equal to a step,
the stride would be expressed by 5 a. The stride is divided in the
trot into two periods by the alternate feet, so that in the trot the
horse is twice clear of the ground in each stride. The step being sup-
1 to be a constant quantity in the fast trot, the stride can be ex-
tended only by increasing the space which the body passes over with
ntre of gravity unsupported. \Yhile in the slow or jog trot this
distance is small, in the flying trot it exceeds that in which the body is
supported, and hence arises the great difficulty in attaining a high rate
of speed. As was stated in the preceding chapter, the law of falling
bodies increases the difficulty in locomotion in the ratio of the square
of the time in which the body is so unsupported. It becomes a ques-
tion of power of resistance, or strength of the parts on which that
:.mce depends. On the other hand, the strength of the parts, as
the joints, bones, ligaments, and tendons, involves increase of weight,
which is incompatible with rapidity of movement, without a corre-
sponding increase of power of the muscles and weight of the body to
he borne, so that the limits of speed attainable in a trot are reached
more rapidly than in a run, in which the limit is to be found in the
measure of activity.
In the run the stride is divided into five parts, instead of two, as in
the trot, each limb taking its turn as supporter and propeller, with a
scarcely appreciable interval between, and an interval between the last
fore leg and the first hind one representing a fifth of the whole stride.
Each limb, therefore, works one fifth of each stride and rests the other
four fifths. The longest stride given of the run, in the examples fur-
nished, is that of " Florence A." (Plate XVII ), where it is given at
twenty feet six inches, or a little more than four feet as the portion
;ned to each limb. It will be observed that in the trotting horse
(Plate XXXVI.), whose stride is given at eighteen feet three inches,
the time of support by two limbs is about the same, while the time in
which there is no support given is greater, and divided into two inter-
vals. So in Plate XL. the gravity is supported about half the time by
limbs, and the other half by none, alternating every four feet.
Notwithstanding the wonderful mechanical provision in each of the
four limbs to secure uniform support and propulsion while the feet rest
upon the ground, the instant that the body ceases to be supported it
becomes subject to the law of the descent of falling bodies and all its
consequences, as mentioned in the last chapter, and the greater the
speed of the animal the more serious the possible consequences ; and
though no small advantage is gained by relieving the horse of the
weight of the rider, and placing it upon a sulky, it is the cause of
serious damage to the finest stock. It is no small accomplishment
in a horse, however thoroughbred, to be so well disciplined that he
will not break from a fast trot, however goaded by his driver and his
own ambition in a sharp contest, into a pace in which he is conscious
he can make better time with far more ease than in the one he is
forced to take.
The trot appears from our analysis not to have been designed as the
fastest gait, but for the medium one between the run and the walk, and
when not urged too far beyond his supports; it is the strong business
gait, in which he is capable of travelling farther in a day's journey with
less fatigue than any other. It is owing to this fact that it has become
the favorite pace in America, and has been cultivated to a greater ex-
tent than in any other country ; indeed, we fail to learn anything of the
trotting horse from any source before the importation of " Messenger,"
who was a thoroughbred running horse, and manifested extraordinary
speed in the trotting pace after his arrival in America. It is very diffi-
cult to discover wherein the mechanical proportions and points for a fine
runner would not apply equally well to a fast trotter; and it is claimed
that there has been no fast trotter who did not trace his pedigree to
thoroughbred ancestry. This question, however, is beyond the pale
of this essay, and has not been one that has particularly interested us.
It will be difficult for one to believe that a new function has been devel-
oped in the time that has elapsed since " Messenger's " importation, not
yet a century, even by the most advanced Darwinian. It is much more
reasonable to believe that, while great attention has been paid to breed-
ing those qualities that insure speed, equally great care has been be-
stowed upon training, so that the fast horse shall display his powers in
the trot rather than in the run, of which he may be equally capable.
In this way the fast trot becomes a habit with the individual, and in i
he may excel his powers in the superior gait. But the habit is no
heritcd, nor can it be transmitted to descendants, as is asserted by some
authors. Functions and faculties, or the power by which acts are per-
formed and habits acquired, may be inherited. No man is able to trans-
mit to his off sprint; his acquirements, whether of mind or body. The
child of the most profound scholar will not know one letter from another
until he is taught them, and will learn them no more easily for all his
parent's attainments. Nascilur, non Jit (horn, not made) is as true
in this sense now as ever it was. The faculty through which the
parent was enabled to acquire any accomplishment, whether mental or
physical, may be transmitted to offspring. Even these are not congeni-
tal or coincident with birth, as the function of breathing is; but the
tendency is inherited, and the functions will be developed at the
proper time, and in the order that their exercise will be required, first
for the existence, protection, and development of the individual, then
for the full employment of all the powers successively with which it
mhnved by inheritance. The law of inherited or constitutional
disease is the same ; all are not congenital, but most of them are
developed, like consumption, at the age of puberty, and others, like
cancer, at mature life, from inherited tendencies.
When the colt is seen soon after birth, he must be helped upon his
and the first efforts of his long and feeble limbs are to walk, in
which he instinctively obeys the law to alternate the limbs and so pre-
its balance. More than this he cannot do. Visit him a few days
later, and he will be found not only able to walk with firmness, but to
trot away from your approach. When you next visit him, after a
r interval of time, he has acquired much greater control of his
locomotive organs, and he will move off in a trot with no uncertain
step, and, if you pursue, he will break into a run (Plate XLII.).
The last pace is no less intuitive than the first, but required a
longer period for its development. It is an acquired pace, but not
the less intuitive. There is great doubt whether the complicated
movement of the run, which has so long eluded the comprehension
of man, was ever any better understood by the most sagacious of the
quadrupeds that practised it ; and the identical character of the move-
nent through so many species of them shows that it is inherited, or
natural. The walk, trot, and run are all equally natural, and each is
best adapted to each of the three degrees of speed which the animal
finds it convenient or necessary to employ in his feral or unbroken
It will be seen that the theory of the trot is the same as that in the
run, namely, that the centre of gravity shall be supported constantly
and propulsion made uniformly by all the extremities from the lime
they reach the ground until they leave it, but by two alternate limbs
at a time, and not by one as in the run. The action of the limbs in
shortening and extending, to enable them to begin the support early
and continue it late, and permit the centre of gravity to pass over them
without being deflected, is the same in both paces. The action is
the same, differing only in degree. The undulations are greatest in
the slow trot, and diminish as the speed is increased. Every rider
knows this from experience ; the uncomfortable trot is the slow one.
The reason for this was explained when treating of the run in the last
chapter. In the slow trot the action of the muscles is not sustained,
and the bony levers are allowed to resume their normal angles. At
each half-stride the centre of gravity regains nearly, if not quite, its
elevation ; but as the horse increases his speed he lowers the centre of
gravity, and, in so doing, enables the extremities to reach farther and
sustain the weight longer, while the rapidity of the movement of the
body gives it a momentum that forces the suspensory ligament to yield
and the angles to close to the requisite degree to prevent the alternative
of deflection of the trajectory, or crushing of the limb ; and if measure-
ments be taken of the height of the horse at different portions of
the stride, it will be found that it is least when it would seem that
it should be the greatest, that is, when it passes the perpendicular, or
that point where the supporting limbs are shortest, as was shown in
the last chapter when analyzing the action in the run.
While the action of the limbs in the two paces is similar, the co-
ordination of them presents some interesting points for consideration.
Instead of the great impulse being given by the fore leg, as in the
run, it acts in a lesser degree, raising the centre of gravity only so far
as to give its co-operating posterior extremity an opportunity to use its
' M
r rt
i -'a
' J
nil-: iioKsr. IN MOTION. 113
propelling power in the direction of the centre of gravity, as in Un-
bound of the deer and the leap of the horse ; for if it were given
above it the animal would be pitched headlong. The hind foot should
be the last to leave the ground on a priori reasoning ; and on consulting
the silhouettes of the trotting horse (Plates XXXVI. -XL.), such will
h found to be the fact. The early start of the fore foot enables it to
clear the way for the hind one on the same side to advance to the
support of the centre of gravity in its turn without being hit by it, or
overreached, as it is technically called. In the mean time the fore
foot, having a more circuitous route to travel, is enabled to attain its
position as a supporter at the same instant as its co-operating
The position in which the feet fall is as nearly on a line as is possi-
ble without their interference, both in the trot and run, as may be
seen by referring to the illustrations of the paces in the latter part
of this volume, where the animals are seen in various aspects of the
same position.
Interference with the posterior feet is rendered very difficult by the
mechanical arrangement of the hock joint, already explained, which
causes an involuntary circumduction of the hind feet as they pass each
other, and yet compels the feet to be planted successively near the
same base line. In the case of the anterior extremities there is no
corresponding contrivance, but the breadth of the shoulders renders it
For obvious reasons it is not possible to show by the camera the
occurrence of interference, but overreaching is shown in Plate XXXVI.
Figs. 2, 10, and in Plate XXXIX. Fig. 9. The fore foot being dila-
tory, or the disproportion in the length of the body to that of the legs,
exposes the fetlock and heel to injury from the shoe of the hind foot ;
but generally the hind foot is pushed under the forward one as the
latter rises.
There is a pace closely allied to the trot, and differing from it
only in one particular, and that is that the limbs do not move diago-
nally in pairs, but those on the same side move together. This pace is
shown in Plate XLIX. Comparing this series with a trotting series
(Plate XXXVII.), it will be found to be impossible to distinguish one
pace from the other, as shown in the silhouette. This pace is called
racking, or pacing, in America, and ambling in England. The objec-
tion to the name pacing is that the word pace is used constantly as a
general term for all the different modes of progression, and therefore
leads to ambiguity. While in the trot the centre of gravity falls near
the intersection of the two straight lines drawn through the diagonal
footprints, in the amble it is shifted from side to side, as the right or
left feet alternately support the weight. The effect of this is to give
a rolling motion to the body like that of a ship with the wind abeam.
It is an easy pace for the rider, being free from the sharp undulations
of the trot. The necessity which exists of rapidly changing the base
of support from side to side makes it practicable in the horse only
when the speed is considerable, and quite impossible in the rate pur-
sued in the walk. In the camelopard, owing to the shortness of his
body and the great length of his legs, it is the only method of loco-
motion possible, as he would overreach in the paces used by the horse.
He is able to make progressive motion in this way at whatever rate,
from the great elevation of the centre of gravity, and the consequent
slow oscillation of it ; for the time of its oscillation increases with the
length of the line from the centre of gravity to the base of support.
The amble is natural to some horses, which take to it instead of the
trot; as some people are sinistrous, though the greater number are
dexterous instinctively, and others are ambidexterous.
Some horses are amblers first, and afterwards learn to trot and travel
equally well in both paces ; indeed, considering the small proportion of
horses that fall into this pace,, and the record made by them on the
turf, it may be thought to have no disadvantage over the regular trot.
It would seem to give great advantage to a short-bodied horse, as there
is no danger of overreaching.
Many of the photographs reproduced in the photolithographs, and
used in this volume to analyze the paces, were imperfect in lights and
shades, and others, when the subjects were dark-colored, were in sil-
houette, to which all were reduced. The outlines are quite perfect, and
the details in other respects are quite unimportant to the study of the
3 H
, i
X s
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h- *
movements. It is only necessary, in order to determine the movements
of the several limbs, to suppose either of them to be right or left, and
follow it as such throughout the stride. Examples have been selected
of the two principal paces, when the horses were light-colored, to
reproduce in heliotype, a process which furnishes an exact tran-
script of the original photograph by the same agency, namely,
the sun.
The walk is the simplest of the paces, and best understood. It is
defined to be that pace in which one foot is not raised until its fellow
is upon the ground. The definition is as applicable to quadrupeds as
to bipeds, if in the former we assume the two anterior and the two
posterior extremities as pairs. The slow walk, or saunter, represents
the pendulum of writers on animal mechanics, by whom the leg was
supposed to swing like a pendulum on its centre, but little muscular
force being used except to counteract the attraction of gravity.
A man in walking throws the centre of gravity over the leg, which
is to serve, for the moment, as a column of support, and leans forward
until the centre of gravity is in advance of the foot as a base ; this ren-
necessary the advance of the other foot to serve as a new base,
and the action of the flexor muscles upon the toes, with the weight of
the suspended leg, carries the centre of gravity diagonally forward until
it is again supported by the other foot. These movements are all
detailed and formulated by the old writers, and are referred to here for
the purpose of bringing the science of animal dynamics, as it has
been taught until now, freshly to the mind of the reader.
It must be conceded that we have advanced the science of animal
mechanics somewhat in this treatise, and demonstrated the fact that
its problems are not to be solved by physics, as heretofore attempted,
nor yet by vital force exclusively ; that animal motion in its highest
manifestation is the resultant of both, chiefly of vital force, but neither
can be ignored by one who would understand the subject.
Each one of these elementary acts of progression is a step, and a
series of them is a walk. The walk of a quadruped is more complex
and perfect than that of a biped ; for while the latter is compelled to
oscillate his body in order to balance it upon each foot alternately, the
quadruped uses the diagonal feet alternately, so that the centre of
gravity always falls within the quadrangle formed by them, and near
the intersection of the lines connecting their diagonal feet.
The theory of the walk in quadrupeds is that there should be
two feet always upon the ground while the diagonal ones are being
advanced, and if the legs moved synchronously in pairs, there must be
four on the ground for a brief time at each step, for from the defi-
nition of the walk one foot does not rise until the other is upon the
ground; it follows that in two pairs of feet the two feet cannot rise
until the other two are upon the ground. This, one would think,
should be proved by the camera; but it shows that sometimes three
feet are on the ground, but never four at the same time. How is
this ? Is the definition of the walk incorrect ? It is so when applied
to quadrupeds. In fact, the diagonal limbs do not act synchronously
in the slow movements of the walk, for it is more difficult to maintain
an equilibrium in a slow movement than a fast, as a top falls when
its revolutions are slow, and for the reason that a horse never rests
on two legs, but always on the two anterior and one posterior, so
that the centre of gravity always falls within a triangle ; so in the
walk one of the reserve feet holds the ground for a brief time until
the other has the start, in order to shorten the time in which the
centre of gravity has but two points of support.
The walk, being the slowest pace of the horse, has been best
observed and most discussed, but chiefly as to the order in which the
feet are moved. There can be little doubt that habit in the horse, as
in man, determines which foot shall be the first to move ; and it may
often be determined by. their accidental relation to each other at the
instant that he has occasion to move one of them, though it would
be doing no injustice to the brute to suppose him to have a suffi-
cient freedom of will to choose which foot he should put forward
if he waited to think of it.
When the horse quickens his walk, he does not at once change his
pace, but extends his strides and makes them more uniform, until
further extension becomes difficult, when he will break into a trot, in
which there are never more than two feet upon the ground at a time,
as has been already stated. This change from a walk to a trot is
shown in the fine silhouette (Plate XLI.).
Single-foot is an irregular pace, rather rare, and distinguished by
the posterior extremities moving in the order of the fast walk and the
anterior ones in that of a slow trot. These mixed paces are quite
compatible, as they are of the same kind and move in the same diago-
nal order. It is illustrated by Plate LV. The rhythm of the foot-
falls is characteristic, and once heard will ever after be recognized,
even in the dark. The same horse is made to illustrate the regular
walk in Plate L.
THE series of plates which follow are intended to show more fully
than was possible in the silhouettes that precede them, the action of
the horse in every possible position in all the paces ; they require,
however, a brief explanation.
The same ground was used as that on which all the experiments
were made that are detailed in the Appendix ; but instead of a full
battery of twenty-four cameras, only five were employed, and they were
arranged in the manner shown in Plate I. (frontispiece). One only
represented the battery, and that was in the middle of the series ; the
other four were placed at nearly equal distances, two on each side, so
as to represent the arc of a circle whose centre should be occupied
by the horse at the moment he appeared opposite the central of the
five cameras. At this point a thread was drawn across the track
which, when the breast of the horse came in contact with it, made
magnetic communication with all five of the cameras at the same
instant, so that five views of the animal were produced at the same
time, showing him from as many different directions.
The time of exposure of the negatives was so immeasurably small
that few of the pictures taken were perfect in all the details ; and as
red appears as black in the photograph, so all bay horses were without
any details of light and shade, simply as silhouettes ; and even when
the horse was light or gray there would be some defect in some part
of every one of the series.
Experiments were made with various processes to reproduce them
with all their defects; but it was found that the making of tlu
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CP THE PAC E 3 . P/-.FI,' '.IN"O.
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:i.E PACKS.
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necessary transfers from the originals, while they reproduced accu-
rately all the defects of the original photographs, reproduced them
with diminished sharpness, and these methods were abandoned.
Under the direction of the Heliotype Printing Company another
plan was adopted. From the original photographs, by the helio-
type process, copies were produced on gelatine magnified, and prints
taken on Bristol board in blue ink in the same manner as
in the ordinary heliotype process. These prints, with the originals,
were put into the hands of artists skilled in drawing on wood for
engravers, who drew them with a pen in india ink, under careful
supervision of the writer, so as to preserve the outlines as they were
rendered by the camera and avoid reproducing the blotted defects
of the originals. These drawings were then reproduced on stone by
the camera, reduced to their original size, and the prints given in the
volume were printed from these stones as in ordinary lithography.
They cannot fail to be of great advantage to artists, especially
those who would perfect themselves in animal drawing, and that
acknowledged difficult branch of their art, animals in motion.
They and the public generally are greatly indebted to Mr. Stanford
for the enlightened liberality with which he has pursued this costly
investigation, and given its results to the public without any prospect
of pecuniary advantage to himself.
It will be observed that some of these pictures are so nearly alike
that at a superficial view they appear the same ; but it is almost impos-
sible that the times in which any two should be photographed should
coincide, and there will be found no two exactly alike ; and the near
approach to the same posture proves the universality of the law in
which all the paces are performed.
In some of these plates there are but four pictures; the fifth, owing
to some serious defect or failure of the apparatus altogether, is
Plate LVII. represents a position in the run corresponding with
that in Fig. n, page 95, differing only in the fact that the right fore
N performing its functions rather than the left, as in the cut.
From this extremity the body will be projected from the ground,
and the diagonal hind is advancing to the support of the centre of
gravity. Comparing this with Plate LXV., in which one figure is
wanting, the correspondence will be found so close that at first sight
it is difficult to convince one's self that they are not identical pic-
tures ; but on careful inspection it will be perceived that in the
quartette the body is less advanced and the supporting leg is farther
from the perpendicular. The missing picture should be the first
in the regular order.
Comparing again this plate with Plate CII., the body of the horse
will be found to have advanced from the position in the former until
the supporting leg is quite perpendicular, and the other limbs are
relatively advanced.
In Plate CIV. there is still further advance; the foot is under
the centre of gravity, and the posterior extremities are being gath-
ered under the body in the order with which they will successively
take their turn.
Plate LXXVIII. exhibits the same movement on the instant that
the propulsive effort of the limb is concluded and the foot is leav-
ing the ground. From this last position there is an interval of one
fifth of a stride, in which there is no support given to the weight
of the body, but it is moving as a projectile until the diagonal hind
foot reaches the ground, which it is about to do in the following
plate. The left hind foot will be the first to make the contact, from
which we know that the right fore foot was the one by which the
body had been projected into the air ; the right hind foot will follow
and take the ground a step farther in advance. This plate may be
compared with LXX., in which the right feet are in corresponding
positions with the left, as seen in the former. Plate XC. represents
the horse in a similar position.
The slow trot is shown in Plate LIX., and is not distinguishable
from the fast walk, as seen in the succeeding plate ; it is only when
the instant of exposure of the sensitive plate of the camera is coin-
cident with that in which all the feet are off the ground that the
walk can be distinguished from the slow trot.
Plate LXI. is also an attitude of the trot, but it is recognized by
the higher action of the free limbs, and this action indicates a higher
rate of speed than is possible in the walk.
In the succeeding plate the walk is again represented and is un-
;kable, as the three feet are supporting weight, as indicated
both by their position and the yielding of the pasterns.
In Plate LXIII. we see the sluggish run in which the speed or
momentum of the horse does not permit the propulsion of the fore
to carry the body clear of the ground before the hind ones come
to the support of the centre of gravity prematurely, and which con-
stitutes the pace known as the canter. (See page 103.)
The fast trot is shown in Plate LXIV. Plate LXVI. seems to
be a fast walk, in which the groom is urging the horse into a trot.
The position may be interpreted into either a walk or a trot.
Plate LXVI I. represents a position in the leap, and is fully ex-
plained in the sixth chapter.
The walk is further illustrated in the two following plates.
In Plate LXXI. a position in the trot is shown where the feet
arc all clear of the ground. Before the fore leg, which is extending
forward to reach the ground, makes the contact, it must be straight-
ened and the toes raised, as in Plate LXIV. As already stated, it
is difficult in some of the "Illustrations" to determine a slow trot
from a fast walk, for there may be an instant of time in the trot
when three feet are on the ground. The mechanical action is the
same in both paces, and the distinction is based on the speed. This
difficulty could not occur where the reader has the advantage of a
consecutive series of views, as is shown in Plate L.
The heavy Clydesdale in Plate LXXI I. is shown in the am-
bling pace in which the weight of the body is borne and the propul-
sion performed by the two extremities of the same side.
The canter is illustrated in Plate LXXVIII. The support is
here given by the left fore leg, and the greater flexion of the diag-
onal right indicates that it is the next in order to perform that func-
tion. The degree of action indicates a low rate of speed, which
could be attained in the trot with greater ease to the horse if not
to his rider.
Plate LXXXI. represents the animal in the greatest degree of
extension he reaches in the run. The posterior extremities have suc-
cessively performed their functions as supporters and propellers, the
anterior limbs are extended to relieve them, and for the instant
the diagonal feet are upon the ground, but it is only for an instant ;
the weight of the body is already on the fore leg, and the only pro-
pulsive force left in the hind one is derived from the reaction of the
suspensory ligament and its reinforcing tendons. This position
nearly corresponds with that in Fig. 8, page 93, though a little in
advance of it.
Plate LXXXV. illustrates the run in the position shown in Fig.
10, page 95. The fore leg must be straight from the elbow to the
foot when it makes contact with the ground, as only in that rela-
tion of the bones forming the columns of support could the weight
suddenly thrown upon them be borne. A moment's consideration of
the mechanical construction of the knee-joint will suffice to convince
one of this, and a weakness at that point which renders the animal
liable to stumble is a very serious defect, and where it exists it in-
dicates the loss of the balance of power between the flexors and
extensors of the foot. This inflexible position of the knee-joint will
be found to be universal in all the paces when the limb is sustain-
ing weight.
Tin: following account of the methods by which the original
holographs were produced that served as the basis of the analysis of
the paces, the results of which arc contained in this volume, was
furnished by Mr. E. J. Muybridge, the photographer by whom they
were executed.
Some time in 1872 Mr. Stanford, being desirous of settling some
controverted questions as to the action of the trotting horse, conceived
the idea that the camera might be made available for that purpose.
To this end he consulted with Mr. Muybridge, and induced him to
undertake some experiments in instantaneous photography.* The
experiments made at that time were inconclusive, and for several
years. Mr. Muybridge being absent from the State, the matter rested,
though it was not abandoned by Mr. Stanford.
In 1877, Mr. Muybridge having returned, the experiments were
renewed. A few pictures were taken of " Occident " while in motion
a noted trotter, owned by Mr. Stanford with a single camera;
and one of these, representing him with all his feet clear of the
ground, was enlarged, retouched, and distributed among various
parties interested.
Instantaneous pictures were defined to be, at that time, in ordinary photographic par-
lance, when the exposure has been very brief, or under half a second. In the liritish Journal
Photographic Almanack for 1868 it is stated that good street views had been taken in a twelfth
part of a second. The conditions, as there given, for extreme rapidity of exposure are a good
and quick-acting shutter, a lens with a large angular aperture, and chemicals in perfect
The result of this experiment was so successful that Mr. Stanford
determined to try another one on a more extended scale. He
assumed, if one picture could be taken instantaneously, why not an
indefinite number, and by increasing the number of cameras increase
to the same extent the number of views, and illustrate the various
positions in an entire stride ?
Mr. Muybridge was authorized to procure the needed apparatus,
and a building suitable to the purpose was erected on the west side of
Mr. Stanford's private track at Palo Alto (see frontispiece). In the
following year, 1878, the preparations were complete; every resource
of the photographic art had been provided that was thought to be
required or attainable. Twelve cameras were placed in the building
at intervals of twenty-one inches, with double shutters to each. These
shutters were arranged, one above and the other below the opening
through which light was admitted to the lens, and held by india-rubber
springs, constructed in the form of a ring, with a lifting power of one
hundred pounds, and secured by latches, to be liberated on the com-
pletion of a magnetic current.*
For the purpose of making the exposures at the proper intervals
of time, a machine was constructed on the principle of a Swiss music-
box, having a cylinder with a row of twelve pins arranged spirally.
This was put in motion by a spring, and, as it revolved, each pin in
succession established a magnetic circuit, with the magnet connected
with each of the twelve cameras in succession, and the whole series of
exposures was made in the time occupied by a single complete stride
of the horse.
* This description of the shutters and their mode of action is somewhat obscure. The
shutter, as described by Kleffel (Handbuch der Practischen Photographic, Leipzig, 1874, p. 201),
is as nearly as possible the double shutter used by Muybridge. Kleffel's shutter was held by
a spring, and when the picture was to be taken the spring was touched, and the shutter, which
had an opening through its centre, dropped past the lens, exposing the lens to the light during
the time of the passage of the opening across it. He recommended weights to be used when
greater rapidity was required. Muybridge's modification of this consisted in the use of rubber
springs in lieu of weights as recommended by Kleffel ; though no claim is set up by him to
priority in the use of rubber springs, as one Thomas Skaife obtained a patent in England for
rubber springs for camera shutters as early as 1856.
This arrangement gave the attitude of the horse as he arrived
before each of the cameras in succession at the instant of exposure of
the negatives. In practice it was found to be extremely difficult to
the apparatus in motion at the exact time required, and to regulate
it to correspond to the speed of the horse.
This contrivance was found to be best adapted to the more irreg-
ular movements of other animals, as the running of dogs, the flight of
birds, feats of acrobats, etc. It was desirable to find some method
that would better represent the regular movements of the horse, and
which should be regulated by his own movements.
On the side of the track opposite the building where the cameras
were placed, and in such position as to receive the best exposure to
light, a wooden frame was erected, about fifty feet long and fifteen
high, at a suitable angle, and covered with white cotton sheeting
(Plate CVII.), divided by vertical lines into spaces of twenty-one inches,
each space being consecutively numbered. Eighteen inches in front
of this background was placed a base-board twelve inches high, and
on which were drawn longitudinal lines four inches apart. In front
of this base-board a strip of wood was fastened to the ground, upon
the top of which wires were secured at an elevation of about an inch
above the ground and extending across the track. The wire was
exposed in a groove to one only of the wheels of the sulky, being
protected from contact with the horse's feet and the other wheel.
Each wire was held in proper tension by a spring on the back of the
base-board, so arranged that when the wire crossing the track was
depressed by the wheel it should draw upon the spring connected
with it, and make contact with a metallic button and complete the
electric circuit.
These wires were placed at distances from each other correspond-
ing with the cameras on the opposite side of the track, and with the
spaces between the lines drawn on the background.
From this description it will be readily seen that the depression of
the first wire would complete the circuit and cause the magnet con-
nected with the corresponding camera to move the latch and liberate
the shutters, exposing the sensitive plate for a space of time that is
hardly conceivable. In like manner, as the wheel passed over the
second wire, the shutters would be liberated on the second camera, and
so on until the whole series were discharged. When the horse passed
with great velocity over the wires these shutters were discharged with
such force and rapidity that the horse was not unfrequently startled
and broke his gait.
If everything was properly arranged the driver had but to keep the
wheel of his sulky in the groove which was sunken for it, and it
would, by depressing the wires successively, take the pictures at every
twenty-one inches until the whole series were taken.
The method just described was used in all cases where horses were
driven to sulkies ; but when wheels were not used this arrangement
with wires under the track had to be modified, and a thread was
drawn across sufficiently high to come in contact with the horse's
breast, and strong enough to cause the contact and establish the
circuit as before, but not so strong as to wound the horse when
going at full speed.
By these methods many views were taken and distributed to all
parts of the country : they attracted a great deal of attention, and
elicited a great variety of opinions and not a little ridicule ; some
artistic persons displayed great ingenuity in burlesque, no one under-
stood them.
The number of cameras was afterwards doubled, and they were
placed at intervals of twelve inches to still closer analyze the move-
ments of the horse. Lines were drawn across the track at correspond-
ing distances, and the numbers indicating them, instead of being at
the base of the screen, were on a board between the horse and the
cameras. The heliotype plates Nos. CVI. and CVII. represent the
battery of cameras and the screen as they were when twenty-four
cameras were in position.
The whole of the series of twenty-four figures each used in this
volume to illustrate the paces were taken in this manner. They were
very accurately taken, and are specimens of the best results attained
after years of expensive experience ; and the heliotypes are perfect
transcripts of the original photographs.
It will readily be understood that the accuracy of these analyses
upon the uniform tension and strength of the threads con-
nected with the springs through which the circuit is formed. The
perfection of the pictures depends upon the sensitiveness of the chem-
icals and the time occupied in their exposure to light. This time is
as nearly instantaneous as can well be conceived. Mr. Muybridge
estimates it by comparing the enlargement of the horizontal diameter
of an object photographed with the vertical diameter of the same
object at one five-thousandth of a second. This can only be deter-
mined by measurement, and that approximately even in objects of
considerable size ; it is so nearly instantaneous that there is no
appreciable loss of proportions from differences between vertical and
horizontal diameters.
University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.
This book is due on the last date stamped below,
or on the date to which renewed. Renewals only:
Tel. No. 642-3405
Renewals may be made 4 days priod to date due.
Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.
SANTA a UZ MAY Q 2 2006
NOV 3 1972
'JAN 2 9 2006
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General Library
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The GLP is committed to full transparency. Download and review our 2019 Annual Report
The quest for youth, and what our genes have to say about it
| February 9, 2018
Have you ever wondered why some people “look” older than others? There’s a genetic answer to this question.
Despite our best efforts, aging is inevitable. And we’ve made a lot of efforts, ranging from the announcement of a possible age-reversal treatment coming from lengthening our telomeres (chromosome tips that appear to have something to do with it), to “the first ever Anti-aging Gin … distilled with pure collagen as well as a mix of anti-ageing botanicals to help people look younger whilst having fun.”
These illustrations show how the chase for eternal youth can run from the sublime to the ridiculous, but they don’t show what scientists are finding out about how we age. While our chronological age has been (sometimes painfully) with us as long as we’ve been human and able to count, it’s our biological age that may be more important.
In short, biological age explains why some people seem to age at different rates than others. Some of us turn gray faster, wrinkle earlier, or get heart disease at a later age than others. And, it turns out that our genes and other physiological characteristics have a lot more to do with this than gin. Or even telomeres.
A study led by Duke University researchers on 1,000 New Zealanders was published in 2015, and calculated the “biological age” of people at ages, 26, 32 and 38 (the researchers had followed these people since birth). The researchers calculated “biological age” by testing the function of the participants’ hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys, immune system, and teeth and gums. Even though these people were too young to be experiencing traditional diseases of aging, their rate of organ system change was highly variable. Of those whose organ functions were declining faster, “were less physically able, showed cognitive decline and brain aging, self-reported worse health, and looked older,” the researchers wrote. These tests translated into biological ages that spanned from 28 to 61 years of age.
Also in 2015, a British group studied healthy 65 year olds and found about 150 RNA variants that added up to a healthy biological age. They then studied a group of 70 year olds as they aged into their 80s. The 150 RNAs, they concluded, formed a biomarker array of sorts, that could predict how healthy the participants were in their 80s, by measuring kidney function, muscle activity and could even diagnose (they say) Alzheimer’s disease at very early stages. All of these changes were independent of actual age.
Related article: How the quest to bake a better banana bread helps us understand GMOs
What’s driving biological aging
If our birthday isn’t all that important, then what is? Twenty years ago, researchers looked to the telomere, a strip of DNA on the end of our chromosomes. Every time a cell divides, a bit of this telomere gets (biochemically) nibbled off. Once a telomere is shortened enough, the cell can’t divide any more, and functions poorly and even can produce harmful inflammatory responses.
While shortened telomeres correlate with higher heart disease, diabetes, cancer and immune dysfunction risks, so does life stress, which doesn’t really relate to aging directly. Also, people with a telomere-lengthening mutation were found to be more susceptible to certain cancers, throwing a little more sand in the face of the telomere theory.
Now, epigenetics is taking center stage as a possible mechanism. Methylation of DNA, one of several ways in which genes can be regulated, seems to pace our aging processes through an epigenetic clock. This clock compares DNA sites on chromosomes and determines how many of those sites gain methylation, and how many lose it. The difference between the gains and losses determine our biological age. Methylation itself is partly inherited, and lifestyle choices and environmental factors can alter the rate and degree of methylation.
Steve Horvath, a geneticist at UCLA who helped create and hone the epigenetic clock, studied data from 51 different cells and tissues. He found that some cells, such as those in the breast can be more than three years (biologically) older than other cells in a woman’s body. In cases of breast cancer, adjacent healthy breast tissue can be about 12 years older. Other tumor tissues were found to have even wider age ranges compared to healthy tissue. The cause of this: Horvath thinks that methylation may affect cell differentiation and embryonic development, which explains why the “epigenetic clock” consists of so many different methylation and demethylation events.
All of these findings do not lead, unfortunately, to a fountain of youth or an anti-aging pill. But they might help deal with what we’ve always considered “diseases of aging,” as certain organs start failing as we grow older.
Andrew Porterfield is a writer and editor, and has worked with numerous academic institutions, companies and non-profits in the life sciences. BIO. Follow him on Twitter @AMPorterfield.
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WHO Declares Coronavirus Outbreak A Global Health Emergency
Passengers in a subway station in Hong Kong on Wednesday wear masks amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Kin Cheung, AP
Updated at 9:40 p.m. ET
The World Health Organization announced Thursday that the outbreak of a deadly and fast-spreading strain of coronavirus constitutes a global health emergency.
"Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak and which has been met by an unprecedented response," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
However, Tedros was adamant that "the main reason for the declaration is not because of what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries. ... Let me be clear — this vote is not a declaration of no confidence in China." He said that the WHO is deeply concerned about what will happen if the virus begins spreading in countries with weak health systems and that the purpose of the declaration is to help those countries.
The declaration of a global health emergency can work to galvanize international funding. According to the WHO's procedures, the three criteria for such a declaration are that it is an "extraordinary event," that it "constitute[s] a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease" and that it "potentially require[s] a coordinated international response."
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The last time the WHO announced an international health emergency was in July 2019 over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Before that, international emergencies were declared in 2016 for the Zika virus and in 2014 for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Also on Thursday, the U.S. State Department issued a "do not travel" advisory for China.
"Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China," the advisory reads. "Those currently in China should consider departing using commercial means. The Department of State has requested that all non-essential U.S. government personnel defer travel to China in light of the novel coronavirus."
The new coronavirus has sickened around 9,800 people worldwide and killed at least 213, all of them in China.
The WHO said in a statement that "all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention of onward spread" of the virus.
"There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. WHO doesn't recommend limiting trade and movement," Tedros added. But the WHO also said that in certain circumstances, such as when there are many cases of transmission among a vulnerable population, such measures could be "temporarily useful."
The coronavirus drew worldwide attention after Chinese authorities began reporting cases of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan last month. They were able to pinpoint the cause to a previously unknown strain. Other forms of coronavirus, such as SARS and MERS, have been responsible for past international outbreaks.
Health authorities believe this particular strain, known as 2019-nCoV, likely first spread from an animal. China's National Health Commission has said it is associated with exposure at a seafood market in Wuhan that also sold live animals.
Since then, the virus has spread from Wuhan to countries around the world, including the United States, Japan, Singapore and Thailand. "The vast majority of those cases are still associated with travel to Wuhan," said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program.
"We know that this virus can cause severe disease and that it can kill, although for most people it causes milder symptoms," Tedros told reporters last week. The WHO said that about 20% of those infected experience severe illness.
Experts find the new coronavirus particularly concerning for several reasons. First, the WHO said there is evidence that the virus could spread from human to human. "The disease is mainly a respiratory disease passing via droplets from one person to another and mostly still through close contact," Ryan said.
The droplets could come from sneezing, coughing or even talking. This is worrying because it is easier for a virus to spread quickly between humans compared with a virus transmitted from an animal to humans. Human-to-human transmission has now been documented in three countries outside China, Tedros said.
Second, experts still don't know for certain what animal the virus originated from in Wuhan. "Until we know what the animal is, there potentially could still be animals being sold in markets all across China that is spilling virus over into people," Matthew Frieman, a virologist with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, recently told NPR's Nurith Aizenman.
And third, Chinese authorities say the virus has also infected medical workers — people who already would be taking serious precautions to protect themselves.
There is currently no targeted drug to treat the virus, Chinese health authorities said. And there is no vaccine to guard against it. Tedros is calling on countries to "accelerate the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics."
Several countries, including the U.S., have started to evacuate citizens from Wuhan because of concerns about the coronavirus. As NPR's Bill Chappell reported, American passengers broke into cheers after their flight from Wuhan touched down Tuesday night in Alaska. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that travelers "avoid all nonessential travel to all of [China]."
Major airlines, such as United Airlines and British Airways, have suspended flights to Chinese cities.
Chinese health authorities recently announced new sweeping measures to try to contain the new coronavirus by implementing a strict quarantine on Wuhan, a city of some 11 million people. "There's no sense of when the quarantine might be lifted," NPR's Emily Feng reported from Beijing. "The big problem is that people are going to have to return to work soon, when the Lunar New Year is over. Many of them are coming from villages where there are very few screening measures for the virus."
China's government has come under criticism for not responding more quickly to the outbreak. But WHO officials have praised the Chinese response.
"The Chinese government is to be congratulated for the extraordinary measures it has taken to contain the outbreak, despite the severe social and economic impact those measures are having on the Chinese people," Tedros said. "In many ways, China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit
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Greater than and less than
When a number is bigger than another number we sometimes say it is ''greater'' or ''larger''.
When a number is smaller than another we say it is ''less than'' or ''smaller''.
600 is greater than 200.
24 is smaller than 908.
Now it's time to start the activities! |
The Ghassanid Imperial Titles
Artwork by Michael Peschka
The Ghassanid Imperial address is object of interest of the historians, jurists and also people curious about the etymology of dynastic titles
Although not very commented and notorious, the historical information and evidence are very abundant confirming that initially the Ghassanid rulers, even though already Kings by their own right, have received the title of “Basileus” which back in the 6th century CE was the official title of the emperor himself.
About the “Basileus” title:
“Basileus and Megas Basileus were exclusively used by Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors in Ptolemaic Egypt, Asia (e.g. the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon and by non-Greek, but Greek-influenced states like the Kingdom of Pontus) and Macedon. The feminine counterpart is basilissa (queen), meaning both a queen regnant (such as Cleopatra VII of Egypt) and a queen consort. It is precisely at this time that the term basileus acquired a fully royal connotation, in stark contrast with the much less sophisticated earlier perceptions of kingship within Greece.” Chrysos, Evangelos K. (1978), “The Title ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ in Early Byzantine International Relations”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers (Dumbarton Oaks) 32: 66–67, JSTOR 1291418
By the 4th century however, basileus was applied in official usage exclusively to the two rulers considered equals to the Roman Emperor: the Sassanid Persian Shahan shah (“king of kings”), and to a far lesser degree the King of Axum, whose importance was rather peripheral in the Byzantine worldview.” Chrysos, Evangelos K. (1978), “The Title ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ in Early Byzantine International Relations”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers (Dumbarton Oaks) 32: 35, 42, JSTOR 1291418
“… the title acquired the connotation of “emperor“, and when barbarian kingdoms emerged on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, their rulers were referred to in Greek not as basileus but as rēx or rēgas, the hellenized forms of the Latin title rex, king.” Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, p. 264, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
Until the 9th century, the Byzantines reserved the term Basileus among Christian rulers exclusively for their own emperor in Constantinople.” Chrysos, Evangelos K. (1978), “The Title ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ in Early Byzantine International Relations”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers (Dumbarton Oaks) 32: 52–57, JSTOR 1291418
Famous Ghassanid King Al-Harith
Unfortunately, there’s some confusion regarding the early Ghassanid titles. Many authors, for lack of information and interest in study the Ghassanid history in depth, have confused and mixed the numerous Ghassanid titles altogether: “Al-Malik Al-Ghassassinah” (from the Arab “King of the Ghassanids”), “Basileus Araves” (from the Greek “Emperor of all Arabs”), Phylarch, Archphylarch, etc.
Some authors even try to use the term “Chieftain” in the pejorative way. The most common mistake is to call the Ghassanid Kings merely as “Phylarchs”.
“A phylarch (Greek: φύλαρχος, Latin: phylarchus) is a Greek title meaning “ruler of a tribe”, from phyle, “tribe” + archein “to rule”. In Classical Athens, a phylarch was the elected commander of the cavalry provided by each of the city’s ten tribes. In the later Roman Empire of the 4th to 7th centuries, the title was given to the leading princes of the Empire’s Arab allies in the East (essentially the equivalent to “sheikh”), both those settled within the Empire and outside. From ca. 530 to ca. 585, the individual phylarchs were subordinated to a supreme phylarch from the Ghassanid dynasty.” Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. p. 1672. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
Here is also important to make a reference regarding the title “Sheikh”.
Sheikh also transliterated Sheik, Shaik, Shayk, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, and Shekh— is a noble and honorific title in the Arabic culture. Commonly designates a hereditary ruler of a tribe or people. The title is given to a royal male at birth, whereas the related title “Sheikha” is given to a royal female at birth. The title “Sheikh” also has a religious connotation being given to prominent Islamic leaders or clerics, which is not our focus here. The word literally means “a man of great power and nobility”, and it is used strictly for the royal families of the middle east. The title means: leader, elder, or noble. However, there are many degrees of “Sheikh”. It goes from a non-sovereign, non-dynastic Ottoman tax collector or a leader of small Bedouin tribe to the prince of a nation, like the UAE, Bahrain, etc. Hence, a Sheikh from a sovereign or semi-sovereign ruling family is the equivalent of a prince.
Here’s also important to mention the principle of sovereign equivalency. Although there are differences in Royal rank (with merely honorific meaning), the Prince of Monaco is as sovereign as the Emperor of Japan or the Queen of the United Kingdom.
But “Sheikh” was not the title given to the Ghassanid Kings. According to Professor Irfan Shahid:
“The title awarded to the Ghassanid Ruler or Chief by his own people was neither Patricius nor Phylarch but king (Malik). The title, established beyond doubt by Procopius is confirmed by the contemporary poetry of Hassan and of later poets who continued this authentic tradition.” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century, Volume 2 part 2 pg.164
The dignity of king in Procopius had been sharply differentiated from the “Supreme Phylarchate” (archyphilarchia), with which Arethas was endowed …” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, vol. 1, 1995, p. 103
The dignity of king was not new to the Ghassanids; they had brought it with them from the Arabian Peninsula where its assumption by a Ghassanid ruler is attested in a Sabaic inscription. When the Ghassanids appeared on the stage of Byzantine history, their chiefs, such as Tha’laba and Harith had already been kings to their subjects.” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century, Volume 1, p.104
In 528 CE, emperor Justinian I bestowed upon King Al-Harith VI (Arethas in Greek sources) the aforementioned title of “Basileus” which, as cited, signified at that period the same as emperor.
The old Basileia (kingship) was confirmed by the byzantine emperor; the new one was bestowed by him…” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century, Volume 1, p.104
In the case of the Ghassanids it was a confirmation and an extension of the royal tradition that the Ghassanids had had and which they had brought with them from south Arabia.” (Ibid p.111)
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an empire is:
“a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority; especially: one having an emperor as chief of state”
The “Basileus Araves” or “the Emperor of the Arabs”ruled over many tribes in addition to the Ghassanid people.
“These were included in the phrase in Procopius that spoke of the elevation of Arethas to the Archyphilarchia and the Basileia: ‘as many tribes as possible placed under his command’.” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, vol. 2, part 1, 1995, p. 51
Traditionally, each tribe was sovereign or semi-sovereign, having its own autonomous ruler. By simple logic that would make the bestowed “Basileia” an imperial title to all of the Arabs allied to the Byzantine empire.
“And though the Ghassanid King was the head of what we would today call a client state, he and the [byzantine] emperor met on equal footing – as comrades in arms – discussing matters of earthshaking and less-than-earthshaking importance.” Gene Gurney, “Kingdoms of Asia, the Middle east and Africa”, 1986, p.70
Here, the Ghassanid vassalage also has to be explained.
“Feudal Vassalage. So, also, tributary states, and those subject to a kind of feudal dependence or vassalage, are still considered as sovereign, unless their sovereignty is destroyed by their relation to other states. Tribute… does not necessarily affect sovereignty …, nor does the acknowledgement of a nominal vassalage or feudal dependency.” Henry Wager Halleck, Elements of international law and laws of war p.44
” . . . the mere fact of dependence or feudal vassalage and payment of tribute, or of occasional obedience, or of habitual influence, does not destroy, although it may greatly impair, the sovereignty of the state so situated.”(Ibid. p. 188)
According to one of the Forefathers of International Law, Emmerich de Vattel in his book, “Law of Nations”:
• 5. States bound by unequal alliance. We ought, therefore, to account as sovereign states those which have united themselves to another more powerful, by an unequal alliance, in which, as Aristotle says, to the more powerful is given more honour, and to the weaker, more assistance. The conditions of those unequal alliances may be infinitely varied, but whatever they are, provided the inferior ally reserve to itself the sovereignty, or the right of governing its own body, it ought to be considered as an independent state, that keeps up an intercourse with others under the authority of the law of nations.
• 6. Or by treaties of protection. Consequently, a weak state, which, in order to provide for its safety, places itself under the protection of a more powerful one, and engages, in return, to perform several offices equivalent to that protection, without however divesting itself of the right of government and sovereignty, – that state, i say, does not, on this account, cease to rank among the sovereigns who acknowledge no other law than that of nations.
. . .
• 8. Of feudatory states. The Germanic nations introduced another custom – that of requiring homage from a state either vanquished, or too weak to make resistance. Sometimes even, a prince has given sovereignties in fee, and sovereigns have voluntarily rendered themselves feudatories to others. When the homage leaves independency and sovereign authority in the administration of the state, and only means certain duties to the lord of the fee, or even a mere honorary acknowledgment, it does not prevent the state or the feudatory prince being strictly sovereign. the king of Naples pays homage for his kingdom to the pope, and is nevertheless reckoned among the principal sovereigns of Europe…”
The Ghassanid vassalage was limited to honorific homage and military alliance. Not even financial tribute or taxes were paid to Constantinople, on the contrary, a “salaria” or salary was paid to the Ghassanid kings so they could pay the Arab armies. Therefore, no harm to the Ghassanid sovereignty.
Such imperial bestowal to the Ghassanid King was so colossal and magnanimous that was criticized by Greek historian Procopius, a harsh critic of Arabs and especially the Ghassanid kings:
” . . . the Basileia (kingship) conferred by Justinian on Arethas takes a new meaning, one which Procopius’ comment that is something that ‘among the Romans (both western and eastern – byzantine) had never been done before‘…” (Ibid)
The imperial bestowal was very well documented being corroborated by hard evidence as the Usays inscription.
The Usays inscription
The (Usays) inscription is considered to be the most important Arabic inscription of the sixth century, the second most important of all the pre-Islamic Arab inscriptions as a historical document.” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, vol. 1, 1995, p. 117
But the strongest evidence [of the imperial bestowal] is supplied by contemporary epigraphy — the Usays Inscription carved by one of [King] Arethas commanders, Ibn Al-Mughira, who refers to him around A.D. 530 as Al-Malik, the King. There is also no doubt that the Ghassanid Arethas was dressed as a King on important occasions in Ghassanland, since the poet laureate of later times underscores his own eminent position among his Ghassanid patrons by nothing that he used to sit not far from their crowned head.” Irfan Shahîd, Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century, Volume 2 part 2 pg.164
“Contemporary documents reflect the contrast between the two Basileiai (kingships). In Simeon, Jabala is termed as ‘King of The Ghassanids’, in Usays inscription Arethas is called simply ‘The King’, possibly indicating the extension of the Basileia (kingship) over non-Ghassanids including the person who sets up the inscription.” (Ibid)
Also important to mention that the title of “Emperor of the Arabs” – wrongly called “king of the Arabs” by some authors – was subsequently confirmed by at least two other byzantine emperors. King Al-Mundhir ibn Al-Harith in 580 CE by Emperor Tiberius II Constantine (Justinian Dynasty /ruled 578-582 CE); and King Jabla ibn Al-Ayham by Emperor Heraclius (Heraclian Dynasty / ruled 610-641 CE). (See John A. Shoup, Culture and Customs of Jordan, pg. xvii)
It’s known by academia that the Ghassanid Dynasty ruled many realms in direct male line after the fall of the first State until 1747 CE. (See Ignatious Tannos Khoury, The Sheikhs Chemor rulers of Akoura (1211-1633 CE) and rulers of Zawie (1641-1747 CE)” Beirut, Lebanon, 1948)
“After the disappearance of the Ghassanid state, isolated Ghassanian Princes continued to reign in some oases and castles, along with Salihids and some other phylae.” Bowesock/Brown/Grabar “Late Antiquity” –, Harvard University Press, 1999, p. 469
Certainly, the most noteworthy of those reigns was the Byzatine Empire in the 9th Century CE.
“Although little is known of Jabala’s activities after his emigration to Anatolia, his place in the history of the Ghassanids in the Middle Byzantine period is important, since it was he who established a strong Ghassanid presence in Byzantine Anatolia, one which lasted for many centuries. The climax of this presence was the elevation of one of his descendants to the purple and his establishment of a short-lived dynasty which might be described as the House of Nicephorus.” “Ghassan post Ghassan” by Prof. Irfan Shahid, Festschrift “The Islamic World – From classical to modern times”, for Bernard Lewis, Darwin Press l989, pg. 325
solidus nicephorus
Solidus of the Ghassanid emperors of Byzantium Nikephorus and Staurakius
“Nicephorus (A.D. 802-11) was a descendant of the Ghassanid [King] Jabala.” (Ibid.)
This assertion was even stronger not merely citing the King Jabala as ancestor, but the eponym of the Royal Ghassanid Dynasty using the name of King Jafna, the founder of the Ghassanid Kingdom. Therefore, we can conclude that Emperor Nicephorus (or Nikephoros) was not only citing his ascendancy but by using the term “Jafna” he was claiming to be the head of the Ghassanid Dynasty.
“…This valuable information comes from Tabari; see Tarik (Cairo, 1966), VIII, 307, when he speaks of [King] Jafna, the eponym of the Ghassanids, rather than [King] Jabala.” (Ibid. pg.334)
In addition to both the Imperial titles cited above, Ghassanid Emperor Leo Gabalas and is brother John (proclaimed descendants of Ghassanid King Jablah since “Gabalas” is the Greek transliteration of “Jablah“) ruled the island of Rhodes from 1203 until 1250 CE. More details HERE
For all of the aforementioned, the Ghassanid Dynasty has the imperial dignity not only once, but three times. First, in 528 CE receiving it from the highest emperor of those times, the Byzantine; second by being elevated to that very throne in 802 CE and third by being recognized as “Ceasars” (emperors) and Masters of Rhodes in 1203 CE.
Important to mention that the legal existence of those titles today is not due to an ancient link to a monarchy that ended fourteen centuries ago but through the a Princely Family (El-Chemor) that reigned until the 18th century in Zgharta-Zawie (currently Lebanon) and was recognized as the lawful heir of those Ghassanid titles by the Ottoman empire until its end in 1924 and is also recognized by the Lebanese republic until today. Please, click on the link to an official 2014’s article (in Arabic) from the Lebanese Government News’ Agency (Lebanese Republic – Ministry of Information) mentioning the titles and validating the book written in 1947 about the family’s history.
More about the Ghassanid Dynasty
Forget persecution “just” against Christians
While the world discusses about the intentions and anti-Isis projects, on small numbers of military forces to be sent to halt the advance of terrorists, on barriers to be placed as a thin brake for the peaceful entry of real or imagined migrant in Western Europe, a sad reality recurs and looms over the Middle East: Christians continue to be persecuted and murdered on a daily basis.
And so often, by fellow or friends of those want to uphold human rights in Gaza and impose sharia. I have nothing against the Palestinians, nothing against the Kurds, Iranians and Muslims. In fact, my long studies of history and anthropology have always led me to study and a great deal considering the civilizations of the Middle East or African populations whose history has put them in friction conditions if not continuous hostilities with other realities very next to their development centers. But these are problems concern the history and political science, with all the prospects a scholar can help to investigate and explore. I know too well the Christian religion is a Few since its inception has been persecuted. Jesus himself warned his disciples: “Rejoice when you are persecuted because of Me” by drawing several times what would be the essential lines in the history of Christianity.
It was not a persecutor of the St. Paul himself then struck on the road to Damascus? and how indifferent, how many jailers,since the days of the Roman Empire up to the Vietnamese prisons of the twentieth century, have been converted by the light emanated from love, patience and hope of those the blind would have looked like polosers condemned to rot for years?
However, I must remember the basis of persecution, as the basis for all the massacres perpetrated in the world at all latitudes, there is a rejection of life, a hatred for the individual man and mankind in a broader perspective. It’s no use trying to fool us. The hatred of which we speak is often generated and fed without cause, not only for economic or racial reasons of which we speak; but also for pleasure, for the satisfaction of hurting the man who is not like us or do not think like us. For the sick joy of inflicting the next mortal pangs in their own eyes, as did Calvin in Geneva, the Protestant capital of his time, when he wanted to personally attend to the numerous executions which were carried by its courts.
How surprising about this?
Jesus himself called the Devil “the murderer” and “the enemy of mankind.” The envy of the man who was one of the most beautiful of the angels was born since the beginning of time, ever since his heavenly and disembodied intelligence had the knowledge the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, has a body glorious and so human. Like being second to a man-God?
While for men the proof of his loyalty to God would have been constituted by the refusal to obey and not to eat the forbidden fruit, so for the angels proof was established by the acceptance of this supernatural reality. From knowing God had a mother, and that would be born men as priests who would have brought down the second Person on earth every day in the future earthly world. Michael and his fellows, devotees to their Creator proclaim their “amen” and went up to Heaven. Lucifer shouted his “non serviam” (I will not serve), and was instantly plunged into the deep abyss of which St. Paul speaks. Snatch man to God is the devil’s goal. Rip the soul but also to eradicate them from the earthly life; for the Lord is a lover of life, and therefore does not rejoice at the death of the living. Wars and persecutions, disasters and misunderstandings are the visible events of a struggle has physically started in heaven and continues on earth, having as object of conquest men and States.
About horrible massacres carried out by the pagan emperors, of which he himself was a witness, Eusebius of Cesarea says, “when the whole human race was plunged into a dark night and a dense darkness for the deception of demons and nefarious action of enemy spirits of God, with Jesus’ coming disbanded once and for all the chain of our wickedness.
But on one such grace and such a benefit the envy of the devil who hates the good and love evil is almost exploded and has moved against us its deadly forces (…) and excited secretly against us all kinds the beast in human form “(cf. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, X, 4, 13-14).
It’s a fact brings us back through the millennia to the great massacres of history and chronicle. Protestant persecution physically liquidated all those refused to accept the creed of Luther, and caused the depopulation of entire Nations such as Norway and Iceland. The years of the English and French revolution who starved Europe and led to the martyrdom and war million victims in the name of civilization, of enlightenment. The invasion of the Americas with the massacres of American Indians and Redskins. And before that, human sacrifices with which the Aztecs and Maya pre-Columbian bloodied their temples, sacrificing thousands of innocent people every year in honor of their gods fatal. L ‘ “useless slaughter” represented by the First World War “.
The colonialism that was imposed in Africa and Asia, a new economic and political orders distorting the traditions of those populations. The Russian revolution which stretched its tentacles on the world to impose a new order in which there would be no place for God. The nazi and fascist regimes with their remodeling of human dignity, and the death camps, authentic temples of the devil and his unclean priests, clothed in the vestments of the uniforms of the SS squads, and to celebrate their satanic death rites. The Pol Pot fields where huge masses of people had begun to die and make room for a company that had no memory of the past. And ‘terrible to think how many massacres have been committed in the name of God, in the name of the alleged intellectual superiority, in the name of the greatness of a race or the triumph of a religion. Forgetting, especially on the part of too many Christians, Jesus’ warning that recalls how the smaller will be the first in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The persecution and an increasing number of Christians are part of this plot that insistently wants blood. While Jesus dies on the cross, shedding their blood and shouting his thirst for souls, the devil nailed on endless crosses so many human beings because of their blood thirsty. And the blood of these Hosts killed out of hatred for God and for life, is especially welcome if they are innocent baptized Christians who are blood relatives of Jesus for having received Communion or Jews in whose veins flows the same blood of Christ .
Think of as still in the Middle Ages knew well the families who were descended from King David, made up of people who had the same ancestor as the founder of Jesus. Kin of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Anne and S. Gioacchino, St. John Baptist, the Apostles. The fierce tyrants have sought them in the ghettos and in the houses, they wrote their sentencing boards, posters racist and racist laws to have the taste to become like King Herod who wants to identify, among the infants children of Israel, divine child.
It’s time to think of our Martyrs, from Nigeria to Egypt to Iraq, and that the false gods generalist leave space to our Christian brothers who are killed out of hatred for Christ.
Carmelo Currò
The opinions expressed by the Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of the Royal Herald or any employee thereof. The Royal Herald is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the Blog’s collaborators.
The real majesty – part 2
The celebration of the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Rainha Elizabeth II, que vai completar 90 anos, foi fotografada ao lado do filho Charles, do neto William e do bisneto George (Foto: Royal Mail/Reprodução)
I’m personally against the “glamorization’ of the role of a monarch. We should perceive a sovereign as the ultimate servant. Someone that decides to give his/her life in its totality to a nation and people. That means service24 /7 and almost no freewill and privacy. And… to include all the family in the package.
And in that sense, HM Queen Elizabeth II is an example to be followed. Ninety years of age and over 63 dedicated to service. Very few monarchs in history had her impeccable sense of duty.
So today, I celebrate Her Majesty’s birthday and congratulating the Queen of Britain for her amazing example.
With appreciation and admiration,
HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor of Ghassan Al-Numan VIII
Fear is worse than death
Syrian children say they’re living under constant fear
War is a subject for adults. And even for the them it’s a matter capable of chilling everyone souls. No children should live with the cold and heavy sword of death pending over their heads.
Watch the testimony of the children of Daraya, Syria and dare to complain about your live.
More about this news:
Leadership by example
Pope Francis takes Syrian refugees to Rome after the visit in Lesbos…
… and guess what? All the 3 families are Muslim!
What message that sends to the world?
That humanitarianism is the highest expression of religion, or at least, it should be. After all , basic logic dictates that we are humans before being Christian or Muslim.
BRAVO, Pope Francis!
More about the news:
Sectarianism: a social cancer
How ethnic and religious “labeling” is destroying the Middle East and menacing the whole world
As we watch bewildered the fantastic technological advancements in the world we also see the barbaric reflexes of our still primitive nature. It’s absolutely paradoxical to put a man on the moon and still kill each other because of religion or ideology. The rise of groups like
ISIS, recruiting people from many western countries shows how far behind we are regarding tolerance and coexistence.
Before, the worst sectarian conflicts were restricted to the Middle East region, but today we see them infecting the whole world as a social cancer. Unfortunately, the middle eastern “patient” is in a terminal condition and will die very soon if noting is done. As if it was possible the situation in the region to get any worse, some might question. The answer is a rotund “yes”!
Before the so-called “globalization”, nations could live almost independently as “social islands”. Currently, that behavior became more and more difficult. The most closed and solid regimes are getting more and more poriferous of the novelties from the “free” world. Naturally, the internet has a considerable share on this process of penetrating the once inexpugnable system. The politicians and the religious leaders must fill the gaps creating legal systems where everyone is the same, regardless of any label.
Religions and ideologies are an important part of our individuality and shall be preserved as inalienable rights. However, when those transpire to the political and legal establishment, that’s when there are problems.
In a recent article on the Aljazeera’s website, the award winning Egyptian-Belgian journalist Khaleb Diab wrote an opinion article called: “Diversity in disunity in the Middle East -The practice of assigning a faith to every citizen promotes division and sectarianism” and he finishes the piece saying:
It is time for Middle Eastern countries to remove all mention of religious and sectarian affiliation from official documents, and to abolish religious family courts.
This would not only be good for the freedom of belief – not to mention love and the equality of citizens – it would also reinforce a sense of common national identity among communities within a country, promoting a sense of unity in diversity.”
We share this opinion. We shall never forget that before everything and anything we are human beings all sharing the same small planet. Sadly, sometimes the labels make us to forget this paramount and self-evident truth.
Help Syrian Children now!
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Description: The Familiar Nephropathy is a progressive and fatal disease causing kidney failure in English Cocker Spaniels. Until 2 years of age, chronicle destruction of kidneys is forming. First marked symptoms are the increase of thirst, abnormal growth, weight loss, vomiting, and decreased appetite. The disease is caused by molecular abnormalities of collagen type IV in glomerular capilla, where the blood is filtrated in kidneys. A mutation in type IV collagen can disrupt the molecular integrity of the entire collagen network and cause kidney failure.
In connection with the FN disease in English Cocker Spaniels, the one-point substitution of adenine for thymine in position 115 in exon 3 of COL4A4 gene has been described (mutation c.115A˃T), and this mutation results in the creation of premature stop codon. In affected individuals, the peptide products of two genes COL4A3 and COL4A4 are completely absent.
Inheritance: autosomal recessive
Mutation: c.115A˃T in COL4A4 gene
Sample: EDTA whole blood (1.0 ml) or 2 buccal brushes. For official purposes, the confirmation of the dog’s identity by Veterinarian is recommended.
The analysis is suitable for the following breeds: English Cocker Spaniels |
The One-Day Presidency: Senator David Rice Atchison
March 1, 2016
Senator David Rice Atchison in 1849. Photo Public Domain.
In the circus of a Presidential Election Year of 2016 in the United States the electorate gets to see all types on individuals seeking the office. As a Canadian these characters and Presidential oddities of history and today fascinate me. That isn’t to say Canada hasn`t had its share of strange political characters and oddities through the years. More on some of those in later posts, but for now I’ll stick with the American Presidential ones.
Sunday March 4, 1849 at noon President James K. Polk’s term in office expired. President-elect Zachary Taylor refused to be sworn into office.Why because it was Sunday, a holy day to him.
The situation is such that the incumbent President is no longer in office, the president-elect will not take the oath of office, so who is the president, or is there a power vacuum? The next person in the line of succession is the President pro tempore (chairman of the Senate). The President pro tempore is a U.S. Senator elected by his fellow senators. On Sunday March 4, 1849 that person is Senator David Rice Atchison a Democrat from Missouri. His fellow senators believe that he automatically becomes the Acting President until President-elect Zachary Taylor takes the oath of office.
Senator Atchison was a strong advocate of slavery and territorial expansion. He fought for new States to be designated pro-slavery namely Kansas and Nebraska. This was prior to the Civil War of 1860-1865. He also served as a general in the militia during the Civil War on the Confederate side.
Many believe to this day that Senator Atchison was in fact the President of the United States for one day; however, this claim is dismissed by nearly all historians, scholars, and biographers. This originates from the belief by many that the office of the President is vacant until the taking of the oath of office.
The fact is Senator Atchison’s term also ended on March 4th. He was not sworn in for another term, or re-elected President pro tempore of the Senate until March 5th. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t require the President-elect to take the oath of office to hold the office, just to execute the Presidential powers. Senator Atchison never took the oath of office, nor was he asked to, therefore he was never Acting President.
Historians and scholars assert when the outgoing President’s term ends, the President-elect automatically assumes the Presidency. In this case it was confusing because everyone went strictly by the Constitution. Zachary Taylor took the oath of office at noon on Monday March 5, 1849. Constitutionally he in fact became the President at noon on Sunday March 4, 1849. History shows he was inaugurated on March 5th. Confused yet? No wonder people of the time wondered about this. Of course the good people of Missouri, Senator Atchison’s constituents claimed him as the President, at least for one day in 1849.
Atchison was 41 years and 6 months old at the time of the alleged One-Day Presidency, younger than any official President. Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest to serve, was 42 years and 11 months old when sworn in after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. John F. Kennedy was the youngest elected at 43 years and 7 months old at his inauguration in 1961.
So officially and legally Senator Atchison was never the President of the United States, however, his gravestone reflects the belief of his supporters that he was history`s only one-day President.
Grave of Senator Atchison/see photo credits below.
(By The original uploader was AmericanCentury21 at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=267600)
Minority governments in Canada.
October 18, 2015
canadian-flag-blowing-in-the-wind-PublicDomanThe Canadian election is tomorrow, October 19, 2015. The present government is the Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper. They have had a majority government since the election of May 2, 2011. Prior to that the Stephen Harper and his Conservatives were elected twice before, but both times with minority governments.
In 2006 for the first time, but were 30 seats short of a majority. This government lasted 2 years, 207 days (total 937 days) before another election was held. Then in the subsequent election held October 14, 2008 the Conservatives again failed to obtain a majority. This time they fell 12 seats short. This time the minority government lasted 2 years, 4 months, 9 days (total 859 days).
Finally in the next election of May 2, 2011 the Conservatives won the majority they were seeking. The two minority governments he and his party formed are the two longest lasting in Canadian history.
There are pros and cons to both majority and minority governments. Failing to obtain a majority government forces the winning party to work with the other parties on important legislation. This need to compromise is not easy, but if important legislation such as a budget are defeated then the government must resign and another election called. With a majority these is no need to compromise. However, if the government doesn’t take other parties and stakeholders concerns into account then at the next election they may be defeated or lose their majority. Minority governments require a deft balancing act to remain in power.
Here are some interesting facts about minority governments in Canadian history since 1867,
– the longest consecutive term was 937 days (2 years, 6 months, 24 days) by the Stephen Harper Conservatives. Elected January 23, 2006 and dissolved September 7, 2008.
– the shortest duration of a minority government was the John Diefenbaker Progressive Conservatives elected April 12, 1957 and dissolved February 1, 1958. It lasted just 177 days (5 months, 25 days).
– smallest minority was the Stephen Harper Conservative government elected in 2006.
– average duration of minority governments in Canada is 479 days (about 1 year, 140 days)
– first minority government in Canadian history was William Lyon Mackenzie King led Liberals in the election of October 8, 1921. Initially this government held an exact number of seats for a majority but lost two seats in by-elections of 1924 and then continued as a minority government until later in 1924 when another by-election returned them to a majority.
The election of 2015 is too close to call at this writing, but polls show the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau forming a minority government. The other two parties having a realistic chance are the incumbant Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Thomas Mulcair. It would be a huge surprise if a majority government is elected on October 15th. Voter turnout is anticipated to be heavy based on the Advance Polls so anything can happen.
** Update – Liberals pull off upset majority government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau) will be sworn in November 4, 2015.
America’s First Female President
August 12, 2015
President Woodrow Wilson-photo Library of Congress
With all the talk of the possiblity of Hillary Clinton becoming the first female President of the United States here’s a look back to 1919. Many historians believe that from 1919 to 1921 the United States had an “Acting President” who was a female. Her name was Edith Wilson. She was the wife of President Woodrow Wilson. Here’s how it happened and the circumstances leading up to it.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1896 – February 3, 1924) served as the 28th President of the United States from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921. Wilson served during the World War I period. When the war began he declared the U.S. to be neutral keeping them out of the war. Isolationism dominated American politics and society in the early 20th century. Eventually events forced the U.S. to enter the war in April 1917. Wilson focused on diplomacy and financial considerations during the war letting his generals plot strategy and run the day to day operations.
One of his chief accomplishments was endorsing the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This gave women the right to vote when it was ratified in 1920.
In 1918 near the end of the war he issued his Fourteen Points a proposed framework for peace. After the armistice he went to Europe in 1919. There he signed the Treaty of Versailles. A key part of the treaty was the formation of the League of Nations. This forerunner was an attempt to ensure peace on a go-forward basis.
Edith Wilson-photo Library of Congress
He returned to the United States and began a nationwide tour to promote ratification of the Treaty of Versailles by Congress. In the end Senate Republicans rejected the Treaty. The U.S. never did ratify and didn’t take part in the League of Nations. Wilson’s power dimished as a result of this defeat.
This tour and the effort to get his proposals endorsed exhausted him. On October 2, 1919 in Pueblo, Colorado he collapsed and never fully recovered. He’d suffered a serious stroke. It paralyzed his left side and left only partial vision in the right eye. This left President Wilson bedridden in the White House effectively incapacitated.
His fitness for the presidency came into serious question. No one, not even his wife, his doctor or personal assistant was willing to start the process of certification of fitness for office as mandated in the Constitution, his “inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office”. Vice President Thomas Marshall was ignored and not even considered to take over until Wilson regained his health.
Wilson`s wife and first lady Edith (nee Bolling) took over many routine duties and details of the Presidency. Edith decided which matters of state were important to bring to the bedridden Wilson. In her biography she wrote,
“I studied every paper sent from the different Secretaries or Senators and tried to digest and present in tabloid form the things that, despite my vigilance, had to go to the President. I, myself, never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs. The only decision that was mine was what was important and what was not, and the very important decision of when to present matters to my husband”.
This sure sounds like she was “acting” as president. Many in Washington began referring to her as “the Presidentress”.
Even though Wilson was secluded in the White House in 1920 due to his stroke he still formulated a strategy for reelection. This attempt at a third term deadlocked the 1920 Democratic Convention. The party ignored his reelection attempt and he withdrew. Eventually the Democrats nominated Governor James Cox of Ohio. The general election was won by Republican candidate Warren Harding and Edith Wilson’s quasi-presidency ended.
Obviously not officially recognized Edith Wilson was “Acting President” from October 1919 until 1921, the end of her husband`s second term. Eventually this complex example formed part of the argument for passage of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment clarifies the incapacity issue and provides a clear mechanism for certification of a president`s ability to discharge his duties.
McCallops, James S. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson: The Unintended President, New York: Nova History Publications, 2003
Wilson, Edith Bolling Galt. My Memoir. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1939
What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 Electoral votes?
November 6, 2012
In an extremely close presidential election it is possible that no candidate could get the needed majority of 270 Electoral votes. The Constitution of the United States makes provision for this scenario.
The Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804):
This states in layman’s language that if no one presidential candidate gets the required majority, than the House of Representatives would choose immediately, by ballot, the President. However, it is important to note the vote would be by states, the representation from each state would have one vote. So each Representative does not get one vote, rather each state represented in the House gets one vote.
Again if no one vice-presidential candidate gets a majority of Electoral votes, then the Senate would choose the Vice-President from the two candidates with the most Electoral votes.
This system raises an interesting scenario. If both the presidential and the vice-presidential candidate did not receive a majority of Electoral votes, both would be elected by Congress, the House of Representatives the President, and the Senate, the Vice-President. This election if the Senate stays Democratic and the House stays Republican as expected then the likely scenario in this rare case would be President Romney and Vice-President Biden for the next four years.
What an interesting administration those would be. History consists of what-if scenarios. Some come true and others don’t. Watch closely to see what happens here.
Campaign bus revamped.
March 24, 2012
This is the design painted on the bus when they kicked off the party’s provincial election campaign a week ago. In the Calgary Herald it now says they have repainted the bus and located the leader’s picture more towards the middle of the bus.
Most liked it the original way. It injected a little humor into the political arena.
The Wildrose Party is a relatively new, but powerful party here in the Province of Alberta and they are hoping to knock off the long serving Progressive Conservatives. Wildrose is a right leaning party. The election will most certainly come down to a battle between Wildrose and PC both whom have female leaders interesting enough.
Kennedy Sworn in as President – 50 yrs Ago Today
January 20, 2011
President Kennedy - official White House photo
Fifty years ago today John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office at exactly 12:00 p.m. Eastern time in Washington, DC.
Kennedy’s inauguration signaled a new generation ascending to power. His predecessor, President Eisenhower was of a previous generation and had served 8 years, since 1954-1961.
Kennedy, or JFK as he was affectionally known, was the youngest man ever elected president at age 43. Teddy Roosevelt was younger when he became president, but he became president after McKinley’s assassination.
Kennedy was also the first person of the Roman Catholic faith to be elected to the office.
The other fascination for people was his young family and his war service. He exuded personality and vigor. New ideas and renewed energy brought hope to young people.
When he was elected it was the height of the Cold War. The United States and the USSR had enough nuclear tipped missiles targeted at each other to destroy the world several times over. This wasn’t just an American or a Soviet issue, but a world living in the shadow of destruction. In fact the official policy of both nations was Mutually Assured Destruction or M.A.D. for short. Simply put if one country attacked the other it was assured both would be destroyed. Sounds crazy, but it was a fact that all of us lived with during that period. No wonder people were looking for new ideas and fresh hope.
Although his presidency was short-lived Kennedy began the dialogue with the Soviet Union on disarmament signing the Test Ban Treaty. This was a first step towards reducing nuclear arsenals.
I remember President Kennedy today for those steps he initiated towards reduction of nuclear tensions.
John Kennedy Wins Nomination – 50 years ago
July 13, 2010
JFK and Caroline in August 1963-White House photo
I can’t let this anniversary pass. On this day in 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy won the Democratic nomination for president at their convention in Los Angeles, California.
Of course, he went on to win the general election in November 1960 by the slimmest of margins to become president-elect. On January 20, 1961 he was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. He was also the youngest elected president to take office and the first person of the Roman Catholic faith to become president.
Tragically, he became the youngest president (46 years of age) to die in office when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963 while riding in a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas.
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Emerging adulthood Essay
Paper type: Essay
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One of the most important features of emerging adulthood is that this age period allows for exploration in love, work, and worldviews more than any other age period. The process of identity formation emerges in adolescence but mostly takes place in emerging adulthood. Regarding love, although adolescents in the United States usually begin dating between ages 12 and 14, they usually view this dating as recreational. It is not until emerging adulthood that identity formation in love becomes more serious.[4] While in the United States during adolescence dating usually occurs in groups and in situations such as parties and dances, in emerging adulthood, relationships last longer and often include sexual relations as well as cohabitation.
As far as work, the majority of working adolescents in the United States tend to see their jobs as a way to make money for recreational activities rather than preparing them for a future career.[6] In contrast, 18 to 25 year olds in emerging adulthood view their jobs as a way to obtain the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for their future adulthood careers.
Undergoing changes in worldviews is a main division of cognitive development during emerging adulthood.[7]
People in emerging adulthood that choose to attend college often begin college or university with the worldview they were raised with and learned in childhood and adolescence. However, emerging adults who have attended college or university have been exposed to and have considered different worldviews, and eventually commit to a worldview that is distinct from the worldview with which they were raised by the end of their college or university career.[ Emerging adulthood is the sole age period where there is nothing that is demographically consistent.[16][17]
In contrast, of adolescents in the United States up to age 18, over 95% live at home with at least one parent, 98% are not married, under 10% have become parents, and more than 95% attend school.[18] Similarly, people in their thirties are also demographically normative: 75% are married, 75% are parents, and under 10% attend school.[18] Residential status and school attendance are two reasons that the period of emerging adulthood is incredibly distinct demographically. Regarding residential status, emerging adults in the United States have very diverse living situations.[4] About one third of emerging adults attend college and spend a few years living independently while partially relying on adults.[19]
Contrastingly, 40% of emerging adults do not attend college but live independently and work full-time.[19] Finally, around two-thirds of emerging adults in the United States cohabitate with a romantic partner.[20] Regarding school attendance, emerging adults are extremely diverse in their educational paths (Arnett, 2000, p. 470-471). Over 60% of emerging adults in the United States enter college or university the year after they graduate from high school.[21] However, the emerging adulthood years that follow college are extremely diverse – only about 32% of 25-29 year-olds have finished four or more years of college.[18]
This is because higher education is usually pursued non-continuously, where some pursue education while they also work, and some do not attend school for periods of time.[4] Further contributing to the variance, about one third of emerging adults with bachelor’s degrees pursue a postgraduate education within a year of earning their bachelor’s degree.[22] Thus, because there is so much demographic instability, especially in residential status and school attendance, it is clear that emerging adulthood is a distinct entity based on its demographically non-normative qualities, at least in the United States.
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What’s A Teen’s Job
Parents are often frustrated with their teens. That frustration is often because a teen is doing their job. If we think of a teen as an Adult In Training, then we can start seeing that a lot of teen’s actions are actually a very positive way of them trying to accomplish their job in life.
Let’s take a specific scenario:
I used to work with a boy who loved to talk back. He constantly was challenging his mom, many times with disrespectful language, about why he needed to go to school, why he should come home at a reasonable hour, why he should continue taking part in his basketball team. His mom, understandably, was so frustrated. The commonplace interaction with her son was arguments. She felt backed into a corner sometimes: “I dread seeing him sometimes.”
On the one hand, (let’s be honest) we can see her son as a rude, selfish, little punk. What a brat! He swears, throws angry tantrums, refuses to do anything that we know is good for him.
On the other hand, we can see him as an adult in training. He is asking: “Why are these things important?” He is trying to say, “I’m not sure this all matters to me.” He is screaming (unfortunately literally, sometimes), “I need my freedom!”
Certainly, he needs to learn ways in which to express these things to his mom, so that he can get the best outcome. Certainly, his mom needs to hear what he’s really trying to say: “I’m unhappy going to school and I don’t understand why you’re trying to force me to go to a place that makes me unhappy.”
Teens (because they’ve only lived a short time on this earth) tend to not be able to communicate in ways that parents understand. In this scenario, there needs to be a little time for each of the people involved to develop a common language. Mom needs to find a way to communicate the importance of going to school (in terms of short-term consequences [we’ll talk about the importance of communicating short-term consequences in a later post!]), and the son needs to learn to communicate about his unhappiness and feel as though he has some say in how he spends his time.
The young man’s job is to test and challenge the way in which the world tells him to live his life. With his constant “Why’s” he is telling us that he loves his life and wants to spend his life doing meaningful things. He is asking to take risks, by trying new activities (maybe basketball isn’t what he wants to be doing). He is saying to his mom, “Hey, you’re making me do these things. But do you even know why?” He wants his opinions to matter. He wants a say. His mom’s response is fear: she is scared he won’t make good choices. She is scared that he won’t follow through on his commitments. The more she fights with him, the more she says to him, “You’re not an adult in training. You’re not capable. Your opinions don’t matter. You’re still a child.”
That’s not what you want any teen to hear. So we need to start consulting with teens when they’re fighting with us. They’re trying to communicate something when they’re fighting: what are they really saying? What do they really need? Since they are adults in training, they actually often know better about what they need than we give them credit for. Consider a baby crying: we trust that baby knows that he/she is hungry, needs to be changed, or is hurting. So when did we decide that a teen doesn’t have the same ability?
Find out more about a teen’s job (and a parent’s job) by checking out one of my presentations that I have online.
Feel free to contact me if you’ve got questions.
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During his lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that the civil rights movement and the labor movement had to remain firmly united. He understood that there can be no real equality without economic security and that government must play a role in protecting our most vulnerable.
Dr. King had gone to Memphis, the city of his assassination, to preach that no job holder should live in poverty. Before the bullet struck him, he had joined striking sanitation workers to march for living wage jobs and a union contract.
It is hard to imagine that he would not be angered to see how little real progress we have made since then. Today almost 1 in 3 working families nationally are low-income, according to an analysis of the latest available Census data by the Working Poor Families Project. Many of these working families reside in communities of color.
The core issue now affecting many workers, and the unemployed who hope to find work, is the issue that animated King in his final hours: too many jobs barely allow people to survive. They go to work each day and still live in poverty. More than forty years later, the need for living wage jobs is as urgent as ever.
The urgency is very clear in a place like New York City, where a record number of working residents, nearly 1.8 million, now rely on food stamps just to get by. Many of them hold jobs in rapidly expanding sectors like retail where companies and developers often receive large taxpayer-provided subsidies and create low-wage jobs in return. But an economy with a growing number of impoverished workers is unsustainable and destructive: more workers will turn to government for help, strain already overburdened public services, contribute less to the tax base, and increase the shared costs of poverty.
A better way forward is to ensure that private beneficiaries of public investments act in the best interest of communities and neighborhoods where they are located. From Baltimore to Los Angeles and beyond, cities have begun to require companies and developers receiving taxpayer subsidies to create jobs that enable people to be self-sufficient and avoid destitution. New York City and the rest of the country should follow suit.
Establishing a living wage standard for economic development and growth strikes the right balance for our communities and neighborhoods. When companies and developers benefit from government support, they should provide something in return – jobs that allow people to live in dignity.
“It was no victory for black men to be allowed to sit in a formerly white-only theater or to rent hotel accommodations which had been segregated, when they had no jobs,” the historian Manning Marable has written. “It was cruel to permit black children to sit in all-white schools, when their mothers had no money to provide for their lunches.” All the marching and organizing during Dr. King’s lifetime was meant to build economic empowerment and security for millions of workers in this country.
Using the language of his time, King once put it like this: “Negroes are almost entirely a working people. There are pitifully few Negro millionaires, and few Negro employers… Our needs are identical with labor’s needs–decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing… conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community.”
Dr. King’s legacy of standing up for the working poor animates the growing living wage movement in this country. It is the nexus where the labor movement and the civil rights movement must come together.
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X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
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What is an X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer?
An x-ray fluorescence spectrometer is an analytical chemistry instrument that determines each element present in a sample, as well as the quantity the elements present when applicable. A unique feature of x-ray fluorescence spectrometers is that the energy-dispersive type can be used non-destructively, making them appropriate for samples that need to be preserved or cannot be altered.
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Contact us today to learn more about Bruker’s handheld x-ray fluorescence spectrometers for your specific application needs. |
Public Release:
How plants sense gravity -- a new look at the roles of genetics and the cytoskeleton
Botanical Society of America
IMAGE: The actin cytoskeleton (green) and plastids (red) are believed to function in gravity sensing and signaling in plants. view more
Credit: Courtesy of Elison Blancaflor, Plant Biology Division, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Inc., Ardmore, OK
Gravity affects the ecology and evolution of every living organism. In plants, the general response to gravity is well known: their roots respond positively, growing down, into the soil, and their stems respond negatively, growing upward, to reach the sunlight. But how do plants sense gravity and how do they direct or signal their cells to grow in response to it? Although botanists understand a great deal about how this works, a recent article in the recent issue of the American Journal of Botany reviews what we know so far, from mechanical to genetic approaches; it reveals that there are still substantial gaps in our knowledge of the molecular details and highlights new ideas for potential regulating mechanisms.
One of the most constant environmental stimuli that a plant encounters is gravity. Elison Blancaflor, author of the article and a Professor in the Plant Biology Division at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Oklahoma, is particularly interested in the effects that gravity has on plant development, and especially in its pivotal role in the evolution of a plant's sensory and signaling system.
"Although the process of gravitropism--defined as the downward growth of the plant root so it can explore the soil better for nutrients and water and the upward growth of the plant shoots to maximize light absorption--appears to be a simple plant response that we observe here on earth, the biological processes that control it are rather complex," notes Blancaflor.
Indeed, Blancaflor explains in his review article that gravitropism requires the coordinated activity of different cell and tissue types. In plants, the area where gravity is sensed is often spatially distinct from the area of growth. So how do these two discrete areas communicate with each other and direct the plant to where it should grow?
To date, gravity sensing in plants has been explained by the starch-statolith hypothesis. For example, in roots, gravity-sensing cells at the tip of the root contain dense, starch-filled organelles known as amyloplasts. Amyloplasts settle to the bottom of the cells in response to gravity, which then triggers the hormone auxin to move to another, distinct, area of cells and causes them to elongate and bend toward gravity. However, the molecular details of exactly how the physical movement and settling of amyloplasts in one set of cells triggers the accumulation of auxin in another, physically distant, set of cells in a plant remains a mystery.
The most prevalent current hypothesis is that the cytoskeleton, or cellular scaffolding, plays a major role in this gravity-sensing, intercellular communication; the cytoskeleton is made up of filaments, consisting of the proteins actin or tubulin, that allow movement of materials along strands, such as is seen in meiosis or mitosis. However, there is a major controversy in the field regarding the role of actin in gravitropism primarily due to contradictory outcomes in studies where actin was inhibited--the most interesting ones, according to Blancaflor, being those where actin disruption actually led to enhanced gravitropism.
Blancaflor tackles this controversy by reviewing what we know regarding how amyloplasts work, what affects actin, and how recent genetic studies have discovered that proteins may regulate actin and therefore auxin distribution. For example, recent genetic work using the model plant, Arabidopsis, reveals potential mechanisms as to how the actin cytoskeleton connects the gravity sensing cells to auxin in the growing cells.
Although Blancaflor's review article specifically discusses, based on years of research, how one component of the plant cell, namely the cytoskeleton, controls the process of plant gravitropism, he notes that understanding gravitropism has important implications for agriculture as well.
"Information from basic studies on the cytoskeleton and how plants respond to gravity," he comments, "can inform and provide strategies for genetically engineering crop plants with improved root systems or overall plant architecture."
Blancaflor's interest in gravitropism goes even beyond this earth's atmosphere and into space: "The research I discuss in this article has led me to explore how minimal gravity impacts plant growth and development, and to ask if, like on earth, the actin cytoskeleton also contributes to plant growth in space where gravity is reduced."
Indeed, Blancaflor has conducted research on the Space Shuttle and will have some upcoming experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) this year related to the topic he reviews in this special issue article.
Blancaflor Elison B. 2013. Regulation of plant gravity sensing and signaling by the actin cytoskeleton. American Journal of Botany 100(1): 143-152. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1200283
The full article in the link mentioned is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary at After this date, reporters may contact Richard Hund at for a copy of the article.
The Botanical Society of America is a non-profit membership society with a mission to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere. It has published the American Journal of Botany for nearly 100 years. In 2009, the Special Libraries Association named the American Journal of Botany one of the Top 10 Most Influential Journals of the Century in the field of Biology and Medicine.
For further information, please contact the AJB staff at
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How to Grow Berries in Southern California Guide
How to Grow Berries in Southern California
The arrival of ripe, sweet berries signals sunshine and summertime fun. However, it does take a bit of know-how to grow your own berries in Southern California so we’ve put together an overview of the best types to consider in addition to planting methods.
Before choosing a variety, you’ll need to analyze how much space you can allocate to berries as some require a lot of it. Others might need trellising and or stake support, which can easily be a DIY project.
Big Blackberries Hang From a Branch
The blackberry is the most heat-tolerant berry and a good choice for inland climates. They also happen to be among the berries that are the easiest to grow almost anywhere in Southern California.
Varieties that grow upright often don’t need a trellis (perhaps a few stakes instead) as canes (stems) can support a massive amount of fruit on their own. They’re called freestanding blackberries and do require a little bit of training to guide them into the right shape, but not nearly as much as other berries on this list.
Other varieties of blackberries will require large space in the garden and more advanced support. Therefore, the most important question to ask your local garden center is which type you’re buying and what it’s growing habit is if not listed on the tag.
P6216819A balcony garden 20130621
Did you know that boysenberries were actually developed in Southern California? A family friend of the Knott’s family (Knott’s Berry Farm) developed a new strain by crossing a raspberry, a loganberry and a blackberry. Walter Knott was able to successfully reproduce the berry and named it after its original creator, Rudolph Boyson.
Boysenberries are usually planted by seed in well-draining soil and require full sun though can tolerate occasional light shade. It’s a vining plant that also does well in containers. If left to its own devices the plant can grow rather bushy which makes it difficult to harvest berries. Avoid hassle by training it to vine upward on a trellis or horizontally on a wire. Many experts prefer a two-wire trellis system as the second wire can train new growth during the plant’s second year.
Berries will appear after a year. If planting by seed, shoot to get them in the ground between October – November.
Blueberry plants are fantastic additions to Southern California gardens because they provide year-round interest with foliage that changes from green to red in the fall before leaves drop and regrow.
They’re actually easy-going plants if you plan accordingly. Armstrong Garden centers recommend purchasing two different types of blueberry plants to lengthen harvesting time and maximize yield. Southern California nurseries carry low-chill (southern highbush) blueberries which can tolerate mild winters as well as frequent sunshine. The upshot is that these berries are also the most flavorful.
This is another relatively-easy-care plant as raspberries do not require extensive pruning or trellising. A few stakes will typically do. It’s also so much better to grow them yourself to avoid the disappointment of finding spoiled berries in a pack purchased at the store as they have a short shelf life.
Raspberries are not terribly common plants to find in local nurseries so you may need to put in a special order. Most are commonly grown as annuals and trimmed to the ground after the last fruit of the season.
The list of raspberries one can grow is quite long. When it comes to red raspberries, there are basically two types: summer bearing and fall bearing. Keep in mind that plants have thorns as well as require full sun and regular water.
Goji Berries
mongolian goji berries
Goji berries might be the trendiest super fruit at the moment and it’s possible to save a little cash by growing your own. Native to Tibet, they are drought tolerant in California gardens once established. Fruit starts to appear during the second year. Pruning is recommended as berries form on new growth. Plants can grow up to 7′ tall if not pruned, though they do well as a container plant. You can even train them on a trellis if desired.
This video details how to grow goji berries in detail.
Spring is the best time to start strawberries, a very inexpensive plant to buy young at any local nursery. You can actually keep them in the ground year-round to display their pretty leaves when fruit isn’t in season but they typically do not survive beyond 3 years. Southern California gardeners have a choice of varieties so be sure to note which one it is that you’re purchasing.
June bearing plants tend to yield the most fruit. Alpine strawberries bear small fruit and make an excellent ground cover option. Day-neutral strawberries produce large quantities of fruit and are the type to buy if you would like a year-round yield. Yes, along the coast it’s possible to have a garden with strawberries in every season.
Once planted, your mission is to ensure that roots do not dry out. Bugs love strawberry plants so keep an eye on them. It’s best to find varieties that are certified disease-free.
If you’re not going to eat strawberries immediately, they’ll store longer if you pick them with the stem and crown attached.
Other “Berry” Good Advice
Be sure to check our tips for storing produce, including berries, to insure that you’re able to enjoy them for as long as possible.
If birds and other wildlife are plucking berries of the vines, consider protecting plants with netting.
Your eye is one of the best judges to determine when a berry is ripe as fruit will transition from green to a vibrant, uniform color. However, it should also slip off of its stem rather easily.
Time of day is also critical. It’s best to pick berries in the morning when they’re at their sweetest. Some berries spoil quickly and are much less flavorful when picked in heat. If morning isn’t doable, then evenings after sundown are your next best harvesting time.
Your Turn…
What kind of berries do you grow?
Photo credit: top, Flickr/robbertholf; blackberries, Flickr/donhomer; boysenberry, Flickr/pussreboots; blueberries, Flickr/spectrus; raspberry, Flickr/[email protected]; goji berries, Flickr/ strawberries, Flickr/[email protected] |
Venezuelan Revolution
Chavez five years 6 Image chavezcandangaThe Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela can be traced back to 1989, when the masses of workers and poor rose up against an IMF-imposed package of austerity measures. Carlos Andres Perez responded by sending the army to kill unarmed protesters, leaving hundreds dead. This led to a failed uprising of junior military officers, led by Hugo Chavez, against the government in 1992. On release from jail, Chavez stood in the 1998 presidential election and won against the joint forces of the regime, opening up a revolutionary period.
Faced with imperialist aggression and coup plotting by the oligarchy, Chavez used the country's oil resources to carry out a widespread programme of social reforms, particularly in the fields of housing, education and healthcare. Companies were nationalised and workers occupied their factories. In 2005, Chavez declared that the aim of the revolution was socialism. But this revolution was never completed.
Back in 2005, Alan Woods, in The Venezuelan Revolution: A Marxist Perspective, explained that it is impossible to make half a revolution:
“[T]he Venezuelan Revolution has begun, but it is not finished, and it cannot be finished until the power of the Venezuelan oligarchy is broken… This means the expropriation of the land, banks and big industry under workers’ control and management. It means the arming of the people... It means that the working class must organise independently and strive to place itself at the head of the nation. And it means that the Marxist tendency must strive to win over the majority of the revolutionary movement.”
The current crisis in Venezuela is being blamed on socialism by reactionaries in all corners of the planet. It is, therefore, vital that all socialists have a good understanding of the history of the revolution, its achievements and its shortcomings.
Just before dawn on 30 April, the Venezuelan opposition launched yet another attempt at a military coup. By the end of the day, the botched coup attempt seemed to have failed, with one of its leaders seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy, 25 of the soldiers involved requesting asylum at the Brazilian embassy and Juan Guaidó in hiding or on the run.
There is a certain trend of opinion amongst the liberal left, particularly in the US, which never felt very comfortable with the Bolivarian revolution. Now, in the midst of a serious and well-organised attempt by Washington to remove Maduro’s government, they insist on equally blaming both sides for the crisis, one which in their view can be resolved through “negotiations between the government and the opposition”. A chief representative of this point of view is Gabriel Hetland, who has written several articles on Venezuela for The Nation, Jacobinand other left-wing publications.
The failure of the 23 February “humanitarian aid” provocation on the Venezuelan border was a serious blow for Trump’s ongoing coup attempt. There were mutual recriminations between self-appointed Guaidó, Colombian president Duque and US Vice-President Pence. The US could not get a consensus from its own Lima Cartel allies in favour of military intervention.
Militias marching
So, 23 February came and went. This was the day that had been billed by the US and its local puppets as D-Day, when "humanitarian aid" was supposed to enter the country against the will of the evil Maduro, something which, as even the BBC correspondent admitted, had little to do with aid and everything to do with defying the authority of President Maduro.
“You are risking your future and your lives,” said Trump to Venezuelan military officers in a war-mongering speech in Miami on 18 February. “You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You’ll lose everything,” he added, perhaps frustrated that there have been so far no significant cracks in the Venezuelan armed forces, a month after the beginning of the ongoing US coup attempt.
Even though the ongoing imperialist coup in Venezuela has not yet succeeded, the impression one gets is that there is an inexorable march forward in its implementation, which is pushed mainly from forces abroad rather than from within Venezuela itself. The next step in the plan is the use of “humanitarian aid” as a provocation on the border with Colombia.
Washington's efforts to remove the Venezuelan government, an imperialist coup attempt, proceed apace. On 26 January, the US announced sanctions on PDVSA and seized assets from the Venezuelan oil company. This is a very serious blow to the Venezuelan economy and government. It is clear that the Trump administration thinks it has a window of opportunity and it is going in for the kill.
As we have reported previously, a coup d'état is underway in Venezuela, promoted by imperialism and its lackeys of the Lima cartel; and executed by its puppets in the opposition. On 23 January, the coup entered into a higher phase of its execution when deputy Guaido took an oath as “president in charge of the republic”.
The ongoing attempt by Washington and the reactionary Venezuelan opposition to remove President Maduro will reach a key stage today. The opposition have called for mass protests and Mike Pence issued a public statement giving the green light for “regime change”. As we have explained before, in Venezuela, there is an ongoing attempt to remove president Maduro through a military coup instigated by Trump, Bolsonaro, Macri and Almagro.
An imperialist coup d'état attempt is underway in Venezuela. On 10 January, President Maduro was sworn in for a new term of office. He had won the election on May 20. At that time, one section of the opposition decided to participate and another to boycott the elections. On 11 January, Juan Guaidó, the president of the opposition National Assembly (in contempt since 2015), refused to recognise President Maduro and declared himself willing to assume the presidency “with the support of the armed forces, the people and the international community.”
At 5.41pm, 4 August, a powerful explosion was heard near the rostrum from which Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was addressing a parade at Bolivar Avenue in Caracas to mark the 81st anniversary of the Bolivarian National Guard. President Maduro was unharmed, but seven members of the National Guard were injured.
The aggravation of the economic crisis is making life unbearable for working people in Venezuela. The destruction of the purchasing power of wages has been combined with the collapse of all basic infrastructure (water, electricity and public transport). Workers in different sectors have started to organise and protest, demanding higher wages; while peasants in the countryside are fighting attempts to destroy Chavez's agrarian revolution.
The Venezuelan elections on 20 May were merely an episode in a long saga of imperialist aggression, economic crisis and the deterioration of living conditions for the working class and poor. The reelected Maduro government has continued its policy of making concessions and appeals to the capitalists. If it wasn’t for the escape valves provided by subsidised food parcels, migration and the dollar-based economy, the situation would have led to a social explosion already. The mood of the chavista rank-and-file is increasingly angry and critical of the leadership. |
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Origins of Heating in Laser Crystals
Posted on 2007-01-15 as a part of the Photonics Spotlight (available as e-mail newsletter!)
Permanent link: https://www.rp-photonics.com/spotlight_2007_01_15.html
Author: , RP Photonics Consulting GmbH
Abstract: While heat dissipation and thermal lensing in laser crystals are in principle well known, there are interesting details which are often encountered but not properly understood and handled. The article discusses how heating effects can depend on various parameters, and explains that proper laser designs can avoid a lot of trouble with such matters.
Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta
Ref.: encyclopedia articles on thermal lensing, quantum defect, laser crystals, laser design
While the general effect of heat dissipation in laser crystals is very well known, also its consequence of thermal lensing, many uncertainties exist concerning the details. For example, is it more the pump intensity or also the laser intensity which determines the dissipated power density? How does this depend on resonator losses? And why do different crystals appear to behave differently in such respects?
In fact not only the details of the crystal are important, but also certain key parameters of the laser design, such as the lasing wavelength, focusing conditions and resonator losses. Without any lasing, even a perfect laser crystal, not exhibiting any parasitic processes such as quenching, would show some heating when being pumped. The average number of photons absorbed and emitted by the laser-active ions within some time interval may not substantially increase when lasing occurs, unless the pump absorption efficiency of the crystal (not of single ions!) is significantly decreased without lasing (→ saturation of pump absorption). The dissipated heat per photon can be larger or smaller with lasing, depending on the deviation of the laser wavelength from the average wavelength of spontaneous emission. In this respect, some ytterbium-doped gain media show quite a different behavior from the usual Nd:YAG or vanadate lasers. While some lasers are in danger of having their crystal fractured when the resonator is blocked, the crystals of others become even cooler under such conditions.
Additional effects come into play via parasitic processes. Quenching processes usually become stronger for higher upper-state populations and thus for higher resonator losses. Therefore, some Q-switched lasers are plagued by much stronger thermal lensing than the same lasers in continuous-wave operation (with the Q switch turned off). How strong that effect is, depends on the crystal quality and particularly the doping concentration, apart from design aspects as mentioned above. Unfortunately, the reproducibility can suffer when the crystal quality varies; one may have to take into account such variations in the laser design, which is possible by choosing appropriate parameters (e.g. for the required upper-level population) and also in the context of resonator design.
The complexity of such issues (or the absence of the related know-how) leads many to resign and just go for the trial-and-error approach. This may not be very efficient, however. Imagine for example the trouble which can occur when the results of the nicely tweaked prototype can not be reliably reproduced in production! A proper laser design does not only lead to a prototype with satisfactory performance, but also minimizes the dependence on variable parameters. Furthermore, a well done design will make it easier to understand and realize the potential for later improvements e.g. in terms of output power.
It is surprising indeed how many companies nevertheless stay with the muddle-through approach. Maybe this happens because people don't even know about alternative approaches, or got frustrated when trying this with insufficient experience.
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With the world of finance in meltdown, relying on HPC solutions to predict the future is vital, as Stephen Mounsey discovers
When IBM discusses computing in the financial services, it draws upon the image of the American Old West. A gunslinger’s life could depend on his ability to ‘shoot straight, shoot fast, and shoot often’, a situation that encouraged the rapid adoption of any technology perceived to give even a marginal advantage, no matter what the expense. The same paradigm has, until recently, existed among financial firms, with banks willing to invest large sums in both software and hardware in order to generate even a small advantage over their competition.
Times are tough for the financial services, and while the drive to upgrade is always going to stem from the need to remain competitive, it is urgently necessary for firms to reduce costs and increase effectiveness. As many companies offering HPC are finding, technologies that increase efficiency are likely to be highly sought after for the duration of the credit crisis and beyond.
Within the financial services, computational power is used for risk modelling, commodities pricing, algorithmic trading, and for data-feed processing. HPC is most often applied to commodity pricing and risk analysis. These are the areas requiring the most complicated simulations, making use of volatile data stemming from billions of trades per day, and which integrate the probabilities of all possible outcomes – outcomes that become exponentially more numerous with every second of analysis. Performance of the HPC solution directly influences a firm’s ability to remain competitive.
Conventional grid-based solutions
Many financial players, be they large multi-national investment banks or smaller, independent hedge funds, make use of grid computing as a cost-effective way of achieving the computational power they need. Grid computing brings a large number of computers to bear on one difficult problem simultaneously. In the financial services, the computers used are usually the desktop machines of the bank’s staff, as these are within the network’s security and are very numerous. The gridding relies upon specialised middleware to divide up the problem, and to delegate small tasks to these constituent elements. Grid systems differ from a conventional cluster in that they tend to be more loosely networked, constituent nodes may vary in specification, and the nodes may also be geographically dispersed. While any given cluster or grid tends to be dedicated to a particular application, grids make use of general-purpose grid software libraries and middleware.
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities makes use of one such middleware product; GridServer, from New York-based DataSynapse. Igor Hlivka, head of the quantitative analysis group at Mitsubishi UFJ, explains that the bank makes use of GridServer in order to co-ordinate the resources of more than 2,500 cores. Although off-the-shelf products exist, the level of control required is such that the group has written its own very high level APIs using Mitsubishi’s own language, M#. These APIs are implemented as a level of control above the GridServer, in order to further streamline and optimise activities depending upon the specific need of the bank at any given moment. Nocturnal requirements, for example, differ greatly from intra-day requirements; overnight, the grid runs the process-heavy risk engine in order to check the bank’s position with respect to its assets, in preparation for the next day’s trading. The huge variations in number and type of commodity in question make this a difficult task. Intra-day calculations lean towards pricing and forecasting, although around 800 cores remain devoted to the risk engine. Hlivka is very aware, however, that the grid’s constituent computers are in day-to-day use by personnel elsewhere in the bank, and so the gridding has to be very carefully optimised to ensure that the drain on resources is not noticed by individual users, a process he calls ‘desktop harvesting.’ Hlivka says ‘there are political implications to this [desktop harvesting] as well; we would not wish to be accused of “stealing” computing power from the end users of the computers.’
Future of gridding
First Derivative is a Newry, Northern Ireland-based company, which provides software and services to the capital markets sector, and has most of the toptier investment banks as customers. The company works closely with KX Systems, a California-based firm providing the underlying high-performance database technology, on top of which First Derivative’s software runs. Michael O’Neill, chief operating officer of First Derivatives, explains that ‘the very high-performance database systems can perform hundreds of thousands of times faster than a solution based upon Oracle or SQL Server.’ Most of the company’s data-handling applications can run happily on four CPUs, but O’Neill adds that some analysis requires complicated simulation, necessitating a ‘big grid deployment’.
The company has been part of a UK-wide experiment looking at the next generation of grid computing, a project known as NextGrid, alongside many other industrial players and stakeholders, including the School of Computer Sciences, Queen’s University, Belfast. The project succeeded in establishing new standards and specifications for the next generation of grid computing. O’Neill considered First Derivative’s involvement a great success, citing the industry-academia crossover as especially useful to the company. He said that ‘in order to develop, financial simulations need to become faster; for us, advanced grid technology is an obvious way of achieving that.’
Impact of tougher times
The recent tightening of purse strings has resulted in a drive to more cost-effective solutions; firms still need to increase the competitiveness of their computerisation by reducing latency (shooting faster), by improving reliability (shooting straighter), and by increasing capacity (shooting more often). The systems in place are still being updated as often as they were five years ago, only now updates need to happen at a reduced cost, requiring fewer man-hours, and minimal additional infrastructure. Data centres necessarily represent a huge investment; a 13,000m2 data centre was said to account for much of the £700m paid in September 2008 by Barclays for the assets of Lehman Brothers, with the stricken bank’s New York headquarters accounting for £500m of that sum. Furthermore, powering a data centre can account for up to 10 per cent of an institution’s IT budget, with market research firm Gartner predicting that this figure will rise to as much as 40 per cent by 2013. Space is also at a premium; a standard rack is able to hold around 42 discrete 1U-sized devices.
Banks are moving their data centres out of their city centre headquarters to locations where space is cheaper and electrical demands can be reduced. Some, such as Citibank in Frankfurt, are going as far as to publicise new installations as sustainable; they have turf roofs, are made of wood, and are powered in part by wind turbines. This added distance does, however, increase latency, and so it is not ideal for high-performance computing.
The corporate and investment banking arm of French bank BNP Paribas recently released news of a promising approach to cutting its electricity bills and increasing performance simultaneously. Around one teraflops of calculation for the global equities and commodity derivatives branch has been moved to graphical processing unit (GPU)-based systems (see HPC Projects, Feb/Mar 2009). The new system achieves a 15x overall speed-up on the simulations run upon it. The calculations are run on two 1U Nvidia Tesla components, each containing four GPUs, which are managed by an X86 server. These eight GPUs, drawing 2kW in total, have replaced a cluster of 500 conventional X86 CPUs, which drew around 25kW. A 100x increase of computing power per watt was achieved, rising to 190x when reduced cooling requirements are considered.
So how does GPU-based computing provide this performance? Monte Carlo methods are useful when dealing with a high degree of uncertainty in input values, making them suitable for risk analysis in business. The approach relies upon many iterations of random sampling to compute their results. Nvidia’s GPUs are based on its massively parallel Compute Unified Device Architecture (Cuda), which is optimised for high iteration. The GPUs each contain a random number generator which, when taken on its own, is 100x faster than a standard X86 solution. When fed back into the Monte Carlo simulations, the speed-up is in the order of 25-50x.
Responding to change
Sumit Gupta, senior product manager for Nvidia’s Tesla group, says: ‘When the markets move, traders need to be able to rapidly build and test a pricing model in order to make new financial products available.’ In order to be useful, the hardware has to be effective when used by a non-specialist. Cuda is currently coded for using a slightly modified version of C, with libraries available for Java, Python, .Net and others. However, most day-to-day users of very high-level languages (VHLLs) within the financial services dabble with programming by necessity, rather than choice, and so optimising a program for a particular architecture eats into time that could be better spent elsewhere. Some developers of VHLLs are beginning to build Cuda compatibility into their mathematical platforms, e.g Mathematica, and stand-alone solutions for running common VHLL functions, particularly Matlab functions, on a GPU have been developed by Nvidia, AccelerEyes, and others.
Of leptons and options
Tech-X is a Colorado-based software company specialising in massively parallel solutions. The company markets its GPULib product, a library of Cuda-optimised mathematical functions, bound to a number of VHLLs, including Matlab and IDL. The company’s main business is within demanding applications such as high-energy physics, and GPULib was initially developed using funding from NASA. However, as Peter Mesener, vice president of space applications, says, a technology that uses low-cost hardware to solve complex systems of equations generates interest from many industries. The libraries are such that no knowledge of GPU programming or memory management is required in order to make use of the speeds offered by a GPU.
Tech-X is in the process of using GPULib to accelerate processes used by the Chicago Trading Company (CTC), a well-respected provider of pricing and liquidity data on all US derivative exchanges. CTC, like all market-making firms, makes money by accurately estimating the value of financial instruments or commodities, and by making trades when its valuations show a discrepancy across two products. An opportunity may only be present for only a matter of seconds, and therefore data must be updated and analysed as quickly as possible. One particular financial model under development by the CTC is required to solve a system of around 500k linear equations in 0.25 seconds; that’s two million linear equations per second, each with several hundred unknown variables. This project is currently in an evaluation state, running on a standard PC and a low-cost gaming GPU, but this is sufficient to give a first glimpse of the achievable performance without a significant investment. Eventually, a Tesla set-up, similar to BNP’s, will provide a more cost-effective solution than a comparable cluster would.
This ease and speed of testing, backtesting, and implementation is important to Igor Hlivka too, who is carrying out research into the benefits of moving some of Mitsubishi UFJ’s operations to GPU-based hardware. Hlivka cites his main motivation as the ‘superior cost-efficiency’ when compared to grid or cluster solutions, both in terms of time and hardware.
Hlivka’s existing grid-based hardware has trouble with exotic derivative products, basket derivatives and exchange derivatives; these assets require the most complex calculations, as the risks involved depend on a great many factors. The required multi-dimensional simulations can be difficult to accelerate using conventional means, as they behave non-linearly, that is, doubling the number of cores available will not double the number of products the grid is able to process within a given time.
‘In contrast to this,’ Hlivka explains, ‘when using GPU-based hardware, processing time required for a simulation can be made to scale linearly with each new product added to it – a highly desirable characteristic.’ |
Ellagic Acid, the phase II enzyme system and DNA Adducts
Ellagic acid has other beneficial effects on human health that take advantage of its separate but important anti-oxidant potential. Again, to understand this important function we must have a basic understanding of what anti-oxidants are and how they protect us.
The very act of breathing in oxygen creates within living systems very reactive and damaging molecules which are combinations of oxygen and hydrogen. These reactive species are catalyzed (produced) by certain metals that are located near our DNA molecules. These reactive species will seek to neutralize their imbalanced electrical by attempting to combine with nearby healthy molecules creating damage. Since the relative species are in close proximity to DNA molecules our genes can become a likely target resulting in DNA damage (mutations). It is known that ellagic acid can form adducts (gentle wrapping of our DNA molecules) with our genes and itself become a target for the reactive species and thus protecting the DNA. This protection of necessary molecules could be termed anti-oxidant potential.
When we speak of anti-oxidants we must also mention the phase II enzyme system and its function. Within our cells and particularly the liver there are groups of enzymes that may collectively be characterized as the phase I and the phase II system. |
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Midterm 2 MC
Physiology 2420
Where do lower motor neurons originate? ventral horn of the spinal cord
Which of the following cortical regions is NOT involved in the development of a motor program? limbic system
What neural pathway provides for the control of fine, discrete movements of the extremities pyramidal tract
What type of glial cell is a phagocyte? microglia
Cranial Nerve I olfactory
Cranial Nerve II Optic
Cranial Nerve III Oculomotor
Cranial Nerve IV Trochlear
Cranial Nerve V Trigeminal
Cranial Nerve VI Abducens
Cranial Nerve VII Facial
Cranial Nerve VIII Vestibulocochlear
Cranial Nerve IX Glossopharyngeal
Cranial Nerve X Vagus
Cranial Nerve XI Accessory
Cranial Nerve XII Hypoglossal
What is a condition where light, originating from a close up source, is focused behind the retina? hyperopia
When we enter a dark room, the retinal and opsin molecules within the _________ must first ____________ before low light levels can be detected. rods; associate
Which of the following is the correct order of communication of visual information in the retina? photoreceptor; bipolar cell, ganglion cell
The ____________, projecting from the end of hair cells, are attached to the ___________, which causes them to bend when sound waves enter the cochlea. stereocilia; tectorial membrane
Which of the following physiological responses are associated with elevated sympathetic nervous system activity? increased contractile force of the heart
Describe collateral ganglia Collateral ganglia are in the sympathetic nervous system but distinct from the sympathetic chain, and they function as a site of communication between sympathetic preganglionic neurons and postganglionic neurons?
Which of the following neurons of the efferent branch of the peripheral nervous system does NOT release acetylcholine? sympathetic postganglionic neuron
What cholinergic receptors are coupled to G proteins? muscarinic
What are swellings of postganglionic autonomic axons from which neurotransmitters are released called? varicosities
The contractile portion of the thin filament is composed of what protein? actin
During skeletal muscle contraction as the muscle shortens, the thick and thin filaments ____________. slide past one another
Which of the following is NOT a specialization observed as the neuromuscular junction? each muscle fiber is innervated by multiple motor neurons
The binding of calcium to troponin will directly cause which of the following? the movement of tropomyosinm thereby exposing the myosin-binding site on the actin molecule
Describe the function of the transverse (t) tubules and the SR in skeletal muscle contraction action potentials in T Tubules are detected by DHP receptorsm which are coupled to ryanodine receptors in the SR and open channels for calcium
Created by: GracieLou |
All About Rockets
History of Rockets
• Definite origin of rockets is unclear.
• First century AD.
• Many experts believe Chinese discovered rockets by accident (explosions during celebrations using gunpowder).
• Filled bamboo tubes with gunpowder.
• Escaping gas propelled the “rocket”.
will be a history of rockets, compiled from all classmates' findings.
Components of a rocket propulsion system
This will include diagrams and explanation of all parts of a rocket propulsion system, compiled from all classmates' findings.
•The Body of the rocket is the green cardboard tube
•The Fins can be made of either plastic or balsa wood and are used to provide stability during flight.
•The Engine Mount is fixed to the rocket and can be made of heavy cardboard or wood.
•The Recovery wadding is inserted between the engine mount and the recovery system to prevent the hot gas of the ejection charge from damaging the recovery system.
•The launch lugs are small tubes which are attached to the body tube.
•The shock cord is connected to both the body tube and the nose cone and is used to keep all the parts of the rocket together during recovery.
•The nose cone can be made of balsa wood, or plastic, and may be either solid or hollow.
Key concepts in rocket propulsion
This will include diagrams and explanation of these key rocket concepts, as well as any other important ideas, compiled from all classmates' findings.
Thrust-Thrust is a mechanical force which is generated through the reaction of accelerating a mass of gas.
Pulse- To emit particles or radiation periodically in short bursts.
Burn time- The total operating time of a rocket engine.
Weight data
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Monday, 21 July 2014
Java program to determine Grade
import java.util.*;
class grade
public static void main(String args[])
int n, m;
System.out.println("Enter your name:- ");
Scanner scanner = new Scanner(;
String name = scanner.nextLine();
System.out.println("Enter your Class ");
Scanner in = new Scanner(;
n = in.nextInt();
System.out.println("Enter your Marks ");
Scanner out = new Scanner(;
m = in.nextInt();
if (m>100){System.out.println("Please enter your Actual marks -.- -.-");}
else if(m>=80){System.out.println("Congrats You Got A Grade");}
else if (m>=70){ System.out.println("Congrats You Got B Grade");}
else if (m>=60){System.out.println("WorkHard! You Got C Grade");}
else if (m>=50){System.out.println(" Improve Yourself!! You Got D Grade");}
else if (m>=40){System.out.println(" Improve! You Got E Grade");}
else if (m<40) {System.out.println("Sorry You Have Failed");}
Java Program to Print Date And Time
1. import java.util.*;
2. class GetCurrentDateAndTime
3. {
4. public static void main(String args[])
5. {
6. System.out.println("Welcome To Date/Time by kidshelp & Computerwizardi");
7. int day, month, year;
8. int second, minute, hour;
9. GregorianCalendar date = new GregorianCalendar();
10. day = date.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);
11. month = date.get(Calendar.MONTH);
12. year = date.get(Calendar.YEAR);
13. second = date.get(Calendar.SECOND);
14. minute = date.get(Calendar.MINUTE);
15. hour = date.get(Calendar.HOUR);
16. System.out.println("Current date is "+day+"/"+(month+1)+"/"+year);
17. System.out.println("Current time is "+hour+" : "+minute+" : "+second);
18. }
19. }
Java Program To Add 2 numbers
1. import java.util.Scanner;
2. class AddNumbers
3. {
4. public static void main(String args[])
5. {
6. int x, y, z;
7. System.out.println("Welcome!! Program by Kidshelp & Computerwizardi");
8. System.out.println("Enter two integers to calculate their sum ");
9. Scanner in = new Scanner(;
10. x = in.nextInt();
11. y = in.nextInt();
12. z = x + y;
13. System.out.println("Sum of entered integers = "+z);
14. }
15. }
Java program To Print Multiplication Tables
1. import java.util.Scanner;
2. class TablesbyKidshelp
3. {
4. public static void main(String args[])
5. {
6. int n, c;
7. System.out.println("Welcome To Tables by Kidshelp & Computerwizardi");
8. System.out.println("Enter an integer to print it's multiplication table");
9. Scanner in = new Scanner(;
10. n = in.nextInt();
11. System.out.println("Multiplication table of "+n+" is :-");
12. for ( c = 1 ; c <= 10 ; c++ )
13. System.out.println(n+"*"+c+" = "+(n*c));
14. }
15. }
Blue J v 3.1.1 free download!!
Hi Friends,
3.1.127 January 2014
Various bug fixes and usability improvements, especially for screen readers.
Bug fixes:
• Fixed: class type parameters not shown in class diagram
• Added: message displayed when no project open, for clarification
Harsh Kumar
Saturday, 24 May 2014
class 9 geography ncert solutions ch 5
Chapter-5, Contemporary India - I
NCERT (CBSE) Textbook Exercise Solution
Q.1: Choose the right answer from the alternatives given below:
(i) To which one of the following types of vegetation does rubber belong to?
a. Tundra
b. Tidal
c. Himalayan
d. Tropical Evergreen
(ii) Cinchona trees are found in the areas of rainfall more than
a. 100 cm
b. 50 cm
c. 70 cm
d. less than 50 cm
(iii) In which of the following state is the Simlipal bio-reserve located?
a. Punjab
b. Delhi
c. Orissa
d. West Bengal
(iv) Which one of the following bio-reserves of India is not included in the world network of bio-reserves?
a. Manas
b. Nilgiri
c. Gulf of Mannar
d. Nanda Devi
Ans: (i) d. (ii) a. (iii) c. (iv) a.
Q.2: Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) Define an ecosystem.
(ii) What factors are responsible for the distribution of plants and animals in India?
(iii) What is bio-reserve? Give two examples.
(iv) Name two animals having habitat in tropical and montane type of vegetation.
(i) Ecosystem -
All plants and animals in an area are interdependent and inter-related to each other in their physical environment. This life-supporting system comprising the physical environment i.e. non-living components, like - climate, soil, river etc. along with all organisms living therein, is called an Ecosystem.
(ii) Factors responsible for distribution of flora and fauna in India:
India is one of the twelve mega bio-diversity countries of the world having a wide spread plant and animal species. The various factors responsible for the distribution of plants and animals (flora and fauna) on the earth and also in India can be listed as below -
(a) Relief including land, soil type, drainage etc.
(b) Climate which include temperature, photoperiod, precipitation etc.
(iii) Bio-reserve or Biosphere Reserves are large areas of protected land for conservation of wild-life, plant and animal resources (especially endangered species of flora and fauna) including micro-organisms and traditional life of the tribals in their natural habitat. Thus, a bio-reserve helps to maintain the bio-diversity and culture of that area. It may also contain other protected areas in it. For example, Pachmari biosphere reserve consists of one National Park named Satpura and two Wild Life Sanctuaries named Bori and Pachmari.
Examples of two other reserves are - Nilgiri, Nanda Devi.
Tropical type animals - Elephants, Monkeys, Rats etc.
Montane type animals - Spotted deer, Kashmir stag, Antelope etc.
Q.3: Distinguish between
(i) Flora and fauna
(ii) Tropical Evergreen and Deciduous forests.
Ans: (i)
Flora - Flora is the term used for the total vegetation or plant cover of a region. This includes flowering and non-flowering plants of all types and sizes.
Fauna - It is the term used to refer to all the varieties of animals found in an area. Thus, fauna is the animal life of a given area.
Tropical Evergreen Forest
Tropical Deciduous Forest
· Found in the areas having heavy rainfall, more than 200 cm with short or no dry season. Warm and wet throughout the year.
· Luxuriant vegetation comprising trees, shrubs, and creepers giving a multilayered structure.
· Trees don’t shed leaves at a time appear green all the year.
· The thick canopies don’t allow the sunlight to penetrate the forests even during the daytime.
Ebony, Mahogany, Rosewood, Rubber and Cinchona.
Elephant, Monkey, One-horned rhinoceros, Deer, different types of Birds, Reptiles, Bats, Scorpions etc.
Rainy parts of Western Ghats, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, upper parts of Assam, Tamil Nadu Coast, some parts of Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa etc.
· Most wide spread vegetation type in India.
· Rainfall between 200 - 70 cm.
· These regions experiences seasonal changes.
· Trees shed their leaves in the dry season and conserve water.
· On the basis of the availability of water these forests are further are subdivided into moist and dry deciduous.
· Commercially significant hardwood trees are found here.
· Teak is the most dominant species. Others are Bamboos, Sal, Shisham, Sandalwood, Khair, Neem, Kusum etc.
Lion, Tiger, Pig, Elephant, Deer, variety of Birds, Lizards, Snakes and Insects etc.
Northeastern states, Foothills of Himalayas, Jharkhand, West Orissa, Chhattisgarh, rainier parts of Peninsular Plateaus, eastern slopes of Western Ghats, Plains of Bihar and U.P.
Q.4: Name different types of vegetation found in India and describe the vegetation of high altitudes.
Ans: The names of different types of vegetations found in India are as follows -
1. Tropical Evergreen or Rain Forests
2. Tropical Deciduous Forests
3. Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs
4. Montane Forests
5. Mangrove Forests (The Tidal Forests)
The type of vegetation found at the high altitudes is Montane Forest. The following are the descriptions of Montane Forests -
· Found at high altitudes in mountainous areas.
· There is a succession of natural vegetation belts as per altitude:
o 1000m - 2000m: Wet temperate forests. Evergreen broad leaf trees like oaks and chestnuts predominate.
o 1500m - 3000m: Temperate forest containing coniferous trees like Pine, Deodar, Silver Fir, Spruce and Cedar. Cover mostly the southern slopes of the Himalayas.
o 3000m - 3600m: Temperate Grasslands.
o Above 3600m: Alpine Vegetation. Silver Fir, Junipers, Pines and Birches are common. At even higher altitudes and with the approach of the snow line the vegetation changes from shrubs and scrubs to alpine and Grasslands. Only mosses, lichens and very small shrubs grow during the very short summer which is called Tundra type of Vegetation.
The common animals found in these forests are Kashmir Stag, Spotted Deer, Wild Sheep, Antelope, Jack Rabbit, Snow Leopard, Yak, Squirrels, Red Panda, Sheep and Goats with thick hair etc.
Q.5: Quite a few species of plants and animals are endangered in India. Why?
Ans: Endangered species of plants and animals are those which face the danger of getting extinct. About 1300 plant species and quite a few animal species have been distinguished as endangered species in India. The main causes for this endangerment of plant and animal; species are as follows:
1. Hunting by greedy hunters for commercial purposes.
2. Pollution due to chemical and industrial wastes etc.
3. Increasing population.
4. Reckless cutting of plants and trees to bring the land under cultivation, expanding industrialization and inhabitation etc.
5. Introduction of alien species causing imbalance in the ecosystem.
Q.6: Why has India a rich heritage of flora and fauna?
Ans: India has all the major physical features i.e. topography varying from mountains, plains, desserts, plateaus, islands etc. The different regions of the country have different soil types. Though India has an essentially monsoon type of climate, it has great variations in temperature and humidity across the country. Each of the factors responsible for the diversity in flora and fauna such as land, soil, temperature, photoperiod, precipitation etc. is variation across the length and breadth of the country. As a result of which India has got rich heritage of flora and fauna.
class 9 geography ncert solutions ch 4
NCERT / CBSE, Social Science (Geography)
Contemporary India - I
Chapter-4, CLIMATE
Textbook Exercise Questions - Answers
a. Silchar
b. Cherrapunji
c. Mawsynram
d. Guwahati
a. Kaal Baisakhi
b. Trade winds
c. Loo
d. None of the above.
a. Cyclonic depression
b. Retreating monsoon
c. Western disturbances
d. Southwest monsoon
(iv) Monsoon arrives in India approximately in:
a. Early May
b. Early July
c. Early June
d. Early August
a. Warm days and warm nights
b. Warm days and cold nights
c. Cool days and cold nights
d. Cold days and warm nights
Q.2: Answer the following questions briefly.
(vii) Why is the monsoon considered a unifying bond?
Ans 2(i):
Ans 2(ii):
Ans 2(iii):
Ans 2(iv):
Ans 2(v):
Ans 2(vi):
Ans 2(vii):
Q.4: Give reasons as to why,
(iii) The Tamilnadu coast receives winter rainfall.
Q.6: Discuss the mechanisms of monsoons.
1. The differential heating and cooling of land and water.
Ans: Chief Characteristics and Effects of the Monsoons or Monsoon Rainfall
(d) The monsoon rains are not evenly distributed. |
How to Stop Bleeding | First Aid Training
How to stop bleeding. Bleeding can be anywhere from minor to major. We’ll start with minor. Say you’re with family, friends, or with kids. Someone runs around the house and knocks themself
into the corner of a table, and they start to bleed. What do you do? Wash your hands. Any time there’s a break in the skin there’s
a risk for infection. So, get the person to come with you. Wash your hands. Wash off any blood that’s on the person. Then get a clean cloth, a clean towel, even
gauze if you have it in your first aid kit, put it on top of where it’s bleeding and hold
it there. Put some pressure on it like you’re giving
a good firm handshake. Hold it there for as long as you need to. Ten minutes is good. If this starts to spurt or it doesnt’ stop
bleeding after ten minutes you need to get some medical help. You can call 911 to ask what they suggest. You can call the doctor. You can call the instacare. But, really, if it’s spurting or taking more
than ten minutes to stop bleeding you need to get some help. Now, if it’s major, again, if you can, wash
your hands. Number two, if it’s big bleeding like that
you want to call for help. So, get someone around there to call 911,
or if you have your phone with you call 911. Get help as soon as you can. Next thing you can do if you happen to have
anything that can protect your hands, do it. If you just happen to have your first aid
kit with you and you have gloves you can wear gloves on your hands. If you happen to have any kind of plastic,
plastic bag, or maybe a sandwich bag that you have with you, you can use that to protect
your hands as well. Then you need to find something to stop the
bleeding. A cloth. If you have a jacket with you you can use
that. The cleaner the better. You want to put pressure on wherever that
wound is. Now, if it is an abdomen or there are organs
sticking out you don’t want to push those organs back. You don’t want to disturb anything. Just press around it and try to stop the bleeding
as best you can. But, most importantly, keep the person safe,
keep yourself safe, keep pressure on the wound, and call for help.
1. when i was in 5th grade i read this in the back of my science book. the minor part not thr major!! that would be grusem!! XP
2. Say you are with some friends on a sleigh dragged by a car, then you crash and cut yourself on the tigh in the corner of a CONCRETE roadblock and fly some feet in the air..(me).. and the cut looks like a deep stab how the hell do i stop that lol
3. Just one small but nevertheless very important point here, if you happen to be in the UK the # to call for the emergencies is 999 NOT repeat NOT 911. This is definitely NOT because we're trying to be damn obstinate, it stems back to the days of the old "Dial" type telephones if you were in a smoke filled environment you simply felt around the dial for the finger stop at the bottom put one finger in the end hole the in the dial this is the "0" and one finger in the hole next to it this is the "9". Take your finger out of the end hole and used the remaining finger to dial 999. EVen though the vast majority of phones in the UK be they home phones public phones of cell phones are press button phones we continue to use "999" to call emergency services.
4. Why is there that much emphasis on vague, non-sterile technique and almost none on how to actually stop bleeding? This video is unhelpful.
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How 5G is Transforming Manufacturing
The advent of 5G technology is a highly anticipated tech innovation, particularly in the manufacturing sector, which is poised to benefit greatly from this development. With promising benefits such as super-fast connection, low latency, ultra-reliability, more bandwidth than Wi-Fi and 4G LTE, and support for thousands of devices in one location, no wonder everyone is excited about 5G technology.
With 5G, you can browse the Internet ten times faster, download a full-length movie in less than a minute and stream crisp, clear 4K video. However, the full potential of 5G technology can only be realised when the extent to which it can fundamentally change the manufacturing sector is established.
To understand how 5G technology can revolutionise manufacturing, we’ll talk about how 5G is set to transform the industry.
1. Improve performance
Barclays research in 2019 reveals that with a 5G mobile telecommunications network, UK business revenues could increase by as much as £15.7 billion by 2025. This tremendous growth in productivity will stem from the sophisticated 5G digital infrastructure that’s guaranteed to streamline operations and increase output.
With 5G technology, remote expert and predictive maintenance will make it easier for manufacturing firms to implement efficient asset management strategies. This way, equipment failure, breakdowns, and downtime are significantly reduced or eliminated, which, in turn, minimises the risk of losing customer confidence and concerns on low output.
Also, since 5G technology supports real-time supply and demand data collection and transmission, it becomes easier for manufacturers to monitor shortfalls and prevent overproduction. This enables them to efficiently serve the needs of customers, as well as minimise wastage and production costs. The effects of this on the bottom line will be no less than impressive as you will essentially be producing quantities based only on what is required, or at least, something very close to it.
2. Serve as the precursor of smart factories
The availability of 5G technology indicates that Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution cannot be far behind. As manufacturing becomes “smarter,” the capacity of businesses to address demand and improve factory conditions in real-time is a definite possibility.
Smart factories have the unique ability to implement intelligent and dynamic strategies designed to improve production processes through automation and self-optimisation. And aside from enabling manufacturers to keep track of the production of goods, 5G technology will help streamline all aspects of production, including planning, supply chain logistics, inventory management and product development.
The 5G setup will also enable smart factories to efficiently predict and function in accordance with customer demand forecasts. Doing so will ensure high-level product quality, lower production costs and production capacities that are responsive to what data is generated.k
3. Transform the workforce
With the changing technological capabilities required in the manufacturing sector, we will see a distinct trend whereby a highly specialised skill set becomes in demand. The required set of new skills would be reflective of the changes and advances in technology.
Instead of the traditional factory worker role, future manufacturing professionals need to be able to operate, manage and maintain certain manufacturing processes. It would entail extensive mechanical machinery knowledge, as well as a profound understanding and appreciation for the complex technical requirements of running a smart factory.
4. Diminish job insecurity
One of the stumbling blocks to the quick adoption of new manufacturing technologies is the fear of people losing their jobs to machines or robots. However, digitisation is merely change the manufacturing landscape, as well as the labour market.
The skills gap only needs to be recognised, studied and filled. In short, there won’t be a shortage of jobs for people. However, the UK government, businesses and academic institutions must be able to identify strategies that will enable manufacturing workers to acquire the digital skills needed for them to thrive in smart factory setups.
The role of humans in the production process remains crucial, even as most processes are automated. As robots and AI take over specific functions, human co-workers can oversee operations and engage in higher-level roles. Management teams also need to work on reassessing talent and realigning it to support changes in operations.
Businesses also need to be willing and ready to invest in their employees for skills acquisition and development. This way, they can ensure that they will remain competitive and effectively future-proofed – prepared to compete in a dynamic, rapidly changing market.
5. Lead to a promising tomorrow
5G technology is expected to be a major game-changing factor in the industry that will revolutionise manufacturing as we know it. And although the availability of 5G networks is yet to be realised, industries need to prepare themselves to ensure that they can take full advantage of what 5G offers as and when it happens.
Testing and experimentation, research, product development and legislation are among the key elements that need to be tapped to ensure that, once 5G technology becomes mainstream, the workforce and infrastructure required to maximise its functionality are already in place. In doing so, the benefits anticipated from 5G technology can be exploited to ensure a productive future for various industries and the economy as a whole.
Maintaining a competitive edge
To remain efficient and profitable, manufacturers must take a proactive stance in terms of preparing for the widespread adoption and application of 5G technology.
Businesses need to have a programme, plan or strategy in place designed to help them seamlessly transition to 5G. This will require a review of both their physical and human assets. Buildings, machines and labour need to be re-evaluated, and flaws, loopholes and weaknesses in the system need to be identified and addressed.
Instead of waiting for technology to shake up the way you run your business, you need to prepare your company to ensure a smooth integration into a 5G-run system. You need to identify obsolete machinery or equipment, as well as prepare for the investments you’ll need to make to ensure your equipment is future proof.
You also need to identify skills gaps among your employees and be willing to help them in acquiring essential training and certifications. Doing so will equip them with the level of readiness and capabilities needed to perform future functions under the 5G umbrella.
The end result of all these preparations would be the provision of the required technology and infrastructure, and a productive workforce that will give you the edge you need to remain competitive.
The future is 5G
The inevitability of 5G technology becoming mainstream makes it paramount for manufacturers to prepare for its arrival. Of course, no one can really force businesses to adopt 5G technology, but the fact of the matter is that 5G networks are set to overtake 4G and LTE.
For example, in the automotive industry, the 5G mobile network is set to transform the process of car body construction as wirelessly connected production robots will only work using 5G. Even the speed at which vehicles are serviced and issues are addressed would be influenced by 5G as garages and repair shops depend on secure software updates for complex telematics. Also, the degree to which you’ll enjoy video streaming as a passenger will depend on your 5G connection.
Simply put, 5G technology is something you need to prepare for and embrace to remain established, stay relevant and be competitive in the world of manufacturing.
Read Radwell's Industry 4.0 and Predictive Maintenance e-Magazine Issue 03 Read More
The Future of Manufacturing Technologies
Technology and the manufacturing industry have always worked hand in hand. Recently, however, rapid technological innovation and the Internet have fuelled the ongoing industrial revolution in 2020 where robotic automation is expected to expand its role and impact in various manufacturing settings.
Read More
5 Steps to Implement Al on the Factory Floor
Companies should be looking to benefit from the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence and edge computing for business success and competitive advantage.
Read More
see all |
Chloroquine and malaria
Discussion in 'Canadian Pharmacies That Ship To Us' started by 689.RU, 25-Feb-2020.
1. mr. Evil XenForo Moderator
Chloroquine and malaria
What is an alternative medication to plaquenil Hydroxychloroquine suppress immune system Hydroxychloroquine sulfate 200 Hydroxychloroquine malaria
Aside from preventing and treating malaria, chloroquine is also occasionally used for amebiasis that is occurring outside the intestines, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus erythematosus. Areas with chloroquine-sensitive malaria include many Latin American countries where there is predominantly P. vivax malaria. Chloroquine-sensitive P. falciparum is present in the Caribbean and Central American countries west of the Panama Canal. For destinations where chloroquine-sensitive malaria is present, in addition to mosquito avoidance measures, the many effective prophylaxis options include chloroquine, atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine, and tafenoquine. Malaria pills lower your chance of getting sick with the tropical disease. Although they aren’t 100% effective, they are an important way to reduce your chances of getting malaria while traveling.
Chloroquine and malaria
CDC - Malaria - Travelers - Choosing a Drug to Prevent Malaria, Malaria - Chapter 4 - 2020 Yellow Book Travelers' Health CDC
2. Plaquenil bowel problems
3. Does plaquenil work like anxiety meds
• Chloroquine May Fight Covid-19—and Silicon Valley’s Into It..
• What Are Malaria Pills? Do They Prevent and Treat Malaria? - WebMD.
The drug is chloroquine, a widely prescribed anti-malaria pill that was first approved in the US in 1949. Early laboratory research and anecdotal reports about using it for people with COVID-19. Chloroquine is a synthetic form of quinine, a compound found in the bark of cinchona trees native to Peru and used for centuries to treat malaria. Chloroquine was an essential element of mass drug administration campaigns to combat malaria throughout the second half of the 20th century, and remains one of the World Health Organization’s essential medicines. The drug is chloroquine, a widely prescribed anti-malaria pill that was first approved in the US in 1949. Early laboratory research and anecdotal reports from using the drug in patients with.
5. Jim.. New Member
Plaquenil is the brand name for the prescription drug hydroxychloroquine. Hydroxychloroquine Plaquenil Inflammatory Osteoarthritis And Plaquenil The Risk of Retinal Toxicity with Plaquenil - Sjogren's
6. subbotin XenForo Moderator
In every pregnancy, a woman starts out with a 3-5% chance of having a baby with a birth defect. This sheet talks about whether exposure to hydroxychloroquine may increase the risk for birth defects over that background risk. Hydroxychloroquine Plaquenil Plaquenil and Pregnancy - Antibiotics Home Page Hydroxychloroquine Use During Pregnancy
7. drt Well-Known Member
Cialis Order Line - SSFDrugstore Plaquenil Online Bestellen. Household size includes the number of people in your household who purchase and prepare food together. Household expenses include your rent or mortgage, gas, electric, water, sewer, phone and medical expenses, as well as any child support or child care payments.
Acquire chloroquine online no prescription needed at .02.
8. Forexland Moderator
Hydroxychloroquine sulfate Plaquenil improves oral. Background Oral lichen planus is chronic and can be debilitating. Topical corticosteroids are most frequently used for treatment, but they are not always effective. Objective Hydroxychloroquine sulfate Plaquenil, an antimalarial agent, was evaluated in an open trial 10 patients for its ability to improve oral lichen planus.
Hydroxychloroquine Plaquenil — Canadian Hair Loss Foundation |
The rapid advancement of the automated auto industry. This is a look into what the future holds. We were also really interested in showcasing the future of human-computer interfaces, mind controlled devices.
What it does
Mind control of a Tesla Model S.
How we built it
tl;dr - An EEG headset determines whether the user is thinking "Stop" or "Go," which is translated into an analog signal, then broadcast by an RC radio, and articulated by actuators on the pedals and a motor on the steering wheel.
Teslapathic is comprised of three primary systems: Machine learning with OpenBCI, a digital to analog interface through Arduino, and a hardware control system.
OpenBCI: We created a machine learning training program that compiles averages of the user's neural activity when thinking "Stop" and "Go." The user is also encouraged to assign the thought of a physical action with each command when creating their activity profile, as focusing the EEG nodes around the brain's motor cortex while imagining physical motion in tandem with the desired command had the highest rate of success. For example, Casey would think of tapping his right foot for "Go" and clenching his left hand for "Stop." A k-nearest neighbors algorithm was employed to reduce signal noise. After ascertaining the user's intent, corresponding variables are then generated and passed off to an Arduino for conversion to an analog signal.
Analog conversion: In order for our digital system to interact with our analog hardware, we leveraged an off the shelf RC radio - a Futaba T9CHP - and exploited its trainer feature to allow for communication between the OpenBCI and the driving hardware. By having an Arduino mimic the PPM timings sent by a slave radio, the T9CHP effectively becomes an analog pass-through and delivery method. The PPM signal is manipulated in accordance with the user's intent, which results in articulation of the driving hardware. The head-mounted gyro was spliced inline between the Arduino and the radio and results in additional signal manipulation.
Hardware control: Linear actuators were affixed to the pedals, and a windshield wiper motor fitted with a potentiometer was mounted to the steering wheel. "Go" (in the form of the corresponding analog signal) results in the brake actuator receding and the accelerator actuator engaging, "Stop" results in the opposite. Left and right movement from the gyro results in left and right movement from the wheel. Still reading? Congratulations! You made it through my convoluted explanation!
Safety: We implemented multiple safety measures: an emergency brake in the Arduino portion of the code in case of failure, the user needs to be holding a dead-man's switch in order for the signal to broadcast, we wedged a physical block behind the accelerator to prevent it from going too fast, the user can take manual control through the radio at any time, and if all else fails the actuators were pressure fit so the user could reach their leg into the driver footwell and kick them away from the pedals.
Challenges we ran into
Training our machine learning algorithms to clearly interpret Go and Stop signals. This took a lot of refinement but we've achieved a high degree of accuracy.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We've achieved high accuracy in our machine learning algorithms. We've been able to take a very complex idea and break it down into parts that we can implement asynchronously. Most of all, we've learned so much during this 36 hour journey.
What we learned
Brain signal processing is hard! Doing it wirelessly is even harder but it's rewarding.
What's next for Teslapathic
We built Teslapathic to showcase the future of human-computer interfaces. We're very excited to take our knowledge and apply the same technology to help assist people in other tasks in their life. As the technology gets better, we can do more advanced brain activity processing and replace mundane tasks.
Built With
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#EngQuiz: The Determiners (the, a, an)
Gary Oldman Oscar.jpg
Gary Oldman won an Oscar in the 2018’s ceremony (Pic from mirror.co.uk)
Using a determiner the, a, and an can sometimes be tricky. So, let’s have another practice to brush it up. The rules are easy: fill the blanks with the correct determiner.
TIPS: Before you start answering, read this article on determiners: https://englishtips4u.com/2011/08/21/engtips-the-determiners-the-a-an/
1. Here is _____ useful article about gardening that I found ______ few days ago.
2. Have you heard? It snowed in _____ Sahara.
3. He bought me _____ ‘Orange Is the New Black’ DVD box set as _____ birthday gift.
4. When do you plan to return _____ book to me?
5. I think I’m going to wear _____ white shirt for _____ interview tomorrow.
6. After performing for almost 40 years, Gary Oldman finally received _____ Oscar in 2018.
7. Which one do you think I should take, _____ TOEFL or _____ IELTS?
8. It’s such _____ honor to perform for _____ Queen.
1.a, a
Explanation: ‘Useful’ makes a yoo sound, which sounds like there is a consonant ‘y,’ therefore it is ‘a useful article.’ ‘a few days’ is clear enough.
Explanation: The Sahara is a specific area, only one in the world.
3.an, a
Explanation: ‘Orange Is the New Black’ begins with a vowel, therefore the determiner is ‘an.’ ‘a birthday gift’ is clear enough.
Explanation: People in the conversation have already known which book the speaker is referring to, so ‘the’ is the correct article.
5.a, the
Explanation: ‘a white shirt’ is the correct form as the shirt was not specified enough. ‘the interview’ is the correct form because it is already specified that it will happen ‘tomorrow.’
Explanation: ‘Oscar’ begins with a vowel.
7.a, an
Explanation: Both noun refer to general TOEFL/IELTS, but it is also acceptable not to put any articles, since TOEFL & IELTS are already established names.
8.an, the
Explanation: Although ‘honor’ starts with a consonant, the ‘h’ is mute or unread. Therefore, we put ‘an’ as the determiner. For the second part, a nation normally has only one queen, so ‘the Queen’ is the correct form.
Compiled by @alicesaraswati for @EnglishTips4U on Monday, 26 March, 2018.
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Name: Anka
Category: Monsters, Mounts
Type: Avians
Size: Huge
Region: Arctic, Mountains, Grassland
Rarity: Uncommon
Lifespan ~50 years
Anka are massive white birds that look a lot like eagles, just a lot bigger.
They have a wingspan of seventy feet and crystal blue eyes, wicked talons and a sharp, hooked beak for ripping into meat. While mostly seen as being white, the feathers have a soft sheen of yellow or pale blue around the neck and under the wings.
Males are slightly larger than females, and the yellow of their beaks and talons is more pronounced. Newly hatched anka have no feathers, growing in their down at six weeks. They start to lose this fluff at six months and normally have their adult feathers at the age of one, although most have learned to fly at around eight months.
Anka can be aggressive when pushed by starvation or self-preservation instinct, but otherwise are fairly passive even in the wild. Though they may look intimidating due to their sheer size and their wicked talons, they are easily domesticated and seem quite happy to live in captivity as long as they're treated and fed well.
Diet: Fish
Habitat: Cold climates
Anka pairs mate for life but only come together during mating season.
The females lay clutches of up to six eggs yearly but rarely more than one survives to adulthood due to their clumsiness and vulnerability on the ground, as well as the fact that they take so long to mature. While no predator dares attack a fully grown anka, and breeding pairs normally nest in remote places, the parents spend most of their time out of the nest hunting for food and thus leave the chicks vulnerable.
This has worked in their favour to a degree, however. The species would have died out by now if not for the efforts to domesticate them, but adults are too dangerous to be captured. As a result, chicks are stolen from their nests while their parents are away, and then hand-reared and trained from an early age.
Special Information
• With a wingspan of seventy feet, the bird's massive size easily allows it to lift a full-grown elephant or carry up to four people on its back. As a result, they've become a moderately-priced method of travelling across Elysia?, although they're too expensive (in labour as well as cost) to be a private mount and have instead formed a (relatively, having started to appear about four years ago in the major cities) new taxi service.
• Anka can reach speeds of up to two hundred miles per hour, although it is considerably slower with cargo.
• Their large size takes a lot of energy to lift from the ground as well as to maneuver in the air, so they can be cumbersome on the ground and have voracious appetites. Consequently, they're one of the more expensive mounts to keep (hence them being a public taxi service rather than private mounts), though many travelling merchants find the expense worthwhile.
• Anka are popping up more and more along the trade routes where merchants put their lifting capabilities to good use. Less a personal transportation system and more a cargo carrier, these magnificent birds are usually second- or third-generation farm-reared domesticated chicks raised as workhorses. Nevertheless, the drive to farm the anka seems to have actually saved the creature from near extinction and their appearance in local stables is certainly bringing in the tourists!
Anka taxis are usually driven by a trainer on a timetable and are more like bus routes than door-to-door services. However, for an extra fee, anka can be hired out for a longer period with or without a driver as long as the manager is satisfied you can keep the massive bird under control.
• Anka talons can be fashioned into basic weapons or used in much the same way as an elephant's ivory, so there is a black market demand for them.
• Anka feathers have some industrial uses.
• Anka are used as taxis to ferry people across Elysia?, in particular to and from the isolated towns.
Anka could only be found in the arctic regions of Elysia? originally but it has been domesticated and can be found in warmer climates now, especially around the anka farms of Daire?.
Created by Dora? and Emma? |
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Ontario can phase out nuclear and avoid increased carbon emissions via The Conversation
s wind and solar energy have become cheaper, they’ve become a more prominent and important way to generate clean electricity in most parts of the world.
The Ontario government, on the other hand, is cancelling renewable energy projects at a reported cost of at least $230 million while reinforcing the province’s reliance on nuclear power via expensive reactor refurbishment plans.
As researchers who have examined the economics of electricity generation in Ontario and elsewhere, we argue that this decision is wasteful and ill-advised, and the unnecessary cost differential will rise further in the future.
One concern about renewables has been the intermittency of these energy sources. But studies have shown it’s feasible to have an all-renewable electric grid.
Read more: How to have an all-renewable electric grid
These feasibility studies, however, are always location specific. In that spirit, we have carried out detailed modelling and found that it’s possible to meet Ontario’s electricity demands throughout the year with just a combination of renewables, including hydropower, and storing electricity in batteries.
We also found that dealing with the intermittency of wind and solar energy by adding batteries would be more economical than refurbishing nuclear plants in the foreseeable future, well before the current refurbishment projects are completed.
That’s because of the expected decline in the cost of batteries used to store the electricity during the hours when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining in order to supply electricity during the periods when they aren’t. The cost of different kinds of battery technologies, such as lithium-ion or flow batteries, have come down rapidly in recent years.
To explore the relative economics of nuclear and renewable energy, we constructed a very simple model that optimized the total cost of meeting the electricity demand in Ontario for each hour of the year.
We used what’s known in physics as a toy model. It’s not intended to be sufficiently accurate to reproduce reality in detail, but to capture the basic and important elements of the system being studied. Our model is not meant to actually calculate the cost of supplying electricity, but only to compare the relative costs of different options, with the condition that no fossil fuels be used.
Essential results
In all scenarios, the bulk of the demand was met by solar and wind power, with a lower fraction met by hydropower. Even in the scenarios with no batteries, less than 20 per cent of the electricity demand was met by nuclear power.
Second, it would be cheaper to reduce this even further. Because of safety and other operational reasons, it’s a bad idea to change the outputs of nuclear plants quickly. Traditionally, reactor outputs have been held steady.
But if, for argument’s sake, we allow the outputs of nuclear reactors to go up and down as fast as needed by the grid, then our model predicts that nuclear power plants would be used even less. If nuclear power plants outputs are held steady, then they would supply more electricity, but the cost to consumers would also be higher.
Finally, and perhaps most consequentially, if the costs of batteries decline from current levels to those projected for 2025, then the cost of supplying electricity using a combination of renewables and battery storage would become cheaper than doing the same using nuclear power.
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Sean Dilger
By Sean Dilger
Have you ever wondered what an H1 tag is and how many you should have on a page? If you have, you will love my blog post on H1 tags. I believe that H1s are underestimated when it comes to on-page search engine optimization.
Think of your webpage as being an outlined document. Remember when you had to outline a term paper in school? Outlining a webpage is a very similar approach. H1 tags aren’t a huge ranking factor, but they can depending on your approach to using H1s on your site. This post will teach you everything you need to know about H1s, and how they can help with your on-page SEO.
Additionally, you are going to learn the perfect method and SEO tips for producing winning H1s that will take your on-page SEO to the next level.
What Is An H1 Tag?
Search engines read the source code of a website. Source code is that long and confusing page that pops up when the wifi or computer is not working correctly. It tells the search engine what is going on on the page and the location of every word. This is where website coders work to design the website, including colors and arrangement. Every element of the website lies within the code or what is also known as a style sheet. Within this page lies the article copy as well. Internet marketers that want to truly understand the path to great search engine optimization should become familiar with the source code page.
The H1 tag is one of many indicators that the search engine must read.
The H1 is an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) heading tag that indicates the main topic on a web page. When visitors to your website see the H1s, it draws attention as it stands out the most on the page as it generally appears as a larger font than normal text and in bold. Therefore, it is appealing to the user, which is significant because user experience is an important element of SEO.
An H1 in HTML looks like this:
<h1> H1 Tag Blog Post </h1>
Why Are H1 Tags Important?
The H1 tag is the most important heading on a page because it’s the highest level tag that shows what your page is about. As a result, search engines like Google give this tag more weight over other headings like H2s, so it helps improve your ranking when you use it correctly.
How Many H1s Should You Have On A Page?
We always have one H1 on a page and then typically use H2s and H3s for sub headings. It depends on the structure of your content and how you want to separate it out.
How To Write An H1 Tag For SEO
After conducting keyword research and you decide on the keywords you’re going to use for on-page optimization on your page, make sure to include the primary keywords in your H1 tag. For the majority of times, when writing blog posts, your SEO title tag will be the same as your H1.
Related: This Is How You Write a Compelling, Attention-Grabbing Title Tag
It is good practice to include your keywords at the start of both your SEO title and H1. With that being said, only do this when it makes sense to do so.
Tips for Creating Great H1 Tags
• Have one H1 tag per page
• The H1 should describe the topic of your page
• Use H1’s that provide a good user experience and match users intent
• Don’t target the same keywords in different posts
• Use a focused long-tail keyword in your H1
How To Identify H1 Tags On A Website
Through the Page Source
Open up a page on your website and right click on the page and click “View Page Source.
Once you have followed the above instructions, you will see the page source code.
To search for the H1 tag, press “CTRL” (or command if on a Mac) and “F” to open the search feature on your browser and type “</h1>.”
Screaming Frog
If you want to do a full analysis of all the H1 tags on your website, you can use Screaming Frog. Screaming Frog will do an analysis of up to 500 pages for free, or you can crawl a much larger site if you have a paid account. Screaming Frog will provide a list of all the H1 tags on our site.
Analyzing H1 Tags With Screaming Frog
Follow the following process using Screaming Frog for a complete H1 audit.
Download Screaming Frog to your computer from this website:https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/.
Click “SEO Spider Tool” -> then click “Download.”
Related: What is Direct Traffic in Google Analytics?
You do not need to purchase a license to use the software. However, if your website has more than 500 pages, you should then purchase a license so you can crawl your entire website.
Once you’ve downloaded Screaming Frog successfully, open it.
Once opened, add your domain to the section that says “Enter url to spider.
Click Start, and wait for the crawl to complete. The crawl process could take a couple of minutes or a few hours, depending on the size of your site.
Then, click H1 in the menu bar.
This is where you will see the full list of H1s on your website. Download the complete list of H1s by selecting “all” and export the list. If you notice that you are missing H1 tags for a page or you have duplicate H1s, you need to fix these.
How to Find Missing H1s With Screaming Frog
Click the filter menu and from the drop-down selectMissing.
Here you will see a list of all the pages on your site that do not have an H1 tag. You should then create an H1 for each of these pages. Create a list of the missing H1 tags and click “Export.
How to Find Duplicate H1s With Screaming Frog
Filter all the duplicate H1s by selecting “duplicate” on the filter menu.
Create a list of the duplicate H1 tags and click “Export” and save the list for future reference.
You should now have three files including duplicate, missing and a complete list of all the H1 tags.
How To Create New H1s
Your task now is to create new H1 tags for each of the categories. Start with the missing ones followed by duplicates.
If your website is extremely large with thousands of pages, start working on the highest-priority pages.
To save some time, use a generator or a script to create H1 tags. However, it is important to update all of your H1s to align with the rules that I provided above. By following the above steps expect to see an improvement in your traffic rankings and your overall site performance.
H2, H3, H4, H4, H5, H6 Tags – Are They Important?
HTML has six different heading tags including an H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6. The H1 is considered the most important tag, while the H6 tag is the least important.
But to the point, yes, these header tags are important but not as important to the search engines as your H1 tag. In contrast to the H1 tag, you may have multiple H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 tags as sub-headings on a page.
It’s recommended to only have one H1 tag and have your sub headers labeled as H2, H3, etc.
Related: What is Meta Data? And How Do You Use It to Benefit Your Brand?
For instance, to make your header content more readable, use H2s to divide it up. This helps break up the text on the page and help users pick out the sections they want to read. If you are writing a long piece of content, you could use H3s also. In general, we rarely use H4s as it ends up with too many levels on the page.
An H2 tag is the next most important html heading on your page after an H1, so make sure you consider these in your content. Typically, we try to have secondary keywords in H2 tags so that you have a chance to rank for these also.
Wrapping Up
H1 tags are one element of optimizing your website but, if you get them wrong, can be damaging to your entire site.
We recommend having one H1 per page, using long-tailed keywords, providing a good user experience by matching user’s intent, and finally, not using the same H1 on other pages of your site.
Additionally, use H2s and H3s to help make your content and keyword phrases more readable. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. For more information on header tags and how we can help, contact the SEO experts at Power Digital Marketing today for a complete H1 audit.
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How Technology is Helping to Reduce Car Accidents
According to the World Health Organization, there are nearly 1.25 million people that die in road crashes each year. In the United States alone, it is estimated that around 6 million car accidents happen year-round.
Despite these alarming numbers, car accidents are still considered to be in a downward trend. There are a few reasons why this is the case and mostly, this is because of road safety awareness and of course, the help of technology.
Aside from making sure that you drive carefully and safely, getting yourself and your car insured is just very important. Sure, that can’t really avoid car accidents but aside from it’s a state requirement when driving a vehicle, you’ll just really be thankful that you have insurance whether a big or small vehicular accident happens.
When purchasing a vehicle, one of the necessary functions and features that people look at is safety. Thanks to technological advancements and innovations, there are now many safety features that a vehicle could have to avoid fatal car accidents.
Here are a few of these great technological advances that are used on vehicles and changed or improved road safety.
Blind Spot Detection
This is a feature of a vehicle that gives the driver a visual alert or notification when the car is in a driver’s blind spot. The use of this technology can reduce the rate of lane-change accidents. This device or technology uses radar sensors.
However, there are also blind-spot monitors that make use of cameras for detection. Both radar sensors and cameras are typically located under the rear bumper or side mirrors of a vehicle. If your car doesn’t come with this, you can ask for one to be installed by a professional.
Bluetooth Voice Control
This car tech has been around for quite a while now and it proves to be something essential for drivers. Phone distractions can easily cause car accidents. Sometimes, it’s just really unavoidable to receive important calls or texts while you’re driving, and it’s a known fact that you should avoid holding your phone on the road.
In fact, it’s even illegal in many states and countries to be on the phone while driving. A Bluetooth capable vehicle can let you get that call while driving without taking your eyes off the road. This can also be used to read out map directions.
Electronic Stability Control
The ESC is a technology that could help stop vehicles from sliding out of control when used during risky climates. True to its name, it can better the vehicle’s stability, and at the same time reduce the chances of skidding.
This technology can also touch the vehicle’s traction of control by biting into one or three wheels of the car. This could send your car in an intended direction to also avoid major accidents. When not in use, the ESC can be both turned on and off.
Traction Control Systems
Speaking of traction, this device or technology can actually help eliminate accidents on slippery roads It basically prevents the wheel from spinning during the car’s acceleration. This is most helpful for your vehicle’s wheels to avoid instability during the ride.
Adaptive Headlights
This type of headlights appears as the typical ones you see on a vehicle, but what’s different about it is that it could also turn when the steering wheel is turned. When driving on a dark road, accidents can quickly happen. The car may hit something that’s unseen with your eyes, and these headlights will ensure that you never drive in too much darkness.
Lane Departure Warning System
This is another safety feature that makes use of a camera to monitor lane markings. This system will alert the driver if it detects that the vehicle is already drifting out of its lane. Sleepiness could sometimes be the reason why this happens, and many fatal accidents happen because of that.
Safe Driver Assistant
The safe driver assistant feature is mainly present in modern vehicles. It’s an advanced electronic system that could help increase care and road safety by making use of its human and machine interface. This could also be activated when you’re parking the vehicle to make sure that you don’t hit the gutter or other automobiles around.
Forward Collision System
This is a technology that a car could have to avoid strong hitting impact during an accident. This is mainly used to avoid intense rear-end accidents. This system could measure the distance between your car and the car that’s in front of you. If you’re driving too close, this will prompt a notification or alert. |
Sleep behaviour of dogs
20 March 2020
Did you know that dogs almost sleep half their life, the equivalent to 14-16 hours...
Sleep behaviour of dogs
Did you know that dogs almost sleep half their life, the equivalent to 14-16 hours a day? And, did you know that puppies need more sleep than adult dogs, 18 hours or more per day? As a dog owner, the sleep behaviour of dogs is a must-know!
Dogs almost have the same sleep patterns as humans. When they first go to sleep, they enter the quiet phase of sleep. They lie still, oblivious to their surroundings. The breathing slows, the blood pressure drops, and the heart rate decreases. When dogs enter the active stage of sleep they roll their eyes under the closed lids. Additionally, they often bark, whine or jerk their legs. During this stage, the brain activity is similar to that seen during the dreaming sleep of humans, and is evidence that dogs have dreams too.
Exactly how much and when a dog sleeps depends on the level of activity during the day, the breed, the age and the personality of the dog. Due to the huge quantities of newly acquired data puppies sleep more than adult dogs. Larger breeds such as the Mastiff or the Newfoundland also sleep more than 14 hours per day. Dogs in a quiet home may sleep more, while dogs in active environments will sleep less. However, dogs are able to adapt their sleep behaviour to their surroundings so that they can be awake when there is something to do, and asleep the rest of the time.
Some indoor dogs may sleep out of boredom. You can help your pet by providing plenty of stimulation during the day in the form of toys, companionship, or plenty of walks and playtime. If your dog has a high activity level and has enough to do during the day, he may stay awake when the sun is up and sleep at night when you do. If your dog tends to sleep more than the normal amount, this could be a symptom of disease. If you don’t know whether the amount of sleeping is normal or not, you can always contact a veterinarian.
A few important facts about the sleep behaviour of dogs
• Dogs have different stages of sleep, just like we have.
• Dogs almost sleep half their life – 14 to 16 hours a day.
• The phrase, let sleeping dogs lie, holds a lot of truth. 60% of all dog bites happen to children when they try to wake a dog in a deep sleep.
• It is important to always teach children not to approach a sleeping dog.
• Most dogs walk around in a circle before lying down (they are displaying an ancestral tendency, which is basically a way to get comfortable and feel safe)
• Puppies and older dogs dream more than middle-aged dogs.
Which kind of sleeper is your dog?
The different types of sleepers are divided in 4 different categories. Is your pup curling up like ball? Or is he/she maybe more of a side-sleeper? See the different types of sleepers right here!
So, which kind of sleeper is your dog? You can tell us in the comment field below.
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Addiction Treatment
Opioids List: Beware the 6 Most Addictive Opiates
Heroin is widely known as the most addictive drug in the entire world, and falls under the opioid drug class. Fentanyl caused more than 20,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016, and is also an opioid. Opioids carry an especially high risk for dependence and addiction, and can cause many long-term side effects related to your health, career, relationships, and overall livelihood.
Knowing about America’s most powerful, addictive opiates can help you and your loved ones avoid the onset of addiction amidst the country’s deadly ongoing opioid crisis.
Here’s a list of the six most addictive opiates, and what you can do if you or a loved one needs help fighting opiate addiction.
opioids list
What are Opioids?
Opioids, also known as opiates, painkillers, and narcotics, are commonly prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain. Though many opioids are prescribed by doctors, these substances are highly dangerous and can lead to an overdose when misused. Heroin is the most commonly used illicit opioid that can be purchased from the streets in most U.S. cities for as little as $15 per dose.
Opioids are derived from the opium plant, which is native to many parts of Asia. Opioids work by binding to opioid receptors throughout the brain and central nervous system that control feelings of pain, pleasure, and reward. The effects of opioids include pain relief, sedation, relaxation, and euphoria.
Opioids are used to treat severe pain such as that caused by injury, surgery, and certain cancer treatments. These drugs are typically only prescribed for a short-term basis, since using the drugs long-term can lead to tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Opioid use in the U.S. has become a nationwide crisis and public health emergency, and caused more than 53,000 deaths in 2016.
How Addictive are Opioids?
Heroin and pain pills are ranked among the top ten most addictive drugs in the world. Evidence shows that opioid dependence can occur as soon as three days after someone starts using the drugs. The risk for dependence and addiction increases more substantially for those who use opioids for five days or longer.
opioids list
The U.S. opioid epidemic is being driven in part by doctors’ prescribing practices surrounding painkillers. In states like Tennessee and Alabama, there are enough opioid prescriptions written to put pills in the hands of every state resident, including children. Many doctors also tend to prescribe more painkillers than needed, resulting in extra pills being stored in medicine cabinets across the country.
Surveys show that over 50 percent of people who abuse painkillers receive the pills from friends and relatives for free, while over 22 percent receive the pills from their doctors. Many Americans assume opioids are safe to use since they’re prescribed by doctors and pharmacists, and remain unaware of their addictive potential.
Opiate addiction can lead to loss of employment, poor academic performance, loss of relationships, and more. Opiate addiction is also linked to a lower life expectancy, and can cause a range of serious long-term health problems.
Long-term health effects linked to opiate addiction:
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal bloating
• Constipation
• Weakened immunity
• Insomnia
• Brain damage
• Liver damage
• Kidney disease
• Respiratory illness
• Depression
• Anxiety
Many of these health problems can be improved or reversed within several months or years after overcoming opioid dependency. Withdrawing from opioids is safest when conducted in a professional medical setting to lower the risk for possible complications and side effects linked to certain withdrawal symptoms.
Addiction to Prescription Opioids
Prescription opioids have been used medicinally in the U.S. to treat pain since before the 20th century. But addiction to prescription opioids didn’t become problematic in the U.S. until the mid-1990s, when oxycodone was marketed and sold as OxyContin by Purdue Pharma. Shortly after the drug’s release, Purdue used a number of aggressive marketing techniques to raise awareness about OxyContin and its medical uses among prescribers and patients.
Today, there are roughly 1.9 million Americans diagnosed with painkiller use disorder, and 4.3 million Americans who report using painkillers for nonmedical reasons.
Prescription opioids list:
• Codeine
• Hydrocodone
• Morphine
• Oxycodone
• Meperidine
• Hydromorphone
• Tramadol
• Methadone
• Fentanyl
Addiction to Illicit Opioids
Heroin was used in the U.S. during the early 20th century to treat pain until doctors started noticing patients were abusing the drug and becoming dependent. Heroin was officially declared an illicit substance in 1924 under the Anti-Heroin Act.
Illicit opioid use in the U.S. is rising on behalf of the opioid epidemic. People who can no longer afford painkillers or obtain prescriptions from their doctors often start using illicit opioids since these drugs are lower in cost and easier to obtain. Those who become tolerant and dependent on painkillers are also likely to start using illicit opioids, since these drugs tend to have higher potency levels.
Surveys show that 4.8 million Americans have used heroin at some point in their lives, and that 435,000 Americans are regular users of heroin.
Illicit opioids list:
• Heroin
• Fentanyl analogues
• U-47700, or Pink
• Carfentanil
• Opium
• Other synthetic opioids
Synthetic opioids are highly dangerous, and often contain compounds and substances that are not safe or meant for human ingestion. Drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil have even triggered accidental overdoses in first responders who care for victims at overdose scenes. Many times, heroin is mixed or cut with other illicit opioids that can cause an instant overdose.
The Six Most Addictive Opioids
Before you or your loved ones start using opioids for any reason, familiarize yourself with the following six opiates. These substances carry a high risk for addiction. Opioid addiction can be prevented by avoiding illicit opiates, and using prescription opiates responsibly and correctly.
Here are the six most addictive opiates driving the U.S. opioid epidemic.
opioids list
1. Heroin
Heroin was created in 1895 as an alternative to morphine, and was meant to produce no adverse side effects. But the drug was banned in the U.S. nearly 30 years later when doctors learned that heroin put patients at high risk for dependence, addiction, and other serious health complications.
Heroin is fast- and short-acting, meaning effects begin quickly within minutes, and wear off after just a few hours. This illicit opioid is addictive for that very reason, since users will continue taking doses repeatedly throughout the day in an effort to achieve lasting euphoria.
Heroin use in the U.S. has risen dramatically since the onset of the opioid epidemic. Heroin-related overdose deaths have more than quadrupled since 2010, with three out of every four heroin users reporting having abused painkillers before switching to heroin.
2. Fentanyl
Fentanyl is currently the strongest, most powerful opioid used in U.S. medicine. Created during the 1960s, fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, and up to 100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl caused more than 20,000 overdose deaths in 2016 — just 0.25 mg of fentanyl can lead to a fatal overdose.
Fentanyl is fast- and short-acting just like heroin, and is favored among heroin users for its similar effects. Fentanyl analogues, or street fentanyl, are drugs made of synthetic, modified fentanyl compounds, and often contain other dangerous chemicals. Many heroin dealers cut or mix their supplies with fentanyl analogues since these substances are less costly and known to produce a stronger high.
Fentanyl is defined a Schedule II drug by the DEA, which means the drug carries a high risk for abuse, dependence, and addiction. The DEA recently announced its plans to define fentanyl analogues as Schedule I drugs alongside heroin, since these dangerous substances have no accepted medical use and carry a high potential for abuse, addiction, and death.
3. Morphine
Morphine is a naturally occurring substance that comes directly from the opium poppy. Americans started using morphine during the 19th century to relieve pain for soldiers who suffered injuries during the American Civil War.
This Schedule II drug can be crushed, snorted, smoked, or administered orally and intravenously. Common brand names for morphine are Kadian, Roxanol, MSiR, MS-Contin, and Oramorph.
4. Vicodin
Vicodin is the brand name for the combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen. Hydrocodone is an opioid, while acetaminophen is a non-opioid pain reliever that helps reduce fever. Hydrocodone mimics the effects of morphine to offer pain relief and sedation.
Vicodin was defined a Schedule III drug until 2014, when the DEA moved the drug to Schedule II after learning the drug was linked to increasing rates of abuse and addiction. Vicodin is one of the top three painkillers involved in most U.S. overdose deaths.
5. OxyContin
OxyContin is the brand name for oxycodone — a substance derived from an opioid compound called thebaine. OxyContin is approximately 1.5 times stronger than morphine, and has been used in the U.S. to treat pain since the early 20th century. Next to Vicodin, OxyContin is one of three painkillers most commonly linked to drug overdose deaths.
Unlike heroin and fentanyl, OxyContin is a slow-release opioid formula that produces effects over the course of 12 hours. But when used other than directed, OxyContin can produce quick, powerful euphoric highs similar to that of heroin and fentanyl. In addition to being sold as OxyContin, oxycodone is sold under the brand names Percocet, Percodan, and Endocet.
6. Methadone
Methadone is a widely accepted treatment for opioid addiction, but carries a high risk for dependence and addiction when abused or used without close medical supervision. Methadone was originally created by German soldiers during World War II to replace diminishing supplies of morphine.
Methadone is a slow-release opioid that produces effects for up to 24 hours. The effects of methadone are similar to that produced by other opioids, minus feelings of euphoria. Methadone is usually administered to addiction patients once per day in a supervised medical setting to lower the risk for abuse, and is proven safe and effective at helping patients overcome opioid addiction.
How to Treat Opiate Addiction
Overcoming opiate addiction is entirely possible, thanks to a wide range of opioid addiction treatments available today. Opioid addiction is commonly treated using a medical detox or medication-assisted treatment regimen, combined with therapies that treat the psychological causes of addiction.
opioids list
1. Medical Detox
A medical detox for opioids usually lasts up to two weeks, and involves the use of medications that reduce and relieve certain opioid withdrawal symptoms. Buprenorphine, Suboxone, and naltrexone are medications commonly used as part of an opioid medical detox. A medical detox usually takes place in a hospital or inpatient rehab setting where patients can be closely monitored by doctors and nurses as they recover from opioid dependence.
2. Medication-Assisted Treatment
Medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, is an opioid detox treatment that replaces the drug of abuse with medications that relieve withdrawal symptoms. Methadone, buprenorphine, and Suboxone are medications commonly used in MAT that mimic the effects of opioids without producing euphoria. MAT can last for up to several weeks or months, and may involve a tapering schedule where doctors reduce doses gradually over a period of time until patients are completely drug-free.
3. Therapy
Where detox helps patients overcome physical opioid dependency, therapy helps patients overcome psychological root causes of addiction. Counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-step support groups are just some therapies that coach and teach patients how to navigate their lives in healthier ways without turning to drugs and alcohol. Therapy can be ongoing for weeks, months, or years following opiate addiction treatment, and is designed to help opioid patients stay sober and avoid relapse for life.
Opioid abuse and addiction continues to affect millions of Americans every day. If you or someone you love needs help quitting heroin or painkillers, call our 24/7 confidential helpline at 800-926-9037. Our caring addiction counselors will discuss your all treatment options, and help you find the nearest opiate rehab center.
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Bladder cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., and while early diagnosis is critical to increasing survival rates, current diagnostic and monitoring methods including cystoscopy, biopsy, and tumor resection, are invasive and costly. A Tufts University-led team of scientists has now developed a noninvasive approach that uses atomic force microscopy (AFM) and machine learning to identify cancerous cells in patients’ urine, by mapping cell surface features and topography at the nanometer scale. The researchers say their technology represents the first time that AFM has been used to help diagnose disease, and suggest that as well as being more accurate compared with cystoscopy, the method could feasibly be applied to detect other forms of cancer or noncancerous abnormalities in cells collected from body fluids, as well as monitor cells’ reactions to drugs.
“By introducing a noninvasive diagnostic method that is more accurate than the invasive visual examination, we could significantly decrease the cost and inconvenience to patients,” said Igor Sokolov, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering. “All that is needed is a urine sample, and not only could we more effectively monitor patients after treatment, we could also more easily screen healthy individuals who may have a family history of the disease, and potentially detect the grade of cancer development. Determining the efficiency of early screening and grade detection is a separate, important task of our future research. ”
Dr. Sokolov is the lead author of the researchers’ published paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which is titled, “Noninvasive diagnostic imaging using machine-learning analysis of nanoresolution images of cell surfaces: Detection of bladder cancer.”
Bladder cancer is one of the world’s most common forms of cancer, with an estimated 81,190 cases and 17,240 deaths in the U.S. in 2018. The 5-year survival rate is as high as 95% when the disease is diagnosed early, but drops to 10% for patients with metastatic disease. The current gold-standard method for diagnosis includes cystoscopy (passing a camera into the bladder through the urethra), along with biopsy so that cells can be examined, and subsequent tumor resection. The recurrence rate for treated patients is 50–80%, so invasive, expensive cystoscopy exams still need to be carried out every 3–6 months to monitor patients.
“The requirement for frequent cystoscopy makes bladder cancer the most expensive cancer per patient to diagnose, monitor, and treat,” the authors stated. Cystoscopy also displays limited accuracy for some grades and locations of bladder tumors, they suggested. What’s needed is a patient-friendly approach that is less costly and more accurate. “A low-cost, accurate, effective, and noninvasive test will greatly expand participation of patients in screening and early detection evaluation programs because it will decrease the patient discomfort and potential postprocedural complications, while it can assist in improving diagnosis, monitoring, and surveillance, acting as adjunctive to cystoscopy and/or eliminating unnecessary cystoscopies.”
The Tufts University-led scientists have now developed a diagnostic approach that uses AFM and machine learning methods to image and analyze cells extracted from patients’ urine. AFM involves scanning over a surface with a cantilever, which is deflected as it passes over surface contours. Every deflection is recorded, to create a topographical map with a resolution of fractions of a nanometer. How the cantilever is deflected can also indicate physical properties of the sample, such as the adhesion force between the AFM probe and the sample surface.
The scientists applied the technique to analyze urine samples from 43 control individuals without evidence of bladder cancer, and 25 patients with pathologically confirmed bladder cancer. The analyzed sets of surface parameters, including roughness, directionality, and fractal properties, derived from each image. Using machine learning enabled a more accurate recognition of these parameters.
The results confirmed that cells extracted from the urine of bladder cancer patients demonstrated different features from those of control patient cells, which could be identified using the AFM and machine learning approach. Encouragingly, when used to examine just five cells’ per urine sample, the new technique demonstrated greater than 90% sensitivity, compared with 20–80% sensitivity for currently available noninvasive diagnostic approaches that use urine samples. Existing noninvasive tests include biochemical evaluation of the biomarker NMP22, genetic analysis using fluorescence in situ hybridization, or immunocytochemistry. The specificity of the AFM-based approach was also comparable to that of the other tests, at 82–98%.
The authors say that while their method will need evaluating on samples from much larger numbers of patients, it could feasibly be integrated seamlessly into current clinical practice. Another benefit is that the AFM technique requires only a small number of randomly chosen cells. “As we have shown, the accuracy of our AFM method is higher than that of currently used clinical standard, cystoscopy, and the currently used noninvasive methods such as VUC [voided urine cytology] and biochemical evaluation,” they wrote. “When introduced, it will help facilitate screening, reduce overdiagnosis (currently a substantial problem), and consequently, the number of unnecessary and costly medical procedures … The described approach can be extended to detect other cancers and other nonmalignant cell abnormalities as well as to the detection of cell reaction to various drugs (nanopharmacology). Therefore, we expect the described method may be a new direction of biomedical imaging.”
“AFM has been around for more than 30 years, but this is the first time it has shown promise for clinical diagnostics,” noted Dr. Sokolov. “The accuracy appears to be better than the current clinical standard for bladder cancer diagnosis, but we will need to test the method on a larger cohort of patients before it can be introduced into clinical practice. We are hopeful that AFM could ultimately be applied to the detection of other tumor types, such as gastrointestinal, colorectal, and cervical cancers.”
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The study involved people with MS and optic neuropathy, which is damage to the nerve that sends information from the eye to the brain. In people with MS, the immune system destroys myelin, the protective coating around the nerves, which then leads to damage along the nerves, slowing signals to and from the brain. Optic nerve damage is a common consequence of the disease.
"This study is exciting because it is the first to demonstrate possible repair of that protective coating in people with chronic demyelination from MS," said study author Ari Green, MD, of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at UC San Francisco, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "This was done using a drug that was identified at UCSF only two-and-a-half years ago as an agent with the potential to help with brain repair."
The five-month study involved 50 people with an average age of 40 who had MS for an average of five years and had mild disability. They all had evidence of a stable chronic optic neuropathy, meaning that they were not recovering from a recent optic neuritis.
Participants performed vision tests at the start and end of the study. For one test, called a visual evoked potential, the time for transmission of signal from the retina to the visual cortex was recorded. To be included in the study, participants had to have a delay in transmission time beyond 118 milliseconds in at least one eye and had to have evidence that they had an adequate number of nerve fibers to reinsulate. An improvement in the delay in transmission is considered a biomarker of myelin repair.
For the first three months of the study, people were given either the antihistamine clemastine fumarate or a placebo. For the second two months, those initially given the drug received the placebo and vice versa.
During the study, delays were reduced by an average of slightly less than two milliseconds in each eye per patient among those who received the antihistamine.
"While the improvement in vision appears modest, this study is promising because it is the first time a drug has been shown to possibly reverse the damage done by MS," said Green. "Findings are preliminary, but this study provides a framework for future MS repair studies and will hopefully herald discoveries that will enhance the brain's innate capacity for repair."
Study participants did report a modest increase in fatigue while taking the drug.
Green cautioned that more research with larger numbers of people is needed before doctors can recommend clemastine fumarate for people with MS, and that newer medications capable of even more powerful effects are in development, including efforts intended to improve the targeting and reduce side effects from these drugs.
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
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What Negligence Means
At one point or another we have all considered filing a claim against somebody for "negligence". This normally occurs after having been involved in an accident. But what exactly does "negligence" mean?
The legal concept of "negligence" has evolved over several centuries. Depending on the case, it can either be easy or difficult to apply. Here we provide a summary of those elements that judicial courts consider when deciding if someone has been "negligent".
• Incompletion of duties and damages. A person is negligent when they cause harm by not fulfilling their duties towards another person. As an example, we all have to be careful when driving a car. A driver who was not careful and causes an accident is "negligent".
An important aspect of negligence is its "predictability". A person is guilty of negligence only if the damage caused was a predictable result of his actions.
• How courts decide. In order to decide if someone has not fulfilled their duties, the courts examine all the facts in the case, so as to fully understand what happened. After they asked themselves what a "reasonable" person would do in the same situation. If the person accused of negligence did exactly what any reasonable person would do in the same situation, they are not guilty. But if the person’s actions were distinct from those of a reasonable person, it is more than likely that they are negligent.
• A recent example. Pedro was injured after having tripping on a game that had fallen to the ground in a store. Pedro initiated a claim against the store’s owner. The courts ruled in Pedro’s favor because the store employee who had placed the toys on the shelf did a lousy job and therefore had been negligent.
If you are injured in an accident due to somebody else’s negligence, get legal assistance and learn about your rights to receive monetary compensation. But you must move quickly, as the window of opportunity to file a claim is limited.
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Electronic recycling more important than some realize
Many people simply throw away their old electronics when they are done with them. It is basically the case that they don’t know what else to do with the materials that they have used up, so they just toss them like anything else. The problem with this is that electronics do not move through the system in the same way that other materials do. electronic recycling is far more important than what some may realize.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined in to help people try to find the places where they are able to recycle the electronics that they no longer have any use for. On their website, the organization says:
It is clear that the organization is interested in helping to keep the environment protected, and they do this by providing this kind of information. At the same time, the EPA is helping those nonprofits who fund their organization through old electronics.
People get rewarded for doing the right thing when it comes to electronics recycling and donating to a nonprofit like Tech Dump. They are receiving a little tax credit for turning in the things that they are now done using. Those who de-clutter also feel freer and the warm fuzzies of helping an organization. All in all, it is something that benefits all parties.
Contact us for information about recycling electronics and where the nearest events are for recycling the electronics you no longer have use for. |
Eat Your Sunscreen: 5 Healthy Foods That Fight Sun Damage
We think of sun damage as an external matter. In order to protect your skin from sun damage and the brown spots on face that result, you have to wear ample broad spectrum SPF sunscreen and coverup with hats and clothing. While this is certainly one piece of the puzzle, your diet can also do a lot to fight sun damage. Here are some nutrient rich foods that fight sun damage.
Eat Your Sunscreen: 5 Healthy Foods That Fight Sun Damage
1. Tomatoes Tomatoes are nature’s sunscreen, according to a recent study published in the Journal of British Dermatology. Women who ate four tablespoons of tomato paste in olive oil daily were better protected from sunburn and sun damage than those who did not. 2. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are also a major source of skin-protecting beta-carotene, which is evident from their bright orange color.
3. Leafy Greens. The darker the leafy green, the better. It turns out that a diet loaded with ample leafy greens can do a lot to boost your epidermal armor from the sun’s damaging rays. 4. Kiwi Vitamin C fights the free radicals that cause sun damage and aging. Eating a diet high in vitamin C protects your skin from the inside out. Kiwi, strawberries, and citrus fruits are all high in vitamin C. 5. Salmon Salmon is a great source for omega 3 fatty acids that help protect your skin from UV damage and premature aging. Astaxanthin, the carotenoid that gives salmon its pink color is considered the strongest antioxidant for fighting the free radicals that cause your skin sun damage. If you’ve got brown spots on face, age spots, freckles, or sun damage, use sunscreen to protect your skin on the outside and a diet loaded with nutrient dense, skin protecting compounds to protect your skin on the inside.
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The Chinese Script (www.chinaknowledge.de)
ChinaKnowledge.de -
An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art
Origin and Types of Chinese Characters
Mar 23, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald
The invention of Chinese characters is traditionally attributed to Cang Jie 倉頡, a minister of the mythological Yellow Emperor 黃帝. He created Chinese characters as an imitation of the footprints of birds. The book Daodejing 道德經 that is attributed to the philosopher Laozi 老子 says that in oldest times people used knotted cords (jiesheng 結繩) as a system of remembering (quite similar to the quipu cords used by the Incas). The Eight Trigrams (bagua 八卦, see Yijing 易經) invented by the mythological ruler Fu Xi 伏羲 are also sometimes seen as a kind of primitive script. The same is true for the River Chart (Hetu 河圖) and the Inscription of the Luo (Luoshu 洛書).
Unfortunately there is no stage known between the age when characters were used to signify clan names or personal names, and the time when the script appeared in a full stage on the oracle bones (jiaguwen 甲骨文) and bronze vessels (jinwen 金文) of the Shang period 商 (17th-11th cent. BCE). The texts of the oracle bone inscriptions are highly technical and therefore represent only a narrow lexicon. About 2,000 characters are known from the oracle inscriptions, but the meaning of a lot them is indefinable. Part of the problem is that characters at that time were not yet standardized.
The script was still in a state of experiment, althought it is very clear that new characters were systematically developed. Some clan insignia or primitive symbols are also to be found as carvings in pottery, or as stone inscriptions (shike 石刻).
The creation of new characters
Chinese characters have a long history and therefore also change over time. Some characters were newly invented, while others became obsolete. Some changed their meaning, while others changed their appearance. Outdated characters were called guzi 古字 "ancient characters", while new creations were given the name jinzi 今字 "modern characters" or houqizi 後起字 "later creations". Ancient characters were often used to write several different words, because the thesaurus of characters was still quite modest. Later on new characters were created for the use of different words or equally pronounced words with a different meaning.
莫 /mˤak, MC /, for instance, was the proper character for the word "dawn", but it was also used as a negative pronoun "nobody". Later on, a new character was created for the word "dawn", namely 暮 (MC ), while the original form 莫 was exclusively used as a negation. 賈 /Cqˤaʔs, MC jiǎ/ was the proper character for "to trade, to marketize", but was also used for the word "price". Later on a new character was created for the word "price", namely 價 (MC jià). 衰 /sruj, MC shuāi/ was the proper character for "weak, soft, exhausted", but was also used for the words "mourning clothes" and "rain coat". Later on two new characters were created, namely 縗 (MC shuāi) or 𧟄 (MC ráng) for "mourning clothes" and 簑 (MC suō) or 蓑 for "rain coat", to write the two other meanings.
The process of change from ancient to new characters had three different ways.
1) The ancient character was used for a different, yet equally pronounced, word, while a new character was created for the proper word:
character original meaning used for new character for the old meaning
"dawn" "nobody" 暮 (with 日 "sun")
"abundant, to overflow" "profit" 溢 (with 氵=水 "water")
"winnowing basket" "his, her; this" 箕 (with 竹 "bamboo")
"chest" "bandit, outlaw" 篚 (with 竹 "bamboo")
"firewood" "to be like" 燃 (with 火 "fire")
"bird" "to catch" 擒 (with 扌=手 "hand")
"hut" "to discard" 捨 (with 扌=手 "hand")
"foot" "to stop, to impede" 趾 (with 足 "foot")
"waist" "to want; important" 腰 (with 月=肉 "flesh")
2) A new character was created for the different meaning with close or equal pronunciation, while the proper character continued being used for the actual meaning:
original character/word derivate additional component
賈 "merchant, to trade" 價 "price" 亻=人 "man"
景 "sunrays, view" 影 "shadow" 彡 "stripes"
弟 "younger brother" 悌 "to do one's duty as a younger brother" 忄=心 "heart"
解 "to free, to loose" 懈 "inattentive, idle" 忄=心 "heart"
責 "duty" 債 "debt" 亻=人 "man"
竟 "end; finally" 境 "territory" 土 "land"
取 "to take" 娶 "to take a wife, to marry" 女 "female"
坐 "to sit" 座 "seat" 广 "roof"
中 "middle" 仲 "the middle of three" 亻=人 "man"
監 "mirror, to observe, to supervise" 鑑 "mirror" 金 "metal"
道 "way" 導 "to lead, to guide" 寸 "hand"
知 "to know" 智 "wisdom" 白 "clear, white" (in standard script abbreviated to 曰)
3) The old character was used as a loan character for many different, equally pronounced words, for which later new characters were created to make comprehension easier.
original character/word new characters to specify meaning additional component
辟 /pek, MC / "sovereign; to punish; specious" and also used for "to evade, to avoid", "mean, low, rustic; to split open", "to compare" or "favourite lady 避 /[b]ek-s, MC / "to evade, to avoid" 辶=辵 "to go"
僻 /pʰek, MC / "mean, low, rustic" 亻=人 "man"
闢 /bǐek?, MC / "to split open" 門 "gate"
譬 /pʰek-s, MC / "to compare" 言 "speech"
嬖 /pˤek-s, MC / "a favourite" 女 "woman"
Old Chinese pronunciation according to Baxter & Sagart 2014. MC=modern Chinese.
There are whole character families (zizu 字族) that are a mixture of a signific-phonetic characters (xingsheng zi) and signific-signific characters (huiyi), like
basic character derivate characters common meaning
工 "work" 功 攻 "to make efforts"
空 "hole" 腔 椌 䅝 埪 𦱇 𧌆 谾 "hollow"
非 "wing" 扉 排 騑 輩 輫 𦩋 "arrangement, separation"
緋 翡 痱 "reddish"
尨 "variegated" 厖 哤 牻 駹 "motley, piebald, multi-coloured"
會 "to assemble" 䢈 澮 禬 繪 燴 "to come together"
喬 "tall" 驕 䚩 橋 蹻 鐈 嶠 轎 趫 㢗 "protruding"
句 "hook" 鉤 枸 跔 痀 翑 "crooked"
包 "to embrace" 跑 鮑 飽 胞 孢 炮 蚫 苞 泡 袍 刨 皰 庖 袌 雹 "packed"
Because there was no standarized script in ancient times, totally different characters might be used for one and the same word:
alternative writings reading meaning
罷 and 疲 /[b]raj, MC / "tired, exhausted"
蚤 and 早 /Nə.tsˤuʔ, MC zǎo/ "early"
凷 and 塊 /[kʰ]ˤuj-s, MC kuài/ "piece, lump"
灋 and 法 /[p.k]ap, MC / "standard, law"
壄 and 野 /lAʔ, MC / "outside the city wall, wilderness"
㱃 and 飲 /q(r)[u]mʔ, MC yǐn/ "to drink"
In some cases two different steps of creation can be observed, like:
"to progress" (舟 "boat" and 止 "pace")
𠝣 = 前 "forward, before, earlier", also used for "to cut" (舟 simplified to 月)
new character for "to cut" (with 刀 "knife")
Apart from these examples, the Chinese lexicon includes a lot of specialized words that are only used in a very narrow field, like geographic names as
Ba 灞 a river in the province of Shaanxi
Fei 淝 a river in the province of Anhui
Gan 灨 a river in the province of Jiangxi
Chikan Hall 赤崁樓 in Tainan 臺南, Taiwan
botanical and zoological terms, as
荇菜 xingcai "duckweed"
gu "nestling"
麒麟 qilin "unicorn"
and many other special terms with characters like
"washing the hair"
"washing the face"
"washing the body"
"washing the hands"
"washing the feet"
臲鼿 "jumpy, jittery, worried"
衚衕 (simple 胡同) "hutong, dwelling quarter in Beijing"
鞦韆 (simple 秋千) "swing"
a talismanic variant for 岩 "cliff" (and the character with the highest number of brush strokes, namely 51)
The six types of characters liushu 六書
The term liushu 六書 "six types of characters" is first mentioned in the Confucian Classic Zhouli 周禮, as a general word for "the six (arts of) reading and writing" (see liuyi 六藝). Liu Xin 劉歆 (d. 23 CE), in his treatise Qilüe 七略, enumerates the six types of characters as xiangxing 象形 "illustrating a shape", xiangshi 象事 "illustrating an affair", xiangyi 象意 "illustrating an idea", xiangsheng 象聲 "illustrating a sound", zhuanzhu 轉注 "mutual comment" and jiajie 假借 "wrongly borrowing".
The first four are actually not necessarily types of characters but rather elements in characters. The last two are types of character use, the zhuanzhu type as exchangeable characters with similar or equal meaning, the jiajie type loan characters for words with identical pronunciation. In the respective ancient literature, no examples are provided for these six types, so that the exact meaning of them is not clear.
Zheng Zhong 鄭眾 (d. 83 CE), author of a commentary on the Zhouli 周禮 (Zhouguan jiegu 周官解詁), changed this listing to xiangxing 象形 "illustrating a shape", huiyi 會意 "combined meaning", chushi 處事 "dealing with an affair", xiesheng 諧聲 "harmonized sounds", zhuanzhu 轉注 "mutual comment" and jiajie 假借 "wrongly borrowing". This new list was not a new concept of Liu Xin's older list, but only a renaming.
The most famous concept of the six types of characters has been established by the Later Han-period 後漢 (25-220 CE) scholar Xu Shen 許慎 (c. 58- c. 147) in the preface to his dictionary Shuowen jiezi 說文解字. He uses the following pattern of character types: xiangxing 象形 "illustration of a shape", zhishi 指事 "pointing at a matter", huiyi 會意 "combined meaning", xingsheng 形聲 "shape and sound", zhuanzhu 轉注 "mutually commenting", and jiajie 假借 "wrong borrowing".
Xiangxing 象形
Xiangxing 象形 "illustration of a shape" is an ideograph of objects, either simple (chun xiangxing 純象形) or complex (heti xiangxing 合體象形 "compound", or bianti xiangxing 變體象形 "changed"), like objects in nature (the left character is the seal script shape, the right its modern standard script counterpart)
日 "sun" 月 "moon"
山 "mountain" 水 "water"
木 "tree" 气 "vapour, breath"
雨 "rain" 云 "cloud"
different animals and plants like
馬 "horse" 羊 "sheep"
鳥 "bird" 烏 "crow" (a bird whose eyes cannot be seen)
竹 "bamboo" 米 "grain"
or parts of the body like
手 "hand" 首 or 頁 "head"
目 "eye" 自 "nose" (soon loan word for "oneself")
耳 "ear" 口 "mouth"
面 "face" 毛 "hair (not on the head)"
肉 "flesh, meat" 牙 "teeth"
or various objects and tools of man's environment like
田 "field" 耒 "egg (agricultural implement)"
糸 "thread, fathom" 韋, 革 and 皮 (different types of skin and leather)
車 "cart" 舟 "boat"
弓 "bow" 矢 "arrow"
豆, 鼎, 豊, 豐, 斝 and 鬲 (different types of vessels) 缶, 壺, 酉, 皿 (different types of jugs and jars)
門 "gate" 戶 "house"
衣 "cloth, robe" 网 "net"
玉 "jade" (three joint pieces) 文 "pattern, script"
This group also includes symbols of figurative meaning, like
交 "exchange" (a picture of crossed legs) 出 "going out" (originally a foot coming out of a compound)
步 "to go" (two steps) 立 "to stand, to erect" (a man above a horizontal line, as the earth)
至 "to arrive" (an arrow hitting the target) 折 "to cut" (a hand holding an axe; is probably of the huiyi type; compound)
天 "Heaven" (large 大 man 人 with indicated head) 示 "heavenly bless" (coming down from Heaven)
見 "to see" (rays emanating from the eye 目) 言 "to speak" (waves coming out of the mouth 口)
王 "king" (the one 丨 combining the trinity 三 of Heaven, Earth and man; actually the pictogram of an axe as the symbol of power ) "to obtain" (a hand and a shell, expressing value; the component 彳 "proceed" of 得 was added later; compound)
止 "to stop" (image of a foot") 行 "to walk" (image of crossroads)
高 "high" (image of a palace tower) 長 "long" (image of hairs)
力 "force" (image of a plow) 豐 "abundant" (image of a vessel containing pieces of jade)
Zhishi 指事
Zhishi 指事 "pointing at a matter" is the visualization of an idea, either simple (chun zhishi 純指事) or complex (heti zhishi 合體指事 "compound", or bianti zhishi 變體指事 "changed"), like
上 "above" (the plain 一) 下 "below"
本 "root" (of a tree 木) 末 "branch"
刃 "blade" (of a knife 刀) 甘 "sweet" (something 一 in the mouth 口)
帀 "circumference" (a turned ㄓ, i.e. 之 "to proceed") 乏 "deficient" (opposite of the turned character 正 "correct")
𠤎 "change", a turned 人 "man" 司 "court official, minister, administrator" (a turned 后 "lord", later "queen, empress")
母 "mother" (wife 女 with large breasts) ㄊ "to discard" (a child 子 head down)
Characters of this category are either basic characters altered by an additional stroke, or charactes turned around or mirrored.
Huiyi 會意
Huiyi 會意 "combined meaning" is a combination of two or more characters to a new one, like
武 "war" from 戈 "halberd" and 止 "foot" 信 "trust" from 人 "man" and 言 "speech" (Xu Shen's analysis of 信 [ɕin] xin is wrong. Later scholars have found out that it is actually a combination of 言 "to say" and the phonetic 千 [tɕʰiɛn] qian.)
喪 "funeral" from 哭 "weeping" and 亡 "gone, dead" 旦 "dawn" from 日 "sun" and 一 the horizon
公 "public" from 八 "to separate" and ㄙ "private" 折 "to cut" from a form of hand 手 and an axe 斤 (斧)
囚 "prisoner", from 人 "a person" in 囗 "a fencing" 矦(侯) "lord" (a man shooting an arrow 矢 against a wall 厂)
男 "man" ("field" 田 and "plough" 力 [today "force"]) 尾 "tail" ("body" 尸 and "hair" 毛)
畺 "borderline" (fields 田 with demarcation lines 一) 黍 "lacquer" ("plant" 禾 [today: grain plant] from which a liquid 水 emerges)
安 "peace" (a woman 女 under the roof 宀) 家 "family" (a pig 豕 under a roof 宀)
好 "good; to love" (girl 女 and boy 子) 里 "village" (fields 田 and earth 土)
爨 "to cook" (two hands 𦥑 holding a pot, below two hands 廾 that add firewood 木 to the fire 火) 黃 "yellow" (fields 田 are emanating 光 their colour)
赤 "red" (large 大 and fire 火) 黑 "black" (flames 炎 and chimney 囱)
鬥 "to fight" (two men with a weapon in the hand face each other) 食 "to eat" (to assemble 亼 fragrant food 皀)
取 "to take" (hand 又 and ear 耳) 葬 "burial" (corpse 死 in grass 茻)
Some huiyi-type characters also include a phonetic element, like
huà "to change" ("person" 人 and turned person huà 𠤎)
zhèng "to govern" (zhèng 正 "rectify" with a "whip" 攴,攵)
Many huiyi-type characters are easy to remember and are therefore very popular, not only in practice, but also to demonstrate how Chinese characters are produced.
Quite some huiyi characters are muliplications of characters or of their variant, like:
"to follow"two 人 "persons"
"the mulitude, masses of people"three "persons"
竝, 並 or 并"to stand side by side; and, also"two persons 立 "standing" side by side
"to compare"two "persons" side by side
"forest"two 木 "trees"
"thicket"three "trees"
"brilliant"two 日 "suns"
"crystal"three "suns"
Huiyi characters have basically no phonetic element, but there are also some examples of xingsheng "shape-sound" characters in which the phonetic part is also used as a bearer of a meaning (see next type).
Xingsheng 形聲
Xingsheng 形聲 "shape and sound" is a combination of a signifying part (radical, bushou 部首) and a phonetic part, like
/kˤroŋ, MC jiāng/ "river, Yangtze" from the signific 氵=水 "water" and phonetic 工 /kˤoŋ, MC gōng/
/[C.g]ˤaj, MC / "river, Yellow River" from the signific "water" and phonetic 可 /[k]ʰˤa[j]ʔ, MC /
This is an advanced type of character that perhaps came up relatively late in the history of the invention of characters. It is, nevertheless, that type of character that is used most: 80 or even 90 per cent of characters belong to the xingsheng type. Some characters newly created according to this pattern were even to replace older, more pictographic types, like
/*prəm, MC fèng/ "phoenix" (from 鳥 "bird" and 凡 /[b]rom, MC fán/)
In this list of oracle bone characters it can be seen that the fifth character already bears the phonetic 凡 (for its shape, see the upper part of character No. 8), before it became a regular part of the character (from No. 10). The characters are arranged chronologically. No. 17 is the standard seal script character for "phoenix". In this shape, the phonetic part has become very large and even includes the signific part "bird". From Xu 1990: 394-395, 427-428.
/kˤe, MC / "hen" (from 隹 "small bird" and 奚 /[g]ˤe, MC /)
In this list of oracle bone characters it can be seen that the second character already bears the phonetic 奚. No. 10 is the standard seal script character for "hen, cock". The original form of the cock (No. 1) is step by step contracted to that of a "sparrow".
The change of phonetics in the last 2,000 years has reduced the feeling of users that characters have indeed a phonetic aspect. The modern reading of characters does often not have the slightest homophony with the phonetic parts once used to express the sounding. Even in Archaic Chinese the phonetics have not exactly the same pronunciation, but only a quite similar one. The creators of new characters did furthermore not necessarily use homophones (word of equal sounding) for the phonetic part of the new character, but often only "homoiophones" (words sounding similar). The phonetic part of characters was therefore already during the Han period only an approximate indication of the pronunciations, and by no means a scientific transcription.
Quite a few xingsheng type characters are consisting of phonetic elements that also contribute a meaning to the character. These characters are thus a combination of the huiyi and xingsheng types, often doubling the signific element.
xin "firewood", from signific 艹=艸 "grass" and phonetic xin 新, yet 新 "new" has the original meaning of "cutting wood" (from the phonetic xin 𣓀 - abbreviated to 亲 - and signific 斤 "axe"). Moreover, 亲 itself bears the phonetic module 辛 and the signific module 木 "wood".
yue "to penetrate; hole", from signific 穴 "hole" and phonetic jue 抉, which also means "to dig"
jing "to warn, to admonish", from signific 言 "to speak" and phonetic jing 敬, which also means "to respect, to honour"
wang "to forget", from signific 心 "heart" and phonetic wang 亡, which also means "to fade, to perish"
In characters of the xingsheng type, both signific (shengxing 省形) and phonetic (shengsheng 省聲) might be abbreviated, like:
character meaningcomponents
qiáo "proud, tall"夭 "bent" and abbreviated phonetic(?)/signific gāo 高 "high"
"80-years old"abbreviated signific 老 "old" and signific 至 "arrive"
shì "to kill a superior"abbreviated signific 殺 "to kill" and phonetic shì
融 (𧖓) "vapour rising from a pot"鬲 "tripod" and abbreviated 蟲 "to crawl"
"to produce"生 "to give birth" and abbreviated 彥 "skilled"
chuī "vapour"火 "fire" and abbreviated phonetic/signific(?) chuī 吹 "to blow"
páo "gourd used as a musical instrument"abbreviated signific 瓠 "calabash" and phonetic bāo
There are also different possibilities to render a certain sound with the help of different phonetics, or the meaning by different significs. More information can be found below, in the paragraph about character variants.
Zhuanzhu 轉注
Zhuanzhu 轉注 "mutually commenting" are characters of similar meaning and similar pronunciation, like
first version second version
/k-r̥ˤuʔ, MC kǎo/ "old" /C.rˤuʔ, MC lǎo/ "aged"
/*[b]ewʔ, MC biāo/ "tip of a branch" /[m]ewʔ, MC miǎo/ "end of a stalk"
/*[ts]ə, MC / "to sigh" /*tsʰraj, MC jiē/ 𧪘 "alas!"
/m̥əjʔ, MC huǐ/ 𤈦 "blaze" /*[m̥](r)ajʔ, MC huǐ/ "to burn down"
Some scholars explain this type as a kind of tautology like
葍 is 䔰 is "Calystegia hederacea" is "grass or creeping plant"
tiáo 蓨 is miáo miáo 苗 is tiáo "Rumex japonicus" is "sprout"
An even narrower definition is that both characters are to have the same radical or signific part as a basic condition for their mutual exchange. Yet there are also examples of zhuanzhu characters with the same phonetic and different signific parts, like
phonetic first version second version
爬 "to scratch, to scrape" (with 爪 "claw") 耙 "drag, harrow" (with 耒 "egg")
赴 "to go to" (with 走 "to walk") 訃 "to attend a funeral and give notice of death" (with 言 "to speak")
Jiajie 假借
Jiajie 假借 "wrong borrowing" are characters that are borrowed for a word of the same pronunciation and for which no character exists. Xu Shen gives the examples
ling "order" from ming 命 "command"
zhang "headperson" from chang 長 "long hair"
Yet modern scholars say that these two examples are only extensions of the original meaning, and not loan characters. Better examples are
character common meaning original meaning
"me" "weapon", similar to 武 "war"
"you" name of a river
"his, her, this" "winnowing basket"
"to come" "grain", like 麥 "wheat"
"nobody, or not" "dawn of the sun behind the thicket"
"to search" "felt, skin", early form of 裘
"place, spot; a particle for relative clauses" "the sound of cutting wood"
"dream" "not clear, obscure"; the ancient character 㝱 "dream" became obsolete as early as the Warring States period
"command" "a net for catching birds"
Loan characters (jiezi 借字) also occur if the writer forgot or did not know the proper character. Some original characters (benzi 本字) have later often become obsolete (like 垔 as the original character of 堙 or 陻). In ancient writings a character often stood for very different things, like 齊 "equal, all" for 齋 "pious, chaste; to fast, to purify", 劑 "medicine, dose", 臍 "navel", 躋 "to rise, to ascend", 韲 "powdered, seasoning" and 薺 "water chestnut; caltrop; shepher's burse". The last few characters have only been created during the Han period or even later - they are new inventions.
Similar examples can be shown in almost all grammatical particles or pronouns, like
character original meaning grammatical particle
nǎi "breast" "therefore, then, finally, is"
"flower calyx" "not"; Xu Shen interpretes the character as "a bird not coming down"
yóu "a kind of monkey" "seemingly, yet, still"
"basket" "his, her, this"
"to fell trees" "this"
ér "beard" "and, but"
"to lift, to carry" "what, which"; perhaps an early form of 荷 "lotus"
zhī "to go" "genetive particle, object pronoun, this, to go"
"uterus" "equalizing particle, stressing particle"
If a character was borrowed for another meaning, it was common that a new character was created for the original meaning of the word, like
character used for original meaning new character for the old meaning
"therefore" "breast, milk" 奶 (with 女 "woman")
"and, being about to do" "ancestral altar, ancestor" 祖 (with 礻=示 "spirit")
"his, her, this" "winnowing basket" 箕 (with 竹 "bamboo")
"nobody, not" "morning" 暮 (with 日 "sun")
"cruel" "warm" 曝 (with 日 "sun")
"must" "beard" 鬚 (with 髟 "hair")
"to change" "to encircle" 圍 (with 囗 "enclosure")
"being like, to be so" "fuel" 燃 (with 火 "fire")
"supervise" "mirror" 鑑 (with 金 "metal")
"what, which" "to lift, to carry, baggage" 荷 (with 艹=艸 "grass")
"to search" "felt, skin, pelt" 裘 (with 衣 "clothes")
"to increase" "to flow out, to brim over" 溢 (with 氵=水 "water")
"origin, beginning" "source, well" 源 (with 氵=水 "water")
The addition of a phonetic (radical) to create a new character out of a loan character, is called "increased character" (leizengzi 累增字). In such characters, the new addition of a radical is superfluous because the basic meaning of the character was indicated by a signific part, like:
character original meaning used for new character for the old meaning
"to burn" (with 灬=火 "fire") "to be like" 燃 (secondary 火 "fire")
"to hold, to support" (with two "hands" 爫=爪, and 又) "thereupon, accordingly" 援 (secondary 扌=手 "hand")
"to hold in both hands" (with 手 "hand" [lower part]) "to submit to a superior; to receive with respect" 捧 (secondary 扌=手 "hand")
Jiajie characters were already used in an early stage, which shows that the Chinese script had clearly a phonetic character and was not only used as a symbol script (ideographic). The oldest examples of loan characters appear in bronze inscriptions of Archaic Chinese, where the conjunction and auxiliary verb qiě 且 of Classical Chinese stands for 祖 "forebear", cái 才 (in Classical Chinese meaning "then, exactly, material, talent") for zài 在 "to reside in", or zhà 乍 (nearly obsolete in Classical Chinese) for zuò 作 "to create, to produce".
A verse in the Shijing 詩經 "Book of Songs" goes Zhi si shi mi ta 之死矢靡它, where shǐ 矢 "arrow" is used for the character shì 誓 "to pledge". In later times, loan characters were more subtile, like in Xunzi's 荀子 sentence mu zhi zhong sheng, ruan yi wei lun 木直中繩，輮以為輪, where róu 輮 "exterior rim of wheel" is used for róu 煣 "to bend wood over fire". Loan characters can have negative results for the understanding of a text, like in the Lunyu 論語 "Confucian Analects", where it is said gui Kongzi tun 歸孔子豚 "[he] sent a present of a pig to Confucius" (and not "sent Confucius to the pigsty" or else). Gui 歸 (literally "to return; to send sth. to where it belongs") is in this case used for kui 饋 "to feed, to present food".
Yet such characters and words are also often used to play with words, because in most cases the pronunciation of both characters is similar or even identical. Loan characters were very popular during the Warring States and Han periods, when the Chinese script was still in a state of development and standardization. Later on, when the script had become more regular concerning the use and shape of characters, the replacement of one character by another was often misleading. Commentaries to ancient books therefore often deal with the meaning, pronuncation and use of particular characters.
Some books regularly replace characters (a method called tongjia 通假 oder tongjie 通借 "general borrowing") with loan characters, like zao 早 "early" rendered as sao 蚤 (actually "flea"), xin 信 "to trust" for shen 伸 "to reach out", or guan 貫 "string", for guan/huan 宦/官 "official, minister".
Even today, there are quite a few loan characters, like lüyou 旅游 (游 with 氵=水 "water", actually "to swim") instead of 旅遊 (遊 "to travel", with 辶=辵 "to walk"). For the process of simplifying characters in order to increase literacy, a lot of loan characters are used, for example, 谷 "valley" for 穀 "grain", or 几 "table" for 幾 "some, any".
A very special kind of loan character, and in some cases loan words, are taboo names (bihuizi 避諱字) that are used in personal names in order to avoid a certain name, mainly part of an emperor's name, or the name of one's ancestor. The origin of taboo names is probably during the Qin period 秦 (221-206 BCE), when the name for the first month was changed from zhengyue 正月 to duanyue 端月 because Ying Zheng 嬴政 was the personal name of the king of Qin and First Emperor 秦始皇帝 (r. 246-210 BCE). The personal name of the founder of the Han dynasty was Liu Bang 劉邦 (Emperor Gaozu 漢高祖, r. 206-195 BCE). In order to avoid his personal name, the word bang "land, territory" 邦 was systematically changed to guo 國, actually the designation for a walled city. Emperor Jing 漢景帝 (r. 157-141 BCE of the Han dynasty had the personal name Liu Qi 劉啟, for which reasons the word qi 啟 "beginning" was regularly replaced by kai 開 "to open". Similarly, chang 常 "regular, standard" was chosen for heng 恆 "permanent, eternal", because it was the personal name of Emperor Wen 漢文帝 (r. 180-157 BCE). This regulation had even an impact on the beginning of the book Daodejing 道德經, which is since quoted as dao ke dao, fei chang dao 道可道，非常道, instead of dao ke dao, fei heng dao 道可道，非恆道, as attested in earlier sources. Emperor Wu 梁武帝 (r. 502-549) of the Liang dynasty 梁 (502-557) was called Xiao Yan 蕭衍, therefore the scholar Wang Yan 王衍 was called by his courtesy name Wang Yifu 王夷甫, in order to avoid the dynastic name. Li Shimin 李世民, the personal name of Emperor Taizu 唐太宗 (r. 626-649) of the Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907) made it necessary to write the character 世 without the right stroke , or 代 "age" instead of 世 "generation", and 人 "man" instead of 民 "people" (or without the last stroke: ). The name of Li Yuan 李淵, father of the dynastic founder, required a change of the character 淵 "depth" to 泉 "source", or 深 "deep". Similarly, the name of Zhao Jing 趙敬, father of Zhao Kuangyin 趙匡胤 (Emperor Taizu 宋太祖, r. 960-975), the founder of the Song dynasty 宋 (960-1279), made it nessecary to replace 敬 "to rever" by 恭 "to venerate" or 嚴 "to take serious, and to replace jing 鏡 "mirror" by another word for mirror, namely jian 鑑. Another example for the change of book titles is the replacement of Taixuanjing 太玄經 by Taiyuanjing 太元經 in order to avoid the personal name of the Kangxi Emperor 康熙 (r. 1661-1722) which was Xuanye 玄燁. Alternatively, the last dot of the character might be left out: 𤣥.
The most important premodern studies on the six types of characters are the treatise Liushu lüe 六書略 which is part of Zheng Qiao's 鄭樵 (1104-1162) administrative history Tongzhi 通志 from the Song period 宋 (960-1279), and the Liushugu 六書故 by the Yuan-period 元 (1279-1368) scholar Dai Tong 戴侗 (1200-1285).
Appearance and components of characters
Unlike other logographic scripts like Egyptian hieroglyphs or cuneiform scripts, the Chinese script consists of characters that all have the same size. This has to do with the fact that one character stands for one syllable and one word. A simple character like 人 occupies the same space as a complicate one like 囊. Components of characters are accordingly reduced in size:
Figure 1. Scaling of character components
The more complex characters are, the smaller are individual components. Yet standing alone, simple components like 火 or 又 occupy all the space reserved for one character.
Chinese texts can be thought of as written in a grid of square fields (fangkuai 方塊) that have to be filled to all edges. Beginners therefore use to train writing by the use of grid-pattern paper. Yet such boxed are also used for drafts.
Figures 2-3. Grid-pattern paper for writing
Left: Modern grid-pattern paper for drafting texts (written in rows from left to right). Right: Example of the manuscript edition of the Qingguoshi 清國史 (detail, written in columns from right to left). The blank cell signifies respect for the following words (xianshi 先世 "former generations"). In ready-made prints, this is done by a "line break" and positioning the first word a line higher than the usual line (see below).
Because of predefined space for each character, complex characters are often not readable in prints of minor quality. Simple characters (wen 文, modern term dutizi 獨體字) are quite rare, at least seen from the whole thesaurus of characters, while compound characters (zi 字, modern term hetizi 合體字) make out 90 per cent of all characters. Most of the latter consist of two parts, either left and right or top and bottom. One of the two parts is mostly a phonetic part (sheng 聲, the phonetic, modern term shengfu 聲符), indicating roughly the pronunciation, and the other part indicates the field of meaning (xing 形, the signific, modern term yifu 意符). This type of character, to which most characters belong, is called xingsheng zi 形聲字.
Characters can be divided into thirteen types according to their graphic composition (with examples):
Figure 4. Patterns of graphical composition of Chinese characters
The composition of characters can be divided in solitary characters (like 中), horizontally divided ones (in two or three parts), vertically divided ones (in two or three parts), and various enclosures of differnt grades, from total enclosures like 國 to enclosures from three sides or just from two sides. The last type (多) consists of two overlapping components.
The position of signific parts is relatively fixed. The components 亻彳口氵火木扌犭礻足, for instance, are mostly standing to the left, 刀卩阝攴見頁戈鳥 to the right, and 宀穴艹竹雨 to the top of other modules. This has become a standard with the creation of the chancery script, just like the sequence of the brush strokes that always go from left to right, from top to bottom, and from outside to inside.
The signific part of a character is called its radical (bushou 部首). The term bushou came up during the Later Han dynasty. The oldest surviving character dictionary, the Shuowen jiezi, classifies all Chinese characters it records into 540 radicals. During the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) the number of radicals was reduced and was fixed at 214. This number is traditionally connected with the Kangxi zidian 康熙字典 dictionary (as the so-called Kangxi radicals 康熙部首).
Character simplification in the People's Republic and attempts by various scholars to make character lookup easier has resulted in different systems of radicals. Characters that do not follow the principle of combining a phonetic with a signific element, like the huiyi or zhishi characters, are arbitrarily subsumed under one radical, for example 好 "good, to like" under 女 "wife", not 子 "child"; 去 "to erase, to do away" under 厶 and not under 土, and 不 "not" under 一, and not under 木. In the last two cases, the radicals are purely graphical and have nothing to do with the meaning of the characters.
What has also changed significantly in the last 2,000 years is the monosyllabic character of the language. Most nouns and verbs in modern Chinese are disyllabic, and it is therefore not any longer justified to say that one character represents one word. One has therefore to discern between character dictionaries (zidian 字典) and word dictionaries (cidian 辭典 or 詞典).
Cao Xianzhuo 曹先擢 (1988). "Gujinzi 古今字", in Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Yuyan wenzi 語言•文字 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), 97.
Chen Fu 陳紱 (1993). "Benzi 本字", "Chongwen 重文", "Gujinzi 古今字", "Huiyi 會意", "Jiajie 假借", "Jiezi 借字", "Leizengzi 累增字", "Tongjia 通假", "Yitizi 異體字", "Zhuanzhu 轉注", in Zhongguo xiaoxue jiaoxue baike quanshu zong bianji weiyuanhui Yuwen juan bianji weiyuanhui 中國小學教學百科全書總編輯委員會語文卷編輯委員會 (ed.), Zhongguo xiaoxue jiaoxue baike quanshu 中國小學教學百科全書, Yuwen 語文 (Shenyang: Shenyang chubanshe), 151-154.
Wang Jihuai 王吉懷 (2000). "Zai lun Dawenkou de taoke 再論大汶口的陶刻, Dongnan wenhua 東南文化 2000/7, pp. 6-14.
Xu Zhongshu 徐中舒, ed. (1990). Jiaguwen zidian 甲骨文字典 (Chengdu: Sichuan cishu chubanshe).
Zhang Zhenglang 張政烺 (1988). "Bafen 八分", "Caoshu 草書", "Guwen 古文", "Lishu 隸書", "Niaochongshu 鳥蟲書", "Xingshu 行書", "Zhenshu 真書", "Zhouwen 籒文", "Zhuanshu 篆書", in Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Yuyan wenzi 語言•文字 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), 10, 31-32, 257-258, 303-304, 430, 515-516, 538, 542-543.
Zhou Zumo 周祖謨 (1988). "Hanzi 漢字", in Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Yuyan wenzi 語言•文字 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), 195-199.
Zhu Xiaojian 朱小健 (1993). "Bihua 筆畫"， "Bishun 筆順", in Zhongguo xiaoxue jiaoxue baike quanshu zong bianji weiyuanhui Yuwen juan bianji weiyuanhui 中國小學教學百科全書總編輯委員會語文卷編輯委員會 (ed.), Zhongguo xiaoxue jiaoxue baike quanshu 中國小學教學百科全書, Yuwen 語文 (Shenyang: Shenyang chubanshe), 156.
Zhongguo shehui kexue yuan kaoguxue yanjiusuo 中國社會科學院考古學研究所, ed. (1984). Yin-Zhou jinwen jicheng 殷周金文集成 (Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju). |
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Passive wireless temperature measurement system
Passive wireless temperature measurement system is a temperature measurement system, with a variety of temperature monitoring methods. At present, there are three kinds of the most widely used. The first is the CT type, through the CT power supply for the sensor power supply, but because the line current is not necessarily, so the power supply is not stable, and the sensor itself consumes energy in limited ways, long-term high-current work may cause their own fever and thus affect the accuracy of temperature measurement Sex. The second is the surface acoustic wave, through the sound waves in different temperature environments to measure the temperature at different speeds, this method is similar with infrared temperature measurement. The third is RFID technology. The host transmits energy to a passive sensor through a transmitter. The sensor measures the temperature after receiving the energy and then wirelessly transmits it back to the host.
Main advantages: 1, no battery or power supply 2, not easy to aging and pollution 3, with the same life switch cabinet
4, to adapt to different environments 5, high precision without potential difference 6, free from electromagnetic interference
1) a variety of temperature monitoring methods
The system sets the task of automatic acquisition, timing acquisition of switchgear temperature information in accordance with the established sampling frequency. The temperature data is stored in the database, and the user can set the time interval and specify the monitored object to query the historical temperature information.
At the same time, the user can specify a specific switchgear or sensor in the master system for real-time temperature information acquisition.
2) a complete alert mechanism
When the absolute value of the temperature of the switchgear or the rate of change of temperature exceeds the upper limit, the system provides alarm information for operation and management personnel in various manners such as voice, photoelectricity and text message. Timely or predictable discovery and troubleshooting, so as to maximize the safe and stable operation of power equipment.
3) Improve the system parameter settings
The establishment of various levels of switchgear temperature monitoring and management network management temperature monitoring related switchgear, sensors, readers and other equipment files.
Specified switchgear or a specific temperature sensor for remote distribution of parameters, including sensor temperature calibration, various types of early warning, time, temperature acquisition frequency, sensor transmit power, signal acceptance threshold and so on.
4) rich data show
On the monitored object, the system can select a group of sensors in a switchgear to monitor the temperature information, or monitor the temperature information of multiple switchgears in a region (such as a station area and a line).
For the history of temperature information, the system provides a variety of ways to display lists, curves, etc., for the convenience of users to view.
5) Fault diagnosis and prediction
System provides switchgear temperature and real-time load control and other means of abnormal temperature troubleshooting.
According to the existing temperature data and its variation, according to the established prediction algorithm to provide users with the temperature prediction results, and compare the predicted value with the warning value, and found that there is an abnormal probability of sending temperature alarm information.
6) powerful statistical analysis
The system automatically generates various types of statistical reports based on historical temperature data, such as temperature anomalies statistics by region, voltage level and switchgear model. Various types of statistical reports and KPIs can be published through the system portal. |
The understanding of the symbolism of the masque of the red death by edgar allan poe
In this, there are many instances where symbolism takes the leading role in the plot and is very important in establishing the true meaning behind the story. The fall of Prospero and the subsequent deaths of his guests follow from this logic of the masquerade: White, the fifth room, might mean the time of peace in a life after it has reached the plateau of adulthood and old age.
This version is an erotic, illustrated webcomic, set in the future. Cutts, art by John Lawn. Symbolism in "The Masque of the Red Death" written by: Anger - The Prince becomes angry with the uninvited guest and attacks it.
Adaptation by Adam Prosser, art by Erik Rangel. As he knows, the prosperity of the party relies upon the psychological transformation of fear about the Red Death into revelry.
After it has finished its marking of the hour, the revelers continue to celebrate. The rising and setting of the sun, the rotation of the earth, and the movement of culture and civilization to new lands all correspond with this direction. Adaptation by Al Hewetson, art by Ricardo Villamonte.
Upon hearing its chimes the guests were reminded of death: Although the final interpretation depends completely upon the reader, these four things point them in the right direction. However, others see the rooms and colors as a representation of the seven deadly sins.
He does this successfully. Each one leads to the next, following a solid path that, in the end, leads to the point Poe is trying to make. This has been reprinted multiple times.
This was reprinted in Almanaque Classicos De Terror 15 It is used to compel a reader to think beyond the boundaries of normal thought and explore other avenues of ideas and beliefs.
Since no one has entered this stage, no one enters this room. Arriving at the stroke of midnight, he paces through the crowd causing a hush throughout the seven rooms.
Symbolism and Poe
The seventh room is black, with red windows. Even though this disease is spreading rampantly, the prince, Prospero, feels happy and hopeful. A masquerade is generally held and participated in by those who wish to hide their true identities.
Poe makes it a point to arrange the rooms running from east to west. Contact Author Those who are not able to express themselves any other way have used symbolism in literature throughout time as a way of voicing hidden meanings and undeveloped feelings. They are what create the aura of mystery and hidden innuendoes.
Black can be recognized as murder or evil doings. Sloth - Sloth is the absence of work. The violet represents the dusk. Poe crafts the last, black room as the ominous endpoint, the room the guests fear just as they fear death. In the hierarchical relationship between Prospero and the peasantry, Poe portrays the unfairness of a feudal system, where wealth lies in the hands of the aristocracy while the peasantry suffers.
When the clock rings each hour, its sound is so loud and distracting that everyone stops talking and the orchestra stops playing. This seventh room contains "no light of any kind" and represents the darkness of death.
A collection of Critical Essays. The final line of the story sums up, "And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all".
The hourly ringing of the bells is a reminder of the passing of time, inexorable and ultimately personal. Instead of using his means to protect more people, something he is obligated to do as prince, he lavishes his guests with "ample provisions" and "the appliances of pleasure.
Every hour when the clock would chime, the people would stop and listen. When the mysterious guest dramatizes his own version of revelry as the fear that cannot be spoken, he violates an implicit social rule of the masquerade. No self-answered questions would have been asked.Edgar Allan Poe lived very close to death.
His parents both died before he was 2. His brother died young. His wife died after languishing with tuberculosis throughout their year marriage.
The Masque of the Red Death
It is no wonder that Poe was fascinated with death, and used death as a prominent symbol throughout his career.
In the short. "The Masque of the Red Death", originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy" (), is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his, along with many other wealthy nobles, hosts a masquerade ball within.
Essay on Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque Of The Red Death - Edgar Allan Poe was a writer who believed every single word contained meaning and in his own words expressed this idea in brevity only he is capable, " there should be no word written, of which tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.".
Allegory in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” In the realm of literature, there are many rhetorical devices that shape the way a reader interprets a story.
What are the symbols in
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" The relationship between the Red Death and time is a key to understanding the symbolic meaning of the story. The seven rooms are laid out from east to west, reminding us of the course of the sun which measures our earthly time.
The Portable Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Penguin. One of Poe's most famous symbolic short stories is "The Masque of The Red Death," a tale about a prince and his followers trying to escape the plague. In this, there are many instances where symbolism takes the leading role in the plot and is very important in establishing the true meaning behind the story.
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New Brain Implant Restores Visual Perception In Blind
Scientists claim to have developed a brain implant that can enhance users’ ability to navigate the world by restoring their capacity to detect movement, and distinguish light and dark.
The device called Orion is geared to people who used to be able to see but lost their vision to injury or disease, according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US.
“This is the first time we’ve had a completely implantable device that people can use in their own homes without having to be plugged into an external device,” said Nader Pouratian, a neurosurgeon at UCLA Health and principal investigator of the five-year study.
“It helps them recognise, for example, where a doorway is, where the sidewalk begins or ends or where the crosswalk is. These are all extremely meaningful events that can help improve people’s quality of life,” Pouratian said.
While the implant doesn’t provide normal sight, it enhances users’ ability to navigate the world by restoring their capacity to detect movement and distinguish light and dark, the researchers said.
The system wirelessly converts images captured by a tiny video camera mounted on sunglasses into a series of electrical pulses, they said.
The pulses stimulate a set of 60 electrodes implanted on top of the brain’s visual cortex, which perceives patterns of light and interprets them as visual clues, according to the researchers.
Along with the glasses, the system also includes a belt equipped with a button, which patients can press to amplify dark objects in the sun, and press again to visualise light objects in the dark, such as an oncoming car’s headlights at night.
Six people have received the implant: the first three at UCLA Health, two at Baylor College of Medicine in the US and the sixth at UCLA.
“I’ll see little white dots on a black background, like looking up at the stars at night,” said Jason Esterhuizen, the world’s second research subject to receive the device.
“As a person walks towards me, I might see three little dots. As they move closer to me, more and more dots light up,” said Esterhuizen, 30, who moved from his native country South Africa to participate in the clinical trial at UCLA.
Ultimately, the goal is to implant both sides of the brain to recover a full field of vision, researchers said.
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1. Obsan qaloman
English: Patience leads to an honourable position.
2. Chubbun tok daqabitok ordofi.
English: You can be punished as you do sin on the spot. But for others, it can come later. Meaning: As for the punishment of sin, some are immediate; and others come later.
3. Waan garan qabu arrabi namhata.
English: What was withheld as secret thought will come out through a slip of tongue.
4. Ilti allatin nyatu wahi ingartu ; gurri allatin nyatu wahi ind’agau.
English: An eye that vultures peck at does not see; an ear that vultures peck at does not hear
5. Huqon darba alati, muyoni du dirsa alati.
English: The weak cow will blame whoever pushes it for its fall; the weak woman will blame her husband’s death for her downfall.
Related Topics:
Borana Proverbs with English Translation Part 2
Borana Proverbs with English Translation Part 3
Borana Greetings and their Response
6. Arbi ilk ufi indadabu.
English: The elephant does not get tired carrying his heavy tusks.
7. At Mormad nafatu siimma.
English: You may deny that you were fed, but your body will tell.
8. Okon wan as anan fud jete.
English: A rake recommends that it be used first to fetch the rubbish that is nearest.
9. Arki tokochi naf indqu.
English: One hand alone cannot wash the body.
10. Ado an Gafa bou, Gur naramuran get aren.
English: The donkey lamented that while it was pleading for horns, its ears were cut off. |
The Mental Health Myth We NEED To Stop Teaching
Understanding the Vital Difference between Mental Health and Mental Illness
The terms mental health and mental illness DO NOT mean the same thing.
One word may seem like an inconsequential difference. But in reality, referring to mental health and mental illness as synonyms is detrimental to the well-being of our students.
As the conversation about mental health and illness continues to grow and gain attention, it becomes even more imperative that we, as health educators, promote accurate narratives.
To understand this more clearly, let’s first look at what the terms mental health and mental illness actually mean.
A Quick Look: Mental Health vs. Mental Illness
Mental HealthMental Illness
A person's general ability to cope with life, be productive at work/school, understand and express emotions, and have healthy relationshipsA medical condition causing significant change to a person's emotions, thinking, and/or behavior
Everyone has some level of mental health at all times1 in 4 people will expeirence a mental illness in their life
A regular part of everyday lifeA recongized medical condition
Can be managed with activities like: sleep, exericse, diet, and meditationRequires medical treatment (such as medication and therapy)
This means that if you have a mental illness, you can still build a high level of mental health. Meaning if you are mentally ill you can:
• Build healthy connections and relationship
• Positively contribute to your community
• Cope with challenges and stressful situations in a productive manner
• Have autonomy over your life
It also means that if you don’t have a mental illness, you still need to intentionally strengthen your mental health.
>> Teaching Tip: Essentially you can compare the difference between mental health and mental illness to physical health and physical illness. We all have some level of physical health all the time. Physical health just refers to the general state of your body and how well it’s working. Meanwhile, physical illness refers to a specific illness affecting the body such as diabetes.
This Myth Is Harming Student Well-Being
So what exactly is so profound about understanding these differences? Let’s look at a few examples of how believing this myth (believing mental health equals mental illness) negatively impacts our students’ well-being:
Harming Students With a Mental Illness:
If students don't believe they can have mental health when dealing with a mental illness, their hope, agency, and confidence disappear.
• By accepting this myth as truth, a student with a mental illness believes having a mental illness automatically means they have a low level of mental health. And to have a low level of mental health means you struggle to identify and express emotions, connect and build relationships, manage stress, and positively contribute to the world.
• When in reality those with mental illness are highly capable human beings with great gifts to offer the world. If we fail to recognize this truth we fail to create an environment where everyone is valued.
Harming Students Without a Mental Illness
If students believe having a mental illness means having LOW mental health. They will also believe NOT have a mental illness means having HIGH mental health. This isn’t accurate and believing this means students may neglect to take care of their mental health because they didn't even realize it’s something to nurture.
• For example, even if you don’t have diabetes (physical illness) you still should focus on taking care of your body (physical health) through healthy eating and being active.
Harming Society as a Whole
Also, if we don't understand the difference between mental health and illness, we are at risk of completely misjudging those battling mental illness. It makes it easier to view those with mental illness as less than and broken.
• When we collectively believe this myth, we are at risk of perpetuating mental illness stigma and discrimination. When we don’t fully understand a topic as complex as mental illness, we give life to false narratives and the cycle of misunderstanding continues to build and well-being is negatively impacted.
Tips For Addressing This Myth in Your Classroom
• Use accurate language when talking about mental health and illness and correct students when they refer to these terms as the same thing.
• Give students a framework to understand by comparing mental health and illness to physical health and illness.
• Be intentional about demystifying both mental health and mental illness. Both are apart of everyday life. The more we talk openly and honestly, the more we diminish stigma and lessen discrimination.
The classroom is a powerful place to raise mental health awareness and empower students to enhance their mental well-being. Being intentional about the language you use may seem like a small gesture. But in reality, it's anything but small. In reality, you are creating a profound, lasting impact that will forever change your students' lives.
Need lesson plans for your next class?
We've got you covered! Download FREE Intro to Health unit plans.
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@article {2027, title = {The potential for snow to supply human water demand in the present and future}, journal = {Environmental Research Letters}, volume = {10}, year = {2015}, month = {11/2015}, pages = {114016}, abstract = {Runoff from snowmelt is regarded as a vital water source for people and ecosystems throughout the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Numerous studies point to the threat global warming poses to the timing and magnitude of snow accumulation and melt. But analyses focused on snow supply do not show where changes to snowmelt runoff are likely to present the most pressing adaptation challenges, given sub-annual patterns of human water consumption and water availability from rainfall. We identify the NH basins where present spring and summer snowmelt has the greatest potential to supply the human water demand that would otherwise be unmet by instantaneous rainfall runoff. Using a multi-model ensemble of climate change projections, we find that these basins{\textemdash}which together have a present population of \~{}2 billion people{\textemdash}are exposed to a 67\% risk of decreased snow supply this coming century. Further, in the multi-model mean, 68 basins (with a present population of >300 million people) transition from having sufficient rainfall runoff to meet all present human water demand to having insufficient rainfall runoff. However, internal climate variability creates irreducible uncertainty in the projected future trends in snow resource potential, with about 90\% of snow-sensitive basins showing potential for either increases or decreases over the near-term decades. Our results emphasize the importance of snow for fulfilling human water demand in many NH basins, and highlight the need to account for the full range of internal climate variability in developing robust climate risk management decisions.}, keywords = {CESM large ensemble, climate impacts, CMIP5, human water demand, internal climate variability, snow, water resources}, doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114016}, author = {Mankin, Justin S. and Viviroli, Daniel and Singh, Deepti and Hoekstra, Arjen Y and Diffenbaugh, Noah S.} } |
Maunsell Sea Forts of the Thames Estuary
Thursday, 8 May 2014, by Frank Turner
Innovative, pioneering, and practical, Guy Maunsell (1884-1961) was a talented civil engineer denied the recognition due to him, yet his Maunsell forts (small fortified towers) helped stave off enemy incursion into home waters during World War II.
The four sea forts, operated by the Royal Navy, were Knock John, Rough Sands, Sunk Head, and Tongue Sands. Seven anti-aircraft forts, operated by the Army, were sited in the Mersey (four forts) and Thames Estuary (three forts), these latter being Nore, Red Sands, and Shivering Sands.
The necessity arose early in the conflict, when the Germans employed influence mines with great success in the important shipping lanes from Harwich to the Thames Estuary, these mines being immune to minesweeping. Our Government spent enormous sums in seeking a remedy, initially commandeering pleasure steamers, which were equipped with Bofors guns, and fitting a Wellington bomber with a large circular copper modification capable of radiating a mine de-activating signal.
Several different proposals from Maunsell were rejected by the Admiralty, but Maunsell personally approached Admiral of the Fleet Sir Bruce Fraser, who directed the Civil Service to place an order. Constructed at Gravesend (a labour force of five hundred being drawn from the Dartford, Gravesend, and Sevenoaks areas), the naval forts were designed as a pontoon barge bearing two cylindrical towers surmounted by a gun platform. Air-conditioned and centrally heated, each tower accommodated 60 men, sleeping 15 to a room. Armament consisted of two 3.75-inch guns and two 40mm Bofors guns, and each tower was 24 feet in diameter and 60 feet high, with 1-inch thick walls. The completed forts were towed out and sunk into position with their crew on board.
Weighing 4,500 tons, the forts were manned by 3 officers and 120 men, working 6-week shifts, 16 hours a day. Inevitably, such an existence created mental health problems, it being vital that each man have a consuming hobby (which was supervised). Some took up knitting, others built models or angled for fish, while Maunsell insisted that the men have comfortable bunks, rather than hammocks, and that the décor of the walls be a restful gloss green.
Sneak-raids on the Mersey from the Irish Sea caused a need for further forts. These anti-aircraft forts were constructed as a series of interconnected steel platforms with a ½-inch thick steel house for the crew. These were also air-conditioned, with windows which could be opened, and a complement of 165 men working 6-week shifts, followed by 10 days ashore undertaking route marches! Each fort carried four 3.75-inch guns and two Bofors 40mm guns. Unsurprisingly, the highest desertion rate in the British Army during the war concerned those manning the Thames forts. In the 1950s, the anti-aircraft forts were decommissioned by the MoD.
In 1953, a Norwegian vessel collided with Nore, causing extensive damage and four fatalities; Nore was dismantled during 1959 and 1960, the ruins of its bases currently sited near Cliffe village. Shivering Sands was lost in 1963 in similar circumstances, Sunk Head fell to the RE a few years later, while Tongue Fort collapsed in a 1996 storm. Project Redsands, owned by Frank Turner and his associates, has received a £50,000 donation from Mowlem and paint supplies from B&Q, to help preserve the fort and address the need for modern installations, refurbishment, and anti-rust protection. No weapons remain, of course, the 3.75-inch guns having been removed to Scapa Flow in 1956, except for one adorning Gravesend promenade.
Two naval forts were exploded by the Army, only Knock John and Rough Sands remaining, the latter having been acquired by the late Major Paddy Bates, who declared it the independent ‘Principality of Sealand’, issuing its own passports, driving licences, postage stamps, and coins.
Maunsell’s name may not be familiar, yet his inventiveness applied considerable ingenuity to the war effort. Undoubtedly, his forts were costly to construct and bad for crew morale, yet they accounted for 22 aircraft and 30 flying bombs, which could have created wide scale damage and loss of life. Certainly, his contribution to England’s defence should not be forgotten, his name living on whenever we speak of the two remaining Maunsell forts.
Stefan Gatward |
How To Build A Storytelling Culture
Natalia is a 15-year-old girl who lives in a small village in Mozambique.
It is amazing how much of her life revolves around water.
Waiting on water
Each morning, after caring for her six brothers and sisters, she walks with pails to a riverbed miles away.
When she get there she stands in line, waiting to get dirty water from a hand-dug hole. Then she walks back home with heavy pails full of water.
This task takes hours and hours. Enough hours that Natalia can go to school only twice a week.
But in 2012, Natalia’s world changed
Charity Water brings clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries. In 2012, they gave her village a well.
Villagers now pump as much clean water as they need, quickly and easily.
And now Natalia is always at school. All the time. No exceptions.
But that’s not the end of the story
One day Charity Water visited the village’s water committee to discuss the well. Natalia was there.
With a pleased, half-smile on her face, she introduced herself.
“My name is Natalia,” she said. “I am the president.”
Oh, what a little water can do
Natalia was by far the youngest president the folks from Charity Water had ever seen.
The other committee members explained that she was selected for several reasons. She had confidence, tenacity, and leadership skills.
And, oh, she could read and write.
You see, her time at school changed her ambitions. She now plans to become a teacher and then a headmaster.
Oh, what a little story can do
Stories like Natalia’s have helped Charity Water grow. They now bring clean water to over seven million people.
Statistics, data, and facts couldn’t do that.
Because stories are more powerful. They reach people on a whole other plane. A very personal, emotional plane.
Which explains why storytelling is so necessary in connecting with your tribe members.
This is based on four overriding truths.
1. Stories are powerful
We no longer find our way in the world by searching out information and messages that tell us what to think.
Instead, we want to be associated with people who give us unique experiences. Experiences that appeal to our dreams and emotions. Experiences that add meaning to our pursuit of a better world. Experiences that encourage us to come to our own conclusion.
Part of a tribe
We want to be understood. Known for who we are as people. And who we are connect to in our tribe,
Today, we navigate the world using symbols, visual expressions, shared experiences, and stories.
These are the things that connect us with other tribe members and our common cause.
2. Stories are the currency of a tribe
Narratives help shape the identity of the tribe. They give it values and boundaries and help show its reputation.
They paint a picture of the tribe’s culture and values, heroes, and enemies.
They define and give meaning to its cause.
By sharing our stories, we define who we are and what we stand for.
Leaders of tribes establish their leadership by connecting people to each other. And to their purpose. And they do it by telling stories.
Orders of magnitude
A lot of research in psychology has shown that stories are more powerful than facts. No matter how those facts are packaged. In fact, they are orders of magnitude more powerful.
Stories are superior to facts in seven ways:
• Gaining exposure.
• Activating social media
• Communicating information
• Being remembered
• Creating involvement
• Persuasion
• Inspiring
• Most important, being shared from one person to another
Way superior
If you have facts to communicate, your best strategy is to find or create a story. One that motivates the facts so they are more likely to be heard.
So find a way to turn the facts into a story.
Or find a story that can otherwise put the facts into an interesting or relevant context.
3. Stories are the key to content
And content, they say is king. At least in the digital and social media world.
Your tribe isn’t passive. They’re in control.
They involve themselves in tribe information and activities only when they are intrigued. Thus, content drives success in this new era. And intriguing content, in turn, is all about stories.
People perk up when they hear someone say, “Let me tell you story.”
Because a story involves more people than unvarnished information and facts. It can also keep peoples’ attention. And linger in their memory.
4. Strategic messages just don’t work anymore
Especially amid the media clutter of the digital world.
And the same can be said for communicating organizational values and purpose.
Why is it so hard?
It’s because people aren’t particularly interested in your strategic messages. Or even in your organization. Or your processes. Or your elevator pitch.
The story’s role is to provide that missing interest.
People may also view your strategic messages as lacking authenticity and credibility.
A story reduces that risk. The heroes and plot become the focus. And arguing the fine points is a lot less likely to happen.
So why don’t organizations buy into stories and commit to them?
How do we get them onboard?
There are two first steps that have to take place.
First, is to get people to understand the power of stories.
And the second is to find organizational support for developing stories. And then, using them.
Making them believe
There is a big organizational bias toward presenting facts. Just the facts. Nothing but the facts.
So the task is to vividly show the power of stories to emotionally connect three things. Your mission. Your why. Your tribe’s worldview and desire to change things for the better.
One way to do that is to look at role models. Study other organizations that have used stories effectively.
Another way is to get some existing stories on the table where their power to make a point becomes obvious.
Still another is to perform an experiment. Compare how a story connects with people compared to the presenting facts.
You’ll want to measure dimensions of their interest. Things like people’s attention. Or changes in perception or behavior. When you do, it will yield eye-opening results.
Making stories part of your culture
So what, exactly, do we mean by a “storytelling culture?” And how do purpose-driven organizations go about building one?
Two overriding components must be present to create a culture of storytelling.
The first is a mindset and appreciation for stories.
The second is capacity. That means having the resources, processes, and programs to find and tell stories.
Mindset and Appreciation
To be successful, the story mindset needs to run through the whole organization.
That means that leaders must model an appreciation for story. And all staff must understand the story planning process.
They both need to understand how stories add value to their own work and the organization’s work.
Sometimes, it takes an “aha!” moment to get everyone in the organization excited about the power of stories.
Ron Geatz is director of global content at the Nature Conservancy. It’s an organization that is very fact and data-driven.
But, Ron was not impressed.
Especially during his first meeting with the directors of the organization.
It was a stats and facts orgy
“People in the audience were literally falling asleep,” he said.
The question in Ron’s mind was, “How do you get people like that to embrace the power of stories? The meetings could be so much more dynamic, interesting, and involving if they would.”
So, he started by immediately banning PowerPoint slides from the next meeting. And implored them to tell a single story instead.
A PowerPoint turnaround
Ron worked with each director to find a personal story about his or her work. Then he built their confidence in telling that personal story in front of a group of their peers.
“Everyone was nervous and uncertain about it, right up until the last minute,” he said.
“But the results were transformational.”
“People became more engaged and connected. And tons of internal excitement was generated around the power of stories.”
Check your story success
Evaluating story success is critical. Especially if you want to reinforce an organization-wide mindset and appreciation for stories.
You should look for opportunities to highlight outcomes. Things like the results of experiences and the stories came from them. Shared social media stories.
Highlight how they helped achieve measurable goals. Build this reporting into meetings where the staff share stories.
Capacity means actually making a concrete investment. It’s having the systems, talent, and resources in place.
The question is how to maximize your investment in storytellers? Many face the choice of whether to invest internally, externally, or both.
Here a few common ways other purpose-driven organizations divide their storytelling investment:
• Do away with all PowerPoint presentations, stat sheets, and spreadsheet reviews. Insist that people tell the story of the data.
• Establish an internal team of storytellers. They should have skills in photography, video, and storytelling basics. Interns or volunteers can bring skills and expertise. But a full-time staff member should coordinate the process. That person’s goal is keep the process going and to transfer knowledge to others.
• Teach everyone what a real story sounds and looks like and how it’s structured. Hold a staff meeting to openly discuss what real storytelling is. It should include why stories matter, and why all staff members play a vital role in it. Your focus should be to inspire them with examples, ideas, and, of course, stories. This kind of forum can help breakdown any hesitations people have. Especially about telling clients’ or donors’ stories.
• Appoint a single person, to be the storytelling focal point of the organization. This person leads the collection, training, and planning for stories. They coordinate an internal staff in that effort.
• Assign a team or person to collaborate with external professionals and production companies.
It may be too costly to only hire outside professionals to do their storytelling.
Many smaller organizations focus on building internal capacity. That means training people. It means hiring staff with existing storytelling interests and skills. Or it could mean spreading storytelling training across teams.
Where will the stories come from?
Even when an organization tries the story approach, it sometimes can’t find the right stories. Let alone create them.
And even when great stories appear, they slip through their fingers. Or they’re not leveraged with staff and tribe members.
Creating an atmosphere where stories are recognized and thrive requires transitional changes. You know, the kinds that are never easy.
A story atmosphere
Here’s what organizations that make stories an important part of their culture do:
• Listen intently to your tribe members to find their worldview. That includes their view of what needs to change in the world. And the things that they emotionally value and care most about. See how they connect emotionally with other tribe members and with your organization.
• Based on that on-going listening, develop a set of strategic needs and goals. They should be based on tribe needs, your mission, your purpose, and, most important, your why.
• Have a key executive commit to storytelling and to sourcing for it.
• Know your organization’s heritage and adapt it to the issues of the day.Listen obsessively to your tribe. Listen to the stories they tell themselves about your cause.
• Listen to the stories they tell to one another. Listen to the stories they tell about the experiences you create for them.
• Constantly train your staff about what makes a real story and how they are structured. That way they’ll be able to spot tribe stories that have potential. Your focus should be to inspire them with examples, ideas and, of course, stories.
• Identify some storytelling role models who work in your organization and in others. Hire the ones from outside your team. Teach them all what makes real storytelling. Then use them to support your staff after story training.
• Offer incentives to staff members who find potential stories.
• Develop organizational story structures and processes. Support them with a staff that can find and curate stories. And design experiences.
So where are you?
Here are some questions that can help you find out.
They can guide you in assessing your culture. Or discovering your readiness to adopt more of a storytelling culture:
• Is there a uniform belief in the value of storytelling? Is there support for its use throughout the organization, from top to bottom?
• Do staff members feel confident in their ability to share stories? Do those stories illustrate the organization’s purpose and mission?
• What happens when stories lead to more awareness or funds? Does management share these successes with staff?
• Is the staff encouraged to develop storytelling skills? Do they have access to professional development from outside experts?
• Does the staff meet at regular intervals (weekly, monthly) to share and discuss stories?
• Is storytelling incorporated into at least one staff member’s core job duties?
• Do staff storytellers seek professional development opportunities? Do they continually expand their skills?
• Is there a dedicated budget for producing stories (including upkeep of software/hardware)?
• Do different departments handle story collection? If so is there an organized system for transferring this information from one to the other?
The power of transformation
If you want people to believe you and become engaged with your purpose then you need a storytelling culture. As the world changes, it will be your stories that will bridge the gap. They will make you relevant.
But that’s just my opinion. What’s your take. |
DaoRier sensor button switch input For Arduino Review and Code
This post talks about using the DaoRier sensor button switch input with an Arduino.
DaoRier sensor button switch input
The DaoRier sensor button switch input is a simple single button trigger.
Whenever the button is pressed the signal pin is set to LOW. When the button is not pressed the signal pin will be HIGH.
This is a useful little board as you don’t need to connect any additional resistors to safely use this with an Arduino. This is because they are included on the board.
The button is a standard large push button but in addition the button front can be removed and replaced with another. This means that if the standard grey colour is not what you want it can be replaced easily.
An additional benefit to this sensor is that there are two different ways to connect wires to it. Either using a standard four pin connector or the 3 pin headers.
Wiring it up to an Arduino
Since the sensor includes inbuilt resistors no additional electronic components are needed. This means that we can wire up the pins directly to the Arduino.
G needs to be connected to ground, V to the 5 volt line, and S to a digital pin that you want to read the data from.
Once these are connected you are ready to read the button state using the Arduino.
Programming the Arduino with the DaoRier sensor button switch input
To see whether the button is pressed or not I can use the following code.
#define SWITCH_PIN 2
void setup() {
void loop() {
int btnState = digitalRead(SWITCH_PIN);
Here the switch pin, 2, is configured as a hash define. In the setup this is used to set the digital pin mode as an input. In addition to this, the serial connection is configured here at 115200 baud rate.
In the main loop the button state is read using the hash define. This is stored to an int and then printed out as either a 1 or a 0.
Each loop is delayed by 25 seconds so there is a very short delay in reading and printing the data. This stops the serial connection being flooded with data.
Final Review
This is a very useful button sensor as no additional components are needed for its use. This makes it very simple to install and use out of the box.
The ability to switch the button keycap is also very useful and means you can purchase a number of additional coloured keycaps and configure them as needed.
Overall a very nice little sensor to easily integrate with an Arduino. Would buy again!
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Learning vocabulary
Vocabulary can be designated into the following three tiers:
Students at CMIS possess a strong level of Tier 1 vocabulary in that they can communicate with their peers and teachers easily in English. Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocaublary depends on multiple factors of the child's background. During our instruction, we focus on building Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary as we learn reading and writing strategies. For example, learning the terms "perspective" and "inference" in a Grade Two reading unit about inferring provides a applicable background to the meaning of these academic words. Sets of academic vocaublary are constantly revisited and applied throughout the unit, and students are encouraged to use these terms as they talk about their reading.
Steps of learning vocabulary
Robert J. Marzano describes learning vocabulary as a step - by - step process in the classroom:
1.) Provide a description, explanation, or example of a new term
2.) Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
(better yet, with a partner or by use of hand gestures / TPR)
3.) Ask a student to construct a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation of the term.
4.) Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.
(or another resource)
5.) Periodically ask the students to discuss the terms with one another.
6.) Involve students periodically in games that enable them to play with terms. |
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Marriage Requirements Basics: Consent, Age, and Capacity
Perhaps you think the legal requirements for marriage are confusing and overwhelming. With so much that goes into planning a wedding these days: selecting the perfect dress, choosing a carefully coordinated menu of classic dishes culminating with a show-stopping wedding cake, and finding just the right venue -- navigating through the legal requirements might be low on your to-do list.
Certain types of marriages are generally prohibited, such as unions between blood relatives. In most states, they can't be closer than third cousins. However, many states allow first cousins to marry if they're of an elderly age and no longer able to conceive.
The reality is that once you know what's required in your state, the steps are simple, leaving you more time to concentrate on the more enjoyable parts of getting married. Although laws differ by state, this article covers general marriage requirements.
Marriage Requirements: Consent
Before a marital union is recognized by a state, there must be consent or agreement between the parties of the union to be married. For consent to exist, both parties must agree to the marriage and there must be no mistake as to the nature of the union; no force must be used upon either party to enter into the union.
Once consent is determined to exist, the laws of the individual states determine the status of the couple as spouses (as long as they've satisfied the state's marriage license requirements).
Marriage Requirements: Age
Age is an additional aspect of consent to marry. All states set the age which must be reached by both parties to the marriage before they're able to legally agree to become spouses without parental permission. For all but two states, this "age of consent" is 18 (in Mississippi the age is 17 for females and 15 for males, while in Nebraska the age is 17).
The states vary in determining the minimum age at which a couple can marry with parental consent. For the majority of states this age is 16, though in a very few states (including Kansas) the age is as low as 14.
Marriage Requirements: Capacity
Capacity generally refers to the mental ability of one or both of the parties to the marriage to agree to become spouses. Both parties must be of "sound" mind and capable of agreeing to the marriage. Not all forms of mental illness and insanity serve to render someone incapable of entering into a marriage.
A common test of capacity is the ability of individuals to understand the nature of marriage and what their responsibilities are to their partners once they enter into the union, such as financial obligations. Physical incapacity -- and in particular the physical inability to have sexual intercourse -- does not in and of itself render one incapable of marrying, and does not on its face void a marriage that has already occurred.
Questions About Marriage Requirements? A Family Lawyer Can Help
If you and your partner are considering getting married, it may help to speak with an experienced family law attorney. An attorney will ensure that all of the legal requirements of marriage are met before you walk down the aisle and can also address other legal questions and issues you may face down the road. Find an experienced family law attorney near you today.
Next Steps
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KITCHENER -- Over 800 ash trees in a popular Guelph park will be cut down in a matter of days.
The city says they're a hazard and need to be removed from Preservation Park, in order to stop the spread of an invasive species.
"Dead trees can pose a hazard for people who use our trails and use our areas," said Gene Matthews, Parks Operations and Forestry, the City of Guelph.
A highly destructive, wood-boring beetle is responsible for the dead trees, and it has the potential to kill all of Guelph's untreated ash trees.
Known as the emerald ash borer, the beetle eats away at the wood under the bark and ultimately kills the tree.
In order to prevent this, parts of Preservation Park will be closed while more than 860 trees are being cut down.
Trails in the park will also be closed during the tree removal.
The park is expected to reopen by next week, but after that, crews will continue their work throughout the city in different parks and wooded areas.
"We have about 10 thousand trees that need to be removed. We are partway through our efforts," said Matthews.
It is part of a ten year plan to manage the emerald ash borer infestation that includes treatment, removal and in some cases replacement of city owned ash trees.
It's expected to cost more than $10 million over five years. |
Why is Good Friday known as Good Friday when the first Good Friday wasn’t a good day for most people? Perhaps it would have been better labelled as Bad Friday? After all, the day didn’t go well for Jesus. This was the day He was flogged, forced to carry His cross until he could go no further, and then crucified. But one of the thieves crucified with Jesus recognised that Jesus was God’s Son, as did the Roman soldier in charge of the execution party. Not all bad then?IMG_8732
Good Friday wasn’t a good day for the disciples. Scared out of their wits in the Garden of Gethsemane where they could barely keep their eyes open, they then witnessed the arrest of their leader. Surely that couldn’t be right? How could Jesus allow Himself to be arrested, interrogated, beaten and sentenced to death? Hadn’t Jesus managed to walk away from trouble in the past? What would they do without Jesus? Not a Good Friday at all. Especially for Peter, still smarting from the knowledge that He had betrayed Jesus. And somehow none of them managed to piece the jigsaw together, or understand what was happening and why it was happening.
I am guessing that the day wasn’t too good for Pontius Pilate either. It was probably the case that Pilate would not have given two hoots whenever an innocent man went to the cross. They were only Jews after all: A conquered, but still troublesome people. But this Jew was different, and Pilate knew it, as did Mrs Pilate.
602366_408711639174817_1586227642_nThe Pharisees thought they were having a good day. The buzz of seeing their hated enemy crucified soon faded when the skies darkened and the curtain in the Temple was split in two from top (i.e. supernaturally) to bottom. I wonder what they thought about that? But there was worse to come when three days later a massive lump of rock was miraculously moved from the entrance to Jesus’ tomb, which was then found to be empty .
How about God? Do we believe that it was a Good Friday or a bad Friday from His perspective? I can’t begin to imagine what it was like for God. Separated from His beloved Son and having to watch Him suffer, without being able to do anything to help. A bad day in some respects, but a necessary day. The day when Satan was defeated forever. The day when Jesus did the unthinkable by giving Himself in complete surrender so that all humanity would have the chance of forgiveness and eternal life. That makes it a Good Friday for us, if we acknowledge Jesus and accept His gift of new life. But is that enough? If Jesus gave Himself in complete surrender for us, shouldn’t we give ourselves in complete surrender to Him? And shouldn’t we surrender to Him daily? Because if we don’t it sort of devalues what Jesus did, meaning that potentially Good Friday isn’t as good as it could be. Did you have a Good Friday today?
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Skip to 0 minutes and 1 secondSPEAKER: This video will introduce you to some of the basic elements of the critical path method. The critical path is the longest set of activities in a project that have to be completed on time if the project is going to finish on time. First, we need to calculate the duration of the whole project. We can do this by adding together the durations of each activity on the critical path. This Gantt chart shows a project that has just four activities. Shopping, cooking, laying the table, and eating. This means that while the cooking and clearing can start once the shopping has been done, Tom and Sarah will have to wait until both of these activities are complete before they can eat.
Skip to 0 minutes and 45 secondsIn this case, the critical path activities are A, B, and D. Activity A, shopping, starts at 0 and ends at 40 minutes. Activity B, cooking, starts immediately after the shopping, at 40 minutes and lasts for half an hour, until 70 minutes. Finally, activity D, eating, has to wait until the cooking is finished, so it can start at 70 minutes. Eating takes 50 minutes, so we can work out that the whole project lasts for 120 minutes. As you can see, activity C, laying the table, is not on the critical path. Taking the project completion time and the activity durations, we can calculate the early start and early finish dates.
Skip to 1 minute and 35 secondsThe early start date is the earliest time when work can start on an activity, while the early finish date is the earliest time an activity can be completed if it is started as soon as possible. The late start and late finish dates are similar. To work out these times, we need to go to the end of the project and work back from there. Here, we will start with the last activity, eating the meal. The project is due to last 120 minutes. So the late finish date is 120. To calculate the late start date, we subtract the duration of the activity from its late finish date.
Skip to 2 minutes and 15 secondsIn this case, the late finish date is 120 while the duration is 50, leaving a late start date of 70 minutes. Now, we can turn to the previous activities, cooking and laying the table. The late finish date of these activities is the same as the late start date of the activity that follows them. This is because they have to be completed before the next activity can commence. Finally, we come to activity A. The late finish date of activity A depends on the activities that follow it, activities B and C. The earliest late start date between activities B and C is Activity B, with a start time of 40 minutes.
Skip to 3 minutes and 0 secondsSo the late finish date of activity A is 40, while, because the duration of activity A is 40, the late start time is 0. Now we've filled in the table, we can see that there are some activities which have the same early and late start dates as well as the same early and late finish dates. These are activities A, B, and D. These activities are called the critical path. We define them as critical because they cannot be delayed without effecting the project generation. These activities contrast with activity C. How long activities can be delayed without affecting the end date of the project is called the project float.
Skip to 3 minutes and 45 secondsThis can be worked out by subtracting the early start dates from the late start dates. In this case, it is 60 minutes minus 40 minutes, meaning there are 20 minutes of float available on this project.
Introducing the critical path method (CPM)
The critical path method (CPM) is a technique based on calculating the start and end dates of project activities given their duration and dependencies on one another (in other words whether one has to take place before another can happen).
Understanding how CPM works will help you decide which activities can be run in parallel.
The necessary information for constructing a CPM is as follows:
• list of activities
• the duration of each activity
• the priorities or in other words, the predecessor(s) of each activity.
The CPM returns:
• The final project end date: how long will the project take if it starts at day 0?
• Earliest start and end dates for each activity: taking into consideration which activities need to take place before others can happen, how soon can each activity start and end?
• Latest start and end dates for each activity: taking into consideration which activities can only happen after others have taken place, how late can each activity start and end without delaying the whole project?
• Critical path(s): a sequence of activities starting from the first activity of the project and ending with the last. Activities on a critical path cannot be delayed without extending the project duration
• Possible floats of activities: the possible delays that activities not on the critical path can tolerate without affecting the project duration.
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This video is from the free online course:
Business Fundamentals: Project Management
The Open University |
North and South
Aim: To look at the basic idea of aid and relate it to your own experience.
You will need: Paper, crayons/coloured pencils, a map or globe (optional), a dictionary (optional).
Duration: 30 minutes
Start a discussion about aid, using the following questions as prompts:
• What does the word 'aid' mean? Explain that it is a word meaning 'to help'. You could look it up in a dictionary. You can also use other terms such as 'first aid' to help with understanding of the word.
• Can you think of a time when you needed help for something? What did you need help for? How did you feel needing that help? (encourage discussion around good and bad feelings).
• What kind of 'aid' is available to people in your country? To people who are unemployed, ill, cannot pay rent, want to study, have children, are getting old...? At different times in our lives and for people in different situations, 'aid' or 'assistance' is needed.
• Some countries also need help like this. 'Aid' can be money given to poorer countries by rich countries. This is sometimes called 'Official Development Assistance'.
Ask: Why do you think rich countries give money to poorer countries?
After some brief responses, introduce the fact that rich countries also 'take' from poorer countries. Explain some examples:
• Through history (use 'colonialism' if this will help), where rich countries take the resources of poor countries while controlling them.
• Trade - where poor countries are made to trade in a way that keeps them poorer, selling their goods for a very low price.
• 'Tied' aid - where a country gives, say 100 million but then 70 million of that has to be spent on things that are sold by the donor country, often including weapons.
• Repaying debts - rich countries make money from loans to poor countries by charging interest on repayments. (The concept of interest can be easily explained - if you want to borrow ten pounds because you need it now, I might ask you to pay me £13 next month, so that I can 'make' 3 pounds. That is my payment for lending you the money)
Ask if this information surprises the group. Did they realise that rich countries also gained things from poorer countries? Do they think this is fair?
Explain that countries that are richer tend to be on the top half of the globe (the North) and that poorer countries are often in the South. Ask the children to draw a picture to represent the differences between rich and poor. One way is to use a large piece of paper, the top representing a rich country and the bottom representing a poor country. Then draw arrows from North to South, one up and one down. On the arrow 'down' you can put 'aid' and on the arrow 'up' where the South is giving to the North you can include 'tied' aid (eg money for products and services from the country giving aid), debt repayments, low prices for sales of goods to the rich country. Draw pictures to illustrate these things. |
Why Iridology?
The eyes are an extension of the brain and the information is transmitted via the nervous system and cellular communication. This same process occurs within the body. Through changes in the pigments and structure of the iris, abnormal conditions of the tissue in the body are revealed in the eyes. They are linked to the inner body by way of the optical nerves, as well as the cells.
Iridology is the most effective assessment technique in the world that considers the person as a whole. While management of your health is ultimately up to you, the wisest way to safeguard your health is to know and understand your body thoroughly – as a whole.
Iridology assessment provides you with information about your body signals, how you can respond to nutrition therapy and various natural therapies that can be incorporated into each individual’s plan of treatment. Certain conditions can be spotted before they cause serious problems, allowing you to prevent the manifestation of diseases.
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• 06 Feb 20
Feb 6 - “St. Dorothy” © artwork by Brenda Nippert. Happy Feast Day St. Dorothy!
Saint Dorothy lived in the Third Century. We don't know much about her, except that she was a Christian during the persecution when the emperor Diocletian had outlawed Christianity. Dorothy refused to sacrifice to false Romans gods, so she was sent to be tortured and put to death. People gathered beside the path that the prisoners were dragged along, to mock them and jeer at them. A pagan lawyer named Theophilus, yelled out to Dorothy, making fun of her Christian beliefs by saying “Hey! Send me some fruit and flowers from the Heavenly garden when you get there.” Later after Dorothy was put to death, the lawyer was approached by a small child who looked like an angel. He gave Theophilus a basket of roses and apples, both of which were out of season and couldn't be bought at that time. Theophilus was shocked and then became a Christian himself, Dorothy's gift was all the proof he needed. Later Theophilus was also killed for being a Christian, but he didn't mind because he knew he would soon be joining Dorothy in Heaven’s Garden. |
Infectious Diseases
Vaccibody for Infectious Diseases
Generation of rapid, strong and long-lasting antibody responses is crucial for development of effective vaccines against infectious diseases.
Vaccibody has over the last years studied the vaccine effect in different infectious disease models like Influenza, Herpes Simplex Virus 2 and Tuberculosis with academic and industrial partners.
The studies have shown that Vaccibody vaccines are able to protect against infectious diseases through generation of neutralizing antibodies and Helper T cell responses after a single administration with a needle-free jet injector.
The data have been generated with both DNA and Protein Vaccibody formulations demonstrating the broad potential of our Vaccine Technology Platform. |
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12.1.3 - Sun/shade acclimation and rainforest gaps
A seed germinating in a rainforest understorey starts life in a low light environment. This will not present major problems to an obligate shade species which cannot tolerate strong sunlight; such species have adapted to life in an understorey. However, many rainforest species are better described as either shade tolerant (i.e. able to germinate and persist in low light, but requiring higher light to reach maturity) or shade intolerant (unable to germinate or grow in low light). In successional terms, shade tolerance is a feature associated with climax species and shade intolerance with pioneer species.
Shade-tolerant species can persist as seedlings in the understorey, often for years, while still being able to respond to an increase in light availability when it occurs.
By comparison, shade-intolerant (early-successional) species can only germinate and grow where there is ample sunlight, and consequently they tend to occur in wide gaps and on forest edges. Wide gaps are relatively rare in old-growth rainforests which have been undisturbed by logging or slash and burn agriculture. Shade-intolerant species are unable to maintain a positive carbon balance when growing in low light. The change from a high light to a low light environment requires a change in allocation of plant resources as described in the quantitative growth chapter (Section 6.2). Shade-intolerant plants are unable to make this change and are burdened with the higher costs of construction and maintenance of leaves better suited to strong sunlight
Shade-intolerant species tend to produce numerous small seeds throughout the year which are widely dispersed. Their seeds are also able to remain viable for long periods (years) by going through a period of dormancy. This is often broken by high temperature or strong direct sunlight with a high ratio of red to far-red irradiance (R:FR ratio decreases with sunlight attenuation through canopies). Such environmental cues for germination are all experienced in wide gaps. Following germination, seedlings show rapid growth to maturity, allowing them to become well established in a gap before other slower growing species. These characteristics increase the probability of success for shade-intolerant species in the heterogeneous light environment of a rainforest.
Shade-tolerant species, on the other hand, have evolved a different suite of characteristics. They tend to produce a few large seeds which are generally not well dispersed, with little or no dormancy. However, the seeds have the ability to germinate in low light and persist in the understorey as seedlings for years. A rarity of gaps and a lack of dormancy found in most shade-tolerant species increases the probability of establishing in a low-light understorey environment. In situations like this, the larger seed provides seedlings with a reserve which they can draw upon during early establishment. In rainforests, tree seedlings survival in understorey habitats is positively correlated with seed size, especially in the first few months following germination.
Following establishment in the understorey, seedlings of shade-tolerant species may have to wait a long time before a gap appears overhead. Many species succumb to attack from herbivores or pathogens or may be crushed by large animals (including humans!). Those that do survive must be able to acclimate to the new conditions arising on gap formation; their ability to do this will depend on the nature of the new microclimate and the acclimation potential of each species.
Growth response to high light
Emergent trees of tropical rainforests have to endure strong sunlight, and leaves comprising the crowns of such trees will have acclimated to full sun. In young-growth forests, canopy emergents are early-successional fast-growing species that are adapted for fast growth in full sun on large disturbances. Such species represent an initial phase in forest dynamics that might last 10–20 years. By contrast, in old-growth forests, early-successional species have long since completed their life cycles, and will have been replaced by later-successional species whose seedlings initially tolerated deep shade on the forest floor, but now endure full sun as canopy emergents. Such remarkable plasticity is an adaptive feature of late-successional species and involves sun/shade acclimation by individual leaves.
The differences in growth rate of early-successional fast-growing species versus later-successional and shade-adapted species is illustrated in Figure 12.13 by two rainforest species that are important in the timber industry: the sun-loving red cedar (Toona australis) and the shade-adapted tulip oak (Argyrodendron sp.).
Figure 12.13 Growth of (left) Toona australis (sun loving) and right Argyrodendron sp. (shade adapted). Plants are the same age (6 months) and grown in same size pots (15 cm) in high light and high nutrient supply. (Thompson et al., 1992a; photographs courtesy P.E. Kriedemann)
A detailed study of three rainforest species from North Queensland was conducted by Thompson et al. (1992a, b). The red cedar Toona australis (an early-successional species) and two species of tulip oak Argyrodendron (late-successional species) showed different acclimation potentials when grown under a range of light conditions (Figure 12.14).
When grown under high light, 535 µmol quanta m-2 s-1,which is typical of average canopy radiation in a tropical rainforest, T. australis achieved a higher Pmax and light-saturation point than either of the Argyrodendron species. However, T. australis was more sensitive to nutrient levels, being unable to acclimate to the same degree in low-nutrient compared to high-nutrient regimes. Moreover, fast growth in T. australis was greatly promoted by a positive light x nutrient interaction on leaf expansion and photosynthetic capacity; adaptive features with a clear selective advantage on open sites where soil disturbance liberates nutrients.
Figure 12.14 Photosynthesis versus light response curves for seedlings of a shade-adapted rainforest tree species (Argyrodendron) and a sun-loving tree (Toona australis). Seedlings were grown under factorial combinations of weak, medium or strong light (shown left to right) × either high or low nutrient supply (solid lines with filled symbols, and dashed lines with open symbols respectively). (W.A. Thompson et al., 1992b)
Toona (sun loving) produced a much greater depth of mesophyll tissue under strong light compared to weak light (Figure 12.15b), which accounted for enhanced photosynthetic capacity. Argyrodendron sp. (shade adapted) was much less responsive to photo irradiance during growth, producing consistently thicker leaves regardless of light level, but with lower photosynthetic capacity.
Figure 12.15 Transverse sections of leaves from Toona australis (a) and Argyrodendron sp. (b) grown on high nutrient supply under either weak light (left) or strong light (right). Scale bar = 100 µm (W.A. Thompson et al., 1992a; micrographs courtesy I.E. Craig)
These adaptations result in the more vigorous growth of Toona than Argyrodendron at high light. |
Hancock’s Egypt
It is in Egypt that Graham Hancock’s search for his ‘lost civilisation’ begins, with his support for a controversial attempt to redate the Great Sphinx of Giza. Boston geologist weathering on the Sphinx was to become a major element in its redating, as he identified the main factor in the considerable weathering over most of the body as precipitation. Given that the rainfall of Egypt has remained at a low (if variable) level in historic times, Schoch suggested that the weathering ought to have occurred at a date considerably earlier than the conventional date of the monument, c 2530 BCE. Schoch’s preferred date was the Neolithic Subpluvial of 7000-5000 BCE for the weathering, meaning that the Sphinx would have to be at least 2,500 years older than conventional Egyptologists believe.
The Great Sphinx of Giza in 1988
The Great Sphinx of Giza in 1988
However, Hancock would like to push the date back yet further and he does so via a few poorly disguised falsifications. He claims that the Sphinx is a symbol of Leo and that, because it is facing precisely due east, it was designed to face the rising sun when it was in the constellation of Leo at the vernal equinox. He does not explain why this should be the case and presents no evidence to show that the Egyptians ever regarded the Great Sphinx as a symbol of the constellation Leo (indeed, he fails to demonstrate that they even recognised a constellation the same as Leo). However, according to Hancock, the sun rose in Leo at the vernal equinox between 10,970 and 8830 BCE.
Hancock also believes that the three principal pyramids at Giza were built to represent the stars of Orion’s belt. The belt of Orion also reached its lowest point in the sky during this time, although Hancock fails to explain why this might be considered important. By combining these two elements of astronomical non-data he dates the layout of the whole complex to c 10,450 BCE. This is fully eight thousand years older than the conventional dating. It is worth noting, incidentally, that by this point, the three principal pyramids of the Giza plateau – those of Khufu, Kha‘efrē‘ and Menkaurē‘ (Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus in their Latinised Greek forms) – have also been redated to this remote period.
The Valley Temple that occupies a site immediately south of the Sphinx is next drawn into the argument. Hancock points to the stark simplicity of the temple, with its square sectioned columns, lack of inscriptions or reliefs and its construction techniques and suggests that it cannot be contemporary with the certainly Fourth Dynasty mastaba tombs scattered across the plateau. These tombs show greater architectural elaboration and were profusely decorated. In his view, the Valley Temple must be immeasurably older and therefore contemporary with his redated Sphinx. He does not justify his equation of ‘simple’ decoration with an earlier date and he ignores the evidence of archaeological dating.
To the rear of the New Kingdom temple at Abydos is a structure that Hancock has compared with Kha‘efrē‘’s Valley Temple at Giza (due to some architectural similarities). The Osireion – Shrine of Osiris – has square sectioned pillars devoid of bas reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions, like the Valley Temple, to be sure, but it does have inscriptions on walls and lintels that name Seti I (Pharaoh c 1290-1279 BCE), who is known to have been the founder of the main temple at Abydos. Hancock prefers to regard these inscriptions as later impositions – not an impossible hypothesis. However, he goes far beyond what can be deduced by ordinary archaeological means and assumes (for the consistency of his unique chronology) the temple to be earlier than known Egyptian civilisation.
Problems with the early dating
Around 10,450 BCE, when Hancock proposes that the Great Sphinx (and, by implication, the Valley Temple of Kha‘efrē‘’s pyramid and the Osireion at Abydos were built) the Western Desert was still in its period of greatest aridity. Even in the Nile valley, rainfall was minimal. This would have made life difficult for humans. During what is known as the Late Palaeolithic Alluviation, beginning before 20,000 BP and lasting until about 10,500 BCE, the Nile brought less water than today. This was caused by two main factors: firstly, the world-wide dryness caused by the ‘locking up’ of water in the huge ice caps of the Pleistocene glaciation and secondly, because the White Nile did not drain into the Nile valley at this time, its northward path blocked by sand dunes in the Sudd. At the same time, the slower river carried more sediment, which built up the floodplain until it was some 25-30 m higher than today. The river was sluggish and would have flowed in numerous braided channels. As the ice caps shrank after c 10,500 BC, an increase in rainfall at the headwaters of the Blue Nile in East Africa, combined with the White Nile breaking through the dunes in the Sudd, led to a brief period of exceptionally high floods, known to geologists as the ‘Wild Nile’. This increased flow, probably starting c 10,000 BCE, eroded the sediments that had accumulated during the previous eight thousand years. Within a few centuries, the Nile had become a powerful stream, flowing in a single deeply incised channel, with a narrow floodplain that was prone to heavy flooding. Nevertheless, rainfall in the Nile valley itself remained low until about 9000 BCE, making settled life in the valley difficult.
These unfavourable climatic conditions virtually preclude the use of the Nile valley by the remnants of Hancock’s ‘lost civilisation’; hunter gatherers would have found few plants or animals to exploit, while farmland would have devastated by frequent floods and the shifting of the numerous braided river channels. Population levels would have been small and communities necessarily mobile. Moreover, the sites of the Great Sphinx, the Valley Temple and the Osireion were covered by a considerable depth of alluvial deposits at this time; if they had been built in the eleventh millennium BCE, they would have been at the bottom of pits 25 to 30 m deep! This geological evidence makes archaeological questions irrelevant. It is difficult to see how a society capable of building monuments designed to be permanent could have flourished in such an environment and why, in such an unstable landscape, they would seek or expect to build permanent monuments.
31 Replies to “Hancock’s Egypt”
1. The relevance the astrological alignments of the Sphinx and the Pyramids have is found when you examine the rest of Hancock’s work around the world. Which shows various other structures and sites that also had many astrological alignments. When you consider that he thinks all these sites to be linked, you can see why he felt this to be important.
Surely if they were descendants of a supposed paradise-like civilisation then these inhabitants would have some means of surviving in somewhat harsh conditions. Also, did the conditions of the area change to suit the Ancient Egyptians who thrived in the area thousands of years later? On this last point, I don’t mean to be challenging, I’m genuinely curious!
2. An argument I see made often is that evidence from workers’ settlement and the adjacent temples should be dismissed because they are of a date later than the pyramids. Is there evidence other than carbon dating to prove the connection between the pyramids and the rest of the Giza complex?
3. Three comments…
1) IIRC, there’s recent evidence that the workers’ settlement was repeatedly subject to flash-floods, so rebuilt again and again. This would make the original establishment date hard to determine. Hopefully, the occupants got out alive…
( Having your workers’ facilities demolished with some regularity might provoke a popular notion that the Gods are *not* happy with your schemes. Puts a spoke in the logistics, too. Perhaps these prompted abandonment of the Giza Plateau ?? )
2) My understanding of Egyptian religion / mythology is that the priority was to have a worthy pyramid / tomb and temple ready by the time mummification was complete. Expanding the necessary temple complex to what we find on the ground may have taken generations of additions and rebuilding.
3) Regarding the Sphinx and its ancient weathered back-side, the same skewed logic would make US’ Mt Rushmore mega-sculptures millions of years old…
That’s a silly argument. The Sphinx was created by cutting out the limestone around what would eventually become its body. Different story with Mount Rushmore.
Use your common sense. The head and the body of Sphinx show different levels of erosion. The “Lost Civ” types are unto something, but then they go into ridiculous speculations about mystical energies, 12.000 year old cultures, UFOs and what not.
The Sphinx really remains a mystery. But egyptologists rarely admit that. Possibly because they are are afraid that they will give credence to Hancock & Co
I’m reminded of a brief conversation that I once had with a physicist (really, a science nerd). I told him how fascinated I am by the fact that cave paintings and wooden figurines seem to appear “only” about 40.000 ago, although the human race is around 100-200.000 years old. His reaction was: “No, no, the theory of evolution has been proven to be correct!”
1. The differential erosion of the Sphinx isn’t that much of a mystery: for long periods, it’s been buried up to its neck in sand that left only the head exposed. It suffers from groundwater that seeps out from the limestone into which it was carved: seepage at times when it was buried may have been more rapid than when exposed, or vice versa.
The Sphinx may be difficult to date, but its context needs to be taken into account. There is nothing at the Giza plateau before the Fourth Dynasty (and, indeed, nothing before its second king, Khufu). What would be the purpose of the Sphinx if there was nothing else there? It is in an abandoned quarry. What was the stone quarried to make? We know from the other quarries of Giza that they provided the blocks from which the various masonry structures of the plateau were constructed (not just the pyramids, of course!). That being the case, if the Sphinx quarry really were earlier than the Fourth Dynasty, there ought to be some sort of contemporary masonry structure nearby using stone from the quarry. Where is it? And remember that the Egyptians themselves credited the invention of building in stone to Imhotep, vizier of Djoser of the Third Dynasty: the archaeological evidence backs this up. That’s a real problem for Hancock and his followers.
Robert Schoch’s argument is that such a degradation could only have been caused by – falling – water. He says that the top part of the Sphinx’s body, made out of harder limestone, is more eroded than the lower part, made out of softer limestone. Which can only make sense if you have precipitation. Now, the guy’s a geologist, so it’s beyond my area of expertise. There has been an interesting debate between Robert Schoch and another geologist – Colin Reader. Reader wants to redate the Sphinx to Early Dynastic/ Predynastic times. I have found a compendium of the debates surrounding the Sphinx on this website “http://www.davidpbillington.net/sphinx2.html”
“There is nothing at the Giza plateau before the Fourth Dynasty”
I believe there are some mudbrick mastabas dating from the 2nd and 3rd dynasties. At least on the south field. Besides, the Saqqara necropolis isn’t far off. Add to that the possibility that whatever mastabas were near the pyramids or the Sphinx would probably have been removed. I can’t remember exactly which 5th or 6th dynasty pharaoh built his pyramid right on top of a tomb of a second dynasty pharaoh! If I remember correctly, there were jars and other artifacts from previous dynasties found inside Djoser pyramid complex (which means that they were removed from somewhere else i.e. tombs could simply be “moved”, especially if the previous ones had been desecrated).
“What would be the purpose of the Sphinx if there was nothing else there?”
Good question! Well, obviously religious. But that doesn’t say much:-).
“What was the stone quarried to make?”
I’d say that Schoch would argue that the limestone blocks were used to make the Sphinx temple. I think he claims that it was built contemporaneously with the Sphinx.
Mmmm… debatable, to say the least. Recent excavations have dated the Gisr el-Mudir structure to the time of the 2nd dynasty. But that’s still mere decades or at most a couple of centuries before Djoser’s time.
As a conclusion: I really can’t understand this “we’ve got all the answers” attitude. As someone who’s passionate about late roman/early middle ages history, I know how you can build complex theories upon the flimsiest of evidences. People don’t know this, but a large part of the discipline that we call history works this way. I credit Hancock with a certain popularization of history. His speculations may be “wild”, but I’d be willing to wager that a lot of young people took up history or more specifically Egyptology because they were intrigued by Hancock’s thesis. There are unsolved mysteries in history.
For example, was there a real “King Arthur”? If not, was he based on a real person? What would that person have been like? A Briton? A Roman? A bit of both? Did he manage to defeat the Saxon invaders? If so, how? Did the Britons send word for help to Aetius or to Aegidius?
It is speculated that the native Britons finally lost ground to the Anglo-Saxons because of a plague. Was this the bubonic plague known as “Justinian’s plague”? How did it reach Britain? Was there contact or trade between Britain and Gaul? Or between Britain and the Eastern Roman Empire?
Or what exactly did Constantine see before the battle of the Milvian Bridge? Was he hallucinating? Was it a sign from God? Was it a meteor? A strange weather phenomenon?
For me, personally, this is fascinating stuff.
Or let’s take Egypt. How great was the influence of Mesopotamia upon Early Dynastic/Pre-dynastic Egypt? We know that the niches which decorated the early mastabas, temples and palaces bear striking a resemblance to structures from the same period found in Mesopotamia. Were the first pyramids inspired by Sumerian Ziggurats? Was Egyptian writing inspired by Sumerian writing? There is of course that famous flint knife dated to 3450 BC which shows (what appears to be) a Sumerian god holding two lions. How does that fit into the history of Predynastic Egypt?
Now, I don’t want to be misunderstood. I do believe there is value in disproving “bad archeology”. Ancient aliens theories and the like may be fascinating, but they also pull the general public ever deeper into… what I would call “historical ignorance”. At the same time, historians and archeologists must keep an open mind, lest we learn nothing from history. Remember that historians had for centuries thought that the Trojan War was merely a myth, before amateur archeologist Heinrich Schliemann proved them wrong. Same thing with the Mycenaean civilization. Arthur Evans discovered the mythical palace of Knossos and with it, a whole unknown civilization – the Minoans. And I haven’t even gotten into all the cities and cultures that were previously only known from a few verses written in the Bible.
Well, I have extended my train of thought more than I intended to. This is the original documentary (that aired almost exactly 20 years ago) which presented (among other stuff) Schoch’s erosion theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtK4hHzB4Bs
It has entertainment value, and if you ignore the “sci-fi stuff”, it makes some interesting points.
Schoch’s main points in short form: http://www.robertschoch.com/sphinxcontent.html
Honestly, I don’t think that you’ve paid close enough attention to his arguments. Personally I don’t trust Schoch when he talks about “10.000 year old civilizations”, but I do pay close attention when he speaks about geology. Remember, this guy has a PhD in Geology from Yale University.
1. Thanks for the detailed reply. Yes, I know that Schoch believes that the erosion can only have been caused by falling water, but many other geologists disagree. This is an argument that can’t be resolved by archaeological means (although Tom Aigner demonstrated as long ago as 1980 that at least some of the blocks from the quarry were used in the Sphinx Temple). The implications of the geological data are archaeological, though. What is intriguing is that Rudolph Kluper and Stefan Kröaut;pelin have suggested that the pluvial Schoch believes responsible for the supposed water erosion may not have ended until as late as c 1500 BCE. This allows it to have been carved in the Fourth Dynasty and still show evidence for erosion caused by rain. They have also shown a shift in population from the Western Desert to the Nile Valley in the period c 5300-3500 BCE: the implication is that at the time Schoch would have the Sphinx constructed, the main focus of population lay to the west, not in the Valley.
That’s interesting about the 2nd/3rd Dynasty mastabas on the plateau: I’ll look into those, but they are mudbrick and wouldn’t be the destination for blocks from the Sphinx quarry. The idea that the core blocks of the Sphinx Temple came from the quarry seems to have been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt and has been known for more than thirty years; they could also have provided the core blocks of Kha‘efre‘’s Valley Temple. It occurs to me that the southern wall of the Sphinx Temple runs parallel with the northern wall of Kha‘efre‘’s Valley Temple and causeway. Had the Sphinx Temple been earlier than Kha‘efre‘’s Valley Temple and causeway, there would have been no need for this design feature, given the symmetrical nature of the rest of the building. It’s usually assumed to be a Fourth Dynasty structure, but I wonder if it might be later than the time of Kha‘efre‘ (even if only by a few years).
I don’t believe that we have all the answers, nor do I believe that we ever will. There will always remain intriguing questions about the past, as you rightly point out. Arthur as a leader of the Britons? Possible. Britons wiped out by a plague during the period of Anglo-Saxon settlement? Less plausible, I think (there is actually good skeletal evidence for Britons “becoming” Anglo-Saxons: recent studies in eastern England by David Klingle suggest that some of those buried in “Anglo-Saxon” cemeteries are the descendants of those buried in earlier “Romano-British” cemeteries). I could go on, but I won’t. All I want to do is show that I am perfectly willing to embrace new ideas that go against what I have previously accepted; this is something that Bad Archaeologists seem incapable of doing.
1. I also forgot to say that the reason I mentioned Imhotep is that the commenter I was responding to, Chris haft, accused me of ignoring what the Egyptians said about their own past. If he wants to be consistent, he has to explain why they believed that there was no building in stone before Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex. On which subject, I still wonder about the date of the Great Enclosure, which appears to be associated with jar sealings of Kha‘sekhemwy. If I had lots of money to spend, that would be my excavation site of choice…
The irony of these arguments about Graham Hancock is that the inspiration for creating this site was his Fingerprints of the Gods. I picked up a copy at Manchester Airport whilst waiting to fly to a holiday in Gran Canaria. The weather was appalling in the Canaries and I did a lot of reading, including Hancock’s book. It made me so cross that he used evidence whose misinterpretations by previous Bad Archaeologists has been so thoroughly debunked in print over the years that I decided I would do something about it when I got home. I started work on a website but rapidly became diverted from Hancock’s work because I went back to earlier misuses of some of the things he wrote about. One day, I will get round to writing proper refutations of his arguments!
2. You immediately disregard that as Keith points out just above your comment the sphinx was, for a long time, buried to its neck in sand which would explain why the harder limestone above (i.e. the head), if indeed it is in fact harder, would be more eroded than the lower, softer limestone of the body.
I think a lot of people who try to deny that Keith IS providing factual evidence merely have difficulty with reading comprehension.
1. Well, if you want to follow what the Egyptians claimed about themselves, you have to remember that they believed that there was no building in stone before the second king of the Third Dynasty, Djoser. Archaeology agrees with this.
5. I do not disagree with your critique of Hancock´s ideas. That said, I also do not agree with the orthdox view of ancient Egypt…why no mummies, it helps to have some evidence to back up your proposals. Additionally, if Egypt was a civilization and they did build the pyramid then they were first ordeer magicians because they skipped right on past the need for gaining architectural, engineering and stonemasonry….should we not find cities where they learned and plied their trade? So, no I do not buy into the idea tha the Egyptians were special humans transcendent to all other cultures…both the alternative and the orthodoxy yarn spinners have no proofs at all…
1. You say “if Egypt was a civilization and they did build the pyramid then they were first ordeer magicians because they skipped right on past the need for gaining architectural, engineering and stonemasonry”. What about the early pyramids built in the century before the Great Pyramid? What about the millennium of architectural development before the Great Pyramid? The Egyptians of the Fourth Dynasty had long experience of manoeuvring large blocks!
1. Otherwise unsubstantiated claims about the technical skills of Egyptians in the 4th dynasty and conjecture about Egyptian architectural development in the proceeding thousand years still provides no evidence that there was ever any hint of funerary artefacts in the Great Pyramid nor evidence that the place had ever been penetrated by thieves. The structure of the chambers, tunnels and cavities are not adequately explained by the conjecture of ‘expert Egyptologists’ that the Great Pyramid was built as a tomb and the commonly presented ‘history of Egypt’ is frequently not consistent with the actual archaeological evidence.
Herodotus wrote of many Egyptian stories about themselves but the stories are not conclusive evidence of facts from Egyptian history. You could go into the London streets and ask people what they think about themselves but there is no certainty that their opinion will be in any way consistent with what ‘expert Academics’ think that ‘Londoners’ think about themselves or even the culture of London generally.
Where discussion of Graham Hancock is concerned your posts rarely contain reference to any actual evidence of your opinions, or actual evidence supporting the conjecture you are defending, you seem to be concerned only with your preoccupation with discrediting a handful of the sources Hancock has referenced and you do not present any kind of ‘good archaeology’ to back up your opinions about any of the more fundamental aspects of Hancock’s claims. For example where do I find evidence of any of the ‘archaeological facts’ you mention in the ‘Problems with the early dating’ section above?
My understanding of Hancock’s work is that he is attempting to provide an alternative interpretation of the archaeology and historical sources because as always the traditional interpretation of what the facts imply is generally not consistent with the full set of actual facts and the tradition of ‘academic’ opinion is for the most part compromised by livelihood invested in teaching from text books written by the lecturer and the desire to see that livelihood maintained or substantiating and maintaining the value of artefacts collected and/or purchased by the employer of the ‘expert’.
The distinct lack of reference to any kind of actual evidence in your opinion pieces is only likely to convince readers who habitually believe whatever they read and is a demonstration of the ‘bad archaeology’ that you claim you are attempting to discredit.
6. I don’t think the original Britons were wiped out by epidemics. The genetic differences between the indigenous population and the invaders was not large enough for that to work. Instead, the Germanic-speaking invaders installed themselves as a new elite. This meant their childhood mortality rate become lower as they could afford to properly feed their kids even at times of famine. As their number of descendants increased they of cause grew poorer. But due to the Apartheid-like system the installed by the conquerors they rarely descended all the way down to the poorest. They Germanic peoples also banned marriage between themselves and the conquered Celtic peoples. By the time this ban was abandoned most of the population descended from Germanic peoples. The two groups should not be thought of as biologically separate, however. (That would be racist superstition.) If two groups of humans has the opportunity to physically meet they *will* interbreed, endogamy or not. So it is not surprising that some people buried in “Anglo-Saxon” cemeteries are descendants of ones buried in “Romano-British” ones.
7. Keith said:
Whether or not it “should” be the case, it’s a possibility. In ancient or prehistoric matters, sometimes possibilities are all that can be asserted. More about that in my reply to further comments.
“…and presents no evidence to show that the Egyptians ever regarded the Great Sphinx as a symbol of the constellation Leo”
He probably wasn’t referring to Dynastic Egyptians. The shape of the Lion Statue (which, if of pre-Pharoh origin, wasn’t built as a sphinx), including its recumbent position, closely resembles the sickle-and-right-triangle configuration of the brighter stars in Leo. Look at a diagram of Leo alongside a side-view of the Lion Statue. It’s an intriguing and suggestive resemblance.
” (indeed, he fails to demonstrate that they even recognised a constellation the same as Leo).”
Leo, 2nd only to Scorpio, is a constellation that _looks like_ what it’s called. I don’t claim that there’s evidence (other than the Lion Statue itself) that the 11,000-years-ago people there identified Leo as a lion. But it sure looks like one. It looks like a lion lying down upright, with its head up, and its front and rear fore-legs along the ground. …which happens to be the Lion Statue’s position too.
Roughly around 11,000 years ago. If someone wants the exact period during which the vernal equinox was within the sickle and right-triangle region’s ecliptic-longitude range, it could be easily determined. When the vernal equinox was near the middle of that constellation (the sickle and the right-triangle), in ecliptic longitude, it was roughly 11,000 years ago, based on a brief look at a website that states a the ecliptic longitude of a few stars in Leo. Calculate it precisely if you want to, but the result won’t be much different from that.
Keith mentions adverse climate at that location during periods around then. If what he says is correct, especially the more extreme statements about that region being under a lot of silt, then that could disprove the early origin of the Lion Statue.
If he’s right about that region being uninhabited during that time, that, too would argue against a large statue being built there.
But, without checking, it’s difficult to say: Arguments must be interpreted taking into account our all-too-human prior attachment to a theory. Of course that’s true for both positions.
It’s known that the vernal equinox has often been regarded as significant. In fact, even in modern times, the sun’s arrival at the vernal equinox is widely reported in the media every year.
It’s known that other early cultures built alignments with the equinox sunrise.
I don’t know what other “purpose” Keith wants the Lion Statue to have.
“It is in an abandoned quarry. What was the stone quarried to make?”
Must it be that the Lion Statue was built in an abandoned quarry? Might not the enclosure have been dug for no reason other than to carve a statue in the bedrock?
We hear suggestions of how the Lion Statue’s erosion could be from groundwater or flooding. But I haven’t heard an explanation for why that caused vertical erosion-grooves, or why the erosion (according to Schoch) was greater at points higher on the Lion’s sides.
If those explanations work, then the erosion-evidence is inconclusive. If they don’t work, then the Pharoh-built theory is in trouble.
The Sphinx-head is considerably less weathered than the Lion-body. Could that be because it was carved more recently? Was its limestone really that much more erosion-resistant?
The Sphinx-head is very disproportionately small, for the lion-body. If that doesn’t _demand_ an explanation, it could at least use an explanation. It suggests or calls for an explanation. A pre-Pharoh origin of the Lion Statue is an explanation for the small head. …if the Pharoh’s carved the initial lion-head into a Pharoh-head.
That, even without the weathering argument, asks for, even if it doesn’t demand, an explanation.
The Egyptologists, the Historians for Dynastic Egypt, have been assuming, understandably, that the Lion Statue is part of their Dynastic Egypt. So used to that are we that the suggestion that the Sphinx pre-dates the Pharohs and the Pyramids, sounds highly controversial and contrary to archaeology (or just archaeologic assumption?). It’s as if someone suggested that George Washington wasn’t really a U.S. president, as regards the controversial impression made. But, objectively, how controversial, really, is the suggestion that Lion Statue and Pyramids aren’t even close to being of the same period?
Carving limestone in-situ is hardly beyond the technical capability of people 11,000 years ago. Where’s the objective controverisal-ness?
Michael Ossipoff
1. Did Leo look like a lion 11,000 years ago?
Of course the stars, including our own solar-system, are all moving with respect to eachother, and therefore the stars are constantly, but slowly, moving in the sky. (It’s referred to as proper motion). So it could be asked if Leo looked like a lion 11,000 years ago.
If you closely compared the modern and 11,000 year old Leo configurations, using a transparency, many or most of the stars in Leo’s sickle and right-triangle would have noticeably different positions at those two times. But the motion has been slight, and the lion appearance was already there 11,000 years ago.
The most significant displacement would be the rearmost (leftmost) star in the sickle. (Gamma Leonis). It was a bit farther to the right. As a result, the sickle’s blade was more rounded, 11,000 years ago, The sickle, 11,000 years ago, looked even more like a sickle than it does today (or, rather, tonight). …and every bit as much like a lion’s mane as it does today.
The other relatively big difference was that the right-triangle, representing the upright-resting lion’s haunches, was a bit longer than it is now, but not enough to affect Leo’s resemblance to an upright-resting lion.
When was the vernal equinox in Leo?
By “in Leo Proper”, I mean “having an ecliptic longitude between the ecliptic longitude extremes of the lion asterism (the sickle and the right-triangle). …in other words, “having an ecliptic longitude between the ecliptic longitudes of Epsilon Leonis and Beta Leonis.
The vernal equinox was in Leo Proper between 10,080 years ago and 12,370 years ago.
In other words between 8080 BC and 10,370 BC.
Keith has described some remarkably harsh conditions in the prehistoric Nile Valley, during certain periods. For example, he says that it went right from too arid to live in, to torrential rains. ….with no mild period in-between?
So, Keith, what was the climate at Giza between 8080 BC and 10,370 BC?
Will Keith cite sources to substantiate a claim that that location was unliveable or un-buildable during the time when the vernal equinox was in or near to Leo Proper?
Of course, for the Lion Constellation to be astronomically-significant, with regard to the equinox, the equinox needn’t to have actually been in Leo Proper. It could have merely been nearer to Leo Proper than it was to any other grouping of similarly bright stars.
We, in modern times, of course have various meanings for “in Leo”. It could mean within the arbitrary boundaries drawn for the constellations by various people. Or it could mean within a particular 30 degree region of the ecliptic.
It isn’t know if the putative builders of the Lion Statue named the constellations, or, in particular, the ones atlong the ecliptic, or whether they divided the ecliptic into equal divisions.
But, if the vernal equinox was closer to Leo Proper than to any other similarly bright star-grouping; or was within some anciently-defined boundary around that asterism; or was in a ecliptic longitude division named for the lion asterism–then that would be enough for a Lion Statue facing the equinox sunrise to be asstronomically meaningful.
By the way, there’s nothing unprecedented about prehistoric people building things with astronomical alignment. For example, Stonehenge was built by a prehistoric people about whom very little is known.
As I said, the only thing that makes a prehistoric Lion Statue controversial is the fact that Egyptologists have been (understandably and forgiveably) assuming that the Lion Statue is part of their Dynastic Egypt. Dynastic Egypt is what they study. It’s what they’re expecting to find at Giza.
Michael Ossipoff
1. Okay, Michael, I’ve resisted responding to your lengthy posts, largely because I have a day job and don’t have the time to chase up the reference material I’d need for a detailed rebuttal. This time, though, you have challenged me.
Here are some references for the “Wild Nile” floods of 10,500 to 10,000 BC and subsequent population decline that would have made life at Giza impossible during the late Upper Palaeolithic: Vermeesch, P M (ed.) Palaeolithic Living Sites in Upper and Middle Egypt, Leuven 2000; Butzer, K W ‘Late Quaternery problems of the Egyptian Nile: stratigraphy, environments, prehistory’ in Paléorient 23, 151-73. The period from the “Wild Nile” flooding down to about 6000 BC, when early agricultural communities begin to appear, is one of the least well represented in Egyptian prehistory. There just aren’t the sites. So where was the population to build the Great Sphinx? Why did that population leave only the one monument? Where is the rest of the iconography of this supposed Sphinx building culture? Where is the evidence to show that the epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic peoples of the Nile Valley were interested in creating this sort of monument (and, before you say “Göbekli Tepe”, that is a very different sort of site, not in the Nile Valley and not carved from bedrock)?
Now it’s my turn to provide a challenge. Can you cite any evidence that the Egyptians (before the Ptolemaic period) regarded what we call Leo as a constellation and that they saw it as a lion?
Sunrise at Giza, vernal equinox 10,000 BC. The sun is not in Leo, which is below the horizon, marked by a red line.
1. Hi Keith–
Let me start with the star-map you posted, and its caption, which says that it shows the vernal equinox sunrise in 10,000 BC.
It portrays the vernal equinox to be around Gemini and Taurus.
That map-&-caption combination is incorrect. What’s its source?
1. The easiest and quickest way to settle the matter would be to search Google for “Precession Calculator”. I don’t know if there is such a website, but, if there is, it would be the quickest and easiest way to answer the question of where the vernal equinox was in 10,000 BC, or when it entered Leo.
But, if it doesn’t, it still isn’t necessary to take my word for it. Below (#3 in this list), I show, from an astronomer’s website, a chart of ecliptic longitudes. Additionally, there is no shortage of websites that will give that information, if you search Google for “Celestial Co-ordinate Transformation Calculator”. But I’ll get to that below, and discuss how to use that information to settle this matter. But first, my own answer:
2. Here’s the vernal equinox’s position in 10,000 BC, given in 2000 co-ordinates (to locate it on modern maps).
Right-Ascension: 11 hours, 14 minutes, 28 seconds
Declination: 4.89
That’s in Leo, fairly close to the star Sigma Leonis. It’s toward the far west end of Leo. At that time, the vernal equinox had only fairly recently entered Leo. As I said in my previous post, the vernal equinox was in Leo Proper between 8080 BC and 10,370 BC.
3. The matter of where the vernal equinox was in 10,000 BC can be settled by finding out an ecliptic longitude. For that purpose, below, is the table that I referred to. Or, as I said, search Google for “Celestial Co-ordinate Transformation Calculator”.
To make use of that ecliptic longitude information, I’ll state a few definitions. No need to take my word for those definitions–They’re easily found on the web.
The ecliptic is the Sun’s path around the sky. On the ecliptic, a point’s ecliptic longitude is its distance along the ecliptic, in degrees, eastward from the vernal equinox. So ecliptic longitude must be given for a particular year. Nowadays it’s given for the year 2000. That will be so, until we get closer to 2050 than to 2000,at which time it will be given for 2050.
The Earth’s precessional period is 25,772 years. The equinoxes move westward around the ecliptic at a rate of 360 degrees per 25,772 years.
So that means that, in 10,000 BC, 12,000 years ago, the vernal equinox was east of where it now is on the ecliptic, in the amount of (12,000/25,772) X 360 degrees. …And, as stated above, a point’s distance east along the ecliptic from the 2000 vernal equinox is called “that point’s 2000 ecliptic longitude”.
So, in 10,000 BC, the vernal equinox was at a position whose 2000 eclliptic longitude is about 167.62 degrees.
So it’s just a matter of finding where, on a 2000 map, the 2000 ecliptic longitude is 167.62 degrees.
One solution would be to use one of those celestial co-ordinate transformation calculators on the Internet. But the table below is sufficient.
It’s from an astronomer named John Pratt. He’s a university astronomer with a PhD in the subject. His website can be found by searching Google for “Sidereal Ecliptic Longitude, Pratt”. The title of his website is “Co-ordinates for Constellations”, or something like that.
He gives the 2000 ecliptic longitudes of some stars:
I’ll quote his introduction and show his table. “Longitude” refers to ecliptic longitude:
Table 2 lists for each constellation the 2000.0 longitude and location in the figure of its beginning and ending stars, and both the total and the corrected constellation lengths. The data in the table are derived from Hirshfeld and Sinnott (1982). First, each of the criteria is discussed in order of priority and then an overall rating independent of priority is calculated.
Name Begins Pos. 2000.0 Lon. Ends Pos. 2000.0 Lon. Total
Length Corrected
Vir Xi Vir Head 173.34 Mu Vir Foot 220.13 47 45
Lib Mu Lib Claw 224.17 Theta Lib Claw 239.87 16 16
Sco Del Sco Head 242.57 Iota Sco Tail 267.52 25 25
Sgr Gam Sgr Point 271.26 62 Sgr Tail 297.07 26 26
Cap Xi Cap Horn 302.49 Mu Cap Tail 325.83 23 23
Aqr Eps Aqr Strap 311.72 108 Aqr Stream 350.30 39 24
Psc Beta Psc Head 348.58 Alp Psc Knot 29.38 41 39
Ari Gam Ari Horn 33.18 Tau Ari Tail 53.40 20 20
Tau Omi Tau Side 51.16 Zeta Tau Horn 84.78 34 31
Gem Eta Gem Foot 93.44 Kap Gem Shoulder 113.67 20 20
Cnc Mu Cnc Foot 119.48 Alp Cnc Claw 133.64 14 14
Leo Kap Leo Nose 135.30 Nu Leo Feet 175.04 40 40
Table 2. Zodiac constellation boundary stars according to Ptolemy.
Note that the ecliptic longitudes in Ptolemy’s Leo range from 135 to 175 degrees. Above, I showed that the 10,000 BC vernal equinox had a 2000 ecliptic longitude of 167.62 degrees. The vernal equinox was in Leo in 10,000 BC. …toward the west end of Leo, as I’d said.
Or you could just ask an astronomer.
One more thing: On a star-map, on any projection that I’ve heard of, the horizon _doesn’t_ map as a straight line. Of course it crosses the equator diagonnaly in the east, as your illustration shows, but it’s parallel to the equator at the horizon’s north and south. That gives it a wavy curved shape. It doesn’t map as a straight line.
You said that the wild-Nile flooding lasted till 10,000 BC. Note that most of the vernal equinox’s time in Leo Proper was after 10,000 BC. Additionally, I pointed out that the vernal equinox needn’t have been _in_ Leo Proper in order to motivate a Lion Statue facing the equinox sunrise. Only sufficiently near to it–maybe closer to it than to other bright star-groupings. Maybe within some ancient constellation-boundary around Leo Proper. Or maybe within some division of the ecliptic, where the ecliptic is uniformly divided into equal sections, as modern and ancient astrologers do.
So the wild-Nile flooding, and any aridity that preceded it, doesn’t even pertain to much of the 8080-10,370 BC period, much less to the period after it when the equinox could still be significantly close to Leo Proper.
It had been my understanding, from Internet articles, that the region wasn’t deserted during 8080-10,370 BC and subsequent years. But I could have misunderstood the articles. So, was the region around Giza actually uninhabited during 8080-10,370 BC, and up to around 7000 BC?
If not, then the argument about uninhabitedness and adverse climate aren’t conclusive, as regards the Lion-Statue/Leo connection.
If the stones at the new Turkey site were quarried and moved to the site, wouldn’t that be more difficult than carving limestone in-situ? I mention that because you spoke of the differences between the two sites. You asked about signs of high population at Giza at that time. How high a population does it take to carve a large statue in limestone? Does the evidence of potshards, etc. conclusively show that there weren’t enough people there to do that?
And need it always be the case that a people who made one monument must make more of them? …or other artistic products? Ok, I don’t deny that the absence of other works could argue against the Lion Statue being built then. But that was a long time ago, and how sure are you that anything they built or drew would be found now? Maybe they did most of their art in sand, or on parchment. Or maybe most of what they did was stolen by later inhabitants, but the Lion Statue was too big to carry away.
I don’t deny that the absence that you speak of lowers the probability of the prehistoric Lion Statue. Likewise the evidence that there wasn’t a thriving high population there. But it was so long ago…are you sure that those things conclusively rule out a prehistoric Lion Statue?
I just regard it as an intriguing possibility.
(I don’t call it a Sphinx, because, if built thousands of years before the Pharohs, it wouldn’t have a Pharoh’s head–more likely a Lion’s head, to match its body).
As for the matter of whether the people at that time and place recognized Leo as a lion, or even as a constellation:
I clarified in my previous post that I don’t claim that there’s any independent evidence that they perceived Leo as looking like a lion, or designated it so.
But there are two things that suggest it:
1. Leo Proper _looks_ just like a lion. The sickle-blade is the mane. The right triangle is the haunches. Leo Proper looks just like a lion in upright resting position. …that’s with front and read lower legs along the ground, body upright, and head up.
As I’d said, look at the Sphinx and a diagram of Leo, side by side. A lion statue in the Sphinx’s position could very plausibly have been made as a representation of the lion ;perceived in Leo Proper.
2. The fact that a Lion Statue was built facing the equinox sunrise _suggests_ (doesn’t prove) that it was built when the equinox was in or near Leo Proper, and that the builders recognized Leo Proper’s obvious and clear resemblance to an upright-resting lion.
So there are at least 3 things that suggest t he intriguing possibility of a prehistoric Lion Statue:
1. The fact that someone built a Lion Statue facing the equinox sunrise, and that Leo Proper looks very much like a lion.
2. The fact that the Sphinx’s head is very disproportionately small for its body (suggesting that wasn’t initially built with a human head)
3. The vertical erosion grooves on the Lion Statue’s body, and the fact that that vertical erosion is more pronounced higher on the Lion Statue’s body.
#1 is intriguingly suggestive
#2 calls for an explanation. The Sphinx’s head has always looked disproportionately small to me, and it never occurred to me that there might be a good explanation, till I read about the pre-Pharoh origin theory.
#3 is a real problem for the Pharoh-built theory, unless you can explain how flooding or groundwater with dissolved CO2 are compatible with #3. Or, someone said that there _was_ sufficient rainfall in and since Dynastic times, to do that. Is that true? If so, then that would eliminate #3.
Anyway, if #3 isn’t answered, then the Pharoh-built theory is in trouble. Otherwise, it is inconclusive.
Michael Ossipoff
8. Keith–
Another way to show that the Vernal equinox entered Leo Proper around 10,000 BC, 12,000 years ago:
Look at a star-map of Leo. Notice that, just a little west (left) of Leo Proper, the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic. That’s the Autumnal Equinox. It’s directly opposite the Vernal Equinox. The Vernal Equinox was there (25,772 divided by 2) years ago. That’s 12,886 years ago. It passed the west edge of Leo Proper a little after it passed the current Autumnal Equinox. So it would have entered Leo Proper just slightly less than 12,886 years ago. …i.e. just slightly after 10,886 BC.
That’s consistent with my statement that the Vernal Equinox was in Leo Proper from 10,370 BC to 8080 BC.
Michael Ossipoff
1. If the sun, in the star-map that you posted, is at the vernal equinox, then that’s the equinox of about 4443 BD.
…admittedly given with more precision than accuracy, and based on the fact that the sun is shown between Gemini’s feet and the tips of Taurus’s horns.
Michael Ossipoff
1. Sorry, that was intended to say 4443 BC.
At first it seemed that people would know what I meant, but then I realized that it looked as much like “AD” as like “BC”.
Michael Ossipoff
9. Keith–
Two topics:
1. The year represented by your map
2. Not disagreeing or telling you your business
….just wanting to be sure about the information and its import.
When I determined the year represented by the map that you posted, someone else was using the computer, and so I just based my estimate on the fact that your map showed the sun between Gemini’s feet and the tips of Taurus’s horns. That estimate was about 4440 BC.
Later I took a more detailed look at the map, and estimated that the Sun’s position on your map is the position of the Vernal Equinox in 4620 BC.
The map-position-measurement allows a few decades of error in the year.
The precessional rate isn’t constant. It, too, varies cyclically. I didn’t account for that, and that could result in some error as well.
Where was the map from, and how was it captioned, represented, and used by its source? Is it standardly-used by prehistoric Lion Statue debunkers?
I don’t subscribe to Hapgood’s or Hancock’s vanished prehistoric city-building, empire-building, world-exploring civilization, because there’d remain a lot of artifacts of it–and there aren’t. If they were living on coastal plains, and the oceans rose, then did they just sit around and drown? They’d move inland, uphill, and build more cities, etc.
As I said, we visitors to this website shouldn’t tell you your business, and I’m just interested in your information about conditions and population from the end of the Wild Nile (around 10,000 BC?) up to maybe around 7000 BC, and your interpretation of what that information means.
…because, as I said, the Vernal Equinox was in Leo Proper between 10,370 BC and 8080 BC, and was likely perceived to be nearer to Leo Proper than other significant bright star groupings for another thousand years.
As I understand it, you’re saying that a thriving civilization and large population, like that of the Pharoh-Egyptians, would be more likely to build a big stature than would a sparse population such as inhabited that region during the Age of Leo (the time defined in the paragraph before this one).
…and that a civilization known to have built other big monuments is more likely to have built a big monument than is a people who aren’t known to have built other monuments.
…and that those reasons reduce the probability that the Lion Statue is prehistoric instead of Pharoh-Egyptian. I don’t disagree with that.
Those considerations reduce the likelihood that the Age of Leo population there built the Lion Statue–and also make it more remarkable and impressive if they did.
But are you saying that those considerations conclusively rule out a prehistoric Lion Statue?
Weren’t there other monuments, including astronomical monuments and tombs, that were built by pre-city people about whom little is known, and who weren’t building a lot of other monuments all over? Is there some minimum number of monuments that a people would build? After all, building the Lion Statue would have been quite a job in those days, if you say that one statue is a lot to expect of them, then surely a whole lot of monuments, even moreso, too much to expect. As you said, there weren’t that many people there.
So: Less lilkely, or outright ruled-out?
And the Pharoh-built theory has its problems:
The small head of the Lion Statue.
The head is a lot less weathered than the body, More erosion-resistant rock? So the higher-up rock is more erosion-resistant? Is that why (according to Schoch) the upper sides of the Lion Statue are more eroded than the lower sides?
Then there’s the vertical erosion. I haven’t heard an explanation for how groundwater dissolving the limestone, or flooding, would make vertical erosion-grooves, or do more erosion higher up on the body.
Was the erosion-resistance high on the body lower than it was lower on the body, but also lower than it was on the head?
Why aren’t the Pyramids eroded as much? More erosion-resistant material?
It would seem that the erosion-resistance of the rocks, and the builders’ choice of the head’s size, all conspired to make it look as if the lion statue were built long before there were Pharohs.
Michael Ossipoff
10. Here’s a table, from Wikipedia, of positions of the vernal equinox in some ancient times:
Constellation Year entering Year exiting
Taurus 4500 BC 2000 BC
Aries 2000 BC 100 BC
Pisces 100 BC AD 2700
Note that the vernal equinox entered Taurus in 4500 BC
That’s consistent with my estimate that it was where your map showed it (about to enter Taurus, from Gemini) in 4620 BC.
Michael Ossipoff
11. Topics in this post:
1. An image from Wikipedia
2. Precessional-Rate Variation
3. Suggestive &/or conclusive evidence
Fine, then this is a monologue. I’ll complete it now.
Below, I’ll try to post an image from Wikipedia. I’ll try to post it in 2 different ways.
It’s a star-map showing the vernal equinox’s position in 4000 BC. You’ll notice that it’s toward the left end of Taurus, it having only recently entered Taurus, consistent with what I’d said, and with the Wikipedia table in my previous post.
The table and image from Wikipedia, the fact that the autumnal equinox is just slightly to the left of Leo, and astronomer John Pratt’s table showing ecliptic longitudes in Leo, all confirm what I said, about when the vernal equinox was in Leo Proper.
Here’s my attempt to post the image:
The Wikepedia article from which I got the table and image can be reached by searching Google for “Precession of the equinoxes”.
Variable Precession-Rate:
It, additionally, has a formula for an approximation of accumulated precession. It’s a quadratic approximation to accumulated precession, which means that it implies a linear approximation to the precessional-rate. The precessional rate varies cyclically, with a period of 41,000 years. The variation is caused by variation in the gravitational tidal pull by the Sun, Moon, and planets, on the Earth’s equatorial bulge.
The time of interest for this discussion is about 30% of a precessional-period cycle (not to be confused with the roughly 26,000 precessional cyclel). For that large a fraction of a precessional period cycle, a lilnear approximation to the precessional rate is a definitely a rough approximation. Fortunately, the precessional rate doesn’t vary much, so the result is still reasonably accurate. Certainly better than my previous assumption that the present precessional rate was always in effect. The precessional rate has been and currently is increasing. That means that the equinox entered Leo Proper a little before I said it did.
According to the formula at Wikipedia (you can find the formula there, so there’s no need for me to copy it here), the vernal equinox entered Leo Proper in 10,726 BC.
I didn’t calculate when it left Leo Proper, but, by my previous estimate (using the current precessional rate, it left about 2290 years after it entered. My hurried calculation is that, at the lower precessional rate then, it left Leo Proper in 8300 BC.
As I said, the precession rate doesn’t vary by much, and so that linear approximation to the precessional rate is acceptably accurate.
Suggestive &/or Conclusive Evidence:
My purpose here has been to ask some questions about what conclusive evidence there is, regarding the Lion Statue’s origin, and to ask for answers to some of Schock’s arguments.
I haven’t heard answers to Schock’s arguments.
I asked how the _vertical_ deep erosion grooves are explained by flooding or ground water dissolving. No answer.
I asked why (according to Schoch) the Lion Statue’s body eroded more at higher-up points than at lower points. How is that consistent with ground water or flooding? No answer.
I asked why the Pharohs chose to make the Pharoh-head on the Sphinx so disproportionately small, compared to the body.
I asked the origin of the map that you posted, and how its source captioned, represented and used it. Is it standardly used by debunkers?
The fact that the map-&-caption combination is incorrect, and the fact that the vernal equinox was where I said it was around 10,000 BC, doesn’t prove that the debunkers are wrong. What it _does_ prove is that debunkers’ evidence isn’t always correct. We’re all human, and anyone can, subconsciously, want to use an argument or evidence-piece without verifying its authenticity or accuracy.
I agree that, for something like the Lion Statue, the first builders to consider would be a busy-building civilization and high population like the Pharoh-Egyptians. …instead of a sparsely populated, less organized people without a reputation for building things. But there’s a first time for anythjing.
I suggest that the Lion Statue _could_ have been built by a community during the time when the vernal equinox was in Leo Proper, or else closer to it than to other bright star groupings, or within some reasonable ancient constellation-boundary around it, or in some ecliptic division containing it.
Less likely? Sure, but when the alternative (Pharoh-construction) has big problems and objections, then something less likely isn’t as unlikely.
Did the Pharohs and their contemporaries build things of exposed ordinary limestone (or whatever material the Lion Statue is built of)? If so, how does the weathering compare?
Sometimes the absence of answers are, themselves, answers. Sometimes silence is an answer.
Michael Ossipoff
12. When a posting includes several subtopics, I like to list them, just in case the first one doesn’t interest anyone.
Subtopics in this post:
1. Keith’s still-unidentified erroneous star-map
…Scientific standards for evidence
2. The matter of erosion is evidently inconclusive
3. “Where is the evidence to show that the epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic peoples of the Nile Valley were interested in creating this sort of monument?”
1. Keith’s still-unidentified erroneous star-map:
Where to start? Keith posted, above in this topic-page, a star-map which he claimed showed sunrise at Giza, at the vernal equinox, in 10,000 BC. As he pointed out in his caption, the sun is nowhere near Leo, in his star-map.
Then I posted several demonstrations that Keith’s star-map (or his claim about it being for the vernal equinox in 10,000 BC) is incorrect.
Because this is repetition, I’ll be brief:
a) Any star-map showing the celestial equator and the ecliptic will show them intersecting just a very little to the left (east) of the constellation Leo. That’s the autumnal equinox. It’s directly opposite the vernal equinox, on the ecliptic. In other words, it’s halfway around the ecliptic from where the vernal equinox is.
In other words, the autumnal equinox is half of a precession cycle from where the vernal equinox is. Half of a precessional cycle ago, the vernal equinox was where the autumnal equinox now is.
A precessional cycle is about 26,000 years. You can look it up anywhere. Half of a precessional cycle is about 13,000 years.
So, about 13,000 years ago, the vernal equinox was where the autumnal equinox is now. In other words, in 11,000 BC, the vernal equinox was where the autumnal equinox is now.
In other words, in 11,000 BC, the vernal equinox was just slightly to the left (east) of Leo.
The distance to Leo, from where the autumnal equinox now is (where the vernal equinox was around 11,000 BC), measured in ecliptic longitude, is equivalent to a few centuries of precession.
In other words, the vernal equinox reached Leo a few centuries after 11,000 BC.
That’s entirely consistent with my estimate that the vernal equinox entered Leo in 10,726 BC.
b) I’d estimated that the vernal equinox was where Keith’s map shows the sun, in 4620 BC. Keith’s map shows the sun between Gemini and Taurus, about to enter Taurus from Gemini.
According to Wikipedia, the vernal equinox entered Taurus in 4500 BC.
That’s entirely consistent with my estimate for when the vernal equinox was where Keith’s map shows it, about to enter Taurus.
Now, maybe you tend to believe Keith anyway, because, after all, he’s a scientist. A scientist wouldn’t be wrong, right? Ordinarily, there is much justification for that trust in scientists. That’s because scientists are ordinarily very careful, responsible and ethical about their evidence, their use of evidence and their presentation of it.
Ordinarily, a scientist checks and verifies his “evidence” before he publishes and uses it.
Ordinarily a scientist is willing to tell you where he got his evidence or information. That’s just basic.
Regrettably, Keith is violating both of those standards:
He evidently didn’t check or verify that his map and his caption for it were accurate or correct.
I don’t fault Keith for that. No doubt someone represented the map to him as being accurate. I don’t blame Keith for believing them.
But Keith’s refusal to disclose the map’s source, and how that source represented and captioned the map. That’s another matter. It certainly seems to be an intentional violation of a basic scientific standard, the standard of disclosing the source of information that one uses to support one’s position, when that disclosure has been requested several times.
He still refuses to say where he got it. He’s been asked several times now, for the source of his star-map, and for information about how that source represented it, captioned it, and used it.
That refusal to divulge where he got the map, and how it was captioned and represented by its source, implies a knowledge that the map, or his caption for it, isn’t, or might not be, accurate, or that his source isn’t or might not be reliable.
Scientific evidence standards, and basic honesty, call for Keith to answer the questions about the map’s source, and how that source represented and captioned the map.
In some other discussion, elsewhere, about the age of the Giza Lion Statue, I noticed a Defender of the Orthodoxy something like, “…and no, the vernal equinox wasn’t in Leo in 10,000 BC.”
That suggests that maybe Keith’s map is standardly used or believed by Defenders of the Orthodoxy. Then maybe it’s time to get that error out in the open on a larger scale. If hoaxers
somewhere are using the map, or its incorrect information, then I want to be told about it, so that I can go to that other forum, and do some debunking of my own.
So how about it, Keith? Where did you get the map?
The only reason why I make an issue of this is that some people might believe Keith about the map, merely because Keith is a scientist, and because the map was generated by means of a computer. As for the latter, maybe you’ve heard the computer saying, “Garbage in, garbage out”.
…and because it’s important to keep (ourselves and others) to scientific standards for the use and representation of evidence and information.
2. The matter of erosion is evidently inconclusive
In keeping with the evidence and information standards referred to above, I’ll admit now that, from what I’ve been able to find, the matter of the Lion Statue’s erosion, and its bearing on the issue of its age, must be regarded as inconclusive.
I haven’t been to Giza.
If Schloch is saying that the Lion Statue has deep, predominantly vertical, erosion grooves high on its sides, and that they’re considerably more likely to have been caused by direct rainfall than by anything else…
…and if comparable direct rainfall erosion is absent from structures known to have been made by the Pharohs, of exposed limestone from the same stratum as that used in the deeply vertically eroded upper sides of the Lion Statue …
…Then it would seem that the Lion Statue’s erosion conclusively rules out a Pharoh-built origin for the Lion Statue.
But, from what I’ve been able to find on the Internet, I can’t say for sure that that’s what Schoch is saying.
So, for honesty, I must admit that the Lion Statue’s erosion, with regard to the matter of whether the Lion Statue could have been carved by the Pharohs, is inconclusive.
Keith asked that question, as an argument against a prehistoric origin for the Giza Lion Statue.
It was a long time ago. How reasonable is it to demand information about the interests and psychology of people living as early as 10,000 BC.
Before I continue, let me quote something else that Keith said, after that question:
Yeah that’s “handwaving”, unless you specify how those matters bear on the subject.
Yes, Gobekli Tepe isn’t carved from bedrock, and the Lion Statue is. But quarrying rock, and carrying it a half-mile or more can’t be easier than carving limestone in-place.
“Not in the Nile Valley”? Specifically, why is that relevant?
I can guess a few possible reasons that could be intended:
a) During _some parts of_ the Age of Leo, there was adverse climate at Giza.
_”Some parts of”_ is the operative phrase. The Age of Leo covers a lot of years, and I doubt that you’re going to claim that Giza was unliveable, unbuildable, or uninhabited for the entire Age of Leo.
Also, in your article at the beginning of this page, you speak of a time of the region’s greatest aridity ever, followed by the Wild Nile flooding. …with no mild and favorable climate-period inbetween??
b) Maybe you were referring to the fact that, in the Nile Valley, the prehistoric inhabitants have competition, in the form of the Pharohs. Maybe you’re saying that the Pharohs, known to have done a lot of building, are the obvious first candidates for any large stone construction at Giza.
Yes, that seems reasonable, and I don’t disagree. Because, at this time, the erosion seems inconclusive, then we can’t rule out the Pharohs (and their subjects) as the carvers of the Giza Lion Statue. In fact, they may well be the most likely Lion Statue sculptors.
…unless it can be found that Schloch _does_ say the things that I specified above, in which case, unless the Defenders of Orthodoxy can refute him, the Pharohs would be ruled out as the Lion Statue’s sculptors.
Anyway, I addressed Keith’s admonition to not bring up Gobekli Tepe, because Gobekli Tepe indeed _does_ say something in answer to Keith’s questioning of the prehistoric inhabitants’ having the organization, technology and motivation to construct a big monument.
I’m quoting, below, some things pointed out by Philip Coppens. But first I’ll just summarize its relevance here: Non-city-building, pre-pottery, hunter-gatherers built the astonishingly impressive stone constructions and artwork at Gobekli Tepe. …and at other similar places, and did so around 10,000 BC—the same time suggested by some for the Giza Lion Statue’s carving.
If a later civilization had also built things in the same region, wouldn’t Keith be expressing doubt that the prehistoric population could have and would have built the Gobekli Tepe temple?
That would seem to lay-to-rest the notion that such a people couldn’t build an impressive project.
Later in this post, I’ll include a link to Coppens’ article from which these quotes were gotten.
Let me start by quoting this line from Phillip Coppens’ article, before I quote his statements that support it:
Phillip Coppens wrote:
Even if a structure like the Sphinx were suddenly found to be 10,000 years old, the immediate reaction might now perhaps be: “So what? It is not that unique.”
…in the context of Gobekli Tepe and similar finds.
…or at least that would be the reaction of someone not already wedded to and committed to the self-designated “Orthodoxy” of Egyptology, which, according to Coppens, was “set in stone” in the 1840s.
Here’s a link to Philip Copens’ article, from which the quotes below were taken:
Here are some quotes from that article, which seem relevant to the question of whether non-city-building prehistoric, pre-pottery people could build an impressive project. I’ll leave out the “[quote]/[unquote]” marks, but I emphasize that I’ve only quoted paragraphs and passages that seem directly relevant to the subject at hand. I don’t even claim that the quotes are all in the same order in which they were found in the article. So here are the quotes, listed together within one set of quote-marks:
[beginning of list of quotes]
Klaus Schmidt has labelled Göbekli Tepe “the first temple” and “a sanctuary of the Stone Age hunter”. He sees the site as part of a death cult, not specifically linked with a sedentary group but a type of central sanctuary for several of the tribes living in the region.
So far, though, Göbekli Tepe has no evidence of habitation and therefore appears to have been purely a religious centre.
Once again, it appears that, just as the ancient Egyptians did, the civilisation that constructed Göbekli Tepe had far greater regard for their religious buildings than for any structures of a “practical” or more materialistic nature. Still, with only Complex B excavated to floor level, no tombs or graves have been found to date.
Some have voiced criticism as to whether hunter-gatherers could have created such a structure as Göbekli Tepe. The many flint arrowheads (and the lack of construction tools) found around the site would seem to support this criticism, and one could even see these artifacts as part of sacred hunts rather than as part of the daily activities to put food on the table—if indeed tables even existed then.
Schmidt maintains that the hunter-gatherers convened at the site at certain times of the year.
As well as appearing to have ritual significance, Göbekli Tepe, with its large and exquisitely decorated stone blocks, reveals that its creators had an extraordinary ability and familiarity with stone masonry and carving. That our ancestors in 10,000 BC were so skilled is an archaeological discovery that is wiping out long-cherished beliefs about the origin of civilisation.
What is known is that Göbekli Tepe and its sister sites have pushed back the age of monolithic building much further in time. Previously, we looked to the likes of Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids, but now we find that our ancestors were hauling massive stones to build their constructions around 12,000 years ago. Even if a structure like the Sphinx were suddenly found to be 10,000 years old, the immediate reaction might now perhaps be: “So what? It is not that unique.”
In any case, it is clear that Göbekli Tepe is not alone. It may be receiving much of the focus, but another site, Karahan Tepe, 63 kilometres east of Urfa in the Tektek Mountains, deserves attention. Discovered in 1997 and investigated by archaeologist Bahattin Çelik of the Turkish Historical Society, it has been dated to c. 9500–9000 BC. It has a number of T-pillars as well as high reliefs of a winding snake and other carvings similar to those at Göbekli Tepe. Covering an area of 325,000 m2, Karahan Tepe is much bigger than Göbekli Tepe.
It is too early to draw any extraordinary conclusions from these sites, apart from the fact that our history is no longer as we know it. But just as Jericho proved in part that the Bible contains historical facts, these sites may yet substantiate some of the Sumerian myths which claimed that agriculture, animal husbandry and weaving had been brought to mankind from the sacred mountain Du-Ku, which was inhabited by the Anunna deities. Though it’s unlikely that this mountain was Göbekli Tepe, we are probably in the correct general vicinity here at the frontier of the Taurus Mountains.
Around 8000 BC, descendants of the creators of Göbekli Tepe turned on their forefathers’ achievements and entombed their temple under thousands of tonnes of earth, creating the artificial hill—a “belly”—that we see today. Why they did this is unknown, though it was a decision that preserved the monument for posterity but also involved an extraordinary amount of time and effort. Schmidt argues that the local landscape began to change around that time: as the trees were chopped down, the soil began to lose its fertility; the area became arid and bare, and the people were forced to move elsewhere. Could it be that they began to make their descent and, millennia later, established what is known as the Sumerian civilisation? Such a scenario is just one possibility.
Even in ancient Egypt, religious constructions were often abandoned if not dismantled after a while because they belonged to a particular “cycle” of time that had since passed. If that were the case with Göbekli Tepe, it would mean that knowledge of astronomy is older by millennia. The past five decades have so radically reshaped our understanding of the period 10,000–4000 BC, specifically the level of “civilisation” our ancestors had achieved in those days, that this shouldn’t at all come as a surprise. And it seems that it’s a given that somewhere, even older towns are waiting to be uncovered.
However, it is equally clear that entering into the mindset of these hunter-gatherers—how they saw these animals and what they believed happened to the dead—is a difficult subject which will require years of study. Alas, it is an area where few archaeologists dare to tread, and in all likelihood they will hop from one site to the next, as they’ve done for several decades, and will “only” uncover the fact that civilisation is much older than we’ve assumed. Already, other sites are vying for Göbekli Tepe’s fame. The previously mentioned site of Jerf el-Ahmar, located along the Euphrates in Syria, has been dated to 9600–8500 BC. Other sites will certainly soon submit their applications. It’s likely they will all reveal that they are part of our history, but not as we know it.
[end of quotes from that article by Philip Coppens]
I might add that the walled city of Jericho, too, is known to date from the Age of Leo.
[Reported at another website of Philip Coppen]:
Finally, when interviewed about geologist Robert Schoch’s theory that the Sphinx is much older than the the pyramids, Hawass stated: “If geologists prove what Schoch is saying, still in my opinion, as an Egyptologist, the date of the Sphinx is clear to us.”22 In short, no matter what the evidence, Hawass claims it is all “clear” to him. It is clear that for Hawass, Egyptology is a religion, not a science. Many would agree that this is indeed the case for “Egyptology under Hawass”,
I comment: That’s consistent with the fact that Keith himself refers to an “Orthodoxy” that he’s defending. When you call it “The Orthodoxy”, that sounds a lot like “The Dogma”.
[Continuing the quote from the 2nd article by Philip Coppens]:
Though Hawass can and should be blamed for many things, it is equally a matter of record that Egyptology as a science is seriously in need of spring-cleaning. It might perhaps come as a surprise to learn that since c. 1840 the paradigm of Egyptian history has remained firmly in place. Serious scientific evidence has often been put aside to maintain a dogma, and Hawass and many other “scientists” are religiously sticking to it.
[Here’s another paragraph that I’d like to quote from the Coppens article to which I provided a link]:
…with highly elaborate depictions of animals and anthropomorphic figures. With no evidence of a contemporaneous village within the vicinity of the Göbekli Tepe ruins, it is believed that the site served exclusively as a ceremonial center. The earliest sanctuary for communal ritual activity known to date, the Göbekli Tepe ruins have led scholars to reconsider the origins of religion and human civilization.
Michael Ossipoff
13. Michael Ossipoff again:
Regarding Keith’s star-map:
1. The straight horizon in Keith’s star-map can be explained if the map is Cylindrical Equidistant, in the altazimuth co-ordinate system–the horizon co-ordinate system. That explanation for the straight horizon didn’t occur to me before, because I’d never before encountered a Cyllindrical Equidistant star map in the horizon co-ordinate system. The only Cylindrical Equidistant star-maps I’d seen, up to that time, were in the equatorial co-ordinate system.
2. Regarding the fact that Keith’s caption claims that the map shows the vernal equinox between Gemini and Taurus in 10,000 BC:
Here is a link to a webpage of an astronomer. In one of its paragraphs, this page says that, in 10,500 BC, the vernal equinox was in Virgo, at the following equatorial co-ordinates:
Right Ascension (RA): 11 degrees, 40 minutes
Declination: + 2.2 degrees
That position is only about 1.5 degrees to the east (left) of Denebola (Beta Leonis, the left tip of Leo’s right-triangle), when Denebola’s proper motion, over the past 12,500 years is taken into account.
So that webpage, of an astronomer, confirms that Keith’s star map is far, far in error.
Actually, evidently the astronomer, Tony Fairall, was using software that applied the current precession-rate over the entire 12,500 year interval between 2000 AD and 10,500 BC. Actually, the precession-rate has been increasing. For the entire interval of interest, the rate was slower than it now is. That means that the vernal equinox of 10,500 was actually a bit farther west (right) than Fairall says.
If the Wikipedia’s quadratic approximation to accumulated precession is applied to the year 10,500 BC, it’s found that the vernal equinox was actually in Leo Proper (Leo’s sickle and right-triangle asterism) in 10,500 BC.
Admittedly, a quadratic approximation to accumulated precession, implying a linear approximation to the precession-rate, is a very rough approximation, when applied over a 12,500 year interval. But most likely even that rough approximation is more accurate than an assumption that the precession rate hasn’t changed.
Michael Ossipoff
14. I don’t doubt for a moment that the Ancient Egyptians could build their country’s pyramids. Yet some details on how they were built may still be discussed. Did they use curved, outside ramps or inside ones? In the later case they would have been open at the corners to allow for the turning of the stones. This would explan why at least some of the stones are marked “this side up”. Also, there are hollows at at the corners of the largest pyrmids wich could well once have been connected to sloping tunnels. If so, these tunnels would have been blocked when they were not needed any more.
The uppermost part of the pyramid of Khufu would have been built with a straight ramp trough the Grand Gallery. Then they would have used pulleys to get the relatively small stones up the ramp too steep for ordinary sleads. Furthermore, the inside ramps would have made it easier to adjust the outside walls of the pyrmanids. What do you think about this hypothesis?
15. I take issue that a random grouping of stars “looks like a lion,” and would look like a lion to any culture at any time. The assertion seems ridiculous on its face. Is there ANY evidence to support this silly-seeming assertion?
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Perugia of Braccio
Between political upheaval and needs of change, Braccio promotes the artistic and architectural renewal of the city
The urbanistic history of Perugia presents two main mail stones: the Etruscan walls, rather uniform and probably built in a short period, and the mediaeval ones, less uniform and built in different periods along the XIII and the XV centuries. The two operations brought a gradual reduction of spaces and a subsequent architectural development mainly on a vertical scale. Until the XII Century the area within the Etruscan walls had to be enough or, sometimes, even more than enough: as for many other Italian cities, also for Perugia the passage between the Ancient era to the High Middle Age was characterized by a demographic decline. In the XIII Century, with better living conditions and the urbanization of the peasants, around the walls appeared humble houses, often made of wood, first cells of the future districts; generally they were distributed along the five main roads, the so-called “vie regali” (royal ways), getting in and out the main city doors.
The city, to cope with the defensive request of these new settlements, responded with a second circle of walls that between the XIII and XIV Century enclosed the ancient Etruscan nucleus about three km long, shaped like a sort of triangle, with a highly irregular pentagon over six km long, together with middle walls, joining in a way the Etruscan with the Medieval walls, that were further barriers for any enemies attack. This inner defensive line is recognizable in the Arco della Conca, in the other arch half way Via della Viola, in the remains of Porta San Luca close to Porta Trasimena and of the rediscovered supporting structures of the San Cristoforo barrier of San Cristoforo, half way in Corso Garibaldi. To this heterogeneous, but powerful, defensive structure, Braccio added other walls: the most evident was the now lost fore-wall, going from Santa Giuliana to the Porta dei Ghezzi.
That of Braccio has been the last consistent urban intervention before the Rocca Paolina and has marked the limit between Perugia and its country until little before the time of the Unification of Italy. At the beginning of the XV Century in Perugia, the Renaissance is far away to come and the city keeps a medieval aspect, even if with several innovations. The houses that before had narrow spaces between one another, the socalled “tracaselli”, see them disappear in favor of a more compact structure; the houses are built shoulder to shoulder for long ways, interrupted every now and then by narrow streets, often surmounted by vaults to have the usable surface increased without reducing the road network. The roof direction changes as well: the tympanum façade is rarer and rarer and the sloping roofs are parallel to the front walls. Water, in absence of gutters, falls into the streets and, behind, in gardens, often conveyed in wells and tanks. The houses, mainly the ones of the noble families, but more and more also other types of buildings, expand upwards.
This is the city that Braccio finds, on which he grafts relevant interventions, as the Bridles to prevent the landslide of the “Soprammuro” square, today Piazza Matteotti, or the princely residence, between the Dome and the “Palazzo del Podestà” (Palace of the Podestà), gothic in style even if open to the Renaissance taste with the lightening of the massive walls and the Logge: beautiful but also useful in protecting goods and merchant. From the political point of view his advent to power didn’t mean institutional upheaval: the “Municipal Judiciary” remained. Nonetheless one of his first step, starting right from August 1416, was to introduce into the Priori and other offices people of his choice, picked among the nobility, as his noble ambassador by the Pope. The favor that Braccio showed to the Aristocracy, to which he belonged, explains why in the first half of the XV Century the building activity of noble families increased highly, condition that still remained well after his dominion ended and that actively contributed to the renewal of the city.
This atmosphere of proto-renaissance is the explanation of the will of the Baglioni Family of having their houses on top of the Col Landone frescoed by Domenico Veneziano, who brought with him Piero della Francesca. Braccio substituted the power of the nobility to that of the monetary and mercantile middle class, but only partially; by the end of the XIV and the beginning of the XV Centuries in fact the two classes, in almost all Italian cities, mingled and fused themselves in the end. The Municipality when Braccio entered Perugia as Lord, was suffering a deep crisis of a long standing. Between the ‘70s of the XIV and the beginning of the XV Century the Government of Perugia was held by four despots: the abbot of di Mommaggiore, Biordo Michelotti, the Duke of Milan and the King of Naples. After Braccio’s dominion, the city became more and more exposed to the expansionary measures of the Pope, till the final surrender. |
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services » eye » paediatric ophthalmology & strabismus
Know about Paediatric Ophthalmology
Paediatric Ophthalmology is a relatively newer branch of Ophthalmology, which focuses on children's eyes till the age of 16 years. The eye of a child is developing till this age. A normal ophthalmologist neither has the specialized education nor the equipment to correctly assess the visual needs of a child.
Some of the most common problems in children are Refractive Errors, Strabismus (squints), Amblyopia (lazy eye syndrome) and Astigmatism (abnormal curvature of the cornea).
In the case of children, it is very necessary for early detection and intervention. If this is not done, the entire development process may be hampered, and in extreme cases, may result in irreversible blindness. It is generally recommended that on birth, the concerned Paediatrician examines the eyes of the baby under normal torchlight and refers to a Paediatric Ophthalmologist in case of any aberration. Remember, there is no lower age limit for bringing a baby for consultation. The hospital often receives babies who are just a few days old.
It is normally advised that children up till the age of 16 years should visit a Paediatric Ophthalmologist every six months. Quite often, during these routine examinations, the doctors pick up conditions which otherwise left unattended, may adversely affect the child's eye. It is shocking but even in Delhi, 1 out of a 1000 children suffers from Childhood Blindness; Blindness brought about due to lack of detection and intervention in the childhood years.
Tips for Parents
If your child displays any of the following symptoms get in touch with a Paediatric Ophthalmologist. Your child has only one pair of eyes. Don't neglect them!
• Regularly complains of headache or watery eyes
• Blinks or squints excessively
• Rubs eyes vigorously during or after short periods of reading
• Makes frequent written mistakes even while copying
• Repeatedly bumps into or drops things
• Suffers from nausea, dizziness, motion sickness or double vision
Eye examination benchmarks for children
Internationally, a child's comprehensive vision examination has to include the testing of a number of visual skills, namely:
• Distance Acuity
• Near Acuity
• Binocular Fusion
• Color vision
• Convergence and eye teaming skills
• Eye tracking and fixation skills
• Focusing skills
• Streopsis
• Visual form discrimination
• Visual Memory
• Visual Motor Integration.
The examination should also test for the ability to transform images from a vertical to a horizontal plane (i.e. from the blackboard to the desk surface) and for the conditions of Hypermetropia and reversal frequency.
Insist on these tests. You owe it to your child.
Know about strabismus
Strabismus or squint is a deviation of the eyes. Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes point in different directions.
An eye turn may be constant (when the eye turns all of the time) or intermittent (turning only some of the time, such as, under stressful conditions or when ill). Whether constant or intermittent, strabismus always requires appropriate evaluation and treatment preferably before seven years of age to enable proper development of binocular vision.
Children do not outgrow strabismus!
Strabismus (misaligned eyes) in adults is often the result of progressive, untreated or unsuccessfully treated strabismus from childhood. There are also many adults who develop strabismus as the result of an injury or disease, which then frequently leads to double vision. This is often hard to tolerate and prompts evaluation and treatment by a strabismus specialist. In the past, most eye doctors thought that adults with misaligned eyes could not be treated successfully, or that treatment was "only cosmetic". Advances in the management of misaligned eyes now provide benefits to most adults as well as children. Treating adults with strabismus can improve depth perception, the way the two eyes work together, and the field of vision. Many patients report improved self-esteem, communication skills, job opportunities, reading and driving.
The best way to determine whether straightening of the eyes is possible and appropriate, is to undergo an examination by a strabismus surgeon.
Having straight eyes is a valuable asset that patients deserve.
In addition to affecting eye function, misaligned eyes can get in the way of normal eye-to-eye contact, communication skills and social interaction. This can lead to reduced self-confidence and many patients will often look down or away from the person to whom they are speaking to avoid eye contact. The person being spoken to may be uncertain which eye the patient is using and may be distracted from what the patient is trying to communicate. Such impairment of communication skills can lead to limited job (or job advancement) opportunities. Straightening the eyes will lead to some binocularity (that is, the two eyes working together) in the majority of cases, even in instances where the onset of the strabismus occurred in early childhood. Strabismus repair is not a "cosmetic" procedure but should more appropriately be considered reconstructive. After eye alignment surgery, most children and many adults improve eye function and may gain social and economic benefits.
Treatment Options
• Glasses
• Prisms
• Patch
• Botox injection
• Surgery
1. How can vision and eye check up be done for a baby ?
Ans: Babies begin to fix on faces and colourful objects from 3-4 months of age. Babies also prefer to fix on patterned surfaces. Special tests to assess a childs vision are available based on these principles. An experienced clinician can determine a childs visual potential based on observation of visual behavior and these tests. Drops are used to dilate a childs eyes to check for any glass power and to do a detailed retina check up.
2. How will a baby wear glasses?
Ans: Glasses are prescribed in babies to correct a high glass power, for correction of squint or after cataract surgery. These glasses are necessary for development of normal vision and binocularity in children. Children are smarter than you think! They realize that vision is clearer with glasses and adapt very rapidly to them. Special lightweight lenses, colourful frames with reseducation bands are available especially for children.
3. How long will my child need to wear these glasses? When will they be removed?
Ans: Glasses are prescribed for development of normal vision and binocularity in children. Usually the requirement of glasses is lifelong and they cannot be removed. If the glasses are not worn regularly, it can even lead to permanent loss of vision and development of "lazy eye"
4. Can't squint surgery be delayed till a child is older?
Ans. The visual system of a child develops rapidly in the first two years and continues to develop till a child is eight years of age. A child learns to use both the eyes together and develops binocular or 3 D vision. Squint surgery has to be done early in order to restore the normal position of the eyes during this period of development. Squint surgery done at older age groups is only for cosmetic purpose, not for functional gain.
5. Can glasses be removed after squint surgery?
Ans: No. Squint surgery is done only to correct the deviation of the eyes. Glasses will have to be continued after surgery.
6. How can I know if my child has a vision problem?
Ans: Common symptoms are: if a baby has a problem focusing on objects or faces, has a squint, shaking movement of the eyes, goes close to the T.V. or blackboard, squeezes his eyes, rubs eyes continuously, has redness or sticky discharge from the eyes etc. One indicator of a serious problem can be a white reflex in the black part of the eye (pupil).
It is strongly recommended that all children have a routine eye examination by a paediatric ophthalmologist at 2-3 years of age before starting school.
7. If a child is wearing glasses, then will watching T.V. or computer games make the eyes weaker?
Ans: Watching T.V./ playing video games or reading in dim light does not harm your eyes or lead to glasses or an increase in glass power. A child with glasses can engage in all indoor and outdoor activities. However, children can develop blurred vision, headaches and other problems due to excessive T.V. watching, hence this should be restricted.
8. What is lazy eye?
Lazy eye, technically called amblyopia, means that one or both eyes have blurred vision even with the correct glasses. Amblyopia is a disorder of the brain which blocks vision from one eye because both eyes cannot be used together. Because the brain suppresses the vision in one eye early in life, normal sharpness of vision does not have a chance to develop.
Common causes:
1.Refractive amblyopia - Develops when one eye is more farsighted or near sighted than the other and appropriate glasses have not been worn. The brain cannot process a clear image from one eye with a blurred image from the other eye; hence it blocks the image from the eye with blurred vision.
2.Strabismic amblyopia - When a child has squinting of the eyes, the two eyes point in different directions. Therefore two different images are sent to the brain which causes double vision. In order to avoid this double vision the brain blocks the image from the squinting eye leading to a decrease in vision in that eye.
Treatment - Lazy eye can be treated by a combination of glasses, patching and surgery when required. Lazy eye is best treated if detected at an early age.
Paediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus(squint) Specialists at SCEH |
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