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- Free Essays, Term Papers & Book Notes Imagery in Macbeth By: • Essay • 1,388 Words • June 9, 2010 • 1,276 Views Page 1 of 6 Imagery in Macbeth Response to “Macbeth” 2. How does Shakespeare’s use of imagery and recurring symbols add depth and meaning to the plot and characters in the play? In all of Shakespeare's plays he uses many forms of imagery. Imagery is the art of making images, the products of imagination. In the play 'Macbeth' Shakespeare applies the imagery of clothing, darkness and blood. Each detail is his imagery, seems to contain an important symbol of the play, symbols that the audience must understand if they are to interpret either a passage or the play as a whole. Within the play 'Macbeth' the imagery of clothing portrays that Macbeth is seeking to hide his "disgraceful self" from his eyes and others. Shakespeare wants to keep alive the ironical contrast between the wretched creature that Macbeth really is and the disguises he assumes to conceal the fact. The audience thinks of the play honours as garments to be worn; likewise, Macbeth is constantly represented symbolically as the wearer of robes not belonging to him. In the following passage, the idea constantly recurs that Macbeth's new honours sit ill upon him, like loose and badly fitting garments, which are upon him but he is still surprised that he has gained this new position: "New honours come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould, But with the aid of use." (Act I, iii: 144) The second form of imagery used to add to the atmosphere, the imagery of darkness. In a Shakespearean tragedy, the audience have known him to create a special tone, or atmosphere to show the darkness in a tragedy. In 'Macbeth', Shakespeare draws upon the design of the witches, the guilt in Macbeth's soul, and the darkness of the night to establish the atmosphere. All of the remarkable scenes take place at night or in some dark spot; for instance, the vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, and Lady Macbeth's sleep walking. Darkness is the time when the traveller hastens to reach safety in his inn, when Banquo rides homeward to meet his assassins; furthermore, it is the time when the wolf howls, the owl screams, and when murder takes forth to his work. In 'Macbeth' darkness symbolizes many things. First, and most importantly, it stands for the evil and death in the play. The darkness could partially blind out all of the horrible things that occur in the night, for only in darkness can such evil deeds be done. Secondly, the darkness shows one of Lady Macbeth's weaknesses: her fear of dark. In the play, phrases of fear escape from her lips even in her sleep. She believes darkness to be the place of torment. Within the whole drama, the sun seems to shine only twice. Firstly, in the beautiful but in the passages when Duncan sees the swallows flirting round the castle of death. Another time, when the avenging army gathers near Dunsanane. Therefore, the reader can conclude that Shakespeare portrays darkness to establish the evil parts of the play; whereas, the viewer employs daylight to define victory or goodness in the play. The Viewers have known blood to all of us to represent life, death and often injury. Blood is an essential part of life and without blood, we could not live. This is known to everyone, and because of this, when Shakespeare uses the imagery of blood to represent treason, guilt, murder and death. The audience have easily understands it and fits it in perfectly with the ideas we have of blood. Blood is the most prominent and seems to be the most important imagery of Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’. Shakespeare mentions the word blood, or different forms of it often in the play. Perhaps the best way to describe how the image of blood changes throughout the play, by following the character changes in Macbeth. First, he is a brave honoured soldier, but as the play progresses, he becomes identified withe death and bloodshed, along with showing his guilt in different forms. The first sinister reference to blood is one of honour, showed in Act I Scene ii. This occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says, "What bloody man is that?” This is symbolic of the brave fighter who has been injured in a valiant battle for his country. In the next passage, in which the sergeant says, "Which smok'd with bloody execution," he is referring to Macbeth's braveness in which he covers his sword in the hot blood of the enemy. The symbol of blood now changes to show a form of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she Continue for 5 more pages » • Join now to read essay Imagery in Macbeth Download as (for upgraded members)
Explore Golden Gate Bridge, Opening Day, and more! The Golden Gate Bridge’s opening day: May 27, 1937. Taken by an unknown photographer. The Golden Gate Bridge opened on May linking Marin to San Francisco. Pedestrians had the bridge to themselves on opening day. The next day, cars started crossing. (Photo provided by the Golden Gate Bridge District) Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York. Construcción del Empire State 24 Impresionantes Fotografías De La Construcción Del Edificio Empire State Construction of the Empire State Building was one of the most remarkable feats of the century. It took only 410 days to build, by workers, many of them desperate for work at the height of the Depression 1931 Safety net placed under the Golden Gate Bridge during construction in the 1930s. Its presence saved 19 lives. These would-be survivors became known as the "Halfway to Hell Club". Article about the Golden Gate Bridge.In the a safety net placed below the Golden Gate Bridge saved the lives of 19 construction workers, who became known as the "Halfway-to-Hell Club. Impresionantes fotografias retro y raras de celebridades ! Impresionantes fotografias retro y raras de celebridades ! This undated file photo shows outlaws and lovers Bonnie Parker, left, and Clyde Barrow. Guns and other items connected to the couple are going on auction by RR Auction of Amherst, N. ♥ San Francisco Golden Gate bridge A sail under the awesome San Francisco Golden Gate bridge as it's enveloped in a cloud of fog. - Not in the fog, 2007 1920, la #USPostOffice dictaminó que los niños no pueden ser enviados por paquete postal. 1913 - After parcel post service was introduced in at least two children were sent by the service. With stamps attached to their clothing, the children rode with railway and city carriers to their destination. The Postmaster General quickly issued a The building of the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930's Fishermen on Baker Beach enjoy the view of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction, San Francisco, California, (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images) Surfing under the bridge; only when conditions are just right... California, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, USA California, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, USA Photographic Print by Alan Copson Robert Wadlow (Feb. 22nd, 1918-July 15th, 1940). Robert Pershing Wadlow was known as The World's Tallest Man. At the time of his death, he stood an impressive 8'11" and wore a size 37AA shoe. Those who knew him say Robert was a friendly, bright, and warm person who charmed everyone he met. Unfortunately, he developed an infection from the leg braces he had to wear and died at the young age of 22. Robert Wadlow (Aka: The Alton Giant-Alton, IL) was the tallest person in history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow reached 8 ft in m) in height and weighed 439 lb kg) at his death at age 22 in 1940 ~
Kamchatka volcano Shiveluch threw a column of ash Volcano Shiveluch in Kamchatka threw a column of ash to a height of 6 km above sea level. This event on the volcano occurred on Tuesday afternoon local time. Shiveluch is cloudy, but according to the height of the ash release, it can be judged from seismic data, the seismic event on the volcano lasted for 15 minutes. Shiveluch is the northernmost active volcano in Kamchatka, located 45 km from the village of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsky district, where about 5 thousand people live. Activity Shiweluch intensified in May 2009. As a result, the dome of the volcano was cut by a crevice depth of about 30 meters.
Create your own at Storyboard That Introduction Exposition Thesis Support A and B Counter Argument Call to Action I like dinosaurs. They are my favorite animals. Rawr Dinosaur Dinosaurs were interesting creatures that ruled the Earth for over 150 million years. Dinosaurs aren't just boring big lizards. They are a variety of unique reptiles that come in all shapes and sizes. Also, they are today's closest relatives of birds. I think dinosaurs are boring old creatures. There's nothing interesting about 'em! Well, we have birds today that also have feathers! Also, birds fly! Some dinosaurs had feathers! They may have attracted mates with colorful feathers. Some dinosaurs are capable of flying or gliding. Those crests are cool! They're colorful, too! They aren't lazy, too. A few dinosaurs look ugly with those crests, man. Also, they just drag their tails around doing nothin'. Rawr Dinosaur Rawr Dinosaur Rawr Dinosaur This is why I love dinosaurs. Most of them look different from each other, they are all related to birds.
Monday, May 19, 2008 Communication and Information Technology in the Developing World This essay is a review of the global digital divide. It examines how information technologies, especially mobile phones, affect local economies in rural communities in the developing world. Wide scale access to information is essential for development in these places to occur. This paper will examine the global digital divide and how technologies like mobile phones and the internet can strengthen local economies, and increase overall development in places like Africa, India and South East Asia. The digital divide is a phrase used to describe the gap that exists between people who readily have access to communication and information technologies and those who do not (Guillen, 2005). I will be looking at the digital divide as it applies to the global community. Technologies, like main line phones, mobile phones, and the internet, are so common in the developed world that they are sometimes taken for granted. We must remember that in the developing world, these technologies are a rare and valuable commodity. Providing new technologies that increase one’s ability to access information, is crucial to development. Roads and other commercial infrastructure are also important to development, but without large scale access to market information, large profitable businesses will never emerge. For people who have access to them, technologies like the internet and mobile phones have made sharing information easier than ever. Individuals and businesses are interacting with people on a scale that never would have been possible before, thanks to mobile phone and the internet. Web cams and satellite images can bring us to some of the most remote parts of the world instantly. On the internet we can search through databases and find information about almost any subject, with the click of a mouse. Education is becoming easier, thanks to new research technologies. Most importantly, new technologies have the potential to expand and create new markets (Waverman, 2007). New technologies have been booming in the developed parts of the world, but this means people without access to these technologies, particularly those in developing countries, are falling even further behind. Without access to these technologies, people in places like Sub-Saharan Africa, India and South East Asia can have no hope of their states reaching higher levels of development. Today the mobile phone is being introduced into parts of the developing world, with promising results. Main line phones are expensive to install and the internet is still a long way off for most people in poverty stricken regions. Very few people own computers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia (see figure-1). People living in these areas are very unlikely to be on the internet. Cell towers are much easier to install, and are less expensive then LAN lines, which need to be buried underground. Cell towers are also easier to protect than the expansive underground infrastructures of LAN lines. The buried materials of a LAN line are easy targets for thieves; a cell tower is centrally located and can be effectively guarded. There are 2.2 billion mobile phone users in the world. Of those mobile phone users, 1.4 billion of them are in the developing world (Waverman, 2007). They all use mobile phones because LAN line phones are not an available option for them. Easy international communication is a relatively new convenience. The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable, TAT-1, was installed in 1956 as a joint venture between AT&T and the British Government. Previously, if one wanted to call Europe from the United States it would have to be done via the radio. The process required you to schedule the phone call some three weeks in advance. With this method you were always running the risk of having your call disrupted or ended by sun spots or bad weather. When TAT-1 became operational, the service could provide for only eighty-six simultaneous phone calls at a time (Waverman, 2007). The internet is also a relatively new technology. It has grown in importance since it was introduced in the early 1990’s. It is hard to deny the massive impact that the internet has had on the world at large. The internet provides potential wide scale communication to any part of the world. Increases in communication leads to increases in collective action. Productivity naturally increases with collective action, which will increase markets (Rheingold, 2008). The internet has especially changed the business world. fancies itself as a store where customers can come to buy ANYTHING. Craig’s List and eBay have created a market place for anyone with an internet connection to use. All of this technology has become so ingrained in our culture and in our lives. We forget how easy technology makes things. We also forget that in many parts of the world people hardly live with the same level of convenience that we are able to enjoy. One study estimates only 10% of the world’s population uses the internet on a regular basis. Researchers from the same study claim that access to the internet is related mainly to economic variables. “[We have gathered] evidence to the effect that the average standard of living and the average educational level in a country – arguably the analogs of socioeconomic status at the individual level – are strong predictors of internet use” (Guillen, 2005). The correlation is obviously that lower level incomes lead to lower levels of internet access, due to the expensive costs of supporting the technology. This creates a kind of catch twenty-two; without increased economic development, there will be limited access to information technologies, but in order to increase economic development the population needs access to information technologies. This is a problem that is widening the economic gap between high income nations and low income nations even further. In order to understand how increased communication can affect economic development, I have looked at a study of fishing villages in India, and the effects that mobile phones have had on the business that is done in local markets. Businesses and markets are much different in rural places in India. In Kerala, a region in the southern part of India, the introduction of mobile phones has had a great impact on local fish markets. A study undertaken by Robert Jensen, a development economist at Harvard University, surveyed the price of sardines at 15 beach markets along Kerala’s coast. Before the introduction of cell phones into the area, the fish markets were extremely unstable. Local fisherman might catch plenty of fish, but they could not always sell everything that they caught. Fish that cannot be sold quickly spoil and have to be dumped back in the ocean. On some days, some markets might be desperate for fish and will buy them at any price, while other markets might be flooded with too many fish, which will sell for low prices or not at all. An entire day’s work can easily be wasted in this unorganized system. In the study Jensen found that on average, before mobile phones were introduced, 8% of fish were being wasted in this way (Waverman, 2007, Jensen, 2007). Some fishermen might try to take their boats to other nearby markets in an attempt to sell fish that no one else will buy, but fuel is expensive and there is no way to guaranteed there will be buyers anywhere. When the mobile phones arrived, everything changed. Mobile phones provided fishermen with direct contact to fish markets. Fisherman could call ahead to nearby markets to find those in most need of fish. Fish markets began to stabilize. Fishermen began increasing profits by calling around to different markets in order to find the best prices for fish. The wasted days spent fishing and selling nothing began to disappear. Everyday fishermen were able to sell their fish at the best prices available, and so profits went up. As the markets stabilized the price of fish even went down, creating a situation beneficial to both the consumers and to the fishermen. Profits went up 8% for the fisherman, and prices came down 6% (Waverman, 2007, Jensen 2007). (See figure 2, for statistical information.) All of this was made possible by an increase in communication. These everyday technologies might not seem like much to us, but to those fishermen in India, having a mobile phone could mean the difference between feeding their families, or starvation. What cell phones have done is provide access to information. Information is a precious commodity. Access to information widens markets, which increases potential growth. Productivity must increase to supply the widened markets. All of these things are good for business. The thought is, the more you add technologies, like mobile phones and the internet, to any market place, the more economic growth that market place will see (Jensen 2007). Some Indian fishermen spend up to 15% of their incomes on mobile phones. This may seem like a lot of money, but it proves just how valuable this technology can be for people in the developing world. Mobile phones provide more than just access to information. In some instances mobile phone bills can be used as a sort of credit report. Someone who owns a mobile phone can show a lender his or her bill to display that they are financially responsible enough to pay a cell phone bill regularly over a length of time. This can be extremely useful in small rural economies, where credit is largely unavailable. Microlending, a relatively new banking practice, where extremely small loans are issued to poverty stricken individuals, has become immensely popular in places like India. In 2006, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for implementing wide scale microlending programs throughout India. A microloan can be used to buy sowing machines, or fishing gear which can be used to earn an income. A significant portion of India’s population is employed in these low-start-up-cost entrepreneurial businesses (Yunus, 2006). With more mobile phones providing a better credit checking system, larger loans can be issued to those who are approved, which may provide some Indians with the necessary capital to start up more profitable businesses (Waverman, 2007). It would be naïve to assume that just by introducing cell phones into a region, a region can be saved from economic disparity. One of the many obstacles that needs to be overcome before this technology can be useful is the problem of illiteracy. For some illiterates, using the keypad to dial numbers on a mobile phone might be difficult or impossible. Without some basic skills, mobile phones may be too difficult for some people to use. Without the ability to utilize the technology to its full potential, introducing mobile phones to an illiterate population will fall short of its goal of increasing development. A major trend in mobile phone use is short message services (SMS), sometimes referred to as text messaging. This technology is useless to an illiterate population, but to a population that can use it properly, it can be immensely useful. Leonard Waverman, professor of Economics at the London Business School, has challenged Google to develop search technology, which could be used by the fishermen in India and other areas to search on their mobile phones for potential buyers. At this point in cellular technology, a mobile phone is the equivalent to having a small computer in the palm of your hand. The mobile phone screen is merely the computer screen for the developing world. In 2005, Jimmy Wales, founder and Monarch of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, began talking about a day when access to the sum of all human knowledge would be made available to every person on the planet (Wales, 2005). Today, hundreds of millions of people are using Wales’ information bases to educate themselves. Jimmy Wales has been working closely with Richard Baraniuk, founder of Connexions, a leading company in online Open Education. Wales and Baraniuk describe online Open Education as, “a vast dynamic knowledge ecosystem that is in a constant state of creation, use, reuse and improvement” (Wales, 2008). The costs of education are rising, and some students, even in the developing world, are struggling to afford text books. With classroom texts provided online, education costs will come down. As this technology evolves, Wales hopes to give people in developing parts of the world a tool which they can use to educate themselves, starting with basic literacy skills and eventually progressing into other relevant fields of study, based on individual circumstances (Wales, 2005). Those of us who live in the developed parts of the world are privileged with access to technology that is useful as well as entertaining. We need to appreciate this fact and realize the impact that this technology can have on people’s lives. This technology should make us rethink how we approach problems like poverty and even the spread of disease. The internet is a global platform. It has the power to unite the people who use it. Through global communication and the spreading of knowledge worldwide, we can all learn to live together more peacefully. 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Curricular Outcomes In order to fulfill their professional obligations to their patients and to society, pharmacists must be able to assume a variety of duties and responsibilities. Pharmacists can only perform the necessary duties and responsibilities if have acquired the ability to do so. Ability consists of more than just knowledge, as knowledge can only be used in the professional setting by practitioners who also possess the necessary skills and attitudes. Professional attitudes are particularly important, as the successful pharmacist must have the desire and confidence to utilize his or her knowledge and skills for the best welfare of patients. The following eight statements summarize the abilities that Harrison School of Pharmacy graduates will possess upon successful completion of their degree. 1. Evaluate Pharmacotherapy of Individual Patients As the health professional primarily responsible for patient drug therapy outcomes, pharmacists must evaluate each patient’s drug therapy for appropriateness or inappropriateness. Pharmacists must compile and evaluate necessary patient data and determine appropriate pharmacotherapy goals in collaboration with the patient and other health care professionals. 2. Provide Appropriate Pharmacotherapy Interventions to Individual Patients Pharmacists must be able to develop patient-specific drug therapy recommendations and plans, and provide patient follow up as appropriate. This includes making necessary interventions to assure that each patient’s treatment plan is safe and effective, and based on the best available scientific evidence. Appropriate communication with the patient and other health professionals, as well as patient referral, may be needed to assure that the patient achieves the desired drug therapy outcomes. 3. Provide Appropriate Drug Distribution to Individual Patients Supervision of the drug distribution process is a core responsibility of pharmacy, although pharmacists may not perform the manipulative functions. Pharmacists have the responsibility of assuring that prescriptions are accurately interpreted, accurately prepared and dispensed, and screened for drug-related problems. 4. Maintain and Enhance Competence Through Self-Initiated learning Maintenance of individual competence is a core responsibility of all professionals. This not only includes not only attendance at continuing education meetings but also having the ability and motivation to continuously assess one learning needs and engaging in self-directed learning to maintain one’s competence. 5. Manage the Pharmacy Within the Organization’s Business Plan Entry-level pharmacists must be able to perform basic management processes in their pharmacy practice settings. 6. Develop Practice and Leadership Pharmacists must exhibit leadership qualities in order to develop and improve their practices and careers. 7. Participate in Public Health and Professional Initiatives and Policies 8. Advance the Profession Pharmacist must actively work to advance their profession and the pharmaceutical care model of practice. Methods to achieve this end include participation in professional organizations, advocating professional improvements, establishing and maintaining professional improvements, and ensuring that professional standards are maintained and enforced. Last Updated: February 21, 2017
The War of Crows and Owls There was a huge Banyan tree near a city called Mahilaropyam. Its unnumerable branches were home to a large number of crows. Meghavarana was the king of these crows. There was a cave nearby, which was home of a large number of owls. Arimaradana was the king of these owls. The owls, as they regarded the crows as enemies, would fly around the Banyan tree every night. And if they caught hold of any crows, they would attack them and kill them. The crows could not see as clearly as the owls during the night, and could not save themselves. As time went by, many crows were killed. Meghavarana, the king of crows had a council of five ministers: Ujjeevi, Sanjeevi, Anujjevi, Prajeevi and Chiranjeevi. He addressed them, “O Ministers, our enemy takes advantage by attacking at night and succeeds in killing many of us as we cannot fight them in dark. We cannot attck them at daytime since we don’t know their stronghold. The enemy is dangerous and we need to decide what to do. Please advise me with your views.” Ujjeevi suggested, “O Majesty, I advise you to make peace with the enemy as the enemy is strong and untiring” Sanjeevi said, “O King, the enemy is not only strong but also cruel and follows no ethics of war. Peace with such party cannot last. Let us fight in a way that we can gain advantage.” Anujeevi advised, “The enemy is stronger than us, so it will not be wise to fight them. They are cruel and have not ethics, so we cannot make peace with them. I suggest we retreat to a safer place.” For More Reference: Product Advertising Video %d bloggers like this:
Koinonia House Online “Bringing the world into focus through the lens of Scripture” Home > Personal > Holidays > Happy Hanukkah First Time Here? The ''New Testament'' Holiday: Happy Hanukkah by Chuck Missler Each year, around the time we prepare to celebrate Christmas, our Jewish friends celebrate Hanukkah. This year it falls on December 25th and continues for eight days through January 2nd. The Mystery in John 10 John Chapter 10 is, of course, the famous Good Shepherd discourse. It clearly speaks for itself and won't be dealt with here. Verse 22, however, seems to be a strange inclusion: right in the middle of this chapter the Holy Spirit notes the following: John 10:22 Why is this reference here? The Importance of our Approach The most important discovery of my life was the insight that the Bible is an integrated message system. Although these 66 books were written by over 40 authors over thousands of years, we discover that they are a unified whole. Every word, every number, every place name, even the implied punctuation, appear to be the result of supernatural engineering. The rabbis in Israel have a quaint way of expressing this. They say that we won't really understand the Scriptures until the Messiah comes. But when He comes, He will not only interpret the passages for us; He will interpret the very words; He will interpret the very letters; He will even interpret the spaces between the letters! I used to think this was just a colorful exaggeration. Until I re-read Jesus' own comments on the Scripture: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one yot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5:17-18 A "yot" or a "tittle" are Hebraisms: a "yot" is one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet that we might mistake for an apostrophe, or a blemish on the paper. A "tittle" is a tiny notation that distinguishes some of the letters. The phrase that Jesus used is equivalent to our "dotting of an 'i' or the crossing of a 't.'" These words, from our Lord Himself, seem to verify the rather extreme view of the rabbis. Thus we discover that every detail of the Bible is there by design. This insight opens an entirely new dimension of Bible study. Every time you find a "mistake" or "contradiction" in the Bible, rejoice: there is a discovery behind that ostensible discrepancy. The Feast of Dedication Since we have concluded that nothing in Scripture is accidental or trivial, why does this detail in John 10:22 exist? What is the "feast of dedication"? The dedication is of the Temple, of course. But let's explore this further. There have been only two Temples: the original one built by Solomon, which was ultimately destroyed by the Babylonians; and Nehemiah's, which was built when the captives returned after the Babylonian Captivity. (This "Second Temple" was subsequently expanded by Herod and was the Temple in place during the New Testament period.) Solomon's Temple was dedicated in the month of Ethanim, or Tishri.1 This can't be the reference we're looking for since this was in the autumn. John 10:22 alludes specifically to a feast of dedication in winter. Nehemiah's Temple was dedicated in the month of Adar.2 So this can't be it either since Adar is in the spring. Now we're really puzzled! The key to this riddle requires some important historical background. An Historical Reference A century earlier, in 168 B.C., the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV ("Epiphanes")3 son of Antiochus the Great, became the successor of his brother, Seleucus IV, who had been murdered by his minister, Heliodorus, as king of Syria (175-164 B.C.). Antiochus was an eccentric, cruel and tyrannical despot. He undertook the total eradication of the Jewish religion and the establishment of Greek polytheism in its stead. The observance of all Jewish laws, especially those relating to the Sabbath and to circumcision, were forbidden under penalty of death. Representatives of the crown everywhere enforced the edict. Once a month a search was instituted, and whoever had secreted a copy of the Law or had observed the rite of circumcision was condemned to death. He pillaged the city of Jerusalem, took 10,000 captives, stripped the Temple of its treasures, and built a pagan altar on the Great Altar of Burnt Sacrifices.4 On the 25th of Chislev (Antiochus' birthday), sacrifice was brought on this altar for the first time.5 He required a swine to be offered in every village.6 (If you know how the Jews feel about pork, you can imagine how that went over! But that's not all) He also erected an idol to Zeus in the Holy of Holies.7 This desecrating sacrilege has a technical name: "the abomination of desolation." Maccabean Revolt In the village of Modein, an aged priest named Mattathias lived with his five sons. When officers arrived to carry out Antiochus' decrees, Mattathias killed both the first Jew who approached the pagan altar to offer sacrifice and the royal official who presided, and Mattathias and his sons fled to the hills. This spontaneous revolt grew into a full-scale uprising: Mattathias and his five sons became the nucleus of a growing band of rebels against Antiochus. Mattathias died soon after, leaving leadership in the hands of his son Judas, whose nickname "Maccabeus" ("the hammer") became the source of the popular name given to the family and its followers. Under Judas' brilliant leadership, what had begun as a guerrilla war turned into full-scale military engagements in which the smaller Jewish forces managed to defeat the much more powerful Syrian armies, and they succeeded in throwing off the yoke of the Seleucid Empire. On the third anniversary of the desecration of the Temple, on the 25th of Kislev, 164 B.C., the Temple worship was reestablished. The altar and all of the vessels used in the earlier sacrilege were destroyed and replaced with new ones, and the Temple was rededicated. It is this rededication that is still celebrated among the Jews to this very day as Hanukkah. A Key Technical Term The desecration of the Temple in 167 B.C. included the definitive event known as the "abomination of desolation." The term "abomination" in the Bible is a common term for idol worship. The "abomination of desolation" refers to the ultimate extreme form of idol worship: placing an idol on the most sacred spot on Planet Earth: in Jerusalem, in the Temple precincts, in the Holy of Holies itself! So why did the Holy Spirit highlight Hanukkah by alluding to it in the New Testament? Because Jesus Himself pointed to this specific historical detail as the key to understanding prophecy concerning the Last Days. A Private Briefing Four disciples came to Jesus privately, asking Him about His "Second Coming." His response is so significant that it is recorded in two of the Gospels: Matthew and Mark.8 (A similar account in Luke actually focuses on some different elements.) He opened this briefing with a series of "non-signs": certain things that will occur "but the end is not yet." Then He highlighted a critical event as the key to the prophecy: When you, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whosoever readeth, let him understand), then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains; Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; Neither let him who is in the field return back to take his clothes. Matthew 24:15-18 In other words, when this event happens, it will be essential for them to get out Judea immediately! (You are also "on the spot": if you read that verse you are under His orders to "understand"!) An Essential Insight Jesus did us all an enormous favor in verse 15. He saved each of us many hours of tedious library research! He attributed the Book of Daniel to Daniel the prophet. (It happens that Daniel is one of the best-documented books of the Old Testament, but Jesus gave us a great short cut. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ has no problem with authorship of Daniel...anyone who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ has much bigger problems than the authorship of the Book of Daniel!) Jesus' reference to the "abomination of desolation" was, of course, made two centuries after the historical event now commemorated at Hanukkah. He was speaking of a similar event yet future. Other Attempts Frustrated In about 40 A.D. Caligula ordered his image to be installed in the Holy of Holies. Petronius, his general in Judea, realizing how vehement the Jews' reaction would be, declined to execute the order. When Caligula found out, he ordered the death of Petronius. But Caligula died a few weeks later, and due to a mix-up at sea, the message that Caligula had died preceded the order for Petronius' execution, so he got off the hook. It is interesting how God intervened to prevent another desecration of the Temple from happening. Has it happened yet? The Destruction of the Second Temple Just as Jesus had predicted, in 69 A.D. the 5th, 10th, 12th, and 15th Roman Legions, under Titus Vespasian, laid siege to Jerusalem. Over a million men, women and children were slaughtered in that terrible war. Finally, on the 9th of Av, 70 A.D., the Temple was destroyed.9 It was this event that Luke's account focuses on. Both Luke and Matthew highlight a group of signs, which Matthew dubs as "the beginning of sorrows": Matthew 24:6-8 Matthew's account focuses on what follows this group of signs.10 Luke focuses on the what precedes these signs.11 He warned his audience that when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, they were to get out of town and don't let any in the hills go back to town. Luke tells his audience that "this generation will not pass until all be fulfilled,"12 and 38 years later - the same length of the generation that died in the wilderness - Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D. A Critical Hiatus The Emperor Nero had ordered his general, Vespasian, and his son Titus, to use force to get things in Judea under control. They had conquered the towns in the Galilee and were preparing to take Jerusalem next. But then Nero died. In Rome, Galba, Otho, and Vitelius vied for the throne; in the subsequent confusion and ambiguity, Vespasian went to Rome and succeeded to take the throne as Emperor. His son Titus was left to complete the siege of Jerusalem. During the hiatus, Christians, following the warnings in the Luke account, escaped to the mountains in Pella in Perea, and not one perished.13 A Misleading View There are those who view the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. as the "abomination of desolation." There are several problems with this view. First, there was a war going on. There was no opportunity for the Romans to install false worship of any kind inside the Temple. The Temple was inadvertently set on fire, and the interior, which was wood overlaid with gold, burned thus melting the gold. The soldiers were ordered to take it apart stone by stone to recover the gold, just as Jesus had predicted.14 All of this was well documented by an eyewitness, Flavius Josephus, whose classic works are readily available. 15 The view that the abomination of desolation has already occurred, in addition to being historically inaccurate, also requires the bizarre allegorization of the rest of Jesus' presentation. (Matthew 24:29-31 hasn't happened yet; at least, not so you'd notice!) The abomination of desolation didn't happen in 70 A.D., and it couldn't have happened over the subsequent 1900 years because there has been no Temple in Jerusalem to be thus defiled. It remains the key milestone to trigger the exodus of those believers remaining in Jerusalem at that time. Every year at the celebration of Hanukkah we need to recall this background and reflect on its prophetic significance! A Third Temple Needed When will it happen? When there is, once again, a Temple in Jerusalem. Three times in the New Testament there is reference to the rebuilding of the Temple prior to the Second Coming of Christ.16 Despite an untenable political climate on the Temple Mount, there are preparations underway in anticipation of a rebuilt Temple. In Yeshivas in Jerusalem, over 200 priests are presently in training. Almost all of the required implements have been fabricated by the Temple Institute. There is a search going on for the right marine snails to yield the Levitical blue and the royal purple. Ground-penetrating radar and infrared recordings are being used to find the precise foundations of the original Temples. The preparations continue despite the political uncertainties. The scientists and archaeologists will be giving us an update at the Jerusalem Temple Conference being held this coming March. (Pray about joining us. See here.) The Holiday Message The Holy Spirit put John 10:22 in the New Testament to highlight Daniel's famous prophecy and to focus our attention on this key milestone in the end-time scenario. So as your Jewish friends celebrate Hanukkah this year, let this commemoration also remind you that preparations are presently underway to set the stage for the final countdown. What an exciting time to be alive! Habakkuk 1:5 Happy Holidays! * * * 1. 1 Kings 8:2. Ethanim is the same as Tishri, or September-October 2. Ezra 6:15, 16. Adar is typically in early March. 3. "Epiphanes" is an abbreviation of Greek: theos epiphanes, a designation he gave himself: "the god who appears or reveals himself." 4. Josephus, Antiquities, XII v 4. 5. 1 Maccabees 1:54,59. 6. Josephus, Antiquities, XII v 4. 7. 1 Maccabees 1:54; 2 Maccabees 6:1-7. 8. Matthew 24, 25; Mark 13, 14; Luke's similar account was given to a different audience on a different occasion and did not focus on the same issues. 9. The very day on the Jewish calendar that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in 537 b.c. 10. Matthew 24:8,9. 11. Luke 21:12. 12. Luke 21:32. 13. Eusebius, Book III, 5.1. 14. Luke 19:43,44. 15. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, VI, vi, 1. 16. Matthew 24:15; 2 Thess 2:4; Revelation 11:1-2. This Generation - Resolving The Olivet Discourse It is ironic that Jesus' opening imperative in His "Olivet Discourse" is "Take heed that no man deceive you". This is His command, but it begs a question of means: "How do we avoid that?" There seems to be more conjectures and misunderstandings over this passage than almost any other in the New Testament. The History of Christmas – December 23, 2003 Privacy Policy
Site Search How to write and edit a critique paper A critique paper is one which responds to or evaluates a theory, journal article, or book. Just as you would with any other formal academic paper, you want to use a formal academic writing style which includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. When you are writing and editing a critique paper, you want to grab the attention of the reader right off the bat. Don't waste time by filling your essay with unnecessary words. "I believe" or "In my opinion" are useless. You are the author, so naturally it goes without saying that the content is "in your opinion" or something you believe. Be cautious about your vocabulary and make sure you are not using the same modifiers (read: adjectives) over and over. "The awesome party was full of awesome people who made it awesome" is just a waste of space and should be removed. And don't rely on the thesaurus feature to replace words for you. As you review your draft and prepare for final submission, look over the page as a whole. Are there any unnecessarily large paragraphs? Do you have an introduction, a conclusion, some transitions in between, and a clear purpose? Avoid writing in absolutes unless you truly mean it. This means words such as "always", "never", or "everyone". Once your critique is written, you need to proofread. This is a time consuming process if it is done correctly. You should read the entire critique out loud to yourself, not just on the screen. As you do this, look for standard mechanical errors, typographical errors, and spelling errors. But also make sure you check for the basic grammar rules. 1. Parallel Construction 2. "I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, and camping" rather than "I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, and to camp". 3. Subject-verb Agreement 4. The woman goes. The women go. Don't fall victim to this. 5. Semi-colon v. Colon 6. If you don't know what you are doing with these, educate yourself before you wander off into the unknown. Simply reading aloud will help you determine if you used the comma in the correct place, or if another form of punctuation may have been better suited. 7. Slang or Colloquialisms 8. The reader of your critique is not your best friend. Switch your language choices so that you don't use something inappropriate in a formal or academic setting. This includes acronyms or abbreviations you would use in a text message or words that you might think are real due to their high propensity to be tossed around in class, but really are just slang. college essay writingAbout our editors and researchers Online educational materials
Faulkner and the Great Depression Aesthetics, Ideology, and Cultural Politics Ted Atkinson Why, at a time when the American economy produced so little, did Faulkner produce so much? "Faulkner certainly was more engaged with this time and place than many critics in the past have given him credit for. It's refreshing to read a work that reminds us that Faulkner was not, after all, writing in splendid isolation but was acutely aware of the political and economic issues of the day and the ways those issues played out in popular culture." —Susan V. Donaldson, author of Competing Voices: The American Novel, 1865–1914 "Atkinson offers a solid contemporary ideological but aesthetically sensitive examination of the relationship of Faulkner's fiction, especially works from the 1930s, to the political, social, cultural, and economic issues of the Great Depression. Others have written about this topic, one that is ripe for exploration, but no one until Atkinson has produced such a sustained meditation on it." —Philip Cohen, University of Texas at Arlington More / Hide “Remarkably,” writes Ted Atkinson, “during a period roughly corresponding to the Great Depression, Faulkner wrote the novels and stories most often read, taught, and examined by scholars.” This is the first comprehensive study to consider his most acclaimed works in the context of those hard times. Atkinson sees Faulkner’s Depression-era novels and stories as an ideological battleground--in much the same way that 1930s America was. With their contrapuntal narratives that present alternative accounts of the same events, these works order multiple perspectives under the design of narrative unity. Thus, Faulkner’s ongoing engagement with cultural politics gives aesthetic expression to a fundamental ideological challenge of Depression-era America: how to shape what FDR called a “new order of things” out of such conflicting voices as the radical left, the Popular Front, and the Southern Agrarians. Focusing on aesthetic decadence in Mosquitoes and dispossession in The Sound and the Fury, Atkinson shows how Faulkner anticipated and mediated emergent sociocultural forces of the late 1920s and early 1930s. In Sanctuary; Light in August; Absalom, Absalom!; and “Dry September,” Faulkner explores social upheaval (in the form of lynching and mob violence), fascism, and the appeal of strong leadership during troubled times. As I Lay Dying, The Hamlet, “Barn Burning,” and “The Tall Men” reveal his “ambivalent agrarianism”--his sympathy for, yet anxiety about, the legions of poor and landless farmers and sharecroppers. In The Unvanquished, Faulkner views Depression concerns through the historical lens of the Civil War, highlighting the forces of destruction and reconstruction common to both events. Faulkner is no proletarian writer, says Atkinson. However, the dearth of overt references to the Depression in his work is not a sign that Faulkner was out of touch with the times or consumed with aesthetics to the point of ignoring social reality. Through his comprehensive social vision and his connections to the rural South, Hollywood, and New York, Faulkner offers readers remarkable new insight into Depression concerns. Page count: 288 pp. Trim size: 6 x 9 List price: $46.95 buy button View Shopping Cart List price: $44.95 Check ebook availability Ted Atkinson is an assistant professor of English at Mississippi State University.
Open main menu Wikipedia β Rashid Ali al-Gaylani[note 1] (Arabic: رشيد عالي الكيلاني‎, Arabic pronunciation: [raʃiːd ʕaːliː al.keːlaːniː]) (June 1, 1892 – August 28, 1965) was an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Iraq on three occasions: from March to November 1933, from March 1940 to February 1941 and from April to May 1941. He is chiefly remembered as an Arab nationalist who attempted to remove the British influence from Iraq. During his brief tenures as Prime Minister in 1940 and 1941, he attempted to negotiate settlements with the Axis powers during World War II in order to counter British influence in Iraq. Rashid Ali al-Gaylani رشيد عالي الكيلاني Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani.jpg 9th Prime Minister of Iraq In office 20 March 1933 – 9 November 1933 Monarch Faisal I Ghazi I Preceded by Naji Shawkat Succeeded by Jamil al-Midfai In office 31 March 1940 – 3 February 1941 Monarch Faisal II Prince Abdullah (Regent) Preceded by Nuri al-Said Succeeded by Taha al-Hashimi In office 13 April 1941 – 30 May 1941 Monarch Faisal II Prince Abdullah (Regent) Preceded by Taha al-Hashimi Succeeded by Jamil al-Midfai Personal details Born June 1, 1892 Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq Died August 28, 1965 Beirut, Lebanon Political party Party of National Brotherhood Early lifeEdit He was the son of Sayyad Abdul Wahhab al-Gaylani and born into the prominent Baghdad-based Gaylani family. The Gaylani were known as sadeh, as they were from a family that traced its ancestry back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1] Rashid Ali enrolled in law school in Baghdad and was a lawyer until his political career.[2] Political careerEdit In 1924, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani began his career in politics in the first government led by Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi. Yasin al-Hashimi appointed Gaylani as the Minister of Justice. The two men were ardent nationalists and were opposed to any British involvement in the internal politics of Iraq. They rejected the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty signed by the government of Prime Minister Nuri as-Said in 1930. They formed the Party of National Brotherhood to promote nationalist aims. Gaylani served as Prime Minister for the first time in 1933 but held office for less than eight months. In 1938 the subject was seized and exiled to 'Ana for his suspected role in the Baghdad bomb-throwing of November and the general political upheaval.[3] During the Hashimi government, the subject served as Minister of Interior with the additional benefit of the lucrative trusteeship of the Qadiri Awqaf. Later. as prme minister, he would retain the interior portfolio as public works projects progressed, including the laying of the foundations for a mosque to be named, the Faysal Mosque.[4] On 31 March 1940, when Gaylani was again appointed Prime Minister, World War II had started and Iraq had just experienced the premature death of King Ghazi. Ghazi's reign was followed by a Regency for his four-year-old son who was now the new King Faisal II. Faisal's Regent was Ghazi's uncle, Emir Abdul-Illah. Abdul-Illah supported Britain in the war, but he was unable to control Gaylani, who used the war to further his own nationalist goals by refusing to allow Allied troops passage through Iraq to the front. He also rejected calls for Iraq to break its ties with Fascist Italy and sent his Justice Minister, Naji Shawkat, to Ankara to meet with Germany's ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen, to win German support for his government. German Foreign Ministry archives record that Shawkat met von Papen on July 5, 1940, and he carried a letter of introduction from Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, expressing a desire for a treaty of friendship and collaboration.[5] Baghdad was the early base for Nazi Middle East intelligence operations during World War II.[6] 1941 Iraqi coup d'étatEdit Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and Haj Amin al-Husseini, speaking at the anniversary of the 1941 Iraqi coup in Berlin Anglo-Iraqi WarEdit Iran, Germany, and Saudi ArabiaEdit Al-Gaylani with Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser in Cairo, August 1958 Gaylani was not to stay long in Iran. On 25 August 1941, British and Soviet forces invaded Iran and removed Reza Shah from power. Gaylani then fled to German-occupied Europe. In Berlin, he was received by German dictator Adolf Hitler, and he was recognized as the leader of the Iraqi government in exile. Upon the defeat of Germany, Gaylani again fled and found refuge, this time in Saudi Arabia. Later life and deathEdit Gaylani did not return from exile until after the revolution that overthrew the Iraqi monarchy, in 1958. Once again, he attempted to seize power; he plotted a revolt against Abdul Karim Kassem's government. The revolt was foiled and Gaylani was sentenced to death. See alsoEdit 1. ^ in Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyad Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyad Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany ("Sayyad" serves to address higher standing male persons) 1. ^ Makiya, p. 216 2. ^ Cleveland, p. 212 3. ^ Longrigg, 1953, p. 274 4. ^ Longrigg, 1953, pp. 248, 283 5. ^ Aboul-Enein and Aboul-Enein, 2013, pp. 51-52 6. ^ Lewis, 2003, pp. 69-70 Political offices Preceded by Naji Shawkat Prime Minister of Iraq March 20, 1933 — October 29, 1933 Succeeded by Jamil al-Midfai Preceded by Nuri as-Said Prime Minister of Iraq March 31, 1940 — January 31, 1941 Succeeded by Taha al-Hashimi Preceded by Taha al-Hashimi Prime Minister of Iraq April 3, 1941 — May 29, 1941 Succeeded by Jamil al-Midfai
Coaches Can Make or Break You Jason - Gibsonia, Pennsylvania Entered on October 29, 2008 Age Group: Under 18 Themes: sports John and Joe are very athletic twins who have achieved great success on the football field during their middle school years. During their freshman year of high school, Joe joins team A where the coach works hard with all of the players. The coach instructs, challenges, and encourages Joe to do the best he can. On the other hand, John joins team B. The coach of this team works only with his favorites and yells at the players for each mistake. Joe goes on to become a NFL star, while John decides to never play football again. Did the coaching each boy received affect how they turned out? I believe that it did and that coaches can “make or break” players. First, a coach’s attitude impacts how a player will play. While it’s part of a coach’s job to instruct players on how they should play, many times they will yell, even swear, instead of instruct and encourage. This does not have a great result, as often a player feels increased pressure, and their performances will reflect this. Not only does yelling impact individual players, but it can bring the attitude of a whole team down. On the other hand, a coach who gives out positive complements when a player does something good makes a positive impact. By not giving a player a hard time when they do something wrong and instead giving them some words of wisdom, the player will have a better attitude. This will increase performance and help make the player better. Second, a coach who plays favorites can “break” a player’s whole season and in some cases, alter their entire career. By only working with his favorites, some players do not gain the opportunity to increase their knowledge or skills. This results in them having a bad season. The coach then tells next year’s coach that the player did not do so great and not to play them. A pattern forms and either the player never gets adequate playing time or he gets so discouraged, that he quits. Either way, the player never reaches his full potential. The excellent coach can help each player become better at the sport. An excellent coach instructs, challenges, and encourages each player to do the best he or she can, even if it involves working extra with the player that does not have the largest amount of talent for the sport. The excellent coach can make a player. Unfortunately, I have seen many coaches “break” players. They play favorites, yell, and generally discourage the player from reaching his or her full potential. What would have happened to John if he had the same coach as Joe? Would he too have become a NFL star? While the answer may not be certain, I do know that each year coaches can and do “make or break” players.
2017年3月24日星期五 snout, snouty, muzzle, babble, axiom, half-truth, disjointed and repetitious,The First Word It was in Germany, 1934, that Tove Jansson painted one of her first versions of a Moomin, a strangely menacing scene featuring a long-snouted creature, black and red-eyed. The war itself conjured the stories. The fascinating story of a beloved Finnish author:http://econ.st/1yRe4vD Political animals Tove Jansson: Work and Love. By Tuula Karjalainen. Translated by David McDuff. Penguin Global; 291 pages; $34. Particular Books; £20. Buy from... 36 Hours in Whistler, British Columbia Iran muzzles press as post-election demonstrations continue While opposition supporters protest the election results that put President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back in office, international news organizations say they are being prevented from reporting on the escalating events.[more] Look Who’s Talking Published: August 12, 2007 Academia, unlike every other sector of our culture, has apparently been considered too dull and esoteric to merit a reality show, but now there’s a natural vehicle: evolutionary linguistics, an emerging field awash in colorful personalities, wacky experiments and enough conflict to carry several seasons. Don’t let the name throw you; the scientists who study the origins of language are a passionate, fractious bunch, and you don’t have to be an egghead to be tantalized by the questions that drive their research: how and when did we learn to speak, and to what extent is language a uniquely human attribute? Call the show “American Babble.” Skip to next paragraph Whitney Sherman The Search for the Origins of Language. By Christine Kenneally. 357 pp. Viking. $26.95. In this field, physical evidence is scarce — language, except in its written form, leaves no trace — and scholarly clout depends on a capacity for ingenious inference and supposition. Christine Kenneally, a linguistics Ph.D. turned journalist, shrewdly begins “The First Word,” her account of this new science, with candid portraits of several of its most influential figures. Appropriately, the first chapter is devoted to Noam Chomsky, whose ideas have dominated linguistics since the late 1950s, and who, as Kenneally reports, has been hailed as a genius on a par with Einstein and disparaged as the leader of a “cult” with “evil side effects.” According to Chomsky, humans are born with the principles of grammar hard-wired in their brains, enabling them, from an early age and without formal instruction, to construct an infinite variety of sentences from a finite number of words. Moreover, Chomsky has suggested, language is a peculiarly human phenomenon, a trait so remarkable that evolutionary theory is virtually helpless to explain it. “It surely cannot be assumed that every trait is specifically selected,” he wrote in 1988. “In the case of such systems as language ... it is not easy even to imagine a course of selection that might have given rise to them.” Chomsky’s impatience with the question of language’s origins effectively squelched inquiry into the subject for decades. (In a sense, Kenneally notes, such considerations had been taboo for much longer: although Darwin noted similarities between human speech and sounds made by monkeys and birds, and speculated that language “has been slowly and unconsciously developed by many steps,” by the mid-1870s the linguistic societies of Paris and London had formally banned all discussion of evolution.) Lately, however, Chomsky’s grip on the field has loosened, thanks to half a dozen or so determined upstarts, among them his former student Philip Lieberman, who has mined the human brain for evidence that language evolved from organs, like the basal ganglia, that we share with many other species; the primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, who taught a bonobo named Kanzi the comprehension skills of a toddler; and the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, an early champion of the notion that Chomskyan theory is compatible with Darwinian axioms. In 1989, Pinker and a graduate student named Paul Bloom wrote a paper in which they argued that “language is no different from other complex abilities, such as echolocation or stereopsis,” and that “the only way to explain the origin of such abilities is through the theory of natural selection.” Just as the eye — an organ of breathtaking complexity and specialization — evolved incrementally through the combined effects of random mutations and natural selection over millions of years, so, too, Pinker and Bloom insisted, did language. The authors were invited to present their paper at M.I.T., where Pinker was then a professor, and they learned that Chomsky had agreed to serve as a commentator. Kenneally quotes Bloom on his reaction to this news: “I was absolutely terrified. ... Chomsky is utterly merciless in debate.” In the end, Chomsky failed to show (apparently he had back trouble), and Pinker and Bloom went on to publish their paper in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, a leading scientific journal, where it appeared along with comments from 31 scientists, including one who titled his endorsement “Liberation!” “From that point on,” Kenneally writes, “more and more researchers felt that studying the origin and evolution of language was a legitimate academic inquiry.” Liberation has frequently taken a creative form. Lieberman compared the language and motor skills of Parkinson’s patients with those of climbers on Mount Everest. Both groups suffered damage to their basal ganglia: in the first case because of disease, in the second because of oxygen deprivation. Lieberman discovered that the higher the climbers went, the more difficulty they had forming speech — a complicated motor skill — and understanding sentences.One climber displayed such alarming deficits that Lieberman’s research team, which was monitoring the man by radio link, urged him to descend. He refused and several days later fell to his death. It turned out that the man had failed to properly attach his safety harness. The conclusion Lieberman drew from his study — that the basal ganglia, which in animals regulate motor skills, are also crucial for controlling human speech and thought — suggests how such an accident might have occurred. As Kenneally puts it: “It appears that the lack of oxygen supply to the basal ganglia affected the climber’s ability to follow the basic sequence of clipping and unclipping.” Alas, just as the science gets interesting, Kenneally inexplicably loses her way. She notes that more than a thousand studies on language evolution have been published since 1990, and she seems determined to cite as many as possible. Much of what she describes is fascinating: “gesture researchers” who train hidden cameras on apes in order to capture their repertoires of “muzzle wipes” and hand signals; neuroscientists who recently isolated the first gene known to play a role in communication; and a British linguist who studies the evolution of language by creating computer models in which a population of virtual humans must learn to communicate. But as a whole her book feels disjointed and repetitious, weighed down by superfluous details and lacking a narrative line that could braid the various strands together. Paradoxically, as Kenneally points out, much of the research suggests that both Chomsky and his adversaries have it at least partially right: on the one hand, humans are uniquely gifted at language; on the other, many species display behaviors and abilities that are necessary for language, and share, to an extent previously thought impossible, our neuroanatomy. No one knows precisely when or why we began to speak, but it seems clear that we developed the capacity in piecemeal fashion rather than in a single, momentous leap. Kenneally cites the work of Tecumseh Fitch, an evolutionary biologist who discovered that the human larynx, which lies low in the throat, allowing us to make a range of vowel and consonant sounds, is not the unique organ many researchers had assumed. Fitch found that animals like lions and koalas also have a descended larynx, and, equally important, he showed that bigger animals have deeper voices. The reason we evolved a descended larynx, he argues, has less to do with language than with the advantages that come with size. As Kenneally puts it, “If you hear a competitor wooing the female you are interested in, and you can tell from his voice alone that he is much bigger than you, slinking away without direct confrontation makes the most evolutionary sense.” In 2002, Fitch and Marc Hauser, another prominent evolutionary biologist, wrote a landmark paper with Chomsky, in which they acknowledged some of the recent work on the origins of language and defined the uniquely human aspect of language quite narrowly, as recursion (the capacity to embed phrases inside one another, as in “the woman reading the book about the ape who threw the carrot that the trainer had washed in the morning before arriving at the lab to...”). Three years later, when, at a symposium on the evolution of language, Chomsky was asked what he thought about the field, he remarked, “I wouldn’t have guessed it could go so far.” New Delhi's decision to 'muzzle' the net creates protest The doctor says: Patients and their illnesses are mostly continuous, unlike the disjointed care system that tries to treat them as a series of itemised episodes. The more we move towards free flow of patients and information across interfaces of care the better the NHS will work for patients. 1. Separated at the joints. 2. Out of joint; dislocated. 3. Lacking order or coherence: disjointed sentences. disjointedly dis·joint'ed·ly adv. disjointedness dis·joint'ed·ness n. Russian roulette (Russian: Русская рулетка, Russkaya ruletka) is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger. "Russian" refers to the supposed country of origin of the game and roulette to the element of risk-taking and the spinning of the revolver's cylinder being reminiscent of spinning a roulette wheel. 2. An act of reckless bravado. A revolver, as used in Muzzle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzzle - A muzzle may be: the snout of an animal; Muzzle (device), a device that covers an animal's snout; Muzzle (firearms), the mouth of a firearm; Muzzle (song), ... Search for, seek to discover, as in He was trying to root out the reason for her long absence. This idiom alludes to the way hogs dig by using their snouts. [Mid-1800s] root sth/sb out (GET RID OF) phrasal verb [M] muzzle (ANIMAL) noun [C] verb [T] 1 to put a muzzle on an animal: Dangerous dogs should be muzzled. 2 to stop a person or organization from expressing independent opinions: The new Secrecy Act will muzzle the media and the opposition. v., -bled, -bling, -bles. 1. To utter a meaningless confusion of words or sounds: Babies babble before they can talk. 2. To talk foolishly or idly; chatter: "In 1977 [he] was thought of as crazy because he was babbling about supply side" (Newt Gingrich). 3. To make a continuous low, murmuring sound, as flowing water. 1. To utter rapidly and indistinctly. 2. To blurt out impulsively; disclose without careful consideration. 1. Inarticulate or meaningless talk or sounds. 2. Idle or foolish talk; chatter. [Middle English babelen.] ax·i·om (ăk'sē-əm) pronunciation 1. A self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim: "It is an economic axiom as old as the hills that goods and services can be paid for only with goods and services" (Albert Jay Nock). 2. An established rule, principle, or law. [Middle English, from Old French axiome, from Latin axiōma, axiōmat-, from Greek, from axios, worthy.] (hăf'trūth', häf'-) Line breaks: snout Definition of snout in English: 1The projecting nose and mouth of an animal, especially a mammal:sea lion balanced a ball on its snout 1.1informal A person’s nose:a guard with a pair of vicious piggy eyes above asnarling snout 1.2The projecting front or end of something such as a pistol:he was stopped by the snout of her pistol 2British informal cigarette. 2.1[MASS NOUN] Tobacco. 3British informal police informer:his arrest had been the work of some anonymoussnout 4(also snout moth) A European moth with long palps that extend in front of the head like a snout. Middle English: from Middle DutchMiddle Low German snūt; related to snot.
Saliva begins to change starch in food into ______. Expert Answers t-nez eNotes educator\| Certified Educator Saliva in the mouth contains an enzyme called amylase that catalyzes the breakdown of dietary starch into simple sugars. This is the first chemical step in digestion. Amylase is made by the pancreas and secreted by the salivary glands. Starch is a polymer of simple sugars. A polymer is a very long molecule with repeating units, in this case monosaccharides or simple sugars. Amylase breaks the starch molecules into disaccharides and trisaccharides, molecules made of two and three simple sugars respectively. These molecules are further broken down into monosaccharides, mostly glucose, by other enzymes. You may have noticed starchy foods starting to taste slightly sweet as you chew them. This is because their starch is being converted to sugar in your mouth. Access hundreds of thousands of answers with a free trial. Start Free Trial Ask a Question
Foreword Reviews • Articles • #climatechange Climate Change Education: Hints and Tips for Teaching Kids How to Tell What's Real Global Warming Education At the end of The Wizard Who Saved the World, says author Jeffrey Bennett, we want kids to leave any school discussion of global warming with the belief that they, too, have the power to be a “wizard” who can help us build a better world for all. Editor’s Note: This is part of our ongoing #IndieVoices series of commentaries and features in the month of March focusing on Climate Change. Read the introduction to the series here. Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.H.G. Wells, The Outline of History, 1920 Climate Change The topic of global warming is clearly relevant to the H.G. Wells quotation above, because it is widely misunderstood even as it represents a serious threat to the future of our civilization. As a scientist, educator, and author of books focusing on global warming both for grownups (A Global Warming Primer) and for children (The Wizard Who Saved the World), I’ll offer a few hints about how to educate successfully while avoiding the pitfalls that often arise with this topic. Hint 1: Keep the scientific focus on ‘how we know’ Science is often presented as a collection of facts, but we can’t expect students or the public to accept facts without explaining how we know them. I like to present the basic scientific case with what I call “global warming 1-2-3,” and it goes like this: Fact: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, by which we mean a gas that traps heat and makes a planet (like Earth or Venus) warmer than it would be otherwise. How we know it’s a fact: (1) The greenhouse effect has been observed and measured in the laboratory for more than 150 years; (2) We can explain planetary temperatures successfully only when we account for the greenhouse effect. Fact: Human activity, especially the use of fossil fuels—by which we mean coal, oil, and gas, all of which release carbon dioxide when burned—is adding significantly more of this heat-trapping gas to Earth’s atmosphere. How we know it’s a fact: We have directly measured the rapidly rising concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and chemical analysis shows that this added carbon dioxide is coming primarily from fossil fuels. Inevitable Conclusion: We should expect the rising carbon dioxide concentration to warm our planet, with the warming becoming more severe as we add more carbon dioxide. Once students and the public understand this 1-2-3 science and the evidence behind it, they can see why the basic idea of global warming is not subject to any dispute at all. Indeed, you’ll notice this fact in the media debate: While you’ll sometimes hear scientists debating intricacies of climate models or satellite measurements, you’ll never hear a debate over the 1-2-3 science. To put it another way: No one with any scientific training disputes the fact that global warming will occur; the debate is only over how quickly it will occur and how much of a threat it represents. Hint 2: Make the science meaningful Science education often focuses strictly on scientific concepts, but not everyone finds the science inherently appealing. If we want to get all of our students to learn science, we need a broader approach that makes the science meaningful. I recommend a three-pronged focus on “education, perspective, and inspiration” for all science teaching, and here I’ll give the example of how it applies to global warming: Education. The education piece is the science content. The specific content will vary with grade level, but the general focus should be on the idea that global warming is an easily understood scientific idea, backed by strong evidence that anyone can investigate for themselves. Perspective. The science of global warming can shift our perspective in many ways, but perhaps the most significant is in the way it changes our perspective on our relationship with our planet. The present generation is the first generation in the history of the human race that has ever had the ability to cause large-scale changes to the global environment. This means that while past generations could in some sense think of themselves as being at the mercy of “mother nature,” we now control our own climate destiny. The choices we make today will determine the type of environment in which our descendants will live for centuries or millennia to come. Inspiration. Global warming is scary, but rather than leaving students feeling overwhelmed and worried, we want to use the topic to inspire them in positive ways. For example, we should always show them that global warming is a solvable problem, and that the potential solutions could mean new ideas and technologies that would give us the kind of future that children like to dream about. In other words, as you’ll see at the end of The Wizard Who Saved the World (illustration above), we want kids to leave any school discussion of global warming with the belief that they, too, have the power to be a “wizard” who can help us build a better world for all. Hint 3: Teach across disciplines Global warming is based in science, but it affects virtually everything. Therefore, it should be taught across the curriculum in appropriate contexts. For example, the graphs and data of global warming can be presented and discussed in math; the impacts of global warming can be discussed in social science; and the policy issues of global warming can be discussed in terms of government and politics. The inspiration piece above can be used to spur thought about future career options, which can be turned into such things as art or music activities for younger children and career discussions for middle and high school kids. If you are a teacher, use your creativity to find ways to integrate teaching about global warming into all of your subjects. Hint 4: Adapt to grade and course level My final hint concerns the fact that this topic is so important that we should be revisiting it with students every year, with increasing levels of sophistication as students get older. A few broad suggestions by grade level: Grades K-2: At this age, we cannot expect kids to understand the scientific arguments, so instead we should focus on things like “what you can do to help,” thereby inspiring kids to think about how this societal problem can translate to opportunities for their own futures. Grades 3-5: Children in this age group are beginning to build critical thinking capabilities, so this is the ideal time to introduce the 1-2-3 science above; they are also ready to begin learning about how to read graphs and evaluate evidence. Grades 6-8: We can begin to differentiate by course in middle school. For example, social science classes should include discussion of the sociological and international impacts of global warming, while math and science classes can begin to look more deeply at data collection and analysis. High school: Students are ready for much more depth. For example, learning to critically evaluate evidence and arguments, learning the principles of mathematical modeling in general and climate modeling in particular, and discussing pros and cons of various potential solutions to the problem of global warming. In closing, please keep in mind that the above set of hints is a very short list based on my personal views about teaching. I hope it will be of use to some of you, but be sure to consult other sources as well as you go out to teach children about climate science and global warming. Jeffrey Bennett Jeffrey Bennett, a winner of the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award, is the author of numerous books for college students, children, and the public, including seven books that have been launched into space. Learn more about his books at Big Kid Science. Load Next Article
12/07/2011 01:27 pm ET Updated Feb 06, 2012 Channeling the Trustbuster It is fashionable in political circles today to say that speeches don't matter much. What's important isn't what people say, so this line of thinking goes, but what they do. Presidents and many other politicians break promises -- they fail to follow up on strong words -- they sometimes start in a certain place but then fold when the going gets tough. With cynicism about politicians justifiably high given what results they have and have not been delivering to the American people, this is an easy thing to believe. While I have a high degree of skepticism about politicians, and know painfully well how often they fall short of their words, I am of a different view about the importance of speeches. Not most of them: having had a career in politics for more than 30 years, I have heard enough hot air and empty promises to fill up a planet the size of Jupiter. But if you look at American history, there are dozens of examples when a speech quite literally changed the course of our nation's history. Presidents and senators and candidates, movement leaders and ministers, generals and scholars have all given important speeches that mattered. The speeches from the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and at least three speeches from Lincoln's presidency -- especially the Gettysburg Address -- that redefined our nation's thinking about itself; the great Congressional debates between Webster, Calhoun, and Clay about slavery and the nature of our government; the stunning Frederick Douglass "Power concedes nothing without a demand" speech that has shaped progressive movements' strategy ever since; the towering "Cross of Gold" speech by William Jennings Bryan that forever changed the course of the Democratic party; Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first inaugural address that restored confidence that our nation would survive those terrible moments of the Great Depression; John F. Kennedy's amazing inaugural address, which helped inspire a generation to activism; Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech; Jimmy Carter's disastrous "malaise" speech; Ronald Reagan's "government is the problem" speech. These are just a few examples of the many speeches that have made a real difference in American history. Some of the above are presidential speeches. When presidents give an important speech, it matters not only in terms of historical worth, but in shaping the trajectory of what is to come in the rest of their presidency. When a president makes a big, dramatic, attention getting speech in a richly symbolic and historic setting, they are laying down a marker that becomes hard to walk away from, and are giving their presidency a context and definition that matters -- especially if the members of their party and the activists to whom the speech is addressed to take up the banner. In fact, in a funny kind of way, it is precisely by taking up the banner of such a speech -- praising it, embracing it, repeating its best lines and themes, giving it the maximum attention over a sustained period of time -- that allows activists and movements that care about what the president said to hold him accountable. It becomes that much harder for a president to walk away from the ideas and values that inform such a big speech if people keep referencing and highlighting and quoting it. So it is with yesterday's superb President Obama speech channeling the great progressive trust-busting President Teddy Roosevelt. By going to Osawatomie, Kansas -- where Teddy Roosevelt gave another one of those speeches that changed American history by calling for a new progressive movement and policies that would build the great American middle class in the decades to follow as much of Roosevelt's vision became law -- Obama essentially launched his 2012 re-election campaign by declaring himself a pro-middle class populist progressive in direct confrontational contrast to a Republican Party that has decided it wants to repeal the 20th Century. Progressives should enthusiastically embrace this speech and quote it everywhere we go. The president should be thanked for taking up our banner, and making it his. I know this runs counter to the thinking of many of my friends in the progressive movement. They argue that Obama has not been the bold progressive Teddy (or his cousin Franklin) were. They point out that rather than being a Teddy Roosevelt trustbuster, his administration has not moved to break up the big banks, has not moved aggressively to prosecute any Wall Street bankers even though there is plenty of evidence for doing so, and has compromised too often with the extremist right-wing Republicans in Congress. They say he hasn't always pursued progressive policies he has advocated in past speeches with enough aggressiveness. These are fair points which I won't argue with here. But they miss the importance of yesterday's speech, and the fundamental way progressives should approach this moment. Having switched gears from an ideologically neutered "Win the Future" message to being a full-throated fighter for the 99 percent (Obama used the phrase middle class 25 times yesterday compared to zero times in his last State of the Union speech), if progressives embrace this speech and make it the most famous and oft-quoted speech of the next year, Obama will need on a policy front to be a fighter for, as he put it, for "the middle class, and all those fighting to get into the middle class." If this becomes the defining speech for the Obama campaign in 2012, it makes it a lot harder for administration officials sympathetic to Wall Street to cut sweetheart deals on their behalf. It makes the administration's choice on an issue like the banking settlement talks a lot more likely to go the way of middle-class homeowners instead of Bank of America's way. It makes it easier for unions to get the administration to issue executive orders that improve pay and benefits. It makes it easier for progressives to keep bad deals on extending the Bush tax cuts for the top 1 percent from being agreed to. It makes it easier to get the president and the broader Democratic Party to come out clearly in favor of legislation like the Harkin-DeFazio financial speculation tax or the Schakowsky jobs bill. If progressives keep praising and quoting from this speech, it will become the defining speech of the Obama presidency. And if that means the president keeps channeling the ultimate challenger of the big corporate and financial trusts of the last Gilded Age, which works by me. When Teddy Roosevelt pushed for a national park system, food safety laws, a minimum wage, universal health care, and busting up the big corporate trusts a century ago, he was being a bold progressive thinker, and his leadership changed America and helped create the most prosperous middle class the world has ever seen. If that is who President Obama wants to emulate, I am happy to help.
biserica.org:compendium:articles:christianlife: CLERGY: Priests, Pastors - definitions CLERGY: Priests, Pastors - definitions CLERGY: Priests, Pastors - definitions 1. "clergy"---are people ordained for religious work---specifically--"priests/pastors" Notice that these two terms are spoken of in the same context---defined honestly, there is very little difference between a pastor and a priest, both functionally and traditionally. But the deeper understanding comes when we read the very next definition--- 2. "cleric"--again, this word describes the job of a priest/pastor--a member of the clergy--but in this definition, the dictionary looks to the origin of this term...."originally, lot, allotment; first applied (in the Septuagint) to the Levites... "This is a very very important Biblical and historical point! The definitions of the functions of a priest/pastor---"pastoral authority"--come from the concept of the Levitical priesthood of the old covenant. This is clear and apparent if we look honestly at the traditional function and operation of "pastors" in our churches---it is openly taught to pastors--and here it is obvious as historical fact and modern function as the writers of the dictionary see it. The historical fact is that the definitions of a "priest" as the local representative of the church come from the Roman empire church (which became the catholic/orthodox institution). The Romans invented the idea of a priest--using the Levitical priesthood as the basis. The Levite of the old covenant was the "anointed, appointed, delegated authority" who had the right to do the ministry in the temple, and collect and live of the tithe. This definition and function of "ministry" as authority over the people (exactly what Jesus said ministry is NOT!)--tied to the collecting of tithe and all the "rights' that went along with it (specifically the sole right to teach within the church) was invented by the Romans, cemented into place by over 1,000 years of a catholic/orthodox ("one universal") church in Europe, and not changed by the reformation at all (see these history documents) The plain fact is that the priest of the catholic/orthodox church, became the pastor of the protestant church. 3. "clerk"--notice the definitions of this word. In the modern sense, a "clerk" is a salesman---but look carefully at definitions 5 and 6. The archaic definition (the meaning of this word in the dark ages), was a clergyman. A "clerk" was another word for a clergyman---and definition number 6 gives us a better understanding--"person who can read and write..." In the dark ages, the priest of the local parish was one of the few people who understood how to read and write. It was an important function of the "clergy" of that day, to read and write documents for the common people. So now, understand how this translated to the church service. The priest of that day, being one of the few literate people in the village, obviously had the right to read scripture and teach the Bible (although the catholic/orthodox institution kept strict control over the Bible, limiting even the priest in many ways). So again, we see a church tradition that "only the pastor/priest can teach the people"---as actually a dark ages concept that had to do with literacy. Well, you may be asking, what is wrong with using the Levitical priesthood as the basis for operating the church? Well, for one thing, the Bible, in the new covenant, very specifically does away with the Levitical priesthood..... Read Hebrews chapters 7-10. The new testament clearly does away with the Levitical priesthood, and gives us a new priesthood----which is a priesthood for every believer. The entire church is called a "priesthood"(1Peter 2) and we are all called "kings and priests" (Revelation 1, 5) and the new covenant ministry gifts are "given unto every one of us" (Ephesians 4). the functioning of the church in the Bible is on a "common level" (Acts 2, 4)---and there is not a hint of "pastoral authority" in the description of church operation found in 1Corinthians---simply the description of ministry and Spiritual gifts in all members of a "body"---Christ is the ONE and ONLY HEAD of the church---HE is the only ONE who has AUTHORITY OVER the church. <<<........................Select your version .......................>>>
Usability of Multiple Degree-of-Freedom Input Devices and Virtual Reality Displays for Interactive Visual Data Analysis Document Type Conference Proceeding Publication Date Find this in a Library Catalog Record Interactive virtual reality applications commonly require two key technologies: multiple degree-of-freedom input devices, and 2D or 3D displays. The industry has developed a vast variety of devices for a growing consumer market. Consumer magazines regularly publish test reports for new devices. These reports are often focused on the gaming community, which is typically the driving force behind new product development. Although many lessons can be learned from the gaming industry, the scientific community is generally focused on other criteria, such as precision, degrees of freedom, and user tracking. It is expected that some of these criteria, which are currently in the state of research, will eventually be incorporated into products for a mass market, just like consumer graphics cards and certain input devices did in the past. This study is an attempt to provide an overview of existing 2D and 3D input device and display technologies for interactive scientific visualization applications. Different types of input devices and displays were tested in combination with each other. The article explains why certain combinations of input devices and displays work together better than others. Presented at the ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, Newport Beach, CA, November 5-7, 2007. Catalog Record
1. VOA英语学习网 4. 手机版 1. 英语学习网站推荐 2. 剑桥英语考试认证 3. 外教口语面对面课程 In a string of messages on Twitter, President Trump confirmed he's under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and also appeared to criticize Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The President wrote, "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt." Rosenstein's May memo critical of ex-FBI Director James Comey's performance was among the reasons cited by the President in Comey's firing. Soon after Comey's ouster, Rosenstein appointed Mueller to lead the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. At the White House, Jon Decker, FOX News. 来自：VOA英语网文章地址: http://www.tingvoa.com/html/20170623/468617.html
Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Evaluation and Scoring Projects are judged based on Scientific Thought, Experimental Methods, Analytical Approach and your Presentation. The following is an explanation of the scoring process and the standards for awards. You may also review the Presentation Guidelines and Scoring Rubrics for more specific details. 1. Research projects are judged on there own merit in meeting the PJAS criteria for judging rather than in competition with other projects. 2. There is no limit to the number of each award that may be given in any presentation room. 3. Each category of the judging criteria shall be scored on a 5-point system using integers only. 5 = excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = fair, and 1 = poor. 4. The student shall receive an Award based solely on the average score per category per judge calculated by the following formula: Average Score = (Total score of all judges)/(5 x Total number of judges) The standards for Awards are: 5. Judges should return to the Judging Headquarters or Talley Room to tally scores. Each judge shall make his/hers own evaluation of the presentations independent of the other members of the judging team. However, the team may confer to reach a final evaluation for the students' awards. Judges must sign both the Score Sheet and Summary Sheet before turning them in. 6. Judges should complete the Judge's Comment Sheet if one is provided. These comments will be given to the students' sponsor. You are here: Home Evaluation and Scoring Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science
Sound & Sound design The definition; Sound is a stream of pressure variations in the air. From 1000 - 4000 Hz is the area of which our hearing as human beings is at the best. We describe frequencies as sound by either desibel or volume. • The pain threshold for the human ear is at - 120 decibels • There are a lot of different aspects to think about when, performing, recording, playing sound. • A room´s proportions and size, as well as design, to not forget about how angles of walls breaks up the sound, and how the things, such as furniture, and in general the room´s content affects the sound. • This is why music studios, concert halls, and venues are designed the way they are. With soft fabric-covered cases on the walls, combining both soft and hard surfaces, stairs or hollow ceilings in concert venues. It has all thoroughly been thought about and considered when constructing the building or studio. • We operate with mainly two sampling frequencies when it comes to sound; 44.1 KHz (Kilo hertz) and 48 KHz. • There is only one of these that are used to work with in film, which is 48 KHz because this number adds up with 24 fps (frames per second). Which originates from when they first started putting film and sound together back in the days, when they filmed on film - 24 fps. // sound waves and how the particles of sound and vibrations travels through the air to our ears: // Important elements in sound are voice, environment sound, effect sound, and music. - EPDE - Estimates - what to come, what will we hear about. Presentation - presenting the main topic, main sound. Development - the development of the topic/action, what happens next. Ending - round up and ending. There are two main types of microphones, dynamic and condenser microphones. The condenser microphone is powered by an electrical voltage, to be able to function - this voltage is called phantom power and is usually at +48 volt. Microphones have different pickup patterns, which is always a good thing to remember and consider when recording sound. One pattern might for example: suit a swimming hall better than the other, depending on whether you want to record the sound of just a swimmer in the water, or all the people talking and yelling in the hall. These are the four different pickup patterns a microphone can have; Digital News Production As the sound set engineer and sound designer of our production, it was important for me to make sure that we would get the best out of the sound as we could. First of all, I requested the sound equipment I felt would fit our production, and we all agreed one what to actually book out. We wanted to have a clip mic "cardioid" to record our presenter and contributor, as well as we wanted a location sound kit with zoom and +48 "cardioid" condenser microphone and additionally a Rode mic "omnidirectional" to mount on top of one of the DSLR´s. • I also had to think about the room we were filming in, which was the Lecture room right next to the baseroom. We stacked all the chairs in one end of the room, which left the room with a bit of echo and empty sound. • For the interview, we carried in the couch from the base room as well as two tables, some plants and a couple of cushions. And altogether when we had set up the camera equipment and lights, plus the amount of people in the room, five, we managed to make the room sound nice. Not to empty and not too full. • For the green screen shoot, we were in the same room, and also stacked the chairs in the other end of the room. This time the massive green screen blanket and all the light equipment plus camera and crew helped to make the room sound authentic. • We had some issues one of the first shooting days with the clip mic, and got some help from Ferg to find the right channel for the mic to connect to. And from there on it went really well. • In post some of these recordings could have a tendency to peak a little if the person spoke too loudly, but we have still managed to make it work. I have learned until next time, how to check the clip mic settings properly and are more confident in being able to source out the issue if it were to happen again. • With sound, as my former sound teacher thought me "shit in - shit out", so you always have to do your best to get good sound while you are there recording. If it sounds shit while recording, it will sound shit in post, and you most likely will not be able to fix it. Sound design: The definition; Sound design is the eastethic completed and put together sound image in film and/or theater. It consists of creating the whole sound universe for the particular play or film and storyline, either by the use of sound effects for huge explosions. Or subtle sounds to underpin and enhance the mood and feelings. • A sound designer manages the editing of sound and effects in post-production but does often also start their work at the same time as other sound editors. • The main task for a sound designer is to notice and identify the three main sound effects that are needed. • They use synthesizers, samplers and audio lup-ins to manipulate and edit the original recordings to achieve the sounds and effects they need. • The final mix is when all the different aspects of the sound universe come together at the end to fulfill the sound image. Consisting of; dialogue, automated dialogue replacement, foley, atmosphere, music and special effects tracks are blended together. Diegetic sound Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound Diegesis is a Greek word for "recounted story" The film's diegesis is the total world of the story action - Any sound presented as originated from the source within the film´s world and universe. - The source is basically who or what actually makes the sound we see on screen, so for example, a person speaking, a dog barking, a dishwasher rumbling - we hear what we see. - It can however, be either on or off screen depending on whether its source is within the frame or outside the frame. Non-diegetic sound Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound. - Non-diegetic sound where the source of any sound can be heard by the audience, but not by the characters on screen themselves. - Non-direct sound, as for example background music is a prime example. - Basically, we can say the non-diegetic sound is sounds that do not naturally belong in the true and natural sound universe. - However it does contribute to make the film and sound universe whole and complete. Digital News Production As the sound designer for our project, it has been important to think about sound effects, music, as well as both diegetic - and non-diegetic sound to be able to build the sound universe to match our project. When we all sat down and wrote the script for the production, we added in different voice references to viral videos or sensations. As well as we planned ahead for future sound effects, as we had to think about how these would play a big part in our production. • When we came to post we pretty much had the sound effects lined up, and planned where which of them would go where. • Everyone has chipped in and thrown different ideas on the table, as to what will work where, and what will sound good. • We took on board the feedback we got, as to make sure levels between music and dialogue will be correct and that one of them will not out power the other - and make the audience lose focus. • Particularly for this production, the effects, music and whole sound universe plays a big part - as it is a fast and up to date paced piece wich has to contain sound relevant to topics and characters. - - - //Images from //Sources from You may also like No comments: Television by Ida Frank. Powered by Blogger.
How human body's defence mechanism kills deadly salmonella bacteria May 28, 2011 - Washington Researchers from the Goethe University have found the mechanism through which body cells recognize salmonella bacteria and render it harmless. The human defense system manages to digest invading bacteria, which is why a healthy human being will only fall ill if he consumes more than 100.000 salmonella bacteria via contaminated food source, such as eggs or meat. Salmonella infection is known to begin with bacteria entering the epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa. To prevent them from multiplying, special cell organelles called autophagosomes are activated. These encircle the invaders and then become absorbed in other organelles called lysosomes containing certain special digestive enzymes, which break down the bacteria into their constituent parts. However, the study explains how autophagosomes recognize salmonella bacteria. The salmonella are marked as 'waste material' by the molecule ubiquitin. For the autophagosomes to become active, the marked bacteria have to bind to another molecule - LC3 - on the autophagosomal membrane. Here, the Protein optineurin links the marked Salmonella to the autophagosmal LC3, thereby setting off a process of selective autophagy. "We suspect that phosphorylation acts as a regulated switch to trigger selective autophagy of bacteria but might also prove significant in other cargoes like Protein aggregates or damaged mitochondria," said Prof. Ivan Dikic from the Goethe University in Frankfurt. The study appears in the scientific journal "Science". Comment on this story
≡ Menu How To Sharpen And Improve Your Short Term Memory Short-term, as the wording would suggest is the part of your memory which stores information for a brief duration of time. It is where information which you will not be required to refer to again is kept such as the price of a particular product in the supermarket, for example. The amount of information and the length of time it can be retained in this location depends on the attentiveness of the individual. If we want to remember a particular piece of information we tend to repeat it over and over again so it sticks in our mind. It is not normal for the majority of people to be able to recall information from their short term memory, unless they practice techniques to deliver the data to the long term memory. As an example of this let’s look at trying to remember a phone number. The number in question is an average seven digit number of 4372819. If you try to memorize this number by one digit at a time, five minutes later and you are not likely to be able to recall the number. Now give it another go by remembering the numbers in two’s, 43-72-81-9, except for the 9 at the end. Allow yourself five minutes and try to recall the number in this manner. You will find by breaking the whole number down into three sections + the 9 you have a much greater chance of recalling the number. The number is no different to before and you are still the same person with the same brain. Don’t you think the two completely different results are amazing? So, how do I improve my short term memory, I hear you ask? The simple answer is to practice all of the time. The more practice you put in the longer you will be able to keep your short term memory active. Practice by trying to remember phone numbers, pin numbers, car registration numbers and so on and so forth, but make sure you use the strategy outlined earlier. One form of common short term memory practice we use on a regular basis is our shopping list. If you are not writing the list down and have to remember it in your head this is a fool proof way of committing it to memory. You have nine items to buy, such as hair dye, chocolate syrup, milk, jam, hair gel, coke, shoe polish, shampoo, and deodorant. With these items in mind form a story in your head which relates to each thing on your list. For example, have a mental picture of dyeing your hair with chocolate syrup then washing it out with milk. You then put jam on your head instead of gel and then have to wash it all out using shampoo. Now you polish your shoes, have a quick squirt of deodorant, pop your bottle of coke in your bag and leave the house to go to work. Creating a story like this keeps all the items you require in one spot instead of being wildly scattered all over the place. We can see from this example that short term memory helps us to carry out our daily tasks in an effective and efficient manner. It’s almost like having paper and pencil at the ready on a permanent basis. However, it should be noted that persons who are severely traumatized need to always ensure their therapist is present when using imagery as this can be dangerous when used during a disordered state of mind. { 2 comments… add one } • Editor at SpiritualBlog.com June 5, 2008, 2:37 pm This was very helpful. I have dugg it. • Kitty June 9, 2008, 5:56 pm I agree with you. I actually do this when I’m on the train. Instead of aimlessly staring off into space, I’d memorize little details about the passangers aand test myself. Leave a Comment
Tough Testing - Shear Stability What is shear stability? Multigrade engine oils are formulated with viscosity modifiers – large molecules which control oil viscosity (which thus provide engine protection) under different operating temperatures. Under stress, these molecules may ‘shear’, affecting their ability to control viscosity Shear stability is a measure of the ability of an oil to stay in SAE viscosity grade i.e. SAE 40 stays as an SAE 40 Why does it matter? The viscosity characteristics of any oil are precisely matched to the application and operating conditions it is recommended for. Shearing of the viscosity modifiers means the oil can become thinner and less protective, i.e. an SAE 40 grade could drop down to SAE 30. How the new DURONTM handles shear stability. The introduction of new shear-resistant components significantly improves new DURON’s resistance to shearing – even in the latest heavy duty diesel engines. With the durability to stay in grade, new DURON promises better long-term protection and better economy through the use of lower viscosity oil. Performance challenges Oxidation Control > Aeration Control > Get updates Sign up
Is the Nicotine in E-Cigarettes Harmful? Is the Nicotine in E-Cigs Dangerous? Electronic cigarettes have been found to be as effective as gums or nicotine patches in helping heavy smokers quit permanently. Instead of inhaling toxic and harmful substances in tobacco, electronic cigarette users merely inhale the vapor form of liquid nicotine. According to Robert West, Health Psychology professor at London, e-cigarettes could change and save millions of lives. However, the big question is the best means to do it, and any cultural or regulatory environment that can be established to ensure successful results. Private consultant Dr. Jacques Le Houezec shares this view, and he has been studying the effects of tobacco and nicotine among users. He believes that the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes remain less than what regular cigarettes offer. Thus, e-cig use must not be over regulated. A Healthier Option Electronic cigarettes may be relatively new, which means there remains a need for extensive studies to be done to check completely the health impact of these devices. To obtain a reliable and larger clinical data, there must be more studies made on a bigger group of e-cig users for a number of years. In experiments involving rats, scientific studies showed that there were barely any harmful effects when these animals inhaled nicotine for about two years. This was based on a study conducted in 1996, and it reassured researchers when it comes to the safety of electric cigarettes. However, there are still some concerns about the increase in use of e-cigarettes. In fact, the World Health Organization has reminded consumers to avoid using e-cigs until they are proven to be safe and healthy. They believe that there are undetermined risks in using these devices, and the vapor’s contents are yet to be studied thoroughly. Years back, it may be surprising to see people smoking inside the hospital, airport, office, or even in cinemas. Nowadays, though, these individuals smoke electronic cigarettes instead of traditional or tobacco cigarettes. These devices may resemble the real thing, or even a pen. What these cigarettes do is provide your body with nicotine in a vaporized form. It works on a rechargeable battery that helps heat the mechanism that vaporizes the nicotine found inside the cartridge, so what people inhale is just vapor. Some electronic cigarette manufacturers claim the safety of these devices, which can also help people quit smoking. Yet, there are more critics that say these claims are still unproven. Opting for a Healthier Alternative It may be true that electronic cigarettes do not have more than 4000 toxic compounds created when a tobacco cigarette is lit. It is important to note that these components are carcinogenic and harmful to one’s health such as nitrogen oxides, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and carbon monoxide. However, it is important to note that nicotine may be highly addictive, and those who use e-cigarettes may not be aware of the amount of nicotine they get when they use these devices. A lack of quality control and regulation may mean there will be an inconsistency in each puff of smokeless cigarette. The FDA has already issued a health warning about the use of electronic cigarettes after several tests were conducted, and they discovered the presence of diethylene glycol in one of the cartridges that were sampled. This substance is found in anti-freeze, and it can cause serious health problems when ingested by humans. In addition, there were some levels of nitrosamine that may be carcinogenic once inhaled. Bottom Line Overall, e-cigs remain to be a viable option for those who wish to quit their addiction to smoking tobacco cigarettes. These devices may contain nicotine, yet there is an absence of thousands of harmful chemicals that can affect your health in a negative way. You can choose from different levels of nicotine, which means you may be able to reduce your nicotine intake in the long run. Hence, e-cigarettes may indeed prove to be a better option for heavy smokers who wish to quit completely.
Active vs. Passive Learning Elaborate. Monkey. Thinking about our thinking is an important step to maximizing our potential for learning. Metacognition during learning allows us to evaluate our own learning to determine if it is being effective. Am I really learning the material? Do I really understand the material? Thinking about our own comprehension is an important part of any learning process. I recently read an article by Kathrin Stanger-Hall, a biology professor at UGA who has an interest in evaluating the effectiveness of teaching strategies. This article points out the difference between active and passive learning strategies. For example, passive learning may be limited to the following mindless study habits: • Reading the material • Going to class • Making index cards • Highlighting • Looking up information • Reviewing notes On the surface, these behaviors seem like learning. However, while these activities may be parts of a successful learning process, they do not include an active awareness where the student is working to connect the information within a larger context or to evaluate self-understanding of the material. Active approaches to learning would augment these activities with the following sort of thinking: • Asking "How does it work?" • Drawing the process or system • Writing study questions to evaluate self-understanding • Reorganizing information into new categories • Comparing and contrasting information This type of approach to learning leverages the concept of elaboration that we've discussed before: somewhat non-intuitively, our brains seem to encode information better with more details and comparisons, rather than less. As we learn, metacognition should be simmering in the background. Are we learning? How can we connect this with other information we understand? How could we distill the essential elements? This self-awareness is essential for learning to remain productive and efficient. Is Introspection Useful? Look within. I have this intuitive sense that it's useful to think about our thinking, a.k.a to engage in introspection or metacognition. For me, this intuition has swollen to become even more, a bit of an obsession. Practical introspection could be considered the founding principle of this blog. But is my intuitive sense correct? Is introspection useful? Or, is it a narcissistic drain on our cognitive resources? At the core of my personal philosophy toward introspection is an inherent skepticism. Essentially, I propose that the goal of introspection is to adopt a stance of skepticism toward our own thinking with the objective of tuning our decision making to improve our mental lives and get better at life. Skepticism truly is at the heart of this process. I propose that improvement requires a continuous process of asking "Is this bullshit?" even (or especially) about our own thoughts. By calling bullshit on our own habitual modes of thinking, we can reach a new understanding about the cognitive traps we might be falling into on a daily basis that cause us stress or hold us back from our goals. We can then slowly work to discard these destructive patterns of thought with healthier ones. As I've mentioned, this just makes sense to me. But I could imagine a scenario where this might get out of hand. The term "analysis paralysis" comes to mind. One could introspect his life away, questioning each layer of decision making until he is frozen in inaction. Of course, nothing in life is inherently good or bad, it's all how something is applied. Exercise is a great example. If done responsibly, exercise is beneficial. You can get healthier and more physically fit. However if one were to exercise to the point of excess, injury or illness may result. Introspection must be the same way. There must be a self-analyzing sweet spot. But what is that balance? Ironically, my excessive introspection has led me to believe that the sweet spot is far on the side of less thinking. As I have skeptically analyzed my thoughts as they have floated by over the years, I have come to realize that most of them can be binned as useless "worrying". I have come to loathe thinking that does not perform a useful service to me and I have found that most thinking is useless thinking. This line of thinking has led my to another principle. I propose that thinking is useless unless it results in a decision and, typically, an action. In other words, thinking is just energy-sapping wheel-spinning unless it actually cause you to do something in the real world that has consequences. Furthermore, by taking action we are essentially performing a mini-experiment about how our actions impact reality. We can then learn from our actions and plan our next actions based on evidence. This mode of thinking-while-acting is very close to my personal interpretation of flow and is the default state that I try to achieve. Here's how it's playing out right now in my dome... Me: Well, Homunculus, is introspection useful? Homunculus: I think the answer is yes if the objective is to squash negative thinking that impairs our ability to make shit happen. In other words, I propose that we should be skeptical that all of our thinking is useful and be ruthless in turning those thoughts off that get in our way. Me: How do I know if it's negative thinking and not a rational weighing of risks? I shouldn't always charge head first into a situation. That's risky! Homunculus: It's hard to know for sure what will happen but start taking some actions in the direction that seems the best and see what happens. You'll learn more by experimenting in this way then by worrying about abstractions. Me: But I'm worried about this, that, and the other thing... What if they happen? Homunculus: Again, it's all theoretical. Take some small actions in the direction that looks most promising (test the waters, if you must) and learn/think with some new information at hand. Me: Homunculus, you're the man. Homunculus: No, you're the man. Stay happy! Don't Don't Break the Chain... Make the Chain! Make the chain! (source: Wikipedia) One of the worst productivity tips I've ever heard came from Jerry Seinfeld. Here's the "tip": never skip a day of work. Specifically, as a comedian-writer Seinfeld's goal was to write as much as possible. To this end, he marked a calendar with a big red "X" for every day he worked. After a few days of this, a chain of X's would form. Then came the productivity goal: "Don't break the chain." I've tried this trick for some activities and I've found it to be a terrible piece of advice. Here's why: I always failed. Eventually, I broke the chain. Eventually, life reared up and made it impossible to stick with a habit. Something always comes up: illness, events, deadlines, fatigue. And guess what? Failing sucks! The problem with "Don't Break the Chain" is that it is an avoidance goal: it frames a goal or habit as something not to do. The problem with this is that doesn't describe the behavior that one should be doing and leaves too much room for failure, as I've described. Instead, I propose the following counter to Seinfeld's tip: "Make a chain." Track every time you do something. Make a check mark. Stick a sticker. Put a coin in a jar. Whatever. Just give yourself credit for every time you do it right and keep track of how many times you did it. In this case, it doesn't matter if you skip a day. Pick up the next day, or the next. Or the next week. Small failures don't matter if your goal is to make a huge chain; just pick up where you left off. This has worked great for me while I've taken up running. At first, I got all bummed out when I missed a day of my running plan: I broke the chain. But then I reframed the goal as "make the chain" and now I can never fail. If I miss a day, I just pick up where I left off. Each workout I complete, I cross it off. I see a permanent record of my progress that cannot be taken away. Stay happy :) The Psychology of Anthropomorphism Author: Mowaffak Allaham Further Readings: Is Meditation Self-Help Bullshit? Are you wasting your time, meditating monkey? A recent article by Virginia Heffernan in the New York Time Magazine is excoriating the gradual westernization of mindfulness meditation, demonizing this trend as somehow running counter to the essence of this ancient practice. I think at the heart of this article is a desire to protect people from self-help snake oil but there is a palpable vibe in the article of an anti-self-help bias that is unfortunate. As I've discussed before, our attitudes about change influence our ability to change. So, while I agree with Ms. Heffernan that self-help advice should be evaluated critically, binning the entire self-help movement as bullshit isn't helping anyone either. In this context, I can't help but reevaluate the purpose of mindfulness meditation (and mindfulness, in general). Is mindfulness mediation useful? As someone who has practiced mindfulness meditation as an attempt to manage stress, I have concluded that meditation is simply a concerted effort to implement a reappraisal of bad thoughts. Specifically, it has been suggested that rumination, or the endless replay of negative thinking, may contribute to depression. Cognitive reappraisal is a well-known approach for dealing with a number of negative or disruptive thoughts and meditation is just a practiced form of this. In the mindfulness meditation style I have tried, namely Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction popularized by Jon Kabat-Zinn, one reappraises negative thoughts as "thoughts", taking a meta-level view of them and partitioning them as something distinct from our experiencing mind. Personally, this makes sense to me. Just as I wouldn't accept the self-help advice of some rando, I am not going to trust that my automatic catastrophizing about the world is based on fact. During mindfulness meditation, I am taking a skeptical stance toward my own worries and recognizing them for what they are: worries, not reality. Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding when it comes to the value of mindfulness meditation. If it helps someone cope with the challenges of life, then great. We should all be active participants in our own mental health, experimenting with approaches until we get results. In this way, stress management is like exercise. Is one form of exercise better than another? Is meditation better than a book club? The answer is: it depends. It depends on who is doing it, whether they enjoy it and whether they stick with it. If the answer to these questions is "yes", then the long term outcome is likely to be positive.
Learner Algorithm Learner Algorithm - 11 months ago 72 Python Question how to print two columns of xls files on screen? I asked a question here how can I read each line of a xls file with pausing and the answer is right as below This solution goes row wise . for example if I have 3 values at first row. It prints first cell then second cell then third cell etc until the first row finish and then goes to second row. What I want is to print all cells with a distance at the same time for example print the first row then print the second row etc As an example, if I have in my xls file two rows as follows row 1 : 1 2 3 (there are three values in three cell) row 2: 5 6 7 I want it prints it like value ::: 1 ------> 2------> 3 value ::: 5-------> 6------> 7 import time import pandas as pd import os import xlrd # at first I try to know how many rows and how many columns I have workbook = xlrd.open_workbook('myfile.xls') for sheet in workbook.sheets(): for row in range(sheet.nrows): for column in range(sheet.ncols): print "value::: ", sheet.cell(row,column).value time.sleep(5.5) # pause 5.5 seconds this shows only one column of xls but if I have two or three columns it ignore the second and the third etc and only print the first one how can I amend this to be able to print as many cell as I want in each epoch ? Answer Source This is relatively easy to do with pandas. import time import pandas as pd import os frame = pd.read_excel('myfile.xls') This will give you a pandas DataFrame with only the first sheet of that excel file. pandas dataframes have an inbuilt method to iterate over all rows: for row in frame.iterrows(): print row Please also refer to the documentation of pandas.read_excel (this is for pandas version 0.19.1). Well, not properly testing this has come around to bite me in the bottom. It would appear that iterating over single rows of the DataFrame has unexpected side effects on formatting. To make sure this does not happen, the following code transforms the frame into a string via the to_string method that the DataFrame class features. We do not want to get the row index printed out as well so we set the parameter index to false. To be able to iterate over this data row-wise, we need to split our string at each newline, this is what the splitlines function does. It is an inbuilt function of python strings. It turns our single string containing the entire data frame into a list of strings, each containing only a single line. pandas separates columns by two spaces, so finally we replace each occurrence of double spaces with the wanted delimiter via the builtin replace function. import time import pandas as pd import os frame = pd.read_excel('data.xls') for row in frame.to_string(index=False).splitlines(): print 'value ::: ' + row.replace(' ', '------>') For reference, also see the python manual on built in types, it lists the methods available for strings. These are very helpful in string formating.
Ending DACA Puts Young Refugees of the Drug War at Risk Ending DACA Puts Young Refugees of the Drug War at Risk Written by Arturo Lua Castillo, SSDP’s Latin America Policy Intern Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an immigration policy initiated in 2012 by the Obama administration. The premise of the program is simple; if you were brought to the United States before the age of 16 and lived in the US continuously since June 15, 2007, you are eligible to receive a temporary visitor status in the United States. DACA itself does not grant legal status in the country but it does provide a social security number and a work permit from the Department of Homeland Security along with limited protections from deportation. In doing so, DACA allows an entire generation of college-aged undocumented immigrants to attend college and join the formal workforce. It is impossible to ignore the effects of the War on Drugs on immigrant communities. Many DACA recipients come from Latin America, one of the regions most impacted by drug prohibition. Last year alone, Mexico’s death toll from the War on Drugs was comparable to that of countries affected by more traditional warfare. In fact, Mexico’s homicide rate of 26,000 exceeded that of Iraq and Afghanistan, 17,000 and 16,000 respectively. As the Mexican government places more and more law enforcement responsibilities on the military in order to match up to well-armed cartels, the violence escalates. Violence brought on by clashes between the government and cartels, along with poverty that results from a government incapable of maintaining a rule of law, are the reasons many families flee their home countries. Although the level of violence in the United States is less than that of Mexico, the War on Drugs still affects immigrants after their arrival in the US. Historically, the War on Drugs was used as a way to criminalize African American and Latino communities. The very use of the word “Marijuana” can be traced back to Harry Anslinger’s racialization of cannabis as a foreign threat from the south. We still see this criminalization today in Latino communities through the legal challenge of being either documented or undocumented. Being undocumented essentially makes one’s presence in the country a crime which, much like the War on Drugs, places affected communities at odds with law enforcement. So in both drug policy and immigration policy, minority groups in the U.S. are targeted and criminalized. This is part of the reason why the DACA program was so transformative for many immigrant communities as it decriminalized their presence and opened doors for immigrants seeking legal work, an education, or a formal career. In this way, DACA partially helped to reduce the negative toll of the War on Drugs by giving some of those displaced by narco-violence a chance to properly establish themselves in the United States. It also allowed a means to have our voices heard. Through DACA, many families have been able to break away from the fear of deportation. However, with the recent decision by the Trump administration to end DACA, the future of these 800,000 immigrants is up in the air. As a result, immigrant rights groups have organized actions urging people to call their congressional representatives and implore them to protect the DACA program. Activism on social media has also seen a rise, especially with efforts from Undocumedia and weareheretostay.org who have started the #HereToStay campaign that highlights the stories, struggles, and perseverance of immigrant families. Removing DACA will put DREAMers back at odds with the government and potentially shuts them out of political discourse with the threat of deportation. The same thing happened when Latino and African American communities were criminalized in the creation of the War on Drugs. While many DACA recipients have been outspoken about the need for the program many others do not want to risk their well being and family stability. Because most DACA recipients came into the United States as children and have not returned to their home countries since deportation could mean being sent to a strange land with unfamiliar surroundings. For this reason, it is important that social justice organizations like SSDP and Undocumedia speak out and share stories from the perspective of DREAMers to embolden and speak out for those who cannot or are afraid of the repercussions. We cannot let the end of the DACA program lead to an end to our activism. The struggle of DREAMers and their families has deeply rooted ties with the drug war. Many would not be in the US if not for the War on Drugs and the violence it has brought. DACA has given me the ability to comfortably speak out against the War on Drugs in Latin America from the relative safety of the United States. To do the same in my home country of Mexico could prove lethal. The Ayotzinapa incident in which 43 students were apprehended by police forces and eventually assassinated by local cartels never escapes my mind. But, for that same reason, I believe that activism in my community is crucial now more than ever. Fighting for immigrant rights and ending the War on Drugs, from my perspective as a DREAMer, means bringing an end to seemingly endless and escalating bloodshed back home.
Iron-rich Foods To Combat Anaemia Written By: Anaemia is a common disorder of the blood. A person is said to have anaemia when his/her blood count of haemoglobin percentage is low. The role of haemoglobin is to transport oxygen to various parts of the body. Even though anaemia affects both men and women, women are more prone to this disorder. There are three types of anaemia namely blood loss anaemia, haemolysis anaemia and deficient red cell production anaemia. The causes for anaemia include iron deficiency, deficiency of folic acid, deficiency of vitamin B12, lactation, smoking, ageing, diseases like arthritis and HIV, and certain other medications. The symptoms of anaemia vary from person to person. However, some of the common symptoms include lethargy, tiredness, shortness of breath, vomiting, blood stools, chronic heart burn and swelling in the legs and arms. To overcome anaemia, a healthy diet is a must. It is necessary to include foods rich in iron, folic acid and vitamins. Few super foods can help you overcome anaemia. In this article, we at Boldsky are listing out some of the iron-rich foods to include in your diet to prevent anaemia. Read on and do include these foods in your diet. Iron-rich Foods To Combat Anaemia Spinach: Spinach is one of the super foods that can effectively fight and prevent anaemia. It is packed with calcium, iron and beta-carotene that help in maintaining a healthy immune system and treat anaemia. It also increases the blood count. Iron-rich Foods To Combat Anaemia Beetroot: Since beetroot is rich in iron, it helps to combat anaemia in a short period of time. It increases the efficiency of red blood cells. Along with that, it even repairs and reactivates the blood cells. It increases the supply of oxygen to all other body parts. Iron-rich Foods To Combat Anaemia Tomatoes: Tomatoes contain high amounts of vitamin C, which helps in keeping anaemia at bay. Tomatoes help in better absorption of iron and reduce the risk of anaemia. Drinking tomato juice every day can certainly increase the blood count. Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is a rich source of iron. Include peanut butter daily and you will see better results. You can even eat a handful of peanuts every day to fight anaemia. Red Meat: Red meat such as beef and lamb contains iron that gets absorbed by the body. Beef liver has more than 60 percent of the daily requirement of iron. Thus, include 3 ounces of beef liver or chicken to increase your blood count. Read more about: anemia, beetroot, spinach Story first published: Saturday, December 5, 2015, 13:06 [IST] Please Wait while comments are loading... Subscribe Newsletter
Thursday, October 27, 2016 Genesis the Book of Beginnings Part 37 - Joseph's Story: Rags to Riches (Genesis 41-45) This lesson focuses upon the meteoric and miraculous rise of Joseph from a prisoner/slave to the second most powerful leader in Egypt. As we study this, it must be remembered that there are two important facts to this whole story. First, what Joseph accomplished was by divine guidance and not his own merit - Joseph humbled himself, and God exalted him. Secondly, it encourages us and reminds us that whatever adversity we may be currently facing, it is only temporary - as Romans 8:28 reminds us, "all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose." I am pretty certain that St. Paul, as an educated man, probably had the story of Joseph in mind as he reflected upon his own situation in the Roman prison he sat in as he wrote those words, and this too serves to remind us that, as my late mentor Fr. Eusebius Stephanou often said, "Man's disappointments are God's appointments." The person who yields his or herself to God becomes a pliable vessel that God can use for His glory, and the story of Joseph personifies that beautifully. In Genesis 41:1-36, the story from last lesson picks up. To recap a bit, Joseph was wrongly accused by Potiphar's oversexed, lonely wife of something he was not guilty of, and he ended up in prison where he won the trust of the jailer and subsequentially came into contact with a butler and a baker who had recently gotten on the wrong side of Pharaoh. Both of these men had dreams that troubled them, and Joseph, who was gifted at dream interpretation, counsels them by explaining the meaning of what they dreamed. The butler's dream was good news for him, but unfortunately not so much for the baker, who is later executed. The butler is restored to his position, and despite Joseph's request to remember him to Pharaoh, the butler goes on about his business and forgets all about what had happened. That is, until Pharaoh started having dreams that troubled him! It is at this point the story picks up. The Pharaoh has two troubling dreams about essentially the same thing, with the same imagery, and he is so perplexed over them that he is trying to find out by any means possible what they mean. At this point, his butler has a brief moment of memory clarity, and said in essence, "Oh yeah, there was this guy in the jail who might be able to help you out, Your Highness." Apparently, these dreams were so disturbing that Pharaoh in essence says, "What the heck, why not? Bring this guy to me and we'll see what he can do." So, Joseph is brought before Pharaoh, and Pharaoh tells him the dreams. As Joseph is gifted in this area, he sees almost instantly what the dreams meant, and he interprets them to the detail, even without Pharaoh telling him what they were. At this point, I want to interject some history into the conversation, because anyone who knows anything about ancient history would understand that a typical Pharaoh would not give the time of day to a foreign slave, especially one who was in prison. However, this was not just any Pharaoh, but rather he was possibly a leader of an invading Semitic people called the Hyksos who occupied northern Egypt at around this time and established their own kingdom and dynasty. Although this is a matter of debate among some Biblical scholars, I believe it is plausible that Joseph encountered a Hyksos Pharaoh just by the way events played out. If so, it also substantiates that God was indeed in control of things and had Joseph in the right place and at the right time, as only a Pharaoh who could to some degree identify with a person like Joseph would take what he said seriously. God controls the events of history as well, and although He does not order them arbitrarily or robotically, He works through human events to accomplish His purpose. And, this was one of those events. Ancient depiction of the Hyksos invasion of Egypt. The two dreams Pharaoh had entailed similar imagery - seven lean cows consuming seven fat cows, and seven bad ears of grain consuming seven full ears. As Joseph interpreted the dream, he notes that there are a total of 14 items in each dream, and the numbers represent years. For seven years, there would be abundant crops and good harvests, but then a seven-year famine would ensue that would consume the resources that the abundance created. Joseph then counsels Pharaoh to prepare by appointing a sensible steward to manage the abundant resources while they had them, and in doing so the nation could be spared much of the ravages of the ensuing famine. By this point, famines and dry spells had become a fact of life, as the primal conditions which existed before the Flood of Noah's day some centuries earlier were forever altered, as was the landscape. We have seen in the example of Abraham, Joseph's great-grandfather, that bad famines had hit the region before, and like Abraham, people were forced to Egypt as a sort of refuge - this is odd in itself, as Egypt is essentially a desert region after the Flood, with the ever-expanding Sahara to the west encroaching upon the nation more each year. Therefore, Joseph's counsel to the Pharaoh was prudent and possessed a wisdom beyond Joseph's young years, and this was something that got Pharaoh's attention as well. Pharaoh was quite impressed that Joseph was able to share this insight with him, and so much so that he basically said to Joseph, "I believe you are the man for the job." So, Pharaoh essentially makes Joseph the prime minister of Egypt on the spot, and then seals the deal with a ceremony. First, Pharaoh has Joseph clothed in the fine linen of the aristocracy, which was a custom that the Hyksos adopted as they did many things from their native Egyptian subjects. Pharaoh then confers upon Joseph his personal signet ring, which was a universal symbol of royal authority and in essence the Pharaoh was giving Joseph authority to act on his behalf. He then confers a title upon Joseph, noted in Scripture as being Zaphenath-Paaneah ("the one who furnishes nourishment of life") which directly corresponds to Joseph's counsel. He then gives Joseph a bride - a young lady named Asenath, who was the daughter it says of Potipherah, the "priest of On." There is some weird logic here, as in the first place the reader of this text may ask, why would God allow Joseph to marry the daughter of a pagan priest? In looking at the context, On was the city where this priest lived and probably served a temple, and the name Potipherah means "priest of the sun," while On itself means "sun." As the principle deity of the Egyptians (probably adopted to some degree by the Hyksos rulers) was Amun-Ra, this would make sense as Amun-Ra was a sun deity. Therefore, Joseph was betrothed to the daughter of a priest of the sun-god, and again there is some ambiguity as to why God allowed it. There is very little in the Biblical record about Asenath as Joseph's wife, and the only other mention of her is when she gives birth to their two sons later on. However, in the Book of Jasher Chapter 49, in verse 37 there is a description given of her as being a beautiful virgin daughter of Potipherah, and it was by Pharaoh's decree that she be made the wife of Joseph, perhaps to give him the status and legitimacy he needed to carry out the duties of his office. Therefore, perhaps God allowed Joseph to be integrated into the Egyptian social order through this marriage in order to carry out the plans He had for Joseph. Genesis 41:46 notes Joseph was 30 years old when this all took place. Conferring the authority of the signet upon Joseph The new Prime Minister. As Joseph settles down into his new life with his new bride, at some point she bears him two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Scripture seems to imply that these boys were twins, and they were born during the seven years of abundance Joseph had accurately predicted would happen. The name Ephraim, who was the younger of the two boys, means "doubly fruitful," while the name Manasseh meant "one who causes forgetfulness." Jasher 50:15 records that Joseph was 34 at the time of their birth, which again implies that the boys were twins. The subsequent verses in Jasher also document that both sons had instilled in them by their father a love of God, and that he also made sure they were well-educated, and in Jasher 50:17 they even gained favor among the aristocracy for their character that Joseph instilled in them. If this be the case, something else was happening here too which prefigures what Jesus would do later for humanity as the completion of God's plan of salvation - this essentially could invite the implication that Asenath, Joseph's wife, also came to worship the true God. That in itself is an act of God Himself, in that the daughter of a pagan priest essentially attained a type of salvation as a result of the marriage to and influence of Joseph. It also shows that even at the beginning, God's will was that all mankind would be able to have the opportunity of salvation, and this is also part of the Abrahamic Covenant that Joseph would also have been an heir to. In due season, the time of plenty ends and the famine arrives. However, during the previous seven years Joseph had wisely made provision for this happening, and Egypt was prepared for it. However, it appeared that the famine was not just confined to Egypt, but also extended to the surrounding region, as Jacob and his family began to feel the effects of it in Canaan. Word has spread fast to the surrounding nations that a wise minister had managed Egypt's resources to create a surplus, and this would also prove fortuitous for the Egyptians too, as they not only had enough grain to feed themselves, but they could also profit from other nations who would be buying from Egypt, which is another aspect of Joseph's plan. It also proves that Joseph was being used of God not only to save Egypt, but a wider circle of population. Again, the disappointment of Joseph's mistreatment at the hand of his brothers was an evil God turned into good, and the appointed time of Joseph's arrival in Egypt was all orchestrated by God Himself. And, as we see, it also impacted his own family hundreds of miles away. Like many people in the region, Jacob had gotten word that Egypt was offering surplus grain for sale to surrounding nations and his family needed to replenish their supply. So, he sends his sons (with the exception of Benjamin, who was yet too young) to Egypt to buy grain. They have no idea that their brother Joseph was used by God to make all this possible, and upon their arrival Joseph recognizes them but they fail to recognize him. If you recall when Joseph was younger in the previous lesson, he had a series of dreams of the sun, moon and stars bowing to him, as well as a bunch of wheat bundles bowing to his bundle, and this was a major bone of contention for his brothers, which is why out of jealousy they sold him down the river. Now, however, those dreams were beginning to come to pass, as now the brothers were compelled to show Joseph honor by bowing before him and respecting his authority. Joseph decides to have a little fun with this, since his brothers don't recognize him, and he pretends to accuse them of being spies and has them tossed into jail. After staying in jail three days, they are released on the condition that one of them has to stay behind and that they have to bring Benjamin back with them. Simeon volunteers to stay, and Joseph sees the other brothers off with the grain they came for. In 42:26-38, the brothers begin their journey home, but as they are traveling, they discover that their money is in the sack of grain, and they are mortified over it. As they inspect the other sacks, more of their money is found, and this creates a panic that haunts them as they return home. They tell their father what has happened, and he too is concerned and chastises his sons. In the parallel account in Jasher 51, it gives a somewhat different account of Simeon's incarceration - although Simeon did volunteer, he did so with great conflict as it also seems that he was also left there by a consensus of the other brothers. Although Simeon's name means "one who obeys," it appears he only did so with great struggle according to the account in Jasher. Apparently Simeon put up a fight when Joseph's men tried to apprehend him, as he is said in this account to be a man who was very strong and able to resist. However at some point Joseph's son Manasseh, who is now of age, has had enough of this nonsense from his uncle (whom he did not realize as such at this point), and he essentially whacks him on the back of the head and knocks him cold, and he is able to be apprehended. After that happens, Joseph then fills their grain sacks and sends them on their way, and it is Levi who discovers in his sack the returned money, and the brothers almost immediately view it as a sign of God's judgment against them for what they did to Joseph some years earlier. Although a somewhat different account, Jasher correlates with Genesis and also provides more detail to the story. Any case, the brothers return home, and of course Jacob is concerned that Simeon is not with them, so Judah takes it upon himself to tell his father what happened. Jacob is not in the least happy, and when Judah tells him what Joseph's stipulations are, Jacob initially refuses. But, after a certain amount of time, they need to replenish their grain supply, and have to make another trip. Judah reminds Jacob of the stipulation of this visit, and offers to personally look after Benjamin while there. After some deliberation, Jacob grudgingly relents, and Benjamin is allowed to go with them. When the brothers arrive, Joseph instructs his deputies to bring them to his house, and considering the money incident on the last trip, the brothers are mortified and confess to Joseph what happened. Joseph, of course, had planted the money in their bags himself, and he assures them that there is nothing to worry about and all is forgiven. At this point too he also releases Simeon. At the sight of his youngest (and full) brother Benjamin, Joseph is overcome with emotion and has to excuse himself so his brothers won't see him express it. And, he also formulates another plan. The brothers are invited to have dinner with Joseph at his house, and while there Joseph has his personal goblet concealed in Benjamin's bags. He then loads them up with a lot of food and sends them on their way. When they leave, he has one of his stewards to track them down, and they are to be searched. Upon doing this search, the missing goblet is found and Joseph, feigning indignation, demands that the one who stole the cup become his personal servant. Knowing it was Benjamin's belongings where the cup was found, and the devastation their father would feel if anything happened to Benjamin, Judah throws himself on the chopping-block. In this, we see yet another Christological type - Jesus, who would come through Judah's lineage, also offered Himself in our place, but not as a substitute. As God Incarnate, the love Jesus has for humanity far exceeds the sinfulness of humanity, and is more than just a substitution - it is propitiation (an exercise of love on behalf of an offending party to appease the wrath of the offended). Judah embodies a propitiation for his younger brother that our "older brother," Jesus, would do for us as part of the divine economy of the central kerygma of the salvation legacy. This selfless act on Judah's behalf is also driven by love - a love of his father, as well as a voluntary act of love for his younger brother Benjamin. This is an important gem to unearth in this story. All of this finally becomes too much for Joseph, and in Genesis 45 he finally reveals to his brothers who he really is. It is left to the design of the imagination as to what the initial action of his brothers would have been, as it definitely would have gotten a response from them. But, the end result was a joyous reunion between Joseph and his enstranged brothers, and the past was left behind. This is what salvation - and particularly Calvary - does for us; although we may see God as wrathful and we know we deserve the most severe of judgments, then Jesus reveals Himself and offers Himself in joyful and loving fulness so that we might also be reconciled with Him. Again, this is a central aspect of the kerygmatic core of the legacy of salvation, and an important lesson for us. After this revelation and reunion of Joseph with his brothers, Joseph then tells Pharaoh, and being that he and Pharaoh also share a closeness (one gets the impression reading this that Pharaoh not only trusted Joseph with his life, but that he also considered Joseph a friend too) Pharaoh tells Joseph to welcome his family to Egypt to live out the famine, and now the family has the full endorsement of the Pharaoh himself. Jacob, upon the return of his sons and the news that Joseph was alive and in the position of authority, is of course initially confused - it is a lot for an old man to take in finding out a son given up for dead is not only alive, but is prospering! However, once it all sinks in, Jacob is overjoyed and agrees to go to Egypt, if even only temporarily. The next lesson, which will also conclude this series, will get into more detail regarding their arrival and settling in Egypt.
Swamp worms were four-meter long ambush predators from Veron's swamps. Swamp worms were experts at moving through the thick mud of Veron's surface. They would often bury themselves in a few centimeters of mud and wait for a creature to walk by. Once the vibrations reached the swamp worm's soft skin, it sprang to life, attempting to kill with the stinger on the end of its tail. Swamp worms were dangerous simply because they were usually not noticed until it was too late. They were found in the swamp-like regions of the forest floor. Their appetites weren't large, but they were willing to die in defense of their territory. Notes and referencesEdit Ad blocker interference detected!
Ambient Gases Click here to download a PDF version of this Bulletin Gas Flow Rate and Composition Selecting the proper gas flow rate and gas composition for a given diffusion system and diffusion process is critical to the successful performance of the BoronPlus® and PhosPlus® dopant sources. This bulletin was therefore prepared to provide the diffusion engineer with the appropriate general guidelines necessary to select the parameters which will give the best results for his system. The bulletin also describes a procedure which eliminates the need for a separate low temperature oxidation cycle when BoronPlus sources are used as the dopant source. Gas Flow Rate The gas flow rate for a given diffusion system is primarily determined by the diameter of the diffusion tube. Typical flow rates can be selected from the curve plotted in Figure 1. Generally, the gas flow rate should be as low as possible, but high enough to prevent air from backstreaming down the diffusion tube. Exceptionally high flow rates are normally avoided during the time at the deposition temperature since high rates tend to produce non-uniform sheet resistivities at the gas inlet (source) end of the boat. This is because the rapidly-flowing gas carries the B2O3 or P2O5 away from the diffusion source and down the diffusion tube before it has a chance to deposit on the silicon wafer located next to the source. Backstreaming of room air down the diffusion tube must not be allowed to occur or non-uniform sheet resistivities will be observed at the handle (load) end of the boat. This is because the excess oxygen grows a relatively thick oxide film on the silicon wafers which masks off the deposited B2O3 or P2O5 from the diffusion source. One way in which backstreaming can be significantly reduced in many diffusion systems is to use a high gas flow rate (10-15 l/min) whenever the end cap is off the end of the tube (i.e., during insertion and removal of the boat). The flow rate should then be turned down to the recommended rate when the end cap is replaced. A high gas flow rate, however, is not very effective in preventing backstreaming in large diameter diffusion tubes (i.e., 200 mm). It has been reported that the nitrogen tends to flow to the top of the tube and the air tends to backstream down the bottom of the tube, regardless of the flow rate. Consequently, sufficient time should be allowed at the insertion temperature after the tube is closed so that the nitrogen can purge the tube of backstreamed air before ramping to the deposition temperature. Also, since cantilever systems are usually used with large diameter tubes, care should be taken to ensure all excess areas in the end cap around the cantilever arms are closed. Gas Type Most diffusion systems use nitrogen as the carrier gas in the diffusion tube. Some diffusion engineers prefer to use argon gas when depositions are to be made above about 1050°C because argon is an inert gas and does not react with the silicon surface to cause nitride pitting. Gas Composition The proper use of oxygen with the selected carrier gas can have a significant effect on silicon surface damage. The amount of oxygen that must be blended into the carrier gas tends to increase with increasing deposition temperature. Generally, some oxygen must be used at temperatures above about 1000°C while little or no oxygen is required below this temperature. Figure 2 can be used as a guide to select an oxygen content which normally minimizes silicon surface damage when depositions are being made with BoronPlus or PhosPlus sources. Care must be taken not to use too much oxygen during the deposition cycle. If this occurs, an oxide film will grow on the silicon surface that is thick enough to mask off most of the B2O3 or P2O5 , resulting in non-uniform doping of the silicon wafer. Some phosphorus emitter diffusion processes done with gas-type dopant sources often include an oxidation of the silicon surface immediately following the phosphorus deposition. This can also be done with the PhosPlus solid source system if the oxidation is done with dry oxygen. Dry oxygen can be used with the PhosPlus sources at any temperature since oxygen has no effect on the sources. However, the oxidation cannot be done at the deposition temperature with wet oxygen or with steam since the moisture will quickly deplete the PhosPlus sources of available P2O5 . Removal of Boron Silicide Using LTO Cycles Boron silicide is the thin, metallic compound that forms under the deposited glassy film during a boron deposition cycle. Synonymous names are boron-rich phase, boron-silicon phase and silicon stain. The phase is insoluble in HF, and it can be detected after the HF etch by the hydrophilic (wetting) silicon surface compared to the normal hydrophobic (non-wetting) surface of undoped silicon wafers. Boron silicide is beneficial to silicon processing because it produces uniform sheet resistivities in the doped silicon slices and because it can be used as a limited source of boron in certain drive cycles. However, this phase is removed most of the time before subsequent processing steps are taken so that it does not become a source of additional problems later. The Traditional LTO Cycle: The most common method of removing the boron silicide phase is to use the low temperature oxidation (LTO) cycle. This technique involves stripping the glass from the doped silicon slices and then re-inserting them into the diffusion furnace without the sources being present. Holding the silicon slices at 800°C for 20-30 min in steam or in wet oxygen is usually sufficient time to oxidize a thin layer of this phase. The new oxide layer is then etched off the silicon surface in dilute HF before continuing the processing of the silicon wafers. The LTO cycle tends to raise the sheet resistivity, but it does not normally destroy the uniformity of the doped silicon slices. The In-situ LTO Cycle: An important variation of the above LTO cycle that can be used in the presence of the BoronPlus sources is to start oxidizing the silicon with pure oxygen either during the cool-down portion of the deposition cycle or after the boat has reached the removal temperature [1]. Fig. 3 shows schematically how the in-situ LTO eliminates a processing step during a boron deposition cycle. Although cooling in oxygen has eliminated the need for a subsequent separate LTO process, it can affect the uniformity of the doped silicon wafers. This is because the oxygen must diffuse through the deposited glass before it can oxidize the boron silicide, and any non-uniformity in the thickness of that glass will affect the rate of the oxidation of the silicon surface below it. Experience has shown that this process usually works very well for high temperature isolation and pnp emitter processes, but it is not always acceptable for low temperature base diffusions where uniformity is much more important. Wet oxygen or steam cannot be used in this modified LTO process since the moisture will quickly deplete the BoronPlus sources of available B2O3. However, dry oxygen can be used at any temperature, since oxygen has no effect on the sources. In this case, the next run will be the same as the one that has just been completed. Gas Composition – Moisture Uncontrolled amounts of moisture entering the diffusion tube can cause silicon surface damage, non-uniform doping of the silicon, etc. However, when moisture is formed in the diffusion tube at very low levels and in a controlled manner in the presence of GS-126 BoronPlus sources as described in Product Bulletin 310, uniformity of doping can be improved and excellent devices can be produced. The work done at the University of California, Berkeley showed how the technique can be used to produce p-type source/drain diffusions in a CMOS IC that are equivalent to those produced with ion implantation [2]. Optimum doping results are obtained from the BoronPlus and PhosPlus sources when the proper carrier gas flow rates and carrier gas oxygen concentrations are selected. The ability to use the sources in the presence of oxygen provides greater flexibility during the deposition process since oxygen has no effect on their performance. This aspect is particularly useful with the BoronPlus sources, where they may be used during an in-situ LTO cycle to oxidize the boron-silicon phase. The in-situ LTO completely eliminates the need for a separate LTO step and can result in significant savings. For more information on this Product Bulletin or on the BoronPlus and PhosPlus dopant sources, contact the Planar Dopants Team. 1. J.E. Rapp, “The Planar Diffusion Technique”, Semicon Technology Asia 1998/9, Nordica International.3.F Block B, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, p. 33. 2. R. Alley, P.K. Ko and K.Voros, “Characterization of the BoronPlus Planar Dopant Source Moisture Enhanced Process”, Thesis at University of California, Berkeley, Sept 18, 1986. Memorandum No. UCB/ERL M86/75.
Monday, February 24, 2014 Given Today's Technology, Why Do We Continue To Elect Representatives From Political Parties? Canada's political institutions have not evolved significantly from their conception nearly 150 years ago. We still regularly go to the polls and choose between the candidates from various political parties to represent us in Parliament and in the provincial legislatures. Effectively, we transfer our popular sovereignty to a few individuals, who in turn vote according to the dictates of their political leaders. Importantly, once the votes are counted and the seats distributed, almost the entire population is shut out of the political process that governs us. We are left standing as spectators, hoping that are elected officials will be able to provide us with peace, order, and good government. However, the political process, which should be in keeping with the values of a free and democratic society, is many things, but democratic is not one of them. Political parties are corporate bodies that compete for market share in what I refer to as contested vote exchange. In short by casting a vote for any candidate in this exchange, the citizen renounces his or her right to what the Greeks referred to as isigoria, the right to equal voice in the deliberations that lead to the formulation of policy and the adoption of laws. Related Post It might be argued that 150 years ago, given Canada's vast geography, sparse population, low levels of literacy in the population at large, and snail-paced communications, this institutional arrangement made a great deal of sense. But what about today? A well educated population and advances in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) seriously call into question the necessity of political parties co-opting the political process in order to provide what is supposed to be responsible government. The logistics of representation no longer apply. People living in an electoral district no longer need to suspend their right to equal voice in deliberations in favor of aggregating all of their voices and transferring this sovereign power to a single individual. Historically, other than electing their military leaders, the Athenians did no such thing. In fact, in order to prevent any faction from holding sway over their assembly, they rotated membership to the executive council on an annual basis, and the members were drawn randomly from a qualified pool of approximately 20,000 citizens. Importantly, this institutional practice did not lead to "mob rule". Far from it. In fact, democratic practices like the right of every citizen to address the assembly were at the core of Athenian society, a golden age which saw an unparalleled flowering of human civilization, so captivating that their political innovation, democracy, rule by the demos (the Greek word for the people) remains as the sole basis of political legitimacy today, some 2500 years after its inception. Today, people no longer congregate in a single venue at the same time to be heard. Web casting, face-to-face communications applications like Skype, Google plus, and Face Time, combined with various social media like Twitter and Facebook, empower people from distant geographic locations to engage in meaningful dialogue without the need for intermediaries. Moreover, supporting documents can be easily made available to everyone concerned and electronic voting can place the power of making the political decisions that affect the quality of their lives squarely in the hands of the people. Rather than transferring their sovereignty to political candidates from a professional political class, citizens could instead form permanent citizens assemblies and keep their power to make political decisions close to home where they have the possibility of participating meaningfully in the political process. Imagine a Parliament in which each and every seat represents the will of a citizens assembly in which every citizen has the right to be a member. In this imaginary world, a network of electronically empowered citizens assemblies would govern Canada's affairs and political parties would be cast into history's dust bin. Instead of celebrating the political victories of individuals, honour would be bestowed to those who served as stewards of democracy, those individuals that served to protect the democratic process from being appropriated by individual interests. Maybe this is a project that could be undertaken when Canada commemorates its 150th anniversary and to be completed before it celebrates its 200 birthday. Wednesday, February 19, 2014 In Canada's Contested Vote Exchange the Biggest Losers Are Democrats Although Canadians like to think of themselves governed by a modern democratic state, in reality, we are still governed by a colonial form of government that is a vestige of the British Empire. Our Head of State is a foreign monarch, Queen Elizabeth II; the Prime Minister is chosen by the Crown's representative, the Governor General -- although tradition has is that this title is bestowed upon the winner of the contested vote exchange that takes place during a general election -- and the laws adopted by Parliament do not become law until they are given the Royal Assent from the Governor General. In theory and in practice, Canada is a constitutional monarchy. This means that Canada has both a written and unwritten constitution that allows for the Prime Minister to exercise, for all intents and purposes, the powers of the ruling monarch. In fact, within his or her Royal Prerogatives, the Prime Minister has the privilege to form a cabinet of ministers, name the Supreme Court justices, and to place, at his or her discretion, the people who will represent the provinces in the Senate. Moreover, the Prime Minister Of Canada can even declare war without the consent of Parliament. Without doubt, this institutional arrangement is authoritarian by design. When going to the polls, Canadians are effectively tasked with deciding to whom they are going to transfer their collective sovereignty, in other words, the leader of the political party who will rule on their behalf. This is a far cry from democratic governance in which the people exercise their power to rule themselves. Related Posts Essentially, elections in Canada are all about participating in a contest to determine which political party will win the most seats in Parliament. The total number of votes cast for each party does not enter into the equation. An absolute majority of votes is not required. In fact, it is rare that a political party will receive more than 50% of the popular vote. A majority government in Canada means that the ruling party has the majority of seats in Parliament. In practice, each seat goes to the candidate that gathered the most votes in an electoral district. Considering that we have multi-party elections, more often than not there are more electors who voted against the winning candidate than those who voted for. Aggregating the results of the simultaneously-held, electoral district contests produces the over all winner, the political party with the most seats, whose leader will receive the Royal Prerogatives. Generally, 40% of the popular vote will garner 60% of the seats in Parliament, and with this goes 100% of the political power. Sometimes, the contest produces bizarre results like when a political party that wins 60% of the popular vote obtains all of the available seats, or when the party that wins the most seats received fewer overall votes than the runner up, or when approximately a million people vote for one party but are shut out of Parliament because their candidates did not win any of the plurality contests in the individual electoral districts. But that's the way is game is played in Canada. Democratic sensibilities do arise from time to time -- especially after one of the abnormal results comes about -- but the dissatisfaction with the process has never gained enough strength so that the rules of the game are changed. Indeed lately, fewer and fewer people are participating in the game. The idea of giving one's vote to any candidate has lost its appeal because most of the votes cast have no effect on the final result. This makes the game much easier to play from the political parties point of view. Instead of spreading their resources over the entire electoral map, they can concentrate their efforts where they are most likely to be rewarded. Instead of trying to convince undecided voters, they can concentrate of getting the voters who have been identified to vote for their party out to the polls. Instead of putting forward reasoned arguments for the positions, they can simply slag their opponents, hoping to convince their supporters to stay home and not to exercise their right to vote. In short, the winning strategy for political parties is to mobilize the vote that can be counted upon and to decrease the probability of opposing votes being cast. Reducing the number of voters reduces the uncertainty of the results. Of course, the biggest losers in these regularly staged electoral contests are those who would like to live in a democracy. Not only are we aware of how the game is played, we are powerless to change it because we are out numbered and are unable to mobilize a critical mass of disaffected voters, who one day soon will become the absolute majority of Canadians. Tuesday, February 11, 2014 Canada's Chief Electoral Officer: A Disgruntled Democrat? In reaction to a government bill that would prevent Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, Marc Mayrand, from speaking publicly about the quality of Canada's Electoral System, he went on record to state: "I'm not aware of any electoral bodies around the world who can not talk about democracy" and that "my reading of the act is that I can no longer speak about democracy in this country." In other words, it seems that Mr. Mayrand is about to have his administrative balls removed with surgical precision. I guess I would also be feeling pretty disgruntled if I were about to have my balls lopped off in the guise of making Canada's elections fairer. But then again, I can't remember ever hearing Mr. Mayrand speak about democracy in Canada, which isn't all that surprising since Canada is not a democratic country by any stretch of the imagination. Related Posts In theory and in practice, Canada is a constitutional monarchy. This means that Canada has both a written and unwritten constitution that allows for the Prime Minister to exercise, for all intents and purposes, the powers of the monarch, Canada's Head of State, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Indeed, the Prime Minister is chosen by the Governor General, and the office usually goes to the leader of the political party that wins the most seats during the general election, not to the leader of the party that garners the most votes. Honestly now, do you think any democratic nation would delegate the power to declare war to any one person? Yet, Canada, for all its insistence on being a democratic state, has never gotten around to correcting this anomaly. Again, this isn't all that surprising because the vast majority of Canadians are quite comfortable with our system of "responsible" government and couldn't give a rat's ass for the principles of democracy. In my opinion, given our electoral system, the primary function of the Chief Electoral Officer is to run what a constitutional monarchy really desires: a contested vote exchange that gives to the winner of the electoral contest the spoils of victory, the powers of the monarch. Democracy is what some people aspire to and are vigilant to protect. Sad but true, Canadians are very content with their form of responsible government. Friday, February 7, 2014 Inequality Is What America Is All About Change you can believe in. Yeah right. There are some things that never change and one of them is the tendency for the rich to get richer at everyone else's expense, especially in America. Since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, 95% of the gains have gone to the top 1%, and during the same time period the median income has dropped. It would appear that within this context the inequality of income should be the major concern of the political class. No way. Not in the US of A, where more than half of the members of the US Congress are millionaires. Instead, as a close analysis of President Obama's State of the Union speech reveals, Americans should be more concerned about the equality of opportunity than the equality of incomes. You can't get anymore American than that. After all, America is a fundamentalist nation founded on the Protestant wealth ethic articulated by the 16th century French-born theologian, John Calvin. Related Post Sanctifying Success Calvin's universe was ruled by a petulant and vindictive deity, one who toyed with his followers by designating a select group of them to share in his divine bounty, only to leave them in the dark as to who these lucky chosen might be. The faithful were, then, left to fret and worry whether they were in God's good graces and, more importantly, whether they would share the common and inescapable fate of eternal damnation that was the certain end of the non-elect. How, then, was one to know if they were one of the elect? The answer: material success. If a businessman's coffers were fat and he was benefiting from what appeared to be a shrewd and effective business acumen, then surely it is evidence that the Almighty had smiled on him, welcoming him, perhaps, into the Divine's august company. This, of course, is a ready-made philosophy for any self-flattering elite - no matter what the century - anxious to justify their good fortune as divinely mandated. Moreover, it provides a justification, based upon a widely-held religious belief, why we should not increase the taxes upon the rich. To do so, according to this fundamentlist Protestant mindset, would be against God's will. Instead, we should have faith in the market, which left on its own, without the interference from government, will provide the opportunity for everyone to join God's Elect. And that ladies and gentlemen is the essence of the American Dream because you have to be asleep at the wheel to fall for that bowl of malarky. Equal opportunity in America? In a country where more than 47 million people live off of food stamps? In a country where millions of students take on mountain loads of unforgiveable debt just to have the hope of some day making it? In a country that has the largest number of incarcerated people in the world? Get out of town! No way! But that's what it takes to live in America. You have to "live the lie", I mean "hold the faith" if you want to get by. Otherwise, you might do something foolish like raise the taxes on the rich and that would most certainly "hurt" the economy. And God would be really pissed off if that ever happened. Who knows how he would react? He might even let catastrophic climate change to occur. So, let's not piss him off and everything will be fine.
KS3 – Levels Nine things you should know about Levels 1. The government have written a national curriculum (NC) which all state schools must follow. Alongside this NC, the govenment have produced level descriptors which describe what a child must be able to do to achive a particular level in a particular subject area. 2. There are eight levels between year 1 and year 9. 3. The national average level to achieve by the end of year 9 is a level 5 or 6. At Bushey Meads our students make more progress than the average school, so for us the average at the end of year 9 is well within level 6. See the table in point 9. 4. Some of our most able students may achieve a level 7. Nationally it is very rare to achieve level 8 (which is supposed to correspond to a GCSE level C or above), although at Bushey Meads it is common for our very highest achieving mathematicians and information technologists to do so, and occasionally even in other subjects. Point 6 below explains this variation. 5. Some students will arrive at Bushey Meads with lower than average levels (because we are a comprehensive school), and they will usually be less academically disposed to progress so rapidly in academic subjects. For some of our less academically able a level 4 at the end of year 9 could represent good progress. Only a tiny number of students will end year 9 with a lower level than this. 6. Nationally, levels achieved in different subjects vary. This is counter-intutitive for most parents who expect that a child performing at an equal position within the population will be measured with an equal level across all subjects. But this is not the case. The national average level in maths is around a whole level higher than most subjects, and for Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) is is much lower. This is the only reason why you will find different target levels for your child in different subjects. 7. Each level is very broad. The national average progress between year 6 and year 9 is two levels. So it is quite possible for a child who is making good progress to end the year with the same level as they started. Therefore Bushey Meads, like most schools, further subdivides each level, with 6a being higher than 6b which is higher than 6c. There are no government level descriptors for these sublevels and we do not report sublevels to the government. Schools subdivide levels in this way in order to try to fine tune the measure of progress. 8. The level descriptors themselves retain a signifant amout of subjectivity; when, for example, does a piece of work move from being ‘descriptive’ to being ‘evaluative’ – how much evaluation does it need in order to assess it as ‘evaluative’ and record a higher level? The descriptors also encompass a broad range of competencies within a subject, only some of which are tested in any particular module of work; so a child may work at a very high level in, say, IT, when involved in a numerically based aspect of the subject because they are talented numerically, but at a lower level when involved in a more graphically based IT project because they are not so visually talented. Therefore although teachers try to provide as clear a picture of a child’s level as possible, by smoothing out a trend across a wide body of work, an element of fluctuation in reported levels is not uncommon. 9. Finally, see below a table showing the levels achieved at the end of year 9 at Bushey Meads in 2012. All figures in percentages. 4+ means level 4 or higher, 5+ means level 5 or higher % <4 4+ 5+ 6+ 7+ 8+ Ab Art 1 98 93 68 25 1 FS D&T 2 94 93 64 11 4 Choice 1 96 93 70 38 2 3 Drama 97 96 75 25 3 English 2 95 94 72 28 2 French 12 85 41 3 Geog 2 95 92 70 38 1 4 History 1 96 93 67 40 4 3 FS ICT 97 97 92 68 22 3 Maths 4 95 92 79 50 18 1 Music 97 93 76 27 3 PE 1 98 79 50 2 1 RE 1 96 93 66 37 3 3 Sci 2 96 92 65 31 2 Sp 9 91 60
We all know that sugar isn't the best for us, but did you know it was this much of a problem? Here is some information concerning sugar consumption that might shock you: The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar every day. The average child consumes a whopping 32 teaspoons per day. Women should have no more than 6 teaspoons per day. Men should have no more than 9 teaspoons per day. Refined sugar is linked to: • Insomnia • Dizziness • Allergies • Manic depression • Cardiovascular disease • Hypertension • Hypoglycemia • Colon and pancreatic cancer • Hair loss • Breakouts and skin irritation • Tooth decay • Metabolic syndrome • Obesity • Type-2 diabetes It can exacerbate mood swings, personality changes, irritability, asthma, arthritis, heart disease, cholesterol, gallstones, and endocrine problems. According to the American Dietetic and Diabetic Associations, increased sugar consumption is the leading cause of degenerative disease. Sugar is addictive. Sugar releases an opiate-like substance that activates the brain’s reward system. In the year 1900, the US consumed about 5 pounds of sugar per person. In the year 2000, the US consumed about 150 pounds of sugar per person. 61 pounds of that is from high fructose corn syrup. Americans drink 53 gallons of soft drinks per person every year. The average can of soda has about 40 grams, or 10 teaspoons, of sugar. In a 64-ounce soda, like at a gas station or movie theater, there are 53 teaspoons of sugar. Carbonated soft drinks are the largest source of refined sugar in the American diet. The consumption of sugar is growing faster than the world’s population, increasing about 1% every year. Sugar production is growing even faster than sugar consumption, which makes it cheaper and cheaper. In the past decade, sugar consumption jumped 23%. In the American diet, added sugar alone accounts for 496 calories every day. Consuming refined sugar depletes the body of B vitamins. Vitamin B deficiency causes symptoms like: heart palpitations, chronic fatigue, paranoia, anxiety, insomnia, difficulty focusing, restlessness, indigestion, rashes, and cravings for sugar. Many foods contain hidden sugar. Ketchup, hotdogs and hamburgers, plus their buns, peanut butter, french fries, pasta sauce, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and most processed foods contain added sugar, even if the food isn’t sweet. Low fat foods often use sugar to enhance flavor. Refined sugar has no nutritional value, besides empty calories. Despite the additional calories, research shows that animals live longer by just consuming water, rather than a water and sugar solution. As a steady diet, sugar is actually worse than nothing. What does refined sugar do to the body? It makes the digestive system acidic, which vitamins and minerals from the body, particularly calcium from bones and teeth. It also depletes potassium and magnesium, which are both essential for cardiac health. It suppresses the immune systems, and causes an overproduction of digestive enzymes. In turn, this puts stress on the pancreas. It impairs liver function, which can lead to high blood pressure, skin issues, and acne. It inhibits blood flow and affects aging, contributing to dental issues, increased wrinkles, and dry aged skin. Suddenly removing refined sugar from a diet can cause withdrawal symptoms, like fatigue, depression, headaches, and achy limbs. Besides salt, Americans consume 10 times more sugar than any other food additives. Of 2,600+ food additives, salt is number one and sugar is number two. Sign up for our Craver's Club and receive 15% off your first order. Enjoy the sweeter things in life, without the added sugar.
Focusing on the concept of cultural relativism, do we as Americans have the right to morally judge another culture? Expert Answers Ashley Kannan eNotes educator\| Certified Educator There is a great deal in this question. The first point I would make is in the wording of the question. If bound to the condition of relativism, no one would have the right to make any moral judgments about another culture. Relativism forbids anyone from doing so. Relativism makes the presumption that moral judgments lead to action. These moral judgments, it is believed, lead to a denigration of another culture. (A case can be made that this presumption is, in itself, a judgment.) Yet, if a culture is bound to upholding the tenets of relativism, then it cannot morally judge another culture. It is from this point where the question leads to murkiness. Cultural relativism, no matter how it is enforced, cannot prevent nations and societies from feeling particular ways. If it did this, it would be guilty of the same absolutism that it criticizes. Cultural relativism cannot force individuals into silence. Hence, even if a nation like America found itself wedded to the idea of relativism, this position does not prevent members of its society to make judgments. Cultural relativism does not stop individual thought or belief as it is meant to encourage it. Hence, within the thoughts of American culture, it does have a right to make a judgment. From a philosophical point of view, American culture might be able to do little with it, but it can make judgments against another culture. This is done all the time. America makes statements when it sees something happening that it deems as wrong. When there is bloodshed in Syria, for example, American society, through its government, voices its opinion. It is practically impossible to demand that American culture not speak. It might be bound by strands of relativism to do anything about such conditions, but relativism cannot demand that a culture not speak. In doing so, an absolutist position is reached which is the very opposite of the philosophical strand. Finally, I would suggest that there is a good argument to be made that American History is not bound to cultural or moral relativism. While there is much in our history that preaches tolerance and relativist brands of acceptance, our Constitutional background argues from an absolutist point of view. The Constitution demands that there are specific goals that must guide the nation. The nation is free and compelled to speak to these ends. Forming a more perfect union, securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, and establishing justice are a few of these. Such bedrock goals are not relativist. They are quite forceful and absolutist in their scope. These ideas are what helps to guide American voice. When the nation witnesses these ideas not being embraced in different parts of the world or even domestically, it speaks. The historical DNA of our nation suggests that we do, given our background, have the right to make moral judgments. When rights abuses are committed, we have the ability to speak because our own nation stresses that these are not permitted. When women are being beheaded by the Taliban, the American sensibility is not to retreat to relativism. We speak out against this. We say something is right or wrong. In this light, our historical background and founding help to give a voice that can morally judge another culture. Yet, it is in this point in terms of what can be done with this voice where obscurity seems to be present.
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! An Experiment Showing Entanglement Communication into the Future 1. Jul 31, 2011 #1 I recently have been doing some work on the entanglement phenomenon. In this regard someone brought to my attention an experiment with amazing results but unfortunately he did not have an exact reference for the experimenter or where the results were published. Very briefly, the experimenter created two entangled particles and using acoustic waves shifted the time clock on both particles so that each was time-wise ahead of the other particle. How, he reasoned, under this scenario could it be possible, even if somehow the particles could communicate, that they could act entangled? Each particle got to the threshold first so there is no way it could “know”, even if it could communicate, what the other particle was going to do! To everyone’s amazement the two particles acted as “one”. If you knew what one particle did you knew what the other one did – 100% of the time with no exceptions. Is anyone familiar with this experiment? Can you help me with who the experimenter(s) was and when and where the results were first published? 2. jcsd 3. Jul 31, 2011 #2 User Avatar That was not acoustics, but macroscale (rotating disc of the size of gramophone plate) movement. Set of before-before Aspect's like experiments (each detector is first in his own frame) had been performed by Geneva University group led by N.Gisin. See for example http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0002031v3 (and follow it's references) 4. Aug 2, 2011 #3 Theoretically, For making an entangled state, at first we have to make an "interaction" between the particles such as electrons, etc., i.e. we have to add a potential (between our particles) in our Hamiltonian, otherwise the state of our system is a multiple of state of single particles and so no correlation during every kind of measurement, which equals to no entangled state. It can be understood clearly when we look at Schrodinger's equation. 5. Aug 2, 2011 #4 I'm sorry. I send my message in wrong section. Similar Discussions: An Experiment Showing Entanglement Communication into the Future
Practice Exams ChE - 13 1. A solution of 30% by weight Na2CO3 in water is cooled to 20 degC. 10% of the water in the solution is evaporated. If the solubility of Na2CO3 is 21.5 grams for 100 grams of H2O, how much Na2CO3•10H2O crystals in grams can be crystallized out of the solution for every kilogram of original solution? 2. Air is passed through a membrane to separate O2 from N2. The final product is found to contain 15% O2 and 85% N2. Find the percentage of O2 in the remaining air if only 30% of air passed through the membrane. a. 51% b. 15% c. ??? d. 26.3% 3. A solution containing equimolal O2 and N2 is passed though a membrane to separate O2 from N2. The final product is found to contain 45% O2 and 55% N2. Find the percentage of O2 remaining if only 205 of the original solution passed through the membrane. a. 51% b. 15% c. 50% d. 45% 4. The equipment that uses the principle that water cools when some of it is evaporated. a. evaporator b. humidifier d. dryer 5. The lowermost layer of a landfill a. ??? b. impermeable clay c. ??? d. ??? 6. Prandtl number is a. force/area b. work/momentum c. dimensionless d. ??? 7. The mole fraction of a substance in the liquid phase is 0.20. If its vapor pressure is one-half the total pressure, what is its mole fraction in the vapor phase? a. 0.10 b. 0.50 c. 0.20 d. 0.70 8. How many per hour of H2O flows through a 3-inch Sch. 40 steel pipe with an average velocity of 8cm/sec? a. 17,150 b. 21,500 c. 36,000 d. 72,300 9. Water at a rate of 0.80 kg/sec is heated from 35?C to 45?C in a 2.5 cm diameter tube whose surface is maintained at 90?C. The required length of tube, in meters, to accomplish the heating is: a. 3.6 b. 1.0 c. 2.1 d. 2.7 10. The vapor and liquid in the separator for flash distillation are always a. in equilibrium b. replenished c. of equal composition d. below the boiling point of the solution 11. Small ponds, less than 1 meter deep, whose oxygen supply primarily comes from photosynthetic activity a. facultative ponds b. anaerobic ponds c. aerated lagoons d. aerobic ponds Post a Comment © Blogger template The Professional Template by 2008 Back to TOP
bizarre news In keeping with the onset of global warming scenario, people have been getting more and more worried about the future of cars and how future will play out. Everybody is furthermore well aware of how our cars presently operate, with gasolene, which is not a renewable source of power. How many years we have left remaining of fuel consumption is an unknown, and thus there are usually quite a few smart individuals spending a great deal of time trying to develop another way to propel our automobiles from point A to point B. The particular problem is, it’s hard to beat what we have at the present. Getting a fuel which is equally hassle-free and simple to use will become a relatively big job. This got me personally pondering a few unusual but possible future situations. totally Electric As of late, the electrical cars that have been produced are far from ideal. Get the G-whizz for instance; it only gets forty miles and when you run out of electricity, where on earth do you buy it? And then whenever you can re-charge, it requires all night to obtain enough juice in order to go another 40 kilometers. Plus, electricity is made with oil anyway, so what is the point?! Some day though, somebody could create a way to perform this whereby all automobiles on the road are usually run simply by electrical power, with the electricity becoming produced by huge windmills and so forth. Our own verdict: not very likely. The particular End Of The Engine Vehicle Will anyone actually have the ability in order to replace petrol with benefits just as good? It’s extremely doubtful, therefore could all of this be the beginning of the end associated with the gas engine car? The chances could be really high that in 2 hundred years time presently there simply won’t be any kind of practical way associated with powering the domestic car. And if there will be, we could almost all become burnt to a crisp via global warming. Think about this, no cars on the highway. How would we get by? It can be that the human race goes a step back in time to some place exactly where the horse drawn trolley is king, really effective but very sluggish. Our own verdict: what could really happen Perfect Public Transport If the powers to be are really so worried about the present means of propulsion of motor vehicles, essentially running on gas and the air pollution they cause, is that the reason why public transportion is also bad? If general public transportation was perfect then why would anyone need to use a car? To make this happen, public transportation would need to be regular, effective, economical and comfortable. And I am not completely convinced that could really happen. Nevertheless, it is cheaper for me to move about in central London, spring for the gas, congestion charge, and other costs associated, I personally think I’d actually rather take a seat on a train while paying attention to the particular Ipod. Our take: Is this for real? Leave a Reply
The Liberals 1915-24 There has been much written about the decline of the Liberal party during and after the First World War. The facts are stark. In 1914 the Liberals were running the government under Prime Minister Asquith, and were used to being one of the big two, often in power. In the October election of 1924 they were reduced to just 40 seats, and stayed at such low levels as the third party ever afterwards. The biggest drop occurred in the 1918 election. 426 Liberals stood for election. Of the 267 who stood as independent LIberals, only 26 were elected. Of the 159 Liberals who stod in support of the coalition government, 134 won. In 1922 they won 117 seats, and in 1923 159. Various theories have been offered for the collapse, based on social change, the rise of organised Labour and the Unions support for the new Labour party, and the damaging split between Asquith and Lloyd George to run the LIberal party. I normally disagree with those who argue that factions and divisions in great parties prevent them from winning elecitons or from being in government. Nearer our own time the war between wets and dries in the Conservative party did not prevent Margaret Thatcher from winning three elections in a row. There was no shortage of anti briefing from her party throughout most of her tenure. Nor did the deeply damaging and public rows between Mr Blair and Mr Brown prevent Labour from winning three times in a row. Most majority parties in government have people challenging the leader and have rival views of what is the best course of action. Some degree of division and debate is healthy to ensure the governing party is alive and thinking. Even undesirable levels of vituperation as with the Thatcher and Blair critics need not be terminal. However, the fact that Lloyd George was prepared to press his claim to run the Liberal party to the point where two parties fought the 1918 election under different Liberal banners, and the fact that Asquith did not acdept the passage of power from himself to Lloyd George did take leadership struggles to new public levels which was electorally damaging. I think the other distinguishing fact about the background to the Liberal collpase is that the Liberals under Asquith had taken the UK into such a dreadful war. The slaughter, and the sense of incompetence at high levels – “lions led by donkeys” – especially in the eartly stages before the coalition was formed and got to grips with issues like shell supply and how to fight in trenches made a huge impact on the public consciousness. The war is in my view the main reason for the collapse of the old Liberal party. Why did they take us into it? Why did they prosecute it in the way they did? Why did it take such huge slaughter on the western front? Why did many of them not see LLoyd George as he saw himself, “the man who won the war”, and just get behind him? 1. Norman Posted August 5, 2010 at 7:09 am \| Permalink WW1 is the last word pyrrhic victory's. It will be interesting watching the fortunes of the 2010 election victors, Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg, and their Parties (especially if AV and the other constitutional changes happen) in the coming years to see who, if anyone, has got the better of the deal. Who knows, we may even see a Labour government in 5 years time. Unthinkable 18 months ago. 2. Posted August 5, 2010 at 7:24 am \| Permalink The issue is oganisation. Big tent parties always have a wide range of conflicting views. It is when they organise as two parties within one that there are problems. In the Thatcher government the wets didn't really have a leader or a separate identity. They just fought for particular issues. In the Blair/Brown government the two sides fought but came together at elections. If New Labour had a single leader during the Brown years maybe it too could have split. The Liberal problem was that they had two valid leaders who took the factions in different directions and split the party in two. Some people argue that the Conservative right need a single leader. Surely the lesson from history is that they should continue and fight for their views as a individuals or as transient voting blocks rather than pick a single person to focus them into a party within a party. That could split the party in two, causing a realignment of the political landscape and keeping Labour in power for a generation. 3. Posted August 5, 2010 at 7:32 am \| Permalink I have always been plagued by the fascinating question. Myself I rather incline, in a two party country, towards the rise of labour as the answer. But then, Churchill did lose to Attlee in 1945 after another terrible blood letting. 4. Posted August 5, 2010 at 8:47 am \| Permalink 5. Posted August 5, 2010 at 9:14 am \| Permalink Certainly it is harder to find any justification for WW1 than WW2. But another factor could be the way the government looked after (or more to the point didn't look after) the returning soldiers, particularly those that had been injured. Perhaps the present government should at least learn this lesson from history and treat our wounded troops somewhat better than they are being treated at present. 6. Posted August 5, 2010 at 12:46 pm \| Permalink I think the above is all of historical interest but I do not think there is much in commeon with the liberals at the beginning of the 2oth Century and the Libdems at the beginning of the 21st Century. 7. Freeborn John Posted August 5, 2010 at 2:20 pm \| Permalink No doubt the policies of the governments of the time made a difference, but the biggest factor in the decline of the Liberal party has to be the extension of the franchise. The electorate rose from 7,709,981 in 1910 to 21,392,322 in 1918 when property restrictions on men over the age of 21 were lifted and the vote first given to women over 30 who were householders, married to a householder or held a university degree. And it rose to 28,854,748 in 1929 when women over 21 were allowed to vote on the same terms as men. This quadrupled electorate was unfortunately more inclined to support the re-distributive policies of the Labour party than the champions of liberty and equality in the Liberal party who had won them their votes. 8. Posted August 5, 2010 at 3:36 pm \| Permalink The period in question was an utterly different world. It can be hard to get into the minds of very many people at the time, their personal and mental lives were vastly different. I did know quite a number from this time. By 1918 many had simply had enough and the Liberals had been in charge. It is likely that added to the corruption and other scandals at the time people simply lost any trust in them. As for Lloyd George he did not "win" the war, the Germans lost it as a result of the relentless attrition. It was LG that put us into Palestine and we all know what has followed from that. 9. Bill Posted August 5, 2010 at 4:54 pm \| Permalink What about two other factors? 1. Churchill was originally a Liberal but crossed the floor to become a Conservative. In other words a represented a trend and showed how opinions changed. 2. The same is true of Ted Heath's father who was a Liberal. Heath was some sort of Conservative. 3. Lloyd-George was surely damaged by such books as were written by Keynes on the economic consequences of the peace. What about that lovely description of Lloyd-George as 'half-human visitor to our age from the hag-ridden magic and enchanted woods of Celtic antiquity'? 10. grahams Posted August 5, 2010 at 6:51 pm \| Permalink As usual, you make excellent points But possibly you underestimate the role in the Liberals' demise played by Stanley Baldwin ("The most formidable politician I have ever known in public life" – WS Churchill)* and possibly Mr Cameron does not. As you say, however, history does not repeat itself, except in Afghanistan. *quoted by various biographers fgrom the Davidson papers 11. Andrew Posted August 5, 2010 at 9:50 pm \| Permalink I largely agree with your thesis – the First World War did immense damage to the Liberal Party, and the splits that plauged the Party afterwards finished it off. Huw Clayton has already mentioned it, but I must point out that your post does contain one major historical howler – namely that the Liberals did not have a majority in 1914 and were actually in a minority government. The last time they won a majority was in the landslide of 1906, but it is still fairly remarkable (and pretty unprecedented) that a Party which won such an overwhelming majority in 1906 would be reduced to a rump of 40 MPs less than 20 years later. 12. Alfred T Mahan Posted August 6, 2010 at 10:38 am \| Permalink Probably the reason why so few people in the 1920s saw Lloyd George as "the man who won the war" is that they were close enough to events to know the truth and weren't bamboozled, as so many have been since, by his self-serving and mendacious memoirs. There is a strong argument for saying LG nearly lost the war – by refusing Haig sufficient manpower in 1917/18 to fight the war effectively and particularly to defend the Kaiserschlacht in March 1918, which he knew was coming. There were, unbelievably, more soldiers in Britain than in France and LG refused to release them for service, while at the same time persistently undermining Haig's command. You can be sure this was known by soldiers – the "lions led by donkeys" school really only gained ground in the 1960s with the publication of such books as Alan Clark's "The Donkeys" and Alistair Horne's "The Price of Glory" (both 1961). Haig had a state funeral in 1928 attended by hundreds of thousands – hardly likely if he was the obtuse hindrance LG suggested. Similarly the Navy wasn't impressed by his claim to have solved the submarine menace in a single meeting, even though the Navy hardly emerges from the convoy story with credit. Then as now, people don't like grandstanding politicians taking credit for others' achievements. This may explain his poor showing in the 1924 election. 13. Trev Posted August 6, 2010 at 11:22 pm \| Permalink British morale held up remarkably well both in the trenches and the home front. The war was indeed forced on us and as most historians largely agree (not least German ones) the war was effectively prompted by Germany. British competence was no worse and, as the war went on, in some cases far better than either its allies or enemies. Huw Clayton is totally correct. Losses were terrible in WW1 because we had 4 solid years of fighting on the Western Front. The allied attrition rate from D-Day onwards is lower but still comparable to the attrition rate in WW1. So I am not convinced the war as such was the cause of decline, after all no one blamed Churchill for WW2 but he was voted out. 14. Posted August 7, 2010 at 1:46 pm \| Permalink As others have said there is a complete difference between a leadership dispute within a party and actually fighting elections against one another. I think in fairness to the Liberals they were kyeboshed by a variety of factors. The prestige Lloyd George won by winning the war meant that at the 1918 election 'his' Liberals were in a position to basically wipe out the official liberals under Asquith, who himself had been damaged by his conduct of the War. This was alright, but when the Conservatives dumped him in 1922 there wasn't enough time for the Liberal factions to reunite and so both were discredited at the 1922 election and were routed. The grievance and disunity this created, and the continuous rivalry between Asquith and Lloyd George prevented any effective Liberal recovery until it was far too late, only then for another split to occur. Basically the Liberals were split in one faction or another for the entire period 1916-1935. They also were damaged by the rancour from the period 1906-1914 when they ran possibly the most divisive and radical government the country had seen, equal to 45-51 and 79-97, on issues like Ireland, The people's budget and lords reform. Also the increase of the franchise meant that Labour were given a massive shot in the arm. I think perhaps the fatal mistake came when they allowed ramsay macdonald to form a government in 1923, despite having only a few more MP's than the Liberals. This allowed Labour to prove its credibility as a government and led to a polarisation between labour and conservatives that would see the liberals shut out and left shut out until the last few years. 15. Posted August 10, 2010 at 4:23 pm \| Permalink In 1914 there was great public pressure to enter the war. In 1918 the public hailed the the 100 days as (correctly) some of the greatest victories in the history of the British army. Haig was a national hero, and as another person has remarked public attendance at his funeral ten years later corresponded. Also as others have pointed out the whole "lions and donkeys" myth only gained ground years later with the rise of the pacifisit movement and the publication of some lightweight historical fantasies like Alan Clark's book. The actual quote has no basis in fact. Britain was unprepared for trench warfare because she had spent a century planning to avoid any major commitment to a European land war. I suspect that, again, the answer has already been put by other commentators, namely that the Liberals were hit hard for palpably failing to provide a land fit for heroes, as had been promised. • About John Redwood • John’s Books • Email Alerts Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner • Map of Visitors Locations of visitors to this page
The Ferrari Wind Tunnel A closer look at Renzo Piano's striking design for Ferrari's Formula Uomo project at Maranello It looms down on you from its grass mound like an 80-metre-long mollusc. Or maybe a gigantic trombone. Or, most appropriately, an outsize turbocharger. This is the Galleria del Vento, or wind tunnel, where technicians test and hone the aerodynamics of Ferrari's racing cars at full scale. It's an air pump, just as a turbocharger is an air pump. The wind tunnel was one of the first high-profile projects in Ferrari's Formula Uomo project to rejuvenate the factory with a series of new buildings from star architects. It was a stunning statement of intent. Ferrari chose Renzo Piano for the building, which was opened in 1997. At the time, Piano was best known for the Pompidou Centre in Paris, a collaboration with Richard Rogers. He was also working on a vast section of the newly freed Potzdamer Platz in the reunified Berlin. He had completed the huge, earthquake-proof Kansai International Airport terminal on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, Japan. Since, the London Shard is perhaps his signature building. Small wonder Piano calls himself engineer as well as architect. Piano wanted to make the internal functioning of the wind tunnel very explicit in its outer aspect. It is, he said, ‘More like an enormous machine than a building, in the way that all the mechanisms and apparatus are on show instead of being hidden from view.’ And yet it has the compelling beauty of pure industrial design. Which couldn't be more apposite given the purpose in every Ferrari car's external design, whether the racers or GTs. The most visible part of the building is the air circulation pipe. It takes air from behind the test car, and brings it back again to the compression fan. The wind tunnel was designed by Renzo Piano, as part of the Formula Uomo project That fan has a power of more than two megawatts. It pushes air past the car at up to Formula One speeds. In the lab part of the building, engineers measure and analyse the forces produced on the car in each dimension. The car itself is dotted with sensors to measure the pressure and velocity of the air as it flows over and through the bodywork and is redirected by the aerodynamic elements. The floor of the tunnel is a conveyor that moves at the same speed as the wind hitting the car. This is vital for the engineers measuring aerodynamic ground effects and from there finding ways to improve downforce. A system of pivots and jacks can twist the car to simulate driving through cross winds. Air passing through the tunnel is precisely controlled, not just in speed and direction but also humidity and temperature, which is fixed to within 0.5 degree centigrade. The wind tunnel is a dominant feature at Maranello By the way, the tunnel hasn't only been used for cars. Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams have tested the aero properties of their equipment and the way they position themselves on it. The wind tunnel is right at the factory entrance on Via Grizzaga. Once seen, it engraves itself on your mind, not just as a shape but as a living testament to Ferrari's commitment to technical expertise and functional beauty. Standing sentinel by the gate, the Galleria del Vento, as much as the Cavallino logo, reassures you that you have arrived at Ferrari. Seeing a car created is always a fascinating experience. At Ferrari, even more so Read more Highly-skilled, specialist staff bring an artisanal approach to Ferrari leathers Read more
Home » Article » Tech Article » Cancer modelled in 3D for first time Cancer modelled in 3D for first time It may look like a bunch of colourful pom-poms to the untrained eye, but this 3D computer model of a tumour may help researchers to develop more effective treatments for cancer. The model was developed by an international team of scientists working at Harvard, Edinburgh and Johns Hopkins universities, and is the first that accurately portrays a tumour’s 3D structure as well as its genetic evolution, with each different colour in the model representing a different mutation. Cancer develops when the genes in a cell mutate and begin multiplying uncontrollably. If a mutated cell multiplies enough times, it can create a large clump of abnormal cells – a tumour. Cancer-3D-Model Cancer modelled in 3D for first time A 3D computer model is shedding new light on how tumours grow and, more importantly, spread All cells accumulate mutations as they divide. Most are known as ‘passenger’ mutations and have little effect. In cancer cells, however, around 5 per cent of mutations allow cells to divide faster or live longer. These are known as ‘driver’ mutations. The model visualises how tumours grow over time and provides a key insight into the cells’ ability to migrate away from the tumour and ultimately move to other places in the body in a process known as metastasis. “Cellular mobility makes cancers grow fast, and it makes cancers homogenous in the sense that cancer cells share a common set of mutations,” said Harvard’s Martin Nowak, who led the research. “I further believe that the ability to form metastases, which is what actually kills patients, is a consequence of selection for local migration.” Driver mutations also play a role in drug resistance. If a small number of cells are resistant to a therapy, they can quickly replicate, causing a relapse of the cancer even if nearly all of the other cancerous cells are wiped out. “Our approach does not provide a miraculous cure for cancer,” said the University of Edinburgh’s Bartek Waclaw, who was also involved in creating the new 3D model. “However, it suggests possible ways of improving cancer therapy. One of them could be targeting local cellular migration and not just growth, as standard therapies do.” (Source : BBC Focus Science & Technology) Leave a Reply Name * Email *
Health and Safety and Young People Young people are amongst some of the most at risk and likely to suffer or cause an accident in the workplace. This is often due to them having little or no previous experience in not only using equipment, but they will also not fully appreciate the potential dangers if they have not been made aware of them either through training or through seeing/hearing about an incident which happened to someone else, as a person who has been in the industry and working with this equipment for many years is likely to have. This realisation that accidents can and do happen to real people, rather than just as theory in a textbook or training course, will usually give the person a better appreciation of the risks and a new respect for working safely. It is important that managers, supervisors and older colleagues who have the experience impart their knowledge to young people who are new to the surroundings or equipment so that they are more aware of the risks and as a result are less likely to repeat the same mistakes that others have made in the past. This informal mentoring needs to be in conjunction with more formal health and safety training to ensure that they are learning the correct way of working and using equipment safely, as whilst what they are being told by more experienced employees may be mostly useful, it is important to ensure that, despite the good intentions, what they are being told is correct and that they are not picking up any bad habits or incorrect ways of working. Need an Accredited Course?
Motion Sickness Motion sickness is a very unpleasant condition that is classically associated with traveling in vehicles. Motion sickness occurs typically in children but it can affect even the adults. The issue is individual as some people are resistant and on the contrary some are very prone to the motion sickness. The cause lies in our vestibular system. It is a small paired organ located in the inner ear (i.e. near the auditory system). Vestibular apparatus consists of three semicircular canals filled with liquid and crystals. The movement of crystals in the fluid irritates the cells of the vestibular apparatus that send information to the brain via the nerve fibers. The vestibular apparatus informs us about the position of the head and our body in surrounding space. It is absolutely necessary for keeping the balance. Excessive irritation of the vestibular system may cause the motion sickness. Its increased sensitivity may be genetically determined and it is also more frequently present in children. The excessive stimulation is typical for traveling in vehicles. How does this happen? Imagine a man sitting in the back seat on a bus traveling on a bumpy road. He is bored and so he watches the landscape out of the window. His vestibular system gets confusing information. It perceives the movement of the bus forward, then information about movement up and down (bumpy road) and erroneous information about movement to the side caused by watching the passing landscape. The vestibular apparatus thinks that we move forward (in the direction of the bus), in the vertical direction and that our head moves to the side. This excessive stimulation of the vestibular apparatus leads to the feeling of sickness. Motion sickness usually manifests with feeling sick, dizziness, excessive sweating, headache and vomiting. Prevention and treatment Every person with tendency to the motion sickness should take some precautions before travelling. In a car or on a bus, it inadvisable to sit as forward as possible, avoid watching the side landscape and look in the forward direction. This decreases the stimulation of vestibular tract. Before the travel, people should avoid eating or drinking alcohol and it is suggested to chew a gum. Air conditioning or at least sufficient ventilation also helps as the cool refreshing air suppresses feelings of nausea. The sensitivity of the vestibular may be influenced by some medications that are suitable in case of long journeys. They have often also a slight sedative effect.
2500 Estes Parkway, Longview, TX Call Today! 903-807-0887 Canine influenza, or dog flu, is becoming a threat to dogs throughout the United States. There are two strains of the virus (CIV H3N8 and CIV H3N2) both of which cause a respiratory infection in dogs. These relatively new viruses are suspected of coming from mutations of other forms of influenza, such as those affecting horses and birds. Since these are new viruses, dogs don’t currently have a natural immunity to it. It is thought that the Canine influenza viruses can lead to other respiratory infections like Kennel Cough and the symptoms are often similar. As of May 2017, there are documented cases of Canine influenza in Texas. This highly contagious virus is passed on through direct contact with infected dogs, as well as through secondary surfaces, clothing and people’s hands. Cats are also susceptible to the virus (symptoms are runny nose, congestion, general discomfort, lip smacking, and extra salivation) and are able to pass it along to dogs. At this time, the viruses are not transmissible to humans. Canine influenza is not usually fatal (less than 10%) and will usually run its course in about 2-3 weeks. Some dogs don’t display symptoms. Symptoms in mild cases include a gentle wet or dry cough, lethargy, anorexia, low grade fever, eye and or nose discharge (the latter typically responds to antibiotics indicating a secondary infection resulting from the flu). Severe cases often present with a high fever (104-106), and symptoms similar to pneumonia including high respiratory rates. Since these are new viruses, most dogs are vulnerable, with young and older dogs being at greater risk along with dogs that have a lot of contact with other dogs. Preventive measures include limiting contact with other dogs and staying away from places where flu has been reported. If you are in the habit of petting other dogs, washing your hands before petting your own dog is a good practice to help prevent spreading the virus. Good nutrition and strong healthcare practices help make pets less vulnerable. Treatment for Canine influenza in most cases is supportive and includes cough/respiratory medications, hydration (and antibiotics if a secondary bacterial infection is suspected). Rest and isolation for the pet are recommended. For more severe cases, fluid therapy or hospitalization may be required. Testing is currently available to identify the two strains of the virus (H2N8 and H3N2), and Longview Animal Hospital carries a vaccine to protect against both. If you have any questions, please contact our team at (903) 807-0887. For more information, visit
Retinal Laser What is a laser? Why might laser be used for retinal diseases? An argon laser can be focused on the retina in order to spot-weld layers of the retina together, or to destroy diseased retina to prevent it from causing any further problems. Why is laser used in retinal tears? Unfortunately, there is a high risk of developing a retinal detachment if you have a retinal tear. By lasering around the retinal tear, we can reduce the risk of the tear progressing to a full retinal detachment. Essentially the laser 'spot-welds' the retina to the deeper layers in the eye, preventing it in most cases from detaching. Why is laser used in diabetic retinopathy? Diabetic retinopathy is a relatively common eye disease and is the most common cause of blindess in working-age Australians. In proliferative diabetic retinopathy, abnormal and fragile blood vessels grow on the retina. These have the propensity to bleed easily and cause scar tissue in the retina. The risk of going blind is considerable in such cases. Laser is effective in halving the risk of blindness in some patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Almost always, you will need several sessions of laser in each affected eye. In diabetic maculopathy, abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid can reduce the vision. Laser can be used in these instances to reduce the leakage. This form of laser is becoming less common due to newer intravitreal therapy being shown to be more effective at improving vision, and less likely to cause long-term retinal scarring. Why is laser used in retinal vein occlusions? Up until several years ago, the only effective treatment for retinal vein occlusions was laser. Intravitreal injections now have a larger role in the treatment of vein occlusions, but there are still instances when laser is useful. In central retinal vein occlusions it is still beneficial in patients with significant retinal ischaemia. It these cases it reduces the risk of developing a severe form of secondary glaucoma called rubeotic glaucoma. In branch retinal vein occlusions, laser may still be used when there is significant retinal ischaemia, to prevent the growth of abnormal blood vessels on the retina. It can also be used for macular oedema, if intravitreal injections are not adequately managing the disease. Why is laser used in central serous retinopathy (CSR)? Whilst, on most occasions, CSR resolves itself, sometimes there may be a small, focal area of leakage underneath the retina. This can be sealed with laser in some cases. Are there any risks to retinal laser? Generally speaking, retinal laser is safe. It is rare to have any adverse damage from a retinal laser, but as with any medical procedure there are small risks involved. Does retinal laser hurt? Retinal laser usually doesn't hurt. Unfortunately, diabetic patients, who often need the most treatment, may experience the most discomfort as a result of retinal laser. Usually this isn't severe enough to require any significant anaesthetic. If you have significant pain, then a numbing injection may be given to reduce the discomfort. Are there any side effects after the retinal laser? If your eye required a lot of laser, it may be sore for up to 24 hours. Usually this resolves with some paracetamol. Most of the time, you won't notice any great difference to your vision. If you have needed a lot of laser, you may notice some transient blurring, or some spots in the vision, but this usually returns to normal after a couple of months. Occasionally, you may notice a spot in the vision which remains there permanently. Clinical Case: Coats' Disease This is a retinal photograph of a rare disease named Coats' Disease. In this disease, retinal blood vessels become abnormally leaky, resulting in blindness in the worst cases. You can see the abnormal blood vessels on the far left hand side of the photograph. The small white spots are lipids (cholesterol) leaking from those abnormal blood vessels. The treatment of Coats' Disease is retinal laser to prevent ongoing leakage. The pale white dots on the retinal photograph below are laser spots that have been applied a minute or two before. It takes a surprisingly long time for retinal laser to work, usually months. In the photograph below, you can see that the amount of leakage from the blood vessels is considerably less and the abnormal blood vessels have reduced. If you would like to make an appointment for retinal laser surgery, please click here. Dr Joshua Yuen Dr Brad Johnson
Historical Perspective Yajnyas‭ (‬or Homas‭) ‬have existed on earth ever since man has inhabited the planet.‭ ‬Vedas do not date,‭ ‬as most people think,‭ ‬from a period three to four thousand years ago.‭ ‬Vedas were revealed to mankind at the time of creation.‭ ‬Yajnyas were performed in their original and pure form for a variety of purposes. The basic concept of Yajnyas is that with their performance changes are induced in the atmosphere which evoke intended effects on the whole biosphere.‭ ‬Many civilizations and cultures have existed on this planet and in the course of time they have vanished because they no longer followed the precepts given in Vedas for mankind‭’‬s happy life on the planet.‭ ‬Yajnyas consist of an offering to fire which can‭ ‬never involve flesh‭ ‬and blood.‭ ‬For example,‭ ‬in Agnihotra,‭ ‬the offering consists of ghee and rice. Since mankind‭’‬s earliest beginnings,‭ ‬fire has been an object of religious worship.‭ ‬‬Even the first word in the Rigveda is‭ ‬“Agni‭”‬ which means fire.‭ ‬With this first word, man‭’‬s attention is directed to the importance of fire. Burning flesh and blood offerings in‭ ‬Yajnyas is a major example of proper performance gone bad. Nowadays the atmosphere is overloaded with force and violence.‭ ‬This is a direct consequence of wrong performance of Yajnyas or their total non-performance. From mankind’ s recent history it is known that the disappearance of Yajnyas went hand in hand with the appearance of Buddha. Actually, Buddha spoke against the performance of Yajnyas wherein flesh and blood were used as offerings. On the other hand, He encouraged people to perform pure (Ahimsa) Yajnyas instead. With His discouragement of Yajnyas consisting of flesh and blood offerings, Buddha fulfilled one part of His Divine Mission. The other part of the Divine Mission, namely the resuscitation of the purifying Vedic Yajnyas was the allotted task of the Kalki Avatar, Parama Sadguru Shree Gajanan Maharaj. He said, “I have come to fulfill what was left unfulfilled at the time of the Avatar, Buddha. ” As part of his mission, a Maha Somayag was performed in‭ ‬1969‭ ‬under the guidance of Parama Sadguru Shree at Shivapuri, near Akkalkot in Maharashtra, India. This was the first time in 2,500 years that a Somayag was performed strictly according to the injunctions of Vedas in which there was no sacrifice of animals, no flesh and blood offerings, not even symbolically. The effects of a Somayag last‭ ‬80‭ ‬to‭ ‬100‭ ‬years.‭ ‬This unparalleled Somayag undertaken in 1969 ushered in the revival of the science Yajnya‭ (fire purification‭) ‬in its purest form.
11. Glass The insulating properties of glass This experiment of writing a post a day for Michael Sorkin’s laundry list of prerequisites for architects has turned into “how effective is google at answering a particular question”. I can share links explaining how window insulation is measured (on a zero to one scale called u-value aka thermal transmittance). I can link a youtube video showing how glass becomes fiberglass insulation. Or I can remember having a substitute teacher in fourth grade giving a story time in which she talked about a magazine article she read. We sat around her as she described houses built inside of a greenhouse, with giant oil drums filled with water in between exterior wall and greenhouse wall. She talked about different houses with a greenhouse only on the rear of the house, helping to heat the place and collecting all that hot air in the attic to recirculate through the house. I was captivated, and I can only assume her incredible story telling skills kept the attention of the whole class. Fast forward eight years and I entered a high school design competition run by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and I design the house my fourth grade substitute described: 011 Newhouse 1 011 Newhouse 2 011 Newhouse 3 I don’t have any leads in terms of tracking down that teacher, but her impact was far reaching and greatly appreciated. Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Using the Control Buttons When you open Excel there are actually two separate windows. Both these windows have what are called control menus. The outside window is the Title Bar or Application Window. Minimise - Excel is reduced to a button on the taskbar. Close - Closes Excel completely. The inside window is the Menu Bar or Workbook Window. Minimise - Workbook is reduced to a small icon within Excel. Close - Closes the active workbook. (General tab, Default file location) - Lets you change the directory that the (File > Open) and (File > Save As) dialog boxes default to. (General tab, Recently used files list) - Lets you change the number of workbooks displayed at the bottom of the File menu. (General tab, Sheets in new workbook) - Lets you change the default number of worksheets in a new workbook. (General tab, User Name) - Lets you enter your username. This will automatically appear in the (File > Properties)(Summary tab) when you create a new workbook. It enables you to keep track of who creates the workbooks. (Transition tab, Save Excel files as) - Lets you change the type of file that the (File > Save As) dialog box defaults to. (View tab, Windows in task bar - Displays all your workbooks and windows as separate items on the task bar. Tab Split Bar Double click the tab split to return it to its normal position How many worksheets can I use ? 1) Your worksheets will recalculate faster. Remove the Blank Workbook Default Number of Worksheets By default every new workbook contains 3 worksheets. Note that this is version specific. Tools > Options All the following options are workbook specific and changes will be applied to all the worksheet in the workbook. (View tab, Horizontal scroll bar) - Displays the horizontal scroll bar in your worksheets. (View tab, Vertical scroll bar) - Displays the vertical scroll bar in your worksheets. (View tab, Sheet tabs) - Displays sheet tabs at the bottom of a workbook so that you can manoeuvre and select multiple worksheets easily. Different Layers Excel Viewer You can also copy data from Excel Viewer to another application. File Already Open At that point the File Now Available dialog box will appear. Accessing and Saving Remote Files Custom Workbook Properties Do they have to be named ranges ? This will also tell you when a workbook was created. Removing the "Ask a Question" box Select (Tools > Customize) and press the Options tab.
Monthly Archives: November 2012 Of sweet potatoes and putting down roots The most political vegetables: A whirlwind tour of the edible crucifers Jeanne provides an overview of the cultivated brassicas. Thanksgiving turnips and the diversity of the genus Brassica Jeanne briefly describes the cultivation history and botany of Brassica rapa, B. napus, B. nigra, and B. juncea to round out our cursory tour of the extraordinary genus Brassica. Michelle offers a recipe highlighting a vegetable likely present at the first Thanksgiving: the turnip, an exceptional cultivar of B. rapa. White Tokyo turnips and purple-top turnips Along with the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts have become something of a Thanksgiving staple. None of these dishes, however, were part of the original harvest feast shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag in Plymouth Colony in 1621. A close relative of Brussels sprouts, however, likely had an honored place at the table: turnips. The Pilgrims chose the tuberous vegetable to occupy precious cargo space in the holds of their ships bound for the New world and grew them in their Plymouth Colony gardens. Turnips were probably also on most Americans’ Thanksgiving menus when President Lincoln made the holiday official in 1863. During that first Thanksgiving turnips served as a sole representative of a genus, Brassica, that has one of the most impressive radiations of cultivated species on the planet. Its extensive domestication happened primarily in Europe and Asia. While Native Americans may have exploited weedy little native species in same family as the now-familiar Brassica (the mustard family, Brassicaceae), there is little evidence that they cultivated them or subjected them to artificial selection. Row of turnips in the Monticello garden Descriptions of turnips date to Alexander the Great’s vast kingdom, which spanned much of central Eurasia. The vegetable’s domestication history earlier than that is not well known, but turnips likely made their way to western Europe from an Asian origin, along with several other well-known varietals of the same species, Brassica rapa. In a previous post we discussed the numerous varieties of Brassica oleracea (including kale, collard greens, Chinese broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower). The radiation of Brassica rapa into several morphologically variable domesticated vegetables across its broad native range in Europe, Asia and North Africa is almost as spectacular as that of B. oleracea. Turnips, Italian rapini, and Asian cultivars bok choy, tatsoi, mizuna greens, napa cabbage, and purple mustard greens are all varieties of B. rapa. In addition to B. oleracea and B. rapa, other important Brassica species in the human diet are Brassica napus (rutabaga and oilseed), Brassica nigra (black mustard) and Brassica juncea (mustard greens). As such, the single genus Brassica alone accounts for a respectable fraction of the vegetables in a well-stocked produce section. Continue reading The extraordinary diversity of Brassica oleracea Before the caterpillars attacked: Red Russian kale seedlings Caterpillar damage on young green curly kale in the garden at Monticello
100% authentic writing Follow us on: chat off Toll Free: get your paper now Get a free quote Order your paper Customer login most popular order with one order you receive 5 in 1 Buying an Essay College Life Custom Research Paper Essays for Sale Good Advice Purchase Term Paper Research Paper Ideas Using Writing Service Writing an Essay Writing Papers Guide Writing Research Paper Writing Term Paper How to Train Writing and Reading Simultaneously? The Rules of Proofreading of Students Essay Getting Ready for the New Term The Analysis of the Matrix Movie Tips for a Novice Writer ← Globalization in TorontoValue of Liberal Arts → Live Chat Custom Why Nuclear Power Should Be Adopted essay paper sample Buy custom Why Nuclear Power Should Be Adopted essay paper cheap Nuclear power is the amount of energy that is produced with the use of controlled nuclear reaction. Many countries use nuclear power plants to generate powerful military and civilian use. Some countries use it for running parts of their naval fleets especially submarines. Some countries favor an expansion of nuclear power plants because it is a type of energy which is cleaner than fossil fuels such as coal. Although nuclear power has associated problems including the safe disposal of radioactive waste products, it should be adopted if properly used. People working in the field have raised a lot of reasons why nuclear power should be adopted, but it still remains optimistic about nuclear power. Many scientists encourage expansion of nuclear power industries because they are much far better than use of other power plants thus should be innovated. Reasons for adopting nuclear power Order now Nuclear power has a number of benefits over its competitors including coal, oil, wind power, hydroelectricity and near-term solar power. Those with noble intentions but poor understandings of the benefits and risks of modern nuclear plants oppose the use of nuclear power. Nuclear power is the best alternative because if well used can improve safety for a long time. Nuclear power is suspiciously looked upon due to its association with a nuclear bomb as well as salience emotion of radioactive waste (Suppers and Storvick 316). Coal costs are competitive, yet it is the principal source used in the world. Therefore, nuclear power should replace coal they are more efficient and cheaper to manufacture than bother normal power sources. They are more nuclear weapons that can be used in military purposes because they are more efficient killers. The cost effectiveness and efficiency to kill are some of the main benefits of adopting nuclear weapons. They kill faster because their reaction when a nuclear explodes contain a million times energy more than the normal weapons. Abundant uranium as the source material, a single kilogram of uranium produces a lot of energy than 200 barrels of oil, and it is normally common as tin. Thanium, which is more abundant can be converted into uranium which is too unstable, for bombs using, and broken down for other same quantities of nuclear. Although, nuclear power is relatively expensive at first build but they are cheaply operated. A nuclear plant has become more economical when comparing with other power plant such as coal plants, oil and gas due to the rising cost of fossil fuels. A country having uranium deposits will economically benefit from the use of nuclear weapons. Manufactured nuclear weapons from uranium can be used to defend the country and even sell to oversee market thus creating international relations in the export industry and economy (Suppers and Storvick 315). Get a Price Quote: Type of assignment Title of your paper Pages Spacing Writer level Timeframes Currency Total price USD 12.99 live chat The amount of waste produced is the least of any significant energy production process. When nuclear energy is used it is stored and sent like a waste. Nuclear produces less carbon dioxide than any other power plants. Scientists tried and tested nuclear energy and broadly safe thus should be used because it is the future of the earth. Nuclear fission does not even cause any carbon dioxide in the air. It only creates it when using mining techniques of carbon dioxide. Nuclear should be used because it is not poisonous as long as people follow safety precautions especially working on the plant. People claim that Chernobyl kill, but the accident only occurred because the technicians were running two tests therefore, safety precautions are highly required when operating the plant (Makhijani 37). Nuclear energy provides many benefits other than electricity generation. A radioactive material produced in reactors is used in medicine therapeutic treatments and diagnostics, inspection of the weld and power sources in interior areas, irradiation of food and space applications. Nuclear gives abundant energy than other alternatives for a reason known to the existence of fundamental laws. Four fundamental forces exist in nature that is the strong nuclear force which holds the atomic nuclei together. The weak force of nuclear also mediates radiation, the electromagnetic force and force of gravity. Nuclear force, which liberates the strong nuclear force, is much stronger than electromagnetic force which is liberated by conventional, chemical reactions. The energy produced per amount of material consumed is the highest available in the world. Nuclear power should be adopted because it is one the principal method of attaining the community's target of reducing gas emissions responsible for global warming. Nuclear power critics suggest that the main reason of adopting nuclear power is to give a justification for building a new generation of nuclear reactors. Nuclear power should be adopted because they will help to meet the longer-term target in the near future. Nuclear power is the current, essential source of carbon-free electricity thus needs to be adopted. It is an attractive option for new, carbon-free generating capacity, and it has beneficial issues of nuclear waste that need to be solved. In future nuclear power will be necessary if the he countries want to meet their carbon targets. Greenpeace hold the view that emissions of carbon will be more cost-effectively through investing in a decentralized nuclear power energy system. This nuclear power energy will maximize use of heat combination, and power and other renewable energy sources. All countries should adopt nuclear power because it is more efficient that other sources of energy. Nuclear power is more sustainable and it serves a number of people even in the remote locations and their uses are many. Buy custom Why Nuclear Power Should Be Adopted essay paper cheap Order Now Related essays 1. Value of Liberal Arts 2. The National Parks 3. Globalization in Toronto 4. 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Moai Statue Easter Island Chile Where are the Moai statues? The Moai statues are on Easter Island, Chile. The Moai head statues actually have bodies that are buried deep underground. Recent excavations have revealed this fact. Some are accessible to the public for viewing. Where is Easter Island? Easter island is located in the Southern Pacific Ocean more than 2000 KM off the Chilean coast. It is not that easy to access. Who made the Moai statues? The Moai statue heads are believed to have been carved by the Rapa Nui people who lived on the island approximately 1250 - 1500. There is more than 900 rock carved statues on the island. An astonishing feat. Some weigh in excess of 80 ton! (over 75 tonne) Moai Statue Where can I purchase / buy a Moai Statue? You can purchase a Moai statue at Follow our links to purchase a Moai Statue replica. Fast shipping and some items include free delivery. Buy Moai Statue here. The Moai head statues have distinctive features. Heavy set eyebrows, elongated noses and curved upward thin lips. The Moai statues have bodies. Most statues where buried to their shoulders. The heads are not proportional to the body size. They are over sized heads. The average standing monolith is roughly 4 meters high (9 feet). It has been discovered that the deep eye sockets were decorated with white or red coral. Easter Island When was Easter Island discovered? Easter island was discovered in 1722 by European explorers. The Moai statues all faced inland except for a row of 7 that faced the sea when first discovered. In the 1990"s Chilean archaeologist Claudio Cristino restored more Moai statues to face the sea. You can view a map of the island take a tour of the Moai Statues. Moai rock carving Why were the Moai statues carved? Archaeologists suggest that the Moai statues were symbols of power and authority. Religious and political influences may also have contributed to the manner and construction of the rock monoliths. Almost all the Moai statues face inland opposed to out. Only 7 were first discovered facing the ocean as to greet visitors. The heads were first carved in the rock face then transported on stone sleds call "ahu". One unfinished carving would have been 30 feet tall when completed with an approximate weight of 270 tonne. READ MORE Images provided by public gallery. is a holiding of TM Report Abuse
Table of Contents History is a mirror that reflects the past events and happenings to the inquisitive eyes of the researchers who, years and centuries later, anxiously and eagerly try to scrutinize the past generations in order to recognize among them the forgotten figures, their roles, and their decisive historical impact. It teaches lessons of benevolence, honesty, and righteousness from the good among them and creates a strong dislike for the evil ones so that their footsteps are not followed. Nevertheless, the mirror of history is not as transparent and exhilarating as it should be; for, instead of illustrating the birth of stars and the sunrise, it has crammed the long and tortuous memory of ages and epochs with bitter recollections, sad views of sunset and horrendous scenes of darkness! Then, are the historians to be blamed to have witnessed most of the sorrows, battles, killings, wailings, and captivities, overlooking the beautiful blossoms and flowerings; or else, since the historians aspired to record something attractive and unique, to witness a smile, and to profile kind and relaxing moments of history and there were few of them to be found, and such moments were overshadowed by the onslaught of brutalities and oppressions! In any case, we are now opening another page from the early history of Islam that has perhaps remained hidden from the eyes of majority of Muslims across the world. However, the magnitude of oppression and aggression committed against innocent human beings and brutalities reported in the pages of history against the inhabitants of the holy city of Medina still shakes human conscience, and mournfully bereaves souls and bitterly torments fair-minded people. The battle of Harrah, which should be rightfully called the “tragedy of Harrah” occurred just 64 years after the migration of the Holy Prophet (s) to Medina and 53 years after his sad demise. It took place in Medina, a city that was named as the city of the Prophet (s) whose people were from the generation of the men and women who fore mostly established the foundations of amity, compassion, benevolence, honesty and great Islamic culture throughout the violently hostile Arab lands, and with their self-sacrifice removed the pagan Arab customs of murder, plunder, and transgression and promoted the divine culture of knowledge and insight, and respect for human dignity. However, within this short historical period of 64 years, especially after the sad demise of the Prophet of God (s), the Muslim community witnessed certain adverse and unanticipated events which eventually led the Umayyad rule over them. Banu Umayyah (the Umayyids) that was the polytheist tribe, and among the most aggressive ones against the Prophet (s) and the Muslims, took the reign of Caliphate and command of the Muslims' lives, property, and honor just within 40 years of the demise of the Prophet (s). Yesterday's rebels and polytheists now returned triumphantly and sat on the Prophet's (s) pulpit and proclaimed to be the commanders of the faithful! Those freed at the conquest of Mecca and those who enjoyed the Prophet's clemency and compassion (known as 'tulaqa'), were resolute to take his Ummah as prisoners! It was thus that after the battle of Harrah “Those among the children and descendents of Ansār (Helpers) and Muhājirin (Emigrants) who survived this tragedy had to formally admit in front of the commander of the Shāmi (Syrian) army that they were the slaves of Yazīd (the leader of the Umayyid) and that he is allowed to do with them whatever he wished to!” Achievements of this Research This research does not intend to call the uprising of the inhabitants of Medina against the oppressive Umayyid rule of Yazid as great socio-religious bravery, although it can neither ignore the existence of religious, humanistic, and reformative motivations in that uprising. However, it can definitely arrive at the conclusion that the trend of Islamic Caliphate transformed into an anti-Islamic and anti-human trend in which Yazīd's hereditary monarchy represented the peak of this deviation. The foundation of every government, its goals, its treatment of subjects and policies in general and its performance in particular are the most self-evident indicators of its rightfulness, legitimacy, and humanness, and the clearest evidences of its illegitimacy as well. “Harrah tragedy” is only second to the “great tragedy of Karbalā” and the martyrdom of the descendents of Prophet (s) at the hands of Yazīd's army that was caused by the incompetence and oppressive nature of the Umayyid rule. It evidently showed that if the government of a Muslim society gives up the religious and human standards, how disastrous it can be to the religion and the Muslim ummah. We have attempted, in the following pages, to illustrate as much of the Harrah tragedy and issues related to some of its important aspects that have been recorded in history's memory, and to make a critical review and analyze them whenever necessary. Among other achievements of this research that were not brought up in the main body of the book are briefly listed as follows: A. Although the tragedy of Karbalā in 61 A.H. (680 C.E.) and the study of its different ideological and socio-political aftermaths could by itself be a vivid testimony to the brutality of Yazīd's and Umayyid's monarchy and an indication of the social degradation under the illegitimate political administrations of that era, the battle of Harrah that took place two or three years after the event of Karbalā showed that the latter, too, had not been a casual event perpetrated by the Umayyid ruling system. It showed that the essence of Umayyid monarchy demanded involvement in open onslaughts of murder and pillage of the household of Prophet (s), forcing such great men as Imam Husayn b. 'Alī ('a), who refused to recognize their rule, to pay for his religiosity and noble-spiritedness by his own blood and that of his loved ones. The Harrah tragedy was in fact confirmatory evidence to the Umayyid's rebellious attitude towards religion of Islam and its humanistic values. B. In the process of the Madinans' revolt and among various figures who lost their lives, were executed, fled from Medina, or had to swear allegiance to Yazīd out of degradation and humiliation and to call themselves his slaves, there were those who in the earlier years of the formation of deviation in political leadership of the Islamic community refused to take even the smallest steps in the reformation and correction of the deviated politico-religious trends; and when they happened to do so and stand against such perversions, was also a Christian. Subsequently, those who from the outset merely surrendered to the anti-Islamic trends and viewed religion as a means of power and polity, took up the rule, recruited a powerful and equipped army of newly converted Muslims who were unfamiliar with the basic teachings of the Islam, and by means of forged traditions of the Prophet (s) and ostensibly religious justifications persuaded them to slaughter and plunder the Muslims! It is truly admonitory that such men as 'Abd Allāh b. 'Umar who, according to the historical reports regarded such high status and authenticity for themselves and were so cautious and obsessive during the Caliphate of 'Alī b. Abī Tālib ('a) that they would say, “We should be the last ones to swear allegiance to 'Alī1!” Whereas in order to prevent people from opposition to Yazīd and to encourage them to pledge allegiance to him, they proclaimed, “The one who dies without a pledge of allegiance to Yazīd will die similar to the one who dies in a state of ignorance.”222 Yet, what is more admonitory is that these people who did not pledge allegiance to 'Alī ('a)'s mighty hands, mind, and faith or when they did they did it hesitantly, hastened by night to pledge allegiance to such persons as Hajjāj b. Yūsuf Thaqafī - the historically notorious savage - not by shaking his hand as it was common but by vilely kissing his feet! C. From whatever aspect that is considered, the tragedy of Karbalā and the massacre and plunder of Madinans are too massive and shameful; but what makes the resonance of those tragedies more painful and agonizing is that the perpetrators of such cruelities have introduced their inhuman actions as based on faith and religious foundations, to the extent that the commanders of Yazīd army in order to spur the troops to fight would shout at them ”yā khail Allāh - O Army of Allah!”3 Or, in the battle of Harrah, Muslim b. 'Uqba - the commander of Syrian army - wishes that before dying he would be able to suppress the revolt of Medina and to terminate Yazīd's opponents in order to have enough spiritual provision in his book of deeds when meeting Allah on the day of Resurrection! No doubt, such slogans, statements and tactics are more of a devilish and political nature than being rooted in ignorance and misunderstanding of religion. Unfortunately these policies and practices rapidly influenced the hearts and minds of the newly converted naïve Muslims and the weak in faith and knowledge of Islamic teachings at that time. It is for these reasons that the true scholars and the guardians of ideological boundaries of religion have always been concerned with such misapplications and misunderstanding of religion by the begrudged and spiteful and the feebleminded. In addition, whenever possible, they have tried to represent the humane and rational essence of religion so that no counter human and imprudent movement might be able to disguise its deviated and detrimental face under superficially religious slogans and banners. Hoping that report of this crucial period of early Islamic history may be a step towards further appreciation of the real nature of the Umayyid's Rule and its background, brutal policies and devilish tactics, its distortion of the Islamic teachings and the grievous aftermaths. It may provide lessons from this painful incident for distinguishing truth from falsehood and also serve as admonitions for avoiding wrong, inhumane, and anti-religious ways and as motivation for moving toward justice, fairness, and righteousness. Ahmad Turābī April 2008 • 1. Ibn Abī al-Hadīd, Sharh-i Nahj al-Balāgha, vol. 4, p.11. • 2. Dhahabī, Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā, vol. 3, p. 325. • 3. Al-Mufīd, Al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 92.
Glaucoma is an eye disease that can occur at any age, but is more common if you are over 40. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in New Zealand. Though its progression can be controlled with ongoing treatment, early detection is the key which is why regular eye examinations are important. If you are over 40 you should be checked every 2 years, and if you have a family history of glaucoma you should be checked every year. glaucoma eye Open angle glaucoma Glaucoma is associated with increased pressure in the eye. The eye produces a fluid (aqueous), which needs to drain out of the eye at the same rate as it is being produced. If this doesn’t happen, the pressure in the eye increases resulting in damage to the optic nerve. As the disease progresses subsequent damage will result in blind spots in the vision. Treatment, usually with eye drops, will not recover any lost vision but will slow down the damage process. Optic nerve Retina Iris Cornea Pupil Lens Anterior chamber Vitreous chamber Macular Glaucoma treatment At Highbury Optometrists we are now qualified to treat and manage certain types of glaucoma. Treatment normally involves prescription eye drops. More advanced cases of glaucoma can require surgical treatment from an ophthalmologist as well. Glaucoma testing We carry out basic glaucoma screening tests on all patients. If risk factors for glaucoma are identified then further testing is done using visual field analyser and Optical coherence tomography OCT. Acute glaucoma There is another type of glaucoma called acute glaucoma. This occurs where the anterior chamber of the eye is too shallow. The anterior chamber of the eye becomes increasingly shallow with age, and can sometimes reach the point where it obstructs fluid outflow from the eye. This causes the pressure in the eye to rise very quickly causing severe pain, a red eye, sometimes blurred vision and halos around lights. It is important to seek treatment immediately if this occurs. Pigment dispersion glaucoma In some people, pigment from the iris becomes loose and floats freely in the fluid in the anterior chamber of the eye. Internal fluid, known as the aqueous humour is constantly forming and draining from the eye. The free pigment can block the fluid drainage channels resulting in higher internal eye pressure and ultimately leading to glaucoma. For more information download the glaucoma brochure. glaucoma pdf icon Comodo SSL
1 April 1989 Technology: NASA hunts for money and materials THIS MONTH committees in the US Congress will begin hearing arguments for increasing the budget for the international space station from dollars 970 million to dollars 2 billion. NASA argues that this increase is essential if the US is to keep to its schedule of putting the first segments of the space station into orbit by the beginning of 1995. While the politicians argue, the engineers are also trying to make decisions which are crucial if they are to meet the 1995 deadline. Most important is the specification of experimental modules in the laboratories where the astronauts will work. The choice of modules and their mass and position will determine how each part of the station will be stressed in space. The engineers need to know how this stress will be distributed in order to carry out their detailed design work. NASA must also decide within the next few weeks which material will form the important outer skin of these modules. Don Dees, materials engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center which is in charge of the design work, says: ‘Within a few weeks we will have reached the point where something will have to be done. Otherwise we will just end up talking, and not acting.’ Last week, Boeing, the contractor for the main module, presented NASA with the results of a two-year study recommending that it use the aluminium alloy 2219 for the body of this part of the station. This alloy is stronger and lighter than the aluminium alloys used on previous space missions. It contains 6.3 per cent copper, and has a crystal structure in which the copper prevents deformation of the metal when it is bent. The space station must be able to survive in a hostile environment. Ultraviolet radiation in space dissociates molecular oxygen to form atomic oxygen, which at this distance from Earth does not encounter many other oxygen atoms and so remains a stable entity. Atomic oxygen corrodes all but the most resistant materials. The modules must also resist bombardment by tiny specks of space debris travelling at very high speeds, which could puncture their outer skin. This skin must endure drastic swings in temperature during its 30-year lifetime, reflecting sunlight during the day and keeping the station’s own heat in at night. Bland Stein, assistant chief of materials at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, has been working on the design of the truss to which the modules will be attached. He says: ‘We understand something about the effect of atomic oxygen and thermal cycling. But we don’t know what impact all these things could have when they are acting together.’ So far, Boeing has decided that the skin, which will be about a half a centimetre thick, should consist of layers of an aluminium-coated polymer. Tests show that this will cushion the blows from flying particles, and is a good thermal barrier. The company has yet to decide whether the skin will need an extra ceramic layer.
Dismiss Notice Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Rate of reaction 1. Apr 9, 2007 #1 I am currently doing an experiment. The experiment is to investigate the dependence of reaction rate on conc. for the reaction between sodum thiosulphate reacts with dilute acids By varying concentrations of thiosulphate and H+ respectively in 2 experiments.We can easily find that speed of reaction is proportional to conc. of reaction. the thing I want to ask is Drops of thiosulphate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Drops of water 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Drops of H+ 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 Drops of water 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 what do we need to make the total volume constant for the reacions? is it because to standadize the experimentally condition , each time only 20cm3 thiosulphate solution is used.Addition of water enables different conc. of thiosulphate all at 20 cm3???? I am really frustrated . Last edited: Apr 9, 2007 2. jcsd 3. Apr 10, 2007 #2 Can anyone help me? 4. Apr 10, 2007 #3 User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Gold Member Measure the density of the resulting solution and record the total mass of solution to correct for the effect of dilution. Plot your data using the corrected concentrations. Since you are using very small reaction sizes (drops?) you will have to use very small calibrated volumetric pipets and an accurate analytical scale. You may find that you can assume that the density of the resulting solutions are a weighted average of the densities of the original thiosulfate solution and the acid solution. This will require you to accurately weigh the amounts of solution you add (weigh a drop of thiosulfate ten times and use the average). 5. Apr 10, 2007 #4 Since I carry out a microscale experiment , So I need to use "DROPS". So the total volume should kept constant because I can accurately measure the densisities of cpds? But I am not fully understand it The experiment that I carried out is to find the relationship between conc. of reactant and rate of reaction.So how does it relate to teh total volume of solution? 6. Apr 10, 2007 #5 User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Gold Member If you have a given concentration of thiosulfate (or acid) in a drop, you will add a certain amount of the reagent to the solution dropwise. If you know the total mass of the solution after your addition and its density you can calculate the total volume of solution: Volume = Mass/density This will give you the updated volume of the solution and allow you to correct the concentration due to dilution. If you have a solution containing several different species from several different solutions (each with unique densities) you can calculate the density of the final solution using a weighted average. Sample of solution that has 6 drops of solution 1, 8 drops of solution 2 and 4 drops of solution 3. Solution 1 density 1.0000 g/mL average weight of drop is 0.087 grams Solution 2 density 1.0360 g/mL average weight of drop is 0.092 grams Solution 3 density 1.0041 g/mL average weight of drop is 0.089 grams Total drops in solution is 18 drops that weighs 1.614 grams (6 drops * 0.087 g/drop + 8 drops * 0.092 g/drop + 4 drops * 0.089 g/drop). Alternatively, you could perform the addition to your cuvette while it is on an analytical scale. What is important is the total weight of solution and the weights of the added solutions. The calculated density will be: density = (weight of added Solution 1/total weight)density of Solution 1 + (weight of added Solution 2/total weight)density of Solution 2+ (weight of added Solution 3/total weight)density of Solution 3 Substituting yields: density = (0.522g/1.614g)1.000 + (0.736g/1.614g)1.036 + (.356g/1.614g)1.0041 density = 0.3234 + 0.4724 + 0.2215 = 1.017 g/mL volume of solution is therefore: volume = 1.614g/1.017g/mL = 1.587 mL This is now Solution 4, about which you know the volume and the amount of each reagent added. Addition of a few drops of any of the other solutions to it will yield a new solution that can be analyzed in a similar fashion. You don't need to keep the volume constant... just keep track of the volume and update the concentrations after each addition. The calculations will be lengthy and you should be very methodical. Tabulate your data at each datapoint. Similar Discussions: Rate of reaction 1. Rate of reaction (Replies: 2) 2. Rate of Reaction (Replies: 2) 3. Rate of Reaction? (Replies: 5) 4. Reaction rates (Replies: 1)
PSYC 3210 :: Homework - Probe Stimulus Design With any luck, by next week the starling you started training will successfully learn to discriminate between the S+ and the S- stimuli. But what has it really learned? Did it simply memorize the specific stimuli you trained it on, or did it learn the categories the stimuli belong to? It ought to be easier to remember “peck when you hear a song from bird A” than to try to remember a bunch of (unconnected) stimuli, but this is something we have to test. Another way of stating the question is whether your bird generalized from the exemplars you provided to the category the exemplars came from. Assuming this is the case, a related (but somewhat more difficult) question is how the starlings represent the categories internally. There are a few theoretical possibilities, but we’re just going to consider feature theory, which proposes that categories are represented by the combination of features that define membership. For example, if you were the subject, and the experimenter trained you to discriminate between chairs and tables, you might classify novel exemplars that are large and lack backs as tables and exemplars that are small and have backs as chairs. In this case, you might be more likely to misclassify exemplars that are border cases (like stools). Working with your group, your task for next week is to design two experiments, one to test for generalization and one to test a hypothesis of your choice about the feature (or features) that your bird used to discriminate the stimuli. To test for generalization, you present novel exemplars of the category and see how the birds respond. This is going to be pretty straightforward, because you only used 5 of the provided S+ recordings in the original training. You also need some control S- stimuli, and there are lots of those, too. Choose three novel S+ recordings and three novel S- recordings. Category features The first thing you need to do is come up with a hypothesis about what features your starling (or starlings in general) use to categorize the songs of different individuals. Features can be pretty much anything: the motifs, the sequence of motifs, the average pitch, the rhythm, the loudness, etc. The only constraint on your hypothesis is that it has to involve a feature that you can figure out how to manipulate in the sound files. Audacity will let you do basic cutting and pasting, as well as a whole host of complicated transformations. There are also many other programs for sound editing that you can use. You may need to spend a lot of time looking at spectrograms and discussing possibilities to come up with a hypothesis. Next, you need to generate specific predictions from your hypothesis. The two most obvious ones you can make are that (A) removing the feature(s) from the S+ stimuli will reduce the response rate and (B) adding the feature(s) to the S- stimuli will increase the response rate. Another way of stating these predictions is that morphing the S- and S+ stimuli into each other will cause the response rate to increase as you get closer to the S+ stimuli and decrease as you get closer to the S- stimuli. In contrast, if you change some feature that isn’t being used, you wouldn’t expect to see any effect. Write down your hypothesis and your predictions! Even if you’re wrong, it’s important to be clear about what you’re testing. Finally, design the stimuli that will test those predictions. You want to have stimuli that test both ends of the spectrum between S+ and S-. If this doesn’t seem possible, you can just test one end, but the results may be more difficult to interpret. Design between 5-10 stimuli. It’s important to vary the stimuli so you don’t pseudoreplicate (we’ll discuss this next week). For example, if you’re changing the order of the motifs, generate stimuli with several different orderings. Upload the stimuli you design to Collab Resources. Create a subdirectory under “Starling Probe Stimuli” and put your files in there. The stimuli need to be 44.1 kHz, 16-bit WAVE files (no mp3s!).
domingo, 25 de maio de 2014 Você sabe o que smarty pants e fancy-pants significam? By the title of the post, you must have noticed how similar the two expressions are. They can really have a lot to do with each other, but there are certain things we should always take into account. Let's start with smarty pants. That's a very well known expression I hear all the time on movies and the like. Try to see yourself in this situation: you're in classroom and there's this little guy next to you who's always raising his hand to answer all the questions. You think he's a real apple polisher [someone who attempts to curry favor with authority for personal gain], but what he's really trying to do is to seem cleverer than everybody else. That's a smarty pants. A smarty pants is that person who makes a point to cause a good impression and make everybody think he's smart. Are you a smart pants? Do you know a smarty pants? Many people consider that kind of people very irritating. What do you think? Now let's move on to our second expression "fancy-pants". You might be wondering why that expression has a hyphen and the first one does not. Well, that's one of the differences between the two expressions [besides their meanings]. Smarty pants is a noun, whereas fancy-pants is an adjective and therefore should always be used before a noun. If you want to make it a noun, all you have to do is drop the hyphen and there you have it. The same way in order to turn smarty pants into an adjective, include a hyphen and use it before a noun. Simple as that. But back to fancy-pants, if something or someone is fancy-pants, it tries to seem too attractive or too clever in a way that is false. What does that mean? Let's use an example to understand the expression better. You go to a very fancy restaurant and you order some expensive french dessert you quite don't understand. All you know is that it is pretty pricey. When it finally comes to your table, you realize it is nothing but a mango cut into little pieces, a fruit that is actually very common in the place you come from. You can't believe you're paying 10 times as much for something you get for free straight from your own mango tree at your backyard. When someone asks you about your experience at the restaurant, you say: The place was great, but not the fancy-pants food. That's it for today guys. Take care! sexta-feira, 23 de maio de 2014 Você sabe como dizer que um produto está fora da validade em Inglês? You've been very busy at work and don't have much time to go shopping for food. One day, when you decide to take a look at what you still have in the fridge, you see most your food is past their sell-by date. A sell-by date is a date put on food products to show the latest date that they can be sold. If some food's past its sell-by date, it means the food should not be consumed because it's very likely to be rotten. So there you have it. Next time somebody asks about the sell-by date of some food, you already know what you're supposed to look for. The thing is, that expression is also used in a figurative way referring to people too old to be useful or wanted. Just like the food whose sell-by date is exceeded, when someone's past his sell-by date, he can be judged by his great age. For example, some woman you know wants to have a baby, but she's been single for a very long time and now she may be too old to be pregnant. While telling her about the risks of having a baby at such advanced age, she tells you: There's plenty of time to have a baby, I'm not past my sell-by date yet. That means she doesn't see herself as someone very old and therefore can keep a pregnancy. That's it for now guys. See you next time! quinta-feira, 22 de maio de 2014 O que significa "to put it in a nutshell"? Do you know what a nutshell is? If you have never heard of that word before, just take a look at the picture above. That's what a nutshell is. Simple huh? But now you may be wondering what that has to do with the expression of the day. Well, technically nothing. An expression doesn't have to be necessarily attached to the literal meaning of its words. That's actually one of the main characteristics of an expression/idiom. But let's learn the expression with the word nutshell! You know those moments when you want to be as straightforward as possible with someone? Maybe you're in a very complicated situation where you have to say something really embarrassing to someone. You want it to be really quick, so you make sure you use as fewer words as possible. For example, you're the boss at a very important company and now you have to lead a meeting with several of your employees to fire them. So, in the middle of the meeting, while you're trying to finally get to your point, you say: To put it in a nutshell, you're all fired. In a nutshell means very briefly, something you say when you want to be very concise. So maybe during that meeting, you would have to go through all the explanations as to why your company needs to make many employees redundant. So to make things faster and easier [at least for you], you put it all in a nutshell and get it over with. The idea behind the expression is that a nutshell is very tiny and therefore it would hold a very small amount of anything. So imagine that when you use that expression, you're using a very small amount of words so it will fit in a nutshell. That's it for now guys. Take care! quarta-feira, 21 de maio de 2014 O que significa "sticky hands"? First of all, do you know what sticky means? If you're an intermediate English student, you must have realized that many adjectives tend to end with the letter y. Those are usually adjectives that come from a verb. Sticky, as our example, is actually everything related to something that sticks, that is to say, something that has the property of adhering to a surface. The thing is, sticky is part of many idiomatic expressions. Today we're going to learn one of them. Stay around and you won't regret. What would you think if someone told you a friend of yours has sticky fingers? We've learned in the introduction of this post that something sticky is everything that has the property of sticking to a surface. So, does it make sense in your head if you said someone has sticky hands? Don't rush into thinking that that person is like spider-man that can crawl up buildings by just sticking to their walls. As an expression, when someone has sticky hands, it means he has a tendency to steal. It comes from the idea that everything that person touches sticks to his hands. So, imagine you're at work and something's been stolen. The thing is, over the past months, people from your work, including you, have missed something from their desk at some point of the day. So, People are starting to believe there might be someone in the office that has sticky hands. That's it for today guys. Take care! terça-feira, 20 de maio de 2014 O que significa "pet peeve"? Can you remember of something that's constantly annoying you? No matter what you do, there's no way you're getting rid of it for good. It will always come right back at you and haunt you once more. That's basically what we call a pet peeve. Bu let's dig into it a little further. It will be fun. Let's think now about women. Everybody knows that women go through a certain sensitive period every month and we as men should therefore be more careful with every move we make around them. Many things can piss them off. One of the biggest pet peeve of theirs is men not putting down the toilet seat for them. We call it a pet peeve because it's a frequent annoyance, a very often encountered annoyance. But everybody has one or more pet peeves, not only women. For me, for example, one of my biggest pet peeves is waiting in line. I'm from Brazil and everybody knows how obsessed with lines we are. Even in places where lines are not even required, people make a point to form them. I just don't get it. It's a big pet peeve of mine. So what about yours? Tell me one of your biggest pet peeve in the comment section below! See you next time! domingo, 18 de maio de 2014 Você sabe o que significa a expressão "hit and miss"? The expression hit and miss has basically two meanings. We're going to get to know both of them through the examples I'm about to give you. I got those examples from Twitter, which is actually a very good way to look for an idiom and be certain of how native English speakers use it. I highly recommend it. One of the twits was like this: Blog awards can be really hit and miss. Do you understand what that means? Let's break it down. When you call something hit and miss, you're saying it was carelessly planned. What the person from twitter meant to say by calling the blog awards hit and miss was that we shouldn't trust it, because it is actually made in such a random way that it shouldn't even be taken seriously. Let's think of a different example. Suppose you're given the mission of putting on a surprise party for one of your friends. All your mutual friends give you their contribution in money and you're expected to think about everything. The thing is, you didn't mention you would be very busy during all the preparations and the party ends up a total failure. The friends who entrusted you with that task get so shocked at how careless the place looked that some of them criticize you very harshly. One of them says: We entrusted you with that very special task and now everything seems like there was no planning. This party is just hit and miss! A different twit shows the second meaning for the expression hit and miss. This time, we have someone speaking harshly about an actor and his works. The twit goes: He's not done anything funny since his last movie, and that was largely hit and miss. What does that mean? He was saying the only funny movie that actor's been part of was a success that happened by total chance, that is to say, by pure luck. There's another thing that's commonly called hit and miss. You know weather forecasting? it's become more accurate over the past years, but it used to be very hit and miss. It was as likely to be bad as to be good and people couldn't really trust it very much. Do you have your own examples? Leave us in the comment section bellow. See you! O que significa a expressão "for old times' sake"? People like to remember old memories right? There's even a very known saying that goes like "remembering is living", which in Portuguese would be something like "relembrar é viver". Old memories are also related to loved people that are no longer too close to you. For example, you had a very good childhood, but all your friends from the past have disappeared and the only thing left now are your memories. Suppose one day, while you're walking down the street, you run into a childhood friend you haven't seen in many years. It takes you a while to recognize him, but soon as it hits you that's your old friend, you run up to him for a very warm greeting. You try to do some catching up, but there's very much to tell. That's when you say: Do you want to have lunch together sometime, just for old times' sake? When you do something for old times' sake, you do it as a way to remember a happy time in your past. Maybe you and your friend used to go out a lot in your childhood, but now for some reason you can't get together as often. So, for old times' sake, you have lunch together and catch up on each other's news. Speaking of which, if you know and like the american sitcom "Friends", you also must know that since its final episode, which was about 10 years ago, fans have expected them to reunite on the screen someday just for old times' sake. The thing is, Friends was such a huge success in the past. Putting the cast together just for one last time would be a very good idea, but I'm afraid that's never going to happen. That's it for today guys. Take care! sábado, 17 de maio de 2014 Você sabe o que significa o termo "backseat driver"? The idiom of the day called my attention in a special way because I know someone who's a real backseat driver: my mom. I don't have my licence yet, but my brother's had his for a while and since the very first day he stepped into a car to drive, my mom's been giving him instructions from the backseat although she can't drive herself. In English, we call someone like that a backseat driver. Those are the people who continuously tell the driver how they should drive and can be very annoying at times. Do you know anyone like that? The interesting thing about that idiom is that you can use it with anyone who tries to control things even though it is not their responsibility. People like that usually like to be the leader of everything and have a lot of trouble being controlled. I personally like a very famous brazilian TV show called O Aprendiz, which is actually based on the american TV show The Apprentice. The show stars some business people splitted into two teams competing in an elimination competition. What that show has to do with our idiom is that, since there's a different leader appointed by the two teams every week, we can clearly see who are the real backseat drivers. Those are the ones who always end up leading tasks that are supposed to be led by the leader. They always get in the way of some important decisions and want to have the final word in every argument. Backseat drivers usually get into a lot of troubles because they have a very strong personality. I'm not sure if that's a strength or weakness in the business world. What do you think? See you next time! O que significa a expressão "give someone a pass"? [expressão retirada do seriado Men at Work] One of these days, while I was watching Men at Work, a very cool american sitcom, I heard somebody saying something like: I'll give you a pass on that. Do you know what that means? Here's what was happening when that idiom came up: after fighting over silly things, a couple was finally trying to make up. In the middle of their reconciliation, the man said something that was not very appropriate for that moment. The woman was so happy and distracted that she decided not to get mad at him and give it no importance. That was when she said: I'll give you a pass on that. When you give someone a pass, you overlook something and give it only a cursory examination [even when the person deserves to be criticized]. You can do that for several reasons. Like in the case of the woman in the american sitcom, you may be too happy for caring about what they did or said. If we take a closer look at the idiom, we will realize it has everything to do with the context of a school. For example, a teacher may decide to advance a difficult student out of his grade for simply wanting to get rid of him. So he gives him a pass even though the student is not prepared. Do you have any examples of your own? Leave us in the comment section bellow. Talk to you next time! O que significa "in one's second childhood"? The expression of the day is very interesting because everybody is going to relate to it. You know those days when you're feeling like a child and want to do things adult people normally don't do? Our expression has everything to do with that feeling. Imagine, for example, you've always dreamed of going to Disneyland but your parents couldn't afford the trip when you were a child. Now you're all grown up, can afford your own trips and everything in your life has changed except for one thing: you still wanna go to Disneyland. One day, when you finally make it there, you're so blown away by everything in the place that you start acting like a child. People around you say you're in your second childhood. But wait, what does that mean? When you're in your second childhood, you're interested in things or people that normally interest children. Can you remember of some examples of your own? C'mon! Everybody's like that at some point of their lives. For instance, if you still have your grandmother, don't you feel like you're back in your childhood every time you're around her? Let's suppose you spent the whole weekend at your grandma's and now you're back home talking to a friend of yours. He wants to know about your weekend and you say: It was awesome! Every time I spend weekends or holidays at grandma's, I feel as if I'm in my second childhood. We make cake, I go to the river and throw stones, she tells me all her stories and it's awesome. That's it for now guys. Talk to you next time! segunda-feira, 12 de maio de 2014 2 idioms com a palavra STRAIN Are you familiar with the word strain? If not, stick around and not only will you learn the definition of the word, but also learn three new expressions. Strain can work both as a verb and a noun. As a verb, to strain means to make a great effort to do something, as in "I strained forward to get a better view". Strain as a noun refers to "a severe demand on strength, resources, etc", as in "It's a real strain having to get up early every morning". I've googled the word strain for some combinations and here's what I've found: muscle strain, eye strain, physical strain, mental strain, etc. Now let's learn some expressions with the word strain! Imagine you have a relative who's been working great amount of hours a day and everybody's worried about his health. One day, when you have a rare chance to get a minute of his attention, you try to talk some sense into him. You say: If you continue to work like crazy that way, you're eventually going to crack under the strain. What does that mean? When you crack under the strain, you have a mental or emotional collapse because of continued work or stress. If we try to think of some more examples, we may remember that more and more women these days have to take care of their home and still work outside, which may be a great source of too much stress. If they never break that strict routine, they may crack under the strain. What do you think about that? Now let's suppose your friend's been dating this really jealous guy who never lets her do anything out of his sight. You think that relationship is making her more and more depressed and soon he'll drive her crazy. Before that happens, you call her aside to have a little talk and among the many things you tell her, one of them is: I think you should break up with your boyfriend. Your troubling relationship puts a strain on you. If something puts a strain on you, it burdens or overloads you. That's the figurative usage of the expression, but we can also say something is putting a strain on something or someone in a literal way. For example, you're in your car about to drive across a fragile bridge when you see there are too many trucks passing past you at the same time. You're worried the weight of the trucks might place a strain on the bridge, so you pull over for a minute until the way's clear. That's it for today guys. See you next time! O que significa "to go through the motions"? I don't know if you've ever stumbled upon the idiom of the day, but it's very likely you have. It is a very common way of addressing people who are not putting their heart into what they're doing, and what do I mean by that? When you're going through the motions or, as I said before, are not putting your heart into something, you're doing it in a cursory fashion because you're expected to do it, not because you want to. Let's go over some examples of people who are just going through the motions. There are many reasons for someone to be making a feeble effort to do something. If you're sad, for example, and you still have to do something, you may not put all effort into it and end up going through the motions. When someone very close to you dies, you may get so sad you wind up going through the motions of living. That means you're going to keep living because you have to, but you're not going to feel much of it, maybe you're going to follow through your routine in a very automatic way. Let's think of a less dramatic situation: your husband has been pretty busy lately, and every time he gets home, he seems to want nothing but rest. Last time you asked him to play with the children and help them with their homework, you could see he was actually just going through the motions. He just sat by their side with his eyes barely open and it all seemed like a brutal torture. The thing is, the situation is getting so bad even during sex time you get the feeling he's just going through the motions. That's it for today guys. Take care! domingo, 11 de maio de 2014 Aprenda 3 idioms com a palavra Jack Hey guys, I know it's been a while I've not come up with new posts, but this time I'm going to try to update my blog more often. Today we have some interesting expressions with the word jack. You may recognize that word as a man's name, but do you know any expression containing the word jack as a common noun? Let's see! Our first two expressions have something in common because they are related to romantic relationships. Picture this: you have a married male friend who's always complaining about his wife. Actually, you think he has no reason to be complaining about her because he's been doing things married people shouldn't do. You believe his wife is just reacting to the unpleasant way he's been treating her lately. One day, while you're talking to your friend, he finds a way to start complaining about his wife again, and that's when you decide to speak your mind. You say: Don't blame your wife for being short-tempered with you; you've been so unpleasant to her lately. A good Jack makes a good Jill. Do you have any idea what that means? When you say a good Jack makes a good Jill, you're just saying that if a husband wants his wife to be loving and respectful, he should be loving and respectful in the first place. Saying "a good husband makes a good wife" is another option. You can only use that expression with couples, but we can all agree it could apply to any kind of relationship. When you want respect from someone, you should respect him first. What do you think? Leave us your opinion in the comment section bellow! Our second expression, as I said before, is also related to relationships. Have you ever heard of the expression "Every Jack has his Jill"? That's very easy to understand if you keep in mind Jack's the representative of a man and Jill's the representative of a woman. In Portuguese, when we want to say that everybody will eventually find a romantic partner, we say something like "toda panela tem sua tampa". In English, saying "every Jack has his Jill" is almost the same thing, only with a little difference: you can only say "Every Jack has his Jill" to a man. You may have a male friend who's always sad for not having a girlfriend. Next time he turns to you for comfort, you can say "Every Jack has his Jill". Maybe that'll do. And finally our third expression of the day: a jack of all trades. This expression is a little different from the other two because it's not used as the name of a man, and therefore, its first letter should not be capitalized. Being a jack of all trades is something good, everybody would like to be a jack of all trades or at least have someone like that around. That's because a jack of all trades is someone who has many skills or does many different jobs. Women usually turn to men when they need to fix something at home. When they have a husband who can be considered a jack of all trades, they don't have to be worried. They can do plumbing, carpentry, or even a bit of gardening.
Saturday, January 3, 2009 The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson Steven Johnson presents the London cholera epidemic of 1854, and the work of Dr. John Snow and Rev. Henry Whitehead to link cholera to a water source, as multiple conflicts. It is a conflict between two species, Vibrio cholerae and Homo sapiens. It is a conflict of ideas between tradition and evidence. It is also a conflict between the problems arising from the high density living of cities and the human capacity to solve those problems. In the first case, a colony of V. cholerae arguably won the bout in 1854. The outbreak was one of the most intense in London’s history, especially considering how rapidly it spread and killed. That it ended when it did may be due as much to happenstance and desperation to act as to a winning argument from evidence. In the immediate wake of the outbreak, the view that cholera was a waterborne illness was not widely accepted. In the second case, the reasoned case from evidence eventually won over tradition. This led to a victory over cholera in London also. Though cholera is still a problem in parts of the world, the answers implemented in London (better sanitation and clean drinking water) will work anywhere. Johnson is not too hard on the opponents of Snow. It was widely accepted that disease was caused by miasma, or bad air. It was hard for even intelligent people of the time to accept that disease could be caused by something that could not be detected by the senses (though an Italian scientist had viewed V. cholera under the microscope, it was not widely known). In fact, Snow hadn’t found the cause of cholera, only how it was transmitted. In the last case, Johnson happily reports that human innovation has triumphed over the problems of cities so far. In many ways, cities are very advantages ways for people to live. The last chapter launches from Snow’s study of the cholera epidemic, and the map he used to illustrate his findings, to how smarter maps and other innovations are creating a bright future for cities. Snow, Whitehead and science eventually are victorious in the aftermath of the 1854 epidemic, but it is cities that are the big winners. Johnson brings up a number of vulnerabilities of cities in the next several decades. He is confident that the ingenuity show by the likes of Snow and Whitehead, and modern technology they couldn’t imagine, will overcome most of these problems. Even the problems that can’t be overcome don’t seem to be enough to end the urbanizing trend around the globe. Order this book here.
Thousands of people are treated each year for burn injuries related to the misuse of gasoline. It is important to remember that gasoline has only ONE proper use - to power vehicles or machinery. Remember that gasoline is highly volatile! Just one gallon of gasoline is equivalent to 14 sticks of dynamite in explosive force. Vapors from gasoline are also dangerous! Gasoline vapors are heavier than air; they flow invisibly along the ground and can ignite from a flame, spark, hot surface or static electricity causing a shattering explosion. When using gasoline, follow these safety tips for your protection Gasoline Storage: Additional Information NHTSA 1-97 Monday, January 6, 1997 Dr. Martinez told owners who have bed liners in their pickups to be especially careful. A bed liner is a plastic, protective lining that fits inside pickup beds to protect the vehicle's surface from wear and tear. According to NHTSA, there have been 24 fires and 5 injuries associated with static electricity discharge from portable fuel containers, some of which included serious injuries and extensive property damage. Most of the fires involved pickup trucks that had plastic bed liners. Reports also describe fires that resulted while portable gasoline containers were being filled in trunks and passenger compartments of vehicles, when carpeting acted as an insulator. NHTSA recommends the following safe procedures for filling portable gasoline containers:
The Proper Use of Time-Out The Proper Use of Time-Out Time-out is probably one of the most well known and widely used disciplinary techniques to emerge since the baby boom of the 50's. It was originally used as an alternative to spanking and other forms of corporal punishment, and became very popular with the advent of behaviorally oriented parenting programs. Today it is still considered a useful tool in the parents' bag of tricks, and it can be very effective if employed properly. We offer the following guidelines. The primary function of time-out is to interrupt a non-desirable behavior and at the same time provide an opportunity for the child to collect herself before continuing to act. The non-desirable behavior can include breaking a rule such as no hitting, or not complying with a request or expectation such as completing a chore after being told. Time-out is used to remind the child of the rule as well as reinforce the idea that deviation from it, or refusal to complete a request, are unacceptable behaviors that will not be tolerated. For very active children or overly reactive children, time-out is a way to gain some distance from one's emotions long enough to refocus and attend to a task or even remember and apply a rule. Where and How Long? Time out works best in sight of the parent. I would suggest that you set up a chair in some part of the main house like the living room, dining room, or corner of the kitchen. There is no need to place the chair facing the wall. The only requirement is that it is out of the way of other activity and within your sight. The length of time should be relatively short. The standard recommended time is one minute for each year of age. The idea is literally to break up the current behavior and readjust the mindset. Long time-outs don't bring about better results. To the contrary, children lose track of why they were placed in time-out in the first place, or worse yet, they become resentful which defeats the purpose. You want them to have a moment to think about what they did or didn't do and reinforce compliance afterward. A short amount of time is all that is needed. What About Sending My Child To His Room? As stated above, time out works best within sight of the parent. There is another technique called the "cooling-off period" or "positive time-out" which does usually take place in the child's room. This is used when there is a power struggle resulting in angry feelings on one or both sides. The idea is to send the child to his room so he (and you) can cool off, and then return when calm to solve the issue at hand. It's similar to what adults do when they find themselves at odds and angry feelings get in the way of resolving the problem. They take a break from the argument and come back to it when they're calm. With the cooling off period, the child is allowed to soothe himself in his room by playing with toys, reading, or whatever he likes to do that can distract him from his angry feelings. Once calm, he's allowed to come out of his room on his own and resume dealing with the problem. This is a higher level technique that is useful for children who don't necessarily have a lot of impulse control problems. I would suggest not using both of these at the same time. For younger children, and especially for ADHD children, regular time-out is more effective. The cooling off period is better as children move towards adolescence. How To Implement If you have not used time out before, you will want to explain it to your child ahead of time. The explanation should include several points. (1) You realize you cannot make your child follow the rules if they decide not to, but you can provide a consequence any time they break a rule or do not follow through with a request. (2) The consequence you are going to use is time-out. Show them the chair and explain that when they break a rule or don't comply with a request, you will simply tell them to go to time-out. You should actually state the rule that was broken and then say "Go to time out." (3) There will be no discussion about this, and you will not talk to them while they are in time-out. There will be no getting up to go to the bathroom, no drinks of water, and so forth. While in time-out, there is no communication. (4) You will be the timekeeper and tell your child when she can get up. It's extremely important to stick to these rules. Allowing your child to pull you into a discussion or further explanation defeats the purpose and will ultimately render the technique ineffective. Parent's Demeanor It is very important that you remain both firm and neutral throughout the entire time-out process. The idea is to let the child feel the impact of his own actions which he will do best if you don't supply any other emotions to the situation that can distract him from this task. If you get angry, he'll be more concerned with what your anger means to him then he will about having broken a rule. Or he may become angry himself and focus more on plotting revenge. The idea is not to infuse the situation with energy, and especially negative energy. Keep in mind that time out is not a punishment, but rather a disciplinary technique. You should avoid adding any punitive elements to the process. Above all, refrain from verbal reprimands such as "How many times have you broken that rule now?" or "When are you going to learn?" You absolutely will dilute the power of time-out if you do this. What If My Child Won't Go To Time-Out? You should physically escort her to the time out chair. If necessary, hold her firmly in the chair by standing behind the chair and placing your hands on her shoulders. When she is sitting still for 10 seconds, you can begin the timing. Don't engage in conversation while doing this, and of course, you should not use physical force. Usually a firm hand on the shoulder will do the trick. What you're really communicating is that compliance is not an option in this case. If you have a child that will not stay in time out even under these circumstances, then most likely the relationship between the two of you needs some repairing and rebuilding. Disciplinary techniques will only work if the parent-child relationship is intact, and the child cares about how you feel about her. Another possibility is that you have a child who has an extremely low tolerance for frustration. See Ross Greene's book called The Explosive Child for more assistance. When Time-Out Is Over When time-out is over, return to the original problem. If a chore was not completed, then it must be done now. If a rule was broken, you can address what led up to the problem if that seems appropriate. An example would be if your child hit his sister because she broke one of his toys. You might want to discuss with him how he felt when she broke the toy, and then how he might better have addressed his anger. It's not helpful to lecture after time-out and you should avoid any further recrimination. Also, be sure to give positive feedback to your child for completing time-out, especially if he behaved well during the process. Final Thoughts Time-out is just one tool for effectively encouraging good behavior. There are many others including spending time with children, giving positive feedback, knowing and understanding your child's temperament and personality characteristics, taking the time to train and teach her how to use self control, and negotiating solutions to problems. Time-out should not be used more than several times in a day. If you find you need to use it more, you need to spend more positive time with your child. If this doesn't help, then you need to investigate other possible causes for repeated behavioral problems and/or seek professional help. Generally speaking, time-out used properly is quite effective during those times when positive feedback is not enough to help your child stay on track. blog comments powered by Disqus
Different Methods for Generating Electricity We are all used to just having electricity available in our homes, and at the flick of a switch, we have power coursing through the house. But have you ever thought about where this energy comes from? Here’s a handy guide to where our electricity is created! Firstly, here in the UK we use a number of different sources for our energy production. There are 4 main areas our electricity comes from. Fossil Fuels: These are where most of our electricity comes from. Burning fossil fuels like natural gas, coal and some oil generates electricity in power stations. The amount generated by the powerstations changes every year, with some power stations switching fuels depening on the cost of fuel.
No one showed This is something I wrote in a writing class. No one showed you how to do lots of things you can do. You got shown how to add and multiply and (probably) got shown how to read and write. You got shown how to play any instruments or sports you play. But no one showed you how to be a friend, have a conversation, look at a face, figure out what clothes to wear…. Oh, sure, you saw, but you probably didn’t get shown. Not the way you got shown those other things. What if you couldn’t learn to do things without being shown? What if you skipped on everything everyone else learned by some seeming osmosis? What would that be like? You might be startled at all the things you learned by looking without being shown; newborn babies can’t do all that much (eat, pee, sleep, cry and be very, very cute) and, if you can do it and a newborn baby can’t, you learned it somehow, somewhere but maybe not from somewho. And, if you learned it, someone else might not learn it. Someone who could learn other things might not be able to learn what you learned. If it’s reading, we call it dyslexia. If it’s math, we call it dyscalculia. If it’s the things no one showed anyone then it might be what’s called nonverbal learning disabilities, which you might not have heard of because no one showed you. Until now. 1. Greg Fahey says: Is this your new book ? Speak Your Mind
Published: 24.4.2014. \| 12:24 Views: 1975 Author: Administrator Circuit breakers Tips : Circuit breakers Fuses B features are used in a residential installation . Excluded circuit in the event of a short circuit or in the case of exceeding the rated current of the fuse . They are placed in a closet fuse the C-pillar . Fuses C characteristics are used mainly for the protection of electric motors, because they have a slower reaction than fuse B characteristics . Allow the current short-term exceeds its rated current ( eg during start-up of electric motors ) , but will turn off the circuit if the load continues . It also excludes the case of a short circuit. FID - switches are protective devices to protect electrical installations in the event of a short circuit or other malfunction installations and appliances ( heaters boiler breakdown , preilice etc. ) . For home installations are commonly used 25 and 40 -amp breakers with current reactions 0.5 A or 0.03 A , which can be two -pole ( single phase ) or 4-pole ( three-phase ) . For bathroom seuglavnom use switches with current 0.03 A , while for a complete home installation using switches 0,5 A. For proper operation of the switch is essential guides to zero and EARTH are not short-circuited anywhere in the system . : How to use rawl How to use rawl 24. travnja 2014. : Painting interior walls Painting interior walls 28. ožujka 2014. : Why energy saving bulbs Why energy saving bulbs 28. ožujka 2014. : Cables 28. ožujka 2014. : Painting the old door Painting the old door 28. ožujka 2014. : How to save water How to save water 28. ožujka 2014.
Math 818: Problem set 1, due January 21 Instructions: Write up any four of the following problems (but you should try all of them, and in the end you should be sure you know how to do all of them). Your write ups are due Friday, January 21, 2005. Each problem is worth 10 points, 9 points for correctness and 1 point for communication. (Your goal is not only to give correct answers but to communicate your ideas well. Make sure you use good English, so proofread your solutions. Once you finish a solution, you should restructure awkward sentences, and strike out anything that is not needed in your approach to the problem.) 1. Let V be a real n dimensional vector space with a symmetric positive definite bilinear form < , >. For each v in V, define \|v\| = (< v,v >)1/2. Show how to use the Schwarz inequality to prove the triangle inequality, that \|v+w\| <= \|v\| + \|w\|, for all v and w in V. 2. Let V be the real vector space of all real polynomials f(x). Let Pd be the subspace spanned by polynomials of degree at most d. Define < f,g > by integrating f(x)g(x) from 0 to 1 with respect to x; this defines a real symmetric bilinear form on V. 3. Let W be the real vector space of all continuous real valued functions from the reals to the reals. Let V be the 3 dimensional subspace of W spanned by f(x) = 1, g(x) = x, and h(x) = \|x\|. Define a real symmetric bilinear form on V by taking < v,w > to be the integral of v(x)w(x) from 0 to 1 with respect to x (thus < f,g > is, for example, the integral of f(x)g(x) = x from 0 to 1, which is 1). 4. Let V = R4 be the standard 4 dimensional real vector space, equipped with the bilinear form < , >A where A is the matrix whose rows, in order, are: (0 3 0 3), (3 0 3 2), (0 3 0 3) and (3 2 3 0). 5. [This problem gives an alternate method of finding orthogonal bases.] If A is an nxn symmetric matrix with entries in a field k of characteristic not 2, then there is an invertible matrix Q with entries in k such that QAQt is diagonal. [Apply a sequence of row operations to clean up column 1 of A, giving a matrix A' with zeros below the diagonal in the first column; then, since A is symmetric, the same operations but applied to the columns of A' clean up row 1, giving a symmetric matrix A'' with zeros in the first row and first column except for the entry on the diagonal. Now do row and column 2, etc. Eventually you get a diagonal matrix. To get the matrix Q, apply the same sequence of row operations to In; the result is Q.] If the entries of A are integers and k is the reals or rationals, we can even assume Q has integer entries. [At the end, just multiply Q by an integer which wipes out any denominators. Alternatively, never use a row operation involving division. The Q you end up with then has only integer entries; you won't have to wipe out denominators.] The columns of Qt give an orthogonal basis of kn.
Breaking News: Kids Don’t Like to Eat Vegetables Excellent news! We have new research on whether kids like to eat vegetables: The Agriculture Department rolled out new requirements in the 2012 school year that mandated that children who were taking part in the federal lunch program choose either a fruit or vegetable with their meals. ….”The basic question we wanted to explore was: does requiring a child to select a fruit or vegetable actually correspond with consumption. The answer was clearly no,” Amin, the lead author of the study, said in a statement. This will come as a surprise to exactly zero parents. You can (usually) make your kids eat vegetables if you refuse to let them leave the table until they do, but that’s what it takes. Ask my mother if you don’t believe me.1 I’m not actually making fun of the researchers here. Sometimes seemingly obvious things turn out to be untrue. The only way to find out for sure is to check. And in fact, the study actually did produce interesting results: Because they were forced to do it, children took fruits and vegetables — 29 percent more in fact. But their consumption of fruits and vegetables actually went down 13 percent after the mandate took effect and, worse, they were throwing away a distressing 56 percent more than before. The waste each child (or tray) was producing went from a quarter of a cup to more than a 39 percent of a cup each meal. In many cases, the researchers wrote, “children did not even taste the [fruits and vegetables] they chose at lunch.” Yep: when kids were required to plonk fruits and vegetables onto their trays, average consumption went down from 0.51 cups to 0.45 cups. Apparently sticking it to the man becomes more attractive when kids are forced to do something. In any case, the researchers kept a brave face, suggesting that eventually the mandates would work. We just need “other strategies” to get kids to like eating vegetables: Because children prefer FVs in the form of 100% fruit juice or mixed dishes, such as pizza or lasagna, one should consider additional factors, such as the types of whole FVs offered and how the cafeteria staff prepares them. Cutting up vegetables and serving them with dip and slicing fruit, such as oranges and apples, can positively influence students’ FV selection and consumption by making FVs more accessible and appealing. I dunno. Cutting up veggies and serving them with dip decidedly doesn’t make them taste anything like pizza or lasagna. I speak from decades of pizza-eating experience here. Anyway, parents have been trying to get their kids to eat their vegetables for thousands of years, and so far progress has been poor. I’m not sure what the answer is. Shock collars? DNA splicing? GMO veggies that taste like candy bars? 1Yeah, yeah, some kids actually like vegetables. Little bootlickers.
One of the most challenging tasks currently facing the human health care industry is to successfully discover, develop and commercialize new antibiotics with new modes of action. It is widely admitted that the current battery of antibiotics available to treat bacteria-caused diseases is running thin and one is very much struggling to cope satisfactorily with the occurrence of what is called “the new antibiotics resistant superbugs”. The continuous increase and availability of transportation solutions throughout the world for both people and products means that the risk for global infectious disease outbreaks and rapid spread has never been so high. The recent H1N1 epidemic greatly impacted both human populations and economic activities. Response time in terms of the diagnosis of infected people is of paramount importance to rapidly contain the spread of the disease. Previously known as “hospital acquired infection” or “nosocomial infection”, the “healthcare-associated infections” term (HAI) reflects the fact that a great deal of healthcare is now performed outside the hospital setting. One increasing concern is the infections acquired after the admission of patients to a healthcare setting, e.g. hospitals, nursing homes or even the patient's own home. Since the 1950s numerous programmes of continued surveillance and infection testing programmes were implemented and turned out to be instrumental in decreasing the impact of these infections but also in helping the prioritization of resources and efforts to improve overall medical care. The HAI can be localized or systemic and can be associated with medical devices (presence of biofilms for instance) or blood product transfusion. There are responsible for acute pathologies such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Progenus proposes PCR and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and automatic genome annotation-based services: • Assistance with the thorough genomic and protein of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and in the discovery of new and more potent antibiotics.
It is basically a process by which the product is safe and be available to the ultimate consumer without any hustles. In layman’s terms we can say that when a company makes a product they want it to reach to customer as they intended to, now it depends upon product to product what kind of packaging it requires. It is full process of system which involves preserving, warehousing, transportation, material required for packing. It starts from the where the product is made till the product is consumed from the ultimate consumer. Now let us see what the basic purpose of packaging is: • Safety – The basic and the most important use of packaging is the safety of the product, delicate and fragile product requires more secure packaging. For example a vase made of glass is delicate, so the companies which manufacture these cover up the vase with different protection like bubble wrap, thermacoal and then ultimately the cardboard. Sometimes even a proper case out of plastic or even steel is made t o protect such type of vase. Now why would a company spend this amount of money on packaging, if the product breaks before it reaches to the customer or the retail shop it’s the loss of company. • Convenience – Another basic purpose of packaging is convenience, now there are different shape, size and volume of products so to make them even they are packaged in same rectangle or square boxes so that they can be moved, picked, lifted and shifted from one place to another. Today in transportation so many products are sent from one place to another place, they are done by cranes, trucks, loaders etc, so they all are made in keeping in mind that the product would be packed in rectangle or square shaped boxes. One more thing can be included that is convenience for the customer to use the product. It the customer comfortable to use the product, let us take an example if a manufacture sells a shampoo in some kind of Tiffin box structure than it would be difficult of the customer to use. That is why they have made bottles so that it has a small outlet from where by squeezing customer can easily use the shampoo. • Marketing – this may have recently been declared as the most important purpose of packaging. Today the customer judges the product by its packaging. If you to buy a small thing like potato chips for which you don’t take so much time to buy , but then you still read what all is written on the packet such as what king of flavour it is, what are the key ingredients , what is cost of the product . This allows you to purchase things of your choice and also helps you in comparing with the other competitor. On the other hand it help s the company as they let people know the USP of their product, or why should they prefer this particular product. Our email-based homework help assistance offers brilliant insights and analysis which help make the subject practical and pertinent. provides timely homework help and assignment help at reasonable charges with detailed answers to your Management questions so that you get a better grasp of your assignments or homework better apart from having the answers. Our tutors are remarkably qualified and have years of experience providing Material resource planning homework help or assignment help. Get Packaging Assignment Help with these Q&A More Q&A Submit Your Questions Here! Copy and paste your question here... Attach Files Top Packaging Experts
Also found in: Dictionary, Medical, Wikipedia. The process by which the vertebrate neural tube is formed. The primordium of the central nervous system is the neural plate, which arises at the close of gastrulation by inductive action of the chorda-mesoderm on the overlying ectoderm. The axial mesodermal substratum causes the neural ectoderm to thicken into a distinct plate across the dorsal midline and influences both its size and shape. Its shieldlike appearance, broader anteriorly and narrower posteriorly, presages the areas of brain and spinal cord, respectively. The lateral edges of the neural plate then rise as neural folds which meet first at the level of the future midbrain, above the dorsal midline, then fuse anteriorly and posteriorly to form the neural tube. The body ectoderm becomes confluent above the closing neural tube and separates from it. Upon closure, the cells (known as neural crest cells) which occupied the crest of the neural folds leave the roof of the tube and migrate through the mesenchyme to all parts of the embryo, forming diverse structures. The neural tube thus formed gives rise to the brain and about half of the spinal cord. The remainder of the neural tube is added by the tail bud, which proliferates a solid nerve cord that secondarily hollows into a tube. See Nervous system (vertebrate), Neural crest the embryonic process in chordates and man by which the neural plate emerges and folds to form the neural tube. The embryo undergoing neurulation is said to be in the neurula stage. During neurulation the rudiments of all the organ systems can be discerned in three germ layers. The external germ layer, or ectoderm, thickens on the dorsal side of the embryo and forms the neural plate; the neural folds arise along the edges of the neural plate. The center of the neural plate deepens, and the crests of the neural folds approach each other and coalesce to form the neural tube, the rudiment of the nervous system. The remaining portion of the ectoderm closes over the neural tube and is transformed into an epithelial covering. In animals in which the fertilized ovum undergoes total, or holoblastic, cleavage, the innermost germ layer, or endoderm, grows toward the dorsal side of the embryo and completely surrounds the gastrocoele, which thus becomes the primitive digestive cavity of the embryo. In animals with partial, or meroblastic, cleavage of the ovum, the ventral side of the intestine remains open; the intact yolk serves as the intestine’s lower wall. The middle germ layer, or mesoderm, gives rise to (1) a median, longitudinal, rod-shaped strand of cells—the rudimentary notochord; (2) the somites, or mesodermal segments, that lie on either side of the rudimentary notochord; (3) the nephrotomes, or intermediate cell masses—segmental stalks that extend from the somites; and (4) the lateral plates. By the end of neurulation, the embryo acquires the structural plan of the adult organism: under the epithelium on the dorsal side is the neural tube; under the neural tube, the notochord; and under the notochord, the intestine. The anterior and the posterior segments of the embryonic body are distinguishable. See references under EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT. Differentiation of nerve tissue and formation of the neural tube. References in periodicals archive ? Open dysraphism largely results from primary neurulation, principally neural tube closure. Secondary neurulation lesions are the ones most frequently associated with anomalies of other germ-layer structures. There are 3 phases of dorsal induction; neurulation, canalization and retrogressive differentiation. For example, a brief subtoxic dose of CPF [1 or 5 mg/kg body weight (bw)/day] during neurulation can cause behavioral alterations during adolescence and adulthood (Icenogle et al. 2003), illustrating that proper regulation of cell shape and cell movements is crucial for neurulation processes to occur normally. In press, Behavioral alterations in adolescent and adult rats caused by a brief subtoxic exposure to chlorpyrifos during neurulation. With CPF exposure during neurulation (GD9-12), we found a small (~10%) but significant promotional effect on 5HT receptors and the 5HTT site, without any selectivity for brain region or sex, and absent any corresponding alteration in 5HT-mediated AC signaling. For exposure during neurulation, dams were injected daily with CPF at 1 or 5 mg/kg body weight on GD9-12. For exposure during neurulation, dams were injected daily with CPF at 1 or 5 mg/kg of body weight on GD9-12, and tissues were obtained on GD17 and GD21. Frog p53 mRNA levels are highest in developing oocytes and gradually decrease until they are undetectable at neurulation. Inhibition of PKC during neurulation leads to dysmorphogenesis (63); this is also the stage for emergence of the effects of chlorpyrifos on mitosis and apoptosis.
• Addiction is a craving to use a substance or to repeat a behaviour. • It is about wanting to feel good, or not feel bad, to the point that you are not in control. • Addiction can be physical or psychological. • It has many red flags, which indicate problems with your social, physical and mental health. • At its worst, addiction leads people to do things they would normally never do. • If you think you have an addiction, please seek help. Addiction is a craving to use a substance (such as alcohol), or to do something (such as gambling). It’s about wanting to feel good, or not feel bad, to the point that you are not in control. Addiction can be physical or psychological. Physical addiction is when your body depends on a particular substance or behaviour. The body becomes more tolerant of the substance or behaviour over time, so you have to take (or do) more and more to feel the same effects. If you try to give up, you feel symptoms of withdrawal. Psychological addiction is when you have an emotional or psychological desire for a substance or behaviour. If you try to give up, you may feel depressed, anxious and unable to sleep or concentrate. At its worst, addiction leads people to do things they would normally never do, just to access the drug (or to repeat the behaviour). They may lie, cheat or steal. They may even physically harm someone who gets in their way. Types of addiction The thing with addiction is that it can be about anything. People talk about addiction in relation to drugs, alcohol, smoking and inhalation (of glue, aerosol, paint, lighter fuel, etc.). But you can also be addicted to compulsive behaviours, including work, gambling, exercise, shopping, sex, eating, internet chatting and online games. As an example, some people rack up huge debt because they experience oniomania ‒ compulsive shopping. Oniomania is usually a response to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, loneliness or anger. When these feelings grow, so does the urge to buy. Other types of compulsive behaviour are self-harm (such as cutting yourself) and risk taking (such as riding on the top of trains). Some addictions affect your physical health, some affect your mental health, and some affect everything in your life. If you have an addiction or think you may have one, contact a health professional who can help you work out what support will assist you best. How addiction is different from substance misuse When someone starts to use drugs, it is called substance use. People who regularly use a drug can become addicted to, or dependent on it. They may start to feel that they need to use the drug to go about their normal activities like working, studying and socialising, or just to get through the day. In other words, substance misuse can lead to addiction. People can become addicted to all sorts of substances ‒ alcohol, prescription medication, illegal drugs, cigarettes, even glue. But some substances are more addictive than others, and the physical, mental and social impacts of addiction can vary significantly from person to person and from substance to substance. How addiction can happen Addiction may happen for many reasons. For one, the use of a substance may make you feel great, so you want to use it again. This ‘high’ can become a habit that is very hard to stop. Giving up a substance that makes you feel great can therefore be very hard. Rather than having all the good feelings, you may have bad ones ‒ and both physical withdrawal and psychological withdrawal can be exhausting, painful and emotional. To put it another way, one reason for addiction is that it can become extremely difficult to not use the substance or not continue the behaviour. Other possible factors that can increase the risk of addiction are: • genes ‒ you may be biologically prone to addiction • environmental factors, such as being brought up by someone with an addiction • a desire to block out difficult issues • a desire to achieve peak physical or mental performance • trauma or stress • pressure at work • relationship breakdown • unemployment • poverty • socioeconomic, ethnic or racial marginalisation. In summary, addiction can happen when there is physical or emotional pain, or a need to cope with particular circumstances. And it can happen at any stage of life, and to anyone from any population group. If you think you have an addiction, then part of overcoming it is understanding why you became addicted. What biological, social and mental factors have contributed to this? What addiction looks like Plenty of red flags indicate an addiction may be developing. Here are some of the more common signs: • You think you need the substance or behaviour to forget your problems, to cope with your life, or to relax. • You withdraw from family and friends. • You don’t care about your work or schoolwork, and your performance has dipped (possibly a lot). • You are not interested in your usual interests and hobbies. • You are stealing or selling things to pay for your addiction. • You have tried to quit but you can’t. • You felt shaky or sick when you tried to quit. • You feel anxious, angry or depressed most of the time. • You are having trouble sleeping, or can’t stop sleeping. • You are eating differently from your usual eating patterns. • You have gained or lost a fair amount of weight. • You have become unreliable, often turning up late or not at all. • You have started high-risk behaviour, such as having unprotected casual sex, drink driving, using dirty needles, being aggressive towards your loved ones, leaving home or quitting your job. • You are arguing a lot with family, friends or work colleagues. • You are keeping secrets from the people who care about you. • You have new friends who have the same addiction, or who support your addiction (such as suppliers of drugs). What addiction does to you Addiction can affect your life in a number of ways. It can have short-term impacts, such as problems with: • your physical health ‒ nausea, aches and pains, sleep problems, weight gain or loss, infections, accidents, illness or chronic disease • your mental health ‒ depression, anxiety, paranoia, psychosis • your personal relationships • study, work and money • your behaviour ‒ criminal behaviour, anti-social behaviour, isolation. And, from these problems, addiction can start to have long-term impacts on your physical, mental, social and financial health. It can even lead to suicide or accidental death. Remember, not all alcohol and other drug use is harmful. And not all compulsive behaviour is harmful. But once you become addicted to a substance (whether legal or illegal) or a behaviour, the risk of harms to you and possibly to others increases. Getting help for addiction Accepting that you have an addiction is hard. Asking for help can be hard too. If you think you have an addiction, you may want to tell someone you trust. You may feel comfortable talking to a family member, friend, teacher, religious leader or work colleague. If you are not ready for advice, let them know that you just want to unload. Also at the start of facing your addiction, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or another health professional. If you want to research other support options, check out the ReachOut NextStep tool. You will find help in the form of counselling, medication, rehabilitation centres, self-help programs and support networks. You may also want to look over the Australian Drug Information Network (ADIN) directory of online services. The directory will give you reliable information on alcohol, other drugs and mental health, plus links to treatment services. To speak to someone anonymously about any kind of addiction, you can use any of the national and state-based support services available on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation website. Where to get help More information Types of drugs Content Partner Last updated: October 2016
Dementia and Depression in Seniors Healthy Living - June 14, 2016 David Prescott, PhD - Acadia Hospital Dementia refers to significant problems with memory and at least one other cognitive ability such as language or reasoning. As noted by the American Psychological Association‘s Help Center, dementia can be caused by Alzheimer’s disease or other age-related problems such as stroke or Parkinson’s disease. Dementia is not an inevitable consequence of aging, although it is age-related and doubles in prevalence from a low rate in 60-64 age group to 40-50% of those older than 85. How are Depression and Dementia Related? Experts are still trying to sort out the nature of the relationship between depression and dementia. It is possible that the body’s biochemistry changes with age in a way that increases risk for depression. There is also some preliminary evidence that for some people, depression may be a precursor to dementia. Even though these findings are in their early stages, they highlight the importance of seeking treatment early for possible depression or dementia. 1. Are memory problems brief and variable? Occasional lapses in attention and short term memory, such as forgetting where you put something or forgetting someone’s name, are common and not usually cause for concern about dementia. These types of problems may become more common when a person is depressed. 3. Get professional assessment and treatment: Both medication and psychotherapy have been shown to be effective for the treatment of depression in seniors. Also, while there is no cure for dementia, both medication and training in memory improvement techniques can help slow the progression of dementia. In either case, the sooner an accurate diagnosis is made, the better the outcome is likely to be. 4. Don’t keep it all to yourself: Neither depression or dementia are inevitable consequences of aging. There are things you can do to cope with depressed mood or mile memory loss. Don’t think you have to go it alone! Additional Resources: American Psychological Association Psychology Topics: National Institute of Mental Health: www.nih/
Skip to content The unexamined life is not worth living. • Epistemology: theory of knowledge. How does knowledge differ from opinion? What are the sources of knowledge? Is there a method for justifying our knowledge claims? • Metaphysics: theory of reality. What exists? Do we have free will? How do we explain change? • Ethics: theory of personal behavior. Are there universal rules for morality, or is it relative? Should we judge people on their acts or on their intentions? What acts are morally forbidden, morally mandatory, or morally permissible? • Social and Political Philosophy: theory of cultural behavior. Is justice the same as equality? What makes political authority legitimate? What are our rights, and does the well being of society override individual right? • Aesthetics: theory of beauty. What determines whether something is beautiful or not? What is the proper subject for art? Must the beautiful be true? Must the beautiful be good? • Logic: theory of reason. What types of reasoning are there? How does one identify fallacies? What is the relationship between language, meaning, and truth? Business Department at Lansing Community College Social Science and Humanities Department Arts & Sciences Building, Room 201 Phone: (517) 483-1018 Additional contact information »
Amazing Science 801.7K views \| +55 today Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald onto Amazing Science! Reserachers bring extensive world temperature records to Google Earth Reserachers bring extensive world temperature records to Google Earth \| Amazing Science \| Established in 1971, the UEA's Climate Research Unit (CRU) has become one of the leading institutions involved in the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change. Drawing on monthly weather records from some 6,000 weather stations around the globe, some dating back over 150 years, the researchers are responsible for Climatic Research Unit Temperature Version 4 (CRUTEM4), a widely used dataset of land-surface air temperatures. By making CRUTEM4 data available through Google Earth, users can zoom in on any of the 6,000 weather stations, drill down through some 20,000 graphs and view monthly, seasonal and annual temperature data, some of which dates back to 1850. The interface places a red and green checkerboard over areas for where data is available. Since some remote areas lack weather stations, there are gaps in the checkerboard. "The data itself comes from the latest CRUTEM4 figures, which have been freely available on our website and via the Met Office," said Dr Tim Osborn from the CRU. "But we wanted to make this key temperature dataset as interactive and user-friendly as possible. The beauty of using Google Earth is that you can instantly see where the weather stations are, zoom in on specific countries, and see station datasets much more clearly." There are already a number of climate datasets available for Google Earth, including those from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Those wishing to view these and the CRUTEM4 dataset need only download Google Earth and open the KML format files. Due to the sheer volume of data, the CRU researchers expect there will be a few errors in their dataset and are encouraging users to alert them to any unusual figures. No comment yet. Amazing Science Your new post is loading... Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! 20,000+ FREE Online Science and Technology Lectures from Top Universities Toll Free:1-800-605-8422 FREE Regular Line:1-858-345-4817 This newsletter is aggregated from over 1450 news sources: All my Tweets and Scoop.It! posts sorted and searchable: You can search through all the articles semantically on my archived twitter feed You can also type your own query: CLICK on the little FUNNEL symbol at the Arturo Pereira's curator insight, August 12, 9:01 AM The democratization of knowledge! Nevermore Sithole's curator insight, September 11, 2:42 AM FREE Online Science and Technology Lectures from Top Universities Rescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from DNA and RNA research! Pigments on synthetic DNA circuits can harvest light energy Via Integrated DNA Technologies No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! These are the world’s smartest fish These are the world’s smartest fish \| Amazing Science \| According to a recent study when another fish comes around, a simple look at the patterns around the eyes of the newcomer reveals if it is a friend or a stranger. Similar results have been found for another species living in this lake. The cichlid fishNeolamprologus pulcher uses face colour patterns to identify different individuals. Humans and primates can easily identify any objects, even if they are upside down, but when it comes to faces, things get more complicated. “The neural pathway used for discriminating faces is different from other objects in mammals, and when faces are upside-down, our brain considers them as non-face objects and we cannot discriminate them as fast as right-up faces,” says Mu-Yun Wang at the University of Tokyo, Japan. And it seems like the brain of the Japanese rice fish works this way too. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Acetabularia alga can grow to 10 cm (4 inches) and is a single cell Acetabularia alga can grow to 10 cm (4 inches) and is a single cell \| Amazing Science \| If I asked you what was the experimental basis for the central dogma of biology (DNA makes RNA makes Protein), you would be likely to mention the classical findings that the transforming principle was DNA (Avery et al.) or that phages transfer DNA to the host (Hershey & Chase). However, it is unlikely that you even have heard that the precept was earlier derived from studies with a unicellular marine alga, Acetabularia. If so, you would miss the remarkable biology that made it possible to carry out this work. Here is why: Acetabularia is such a large cell that it can be readily handled with one's hands. It can be amputated into pieces that can be grafted together and its nucleus transplanted as easily as walking in the park. Most cells are clearly too small for such luxuries. To enjoy them, we must turn to the outliers in range of sizes, that is, to giant cells. So, how big can cells get? The champion seems to be another a marine alga,Caulerpa, which can reach 3 meters in length. It is multinucleated, which seems almost like cheating (consider acellular slime molds, which can also reach enormous sizes, and othercoenocytic organisms). Incidentally, Caulerpas are edible and are called sea grapes in Okinawa (海葡萄 or umi-budō). Also multinucleated are the xenophyophores, foraminifera-like protists that live in the ocean at depths below 500 meters and reach 15 cm across (and which were mentionedhere earlier). Among the largest uninucleated single cells are the foraminifera called Nummulites, which can reach 5 cm in diameter, and a marine ameba called Gromia spherica. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Superfluid helium could reveal lightweight WIMPs Superfluid helium could reveal lightweight WIMPs \| Amazing Science \| Overlooked mass range is observable with a new approach. Dark matter surveys conducted until now have focused largely on high-mass particles, and are relatively insensitive to candidates lighter than 10 GeV/c2, or about ten times the mass of the proton. Some recent theories have proposed WIMPs with masses below this threshold, so with a view to filling this observational gap, Humphrey Maris, George Seidel and Derek Stein at Brown University conceived a detector model that could extend the lower mass limit by three or four orders of magnitude. The team decided on 4He for the detector mass since it receives more energy per collision than heavier targets, and the low internal radioactivity minimizes false positive results. When dark matter particles interact with the target, recoiling helium atoms are expected to trigger phonons and rotons – quasiparticle excitations – which, in superfluid 4He, can propagate without scattering. When these excitations reach the surface of the superfluid, helium atoms are expelled by quantum evaporation. A similar technique was developed a decade ago by Maris, Seidel and colleagues at Brown University for the HERON neutrino detector. In that experiment, evaporated helium atoms were deposited on a silicon wafer calorimeter suspended above the superfluid, causing a measurable increase in temperature. "This worked fine if a large amount of energy was deposited in the liquid thereby producing many rotons and many atoms," explains Maris. "But the method was inadequate for the detection of the small number of atoms that would be evaporated if the energy deposit was by a dark matter particle with, for example, a mass of 1 MeV." Single-atom sensitivity The novelty of the new approach lies in the device’s sensitivity to individual atoms. This makes the minimum detectable transferable kinetic energy (the energy imparted to a helium nucleus by a dark matter collision) equal to the binding energy of a helium atom to the liquid. Since no existing large-area calorimeter could be sensitive to such tiny energies, individual helium atoms ejected at low speed can only be detected if they are first accelerated significantly. The trick proposed by the team at Brown University is to have evaporated atoms pass near to arrays of positively charged, sharp metal tips. Strong local electric fields ionize the helium, and the resulting positive ions are accelerated toward a cathode at energies within the range detectable by current calorimeters. "The addition of the field ionization opens up the possibility of detecting energy deposits into the helium that are smaller by a factor of about 10,000 than in the previous work that we did. This will make it possible to detect dark matter in a mass range far below what has been previously achieved," Maris told Assuming the Standard Halo Model of dark matter distribution – in which the galaxy is permeated uniformly by WIMPs of a single type, and the local galactic escape velocity is the maximum particle speed allowed – the researchers expect such single-atom sensitivity to translate to a detectable dark matter particle mass of 0.6 MeV/c2, or less than a thousandth the mass of a proton. No comment yet. Rescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from Daily Magazine! Beyond good vibrations: New insights into metamaterial magic Beyond good vibrations: New insights into metamaterial magic \| Amazing Science \| If invisibility cloaks and other gee-whiz apps are ever to move from science fiction to science fact, we'll need to know more about how these weird metamaterials actually work. Michigan Tech researcher Elena Semouchkina has gone back to basics and shed more light on the physics behind the magic. Metamaterials offer the very real possibility that our most far-fetched fancies could one day become real as rocks. From invisibility cloaks and perfect lenses to immensely powerful batteries, their super-power applications tantalize the imagination. That said, so far "tantalize" has been the operative word, even though scientists have been studying metamaterials for more than 15 years. "Not many real metamaterial devices have been developed," says Elena Semouchkina, an associate professor of electrical engineering at Michigan Technological University. Soldiers can't throw invisibility cloaks over their shoulders to elude sniper fire, and no perfect lens app lets you see viruses with your smartphone. In part, that's because traditionally, researchers overly simplify how metamaterials actually work. Semouchkina says their complications often have been ignored. Metamaterials may seem complex and futuristic, but the opposite is closer to the truth, says Semouchkina. Metamaterials ("meta" is the Greek word for "beyond") are engineered materials that have properties not found in nature. They are typically built of multiple identical elements fashioned from conventional materials, such as metals or nonconductive materials. Think of a Rubik's cube made of millions of units smaller than the thickness of a human hair. No comment yet. Rescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from Daily Magazine! Scientists create first mathematical model that predicts immunotherapy success Scientists create first mathematical model that predicts immunotherapy success \| Amazing Science \| Scientists have long sought a way to discover whether patients will respond to new checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies and to better understand the characteristics that indicate a tumor can be successfully treated with them. The proposed mathematical model, which captures aspects of the tumor's evolution and the underlying interactions of the tumor with the immune system, is more accurate than previous genomic biomarkers in predicting how the tumor will respond to immunotherapy. "We present an interdisciplinary approach to studying immunotherapy andimmune surveillance of tumors," said Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD, the senior author, who is affiliated with the departments of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Pathology, and Oncological Sciences at The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "This approach will hopefully lead to better mechanistic predictive modeling of response and future design of therapies that further take advantage of how the immune system recognizes tumors." This novel model also has the potential to help find new therapeutic targets within the immune system and to help design vaccines for patients who do not typically respond to immunotherapy. No comment yet. Rescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from Daily Magazine! Researchers develop color filters that respond to the angle of incident light Researchers develop color filters that respond to the angle of incident light \| Amazing Science \| No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Star exploded into supernova, survived and exploded again more than 50 years later Star exploded into supernova, survived and exploded again more than 50 years later \| Amazing Science \| It's the celestial equivalent of a horror movie villain—a star that wouldn't stay dead. In September 2014, the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory team of astronomers detected a new explosion in the sky, iPTF14hls. The light given off by the event was analyzed in order to understand the speed and chemical composition of the material ejected in the explosion. It turned out that somehow this star exploded more than half a century ago, survived, and exploded again in 2014. "This supernova breaks everything we thought we knew about how they work," said lead author Iair Arcavi of University of California Santa Barbara and Las Cumbres Observatory. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Researchers develop practical superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with record detection efficiency Researchers develop practical superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with record detection efficiency \| Amazing Science \| Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are significantly better at photon detection efficiency (DE) compared to their semiconducting counterparts, and have enabled many breakthrough applications in quantum information technologies. A team headed by Prof. Lixing You from Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have demonstrated the fabrication and operation of an NbN-SNSPD with system detection efficiency over 90 percent at 2.1 K at a wavelength of 1550 nm, which paves the way for practical application of SNSPD. The results were published recently on Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy as a cover image story. Dr. Weijun Zhang is the first author and Dr. Lixing You is the corresponding author. At 1550 nm, which is the most important wavelength for applications, the state of the art SNSPD made of WSi superconductor has reached a DE record of 93 percent, compared to InGaAs detector with DE ~30 percent. Unfortunately, WSi-SNSPD usually operates at sub-kelvin temperatures, requiring expensive, user-unfriendly refrigeration equipment. Extensive efforts have been made on the development of SNSPDs based on NbN targeted at an operating temperature above 2K, accessible to inexpensive and user-friendly compact cryocoolers. With a decade research, the detection efficiency of NbN-SNSPDs was gradually increased to ~ 80 percent. However, further improvements have proven challenging. Achieving DE over 90 percent requires the simultaneous optimization of many factors, including near-perfect optical coupling, near-perfect absorption, and near-unity intrinsic quantum efficiency. Previous attempts at achieving this have mostly resulted from a process of trial and error. This paper first reported a NbN-SNSPD system based on a G-M cryocooler with system detection efficiency over 90 percent (at dark count rate of 10 Hz) at 2.1 K at a wavelength of 1550 nm. The efficiency of the device saturates to 92 percent when the temperature is lowered to 1.8 K. The success of this device results from an integrated distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) cavity offering near-unity detection at the interface, and through systematic optimization of the NbN nanowire's meandered geometry. The joint efforts enable researchers to simultaneously achieve the stringent requirements for coupling, absorption and intrinsic quantum efficiency. Additionally, the device exhibit timing jitters down to 79 ps, almost half that of previously reported WSi-SNSPD, promising additional advantages in applications requiring high timing precision. The devices have been applied to the quantum information frontier experiments in University of Science and Technology of China. SNSPD with near-unity detection efficiency operational on economical and user-friendly compact cryocooler will provide researchers a powerful, accessible tool, and paves the way for further breakthroughs in quantum information technology, such as optical quantum computation/simulation and quantum key distribution. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Step towards better 'beyond lithium' batteries Step towards better 'beyond lithium' batteries \| Amazing Science \| A step towards new "beyond lithium" rechargeable batteries with superior performance has been made by researchers at the University of Bath. We increasingly rely on rechargeable batteries for a host of essential uses; from mobile phones and electric cars to electrical grid storage. At present this demand is taken up by lithium-ion batteries. As we continue to transition from fossil fuels to low emission energy sources, new battery technologies will be needed for new applications and more efficient energy storage. One approach to develop batteries that store more energy is to use "multivalent" metals instead of lithium. In lithium-ion batteries, charging and discharging transfers lithium ions inside the battery. For every lithium ion transferred, one electron is also transferred, producing electric current. In multivalent batteries, lithium would be replaced by a different metal that transfers more than one electron per ion. For batteries of equal size, this would give multivalent batteries better energy storage capacity and performance. The team showed that titanium dioxide can be modified to allow it to be used as an electrode in multivalent batteries, providing a valuable proof of concept in their development. The scientists, an international team from the University of Bath, France, Germany, Holland, and the USA, deliberately introduced defects in titanium dioxide to form high concentrations of microscopic holes, and showed these can be reversibly occupied by magnesium and aluminum; which carry more than one electron per ion. The team also describes a new chemical strategy for designing materials that can be used in future multivalent batteries. The research is published in the journal Nature Materials. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Defects in next-generation solar cells can be healed with light Defects in next-generation solar cells can be healed with light \| Amazing Science \| Researchers have shown that defects in the molecular structure of perovskites - a material which could revolutionize the solar cell industry - can be "healed" by exposing it to light and just the right amount of humidity. Despite the potential of perovskites, some limitations have hampered their efficiency and consistency. Tiny defects in the crystalline structure of perovskites, called traps, can cause electrons to get "stuck" before their energy can be harnessed. The easier that electrons can move around in a solar cell material, the more efficient that material will be at converting photons, particles of light, into electricity. "In perovskite solar cells and LEDs, you tend to lose a lot of efficiency through defects," said Dr Sam Stranks, who led the research while he was a Marie Curie Fellow jointly at MIT and Cambridge. "We want to know the origins of the defects so that we can eliminate them and make perovskites more efficient." Metal Halide Perovskite Polycrystalline Films Exhibiting Properties of Single Crystals, JouleDOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2017.08.006 No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Twilight trick: Hybrid photoreceptor cell has been found in the eye of a deep-sea fish Twilight trick: Hybrid photoreceptor cell has been found in the eye of a deep-sea fish \| Amazing Science \| Most vertebrates have a duplex retina comprising two photoreceptor types, rods for dim-light (scotopic) vision and cones for bright-light (photopic) and color vision. However, deep-sea fishes are only active in dim-light conditions; hence, most species have lost their cones in favor of a simplex retina composed exclusively of rods. Although the pearlsides, Maurolicus spp., have such a pure rod retina, their behavior is at odds with this oversimplified visual system. Contrary to other deep-sea fishes, pearlsides are mostly active during dusk and dawn close to the surface, where light levels are intermediate (twilight or mesopic) and require the use of both rod and cone photoreceptors. A new study now elucidates this paradox by demonstrating that the pearlside retina does not have rod photoreceptors only. Instead, it is composed almost exclusively of transmuted cone photoreceptors. These transmuted cells combine the morphological characteristics of a rod photoreceptor with a cone opsin and a cone phototransduction cascade to form a unique photoreceptor type, a rod-like cone, specifically tuned to the light conditions of the pearlsides’ habitat (blue-shifted light at mesopic intensities). Combining properties of both rods and cones into a single cell type, instead of using two photoreceptor types that do not function at their full potential under mesopic conditions, is likely to be the most efficient and economical solution to optimize visual performance. These results challenge the standing paradigm of the function and evolution of the vertebrate duplex retina and emphasize the need for a more comprehensive evaluation of visual systems in general. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Lab mice's ancestral ‘Eve’ gets her genome sequenced No comment yet. Rescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from Fragments of Science! The Beautiful Intelligence of Bacteria and Other Microbes The Beautiful Intelligence of Bacteria and Other Microbes \| Amazing Science \| Under the microscope, the incredible exercise of the cells’ collective intelligence reveals itself with spectacular beauty. Since 1983, Roberto Kolter, a professor of microbiology and immunobiology at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Microbial Sciences Initiative, has led a laboratory that has studied these phenomena. In more recent years, it has also developed techniques for visualizing them. In the photographic essay book Life at the Edge of Sight: A Photographic Exploration of the Microbial World (Harvard University Press), released in September, Kolter and his co-author, Scott Chimileski, a research fellow and imaging specialist in his lab, offer an appreciation of microorganisms that is both scientific and artistic, and that gives a glimpse of the cellular wonders that are literally underfoot. Imagery from the lab is also on display in the exhibition World in a Drop at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. That display will close in early January but will be followed by a broader exhibition, Microbial Life, scheduled to open in February, 2018. Via Mariaschnee No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Where did valence electrons go? Decades-old mystery solved! Where did valence electrons go? Decades-old mystery solved! \| Amazing Science \| The concept of "valence" - the ability of a particular atom to combine with other atoms by exchanging electrons - is one of the cornerstones of modern chemistry and solid-state physics. Valence controls crucial properties of molecules and materials, including their bonding, crystal structure, and electronic and magnetic properties. Four decades ago, a class of materials called "mixed valence" compounds was discovered. Many of these compounds contain elements near the bottom of the periodic table, so-called "rare-earth" elements, whose valence was discovered to vary with changes in temperature in some cases. Materials comprising these elements can display unusual properties, such as exotic superconductivity and unusual magnetism. But there's been an unsolved mystery associated with mixed valence compounds: When the valence state of an element in these compounds changes with increased temperature, the number of electrons associated with that element decreases, as well. But just where do those electrons go? Using a combination of state-of-the-art tools, including X-ray measurements at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), a group led by Kyle Shen, professor of physics, and Darrell Schlom, the Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Industrial Chemistry in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, have come up with the answer. Their work is detailed in a paper, "Lifshitz transition from valence fluctuations in YbAl3," published in Nature Communications. The lead author is Shouvik Chatterjee, formerly of Shen's research group and now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. To address this mystery, Chatterjee synthesized thin films of the mixed-valence compound of ytterbium - whose valence changes with temperature - and aluminum, using a process called molecular beam epitaxy, a specialty of the Schlom lab. The group then employed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the distribution of electrons as a function of temperature to track where the missing electrons went. "Typically for any material, you change the temperature and you measure the number of electrons in a given orbital, and it always stays the same," Shen said. "But people found that in some of these materials, like the particular compound we studied, that number changed, but those missing electrons have to go somewhere." It turns out that when the compound is heated, the electrons lost from the ytterbium atom form their own "cloud," of sorts, outside of the atom. When the compound is cooled, the electrons return to the ytterbium atoms. "You can think of it as two glasses that contain some water," Shen said, "and you're pouring back and forth from one to the other, but the total amount of water in both glasses remains fixed." "These findings point toward the importance of valence changes in these material systems. By changing the arrangement of mobile electrons, they can dramatically influence novel physical properties that can emerge," said Chatterjee. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Towards wearable gallium nitride gas sensors in fabrics Towards wearable gallium nitride gas sensors in fabrics \| Amazing Science \| No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Researchers develop flexible, stretchable photonic devices Researchers develop flexible, stretchable photonic devices \| Amazing Science \| No comment yet. Rescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from Daily Magazine! Lamborghini and MIT team up to create the self-healing supercar of the future \| Amazing Science \| The Lamborghini Terzo Millenio is an electric, semi-autonomous supercar concept developed by Lamborghini and MIT. You would expect the combination of Lamborghini and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to produce a killer supercar, and the Lamborghini Terzo Millenio concept doesn’t disappoint. Unveiled as part of MIT’s EmTech conference, it’s Lambo’s first all-electric concept car, and sports nifty features like self-healing bodywork and semi-autonomous driving capability. The Terzo Millenio is powered by four electric motors, one for each wheel. But instead of a battery pack like the ones used in today’s electric cars, the motors get their electricity from supercapacitors. While automotive applications have been limited so far, Lamborghini believes supercapacitors are the answer to many of the limitations of current electric cars. Supercapacitors can charge and discharge faster, and store more energy in a given footprint, the automaker claims. Like any self-respecting supercar, the Terzo Millenio is wrapped in attention-grabbing bodywork. But there’s more to that skin than meets the eye. One area of Lamborghini and MIT’s joint research is the use of carbon fiber body panels as an energy-storage medium, essentially turning the bodywork into a battery. The material can also detect small cracks and “heal” itself, preventing the cracks from expanding and causing an outright breakage. Lamborghini is adamantly against fully autonomously driving cars, but the automaker does believe limited autonomy could have a place in future supercars. Instead of taking over driving duties completely, the Terzo Millenio can coach its owner into being a better driver by demonstrating the best line around a track. It would be just like going for a familiarization lap with an instructor, but without the instructor. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Warm Air Helped Make 2017 Ozone Hole the Smallest Since 1988 Warm Air Helped Make 2017 Ozone Hole the Smallest Since 1988 \| Amazing Science \| No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! The future is quantum - New 50 qubit IBM quantum chip is the next quantum leap The future is quantum - New 50 qubit IBM quantum chip is the next quantum leap \| Amazing Science \| Some of the most important technical advances of the 20th century were enabled by decades of fundamental scientific exploration, whose initial purpose was simply to extend human understanding. When Einstein discovered relativity, he had no idea that one day it would be an important part of modern navigation systems. Such is the story of quantum mechanics that will ultimately enable quantum computers. The first IBM Q systems available online to clients will have a 20 qubit processor. This new device’s advanced design, connectivity and packaging delivers industry-leading coherence times (the amount of time to perform quantum computations), which are double that of IBM’s 5 and 16 qubit processors available to the public on the IBM Q experience. Expansion of IBM’s open-source quantum package QISKit ( with new functionalities and tools. The software development kit enables users to create quantum computer programs and execute them on one of IBM’s real quantum processors or quantum simulators along with worked examples of quantum applications. Through the IBM Q experience, over 60,000 users have run over 1.7M quantum experiments and generated over 35 third-party research publications. A 20-qubit machine has double the coherence time, at an average of 90 µs, compared to previous generations of quantum processors with an average of 50 µs. It is also designed to scale; the 50-qubit prototype has similar performance. Our goal with both the IBM Q experience, and our commercial program is to collaborate with our extended community of partners to accelerate the path to demonstrating a quantum advantage for solving real problems that matter. Over the next year, IBM Q scientists will continue to work to improve its devices including the quality of qubits, circuit connectivity, and error rates of operations. For example, within six months, the IBM team was able to extend the coherence times for the 20 qubit processor to be twice that of the publically available 5 and 16 qubit systems on the IBM Q experience. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! New analysis of Chicxulub asteroid suggests it may have struck in vulnerable spot on Earth New analysis of Chicxulub asteroid suggests it may have struck in vulnerable spot on Earth \| Amazing Science \| A pair of researchers at Tohoku University has found evidence suggesting that if the asteroid that struck the Earth near Chicxulub 66 million years ago had landed almost anywhere else, it would not have been as devastating to the biosphere. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Kunio Kaiho and Naga Oshima suggest that had the asteroid struck another part of the planet it is likely the dinosaurs would have survived. Scientists around the world have reached a consensus regarding the reason that the dinosaurs (except for bird relatives) went extinct—a large asteroid struck the Earth just off what is now the Yucatan peninsula, hurling so much soot and other material into the atmosphere that the planet became too cold (for approximately three years) for the dinosaurs and most other land animals to survive. But now, it appears that they might have survived had the asteroid struck almost anywhere else. To learn more about the event that had such a huge impact on the history of our planet, Kaiho and Oshima used a computer to analyze multiple data sources surrounding the impact and the location where it struck—the resulting simulation showed how much soot would have been generated based on the amount of hydrocarbon material in the ground near the impact site. Such hydrocarbons would include not just oil or coal deposits, but other rocks that also contained oil—more hydrocarbons would mean more soot and gases making their way into the atmosphere. The research pair also created a map showing surface hydrocarbon densities across the globe at the time. They found that the site where the asteroid struck was particularly dense in hydrocarbons—87 percent of the planet surface was less dense. That means, they claim, that if the asteroid had struck a place where it was less dense (which would have been almost anywhere else), much less soot would have been generated, and thus, the planet would not have cooled as much. And if the planet had not cooled so much, the dinosaurs might have survived, and that might have meant that we humans would never have had a chance to evolve. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Lamb3 Mutation Correction to Heal a Kid with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa Lamb3 Mutation Correction to Heal a Kid with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa \| Amazing Science \| When a genetic skin-peeling disease threatened the life of a 7-year-old boy, doctors turned to an experimental mashup of stem cells and gene therapy. The baby was still in diapers when the first blister appeared, ballooning red and angry from his pale, newborn skin. Soon, they became a regular feature on the map of his body, along with deep creases in his face when he howled out in pain. A doctor told the parents his LAMB3 gene had a glitch—his body wasn’t making enough of a protein to anchor the outer layer of his skin to the inner ones. For seven years they kept the blisters at bay. But by summer of 2015, the wounds were winning—and the boy had lost 60 percent of his skin. In June, the child arrived at the burn unit of the Ruhr University Children’s Hospital in Bochum, Germany, hot with fever and septic from a strain of staph. His doctors began pumping him full of antibiotics and painkillers, bathing him in iodine, and dressing the wounds with ointments. Nothing worked. The father gave his son skin from his own body. It didn’t take. After five weeks in the intensive care unit, the boy was dying. But there was one more thing left to try. A genetic experiment never attempted before. The doctors snipped out a tiny square of the boy’s skin and shipped it to a laboratory in Modena, Italy. Scientists there used a virus to inject a functioning LAMB3 gene into all the cells that made up that patch of skin, including some stem cells. Then they grew them and grew them and grew them until there were enough to seed onto nine square feet of gauze and protein gel. An adult-sized skin suit would take about 22 square feet, but for a kid, it was more than enough. In October, the Italians sent the new skin back to Germany, and the boy’s doctors carefully laid them into areas they’d scoured of any dead or infected flesh, first to his arms and legs. When another batch arrived in November they did his chest and back. In January they touched up any spots they’d missed. Seven and a half months after he was admitted, the boy walked out the hospital doors, wound-free—the recipient of the largest-ever infusion of transgenic stem cells. A few weeks later he returned to elementary school. Today, the boy spends his free time playing soccer and bruising like a normal kid. His new skin has never seen a blister. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Growing kelp for biofuel: Researchers aim to harness potential Growing kelp for biofuel: Researchers aim to harness potential \| Amazing Science \| Sources of energy frequently in the limelight are solar, wind and hydropower. Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is one of the fastest growing producers of biomass. The open ocean is an immense, untapped region for collecting solar energy. Giant kelp does not grow naturally in the open ocean because kelp normally needs an attachment at about 10-20 meters of depth and also needs key nutrients that are available in deep ocean water or near shore but not at the surface in the open ocean. This concept proposes an economical system to provide a grid for attachment and access to nutrients, making it possible to farm kelp in the extensive regions of the open ocean. If successful, this patented approach will grow kelp attached to large grids in the open ocean, each grid towed by inexpensive underwater drones. These drones will maintain the grids near the surface during the day to gather sunlight for photosynthesis. At night, the drones will take the grids down to the deeper, cold water where the kelp can absorb nutrients that are not adequate in the warmer surface waters. These kelp farms will also be taken to deeper water during storms or to avoid passing ships. Every three months, the drones will move the kelp farms to scheduled locations to rendezvous with harvesters. Why grow giant kelp on farms in the open ocean? • does not compete with food production for agricultural land. • will not harm environmentally-sensitive areas, such as deserts or marine reserves. • does not use fresh water, pesticides, or artificial fertilizers (using, instead, abundant nutrients in deep water). • stores nutrients when they are available and uses them when needed. • is relatively easy to process into drop-in fuels because it has no lignin and little cellulose. • is one of the fastest-growing primary producers with elongation rates ~30 cm/day, and average photosynthetic efficiency in the range of 6-8%, much higher than terrestrial plant production at 1.8-2.2%. • stores over 1 Watt/m2 (averaged 24/7/365) of sunlight as chemical energy (~2.8 kg ash-free, dry weight per m2-year) , as observed in natural beds. • continues to grow year round especially if adequate nutrients are available, and the harvest is non-destructive so farms can be productive for years without replanting. Why grow giant kelp on farms in the open ocean guided by underwater drones? • near shore areas with natural upwelling of nutrients won’t produce enough biomass to make a significant impact on the nation’s energy needs. • many natural kelp beds are in marine reserves, or in recreational or commercial areas. • the production underwater drones will be less expensive than one might expect because they will be made out of reinforced concrete and numerous subsystems are already available in production quantities (automated guidance & control, communications, batteries, pumps, sensors). • most importantly, kelp grown in the open ocean can utilize massive open ocean areas to supply an energy feedstock sufficient for the projected peak world population at the current U.S. per capita rate of energy consumption of ~9500W/person. The Pacific Ocean offshore of the Western U.S. represents an immense, untapped solar collecting area and, if this effort is successful, will be the first deployment region for the commercial farm systems. Fast-growing kelp produces biomass year round and could provide a transformational solution to the need for millions of tons of feedstock per year. No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! Kara - Quantic Dream How human does a robot have to act before the world will think it’s alive? Video game studio Quantic Dream, makers of the 2010 hit Heavy Rain, unleashed an intriguing demo at the recent Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Entitled, “Kara”, the seven minute video was meant simply as a means of showcasing Quantic Dream’s impressive prototype graphics engine. Rendered entirely in real time on a PlayStation 3, Kara certainly proves its visual prowess, but it also raises some thought-provoking and disturbing questions about what it means to create artificial life. AI, non-human rights, slavery, sex androids, personal robotics – Kara touches them all and then floats away on a swelling symphonic score. Not one you want to miss! Video is here No comment yet. Scooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald! DoNotPay: AI chatbot will soon help individuals with their legal issues DoNotPay: AI chatbot will soon help individuals with their legal issues \| Amazing Science \| As a young programmer, Joshua Browder built a chatbot to act as a kind of AI lawyer that would help people dispute parking tickets. Not only did it work, but it was hugely popular, which led Browder to expand the program to help anyone harmed by the Equifax scandal sue the company in small claims court. Now his company, DoNotPay, is aiming even higher: by the end of this year, Browder plans to launch an addition to the platform that will you let you sue anyone. “To be honest, Equifax was just a bit of testing for the product that would let anyone sue anyone,” Browder, one of 2017’s 35 Innovators under 35, said Wednesday at MIT Technology Review’s EmTech MIT conference. “The main use would be for taking down corporations.” No comment yet.
There's a secret hidden continent beneath New Zealand CC BY 2.0 NASA/Goddard/NPP Zealandia© GNS In a study published in the Geological Society of America's Journal, the authors explain continent-making criteria, of which Zealandia fulfills the requirements. Here’s a summary of their summary of the four key attributes of continents and assess how Zealandia meets these criteria. Crustal Structure Limits and Area The main author of the paper, New Zealand geologist Nick Mortimer, says scientists have been researching data to make the case for Zealandia for more than two decades, reports the BBC. I say it’s time to make an honest continent out of it! Although there is no formal governing body that gives titles to continents, as the BBC notes, “it could only change over time if future research accepts Zealandia on par with the rest so that eventually we might be learning about eight, not seven, continents.” "The scientific value of classifying Zealandia as a continent is much more than just an extra name on a list," the researchers write. "That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented" makes it useful for "exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust.” But regardless if Zealandia gets to wear a continent crown or not, it serves as a potent reminder of the planet’s mysteries, even if they might not be so mysterious after all. As the authors conclude, “Zealandia illustrates that the large and the obvious in natural science can be overlooked.” Which begs the question, what else have we had wrong all this time? Tags: New Zealand \| Oceans treehugger slideshows
You Are Here: Home - articles , NEWS - The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Mrohaung in Arakan (Re-submitting) by D.G.E. Hall Arakan stretches for some 350 miles along the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal to the south of the Chittagong division of East Bengal. It is separated from Burma by a long, deep range of mountains, the Arakan Roma, through which there are only two serviceable passes, the Ann connecting with Minbu on the west bank of the Irrawaddy, and the Taungup connecting with Prome. The Arakanese call themselves Rakhaing and their country Rakhaingpray. According to Sir Arthur Phayre, the word is a corruption of the Pali rakkhaso (Skt. rakshasa) meaning ‘’ogre’’ (Burmese bili) or guardian of the mansion of Indra on Mount Meru. Sir Henry Yule identifies the Angyre or Silverland of Ptolemy with Arakan. But Arakan produced no silver and the previously accepted views of Ptolemy’’s idea concerning the Indo-Chinese peninsula are now open to question. The Arakanese of today are basically Burmese, though with an unmistakable Indian admixture. Although mainly Buddhist, they have been influenced by long centuries of contact with Muslim India. Their language is Burmese with some dialectical differences and an older form of pronunciation, especially noticeable in their retention of the ‘’r’’ sound, which the Burmese have changed to ‘’y’’. The Bengalis refer to them by the name Magh, a word adopted by seventeenth-century European writers and written ‘’Mugg’’. The name is also applied to a class of people belonging to Chittagong who are Buddhists but speak Bengali and are not Mongoloid. Much that is fanciful has been written about its possible etymology, but the question is as yet unsolved. Buddhism would seem to have reached Arakan long before its arrival in the interior of Burma, and the famous Mahamuni image, brought from Arakan by the Burmese in 1785, and now to be seen in the Arakan Pagoda at Mandalay, may date from the early Christian era. Buddhism would seem to have reached Arakan long before its arrival in the interior of Burma, and the famous Mahamuni image, brought from Arakan by the Burmese in 1785, and now to be seen in the Arakan Pagoda at Mandalay, may date from the early Christian era. Inscriptions mention a Candra dynasty, which may have been founded as early as the middle of the fourth century A.D. Its capital was called by the Indian name of Vaisali, and thirteen kings of the dynasty are said to have reigned there for a total period of 230 years. The Arakanese chronicles claim that the kingdom was founded in the year 2666 B.C., and contain lists of kings beginning that date. The Burmese do not seem to have settled in Arakan until possibly as late as the tenth century A.D. Hence earlier dynasties are thought to have been Indian, ruling over a population similar to that of Bengal. All the capitals known to history have been in the north near modern Akyab. It was a district subject to chronic raids from hill tribes- Shans, Burmese, and Bengalis- and there were long periods when settled government can hardly have existed. But the spirit of independence was always strong, and in the business of raiding the Arakanese could usually give as much as they received. Their main activity was by sea into Bengal, and they developed great skill in sea and riverine warfare. By the middle of the sixteenth century they were the terror of the Ganges delta. North Arakan was conquered by Anawrahta of Pagan (1044-77), but was not incorporated in his kingdom. It remained a semi-independent feudatory state under its hereditary kings. When Pagan fell in 1287 Arakan asserted its independence under the famous Mong Hti, whose reign, according to the chronicles, lasted for the fabulously long period of ninety-five years (1279-1374). His reign is also notable for the defeat of a great Bengali raid. After his death Arakan was for a considerable time one of the theatres of war in the great struggle between Ava and the Mon kingdom of Pegu. Both sides sought to gain control over it. First the Burmese, then the Mons, placed their nominees on its throne. When in 1404 the Burmese regained control King Narameikhla fled to Bengal, where he was hospitably received by King Ahmed Shah of Gaur. During his exile he distinguished himself while assisting his host to repel in invasion, and when in 1426 Ahmed Shah died and was succeeded by Nazir Shah the new ruler provided him with a force for the recovery of his kingdom under the command of a general called in the Arakanese chronicle Wali Shah. This man, however, turned traitor, and in league with a disloyal Arakanese chieftain imprisoned Narameikhla. The king managed to escaped, and in 1430 regained his throne with the aid of a second force supplied by Nazir Shah. He thereupon built himself a new capital named Mrauk-U in Arakanese, but usually known by its Arakanese name of Mrohaung. The date of its foundation is given as 1433. King Narameikhla held his kingdom as the vassal of Gaur, and in token of this he and his immediate successor, though Buddhists, added Mahommendan titles to their Arakanese ones and issued medallions bearing the Kalima, the Mahommendan confession of faith. In 1434 Narameikhla was succeeded by his brother Mong Khari, also known as Ali Khan, who declared his independence of Gaur. His son Basawpru, who succeeded him in 1459, took advantage of the weakness of Barbek Shah of Gaur to seize Chittagong. He and his successors continued to use Mohammedan titles, no longer as a sign of vassaldom but as a token of their sovereignty over Chittagong, which was recognized as lying beyond the geographical borders of Arakan. Chittagong had for centuries been a bone of contention between Arakan and Bengal and had often changed hands. It was not to remain in Arakanese hands until 1666, when the Mughals recovered it permanently for India. Basawpru was murdered in 1482 and his country entered upon a half-century of disorder and dynastic weakness. No less than eight kings came to the throne; most of them were assassinated. Then in 1531 a capable young king, Mong Bong, came to the throne and Arakan entered upon a new era. It was in his reign that the first European ships made their appearance, as raiders, and that the Portuguese free-booters (feringhi) began to settle at Chittagong. It was in his reign also that Tabinshwehti revived Burmese power, conquered the Mon kingdom of Pegu, and threatened the defences of his capital with massive earthworks and dug a deep moat, which was filled with tidal water from the river. Hence in 1544, when the inevitable Burmese attack came, although Mong Bong could not defeat the invaders in the open, the defence works of Mrohaung proved an obstacle against which even the great Tabinshwehti could not prevail when he appeared before them in 1546. While the siege was on the Raja of Tipperah raided Chittagong and Ramu with his wild tribesmen. But again victory was on the side of the Arakanese. When Mong Bong died in 1553 he had a force of Portuguese mercenaries. His sea power, based on Chittagong, was the terror of the Ganges region, and his country was on the threshold of the greatest period of her history. But her somewhat spectacular rise was hardly due to the genius of her rulers. It coincides with a period of weakness in Bengal, when, before the gradual extension eastwards of the Mughal power, the native governments of that region were tottering. The possession of Chittagong was the key to the situation; for Mong Bong leased to the feringhi who took service under his flag the port of Dianga on the seacoast south of the mouth of the river Kurnaphuli, some twenty miles south of the modern city of Chittagong. The place soon attracted a large European and Eurasian population which drove a thriving trade with the ports of Bengal. But piracy and slave-raiding were the chief occupations of the feringhi, who gathered there in increasing numbers and before long became as great a source of embarrassment to the King of Arakan as to the Viceroy of Goa. Matters came to a crisis during the reign of Mong Razagri (1593-1612). He was the king who employed Philip de Brito in his attack on Nanda Bayin of Pegu, thereby opening the way for the feringhi leader to make himself master of Syriam. Matters came to a crisis during the reign of Mong Razagri (1593-1612). He was the king who employed Philip de Brito in his attack on Nanda Bayin of Pegu, thereby opening the way for the feringhi leader to make himself master of Syriam. When de Brito defeated the Arakanese flotilla sent to dislodge him from the Mon port and captured the crown prince, Mong Razagri decided that he must break the power of the Portuguese at Dianga. For that port also was coveted by de Brito; he planned to use it as a base for the conquest of Arakan. In 1607, therefore, the king sent an expedition which attacked Dianga by land and massacred its inhabitants without mercy. Six hundred Portuguese are said to have fallen. Among those who escaped was the egregious Sebastian Gonzales Tibao. He had been engaged in the salt trade. Now with other refugees he took to piracy, and in 1609 made himself ‘’king’’ of Sandwip Island by exterminating the Afghan pirates who had made their nest there. At Sandwip he received a refugee Arakanese prince who, as Governor of Chittagong, had quarreled with his brother, King Razagri. Tibao married the prince’’s sister and when he died suddenly, probably from poison, seized all his treasure. Soon afterwards the Mughal Governor of Bengal began an attack upon the district of Noakhali, east of Ganges mouth, which had submitted to Arakan. This threw Tibao and Mong Razagri into one another’’s arms. But while his ally was conducting an unsuccessful land campaign Tibao took possession of the Arakanese fleet by luring its leaders to a conference and murdering them. Then he raided up the Lemro River to the very walls of Mrohaung, capturing the royal barge as a trophy. When in 1612 Mong Razagri died his successor, Mong Khamoung (1612-22), decided that the power of Tibao and his ruffians must be finally broken. His first effort failed because the Raja of Tippera raided at the crucial moment and he had to withdraw his forces. Tibao, aware of his precarious position, with hostile Bengal on one side and revengeful Arakan on the other, appealed to Goa, urging the viceroy to avenge the massacre of Dianga. He suggested a joint attack on Arakan and offered to pay annual tribute to the Portuguese crown for his island ‘’kingdom’’. The viceroy sent a fleet of fourteen galliots, which arrived off the coast of Arakan at the end of the wet monsoon in 1615. Mrohaung was attacked, but partly through faulty arrangements for cooperation and partly through the help given to the Arakanese by a Dutch ship lying in the harbour the Portuguese failed to effect a landing and sailed away. Two years later Mong Khamoung captured Sandwip, wiped out the feringhi settlement and destroyed its fortifications. Tibao is said to have escaped, but is heard of no more. The feringhi had now shot their bolt. Philip de Brito’’s escapade at Syriam had already come to its sorry end in 1613. So they made their peace with the king and settled down once more to assist him in his efforts to gain control over the southeastern parts of Bengal- ‘’the conquest of the middle land’’, as the Arakanese Chronicle euphemistically calls it. There was no conquest in the real sense, though for a time Arakan held the districts of Noakhali and Backergunge and some of the Sunderbunds delta. What chiefly took place was slave-raiding, in 1625 even captured and held for a short time. This kind of thing could never have occurred had it not been for the crisis in the Mughal Empire resulting from Shah Jahan’’s rebellion in 1612 against his father Jehangir. Year after year the feringhi armada returned to Dianga bringing thousands of Bengali slaves. Before long not a house was left inhabited on either side of the rivers between Chittagong and Dacca. Mong Razagri’’s attampt to rid himself of the Portuguese coincided with the first Dutch trading voyage to Arakan. In 1605 they had planted factories at Masulipatam and Petapoli on the Coromandel Coast. From these two centres they began to explore the possibility of establishing trading relations with Bengal and Arakan. An invitation from King Razagri led to the dispatch of two merchants, Pieter Willemsz and Jan Gerritsz Ruyll, to Mrohaung in 1607, the year of the Dianga massacre. The king, like so many other rulers in South-East Asia, received them with delight, offered them customs-free trade in his dominions, and expressed the hope that they would assist ‘’to drive the Portuguese our’’. He asked particularly for their help against Philip de Brito at Syriam. ‘’So would he give us to wit the aforesaid Castle in Pegu, the island of Sundiva, Chittagong, Dianga, or any other places in Bengal, as he had given the same previously to the Portuguese,’’ wrote Pieter Willemsz in his report. And he went on to represent that if the opportunity were not seized the Portuguese would ‘’determine it so well for themselves that it would be to the great detriment of the Company’’. But the Dutch wanted trade, not war, even against the Portuguese, in this region, for, with their hands full with the struggle to gain contemplate an expedition against Syriam. The envoys returned to Masulipatam in May 1608. In September 1610 van Wesick, the Dutch chief of the Coromandel factories, decided to make a trial venture with an established factory at Mrohaung. Jacob Dirckszoon Cortenhoof went to take charge of it. The king, however, wanted the Dutch to built a fort at Dianga. In 1615, as we have already seen, they played an important part in warding off the attack of the Portuguese fleet on Mrohaung. They had, however, no desire to become involved in Mong Khamoung’’s wars, and especially in his projected operations against Tibao, because, as they put it, ‘’of the small profits, which could be made there, and the great expenses the Company must first be put to, in order to establish the king again in his kingdom, which at present is much in trouble’’. The factory was accordingly withdrawn in 1617. But Arakan remained on the programme, and from 1623 Dutch ships were going there to buy the Bengali slaves captured by the marauding feringhi, and the surplus rice that the country produced as a result of the abundant slave labour available for cultivating the fields. Early in 1625 the Dutch planted another factory at Mrohaung, with Paulus Cramer Heyn as its Chief. It came about through an expedition under Anthonij Caen which had been despatched from Batavia in September of the previous year to attack Portuguese vessels. He was instructed to call at Mrohaung and discuss with king Thirithudamma (1622-38) the possibility of cooperation against ‘’our common enemy’’, and to conclude an agreement for the export of rice and slaves. Little came of the negotiations, although the king sent an envoy to Batavia in 1627, and as the slave did not go Well Jan Pieterszoon Coen issued orders for the factory to be closed for the second time. Trade, however, continued. The free burghers of Batavia were allowed to have a share in it, and envoys passed frequently between Batavia and Mrohaung. The Dutch, having completely depopulated the Banda Islands and given over the land there to Company’’s servants to cultivate with slave labour, were anxious to buy all the slaves that Arakan could spare from the proceeds of the feringhi raids. So the Cornelis van Houten, the chief factor, reported that trade had been brought to a standstill by a terrible famine and pestilence. He was accordingly withdrawn and the trade again thrown open to private merchants. Meanwhile Dianga and the feringhi had once come into the limelight. In 1630 Thirithudamma appointed a new Viceroy of Chittagong, who took so violent a dislike to the feringhi that he sent an alarmist report to Mrohaung alleging a Portuguese plot to admit the forces of the Mughal Viceroy of Dacca into Chittagong. His intention was to persuade Thirithudamma to administer to Dianga a further dose of the medicine given in 1607. As the feringhi fleet was away upon its annual slaving expedition, the inhabitants, who got wind of the scheme, deputed two envoys to hurry to the capital to persuade the king that the rumour was without foundation. They were a feringhi captain, Gonzales Tibao, a relative of the erstwhile ‘’king’’ of Sandwip, and Fra Sebastiao Manrique, an Augustinian friar of Oporto, who had recently arrived in Dianga as its vicar under the jurisdiction of the archbishopric of Goa. years later, after his return home to Portugal, Manrique told the story of his travels in detailed memoirs, which are of exceptional interest and value. The mission was successful. The king called off a large expedition he was preparing for the punishment of Dianga. He also gave permission for the construction of a Catholic church in the suburb of Daingri-pet, on the western side of the capital, where the Portuguese mercenaries of the royal guard lived. The outspoken friar, who did not fear to adjure the king to abandon his false religious beliefs and become a Christian, was treated as an honoured guest. He was shown the loot taken from Pegu in 1599 and was greatly impressed by the white elephant. Nanda Bayin’’s daughter, who had been carried off to Mrohaung and married to King Razagri, received him and related the story of her sufferings with deep emotion. Early in 1631, after a stay of six months, Manrique returned to Dianga. In the following year Shah Jahan, now the Great Mughal, decided to wipe out the Portuguese settlement at Hugli. He suspected it of being implicated in the intolerable slave-raids of the Dianga free-booters. His religious fervour also had been deeply stirred by the abduction in 1629 by the feringhi of the wife of a high official near Dacca and her subsequent conversion to Catholicism by Fra Manrique. The town put up a desperate resistance, but without timely help could not possibly hold out. Some of the defenders cut their way out, boarded their ships and got away to Saugar Island, just outside the river mouth, where they proceeded to establish themselves. At the same time they sent a Jesuit, Father Cabral, to ask King Thirithudamma for help. News of the seige, however, had already reached him long before Cabral’’s arrival, and he had ordered the feringhi armada of Dianga to make a surprise attack upon the Mughal fleet in the Hugli River. The armada was held up by bad weather, and when at last it was able to sail it arrived too late to save the city. It managed, however, to follow up the Mughal fleet and destroy it. Then it fell back on Saugar to await reinforcements. In launching this attack the king appears to have had a double object. He aimed at preventing the Mughals from attempting the capture of Chittagong; he naturally expected this to be their next objective after taking Hugli. He hoped also that a decisive victory over the Mughal fleet would enable him to persuade the Viceroy of Goa to join forces with him in an invasion of Bengal. The viceroy was indeed willing to discuss matters, and in 1633 deputed Gaspar de Mesquita to proceed to Mrohaung for this purpose, with Fra Manrique as his adviser. The negotiations, however, came to nothing. The king’’s grandiose scheme for the conquest of Bengal had to be dropped. The Goanese envoy sailed away, but Manrique had to remain behind. The king liked him. Moreover, he knew too many state secrets to be allowed to return at once to Dianga. Not until two years later, in 1635, was he permitted to depart. His book tells of further strange adventures while at Mrohaung. He gives also a vivid description of Thirithudamma’’s coronation, which was not celebrated until 1635 because of a prophecy that he would die within a year of it. Before it took place barbarous propitiatory sacrifices were made to avert this fate. But three years later his chief queen procured his murder and placed her lover on the throne. He was King Narapatigri (1638-45). Manrique makes no mention of Thirithudamma’’s relations with the Dutch. In 1633 he had sent two envoys to Batavia to invite them to reopen their factory. They were engaged upon the blockade of Malacca and needed the food supplies that could be obtained from Arakan. Manrique makes no mention of Thirithudamma’’s relations with the Dutch. In 1633 he had sent two envoys to Batavia to invite them to reopen their factory. They were engaged upon the blockade of Malacca and needed the food supplies that could be obtained from Arakan. Two Dutch ships, therefore, with cargoes of goods for sale escorted the Arakanese envoys home, and in 1635 Adam van der Mandere reopened the factory. At first trade went well. But soon difficulties arose. The king wanted a military alliance, and when he heard that Mughal ambassadors had been received at Batavia he sent an angry letter to warn the governor-general that the Mughals were his enemies. Moreover, van der Mandere’’s relations with the king were bad. The king established a royal monopoly over rice, and when van der Mandere objected to the price and attempted to buy his supplies in the open market serious trouble resulted. Van der Mandere’’s conduct was considered undignified by Governor-General Anthony van Diemen and his books were found to have been carelessly kept. He was accordingly transferred elsewhere, and van Diemen directed that in future ‘’men of good bearing and not slovens’’ should be appointed to Mrohaung. The next Chief, Arent Jansen van den Helm, got on extremely well with the usurper Narapatigri as a result of lavish presents of wine and spirits, which the latter much appreciated. But in 1643 the king’’s health broke down and he lost control over affairs. Then an incident occurred which caused the Dutch to close the factory once more. A frigate belonging to a Dutch free burgher, bound for Chittagong with a valuable cargo of piece-goods, was decoyed into Mrohaung harbour, its cargo confiscated and its captain and crew imprisoned. When efforts for their release failed and several of them died in prison the Dutch broke off relations. For eight years the factory was empty, and the Dutch subjected Arakanese shipping to severe reprisals. Narapatigri’’s nephew Thado, who succeeded him in 1645, was a nonentity and reigned for only seven years. But his son Sandathudamma, who came to the throne in 1652 and reigned for thirty-two years, became famous as one of the best of the Arakanese monarchs. Although he was quite young at the time of his accession, it soon became known at Batavia that he had a more enlightened attitude towards trade than his predecessors. And as the directors of the V.O.C. were urging Batavia to reopen trade with Arakan, a Dutch envoy, Joan Goessens, left in October 1652 with a long list of stipulations for negotiations with the new king. Agreement seems to have been easily reached, and the terms, embodied in the form of a treaty, were accepted by both parties in 1653. Its main provisions were to the effect that the Dutch were to enjoy customs-free trade under royal licence and be exempt from the necessity of buying and selling through the king’’s agents. Goessens was much impressed by the riches and splendour of the Court. There can be no doubt of the prosperity of the kingdom at this time. The Dutch factory, thus reopened in 1653, carried on successfully until 1665, when it was again closed, this time for a political reason. Shah Shuja, the second son of the Great Mughal Shah Jahan, had been appointed Viceroy of Bengal in 1639. In 1657, when the emperor fell so seriously ill that there were premature rumours of his death, a struggle for power began between his sons. It was won by Aurangzeb, who deposed his father in 1658 and became emperor himself. Shah Shuja refused to accept this arrangement but was defeated by Aurangzeb’’s general Mir Jumla, and after failing to hold Bengal fled from Dacca to Chittagong, together with his family and a bodyguard of some 500 faithful followers. Sandathudamma granted him permission to continue his journey to Mrohaung on condition that his followers surrendered their arms. He arrived there on 26 August 1660 and was favourably received by the king, who assigned him a residence near the city on the right bank of the Wathi Creek at the root of Bahbudaung Hill. He asked for ships to convey him and his people to Mecca and was promised that they would be supplied. But the promise remained unfulfilled and the fugitive prince soon found his situation intolerable. Repeated demands for his surrender came from his fleet off Dianga and sent up reinforcements. A state of alarm developed and a rumour spread that Mir Jumla had taken Dianga. Moreover, the king asked for one of Shah Shuja’’s daughters in mirriage and his request was indignantly rejected. Thus were bad relations fomented; deliberately, suggests Phayre, in order that Sandathudamma might have a specious cause for quarrel, since he was only too conscious of the contempt in which the haughty Mughal held him and was greedy to get possession of the rich hoard of treasure the other had brought with him. Shah Shuja, realizing his peril, made a desperate attempt to escape from the country. But his plans miscarried, and when the populace set upon his followers the latter ran amok and set fire to a large part of the city before they were rounded up and massacred. That was in December 1660. It was given out that he had attempted to seize the palace. The king, it was said, had only been dissuaded by his mother from having him killed. She argued that killing princes was a dangerous spot for which his own subjects might acquire a taste. But on 7 February 1661 Shah Shuja’’s residence was attacked and there was another massacre. Shah Shuja was never seen again. It was rumoured that he had fled to the hills with his sons but had been caught and put to death. Not until months afterwards did Gerrit van Voorburg, the Chief of the Dutch factory, discover what had happened. His report is summarized in the Daghregister thus: ‘’The prince Chasousa, of whom in the previous Arakan advices of 22 February last it was said that he was a fugitive, and had not been found either alive or dead, is believed, though with no certainty, to have perished in the first fury, but his body was made unrecognizable by the grandees in order the better to be able to deck their persons with the costly jewels which he wore. His three sons together with his wives and daughters have been taken; the wives and daughters have been brought into the king’’s palace, and the sons, after being imprisoned for some time, have been released and permitted to live in a little house. Every day the gold and silver, which the Arakanese have taken, are brought into the king’’s treasury to be melted down.’’ /p> As soon as the Viceroy of Bengal heard, through the Dutch factory at Dacca, of Shah Shuja’’s murder he commandeered a Dutch ship to carry an envoy to Mrohaung with a peremptory demand for the surrender of his children. It was refused, and the king protested to Batavia against the use of a Dutch ship by a Mughal envoy. As the threat of war increased, so did the Dutch position as neutrals become correspondingly more uncomfortable. In July 1663 a desperate attempt to rescue the three captive princes failed. Thereupon the king burnt his boats by having them beheaded and slaughtering a large number of Bengalis and Moslems at the capital. Early in the next year the feringhi fleet sailed up the river towards Dacca, put to flight a Mughal flotilla of 260 vessels, destroying more than half of them, and carried away hundreds of people into slavery. The time was now past when that sort of thing could go on with impunity. Shayista Khan, Aurangzed’’s maternal uncle, had just been appointed Viceroy of Bengal and was determined to burn out the pirate nest at Dianga. He called on the Dutch for assistance and threatened them with expulsion from all their Bengal factories if they refused. At the same time the King of Arakan, who was preparing yet another great raid on Bengal, ordered them to lend their ships for service with his armada. Luckily for them, a storm shattered his fleet before it sailed, and while he was repairing the demage the Dutch ships got away. When at last it did sail it carried out an even more devastating raid than the previous one. In July 1665 the Council of the Indies at Batavia held a special meeting at which secret orders were passed for the abandonment of the Mrohaung factory. The king was cleverly hoodwinked, and on a dark night in November the factors hurriedly loaded everything that could be carried away on four ships and decamped. At the mouth of the river they were overtaken by a special messenger bearing a letter from the king for delivery to the governor-general. Why, he asked, were the Dutch so much afraid of the Viceroy of Bengal? It would be easier for him to build the Tower of Babel than conquer Arakan. But the feringhi navy was to raid Bengal no more. Shayista Khan, who had built and equipped a new fleet, had already seized Sandwip Island as a base for an attack upon Dianga. What would have happened had the feringhi decided to fight it out it is hard to say, for they were more than a match for the Bengal navy. But at the crucial movement they quarrelled with the Arakanese, and when Shayista Khan seized the opportunity to invite them to change sides most of them did so. Then early in 1666 he assailed Dianga by land and sea. In February he defeated the Arakanese fleet in a fierce fight. Dianga surrendered, and the whole of the Chittagong district down to the River Naaf was annexed to the Mughal Empire. Shorn of its powerful fleet the Arakan kingdom declined rapidly after 1666. Some years later the Dutch returned and reopened their factory, but we know little about it. The Daghregister for 1682 contains a letter from Governor-General Cornelis Speelman to King Sandathudamma announcing that owing to the lack of trade the factory was to be ‘’reduced’’. A resident factor would no longer remain there after the business of collecting outstanding debts had been completed. He hoped, however, to send one or two ships annually for the purchase rice. When Sandathudamma died in 1684 the country became a prey to internal disorder. As Harvey puts it: ‘’the profits of piracy had gone but the piratical instinct remained, rendering government impossible.’’ Many of Shah Shuja’’s followers had been taken into the royal service as Archers of the Guard. Their numbers were maintained by a constant supply of recruits from north India. In 1685 they murdered Thirithuriya, Sandathudamma’’s son and successor, plundered the treasury, and placed his brother Waradhammaraza on the throne. When he was unable to give them their promised pay they mutinied and set the palace fire. Then they roamed about the country doing as they pleased. After some time they came to terms with the king, and he returned to his capital. But in 1692 they deposed him and placed his brother Muni Thudhamma Raza on the throne, only to murder him some two years later and place another brother on the throne. So things went on until 1710. In that year an Arakanese chieftain Maha Danda Bo, with the support of a band of devoted men, overcame the Archers and deported them to Remree island, where their descendants still live, speaking Arakanese and retaining their Mahomedan religion. Maha Danda Bo became king Sandawizaya and reigned until 1731. But he spent little of his time on constructive work and much of it in raiding neighbours. He made war on the Raja of Tippera and collected booty and prisoners. He took advantage of the weakness of the Toungoo dynasty’’s hold on central Burma to cross the mountains and raid Prome and Malun. The decline of the Mughal power after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 tempted him to push his authority towards the north and raid Sandwip Island. But nothing came of all these efforts, and when he was murdered in 1731 the country relapsed into chaos. Fourteen more kings came to the throne before King Bodawpaya’’s armies entered the kingdom and deposed the last king Thamada in 1785. Long before the event Arakanese chieftains were fleeing to the Court of Ava and urging Burmese intervention. When at last it came it brought such evils that half the population of Arakan fled into the Chittagong district and a situation was created that again challenged the security of Bengal, this time with consequences of far greater moment. For it was one of the main causes of the first Anglo-Burmese war of 1824-6. (mentioned in the Independent News, BD) Tags: articles , NEWS Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger... Blogger Widgets
Ask Tom Why July 04, 2004\|By Tom Skilling Dear Tom, I have heard that the number of earthquakes has been increasing. Have other violent weather events such as floods and tornadoes experienced similar increases? John Gove Oak Brook, Ill. Dear John, Earthquakes are geological phenomena, not meteorological, and they do not affect Earth's atmosphere or its weather. The U.S. Geological Survey says, "Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant." However, more "small" earthquakes are being reported because of a more dense network of seismographs and better worldwide communication. Broadly speaking, increases in reported violent weather occurrences result from growing human populations in weather-vulnerable areas and better communication of the events.
automotive 1Corrosion issues with vehicle manufacture For many years automotive companies have had corrosion issues with vehicle manufacture that started while the steel was in storage. For many years the normal procedure for the storage of such products was to increase the temperature in the storage area. This has the effect of expanding the air volume and lowering the relative humidity. Steel corrosion Steel will corrode if the relative humidity is greater than 55%. This was initially discovered in the 1930’s by Vernon and the acceleration rises vertically on a graph at this stage. Four key factors are necessary for atmospheric corrosion to occur. These same factors are the same for regular aqueous corrosion to occur. The four factors are; there must be an anode, a cathode, an ionic conducting electrolyte and an electrical conducting path between the anode and the cathode. If any one of these four factors is missing corrosion does not occur. The steel becomes the Anode and Cathode and the humidity becomes the electrolyte. The amount of corrosion depends on the level of relative humidity as found by Vernon. The Ford Motor Company were building a new facility to serve the Halewood motor plant in Liverpool, North West England and needed to look at storage for a large amount of very high quality automotive steel to ensure they would have no supply and demand issues with their production. Automotive controlling humidity The indirect method of controlling the relative humidity is by installing the normal dry heat method to heat the warehouse continually over the ambient conditions. However we proposed the concept of controlling the relative humidity by installing a desiccant dehumidifier, this being the method of removing the moisture directly from the air in contact with the steel. In 1993 Desiccant Dryair Systems installed 3 x Dryair 10 000 VRF Gas Powered Desiccant Dehumidifiers delivering 10 000 m/hr of very dry air respectively. Each machine will remove 60 kg of water every hour. Desiccant Dryair installed the entire system. The introduction of an accelerated opening door entry system ensures the Controlled Humidity Environment would not be totally forfeited every time the door is opened. Desiccant Dryair also installed all the natural gas, electrical and controls infrastructure as well as the Dryair delivery ductwork. The entire warehouse is kept at less than 45% relative Humidity, which is acceptable as a compromise between cost of running and achieving the desired result. Less than 50% relative humidity will slow atmospheric corrosion and if a level of less than 40% relative humidity is held, corrosion will cease. The Dryair Desiccant Dehumidifiers hold this condition throughout the year regardless of activity through the door. The warehouse houses steel from TATA, Wellbeck and other steel manufacturers. The steel arrives with minimal protection to give a quick unpack rate onto the production line. Even with no coil protection there has never been a recorded case of corrosion at the Widnes steel facility in 25 years. We are now in the process of installing a new facility for the storage of aluminium coil which will require Dryair VRF(HP) units opposed to the standard Dryair Desiccant Dehumidifiers. They are still desiccant dehumidifiers but use heat pump technology to control the relative humidity and the temperature in one packaged unit which assists with the pressing process of the aluminium. Automotive dehumidifiers Dryair standard range of desiccant dehumidifiers. Dryair VRF(HP) Desiccant dehumidifier with heat pump technologies. Painting / Spraying Painting and finishing booths require a relatively high humidity in the air to keep overspray to a minimum level using laminar flow technologies. Keeping overspray to a minimum ensures that the final finish is exceptional. Rolls Royce Chichester, Aston Martin at Gaydon, Coventry have had such issues with the paint lines due to overspray. Adiabatic humidifier - solution We installed Adiabatic humidifiers at Rolls Royce, Chichester in 2002 and Aston Martin, Gaydon, Warwickshire in 2004. These systems require a combination of both heating and cooling to achieve the desired temperature and using the adiabatic line, (wet bulb temperature) we humidify to achieve the desired level of humidity. The required off conditions were 24.0°C and 65% relative humidity. The tolerance of the Rolls Royce system was relative humidity +/-1% and temperature +/- 1.0°C and had to reach the desired level within 20 minutes from start up. Both systems are still operational today in 2015. Humidity control products • Humidair evaporative (adiabatic) Humidifiers • DDS AHU to control the temperature onto the humidair system.
Sustainable Energy now browsing by category How the U.S. is Powered The United States gains its electricity from many different sources. These sources include coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, and oil. Although the country is trying to embrace clean energy, there’s still more progress to be made. Currently, 511 coal-powered electric plants generate 34 percent of the U.S.’s electricity. It remains the leading fuel for electricity. However, it has become much less prevalent than it was in the late 1980’s. Natural Gas Just below coal is natural gas. With 1,740 natural gas-powered electric plants, it generates 30 percent of the energy. Over the past decade, more natural gas supplies have been found from shale deposits. Twenty percent of the nation’s electricity has been generated by 63 nuclear plants. These plants are more common in the East and there are five new plants under construction. Twenty states have no nuclear electricity generation. When it comes to hydroelectric power, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho are in the lead. It’s a huge power source for the Pacific Northwest, but also contributes seven percent of the electricity nationally with 1,436 plants. Wind is the fastest-growing power source in the U.S. There are 843 wind-powered electric plants generating five percent of the nation’s electricity. It’s especially popular in the Great Plains where there is a reliable wind source. Solar power works best in places that have continuous sunshine. That’s why many of the southwestern states rely on solar power, while 39 states have no solar generating plants. Even with 772 solar-powered electric plants in the U.S., solar power makes up only one percent of the nation’s electricity usage. Oil’s popularity as a source for electricity has died out. With 1,098 oil-powered plants, it generates only one percent of the U.S.’s electricity. The new Clean Power Plan’s goal is to cut carbon pollution, in turn reducing climate change. With more of the nation’s energy coming from renewable energy sources, the goal could be achievable. To learn more about conserving energy around the house and going green, visit Eco Electric’s website. Sustainable Energy: 3rd World Countries Energy has been a fundamental pillar in sustainability and environmental equality. This is particularly vital in alleviating poverty in rural communities. Beyond bringing electricity to limited communities, it promotes general well-being as well as it stimulates health in 3rd world countries. Being that approximately one quarter of the earth’s population (1.6 billion people globally) has no accessibility to electricity, individuals have to rely on kerosene sources to provide heat and light sources indoors; which result in almost 2 million deaths due to bad indoor air quality. With alternative sources in place of kerosene, like the SolarPuff lantern, widespread social, economic, and climate problems would cease to exist. Instead of families spending money on fuel sources, those resources can be spent on investing in quality of life, not just for one’s self but for family, as well as for following generations. Currently, over two hundred renewable energy programs have been implemented in one hundred different countries to help developing economies. These programs will yield important milestones and will yield benefits for years to come. Unlike built economies, like those in Europe, 3rd world countries don’t have to worry about degradation of old systems in order to enact renewable sources in a slow transition. Those countries that don’t have electricity will be able to transition straight into sustainable sources, as it will be the only structure they know. But these programs are still in the developmental stages of building, and implementing them will take time. Once essential components come together, the world will gain a new era of life.
Medicipate! Increase your knowledge dose Increase your knowledge dose Write article Please log in to edit this article. Atrioventricular node From Latin: atrium – entrance; ventriculus – small belly Synonyms: AV node, Aschoff-Tawara node, nodus atrioventricularis German: Atrioventrikularknoten 1 Definition The atrioventricular node, or AV node is the secondary pacemaker centre of the heart and is involved in the complex regulation of the heart rate. 2 Anatomy The AV node is a muscular structure in Koch triangle in the region of the right atrium near the atrial septum. It is difficult to distinguish at a macroscopic level. It is located at the junction to the ventricles and regulates the transmission of impulses through the non-conductive cardiac skeleton in the ventricles. The node pulls the bundle of His towards the apex. The AV node is likely controlled by the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, which intervene in the complex regulation of the cardiac rhythm. It is usually supplied with blood by the atrioventricular nodal branch from the right coronary artery. 3 Histology The atrioventricular node is composed of specific cardiac cells (cardiomyocytes), which partially radiate into the connective tissue of the cardiac skeleton. In contrast to the working muscles of the heart, the node cells are relatively devoid of myofibrils and mitochondria. 4 Physiology The AV node is the secondary stimulation centre of the heart It usually receive the depolarisations propagated via the working muscles of the atria and redirects them to the ventricle after a delay. The time period for this transition is referred to as the atrioventricular conduction time (AV-time). It corresponds to the PQ interval in the ECG. The delay of the excitation in the AV node is necessary to ensure a coordinated contraction of the atria and ventricles. The atrial systole occurs slightly earlier than the ventricular systole, which leads to improved filling of the ventricles. The AV node also acts as a frequency filter. Under physiological conditions, it does not conduct stimuli above a certain frequency because of the refractory period of the depolarised cardiac muscle cells. 5 Pathophysiology In the event of a node failure, the AV node can assume the function of the primary rhythm generator and control a heart rate from 40 to 60/min. An excessive time lag of the impulse conduction through the AV node or a failure of conduction can lead to AV-block, of which there are three stages. To comment on this article, . Click here for creating a new article in the DocCheck Flexikon. Initial author: 1 rating(s) (4 ø) You have any questions? Follow DocCheck:
Download A Companion to Greek Literature (Blackwell Companions to the PDF A significant other to Greek Literature offers a complete advent to the big variety of texts and literary varieties produced within the Greek language over the process a millennium starting from the sixth century BCE as much as the early years of the Byzantine Empire. • positive factors contributions from quite a lot of verified specialists and rising students of Greek literature • comprises readings that handle the construction and transmission of historical Greek texts, old reception, person authors, and lots more and plenty extra • Explores the topic of historical Greek literature in leading edge methods Show description Similar greece books Alexander the Great: A Reader Along with his unparalleled conquests from Greece within the west to India within the East, Alexander the good used to be the kind of guy that legends are made up of; therein lies the matter for these learning him. Ought we to just accept just like a speeding king having fun with a string of dazzling successes, or undertake a extra cynical assessment, being attentive to the entire dangers of his reign? Thucydides Book I: A Students' Grammatical Commentary (Bk. 1) The 1st ebook of Thucydides is a compact masterpiece. right here he units up the stipulations that resulted in the outbreak of the Peloponnesian struggle in 431 B. C. With nice economic system, he analyzes the origins of large-scale wars; integrates a comic strip of the ancient history into the bigger thematic threads of his narrative; offers a quick assertion of his equipment and ambitions; outlines a hierarchy of causation; develops a thought of personality and human nature; and provides a concept of management, likelihood, and foresight, all inside of a story constitution that completely focuses those parts. The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek heritage finds the function of the advanced interplay of Mediterranean seafaring and maritime connections within the improvement of the traditional Greek city-states. bargains interesting insights into the origins of urbanization within the old Mediterranean, together with the Greek city-state in accordance with the newest study at the old Mediterranean includes a novel method of theories of civilization switch - foregoing the conventional isolationists version of improvement in want of a maritime established community Argues for cultural interactions set in movement through alternate and alternate by way of sea Ancient Historians: A Student Handbook The traditional historians weren't regularly target or actual, and their intentions for writing have been very diversified from these of recent historians. This introductory advisor is helping to resolve a number of the problems curious about facing old resource fabric, putting the paintings of historical historians in its political, social and ancient context for the modern reader. Additional resources for A Companion to Greek Literature (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Sample text 19–20). On reconsidering the evidence for the kyrios, I have come to the conclusion that it is incorrect to think of it in individual terms but rather as an institution signifying a bundle of roles and responsibilities, all very concrete but not all lodged in one person. In my opinion, there were three distinct kinds of responsibility inherent in the kyrieia of women. These shifted from one kyrios to another over a woman’s lifetime and might even be shared among a number of people. First, the natal family, through its head, who was usually the father, had the right and the responsibility to betroth and marry its daughters. That’s why you’re behaving so stupidly. But what are you trying to do? Who are you trying to take by force? You have no legal standing, she’s her own mistress [heautxs . . ekeinx kyria]. The only course open to a disconsolate lover, is persuasion. (486–98) In the end Pataecus turns out to be Glycera’s father and so her kyrios. A formal betrothal ensues. In my view, Plangon stood in the same relationship to Mantias as Glycera to Polemon. 41). She remained his wife and presumably continued to reside in his house. 29). Similarly, Cleostratus, the absent hero of Menander’s The Shield, left his paternal uncle in charge of his young sister when he went off to war. Believing that Cleostratus’s absence would be a long one, the uncle made arrangements to betroth the girl to his stepson (130–36; cf. Men. Dys. 731–33). As we noted earlier, a woman’s original kyrios retained some authority even after her marriage had taken place: he could effect a daughter’s or a sister’s divorce and remarriage. The motives for doing so varied, ranging from concerns about childlessness (Is. Download PDF sample Rated 4.75 of 5 – based on 50 votes
:::: MENU :::: Intestacy Evaluators℠ What is the basis of the federal estate tax? Unlike most other taxes, the federal estate tax is not based upon one party’s receipt of property that increases his or her worth as the result of a transfer between people or entities. For instance, a salary or paycheck is a receipt of property (money) in exchange for services (work) and is subject to the income tax. Similarly, the sale of tangible property (real estate, house, car) or intangible property (stocks, bonds) for more than the property’s basis, which is generally the purchase price, also results in a receipt of property that is typically subject to the capital gains tax. These most familiar taxes, income and capital gains tax, are initiated by an interaction between parties that results in an enrichment to the party that pays the tax. However, certain other taxes that are also initiated by an interaction between parties do not result in an enrichment of the party who pays the tax, such as the sales tax. Although you receive property when you pay the sales tax, you have not increased the value of your overall worth. For instance, the property you receive when you buy a car does not increase your worth, because you are assumed to pay fair market value for the car. You merely exchange something worth “X” (cash) for something else worth “X” (car). The federal estate tax is not initiated by an interaction between people and does not require a transfer of property. Rather, the tax results from the mere ownership of property: The value of all the property that a person owns, controls, or has the right to control at the time of death. Although the tax does not require a transfer, it does give some consideration to the nature of the transfers made from the gross estate when the tax is actually calculated. For instance, debts of the estate are subtracted from the gross estate prior to calculating the tax. These subtractions include payment of the deceased’s general debts, such as credit card bills, automobile loans, and mortgage balance. The costs of settling the deceased’s estate are also subtracted, such as the cost associated with the funeral, disposition of remains, and the personal representative. The amount of all transfers to a qualified charity and surviving spouse who is a U.S. citizen are also subtracted from the gross estate. Making these subtractions results in the “taxable estate” against which the tax is finally calculated. See More Federal Estate Tax Calculator How is land divided among heirs Does the mortgage need paid Who pays for the funeral Intestacy Evaluators Who Gets The Estate?
Story of China - R. Van Bergen Marriage, Birth, and Death Young men or women are not supposed to have anything to say about marriage. When the father of a son thinks that it is about time that the young man should marry, he sends for a woman who is employed by families in the neighborhood to help at weddings and funerals, as it would be very improper for one parent to call on the other to arrange the matter. Such a woman is employed to find somebody of the same position and wealth as the young man's father who has a daughter of suitable age. If all is satisfactory, presents are exchanged, and the parents of the bride give a written agreement to those of the groom. The prospective bride and groom may be children, but that makes no difference. They are engaged, and nothing but death can end the engagement. When it has been decided that the marriage shall take place, the first thing to do is to choose a lucky day. Nothing can be done without that. After the day has been selected, the bride begins preparations by having her eyebrows pulled out, so that she may be known as a married woman. On the morning of the "lucky" day, she is carried from her own home to that of her future husband in a beautiful sedan chair, used only for such purposes. After she has arrived at the groom's house, the young couple worship together before the spirit tablets of the groom's ancestors. The bride in doing so, parts from her own family to enter into that of her husband. This worshiping together is the real marriage ceremony. Then the bride and groom drink sam-shu, or native wine, out of the same cup, when the bride removes her veil, and the young husband sees her for the first time. The day is spent in feasting and receiving congratulations. Wedding scene Meng tsz', or Mencius as he is called by us, is considered by the Chinese as the wisest man after Confucius. He says in one of his writings: "There are three kinds of impiety, but the greatest of these is to be without sons." All the Chinese think that it is of the highest importance that every family should have at least one son. They want to be sure that the spirits of the dead ancestors will be supplied with food, and that sacrifices will be made at their tombs. If a wife has no children when she is forty years old, the husband may marry again; but if the second wife has children, the first wife is looked upon as the mother. When there are many girls in a poor family, girl babies are sometimes drowned because the parents can not support them. In many parts of China the bodies of children are frequently seen floating in a river, or wrapped up in a mat outside a city wall, or hung from the branches of trees to keep them from the dogs. These babies have not been killed, but may have died of sickness. Some of them may have even been nursed tenderly. When a child dies the parents grow very angry. They think that some of their ancestors must have left a debt unpaid, and that the man to whom the money was due, entered into the body of the child to cause anxiety, trouble, and expense. So the body of the poor child is thrown anywhere, and the house is swept, crackers are fired and gongs beaten, to frighten the Twan-ming Kwei (twahn-ming kwy), or short-lived devil, that it may never dare to enter the house again. It is on the funeral of parents that the Chinese spend most money. When a well-to-do man dies, the house is filled with people weeping and wailing, and calling upon the spirit to come back. Candles, incense, and food, are placed before the body. A company of priests is hired to come and chant prayers for the dead, and a quantity of clothing is put in the coffin. For several days after the death different ceremonies are performed, and every seventh day until the forty-ninth day. Chinese Funeral The coffin is of well-seasoned wood, the planks sawed very thick and nailed together with large spikes, and coated over with a very hard varnish. The lid is nailed down in cement so that it is perfectly air-tight. The most valued present a dutiful son can make to his parent, is a fine coffin. It is kept in the house near the entrance, so that guests and visitors may examine and admire it. When the coffin is carried out for burial, from ten to twenty men are required. Men and sometimes women follow in the procession, dressed in coarse white clothes, for white is the color of mourning. The men braid their queues with white, and keep them so for several months, just as we wear a black band around our hat or arm. The women in the procession weep and wail. The Chinese usually bury near the surface, and heap the earth over the grave until it looks like a mound. The rich people have the coffin placed upon a cement floor, and covered with an arch of brick laid in cement. In less thickly settled districts, the poor bury their dead on hillsides which are bound to be lucky, and such spots look like a cemetery. Near Hankow is a burying ground about ten miles long and one mile wide. But graves are found almost everywhere throughout China.
The Beginner's Guide to the Hashtag The hashtag’s widespread use began with Twitter but has extended to other social media platforms. In 2007, developer Chris Messina proposed, in a tweet, that Twitter begin grouping topics using the hash symbol. Twitter initially rejected the idea. But in October 2007, citizen journalists began using the hashtag #SanDiegoFire, at Messina’s suggestion, to tweet updates on a series of forest fires in San Diego. The practice of hashtagging took off; now users and brands employ hashtags to cover serious political events (#Cairo) and entertainment topics (#MileyCyrus) alike. With our beginner's guide, you'll be hashtagging like a pro in no time. How do you make the most of hashtags? Let us know in the #comments. Supported Characters Image: Flickr, Roberta Cortese Which characters can you include in a #hashtag? Numbers are supported, so tweet about #50ShadesOfGrey to your heart’s content. However, punctuation marks are not, so commas, periods, exclamation points, question marks and apostrophes are out. Forget about asterisks, ampersands or any other special characters. There is no preset list of hashtags. Create a brand new hashtag simply by putting the hash before a series of words, and if it hasn't been used before, voilà! You've invented a hashtag. Supported Platforms Social Media Icons Image: Flickr, mkhmarketing Most major social media platforms support hashtags. These include: Twitter: Twitter is the birthplace of modern hashtag usage — as such, its hashtags are more versatile than other sites' (see “Tone & Voice,” below). Twitter hashtags are mainly used to denote specific topics of conversation; the “Trends” sidebar of your Twitter feed curates a list of hashtags you might be interested in, based on your tweets. When you search for a hashtag on Twitter, there are three ways to filter the results. The "Top" option displays the most relevant and popular posts, including those from users you don't follow. "All" shows you every tweet that uses the specific hashtag in real time, and "People you follow" will only display results from users you are following. Hashtag Search Results Tone and Voice Beyond simply organizing your tweets, Twitter hashtags can help you craft your voice while joining in a larger discussion. You can use multiple hashtags in one tweet, but don’t go overboard. One to three is generally an acceptable range. Sometimes a hashtag is so zany or specific that there are few, if any, search results attached to it. These exist mainly for entertainment purposes. Orlean gives the example “Sarah Palin for President??!? #Iwouldratherhaveamoose.” As she points out, it is unlikely anyone would actually search for "#Iwouldratherhaveamoose," but it adds a dash of humor that followers appreciate. Here are some sample tweets that use hashtags (in bold) to add context, humor and voice: • Let the weekend begin! #TGIF • Wearing socks with Crocs is so stylish #kidding • Just dropped my second ice cream cone. #fail • I’m loving 'The Sound of Things Falling' by Juan Gabriel Vasquez #FridayReads Business and Marketing Use relevant hashtags: See what hashtags other businesses in your field are using. If you’re promoting cheap airfare, you will want to use hashtags like #CheapTravel and #FlightDeals so users will find you when they search for those keywords. Follow trends: See what hashtags are trending and make use of them — if they are relevant to your business. Using a popular hashtag that has nothing to do with your brand (for example, including #MileyCyrus in a tweet about cheap airfare) makes you look like a spammer and will hurt your credibility. Create your own hashtag: If you want to create a special hashtag for an event or campaign, select one that hasn't been used before and remind everyone to use it in related tweets. Be sure to include the hashtag in any promotional materials. Make it informative but short — for example, Mashable uses #MashReads to talk about writers who visit our HQ. Generate buzz: Creating a contest, raffle or promotion is a great way to get Twitter talking about your brand. Users will be more likely to retweet your hashtags if they know they might win a prize by doing so. For instance, if you're promoting a new confectionery shop called Candy Land, get Twitter buzzing by offering free treats to users who tweet #CandyLandPromo. Remember, your hashtag’s visibility will depend on your privacy settings. If your Twitter account is private, only those authorized to see your tweets will have access to your hashtags. If you are using hashtags to increase your brand's exposure, make sure your tweets are set to Public. Best Practices Tweet Me Candy Image: Flickr, TPorter2006 Be specific: If you’re using a hashtag to join a conversation, make sure the hashtag is specific and relevant to your topic. If you’re talking about Obama's health care plan, use #Obamacare instead of simply #Obama. A vague or generic hashtag like #health or #opinion isn’t effective either. Give context: A tweet that contains only hashtags is not only confusing — it's boring. If your tweet simply reads, “#happy,” your followers will have no idea what you’re talking about. Similarly, if you tweet, “#BreakingBad is #awesome,” you’re not really adding much to the conversation. For further social media guidance, check out these resources: Image: Flickr, misspixels
Investment Portfolio PBL Investment Team 21st Century PBL 1. Prompt: You and your Team are going to research and build an investment portfolio for a 40 year old client. This client has 2 children (8 and 10) and a spouse to take care of. Your client is rolling over $100,000 from his last employer to you to take care of his future. This is a real world business project. The 21st century skills include communication, productivity, critical thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and time management. 2. Project Outline: You will analyze your client’s demographic and economic areas and then create a diversified investment portfolio for your client to be successful. 1. Day 1-2 Determine the needs of your client. Brainstorm some stocks and bonds that are High Level, Mid Level, and Low Level Risk that would need to be in the portfolio. 2. Day 3-5 Research and Analyze potential choices. Assign each student to come up with one of each level of risk investment. Create graph from Excel of 5 years and 10 years performance of the investments. 3. Day 6 Create Spreadsheet in Excel of the portfolio of choices from investment team. 4. Day 7-8 Prepare and assess a list of reasons for choosing the investments in the portfolio. 5. Day 9-11 Prepare a business presentation (PPT, Prezi, Google) of the items on your rubric. 6. Day 12 POL 1. Rubric: See attachment 2. Learning Targets: 1. I can research and collect information on investments for a 40 year old client with 2 children and a spouse. 2. I can explain what demographics are. 3. I can explain what economics are. 4. I can describe a mission statement and what is should consist of. 5. I can analyze the demographics and economics of a portfolio for a client 6. I can create an Excel Investment Portfolio 7. I can evaluate the overall market for my client and investments 8. I can evaluate and compare the risks investments in the market. 9. I can explain an investment fee. 10. I can defend my team’s reasons for choosing the investments for our client. 11. I can create a business presentation to be shared to a relevant audience. 3. Group Selection: Students will create their own groups of 3. 4. Accountability: Students will be assigned different areas and assigned tasks. Each group will have a team leader. The team leaders and facilitator will meet weekly over the course of 12 class days to make sure the group is on schedule. Each student will be assigned to come up with 3 potential investments for the team portfolio for the client. 5. Deliverables: Due 1. Research Stock/Bonds Day 1 2. Analyze investments Day 5 3. Create Spreadsheet Day 7 4. Create Business Presentation Day 11 5. POL Day 12 6. Project Grading Structure: 1. Grades will be given for each due date assignments. i.Research (20 points) ii.Analyze Investments (Graphs)(20 points) iii.Create Investment Spreadsheet (50 points) iv.Create Presentation (50 points) v.POL (60 points) 1. POL 1. Students will present their Investment Portfolio to a relevant audience (business leaders in area). 2. We will use Science Fair Model on or about Day 12 to complete POL 3. Dress for the POL should be business casual. Examples: Boys slacks and golf. Girls could be slacks with golf shirt, OR business outfit. Conservative is always better when it comes to dressing for a business presentation. 1. Review Friday Model Added Notes: • At least 12 to 15 Slides • Make sure to have plenty of Pictures with words and descriptions • Links to other sites • Make it fun but Professional!! • 6 x 6 Rule (No more than 6 bullets per page, and NO more than 6 words per bullet) Data Collection: Please look up the following: • High, Med, and Low Risk Investments • Find articles, or reviews that support your choices • 5 year graph and 10 year graph included of the investments performance over the time period.
The lessons of history: Honda in Formula One Honda has just announced that it is to supply its new Formula 1 engines to British American Racing between 2000-2002. It is a decision based on a large payment from BAR but it doesn't make much sense in the overall scheme of things. Honda has a mission in F1 and that cannot be achieved with BAR, unless at some point in the future, the bright new team is transformed into an all-Honda operation. The aim is to win the World Championship with a Honda car, powered by a Honda engine. It is an ambition that goes back to 1962 when Honda engineers began to push for a Grand Prix racing programme. The company had dominated the 1961 and 1962 World Motorcycling Championships and were selling millions of motorbikes. The company was just beginning to build cars. The F1 project would be a training ground for engineers but would also publicize Honda's automobile operations. First reports of the F1 plan leaked out in the autumn of 1962. Early the following year the first engine designs were completed and by the summer of 1963 an engine was running on the test beds in Japan. It was not long before a prototype chassis appeared. The goal of the engineers involved was to build a car capable of 270kph (170mph) and so that first car was named RA270. This would never be raced but the team was soon building its successor RA271. At the same time Honda decided it would be wise to take advice from European engineers, who understood F1 chassis technology. The project leader yoshio nakamura went to Europe and visited Brabham, Cooper, Lotus and Cosworth (which was considering building chassis at the time). A deal was struck with Lotus and a dummy engine was sent to Britain in December 1963. In January 1964 the company announced its plans to enter Grand Prix racing but a month later Lotus unexpectedly informed Honda that it could not work with them because of a relationship it had with Jaguar Cars. It had to use Coventry Climax engines. The Japanese were left in the lurch. It was too late for Brabham to build a car for 1964 - although designer Ron tauranac did begin work on a secret Honda design on a drawing board in the spare room of his house in Pyrford, Surrey, with the Honda engine sitting in his garage as a point of reference. In the end, there was simply not enough time. Honda had no choice but to go ahead with its own chassis. Honda's choice of driver was a source of incredulity in Formula 1 circles. The company had tried to hire the 1961 World Champion Phil Hill. It was keen to get an American driver because of the importance of the United States market to the Honda company. Hill was not available. Honda thus decided that it would be best to find an unknown so that the driver would not get the credit for any success - and, it should be added, could be blamed for any failure. Honda North America was asked to supply names of young drivers with potential and they came up with 10. Ronnie Bucknum - a little known driver of MGBs in America - was the man chosen. The car was unveiled at Zandvoort in July and made its debut 10 days later at the German GP at the old Nurburgring, Bucknum starting at the back of the grid. The major talking point was not that Honda had arrived but that the team had turned up without an oil trap fitted in the engine. They were compulsory and so the Honda engineers improvised, modifying a Coca-Cola tin to do the job... In the race Bucknum went out with a steering failure which resulted in a sizeable accident from which the driver emerged needing four stitches. With only car in Europe, Honda had to miss the Austrian GP. It was, at best, an inauspicious start. The car reappeared on several occasions in 1964 but scored no results. For 1965 Honda hired another American to partner Bucknum. Ritchie Ginther was a little better known in F1 circles. He had never won a Grand Prix but had finished second on eight different occasions during his years with Ferrari and BRM. Perhaps he wasn't the fastest driver but he was a good development driver and that was exactly what Honda needed. During the winter Bucknum suffered another steering failure and crashed at high speed, breaking his leg badly but as the 1965 developed so the cars became more quicker and more reliable. Ginther finished sixth at Spa to score Honda's first World Championship point and led the race at Silverstone. Towards the end of the year there was a new engine and in Mexico City - the last race of the 1.5-litre formula - Ginther won and Bucknum finished fifth. It was a great triumph but the reality was that it was too late. A new 3-litre formula would begin in 1966 and Honda would have to start all over again. Honda decided to adapt its Formula 2 engine for the new formula but the new RA273 did not appear until the Italian GP in the autumn of 1966. The car was powerful but very heavy. On its debut Ginther suffered a tyre failure and crashed, breaking his collar bone. He recovered and ended the year with a fourth place in Mexico. The accident marked the end of Honda's first F1 adventure. The team went on until the end of the season but then Honda pulled out of Grand Prix racing. It had been decided that it was better to concentrate on production cars. Many of the Honda F1 engineers of the era went on to work on the design of the Honda Civic, one of the great modern mass -production cars. The 1970s saw Honda's rise as a car manufacturer with the Civic appearing in 1972. The following year Soichiro Honda retired and Kiyoshi Kawashima became President of the company. In 1976 the Honda Accord followed and in 1978 came the Prelude. These models established the company as a force in the world's car markets and in 1977 Kawashima quietly gave the go-ahead for new racing activities. After the problems with the chassis in the 1960s, it was decided that this time Honda would be only an engine supplier. F1 chassis technology was not relevant to production cars. The programme began with a Formula 2 engine which Honda supplied to Ron Tauranac's Ralt organization. The engines were to be serviced in Britain by Engine Developments, a company jointly owned by John Judd and Jack Brabham - an old friend of Honda. The engine was developed in 1980 and in 1981 Geoff Lees won the European F2 title in a Ralt-Honda. The following year was not as successful. Ralt was busy producing customer Formula 3 cars and so Honda expanded the supply to a new organization called Spirit, founded by former March men Gordon Coppuck and John Wickham. Ralt had no desire to go to F1 but Spirit was ambitious. The Spirit-Honda was driven by Stefan Johansson and the emphasis was very definitely on engine development. There were no startling results. As expected the Williams-Honda deal was agreed and announced at the German GP and by the autumnn Williams was running a car with a Honda engine and the team debuted the Honda at the South African GP at the end of the year. But the learning process was coming to an end. Honda was throwing more resources and more people at the project and the results improved. At Silverstone Rosberg produced an extraordinary qualifying lap to take pole position at an average speed of 160.925mhp. At the end of the year the Williams-Hondas won the last three races: two wins for Nigel Mansell and the third for Rosberg. In 1990 Senna won as he pleased and he did the same in 1991 and the McLaren-Honda relationship continued until the end of 1992 when Honda announced unexpectedly that it was pulling out of F1 once again. The job had been done. It was time to concentrate on the important business of selling cars. But, in the minds of the engineers at Honda, the job has not really been done. Honda has yet to win the World Championship with its own chassis. That was the intention when the company announced it was returning to F1 in 2000. The announcement that Honda has decided to supply its engines to British American Racing for the next three years is a curious one. Honda is going back to fight battles which it has already won. Who knows what will happen in the longer-term? Perhaps written into the contracts are options for Honda to buy the team - and so achieve the goal which Soichiro Honda set the company back in the autumn of 1962... Follow grandprixdotcom on Twitter Print Feature
What is the 'Napoleon Complex'? Which dogs are more prone to have it? \| Ask petMD \| petMD Get Instant Access To • 24/7 alerts for pet-related recalls • Tools designed to keep your pets happy and healthy or Connect with Facebook By joining petMD, you agree to the Privacy Policy. Q. What is the 'Napoleon Complex'? Which dogs are more prone to have it? Answered By A. The Napoleon Complex has it origins based on the idea that individuals shorter in stature compensate for this lack of size by being overly aggressive. In terms of dogs, some clients believe their small breed dogs are prone to being aggressive in order to exert their dominance over larger dogs or even humans. There is no proven evidence that smaller dogs or certain breeds are prone to suffering from small dog syndrome as it is commonly called. Training your dog, regardless of size, is the best approach when it comes to preventing undesired traits such as aggression, dominance and possessiveness of objects, areas or people Ask an expert about your unique situation now FOR FREE!
Platform-specific comparison files Each line in the mapping file is of the form The test name is just the name of the particular regression test module. The platform name pattern is a pattern in the style of expr(1) (that is, a regular expression with an implicit ^ anchor at the start). It is matched against the platform name as printed by config.guess. The comparison file name is the name of the substitute result comparison file. For example: the int2 regress test includes a deliberate entry of a value that is too large to fit in int2. The specific error message that is produced is platform-dependent; our reference platform emits ERROR: pg_atoi: error reading "100000": Numerical result out of range but a fair number of other Unix platforms emit ERROR: pg_atoi: error reading "100000": Result too large Therefore, we provide a variant comparison file, int2-too-large.out, that includes this spelling of the error message. To silence the bogus "failure" message on HPPA platforms, resultmap includes which will trigger on any machine for which config.guess's output begins with 'hppa'. Other lines in resultmap select the variant comparison file for other platforms where it's appropriate.
Ethical Relativism Ethical relativism is the position that there are no moral absolutes, no moral right and wrongs. Instead, right and wrong are based on social norms. Some have heard of the term situational ethics which is a category of ethical relativism. At any rate, ethical relativism would mean that our morals have evolved, that they have changed over time, and that they are not absolute. One advantage of ethical relativism is that it allows for a wide variety of cultures and practices. It also allows people to adapt ethically as the culture, knowledge, and technology change in society. This is good and a valid form of relativism. The disadvantage of ethical relativism is that truth, right and wrong, and justice are all relative. Just because the group of people thinks that something is right does not make so. Slavery is a good example of this. Two hundred years ago in America, slavery was the norm and morally acceptable. Now it is not. All these points are taken care of by the experts providing Accounting homework help and assignment help attranstutors.com. Relativism also does not allow for the existence of an absolute set of ethics. Logically, if there are not absolute ethics, then there can be no Divine Absolute Ethics Giver. Requiring an absolute set ethics implies an Absolute Ethics Giver which can easily be extrapolated as being God. This would be opposed to ethical relativism. Therefore, ethical relativism would not support the idea of an absolute God and it would exclude religious systems based upon absolute morals; that is, it would be absolute in its condemnation of absolute ethics. In this, relativism would be inconsistent since it would deny beliefs of absolute values. It seems to be universal among cultures that it is wrong to murder, to steal, and to lie. We see that when individuals practice these counterproductive ethics, they are soon in prison and/or punished. Since ethics are conceptual in nature and there are some ethics that seem to transcend all cultures (be true for all societies) I conclude that there is a transcendent God who has authored these ethics -- but that is another discussion. I was once challenged to prove that there were moral absolutes. I took up the challenge with the following argument. I asked the gentleman whether or not there were logical absolutes. For example, I asked if it was a logical absolute that something could exist and also not exist at the same time. He said, no that it was not possible. Another example is that something cannot bring itself into existence. To this he agreed that there were indeed logical absolutes. I then asked him to explain how logical absolutes can exist if there is no God. I questioned him further by asking him to tell me how in a purely physical universe logical absolutes, which are by nature conceptual, can exist. I said, they cannot be measured, put in the test tube, weighed, nor captured; yet, they exist. So, I asked him to please tell me how these conceptual absolute truths can exist in a purely physical universe...without a God. He could not answer me. I then went on to say that these conceptual absolutes logically must exist in the mind of an absolute God because they cannot merely reside in the properties of matter in a purely naturalistic universe. And since the logical absolutes are true everywhere all the time and they are conceptual, it would seem logical that they exist within a transcendent, omnipresent, being. If there is an absolute God with an absolute mind then he is the standard of all things – as well as morals. Therefore, there would be moral absolutes. To this argument the gentleman chuckled, said he had never heard it before, and conceded that it may be possible for moral absolutes to exist. Of course, as a Christian, as one who believes in the authority and inspiration of the Bible, I consider moral absolutes to be very real because they come from God and not because they somehow reside in a naturalistic universe. Ethics are important in society, in the home, and in all interactions. Would you believe me if I started lying to you in this paper? No. You expect me to be fair, honest, logical, and forthright. Can I be that if I believe all ethics are relative? Heck, if I did, I could try and deceive you into getting me to believe what I want you to. Transtutors.com present timely homework help at logical charges with detailed answers to your Management questions so that you get to understand your assignments or homework better apart from having the answers. Our tutors are remarkably qualified and have years of experience providing Ethical Relativism homework help or assignment help. Get latest updates on the related subject in Management \homework helpand assignment help at transtutors.com. Get Ethical Relativism Assignment Help with these Q&A More Q&A Submit Your Questions Here! Copy and paste your question here... Attach Files Top Ethical Relativism Experts
Richard Wright - A Hungry Black Boy Essay by TheVirginValerieHigh School, 11th grade April 2004 download word file, 3 pages 4.0 Downloaded 34 times Prompt: What is the reason for Wright's use of hunger in the novel? How does hunger actually strengthem his character? Hm...I think I might have kind of strayed a bit form the topic, but i think it's pretty good essay about hunger in the first part of black boy (we were only required to read part 1) The word hunger is most often used to refer to as a lack of nourishment from food. Richard Wright is certainly no stranger to that form of hunger in his autobiographical novel Black Boy, but he uses this physical hunger as a symbol of the larger emptiness Richard's inhumane, brutal life has caused him to feel. Throughout the first half of the novel his emotional and mental malnutrition is especially evident as he hungers for literature, artistic expression, and engagement in social and political issues. As a result of his many hungers, he evolves into a strong minded aspiring writer. Wright's experiences with hunger begin along with his first memories. In the first chapter, he writes of hunger along with many other short descriptions meant to create impressions seemingly of emptiness of what he felt and experienced as a child. "There were echoes of nostalgia I heard in the crying strings of wild geese winging south against a bleak, autumn sky. ... There was the yearning for identification loosed in my by the sight of a solitary ant carrying a burden upon a mysterious journey. ... There was the thirst I had when I watched clear, sweet juice trickle from sugar cane being crushed. ... There was the cloudy notion of hunger when I breathed the odor of new-cut, bleeding grass" (pg. 8). Everything about this passage paints a rather despairing picture of his childhood. The words he chose - echoes, nostalgia,
How to Read A French Fry How to Read A French Fry And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science eBook - 2001 Average Rating: Rate this: Why can you stick your hand into a 450-degree oven but not into 212-degree boiling water without burning it? Why does fish taste different from meat? Why do you cook pork differently from beef? Why should you always start cooking dried beans in cold water, not warm? Why should you never cook a Vidalia onion? What's the only kind of marinade that's really an effective tenderizer? Why is strawberry-rhubarb a good combination, scientifically speaking? And why don't potatoes fried in fresh oil ever brown completely, no matter how long they're cooked? "Cooking is full of questions that science can help you answer, questions that can make you a better cook," writes the award-winning Los Angeles Times food editor, Russ Parsons. In this entertaining book packed with fascinating tidbits, Parsons explores the science behind such basic cooking methods as chopping, mixing, frying, roasting, boiling, and baking. You'll learn why soaking beans can't offset their gaseous effects, why green vegetables shouldn't be cooked under a lid for long, which fruits you can buy unripe and which you should buy fully ripened, which thickener to choose for your turkey gravy, which piecrust is foolproof for a beginner. Along the way, Parsons slips in hundreds of cooking tips, provocative trivia, and touches of wit that make his scientific explanations go down smoothly. He also includes more than a hundred recipes that deliciously exemplify the principles he describes, from Tuscan Potato Chips and Crisp-Skinned Salmon on Creamy Leeks and Cabbage to Chocolate Pots de Creme and Ultimate Strawberry Shortcake. Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2001. ISBN: 9780618232277 Characteristics: xiv, 334 p. ; 24 cm. Additional Contributors: NetLibrary, Inc From the critics Community Activity Add a Summary Jun 23, 2008 food science, how cooking works, as a reaction, variables Add a Comment There are no comments for this title yet. Age Suitability Add Age Suitability There are no age suitabilities for this title yet. Add Notices There are no notices for this title yet. Add a Quote There are no quotes for this title yet. Explore Further Subject Headings Find it at MPL To Top
Kidney Function Calculator Find out if your kidneys are working right. It's easier than you think! What you learn can help you stay healthy or get treatment if you need it. Get smart about your kidneys. Get tested. And, take control of your health. What Is Your GFR? GFR stands for Glomerular Filtration Rate. It is a measure of how well the filters in your kidneys (glomeruli) are working. Calculate Your eGFR You can use this calculator to get an estimate of your GFR (called eGFR)—and learn if you might have kidney disease. A $50 donation could save a life... support DaVita Village Trust's screening program. Donate Now! 4 Facts You Need 1. Your age. GFR goes down as you get older, so age is part of the formula. 2. Your sex (gender). How much muscle mass you have changes the GFR result. Most men have more muscle, so sex is part of the formula. 3. Your race. African-Americans tend have more muscle mass than people in other racial groups, so race is part of the formula. 4. Your creatinine. This is a blood test result (get it from a lab report or ask your doctor). Creatinine is a waste product that forms each time you use your muscles. It is removed by healthy kidneys and can build up in your blood if your kidneys are not working well. About the eGFR Formula. This eGFR calculator uses the MDRD 4 revised formula to estimate GFR. Caution: eGFR calculator results may not be accurate if you are older than 70, younger than 18, vegetarian, pregnant, very overweight, very muscular, or have a serious illness. English \| Spanish
Lecture 1 History of Traditional Animation contains notes and images from: Information about the Course - Syllabus, presentations, projects etc. How this class relates to to other similar / related CS courses CS 422 User Interface Design Focus on developing effective user interfaces Every spring CS 426 Video Game Programming Focus on creating complete audio visual interactive (and fun) experiences Every fall CS 488 Computer Graphics I Focus on the basics of how computers create images on screens, OpenGL Every fall CS 522 Human Computer Interaction Focus on interaction and evaluation of interactive environments CS 523 Multi-Media Systems Focus on the creation of Educational Worlds CS 525 GPU Programming Focus on shaders and parallel processing Spring even years CS 526 Computer Graphics II Focus on Scientific Visualization Spring odd years CS 527 Computer Animation Focus on creating realistic motion Fall even years CS 528 Virtual Reality Focus on immersion Fall odd years For the first several weeks I want to give an overview of the area, before we get into presenting papers on current topics. This will start with a brief history of traditional animation and then move onto current topics in computer animation. Note that the beginning of the class is pretty math-free ... but that will begin to change rapidly in a few weeks, so be prepared ... Computer animation draws from both cell animation and stop-motion animation, and much of what has been learned in those domains is still true in computer animation. But first we have to go a bit further back in time. A bit of History - focusing on the technological advances in animation (note, that this is a really, really, really brief history covering only two hours, and that many important people and events are being glossed over, as the history of the technology, or cell animation, or stop-motion animation, or computer-animation could each take up an entire course) Late 1800s - Persistence of Vision The human eye retains image for roughly 1/20th or 1/30th of a second - depending on how bright the image is Why we don't notice in a non-digital movie theatre that there are only 24 frames per second? Half the time we are watching a film we are actually watching a black screen as the next image moves into position. Note that this is not true with digital cinema. Why we don't see the scan line moving across and down the screen on a classic CRT style television set? Thaumatrope - 1825 Round board with a cage on one side and a bird on the other. A piece of string is attached to each edge. When the disc is spun the bird appears to be inside the cage here is a link to a page with some demonstrations showing how it works Phenakistiscope - 1832 Disc with images drawn in sequential order around its surface. Above each image is a slit. The user holds the disc up to a mirror with the image facing the mirror. The user spins the disc and look through the slit at the image in the mirror. Since slit is narrow each image is only seen in a single position. 'optimal' number of fframes per second found to be 16. here is a link to a page with some demonstrations showing how it works: Zeotrope - 1834 (Daedalum - Wheel of the Devil - Wheel of Life) Band of pictures placed on the inside edge of a rotating cylinder. Above the images there are slits. The viewers look down through the slits at the image on the opposite side while the cylinder is spinning giving the pictures the illusion of motion. Mirror is not needed anymore so it can become a decorative object sitting on a table. Kineograph (flipbook) - 1868 Set of sequential drawings bound together as a book. User looks at the pages while flipping through them. wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-book Praxinoscope - 1877 Band of pictures is placed inside an outer cylinder. Each picture is reflected by a set of flat mirrors on the inner cylinder. The number of mirrors is equal to the number of pictures. The user looks down into the device at the mirrors. When the cylinder rotates, the reflected pictures gives the illusion of motion. Brighter, clearer image than Zeotrope. If you want to see a simple version of one of these, go to the Life Over Time exhibit at the Field Museum. Zoopraxiscope - 1877 Bet as to whether all 4 legs of a hourse leave the ground while running. Eadward Muybridge's solution: set up 12 cameras connected by wires. As the horse runs by each camera the wire is broken and the camera takes a picture. Can take these images, put them in a projected version of a Phenakistiscope using glass discs with the images around the edge of the discs. See them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge Mutoscope - 1895 Mechanized version of the flipbook Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutoscope Starting in the 1880s motion picture film began to dominate as the medium for motion, in efect taking all of the images from a flip book and placing them end to end on a strip of film looped around a reel. The Movies and Cell Animation First animated cartoon - 1906 - J. Stuart Blackton First use of translucent cells (celluloid) - 1910 - John Bray Out of Bray's studio: Below is an animation cell that was used in 1984 or 1985 on a Japanese animated TV series called 'Urusei Yatsura'. The character's name is Lan (or Ran, depending how you translate). On the left you see the pencil sketch and on the right you see the actual painted cell. You can see the holes at the top which are used to align the cells to each other and the background. Note that Lan doesn't have any feet. Only the center of the cell is actually photographed for the final product so the sketch and painted cell only cover the necessary area and then a little more to be safe. Below you can see the detail of the drawing and the painting. Note that the cells are painted on the backside, so the painting has to be done in reverse with the topmost parts (eg the eyes, as seen from the front) painted first. I dont have the actual background that was used in this scene, but I added in a sample background below to show how the cell overlays on the background image. Clearly the composition of this shot doesn't work. Lan is rather annoyed at someone (which is typical for the character, making it difficult to find the correct episode) but we dont see who she is annoyed at or why she is standing off center to the left. Most likely there was another cell showing the character she was annoyed at standing right infront of her, and another cell or set of cells showing some characters on the right. When all the cells are overylayed together on the appropriate background, you get one frame from the final episode. Rotoscoping - 1915 Walt Disney and associates Some excellent examples ... at least I think so :) For more info on Max Fleisher's technical contributions please see: for a much more complete animation timeline please see: Personally I've never been a big fan of the 'attitude' (or lack thereof) in Disney productions and am more a fan of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones so I'd also highly recommend checking their work out. Coming Next Time Brief Overview of Stop Motion Animation last revision 1/12/08
Loggers Unplug Sustainable actions are best practiced with acute awareness of your surroundings, a desire to learn, and a dedication to change. Once you have a comprehensive understanding of the impact your everyday decisions can have on our environment, it will be easy to adopt sustainable practices as lifelong habits. If you would like to learn how to incorporate sustainability in ways that are not only concerned with energy conservation, please take a look at our Top 10 Actions list. Here are some additional ways that you can reduce your consumption of natural resources and promote energy conservation: Turn the lights off. Leaving the lights on a room when it is not in use, or excessively using lighting for a task that could be done without it, are two of the main ways electricity is wasted. The next time you leave a room, check to make sure the light is switched off. If something you are doing requires lighting, try to see if you can still comfortably accomplish the task with less lighting. This may be turning off the overhead light and opting for task-lighting. Tip: Task-lighting is a healthier alternative to bright, fluorescent lighting. It can improve your mood and decrease eye fatigue from harsh lighting. If you're shopping around for a nice task-light, consider shopping at Grizz's Garage Sale before heading to Target. Turn off your computer and monitor. If you have a desktop computer, set your timer so that the monitor shuts off after five minutes and your computer goes into "hibernate" after twenty minutes. Tip: Don't be fooled by screen "savers". With the new technology present in computer monitors, they do not save anything and end up wasting electricity. Unplug your chargers. If you have a laptop computer, unplug it and the charger from the wall after it is done charging. Although leaving it on the charging port for a long period of time (ie: overnight) does not harm your battery life, electricity is still being pulled from the wall and wasted as heat. This can also be applied to phone chargers. Tip: To make this action easier, consider purchasing a "smart" power strip. Smart power strips have either a switch to turn them off manually, or a timer that allows you to set a shut-off time. Ditch the car. Biking and walking to campus are sustainable alternatives to using a vehicle for your commute. With more than twenty bike racks and storage rooms on campus, as well as two bike service stations, bringing your two-wheeled ride to campus is a safe and practical alternative. If you are not able to bike and must use a vehicle, consider taking the bus or carpool. Tip: If you have a long bike commute, use the showers in the Fitness Center to warm up after a cold ride or freshen up before class.
History of NATO enlargement Map of NATO historic enlargement in Europe. KFOR Kosovo2 German KFOR soldiers patrol southern Kosovo in the Summer of 1999. Turkish KFOR soldiers in riot training Turkish Land Forces KFOR soldiers in riot training on 25 September 2010. MGM-52 Lance The MGM-52 Lance was a mobile field artillery tactical surface-to-surface missile (SRBM) system. RSD-10 2009 G1 Intermediate-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead RSD-10 Pioneer. It was deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. NATO reporting name was SS-20 Saber. It was withdrawn from service under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. DF-11 TEL vehicle -1 A Chines DF-11 TEL vehicle. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO /ˈneɪtoʊ/; French: Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord; OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, where the Supreme Allied Commander also resides. Belgium is one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70 percent of the global total. Members' defense spending is supposed to amount to 2 percent (%) of GDP. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); French: Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN); (also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance, or the Western Alliance) is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. The background to its formation Eleven men in suits stand around a large desk at which another man is signing a document. For decades Britain had traditional supported Greece, but was near bankruptcy in 1949 due to the Second World War and was thus forced to end all meaningful involvement in Greece. This is why Britain had formally requested the United States take over its role in supporting Greece during the February of 1947. Yugoslavia and Bulgaria had also got there own plans to spread communism to Greece, conquer Albania and set up a Yugoslav puppet state in Greek Macedonia. The Berlin airlift, the rising numbers of Soviet troops in East Germany during the late 1940s and Czechoslovak coup of 1948 all increased the perception among many Europeans that the Soviets posed a real danger, helping to prompt the entry into NATO of Portugal (fascist), Iceland (weak), Italy (communist insurgency), Denmark (weak) and Norway (bordered the USSR). The Icelandic NATO riot of March 30, 1949 was the only major public protest over NATO at the time. Several nations had already agreed to found it about 6 months earlier. These nations were- France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, the US, the UK and Canada. Cold War For its first few years, NATO was not much more than a political association. However, the Korean War galvanised the member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two U.S. supreme commanders. The first NATO Secretary General Lord Ismay, famously described the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down". Royal Danish Air Force was established in 1950 the area was named Air Base Karup. During the post-war years Karup Air Base became a central part of Denmark's NATO defence plan and played a major role in the establishment of the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF). In 1955 the Tactical Air Command were placed at Karup. Civil airport facilaties opened in 1965 and millatery operations were partly transfered to other air bases in the 1970s and 1980s. Throughout the Cold War doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defense against a prospective Soviet invasion - doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of the French from NATO's military structure from 1966. Some LTV A-7 Corsair II aircraft was also exported to Greece in the 1970s and Portugal in the late 1980s to upgrade there aging fleets. They were, like the USA, part of NATO. Later years After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the organisation became drawn into the Balkans while building better links with former potential enemies to the east, which culminated with the former European Warsaw Pact states (exsept the USSR, al be it less the Baltic States) - except Albania - joining the alliance in 1999 and 2004. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, NATO has attempted to refocus itself to new challenges and has deployed troops to Afghanistan and trainers to Iraq. France, Croatia and Albania had joined by 2009. 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and KFOR NATO helped free Kosovo with the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and joined KFOR As of 26 December 2013, KFOR consists of 4,000 troops. It did well in this role. Kosovo's independence is a divisive issue since it is an artificial made, 90% ethnically pure, homeland for Kosovars. It covers the former Serbian province of Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In Europe 1. Greece and Turkey joined the military alliance joined NATO in 1952 since it guaranteed their protection from communist invasion and terrorism. 2. Politically unstable Spain joined in 1982 (it was still fighting the ETA separatist movement back then) in case it needed help looking after its overseas assets whilst fighting terrorism at home. 3. Germany reunited in 1990 and did no go neutral as originally envisaged. 4. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined the organization, amid much debate within the organisation and Russian opposition in 1999. They were scared of Russia's slide toward oligarchy and dictatorship. 5. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004. The were disgusted by Russia's bullying tactics and cutting gas supplies to Ukraine. 6. Albania and Croatia joined on 1 April 2009. The were concerned about any long turn resurgent Serbian treat. 7. The Montenegrin government officially approved joining NATO on 29 April 2017. 8. Finland, Moldova, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Macedonia have either recently asked to join or were invited to join at a later date. 9. The Republic of Kosovo wants to join NATO, but 4 NATO states blocked this. The fascist nations Greece (hates Albanians and Macedonians) and Spain (hates Basques and Catalans, the prior then went on to founded ETA in response), hopelessly divided Cyprus and the former Eastern Bloc nations of Romania, Slovakia, do not recognize Kosovo's independence. The United Nations (UN) dose not recognise it either since it is an artificial made ethnic homeland for Kosovars. It covers the former Serbian province of Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. FEFA and the IOC do recognise it. The EU unofficially recognised it in 2012. 10. In 2011, NATO officially recognised the plans of four aspiring members: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Macedonia has been prevented from joining the alliance by Greece, who has racist views even about its name 'Macedonia'. Sweden, Finland, Serbia, and Ukraine have had recent open political debate on the topic of membership. Russia fears what remains of Ukraine (as of 2015) joining NATO. Possible global moves Some have proposed expanding NATO outside of Europe, which would require amending Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The proposals cover Mexico, Colombia, New Zealand, South Korea, Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, Israel, Australia, India and Japan. During the June 2013, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos stated his hope that Colombia's cooperation with NATO could result in NATO membership, but his Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos Pinzon, quickly clarified that Colombia is not actively seeking NATO membership. NATO's rules 1. Willingness to settle international, ethnic or external territorial disputes by peaceful means, commitment to the rule of law, human rights and democratic control of armed forces. 2. Ability to contribute to the organization's defence and missions. 3. Spend atleast 2% of national budgets on defence. 4. Devotion of sufficient resources to armed forces to be able to meet the commitments of membership. 5. Security of sensitive information and safeguards ensuring it stays so. 6. Compatibility of domestic legislation with NATO cooperation. 7. Mutual defence, a 'one for all and all for one' doctrine. Military exercises Reforger II - NATO Exercise (1970)32:30 Reforger II - NATO Exercise (1970) Reforger II - NATO Exercise (1970). NATO held several exercises during the Cold War such as Western Europe's Exercise Reforger and Scandinavia's Exercise Northern Viking. Exercise Ocelot '99 was Poland's first international air exercise since joining NATO in the 1990's. Criticisms, failures, inter-member backstabbing and alleged inactions America uber alis America was accuse repeatedly between the Korean War and the War on Terror of stealing the glory of others and dominating decision making in NATO. Operation Gladio Operation Gladio had been covertly supported in least in some places by NATO. The Prime supporters were America, Canada and the UK. Some units were good like in Austria where it had been covertly set up by far-right winger Herr Soucek and Herr Rössner as a genuine attempt to fight any occupying forces; while others were bad like in Turkey, which were the political enemies of the then Turkish prime minister Bülent Ecevit. He was the target of several assassination plots. Rumours persist its aging members still covertly hold out in places. The 1953-1966 Project Iceworm Whilst logical and necessary, American attempts to build an ICBM silo in northern Greenland were done without Denmark's and were thus illegal. The Danish never liked nuclear bombs and regarded them as overly horrific and unjustified. ETA, the Troubles and alike America was intermittently offering unofficial diplomatic sympathy and help to both the IRA and other related Irish Nationalist/Republican groups. America was probably helping Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey anginas Basque nationalist/communist ETA terrorist organisation via Operation Gladio. The Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey (Warriors of Christ the King) was possibly also conected with the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AKA- The Triple A). Italy's Years of Lead Covert forces run by Operation Gladio intervened in Italy's Years of Lead with out Italy kowning and backed both National Vanguard and Ordine Nuovo. The Cod Wars The 2nd (or 1972-73) Anglo-Icelandic Cod War The primary objective of the Icelandic Coast Guard during the latter two wars was to cut nets in this manner. On 16 September, Joseph Luns, Secretary-General of NATO held talks with with Icelandic ministers after they had asked to leave NATO since it had not blindly and automatic sided with the against the UK, Belgium and W. Germany, but had gone neutral instead. They wanted UK and US forces out. In the end they stayed in, but only after all UK and some US forces left. The 3rd (or 1975-76) Anglo-Icelandic Cod War This on and off fishing despite and the subsequent 'Cod Wars' became more dangerous when Iceland threatened closure of the NATO base at Keflavík, thus undermining NATO's securing of the Atlantic Ocean from the Soviet Union, so the UK agreed to Iceland's 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusion zone without a specific agreement. 2 Icelandic fishing boats had also registered under the Soviet flag. The Soviets were a bit confused by the event, but did accepted the Icelandic ships' documents all tha same. A theory was going at the time was that Iceland was going to betray the plans for their part of the SOSUS sonar buoy line in the GIUK gap to the USSR, which angered the USA greatly. All of this was more than enough for the UK, UK, Belgium, W. Germany, USA and ultimately the rest of NATO to call Iceland a traitor and to invade it, which they did not. The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état and 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Greece was not prevented from subverting the island's government in the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état nor was Turkey stopped from invading it. Both acts were with aggressive intentions towards the opposite ethnicity on Cyprus. The early 1980s Dutch refusal to take nuclear weapons. The Dutch never liked nuclear bombs and regarded them as overly horrific and unjustified. The USA bullied them into taking up nuclear armed American troops and threatened to kick them out of NATO at one point. Both the Dutch Oud-Strijders Legioen and some members of the UK's CND organised several of the 1980s against the stationing of American nuclear arms in the Netherlands. 1982 Falklands War The United Nations Security Council Resolution 502, which passed with ten votes in support, one against (Panama) and four abstentions (China, the Soviet Union, Poland and Spain). The Soviet Union did have several interests in the South Atlantic and Antarctic region, but chose not to intervene in the war. The United States was also concerned by the prospect of Argentina turning to the Soviet Union for support and initially tried to mediate an end to the conflict. President Regan ensured that U.S. provided the United Kingdom with military equipment ranging from submarine detectors and satellite images to hi-tech radios and the latest missiles. They even agreed to a request by the UK government to borrow the Sea Harrier-capable amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) if the British lost an aircraft carrier. France was upset by Argentina's needless use of military force and provided dissimilar no-export variant aircraft training so Harrier pilots could train against the French aircraft used by Argentina, while Argentina's training was at best off topic. The French and British intelligence services co-operated to prevent Argentina from obtaining more Exocet missiles on the international market. West Germany informally gave some supplies to the UK. The satellite signal interception station at Fauske (Fauske II), Norway was vital in giving the British intelligence information regarding Argentinian fleet locations during the 1982 Falklands War. Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Greece and Turkey offered no help to the UK despite being part of NATO. 1983 U.S. Intervention in Grenada Operation Urgent Fury (AKA: the 1983 U.S. Intervention in Grenada) was a 1983 United States–led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 91,000 located 160 kilometres (99 mi) north of Venezuela, that resulted in a U.S. victory within a matter of weeks. Grenada had been a colony of the United Kingdom until 1974, but had retained the British monarch as head of state after independence. The leftist and pro-Cuban New Jewel Movement seized power in a coup in 1979, It was seen favourably by much of the Grenadian population, even after suspending the constitution. In a United Nations General Assembly vote over the American invasion 108 were in favour of the resalution and 9 (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, El Salvador, Israel, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States) voting against, with 27 abstentions. They adopted the General Assembly Resolution 38/7, which was worded as to "deeply deplores the armed intervention in Grenada, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that State." The invasion was opposed by the United Kingdom, USSR, Trinidad and Tobago and Canada, The USSR condemn it as a war of aggression and accused the USA of undermining Grenada for several years earlier. The UK was usually friendly towards to the new Grenadian and wanted a diplomatic solution to the crisis, so the USA, Barbados and Jamaica did not tell them when it was going to happen until it had already started, which left the UK out of any major decision making until it was to late. The usual fears about leeks, Soviet military intervention, fast moving Cold War political situations and suspected Cuban agents had panicked the American intelligence community, so the military had to do a rush job anyhow. The UK's population had taken it as a major personal sight against them by the USA, Barbados and Jamaica. The British government was more concerned that it was not consulted by America than anything else, but was glad to see the communists removed. America, Jamaica and Barbados were also left concerned if the UK still regarded Grenada as a colony or if the British were relay still an ally of the USA. Exercise Able Archer '83 The Able Archer exercises were devised as a simulated period of conflict escalation, culminating in a simulated DEFCON 1 coordinated nuclear attack. The Exercise Able Archer '83 exercise also introduced a new, unique format of coded communication, radio silences, and the participation of heads of government. It was a major event that spanned Western Europe's NATO members and was centred on the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)’s headquarters in Belgian village of Casteau, north of the city of Mons. Because it simulated an actual nuclear weapons release, so British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and several NATO technical support units in the nuclear launch drill. United States President Reagan, Vice President George H. W. Bush, and Secretary of Defence Caspar Weinberger were also intended to participate, but did not get round to it. It is to be noted that Robert McFarlane, who had assumed the position of National Security Advisor just two weeks earlier, had uniquely realised the implications of such participation early in the exercise's planning and rejected it. A planned training move through all DEFCON alert phases, from DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 1 would occur. While these phases were simulated, alarmist KGB agents mistakenly reported them as actual. Soviet Politburo and military chiefs feared the U.S. was conducting a sly and cowardly ruse of war hide a genuine nuclear surprise attack by means of a first strike nuclear assault on them, so the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed Warsaw Pact air units in East Germany and Poland on alert in what became known as- the 1983 war scare. The USSR was convinced that the newly arrived Pershing II missile were part of a strike plan that was to take place from the European part of NATO on American orders. The KGB and GRU run Operation RYAN was created a few years earlier to work out just were the Americans were planning to nuke, why and how best to protect them. Their guidance system was self-correcting and the estimated flight time reach targets in the western Soviet Union from West Germany was 4 to 6 after launching. They knew there early launch radar was unreliable as they found out in the 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident and so was of little if any use to them. The Soviet intelligence establishment thought the burst of coded UK-USA communication tragic regarding the 1983 U.S. Intervention in Grenada was a very cunning and subtle cover for planning a nuclear war in Europe, while military strategists thought it was part of a plan to eventually invade Cuba. Whilst Soviet forces were awesome on paper a sharp economic decline, shortages in key industries, endemic political corruption and bureaucratic inefficacy had devastated their battle readiness. Many had also started to doubt the value of Life under communism. It has been long rumored that Exercise Able Archer '83 was a secret plot by American politicians, military, secret service and/or 'big business' to force a USSR vs UK\FRG war. President Ronald Reagan would have known nothing until the bombs had started to fall and would have thought the USSR had gone crazy. A USSR\USA atomic war would have resulted with a USA victory very likely, but at heavy loss. Libya, et al 1986 United States bombing of Libya Libya's support fort the 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks, Red Army Faction, the Red Brigades (in Italy), quarrels with neighbouring African states and the Irish Republican Army; the Gulf of Sidra incident, and the 5 April 1986 bombing by Libyan agents of the "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin angered NATO's leadership greatly. West Germany and the United States soon obtained diplomatic cable transcripts from Libyan agents in East Germany who were involved in the attack. Canada allowed the appropriate war games in Newfoundland and the UK allowed the use of RAF Upper Heyford to launch the attack force from. For the Libyan raid, the United States was denied overflight rights by France (intimidated by Libya), Spain (intimidated by Libya) and Italy (liked Ghadaffi's Libya). West Germany (politically upset) refused overflights and the use of its air bases. Both France and W. Germany also resented the USA not asking permission until the last moment and refusing to say what he mission was about beyond that the USAF was gonging to bomb Libya. The Italian politician Bettino Craxi warned the Libyans about the planned attack and Italy proceeded to betray the NATO plans (as far as they knew them at the time) to Libya! The Americans had to fly over Portugal and through the Straits of Gibraltar, thus adding 1,300 miles (2,100 km) each way with increased aerial refuelling to do so. Soviet Union had unexpectedly chosen to explicitly announced that it would not provide additional help to Libya beyond resupplying basic armaments and munitions, but denounced the attack as a 'wild' and 'barbaric' act by the United States. Libya soon retaliated by the firing two non-nuclear Scud missiles at a United States Coast Guard station that was situated on the Italian island of Lampedusa, but they overshot the target and landed harmlessly in the sea. All that Italy had done was more than enough for the USA and the rest of NATO to call Italy a traitor and to invade it, which they did not do. America's refusal to co-operate with France and W. Germany was also a breach of NATO's mutual co-operation rules. Anglo-French inaction in liberating Libya President Obama commented in the March of 2016, that the the USA had done all the hard work with bombers and cruise missiles, whilst the French just finished it off with a second round of bombings and stole America's glory by saying they did it all! The British were accused of walking out on their allies after agreeing with the USA, France, Qatar and Libya's NTC regime on staying in Libya to keep the pace and train up the locals in what a democracy is. America then left after the infamous terrorist bomb and gun attack on their embassy in Tripoli. A few weeks later Mossad publicly supported the USA's accusations against the UK and France. The 1995 Srebrenica massacre Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1998) The Bosnian separatist and 1st Bosnian national flag. The USA, UK and France ignored Dutch requests to launch air strikes or send in ground forces, which lead to ~8,000 Muslim/Bozniak townsfolk and some of the the Dutch peacekeepers getting killed by the Bosnian Serbs in the Srebrenica massacre. The USA, UK and France were colluding with the Serbs on finding a quick and easy solution to the local fighting before ending war, which was finally closed under the Dayton accords. The 9/11 attacks Article 5 of the NATO treaty is its casus foederis. It commits each member state to consider an armed attack against one member state to be an armed attack against them all. It was invoked only once so far and it was done by the United States after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Apparently, the governments of Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark showed no overt sympathy to the USA or any condemnation of the attacks, unlike their citizens. If they did not actually offer any covert help either and really meant to see America swing, then they thus breached the treaty's mutual defense aspect. The UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece, the USA, Canada, France, Israel and Turkey increased there diplomatic and espionage activity in the Middle East activate in order to stop any immediate threats to U.S. assets in the region. The EU's breakdown of relations with Turkey Racist attacks in Germany Focus on Europe04:50 Racist attacks in Germany Focus on Europe Muslim riots in German immigration center-001:35 Muslim riots in German immigration center-0 Muslim riots in German immigration center. Original Video from Lifeleak. 3/ Turkey and Germany used to be friends and Turkish labor rebuilt both Germanys in the 1960s and 1970s. West Germany also had British and Irish builders, while East Germany had Cuban, Angolan, Vietnamese and Mozambique laborers. Things started to go wrong in 1990 when West Germans had some fights with the Irish and Brits, as well as slamming the East German plan to give Turks Visa free access to the GDR lead to protests from the FRG, who claimed it was a plot to flood them with Turks. between March 30th and April 2nd, 1990. With in days 200 E. German skinheads football rioted and beat up some Turks in E. Berlin, an Angolan was racial assaulted in East Berlin, several Turks were burnt out of a hostel in Rostok and a Brit was beaten up in West Berlin. Over 500 Turkish Kurds that were fleeing the then low level separatist conflict were stranded in Czechoslovakia after being refused their admission into W. Germany on Jun 13th, 1990. Turkish soccer thugs in the early 2000s and the rise of the authoritarian leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan aggravated the situation further. Both Turkey and Germany began threat constructing in the mid 2000s. Turkey blamed Europe, the PKK, the PYK, the EU and Syria's civil war; whilst the EU blamed immigrants, the Syrian part of the 2008 economic crash, the rise of UKIP and the Turks for all woes. Both said it was grounds for extraordinary political powers and also soft neo-Nazisum in Europe. As a result Islamists gained popularity in Turkey, whilst Nazis and Popularisum took off in the EU. The Syrian–Turkish border incidents during the Syrian civil war, the the 2014-to date immigration crisis, Islamophobia in Europe, The 2016 Turkish coup, censorship of Google and the politcaly motivated the closure of popular Cumhuriyet newspaper made things worse on all sides. President Erdoğan used all this conflict as a reason for holding a referendum on becoming a dictator in all but name, while Europe said ethnic Turks were behind all the Islamic terror attacks in Europe; which they weren't, since one of the attacks in Germany was made by an Iranian, and so on. Germany gave asylum to his rivals and arrested a Turkish Journalist. Turkey then briefly detained a German journalist in revenge. 2016 Turkish electoral campaigning, 2017 referendum and visits by state officials was banned in Germany and the Netherlands. OK, the Köln hall may have been too small, but why did they not find another venue, and the only reason the Turks rioted in the Netherlands when the Minister for Women's affairs turns up was because the Dutch wanted to kick her out. Both nation's governments used this as an excuses to align with the neo-Nazis (which gained support due to this), hate the UK, hate Turkey, condone Nazi-leaning Hungary and slip towards dictatorship via a one-party state (a government-Nazi cabal that are in cahoots behind the scenes). The Turkish president upset both by saying in mid-March that the Dutch and German governments were Nazis. Germany moved its airmen out of Turkey and into Jordan as an act of revenge, causing much chaos for NATO for about 2 months. Relations crashed in July 2017 as Turkey arrested several human rights activists. The UN, EU, NATO and the victim nations complained. Germany accused Turkey of taking hostages and that German tourists had to stay out or expect being kidnapped by Turkey's secret police. Turkey condemned this and later put several ex-Cumhuriyet journalists on trial for treason after the paper had found out that Turkey was covertly smuggling arms into Syria in side aid trucks. Turkey also drops its probe into German firms backing terrorism in Turkey. 'Espionnage Élysée' America's NSA spied between 2004-2014 on the communications of: 1. French President Francois Hollande (2012–2016), 2. French President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012), 3. French President Jacques Chirac (1995–2007), 4. French cabinet ministers (2004-2014), 5. The French Ambassador to the United States (2004-2014). Rumors also swilled around in the UK tabloids between 1981 and 1982 of 3 snooping devices in 'Golf-ball' class radomes peering at the radio phone/fax communications of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1981 and François Mitterrand between 1981 and 1982. Whilst all NATO members do occasional snoop on each other just in case of an undetected covert plot forming from with-in another member state, constantly harassing France would have brought into question whether the USA ever trusted it, explaining why it left NATO under General Charles DeGalle, but still remained a western ally. 2013 NSA lead American spying scandal, et al Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgian and France bulk spied on people's phone calls between 2011 and 2014. A NSA lead American spying scandal shook the world in 2013 and it continued into 2014. At no time did anyone outside of the spy organisations thesauri it and they also spied on President Obama at times. President Obama and Chancellor Merkel were spied on by the NSA in 2013. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) spied on President Obama in 2013. Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (the BfV), had access to the NSA's online spying XKeyscore Program, and used the program to spy on German citizens as of August. America officially spied on Turkey, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgian, France and Germany in 2013. The UK officially spied on Germany, France and Spain in 2013. Germany and Brazil asked the UN to stop American on-mass online spying in late 2013, to no avail, as the USA procrastinated and obviscated at the UN. A senior official said on October 30, 2013 that President Barack Obama was considering banning US spies from tapping the telephones of allied leaders, in the wake of German outrage over alleged snooping on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s communications, but this was never carried out. Spain had on the October 31, 2013 revealed that Portugal is just below Britain, Canada, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in Washington’s circle of trust focused on the sharing of citizens’ data on a bilateral level. Spain's contribution had covered 60 million Spanish phone calls. Google and Yahoo Inc. were spied on by the NSA as of November 2013. The Washington DC anti-online spying rally took place on 27/10/2013. The letter was signed by AOL Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Google Inc., LinkedIn Corp., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Yahoo! asking the American government for stricter rules on online spying in the December of 2013. Inc. Both GCHQ and the NSA used Google cookies and GooglePrefIDs to spy on people as of December 2013. The NSA also collected data off of Verizon, Google, Angry Birds gaming site's iPhone and Android Apps, etc. All iPhones running iOS 4.0 or later log your location to a file called "consolidated.db" (a plain SQL file) which contains latitude-longitude coordinates and a timestamp. Germany's interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told people to stop using Facebook and Google on 3 July 2013 since America regularly spies on them. Germany's government has asked America's top spy chief stationed in the country to leave on charges of spying in 2014. Germany was caught spying on British, Spanish, Italian, French, Czech, Hungarian, Belgian, Dutch, Canadian and American ambassadors to Germany "for years" in 2016. Germany's BND, its equivalent of MI5, officially extended its surveillance and counter-espionage operations to all foreign intelligence agencies operating on German soil in the February of 2017. Wikileaks claimed in the March of 2017 that the CIA and GCHQ could take over internet connected satnavs in cars, Whats App can be recorded in unencoded format by them and that Samsung TVs speakers to a microphones by them. CGNT then claimed Wair-Wei, ZTX and Sisco Systems modems were hacked a few days later. Several nations that spent under 2% of their budgets on defense. Budget cuts meant that the UK and Germany spent under 2% of its budget (1.8%) on defense in 2014, thus breaking NATO defense spending rules. The USA had spent 4% and Greece spent 3%, while Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia, France Albania, Bulgaria and Romania had each, raised between 2% and 3%. Both Germany and the UK raised it to just over 2% after America condemned them for letting the side down. The UK also responded by a heavy upgrading the Faslane nuclear base, in Scotland, during 2015-16. On hearing about this, the SNP got all England-phobic and were, like CND, upset by the idea of nuclear warfare anyhow. President Obama then accused the UK government of doing it again in 2015-2016. America's defence minister revealed it happened again in 2016-17, with only the USA, UK Estonia, Poland and Greece hitting the 2% target; with France, Turkey, Spain, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Canada being close to it. Only four countries spent 2% or more in in 2013, they were:- Estonia, Greece, the USA and the UK. France and Poland were just below at 1.9% and 1.8% respectively. The figures for 2001 were:- Greece ~ 4.25%, Turkey ~3.75%, USA 3.25%, Bulgaria ~2.75%, France and Romania ~2.60%, UK ~2.5, Croatia ~ 2.40%, Slovenia ~ 2.05%, Portugal ~2.0% and Czech Republic 1.95% in 2001. The figures for 2011 were:- USA ~4.0%, Greece ~3.0%, UK ~2.90%, Albania 2.25%, France 2.15%, Poland 1.95% and Estonia ~1.90% in 2011. America's general post-Cold War attitude the the EU member states Recent history suggests they regard European NATO members, Turkish, S. Koreans and Australians as cannon fodder in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (unlike Korea and Vietnam) since they now don't have the national courage to do more than send in cruise missiles, bomber jets, special forces and armed UAVs! Apparently any latter-day European hot Cold War scenario, unlike a Cold War era hot Cold War scenario in Caribbean/Cuban, is of less concern to them since mostly W. European civilian lives that would be lost and so they would not care as much about an attack in Europe. The EU could have stood alone as of 2002 if the EU had pooled its forces under a unified joint command/! Alleged NGO special plots and spy jobs in Russia Pressure has mounted on NGOs since about 2012 due to claims they were full of enemy spies, lied about Russia and spread miss formation to both Russians and there home nations as parts of and Anglo-American world take over plot. If it is proven true, then NATO broke the rules on posing as NGOs/ICRC/UN workers and/or hijacking the local mission's work-plan whilst doing so. Syria, et al Syrian–Turkish border incidents during the Syrian civil war Nato Missle Defense System in Turkey against Syria Six batteries of U.S. made, but NATO-backed, missile defense systems have been set up in southeastern Turkey to protect against aerial attacks from war-torn Syria in 2013. Single battery in foreground Gaziantep, Turkey in the background. The Syrian army fired an artillery shell fired from Syria and thus killed 5 and injured at least 10 Turkish citizens in the border town of Akçakale in Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. This was known as the October 2012 Syrian-Turkish border clashes. Others occurred in 2013 and 2014 and a Turkish aircraft was shot down on the border in 2011. Following Ankara's invocation of Article IV of the Washington Treaty, NATO's North Atlantic Council stated that the alliance. Several MIM-104 Patriot missiles from Netherlands, Germany, and U.S. were sent to Turkey and went active on the Turkish border with Syria. They were joined by a Spanish unit in 2014. The UK, Italy and I think Canada also, apparently denounced this and later refused to help. If they did not offer any covert help either and relay meant to see Turkey swing, they breaching their duty to help Turkey in its hour of need. NATO feuding over Syria • The West, the Gulf countries and Turkey support sported the FSA. • The YPG has help from the Peshmerga and PKK. • Russia, China and Iran support the ruling Bashar al-Assad regime. • The US is opposed to the radicalised Syrian Jihadist and ISIL, so they are putting pressure on Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop supporting them. • Turkey is fighting on the opposite side to the rest of NATO in the conflict with the YPG and thus a traitor. NATO backs the YPG. • France is fighting on the opposite side to the rest of NATO in the conflict with ISIS and thus a traitor. NATO has folded up and fled from ISIS. • America's jolting from one side to the other over Turkey\YPG war is both stupid, inflammatory and\or spineless. UK inaction in Syria Despite the UK government saying the 3 2016 brimstone missiles and the ~10 2015 laser-guided bombs were a war winning blow, despite being vastly less damaging than the arsenal the French, Americans and Aussies used! The UK was regularly belittling the USA and France's war effort with out due cause! Russian forces in Syria A Russian naval tanker Osipov was dined entry into the port of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, to resupply due to American and British threats to boot it from NATO. The rest of the Russian fleet included the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetzov, a battle-cruiser, a destroyer, an anti-submarine ship and support vessels. America and the UK have repeatedly threatened to sink it with out consulting or being concerned about the opinions or needs of the rest of NATO. The Russian fleet left with it in late 2016. The Russian air force spent most of December 2016 and January 2017 wiping out the rebels in Aleppo. NATO condemned the bock bombing and then did nothing when Russia ignored them. Turkey joined with the Russians at times in 2016 and became formal allies in January 2017. The Americans occasionally bombed the Russians troops in late 2016. It was allegedly a friendly fire insolent, but Russia, Assad's Ba'athists, Turkey, Iraqi's government, the Kurdish factions, the FSA side and the EL Nusra Front all said the incidents were a deliberate act at times. Turkey and Russia make an alliance Turkey bought a Russian S-400 anti-missile system and a new military radar unit in the September of 2017 after NATO refused to co-operate and Turkey thought China's attitude to wards them was poor. Turkey and Russia promised not to have a repeat of the 2015 incident when a Russia Su-24 jet was shot down on a secret mission as it covertly cut through Turkey en route. Iraq, et al For more on military and political actions in Iraq, see- Time line of Iraq. Anglo-French inaction in Iraq Australia, France, Britain and the Netherlands intervened against ISIL in 2014 along side the USA, Kurdistan and Iraq. The USA continued its special opp's\missile\air-power war. the Aussies mostly left when they thought there day was done, but continued to back up the USA air-power and special opp's war. France left when they though their day was done. The Dutch left when they had run low on resources. Operation Shaddar got a reputation for being portrayed as WW3, but relay being a few Brimstone missiles and a few military advisers training local forces in Iraq and Syria. Turkey, France, Iraq and the USA stand alone in Mosul Mosul (Arabic: الموصل‎‎ al-Mōṣul, local pronunciation: el-Mōṣul, Syriac: ܡܘܨܠ‎, translit'. Māwṣil) is a city of normally about two and a half million people (2014 est.) in northern Iraq, occupied since 10 June 2014 by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Iraqi forces, Iraqi militias and Kurds make major advances. The British claimed all the initial glory, but the USA revealed they are the NATO member who, along with Australia, turned in the battles. The British establishment and media respond with the usual mantra that the Sunnis must be given all power in Iraq or the UK will back up their plans to create one by force (See how the Western nations backed Saddam's Ba'athist regime and parts of the the EU backed ISIS regime). The EU upped its plans to blame the refugees for the actions of ISIS agents in Europe and the plan to violently expel them to Greece and\or Turkey. Turkey's retaliation in mid 2017 was to stop German officials doing the same with German airmen at Incirlik Air Base. Germany responded with a racist and hypocritical diplomatic sniping. Turkish and Azeri Wikipedia were blocked by Turkey as of mid 2017. Troop numbers (2015)- • Iraq (68,000–70,000 troops) • Iraqi Kurdistan (40,000 troops) • CJTF–OIR troops • Shi'ite and Sunni Iraqi militia troops • United States (500 troops and cyber warfare experts) • United Kingdom (about 14 fighter-bomber aircraft, 50 troops and cyber warfare experts) • France (500 troops and a fighter-bomber aircraft) • Canada (270 declared troops +undisclosed number of electronic warfare specialists) • Australia (80 troops and cyber warfare experts) • Denmark (Minimal number) • Turkey ("Thousands" of troops) • Germany (Minimal numbers) Toxic food scandals The 'Toxic cucumbers affair' The 'Toxic eggs affair' Poland, Slovakia and Hungary become malignant Since the 2008 economic crisis occurred their demands for aid rose and undemocratic policies gained traction. Since the 2014-to date immigration crisis they refused to take most of their quota of refugees and Hungry sealed its border with a massive razor wire fence. The EU slammed this and the regimes in question, as well as the Hungarian people, soon slipped into a neo-Nazi and\or Roman Catholic Clero-Fascist mindset. By 2015, co-operation with the EU was minimal except for sucking in aid (along with NATO troops) and spewing Polish 'economic immigrants' (actually colonial settlers) into the UK and Germany. Poland mass ganged its media as of mid 2016. The EU warned them to play by the EU rules or face sanctions since mid 2016 and May 2017 saw Poland got a particularly heavy rebuke. The 2016 Turkish coup Erdogan gesturing Rabia President Euduan has survived a new coup attempt? The airforce, a couple of navel bases, some warships, the Presidential Guard and large parts of the 1st Army tried to stage a coup under the alleged unofficial support of the USA, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the EU. America and the EU had condemned the Gulanis Army/air-force coup against president Euduan, who they accused of being a closet Islamist and an autocrat, when it was winning, but then slammed the Turkish government for winning and offered informal support to those elements that were operating in there countries. The EU was legally obliged by EU law (the EU does not allow the death penalty) to threaten to cancel Turkish EU applicant status after it threatened hold mass executions after its heavy purge. The USA threatened to boot it out of NATO as well, dispute NATO no having a death penalty policy or caring what previous Turkish regimes had got up to trouble on the domestic front. The Turkish president was banned from visiting or teleconferencing\teleaddressing ethnic Turks in Germany. Germany started desperately trying to collapses all remaining relations between them since the Germans had become virulently anti-Turkish since Circa 2010 and Turkey, like Hungary, had backed the Brexit in 2015. The USA was concerned the Turkish regime was going paranoid and that the Gulanists were being used as a scapegoat. The 2016-2017 casus foederis debacle NATO's death 2017. UK public opinion on the USA's attitude on NATO (January 2017). Dark red= Face expulsion imminently. Red= America wants to betray and sell out on. Pink= Tactical alliance only. Blue= Allies for the time being. Green= The USA. Some prominent people the USA, Poland, Canada, Hungary and the UK slammed this plan. Most NATO nations have now questioned the clause and regard its use as a tool for inflicting their will on the rest of Europe, Canada and the CIS, not mutual defence from an outside invasion or a rogue NATO state. Nigel Farange regarded it as a vassal army that is to be cannon foddered in lieu of UK forces in a war involving the UK. He would treat the USA like a colony, to the dismay of the USA. Donald Trump demanded all nations pay up their owed membership fees and spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defense or face exultation. Japan was expected to pay for the U.S. bases on its soil and develop atomic arms before it could enter NATO, despite Japan being morally opposed to nukes. Turkey and Greece know no one wants to defend them from attack, unless it is an attack by ISIS\ISIL\IS\Daesh. Visa arrangements ended between Turkey and the USA on October 9th, 2017, after Turkish police arrested an American diplomat in the American embassy to Turkey they thought was a Gulumist agent. The May 2017 Manchester bombing Much of America's press either recklessly or deliberately leaked case sensitive pictures and bomb related details in order to undermine the police investigation. Angelia Merkel's 2017 political comments Angelia Merkel said that Europe "Can no longer rely on allies" after Trump and Brexit in the, the EU that they “must take its fate into its own hands.”, “The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I’ve experienced that in the last few days,” and declares both the USA and UK Germany's mortal enemies of Germany in the May of 2017. EU vs Google The EU fined Google severally in 2017 for running an unfair search engine\browser monopoly in Europe. The EU soon confessed that it was only out to make money and be spiteful and xenophobic to the USA, and would have acted even if Goggle had been innocent anyhow. Swiss, Danish and Russian shenanigans January 31st, 2017 saw the Russians hack the Czech diplomats computers, but no-one cared about it. Swiss Military Intelligence was discovered to be both physically-spying and cyber-spying on Germany in the April of 2017. It was soon followed by unproven claims of commercial and political spying in Germany by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service. A suspected Russia-backed hackers target Baltic states' energy networks on May 11th, 2017. The pending collapse of the member nations? The author estimates 8 nations will not be with in any shape to function as meaningful members by 2025. 1. Turkey- A Kurdish/Maoist/Army rebellion and became a rogue state. ISIS is bombing it on occasion also. 2. UK- Economic collapse and a government plundering the national reserves. Scotland secedes? 3. Greece- Economic collapse and a government plundering the national reserves. 4. America- A White population that is in part forming into hate-filled abomination, who is slipping into ethnic and sectarian civil war Blacks and Latinos. It is already hopelessly over run with street gangs, visual-antis and mobsters, who's power will soon grow to uncontrollable levels. It will soon (especially under the the pending civil war between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump) verge on all out war with China, N. Korea, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Canada and Mexico.... California secedes? 5. Germany- A rogue state that is obsessed with ruining America's plans and extorts money of the nations of Europe. Bavaria secedes? 6. Canada- A rogue state under the Harper regime, that was obsessed with ruining America's plans. Quebec and Alberta secede. 7. Poland- Finally got what it always wanted, a hopeless war with Russia. Sadly Poland gets stuffed! 8. Latvia- The Latgale region could rebel and be liberated by Russia. The rest of the nation would inevitably then be annexed by Russia and became a Russian colony. The European missile shield The device It was part of a larger defense system, which was also to have bee based in several East Asian states like Japan to see off ballistic missile attacks by N. Korea, Iran, Syria and Iraq (if they go off the rails and ISIS/IS/ISL win in the latter 2). Russia has several genuine, if rather paranoid, concerns over it. China is also got a bit worried about it at first. The controversy America withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in the June 2002, leading to its termination. The United States refused to help clam Russia down, let them share technology, agree to international inspectors or to use a viable former Soviet-come-Russian radar-base in Azerbaijan instead of the planned one in Turkey. The Americans also appeared to have hated the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty anyhow. NATO's European nations called for a NATO wide missile defence system during the April of 2007. In response, the then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed that such a large scale deployment could lead to a new arms race and could enhance the likelihood of mutual destruction. He also suggested that his country would freeze its compliance with the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) (which both the USA and Russia apparently hated it) until all the then NATO countries had ratified the adapted CFE treaty. The Americans' plans to create new bases in Romania and Bulgaria had, according to Russian officials, constituted a breach of the treaty. In August 2008, Poland and the United States signed a preliminary deal to place part of the missile defence shield in Poland that would be linked to a high definition x-band air-defence radar in the Czech Republic. More than 130,000 Czechs signed a petition for a referendum on the base. The Radar was later sighted in Romania and Turkey during 2010. Russia's ambassador to Denmark wrote a letter to the editor of Jyllandsposten. on 20 March 2015, warning that their participation in project would make their warships targets of Russian nuclear missiles. Later Denmark's former foreign relations minister, Holger K. Nielsen, commented that they would have known this wartime and probably been targets anyway due to recent low flying incidents by Russian Airforce. America's President Barack Obama cancelled the deployment of long-range missile defence interceptors and equipment in Poland and the Czech Republic on 17 September 2009, favouring both short- and medium-range missiles using AEGIS warships of the coast of Spain, Libya would, Malta, Southern Libya and Greece instead. 2015 saw the opening of an interceptor missile base and radar in Poland that was anti-Russian in nature as a result of fears over the invasion of Ukraine. Russian combat aircraft make mock bombing raids, at first with there transponders off, until global aviation boffins complained, on the ever swelling NATO fleat off the Baltic States. President Putin visited Finland, who's people had recently started to drift towards the idea of joining NATO, in 2016 and dropped the implied threat that if they joined it, then Russia would invade them. Denmark also leads a small band of rapid reaction troops that are sent to Lithuania just in case things went bad a few weeks later. China is concerned over a similar system in S. Korea and Japan that is aimed at N. Korea. The history of NATO - video timeline06:56 The history of NATO - video timeline The history of NATO - video timeline! NATO - Ballistic Missile Defence Overview-006:16 NATO - Ballistic Missile Defence Overview-0 NATO - Ballistic Missile Defence Overview. History of NATO03:58 History of NATO History of NATO. Also see 1. Arab League 2. EU 3. Warsaw Pact 5. European Union 6. Soviet/NATO invasion of Finland 7. SOSUS sonar buoy line 8. Atomic War 9. Atomic warfare information notes. 10. Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 11. Marshall Plan 12. EFTA 13. UN 14. EBU 15. ASEAN 16. The 5 Eyes 17. Superpower 18. Volkel Air Base 19. Batajnica Air Base 20. USAF Strategic Air Command 21. Air Materiel Command 22. Secretary-General of NATO 23. Allied Air Command İzmir 24. Allied Land Command 25. United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS) 26. Secretary-General of NATO 27. Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) 28. British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) 29. Ramstein Air Base 30. 5.56x45mm standard NATO round 31. Chinese 5.8x42mm 32. Soviet 5.45x39mm 33. Joint Operations Center Maastricht (JOC Maastricht) 34. Static War Headquarters Castlegate in Linnich, Germany 35. NATO (World political shenanigans) 36. Secretary-General of NATO 37. NATO command structures and HQs 38. Soviet/NATO invasion of Finland 39. Skynet IV\Skynet 4 (AKA: "NATO-4") 40. NATO's Baltic Air Policing Unit 41. Exercise Reforger 42. Deutsches Institut für Normung 43. Secretary-General of NATO 44. NATO command structures and HQs 45. Exercise Nifty Nugget/Operation Nifty Nugget 46. Izmir Air Station 47. Greenham Air Base 48. NATO (World political shenanigans) 49. Secretary-General of NATO 50. NATO command structures and HQs 51. Soviet/NATO invasion of Finland 52. Skynet IV\Skynet 4 (AKA: "NATO-4") 53. United States European Command (EUCOM) 54. US Central Command (CENTCOM) 55. US Africa Command (AFRICOM) 56. NATO's Baltic Air Policing Unit 57. Operation Square Leg (1980) and Exercise Hard Rock (1982) 58. POMCUS (Prepositioning Of Materiel Configured in Unit Sets) sites 59. Izmir Air Station 60. Çiğli Air Base Outside links Ad blocker interference detected!
Origins of Falun Gong Falun Gong is usually identified as being part of the Chinese qigong group. The term Qigong can cover a range of practices, which include regular breathing, meditation and slow movements. The exercises are performed in order to seek spiritual and moral enlightenment and improved physicality. The modern practice of qigong began during the 1950’s where groups of Communists practiced the techniques in order to improve their health. Using the modern term qigong meant that the practice would not be misconstrued as any religious practice and would therefore not be persecuted as such. Those who began practicing qigong omitted any elements of religion believing it to be a particular type of medicine in China;they also discovered the physical existence of gi energy, which the practice of qigong tries to harness. There was very little spiritual practice to follow after the Mao era, so a great number of inner city and older peoplebegan practicing Qigong. This lead to a sharp increase in qigong masters who opened their own qigong centres. Due to its vast popularity across China, the Chinese Qigong Science Research Society was started in 1985 and this oversaw and administered the movement. Li Hongzhipublicly spoke aboutFaun Gong for the first time (or Falun Dafa) in 1992 in Changchun located in the Northeast of China. Within his hagiographic biography he mentions he was taught by a number of highly regarded masters of Buddhism and Daoism. The practice of Falun Dafa is thought to have resulted fromsorting through and making notes about all he learnt from the masters who taught him ‘cultivation practice’. Li talked about the practice of Falun Gong as a form of a ‘centuries old custom of cultivation’ and emphasized that he wanted religion and the spirit to be parts of the qigong practice to be revived after being discarded during the Communist period.He wanted different things than qigong, it wasn’t about a healthy body or getting ‘superpowers’ but it was to make the heart pure and reach a higher level of spirituality. It is different to other qigong groups as it looks at a wide variety of divine and theoretical subjects. A great deal of emphasis is placed on both higher morals and being virtuous. The practice of Falun Gong identifies with the Buddhist school but also takes both concepts and languages based in Taosism and Confucianism. Some scholars believe it to be a fusion of faiths, one that mixes religions, cultures and philosophies.
Heartburn after eating causes, symptoms, relief & treatment heart diagram Heartburn after eating means feeling burning sensation after taking meal. Some diets are mainly responsible for this heartburn condition. Basically heartburn happens when the stomach acid passes backwards up into the pipe of food and that’s normally called gullet. This condition is also well known as the stomach acid reflux and this disease commonly known as gastro-esophageal reflux disease. According to the National Institutes of health chronic heartburn usually happen twice a week and it can indicate a serious condition. On the other hand frequent heartburn is the common sign and symptom of gastro-esophageal reflux disease. What is heartburn? Heartburn is the burning sensation or burning pain just behind the breastbone or into the cheat. Most of the time heartburn after eating becomes worse when lying down or bending over. Normally heartburn after eating that are happen occasionally is not so serious or no cause for alarm. It is very easy to mange. Most of the people can manage this condition by changing their own lifestyle and over the counter medication. But heartburn after eating that happen more frequent or regularly that carries symptoms of more serious condition. Heartburn after eating: why happen? Heartburn after eating mainly happens due to stomach acid that moving uphill into the back side of the throat. This condition can result inflammation and feeling burning sensation into the breastbone area. Heartburn after eating mainly happen just after eating when you lie down for take rest just after eating. Some other major causes of heartburn after eating are acute gastric condition or gastric condition, atherosclerotic heart disease or ischemic heart disease. Normally female with the atherosclerotic heart disease most often feel heartburn pain as opposed to chest pain. Heartburn after eating usually develops after complete your meal or drink certain types of juice or food. But most commonly heartburn sensation or pain result from spicy foods, over eating, consuming greasy and drinking excessive alcohol during eating your meal. The sensation of heartburn after eating can also feel if the valve between the esophagus and stomach becomes dysfunctional and this condition then allows enter the stomach content into the esophagus. Few people with the heartburn after eating have very mild symptoms as like light burning sensation after taking meal that subside very quickly, but while other have stomach acid that are reaches the mouth with a burning sensation into the neck, chest and abdomen. You can control or reduce your heartburn pain by avoiding fried or spicy foods, avoiding alcohol, not overeating and by maintaining a healthy body weight. Heartburn after eating triggers- fatty foods Just before your bedtime a large portion of chips, fried food and a big greasy burger can results heartburn sensation or pain. Normally friend food, late might meals and fatty foods is main three trigger that are responsible for severe heartburn after eating. Heartburn sensation is most common after overeating or taking a large amount of meal. During overeating the stomach become full due to excess food and this can cause stretches the stomach and result you feel stuffed. Stomach distention or stretching can put pressure into the lower esophageal sphincter, as a result the muscle that stays stomach acids from moving into the wrong direction. The excessive pressure into the stomach causes muscle to relax. As a result the juices from last meals are come back for making you haunt. Foods that causes heartburn after eating Normally spicy foods, friend foods, fatty foods and drinking excess alcohol during taking meal are mainly responsible for heartburn after eating. Some other food that causes heartburn after eating is including: 1. Alcohol, particularly red wine. 2. Coffee and coffee related drinks as like tea and cola. 3. Fruits that contain citric acid such as orange juice and oranges. 4. Tomatoes. 5. Chocolate and some sweetener. 6. Raw onion, spicy foods, black paper and garlic. 7. Peppermint, vinegar and carbonated drinks. 8. Fred and fatty foods. 9. Acidic foods (tomatoes, grapefruit, and oranges). How to manage heartburn after eating? You will able to manage your own heartburn after eating condition by following several ways and by changing your lifestyle are including: 1. Eating moderation. 2. By maintaining healthy body weight. 3. Don’t lying down just after taking meal. 4. Limiting excessive alcohol consumption. 5. Just avoid alcohol during taking meals. 6. Avoid smoking. 7. During lying down just elevate the upper part of your body. 8. Avoid fatty and fried foods. 9. Eat 5 or 6 small meal each day instead of large meals. 10. Do not eat just before bedtime. What are the symptoms of heartburn after eating? Heartburn normally happens due to backward movement of stomach content or element into the esophagus, which may results a number of symptoms are including: Common symptoms of heartburn after eating The common symptoms of heartburn after eating are including: 1. Abdominal pain or burning. 2. Pain into the upper portion of the chest. 3. Burning sensation into the upper chest. 4. Indigestion and discomfort. 5. An acid or sour taste in the back of throat. 6. Boating and burping. 7. Sensation of pressure just behind of the breastbone. 8. Discomfort that get severe just after eating and lying down. 9. Finding it painful to swallow. 10. Persistent hiccups. 11. Breastbone pain that radiates into shoulder and neck. 12. Burning pain hat happen during night after eating. 13. Cold sweat, dizziness and shortness of breath. Uncommon symptoms of heartburn after eating 1. Finding it painful to swallow. 2. Persistent hiccups. 3. Breastbone pain that radiates into shoulder and neck. 4. Burning pain hat happen during night after eating. 5. Cold sweat, dizziness and shortness of breath. Medicines that use for treat heartburn If the heartburn is caused due to acid from the stomach, then one of the very easy way to erase this painful sensation by taking antacid tablet. Antacids normally contain a mixture of aluminum and magnesium salts, sodium bicarbonate or calcium carbonate. Antacids contain high amount of sodium that are not suitable for the people with high blood pressure, heart disease and pregnant women. Antacid are available as tablet in everywhere and that can be chewed or sucked and liquids. Liquid antacid are faster and tables are long lasting and the choice is down to person performance. Sodium alginate is a chemical substance that usually forms a raft which floats on top of the human stomach contents. That raft that is very useful to prevent stomach acid from passing back into the food pipe. As a result it protects the food pipe from acid. Alginates are also available as liquids and tablet. All Comments • After exploring a few of the blog posts on your site, I really losing weight fast November 29, 2014 4:57 am Reply Leave a Comment
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 Using Fish Effluent to Grow Your Food Do you know that you can use the waste products from your fish tank to grow food that you can eat? Well this is obviously a rhetorical question, because you can. This process is called Aquaponics. What is it exactly? It is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish), and hydroponics (growing food without soil). This is a very cool process and you can actually do it in your own backyard, with stuff you can find at your local home store. How does it work? Basically, you take the water from a fish tank, remove the solid matter from it, and use that water to provide nutrients to plants that you have floating on foam beds with their roots dangling in the water. The process is very simple, and is self-sustaining apart from some evaporation of your water source. First you need a fish tank. A simple plastic container that holds drinking water will do. All you need to do is cut it in half, and follow the instructions from your local pet store about raising gold fish or carp. They will advise you of the temperature of the water you need to keep, and the food and environment you need to keep the fish healthy. Next you need a grow bed for the plants. You can place the plants in a piece of Styrofoam insulation with holes cut through it, or you can purchase a product called "Perlite" which is a volcanic white pebble that absorbs water and provides a growing ground for bacteria. Simply place the seedlings of the plants into the holes, and allow their roots do dangle through them. You then take the water from the fish tank, and pump it into the grow bed via a reservoir, and allow it to trickle through the roots of the plants where it is then pushed back into the fish tank. This is a very short summary to give you an idea of how to do this. I am leaving out a lot of the detail. Why do this? One reason people do this, is because of the incredible organic plants they can grow. You can grow practically any edible species of plant this way: Lettuce, Jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, etc. They taste great and are not loaded with pesticides. Another reason to do this is for the fish products. If you create a little larger fish tank, and are a little more aggressive with your system, you can grow fish like: Tilapia, Trout, and even Arctic Char. These are fish that you can eat or even sell. Finally, and probably the most common reason people do this, is because they can do it. They do it just for fun. If you like to be different, then this may be the project for you to take on. So give it a try. No comments: Post a Comment
Monday, November 10, 2008 Mark Danielewski’s book House of Leaves paints quite a picture for the reader. His description of the unnatural hallway that randomly appears in the Navidsons’ home shows the reader in many examples how unstable it is. The walls shift constantly, making it virtually impossible to navigate through its maze, and its emptiness allows such change. An excerpt from page 120 tells us that “unoccupied space will never cease to change simply because nothing forbids it to do so. The continuous internal alterations only prove that such a house is uninhabited.” However, “no one has yet to disagree that the labyrinth is still a house. Therefore the question soon arises whether or not it is someone’s house. Though if so whose? Whose was it or even whose is it?” (121) As the story continues, it becomes clearer that the more time the explorers spend in the labyrinth, the more it becomes a house. In Navidson’s first exploration of the hallway, although he does not discover it right away, the walls have shifted dramatically throughout his journey. At one point he hears a sudden harsh growl, which spooks him, and he realizes that he might not be able to find his way back in the dark. He tries to retrace his steps, and in an effort to mark where he has been he leaves a penny on the floor. After one direction down the long hall fails and ends with another growl, he backtracks. “Only now he discovers the penny he left behind, which should have been at least a hundred feet further, lies directly before him” (68). The labyrinth’s layout is consistently changing because it is uninhabited. Navidson is the first person to investigate it, and luckily he finds his way out after a short while. He does not spend enough time in there to inhabit it. The next exploration proves that more inhabitants are turning the labyrinth into a house. As Holloway, Jed, and Wax take their time to explore it, they notice that at first the walls are moving often. However, the more time they spend in there, the less the walls seem to move. They are able to mark where they have been, which stays constant throughout their voyage until “when Holloway’s team finally begins the long trek back, they discover the staircase is much farther away than they had anticipated, as if in their absence the distances had stretched” (122). Because they are spending a long period of time in the maze (they are literally living there, camping out, eating food, drinking water, etc.), they can be considered inhabitants. However, their absence is what allowed the staircase to move father away. If they had been there, the walls may have moved, but it is likely that it would not have been so drastically modified. And when Navidson, Reston, and Tom go in to find Holloway, Jed, and Wax, the labyrinth becomes even more stable. As Navidson walks down the stairs, he quickly realizes that the gigantic staircase that Holloway’s team climbed down is not gigantic at all. “Based on Holloway’s descent, Navidson had estimated the stairway was an incredible thirteen miles down. Less than five minutes later, however, Tom and Reston hear a shout. Peering over the banister, they discover Navidson with a lightstick in his hand standing at the bottom – no more than 100ft down” (159). Instead of an incredible staircase that grows in absence of inhabitants, Navidson discovers that while he inhabits this area, the staircase is not the obstacle he expected. On page 166, it is explained that his “rapid descent reflects his own knowledge that the Spiral Staircase is not bottomless.” Because he knows that there is an end, he is beginning to understand the way the labyrinth works, and it is changing less often. In the beginning of the explorations, before anyone inhabited the hallway, the layout was constantly changing. However, as more and more people spent more and more time there, they discovered that it is not as unstable or forever in motion as they at first suspected. What they perceived to be a strange maze has quickly become a house in which they are the inhabitants. 1 comment: Adam Johns said... This argument, as you presumably know by now, at least, becomes stronger as the book goes on - at least up to the point when things start disappearing around Navy. In fact, the way that things disappear rather than simply solidifying is the obvious counterargument to what is an interesting and worthwhile idea.
Animal decomposition From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia (Redirected from Human decomposition) Jump to: navigation, search Related e Wiki Commons Decomposition begins at the moment of death, caused by two factors: autolysis, the breaking down of tissues by the body's own internal chemicals and enzymes, and putrefaction, the breakdown of tissues by bacteria. These processes release compounds such as cadaverine and putrescine, that are the chief source of the unmistakably putrid odor of decaying animal tissue. Prime decomposers are bacteria or fungi, though larger scavengers also play an important role in decomposition if the body is accessible to insects, mites and other animals. The most important arthropods that are involved in the process include carrion beetles, mites, the flesh-flies (Sarcophagidae) and blow-flies (Calliphoridae), such as the green-bottle fly seen in the summer. The most important non-insect animals that are typically involved in the process include mammal and bird scavengers, such as coyotes, dogs, wolves, foxes, rats, crows and vultures. Some of these scavengers also remove and scatter bones, which they ingest at a later time. Aquatic and marine environments have break-down agents that include bacteria, fish, crustaceans, Diptera larvae and other carrion scavengers. Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Animal decomposition" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice. Personal tools
7 Factors affecting Power of Buyers factors affecting Power of Buyers 7 Factors affecting Power of Buyers Bargaining power of buyers means that, there are factors that are influencing buyers control upon your business. It’s called Bargaining Power because it refers to the power to make buyers bargain between your products and your competitors. What are the types of buyers? There are two types of buyers; individual buyers in business to customers (B2C) and organizations, companies or accounts in Business to business (B2B). What are 7 factors affecting Bargaining Power of Buyers in Porter’s Five Forces Model? 1. Buyer Leverage: Buyer leverage means the power of the buyers, this power determined by the following: 1.1. Buyer concentration and size: • To understand what Buyer concentration means, you need to know how many buyers you have. In B2C business; when you push your products to retailers or other intermediaries, let’s suppose you are pushing your product in only 2 big retailers, so they are controlling your business, and they could increase their price, and this is happening because of buyer concentration. Size of the buyer depends on the economic scale of the buyer and end consumers, its dependent and correlated to each others. The retailers could buy a high quantity of your products due the relationship with them, incentive scheme you offer to them and bonuses. That quantity will last for months which prevent your competitors from putting their products by the same quantity on their stores (due to their budget), this have been illustrated in threat of entrant in porter’s five forces. By increasing the size of the buyer, you have the opportunity to make your products reach first to the end consumer and prevent new entrants from pushing their products too. 1.2. Availability of Substitutes: If you have substitutes for your products, the opportunity of getting those substitutes to the buyers increases with their competitive investment with pushing their products to retailers or wholesalers (Push Strategy). So you need to push your product first and by high quantity to make a threat of entry for any coming product and as threat of preventing any competitor product to be available in those stores. 1.3. Knowledge of the market: This depends on the culture of the buyers (end consumers). Are they interested in toothpastes? Different types of cheeses? Are they interested in sports? Are they interested in books? Which types of books they are interested? Are they interested in cars? Which economic scales do they have? The knowledge of the market is including both Marketing Audit (macro environmental analysis and micro environmental analysis), and understanding your consumer behavior to make the right segmentation and targeting strategies for them. 1.4. Backward Integration: Are the main retailers capable of manufacturing their own products and sell it the end consumers? Example: see Wall Mart stores, they are manufacturing their own products under Wall Mart Brand name, then they became competing with your product which is available at their stores too. So when you push your products in those places, you need to consider a differentiation service to the consumer. That service could be bonuses, trips, loyalty cards, points of purchases (sales promotion techniques). 2. Price Responsiveness: 2.1. Importance of the product: Are your product is important to the consumer? Is it urgent for their daily life activities? Is your products reflected in the increasing the quality of life for your consumers? 2.2. Profitability of the buyer: This is depending on the economic scale of the buyers and who you are targeting. You may market a product that target special category of buyers, and let’s say that your product is the highest quality and highest price too. Sometimes the buyers are looking for profitability (that’s why Cost Leadership marketing strategy became the best for them). So is your product profitable for the buyer? Is your product doesn’t increase the economic burden to the buyer? Some buyers are looking for a product which is different and unique than any other competitor, then Differentiation marketing strategy is the best marketing strategy for those types of consumers. 2.3. Brand Loyalty and Product Differentiation: All of the companies are seeking for stable business. This business gained through the brand loyalty and product differentiation. This will make you different in the mind of the customer. But some industries are already do this and don’t gain brand loyalty from the consumer. E.g. like some toothpaste, sugar types, generally food products. And this is happened because they were comparing their marketing activities to their competitors, so waiting each others to take a marketing communications step then the competitors do the same. If you want to make your product different in the mind of consumer, make a different not comparable integrated marketing communications Mix that will make your product grow and create everlasting success.

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