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warc | 201704 | The AHA Research Division has proposed a new publication series on the subject of “Regions and Regionalisms in the Modern World” to be edited by Prasenjit Duara (National University of Singapore) and Sebastian Conrad (Free University of Berlin). They have developed the following description and call for proposals:
Regions and the concomitant phenomenon of regionalisms are increasingly receiving attention as an object of historical study. For a large number of issues and questions, regions – understood as more or less integrated arenas of historical interaction that reach beyond the nation-state – appear to be the appropriate level of historical analysis. They promise to mediate between the local and national on the one hand, and global dimensions on the other.
The interest in the history of regions corresponds with the return of political, cultural, and economic projects of regionalism that in several cases had appeared in the 19th century. Contrary to widespread belief, globalization has not rendered more circumscribed entities and regional ties obsolete. Indeed, it has frequently fostered, if not produced, new forms of regional alliance, cooperation, and imagination as we see in Europe, NAFTA, Mercosur, maritime Asia, and elsewhere.
To what extent did regional ties survive and shape the way in which people and societies were integrated into the modern world? And to what extent are regions new creations, produced under the impact of global interaction? Questions such as these will be at the core of the series that presents a wide variety of interpretations, on many different levels, of the role of regions in history. These essays will be especially useful to college and secondary school teachers who are engaged in teaching world history in a comparative format.
Prospective authors may want to consider including in their articles the challenges that teachers and researchers working in the field encounter, as well as the current state and future prospects for the field of history. Manuscripts should be up to 60 typed pages (double-spaced) or about 15,000 words, with no more than 90 endnotes.
Proposals of about 300 to 600 words, may be e-mailed by
October 1, 2010 to regionalism@historians.org or mailed to Publications Department, American Historical Association, 400 A Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003-3889. | 2,373 | 1,251 | 1.896882 |
warc | 201704 | If we were to say Netflix, or Now TV, or Amazon Prime Instant Video, or Sky GO, you'd likely know exactly what they are and, just as likely, have a subscription to at least one of these.
Yes, these are streaming platforms - offering subscribers a plethora of movies and shows to watch from the comfort of their homes, or out and about via mobile devices. What is interesting about them is how, in a markedly small amount of time, they have changed the viewing habits of multiple generations. Terms such as "binge watching" and "cord-cutting" have become well known - and for good reason too!
Just one more
Perhaps the most notable change to people's viewing habits is the "binge watching" phenomenon. This is where people watch between 2 - 6 episodes of a series in one sitting (the number actually exceeding this in many cases). For some series this is the same as watching three films one after the other.
In fact, binge watching has become so notable that Netflix has carried out there own research and created a binge scale! 😮
While this all sounds like fun (who wouldn't want to spend 6 hours just watching some great TV series?) health experts are beginning to fear mental and physical ramifications from this.
Research suggests that binge watching shows can cause back pain, weight gain and promote lethargy. Additionally, there are fears of addiction (yes - you can now become addicted to watching TV shows), depression (apparently we become a little blue after a series ends), and strong feelings of emptiness and loneliness forcing watchers to start the cycle all over again.
The effect in schools
Considering the above it comes as little surprise that the 'Netflix effect' is affecting young learners in school. A recent study shows that the average pupil (12 - 16) will have 6.5 hours a night sleep. Now, with Netflix and the like, this average has dropped lower.
A Huffington Post article reports that:
teens who went to bed later than 11:30 p.m. on school nights and 1:30 a.m. in the summer had lower GPAs [grades] than teens who got to bed earlier. They were also more susceptible to emotional problems.
Obviously it would be fruitless to ask your pupils to stop watching Netflix altogether! However, it is something that should be highlighted in schools. If something as simple as watching a few less episodes a night could have a positive effect on their futures and mental wellbeing, it is fully worth educating them on the damage binge watching can cause.
Televisions join the relics list
It may sound bizarre but 1 in 20 families are now ditching their TVs. For some this is to break away from the onslaught of tech and digital - perhaps opting for less time on the couch and more time outside. For the majority though, the ditched TV is being replaced by laptops, Smartphones and tablet devices.
This trend is suggesting that the television - a staple in almost every household since the 90's - is beginning to be phased out; potentially joining the same list that homes VHS video cassettes; music tapes; CDs; cameras, that take actual film; and fax machines.
While this movement may well be cut short, by new innovations to the quality of televisions (with 3D, UltraHD and 4K screens already in the offering), it does raise the question of what will happen to shows that are aired - not streamed. Will these services fall by the wayside as the freedom to pick and watch what you desire (without the aggro of advertisements on top) takes preference? Will all television sets have streaming services fully integrated into them (many Smart TVs already utilise apps that include Amazon Instant Video and Netflix)? Will the very nature of waiting a week for the next episode (when will Game of Thrones be back!!!) end as entire series are released all at once (something that is already being seen - particularly with Amazon and Netflix exclusive titles)?
It all adds up to some interesting thoughts but, unlike the next episode, I guess we are going to have to wait and see if people can really do without TVs!
As a digital marketing company trends such as this are incredibly thought-provoking. It shows just how much influence something such as digital streaming can have on what many would say would never change! What are you thoughts on all this? Do you prefer a lengthy session on Netflix over the usual one episode a week format? Comment below. | 4,405 | 2,207 | 1.995922 |
warc | 201704 | Before I die… this is the writing prompt I used to give the first day of class. And I wish I remember what the tall young blonde had written. Carrie Melvin, whose favorite novel was The Lover by Marguerite Duras. She brought a copy to class and talked about it sheepishly. Like this was revealing something very secret about her. The way we do when we talk about books. I wish I was paying special attention to what she said. Because two weeks later, in July of 2015, she was murdered.
Outside of class she worked as a waitress and freelanced as a social media marketer. She was contracted by Ezeoma Chigozie Obioha to do some marketing for his clothing line. Obioha paid her with a bad check. She told him she was going to sue him if he didn’t pay her. She came to class in short skirts and big sunglasses.
July 5, 2015, Carrie Melvin was walking down Sunset Blvd. with her boyfriend, and Obioha allegedly walked up behind her, pulled out a shotgun, put it to the back of her head, and pulled the trigger. He fled in a black sedan. The next day our class was somber and I was more awkward than usual. Some further investigations were made, Obioha’s home and office were raided, in addition to a clothing line he ran a private security company. With guns like that which shot Melvin. He was arrested and detained without bail. Obioha has been charged with murder, he entered a not guilty plea and has been ordered held without bail.
¤
This November I read at a literary festival near a place I would ditch high school to go buy
manic panic hair dye in reds and greens and blues, a neighborhood full of thrift stores and skate shops where people stand in line to buy the latest kicks. In my twenties, in the same neighborhood, I worked at a legal clinic for homeless veterans during the day and at night I’d hostess at an Italian restaurant where I sat outside mostly and snuck cigarettes while the guy who owned the Mexican restaurant across the street sent over roses and margaritas.
After our readings we were shuttled to a venue down the block to collect our checks. While eating dinner, we overheard the guy who organized the event arguing with a woman about payment. He handed her an empty envelope. He was cussing at her, telling her he was tired and that she needed to put her complaints in an email. It sounded as if he was saying he couldn’t pay her. She ran out of the restaurant defeated.
Since that night I’ve spoken to other women who reported that when they inquired about payment this man “raged” at them, and that he often sought free advice. He set the festival up by having one reader delegated to book three others for their set, read themselves, and help manage logistics. Each set got $200 to split amongst themselves (so fifty bucks each although one person had more responsibilities than the others). Meanwhile the guy budgeted 40 percent of the budget for the event, or $5000, as pay for himself. It’s not that I think this is too much for him to get compensated but considering the amount of work he did versus the assistant producers and the readers I think that he overpaid himself and underpaid others.
He had agreed to pay the woman with the empty envelope $500 to be a producer of the festival, she told me, and then refused to pay her because, he told her, she didn’t meet his performance expectations. I went back in and told him he had to pay her. His first reaction was an attempt to gaslight me, he asked me if I’d been drinking. He proceeded to give me a bevy of other excuses. That he was stressed out and tired — it had been a long day. Can he resume this conversation in the morning after he’s had some sleep? I’ve met this man before. I’ve sat across many tables negotiating with men in suits for the rights of people who clean buildings at night, or tend to patients, or care for small children. What I know about these men is that whatever it was that I saw is only a fraction of the damage they would do in dark rooms without witnesses. He was not counting on me to have knowledge and language for things like this. He was counting on criticizing her performance, handing this woman an empty envelope after a month’s worth of work, and sneaking off to drop a handsome check in his own bank account. This is what wage theft looks like. This is what economic violence looks like. If what these women say was true, he had built a hostile working environment, one with rage, constant criticism, and ambiguous terms for how her performance would be evaluated. An anxious tick in the back of her mind.
Is it good enough? Is it good enough?
Then he said he had no checks. So we agreed to follow him home where he can go get a check. My friend and I accompanied the woman to his apartment. When we reached her car, her 17-year-old daughter was sleeping in the front seat, waiting for her to be done with work. She was sweet, edgy, young, she went to Cal State Channel Islands. She and I went to his door and got the check.
¤
Back in 2002, urban theorist Richard Florida coined the term,
creative class, defining members as a fast-growing and highly educated segment of the workforce on whose efforts corporate profits and economic growth increasingly depend. Florida’s creative class includes innovators, tech people, and bohemians, workers who often earn hefty salaries that challenge our perception of creatives as barely getting by and make it harder for the actual starving artists among us to press for better wages.
I learned there had been union organizing attempts at CalArts, but some who had figured out the algorithm of securing the most secure place amongst the insecure contested that a union would just not work for them, for this
of school, because they were of kind The Creative Class, they had special needs and provisions. Not all felt this way, of course. There were a few full-time faculty who were for a union, but their efforts to try to develop a bargaining team that encompassed both full time faculty and adjunct professors failed, as the majority of the full time faculty subscribed to this concept of exceptionalism. This to me was absurd. Some of us drove a couple hundred miles to teach, saddled with the weight of our own college debt. I myself had attended another private not for profit art school, Antioch University, and held over $40,000 of student debt. We were exceptionally broke and in need of the kind of wage and working condition support brought through organizing.
¤
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with and meet other writers and artists who encourage me to embrace whatever that thing is you feel is your stain. We are misfits, and freaks, and hurting people, and those who have been scapegoated and finger-pointed. We are needy and wanting and abandoned, and punished, and heavy with secrets, or thinned with shame. Which is why I have a real hardcore problem with murky phrases such as ‘creative class.’ I need to be mindful of language. Using a term like
the creative class prevents us from being transparent about our income and our socio-economic status. This umbrella identity lumps together dilettantes with high wage earners with struggling artists, and eliminates the prospects of achieving class solidarity and leveraging that solidarity to fight for better wages and working conditions.
¤
Two phrases here that could support negotiating your rates going forward. The first: When I was hired to teach at CalArts they initially offered me 5,000.00 for a semester. I said these four words— Can—You—Do—Better? They came back with an offer of 7500.00 So sometimes it works. Also, in writing this piece founder Tom Lutz and I got into discussion on payment. I found what he said very helpful. When his university hired a famous novelist, she said ‘I don’t need a huge salary, I just don’t want to find out later that I’m making less than other people.’ Now, he said, when people offer him a gig, he uses what the novelist said: I want to get paid what you are paying other people. Personally, I’m for a model of transparency. Go in knowing what the venue pays might also help you in negotiating.
¤
In a 2015
Nation article, Toni Morrison, reminded us “The contemporary “working poor” and “jobless poor” are like the dormant riches of “darkest colonial Africa”—available for wage theft and property theft, and owned by metastasizing corporations stifling dissident voices.”
Sure I’m creative but I identify as the working poor and as a freelancer I’m more often jobless than employed. In post-election America, now more than ever, those of us who are freelance and work in unregulated industries need to band together, protect our paychecks, protect our families, our freedoms of expression. 71% of freelancers get stiffed by clients and the average unpaid freelancer is owed about $6000.00.
October 27, 2016, New York City became the first city in the nation to protect freelancers against nonpayment by passing the Freelance Isn’t Free Act. As a working creative, I need what every working person needs in America. I need a fair income, I need benefits, I need safe and respectable working conditions, I need representation on the job. The person or organization who represents my needs does not need to know how to write a book, or paint, or be any sort of thespian; that representative needs to know how to negotiate. In 2001, Sara Horwitz launched the Freelancer’s Union. Along with Freelance Isn’t Free Act, The Freelancer’s Union has created a portable benefits delivery system, linking benefits to individuals rather than to employers, so independent workers can maintain benefits as they move from job to job and project to project. With over 54 million Americans working freelance today and the future of work geared toward nonconventional employment our best bet for collective bargaining will likely happen through voluntary membership organizations such as the freelancer’s union.
Ultimately, the fact that I get any money at all for just doing something I love — that’s a dream. However, to me writing and teaching is not a luxury or art, it’s my weapon of choice. | 10,363 | 4,811 | 2.154022 |
warc | 201704 | Recently, we had an incredibly fun FREE STUFF FRIDAY contest featuring a guest post from Kerri Sparling of Six Until Me. We asked you, our fantastic readers, to share your best travel and safety tips as contest entries, and we received more than 100 responses! With so much terrific information in those comments, we decided to compile the suggestions into one comprehensive list of travel and general safety tips for people with medical conditions. As many of our entrants came over from Six Until Me, there was a ton of great information about TWD: Traveling While Diabetic! So let's start there!
Traveling with DiabetesYou’ve been working hard – all day, every day. But the promise of sweet summer sunshine and a cool, calm breeze have you wishing for a much-deserved vacation. Whatever your dream retreat is, it’s totally impossible for you to travel – or so you thought. This summer, don’t let your diabetes hold you back from the trip of a lifetime. Follow these helpful hints from the American Diabetes Association for traveling with diabetes, and hit the road! 1. First, check with your doctor. a.Make sure your diabetes is under control. b.Get a letter from your doctor that explains what you need to do for your diabetes (i.e. take insulin shots or diabetes pills), lists any medications or devices you use (i.e.syringes), and lists any allergies or medications to which you are sensitive or allergic. c.Request a prescription. You should carry enough medication to get you through your trip, but it’s good to have the prescription in case of an emergency. If you’re going out of the country, contact the International Diabetes Federation for information on prescription laws in other countries. 2. Be able to communicate. a.If you are traveling out of the country, it is a good idea to get a list of English-speaking foreign doctors. Visit the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers to obtain a list. b.Learn how to say “I have diabetes” in the language of the country to which you are traveling. c. ALWAYS wear medical alert jewelry that shows you have diabetes. 3. Pack wisely. a.It’s better to be safe than sorry…pack at least twice as much medication and testing supplies as you should need, and keep all medication in your carry-on so it stays with you. Also keep air-tight snacks and sugar in your carry-on to treat low blood glucose. b.Don’t store insulin in glove compartments or in direct sunlight. Protect your insulin with a travel pack to keep it cool. Insulated lunch boxes work well for this. Simply fill it with ice the night before your trip and your medication will stay cool the next day. 4. Timing is everything. a.Ask your doctor to help you plan the timing of injections when you travel, especially if you are crossing time zones. b.Keep your flight schedule in mind when planning meals and injections. c.Keep your watch on your home time zone until the morning after you arrive. This will help you keep track of meals and medication while you are traveling. 5. While you’re there... a.Take snacks when you’re hiking or sightseeing – you never know if and when you will have access to food. b.Ask for a list of ingredients for unfamiliar foods to avoid upsetting your stomach. c.Wear comfortable shoes – don’t go barefoot! d.Take a lot of pictures, make a lot of memories, and bring us back a souvenir! | 3,445 | 1,693 | 2.034849 |
warc | 201704 | I’m traveling through Mickey Hart’s brain. I look to my left and a blue plum of sparks blaze down the Grateful Dead drummer’s corpus callosum. A set of neurons has fired. I travel upward, through a mess of pink synaptic spaghetti, and the two hemispheres of his cerebrum vibrate and banter about some new information. I float back toward his lower brain, where I pass his cerebellum, pulsing softly, and leave through his spinal chord.
Okay, I’m actually in Dr. Adam Gazzaley’s neuroscience lab in UCSF Mission Bay. I’m wearing Oculus Rift virtual reality glasses, holding an Xbox controller and sitting in a comfortable room that could pass for a basement den, if you can afford a new Meyer sound system and two billboard-sized flatscreens.
This is Gazzaley’s idea of modern neurology lab. “It’s not the standard,” he says with a smile.
“What we’re going to use it for is still an open question.” (See video at the bottom for more)
Hart’s brain fires wonderfully, but were there to be problems, Gazzaley’s idea is to harness video game technology to improve or heal the brain, and hopes the “proof of concept” lab — set to open later this year — will be one of the crucibles. The work has also garnered attention from the tech community: he’ll be a keynote speaker at NVIDIA’s GPU Technology Conference in March — the titan of graphics processing units makes the engines of video game players and its parallel processing framework (called CUDA) chews through the huge amounts of data necessary to monitor a brain in real time.
Patients will wear electroencephalograms (EEG), those caps with the electrodes that monitor electrical impulses firing inside the brain down to the cubic millimeter. As Gazzely and team target areas of the brain that need help — damaged, underused, etc — the idea is that the mechanics of gameplay will adjust on the fly to keep those precise areas engaged and, hopefully, strengthen them back to normal (or beyond). Current games know how to adjust to a player’s skill level, but not with the goal of targeting a very specific portion of the brain.
Gazzaley, who has also founded a company for neuro-beneficial games, published a
Nature cover story last fall that showed playing a car racing game improved multi-tasking abilities. Other studies have shown cognitive benefits for videogames, especially in hand-eye coordination — go here for a rather cautious summary of the benefits of video games — but this sort of intimate brain-and-game feedback loop heralds a cutting edge approach.
The lab uses a Microsoft Kinect for motion capture when patients engage in full body games. Yet a Kinect doesn’t necessarily feel cutting edge — there are expensive motion-capture cameras that would do a far better job. Gazzaley is employing gadgets you might find at Best Buy because if the tests prove successful, he wants these diagnostics available in your living room. If his team can develop games that work with existing home entertainment systems, like an Xbox, these videogame treatments don’t require a trip to the hospital.
“The minute we show some in-lab validation, we’ll move it into people’s homes,” he says.
This isn’t lost on Gazzaley’s corporate partners either. “The holy grail is personalized medicine,” says Calisa Cole, of NVIDIA’s developer relations team. “Dr. Gazzaley’s research is an important component of this goal.”
His team of developers have built their own data-crunching backend which runs atop the same NVIDIA chips that powers the Titan super computer. Just down the hall are two MRIs, one for imaging structure, the other for function. Data from the MRI and from the EEG (which can already be hacked together at home) are combined via clever algorithms to meld the brain’s structure and activity into one beautiful traffic model. Think of the MRI as the road map and the EEG as a radar gun. That combination is eventually rendered in a rich 3d model like Hart’s brain.
The brain’s ability to adapt and strengthen (or weaken) depending on conditions, known as plasticity, is still one of nature’s greatest wonders. The hundred billion neurons and their thousands of contact points, known as dendrites, create a mind-boggling number of possible connections. The combination of these connections and their firing patterns is what generates things like the memory of trip to New York or a fear of snakes. The Human Connectome Project is attempting to map them all, but devising a reliable guide will be a tall order.
Recently Hart worked with Gazzaley to show off his synapses while playing the drums. He has also been using images of his brain for backdrops during recent concerts. The architecture of Hart’s brain remained on file and that’s why I was able to travel through it weeks later.
And just to get meta with the whole thing, here is Gazzaley’s most recent idea: Build a game that lets you travel, Tron-style, around the wiring of your own brain. The areas that need exercises become new levels of the game. After seeing the model of Hart’s brain, it’s not hard to see how those bridges and pathways could turn into a therapeutic Mario Kart.
“If we can determine what’s happening in the moment, we can start feeding that neural data back into the game,” he says.
“We think that someone who’s had a traumatic brain injury, we could really rewire them in a way we’ve never been successful with drugs before.”
[This article has been updated to clarify there is nothing wrong with Hart’s brain. I should have been more clear, as I was trying to demonstrate the overall goal of Gazzaley’s lab. For that I apologize to Mickey Hart.] | 5,905 | 2,889 | 2.04396 |
warc | 201704 | 1) The 4/1/2011
New York Timesreports that "Cuts Leave Patients With Medicaid Cards, but No Specialist to See".
Many of these patients are learning the hard way that
"coverage" does not equal actual medical care. From the NYTarticle: "Having a Medicaid card in no way assures access to care," said Dr. James B. Aiken, an emergency physician in New Orleans...Expanding Medicaid was one key element of ObamaCare's promise to improve "access" or "coverage". However, many states are setting Medicaid reimbursement rates so low that doctors cannot afford to see these patients. The big question will be whether cash-strapped states like Louisiana will respond by compelling physicians to accept Medicaid patients at the state rates (i.e, price controls). "My Medicaid card is useless for me right now," [patient Nicole] Dardeau said over lunch. "It's a useless piece of plastic. I can't find an orthopedic surgeon or a pain management doctor who will accept Medicaid."
Something similar has already been proposed in Massachusetts, namely compelling physicians to accept certain state-sanctioned insurance plans as a condition of retaining their MA medical license. Fortunately, that law did not pass -- but it may inspire similar proposals elsewhere.
2) In contrast, the 4/2/2011 Associated Press reports, "High-end medical option prompts Medicare worries".
More patients who can afford it are seeking "concierge physicians" who will actually take the time to listen to their problems, answer their questions, and provide individualized high-quality health care -- rather than the cookbook-style medicine being demanded by ObamaCare with its government practice guidelines.
Many middle-class patients are finding the $1500-$1800/year retainer fees to be affordable. But this trend is also arousing a backlash by the statists who want to limit people's ability to opt out of any government-run system. This is no different from the socialists in East Germany wishing to limit the ordinary citizens from seeing how much better life was in West Germany. Hence, we can expect increasing rhetorical and political attacks against the idea of concierge medicine, arguing that (as many already do) that it creates a "two-tiered" system, or that it's "inegalitarian".
3) Finally, physician-blogger Kevin Pho notes, "Electronic medical records and pay for performance don't improve care". These are major initiatives of ObamaCare. Men like Medicare chief Donald Berwick argue that electronic medical records (EMRs) and "pay for performance" (P4P) will improving health outcomes.
Evidence is mounting that this is false. What they will do is allow the government to more closely control how doctors practice medicine. These mechanisms facilitate future rationing by creating the mechanisms for tracking what tests and treatments doctors prescribe -- and punishing those who fail to adhere to the government practice guidelines.
Americans wouldn't tolerate a government that required them to log all their meals with a central database, and punished them for eating foods the government didn't approve of. They shouldn't tolerate the government doing the same to their doctors. | 3,199 | 1,637 | 1.954184 |
warc | 201704 | Last week I had the pleasure of attending ManageEngine’s first user conference and training event in the Middle East (Dubai to be specific); with event attendees not only from the UAE, but also Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
The one-day user conference element of the two-day event, offered me both fresh insight into how IT service management, ITIL, and enabling tools are being adopted in the Middle East, and first-hand experience of ManageEngine’s customers within the region.
This quick blog is intended to capture my views, thoughts, and opinions for the benefit of all.
The current state of IT service management in the Middle East?
My previous experiences of IT service management and ITIL in particular in the Middle East had been somewhat limited; but as with most things I had drawn my own opinions and conclusions based on the exposure (the proverbial joining of dots). So before last week I believed:
ITIL was talked about but with “implementations” driven from the higher echelons, or even outside, of the IT organization; adoption was slow and susceptible to resistance. It was a “good thing to do” rather than a business-focused means to an end.
That while customers (end users) are important the focus was still very much on the IT – the creation of IT rather than the consumption of IT services.
Middle Eastern companies value “prestige” and as such were most likely to buy Big 4 solutions for IT service management.
Enterprises in the Middle East are increasingly aware of the strategic value of mobility to enable or enhance business processes, particularly as they focus less on concerns over compatibility and uniformity. Oman Air’s recent deployment of SITA’s resource management solution for its 2,500 employees at Muscat International Airport is a clear example. The solution will provide a platform for planning, rostering, management, and real-time scheduling of work tasks and enable communication of tasks via mobile devices and monitoring of operational status and billing information in real time.
But as the perceived importance of supporting mobility increases over the next two years, we expect more organizations in the region to re-evaluate their mobile technology choices. After 10 years of using BlackBerry, Halliburton, a major energy provider headquartered in Dubai, decided to switch 4,500 of its employees to the iPhone as its preferred platform for expanding mobile technology usage by giving employees secure access to internal applications from outside the corporate network. In addition to security, compatibility, and access, organizations will increasingly evaluate mobile OS platform support for developing and localizing their own applications, e.g., developing applications in Arabic.
Below I’ve highlighted several of the drivers of further mobility adoption for enterprises in the Middle East: | 2,950 | 1,440 | 2.048611 |
warc | 201704 | A new analysis by the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School recommends the Massachusetts legislature remove confusion about tax incentives for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, to enable more homeowners and business owners to install renewable energy.
Under a state law that dates back to the 1970s, some solar PV installations are eligible for a 20-year exemption from local property taxes. For many years, solar developers believed that this important renewable energy incentive applied to virtually all solar installations in Massachusetts. Recently, however, the Department of Revenue has interpreted the exemption to apply only when energy produced by the system is “consumed on site at all times.” Because even the smallest rooftop PV system will send energy back to the electric grid at least some of the time, this interpretation eviscerates the exemption. Even though many local assessors have not followed the Department’s interpretation, the Department’s action has created uncertainty for the solar industry. To make matters worse, there is also significant legal uncertainty both about whether solar PV systems should be taxed as real or personal property, and about when municipalities have the authority to enter into payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements with solar developers.
The paper, titled
The Solar Property Tax Exemption in Massachusetts: Interpretations of Existing Law and Recommendations for Amendments, reviews the sources of legal uncertainty and surveys the approaches taken by other states to exempt solar projects from property taxes. The report recommends that: The legislature create a property tax exemption for small solar PV systems (a capacity of less than 60 kW and/or less than 125 per cent of the historic annual energy needs of the property); The legislature authorize municipalities to enter into PILOT agreements for larger PV installations; and The Department of Revenue issue guidance clarifying that solar PV installations should usually be assessed as personal property.
The paper was co-authored by Irina Rodina (JD ’14) and Senior Clinical Instructor Shaun Goho. | 2,176 | 1,060 | 2.05283 |
warc | 201704 | By Ian Salisbury
Morningstar, the influential research firm that has for years bestowed stars on top-performing mutual funds, is adding a new investment to it universe: ETF managed portfolios.
This week, the Chicago-based researcher unveiled a new section of its web site where it will publish standardized returns for the ETF products – which typically represent a portfolio of exchange-traded funds selected by a professional investment manager. It will also include Morningstar’s classic star rankings and analyst write-ups of the new investments.
The most detailed data on ETF managed portfolios will be available only to financial advisers – the investments are marketed to these pros by Wall Street firms. But individual investors should take note, say experts: Morningstar’s effort could bring clarity to a corner of the investment universe ultimately targeting mom and pop where solid information is sometimes hard come by.
The strategies, recently profiled by the Wall Street Journal, are gaining fans quickly: they held $45 billion at the end of the first quarter, up roughly a third in just six months, according to Morningstar.
Among the reasons experts say they’re popular: An ability to capitalize on the buzz around fast-growing exchange-traded funds and an emphasis on annual investment fees rather than up front commissions. Since many advisers themselves are moving to charging investors annual fees, the pricing structure meshes well with their business model.
But there are some reasons to be skeptical. The new strategies can be pricey and managed accounts aren’t subject to many of the same rules designed to protect investors who own mutual funds, according to experts like John McGuire, partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP. “You don’t have the same magnitude of regulation,” he says.
For investors looking at these strategies here are some things investing pros say to keep in mind.
*Benchmarking can be tricky. The record for mutual fund managers is clear — and not veryinspiring. Over the past five years, only about a third have beaten their stock or bond benchmark. While the new strategies are essentially a bet that WallStreet can do better by shifting money between those various benchmarks, experts say it’s unclear how success should be measured. For strategies that involve only U.S. stocks, traditional indexes used to judge mutual funds might still work, but what about strategies that mix US and foreign stocks or stocks and bonds? “The user has to decide what they want to accomplish then ask ‘Is this something you can do on your own’” with a discount brokerage account or target-date fund? says Morningstar analyst Andrew Gogerty.”
*While ETFs gained popularity largely because they lowered investment costs, the new strategies, which use ETFs but also employ an active investment manager, risk neutralizing that advantage. Unlike mutual funds, managed account fees are negotiable so it’s difficult to judge what the average investor truly pays. But the Wall Street Journal reports all-in fees between the ETFs, the investment strategist and the financial adviser could range up to $200 for every $10,000 invested, a difficult hurdle.
*While a few of the ETF managed portfolios have been around for decades, many are brand new. Of the 500 in Morningstar’s database, about half have appeared since 2007. Perhaps, more important, reporting returns is voluntary. That means even firms that appear to have strong track records are hard to judge. For instance, a manager with three market-beating strategies might five years ago have offered six, half of which failed and were shuttered, disappearing from the record. Some big players, such as Envestnet, don’t report to Morningstar at all. Envestnet, which itself analyzes investment managers as well as marketing its own strategies, sees Morningstar as competition, says Tim Clift, chief strategist of the company’s investment arm. | 4,027 | 1,925 | 2.091948 |
warc | 201704 | One of the more complicated aspects of scientific writing is reference management – an important limitation of online collaborative tools such as
Google Docs. I have argued before that WordPress has the potential to become a great scientific writing tool. Wordpress can’t do reference management out of the box, and the available plugins are somewhat limited. But WordPress is a good platform to add reference management functions: it is not only extremely popular (meaning a lot of people have expertise and many tools are available), but also already knows a lot about links, and has a wonderful plugin architecture.
Reference database The first question with reference management in WordPress is where to store the references. Should they not be stored at all and be directly imported from the source (journal website or bibliographic database such as PubMed)? This is what most of us are currently doing when writing blog posts, but this approach has obvious limitations on more ambitious writing projects. Or should references be inserted from an online reference manager such as CiteULike, Mendeley, Refworks or Endnote Web? This is how we use these reference managers with Microsoft Word and similar word processors.
Instead I prefer a third approach: store the references in the built-in Links Manager in WordPress. References are nothing more than specialized links after all. We loose functionality compared to reference manager databases, but we get some very interesting features for free, including automatic checking of broken links, automatic link synchronization with other WordPress installations, and all the other cool things for links that people have come up with. And this makes it much easier for authors to collaborate if they use different reference managers, as all required references are stored in a common database.
BibTeX Importer There is currently no good solution to important references into the Links Manager, so I wrote a WordPress plugin to do just that. It took me two days, which says less about my skills, but more about the WordPress plugin architecture. Like all plugins hosted at WordPress.org, my BibTeX Importer plugin can be installed directly from within your WordPress installation in less than 5 minutes.
The plugin takes any BibTeX file (BibTeX is one of the more common file formats for references, all good reference managers can export into that format) and imports it into the WordPress Links Manager. The plugin can also import a BibTex file via URL (e.g. http://www.citeulike.org/bibtex/user/mfenner).
The plugin creates WordPress links where the link name is in the format
first author – year – title. The original BibTeX entry is stored in the link notes. The plugin does some extra work, e.g. checks for duplicates before importing and picks the DOI if several URLs are available for the link. The plugin also checks the BibTex entry type (article, PhD thesis, book chapter, etc.) and automatically assigns a link category with that name. The next step would be a solution that automatically synchronizes your WordPress Links Manager with a reference manager. Inserting references Once the references are in the Links Manager, we can use them in the articles we write. Unfortunately WordPress doesn’t provide an easy way to do that. I personally like the WordPress TinyMCE editor, so I made some changes to the wonderful Link to Post plugin. The plugin provides a searchable interface to link to the posts, pages, categories and tags of your own WordPress blog. It took me half a day to add a link section, so now I can search for links and insert them into a post in a way not that different from how we use reference managers with Microsoft Word. The plugin also searches for co-authors, journal names and words in abstracts, as all this information is stored in the Link notes as BibTeX entry. I will make the updated Link to Post plugin available for download (I have contacted the plugin author), for the time being please contact me if you are interested. Providing a bibliography This is the last feature that I need for reference management with WordPress, and that should also be feasible to do. Ideally the bibliography should be created automatically from the links in the text, using the BibTeX info stored in the links database. In fact, this is something that a publisher could also do after manuscript submission, as the required information is all there. The bibliography should use the Citation Style Language, and COinS (a standard for publishing machine-readable reference information in HTML), and should check for duplicate references, broken links, etc. | 4,668 | 2,043 | 2.284875 |
warc | 201704 | Do You All Know Curriki, the website for sharing open source curricula? www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/
I get their enewsletter to keep an eye on an area that interests me at a distance. In the latest issue I read about kitzu.org/. Kitzu offers students and teachers pre-assembled "kits" on a wide variety of topics, from dance, to maps, to history. Each packet contains materials students can then use to create their own multimedia projects — that is images, sometimes video or animation, sound, and or documents.
I have been working with schools in Western NY, Illinois, Massachusetts, and California on a similar idea — student-created history projects that take the form of digital presentations. One inspiration for the idea was this digital presentation created by students in Springfield over a summer: viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php
This slide show is about the 1908 white against black race riot which took place in the city so generally associated with Lincoln. The students, who had time and funding, did a terrific job. But as the Kitzu site shows, creating multimedia presentations can and should be a normal part of regular classes with normal resources.
And that, friends, is where I think we who create books — authors, editors, designers, artists — come in. A non-fiction books for K-12 is a form of multimedia — we have to weave text and art in every book we make. So I think we need to help kids, and learn from kids. They are creating multimedia nonfiction and we can learn from their skills and their interests. We are creating multimeida nonfiction and they can learn from our training and knowledge.
Imagine if school had an author/researcher in residence who did his/her work while also helping kids with theirs. Imagine if this were going on all across the country and students and school systems shared their best projets. Imagine if for every beat along the way of the school year we had high quality student-created materials? If we can imagine it, lets do it. | 2,026 | 1,054 | 1.922201 |
warc | 201704 | The Bureau of Street Services is proud to report continued and increased success in the area of recycling. The following is a list of the notable accomplishments.
Cold In Place Recycling (CIR)
The Bureau implemented the CIR technology in July 2005. This all-in-one street reconstruction process allows the existing asphalt roadway to be ground up, pulverized, mixed with emulsion, and paved back in place. The benefits include a reduced number of trucks needed to reconstruct an asphalt street, reduced air emissions, a reduced dependency on virgin materials, and elimination of material taken to landfill. The cost savings have already resulted in an additional 25 miles of city streets being resurfaced.
Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement
The Bureau is an industry leader in the recycling of asphalt pavement. Over the past ten years, BSS has recycled more than 1,600,000 tons of material at a cost savings of more than $16,000,000 as part of the annual resurfacing program. The Bureau's two municipal asphalt plants are currently capable of producing mixes of up to 25% recycled materials. In addition, the Bureau's contracted vendor produces a 50% recycle mix for City use.
Slurry Seal
In 1998, BSS implemented a rubberized slurry seal program. Since this program's inception, 500,000 waste tires have been recycled. BSS is working with the vendor and the General Services Department - Standards Division to pilot and test a new rubberized slurry seal mixture, which contains reclaimed asphalt materials.
Concrete Recycling
BSS recycles 100% of concrete excavated and removed from its sidewalk reconstruction programs. Currently the material is delivered to a vendor that processes the material, which the Bureau then uses as base material in street and sidewalk reconstruction projects. As part of the 2007-08 budget, the Bureau was authorized to purchase a crusher to process and recycle the material at a significant cost savings.
Concrete forms
Form lumber is re-used as often as possible which minimizes the amount of new lumber to be purchased, thereby saving trees. In addition, reusable hard plastic or aluminum slip forms are utilized when feasible.
Contracts - Recycled Plastic & Rubber
The reuse of recyclable post consumer plastic materials is being accomplished by specifying in contract specifications that such plastic be incorporated into Bureau operations, traffic barricades, tree well grates, signs and trash receptacles. One accomplishment of note is the increase in the percentage of post-consumer recycled plastic used in the Bureau's plastic barricades and signs. The new specification calls for 100 percent recycled content.
Greenwaste Recycling
The City of Los Angeles is proud of its recycling efforts in all waste streams. The Urban Forestry Division is particularly proud of the greenwaste recycling center. The recycling center is operated jointly by UFD and the Bureau of Sanitation.
UFD annually generates thousands of tons of greenwaste in its maintenance operations. One hundred percent of the material produced by Division personnel is recycled. In addition, hundreds of tons of greenwaste generated by contractors performing street tree maintenance is recycled as well.
The City's greenwaste recycling operation is one of the largest in the world. The operation produces several types and sizes of wood materials that are utilized for different purposes.
Off Grade Gutter / Cross Gutter Repair / Replacement
Over the past two years, the Bureau has been funded to repair off-grade gutters and to construct new cross gutters with the goal of eliminating standing water problems, which may be potential sources for breeding mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus.
Catch Basin Repair
BSS is working closely with the Bureau of Sanitation to help them meet federal mandated deadlines for inserting catch basin screens, which keep trash and debris from entering the storm drain system. The Bureau of Sanitation is finding that 5-10% of catch basins are damaged beyond the point where retrofits are possible. BSS is repairing these catch basins as quickly as possible, in conjunction with Sanitation's implementation schedule.
Street Cleaning
The Bureau's fleet of motor sweepers are all currently PM 10 certified (particulate matter of size 10 microns and less - a critical air pollutant measurement). The Bureau is working very had with the General Services Department to convert the entire fleet from diesel fuel to alternative fuel (compressed natural gas) by the year 2010.
Trash Receptacles
The Bureau provides 3,000 trash receptacles within the public right-of-way in a proactive effort to reduce litter. Furthermore, BSS is in the process of replacing the existing wire baskets with larger, tamper-resistant "totter" receptacles. The Bureau also administers an Adopt-a-Basket program which provides trash receptacles to organizations that agree to maintain the receptacles and dispose of the waste in a safe and legal manner.
Weed Abatement and Illegal Dumping Cleanup and Enforcement
One of BSS' major goals is to improve and protect public health and safety as related to the existence of noxious vegetation, trash, debris and public nuisances on both privately and publicly owned parcels. The Bureau eliminates visual blight and enhances environmental safety by clearing, cleaning and removing illegally dumped material, weeds, dirt and waste from areas of the public right-of-way.
The Bureau plays a major role in environmental protection as the primary illegal dumping enforcement agency for the City of Los Angeles. The City currently spends millions of dollars yearly cleaning up illegal dumping. The Bureau of Street Services removed more than 200,000 cubic yards of illegally dumped trash during Fiscal Year 2005-2006. Beginning in January of 2003, the Bureau, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department and the City Attorney's Neighborhood Prosecutor Program, initiated a successful program to apprehend and prosecute illegal dumpers. The Program won the "Protect and Serve" category Productivity Award for 2006 for the use of Bureau Investigators to make custodial arrests and book misdemeanor illegal dumpers. This redirected the use of sworn police officers to handle more serious life threatening crimes while assuring effective enforcement of illegal dumping laws. Maximum effectiveness requires dedicated enforcement in the areas experiencing consistent illegal dumping and most frequently cleaned by city forces. To date the program has resulted in:
Tree Planting
Funding is provided for the planting of only about 4,500 trees per year by Bureau forces. The Bureau's internal goal is 5,000. With the experience and expertise of the Urban Forestry Division (UFD) workforce, several efficiencies and best practices have been learned and implemented through the years. In addition, the UFD conducts training workshops and participates in community fairs in order to get others to participate and contribute. The result is the planting of hundreds, if not thousands, of additional trees that the Bureau would otherwise not be able to accomplish.
Million Trees Los Angeles Initiative
BSS has a key leadership role in the implementation of the Mayor's Million Tree Initiative. This program will serve as a benchmark for other environmentally beneficial programs and policies leading to the goal of the "Greenest Big City in America".
Many of the one million new trees will be planted by City departments in the public right-of-way. Others will be planted throughout the City by individual volunteers, community groups, organizations, and businesses. Successful implementation will be a cooperative effort between the City of Los Angeles, community groups, businesses, and individuals working together to plant and provide long-term sustainability of one million trees planted where they're needed most.
Stormwater Diversion Pilot Projects
BSS partnered with the non-profit organization, Northeast Trees, to design and construct a pilot project to
capture and divert stormwater runoff into filtered retention basins prior to discharge into the Los Angeles River.
This "Streetends Biofiltration" project, located near the intersection of Blake Avenue and Oros Street, was recently completed and is being monitored for water quality effectiveness.
BSS is currently working with the non-profit organizations, Tree People and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, to implement another series of pilot projects on a residential street in the East San Fernando Valley area. BSS will continue to seek out these types of opportunities, given the time to help map out a reasonable design and construction schedule. | 8,725 | 3,827 | 2.279854 |
warc | 201704 | Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6474
Title: Effects of gender differences on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel rotational vibration based on a multivariate regression model Authors: Jeon, BH
Ajovalasit, M
Giacomin, J
Keywords: Perception;Sensation;Hand;Gender;Vibration;Steering;Automobile Issue Date: 2009 Publisher: Elsevier Citation: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 39(5): 736 - 743, Sep 2009 Abstract: The aims of this study were to determine equal sensation curves for hand-arm steering wheel rotational vibration and to investigate the effect of gender on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel hand-arm vibration. Psychophysical response tests of 40 participants (20 mates and 20 females) were performed using a steering wheel rotational vibration simulator using the category-ratio Borg CR10 scale procedure for direct estimation of perceived intensity. The test stimuli were sinusoidal vibrations at 22 third octave band centre frequencies in the range from 3 to 400 Hz, with acceleration amplitudes in the range from 0.04 to 27 m/s(2) r.m.s. Multivariate regression procedures were applied to the experimentally acquired data in order to establish a regression model expressing the Borg CR10 perceived intensity values as a function of the two independent parameters of the frequency and amplitude of vibration. The equal sensation curves suggested a non-linear dependency of the subjective perceived intensity on both frequency and amplitude. Females were found to provide higher Borg CR10 perceived intensity values than males (p < 0.05), particularly at the higher intensity levels above approximately 1.0 m/s(2) r.m.s and at the higher frequencies above approximately 20 Hz.Relevance to industry: For the manufacturers of steering systems and of other automobile components this study provides vibration perception curves and identifies the possible importance of gender towards the perception of vibration which arrives at the steering wheel. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Description: This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier URI: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169814109000341
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6474
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2009.02.010 ISSN: 0169-8141 Appears in Collections: Design
Publications
Dept of Design Research Papers
Items in BURA are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. | 2,631 | 1,300 | 2.023846 |
warc | 201704 | A bill the state Legislature approved this week would allow mobile home park residents who have been charged excessive water rates by their landlords to seek restitution.
The bill, which is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, stems from a 2009 complaint [PDF] filed by residents of the Sunbird Mobile Home Park in the unincorporated community of Thermal in the Eastern Coachella Valley. In their complaint to the California Public Utilities Commission, residents claimed that their water rates were extremely high and that they received contaminated water.
In some instances, the primarily low-income and farm worker residents paid nearly twice the amount for water that they paid for rent. At the time, the park's water was supplied by a well tainted with arsenic.
The utilities commission found in favor of the Sunbird residents in February and reconfigured the park’s water rates. In the meantime, the mobile home park installed an arsenic filter last year.
In July, residents began receiving their water from the water district in the nearby city of Coachella. Earlier this month, the Riverside County Environmental Health Department sent a letter to the owners of the mobile home park requesting that they destroy the well.
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In the case brought to the utilities commission, one of the residents also sought reimbursement for what he believed he had overpaid, but the commission determined that it didn’t have the legal authority to provide restitution.
“Part of the reason we were hoping the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) would award damages is because we think there’s a public policy role for creating a deterrent so that mobile home park owners are not incentivized to put in place exorbitant rates,” said Laura Massie, an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, who represented one of the Sunbird residents. The California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation sponsored the bill.
Attorneys for the mobile home park and Hawkeye Asset Management, which operates Sunbird, did not respond to a request for comment about the case. The management company also did not respond to a request for comment.
Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Indio, said the Sunbird case prompted him to sponsor the legislation, AB 1830 [PDF], “to ensure the fair application of the law related to the protections and remedies available to mobile home park residents in the case of 'unjust and unreasonable' water rates.”
“The law on privately owned wells in mobilehome parks was unclear on whether the complainants were eligible for retroactive restitution under the finding that the rates were 'unjust and unreasonable,' " Pérez said in an emailed statement. "Ultimately, the Sunbird residents, though vindicated, could not be reimbursed. It was through this situation that an inconsistency in the law became known.”
The pending bill does not apply retroactively, so the residents who made the original Sunbird complaint won’t quality for restitution if the bill passes.
“As a general rule, new laws cannot be applied retroactively," Emmanuel Martinez, a Pérez legislative aide, said in an emailed statement.
Martinez is the grandson of one of the Sunbird residents who filed the 2009 complaint with the utilities commission.
"Given this, both the Assemblyman and the Sunbird complainants wanted to create lasting change so that these remedies and protections would be available should such a situation arise for others in the future,” he wrote.
Some opponents of the bill said its passage could negatively affect those who run mobile home parks. “While the goal of AB 1830 may be admirable, the bill was poorly crafted, costly for businesses, and provided no protection for business owners from frivolous claims,” Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Hesperia, wrote in an email.
The Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association initially opposed the bill due to technical concerns about how the bill would be implemented. Following amendments to the bill, it removed its opposition.
The association's legislative advocate, Catherine Borg, said the organization never opposed the idea of restitution. “For the people we represent, we believe that they are people who do the right thing, and if people aren’t doing the right thing, there should be some kind of restitution,” she said.
Among the 30 residents who filed the complaint against Sunbird was Lucas Hernandez, a then-90-year-old retired farm worker who was forced to move because he couldn’t afford to pay his water bills, which vacillated between about $14 and $595 per month between 2006 and 2008. He was the resident who requested restitution from Sunbird as part of the complaint. Hernandez died in 2011 before the Public Utilities Commission's decision and before the bill was introduced.
Before it was connected to the nearby water district this year, Sunbird got its water from a private well that had arsenic levels that exceeded state and federal limits. It sold water to its residents using a steeply tiered rate – the more water used, the greater the cost. The first 10 cubic feet, or 750 gallons, of water each month cost 68 cents per cubic foot. Rates increased to $1.10 for the 11th cubic foot, then to $20 per cubic foot for the 12th through 16th cubic feet of use. Any use that exceeded that level cost $40 per cubic foot.
Sunbird said in documents filed with the Public Utilities Commission that the high water bills were likely the result of mobile home leaks, and it said it had to use the tiered water rates to encourage water conservation and prevent residents' aging septic tanks from overflowing.
In a March legislative briefing [PDF], the Public Utilities Commission noted that the bill might increase the number of complaints it receives from mobile home park residents. It has received at least four formal complaints since 2001.
Pérez said he does not anticipate that the bill will “spark a wave of complaints, nor do we believe that overcharging is a pervasive problem.”
“I think it’s fair to say that the types of parks that will be affected by this law will tend to be those located in rural and unincorporated areas and which tend to be inhabited by disadvantaged individuals,” he wrote in an email. “The overall issue is fairness and the equal application of the law.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association's stance on the bill after it was amended. | 6,598 | 2,887 | 2.285417 |
warc | 201704 | Through our International Project Leadership Academy (IPLA) division, Calleam is proud to offer our class dedicated to the needs of Project Sponsors. Course Outline Format : 1 day in class session The role of the Project Sponsor is among the toughest roles in today’s business world. It’s the pivotal role that sets direction, makes key strategic decisions and […]
Posts Tagged ‘Learning’
Want to develop your leadership skills? Want to get the most from yourself and your team? Want to deliver value and project results? Join us for our new leadership development program! Through our International Project Leadership Academy (IPLA) division, Calleam is proud to offer Vancouver’s only leadership program dedicated to those working in Project Leadership type roles. […]
In a nutshell: A crash course for anyone wanting to get a broad appreciation of how to plan and manage a project. Format: In-class hands-on workshop Projects are an integral part of today’s commercial, governmental and NGO organizations. Used as tools for creating new products and services, as a framework for running events and as vehicles for […]
Much like the famous twelve step program used for dealing with substance abuse, a first step in addressing the issues that lead to project failure is a willingness to admit that a problem exists. Facing up to a mistake or being willing to take ownership for events that we feel reflect poorly upon us, is […]
In project management practice retrospectives are the feedback mechanism by which lessons learned are fed back into the organization’s collective body of knowledge. In principle it’s a good idea, in practice, the sad truth is that retrospectives often achieve very little. The acid test of an organization’s retrospective process is whether or not the lessons […]
After the firefights subside and a troubled project finally draws to a close, many organizations hold an inquiry into what went wrong. In theory retrospectives help identify root causes so that subsequent projects can avoid repeating the same mistakes. In practice, despite the reviews, many organizations find they lurch off of one troubled project and […] | 2,234 | 1,089 | 2.051423 |
warc | 201704 | I admit it — strangers scare me. After all, we are taught from the time we are little not to talk to strangers. When confronted with a ragged looking beggar on the side of the road or near a store I am entering, the Christian in me and the practical in me wage an inner battle. The Christian in me encourages me to reach out and donate a dollar or two. After all, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor. That could be Him in disguise sitting by the side of the road. On the other hand, the practical in me tells me to avert my eyes or cross to the side of the road. After all, there are shelters and resources for people who are down on their luck. Giving out money only encourages them to keep begging and might put my personal safety in jeopardy. At various times, one or the other aspect of my personality will win out, often depending on the circumstances: Is it day or night? Am I alone? Whether I give or not is often in direct relation to whether I feel safe or not. If I give, I feel good for the rest of the day, but know that if my husband knew what I did he wouldn’t be happy. If I don’t, I feel guilty, but often rationalize the behavior. I still haven’t found a satisfactory solution to these encounters. Instead, I often find myself trying to avoid the places I know beggars will be. I feel much more comfortable doing my Christian service from a distance — donating food or money to a food pantry or shelter, for example.
If you are like me,
This Flowing Toward Me: A Story of God Arriving in Strangers by Sr. Marilyn Lacey will make you feel incredibly guilty, but it will also make you reflect on what it truly means to love one’s neighbor and to minister to the stranger among us. Sr. Marilyn shares her experience of having worked with refugees over the course of twenty-five years. The title, This Flowing Toward Me is a line from a poem by Rumi. It refers to the attentiveness of God which reaches out to each of us. As Sr. Marilyn states, “Not for a second has God forgotten me. . . I am in fact the guest whom God constantly welcomes.” That attentiveness invites us also to be attentive to the people we come in contact with, to be aware of the miracle that the present moment provides.
Sr. Marilyn’s journey began with a notice on a bulletin board in 1980. She was assigned to do administrative work for her religious order at their mother house. She was bored as could be. Therefore, the notice asking for volunteers to assist refugees at the airport found her in a receptive mood. She enlisted two of her friends and went to the airport to answer the call. Her job was to help refugees who had just arrived from Asia make their way to their connecting flights. She recalls the challenge of memorizing identifying numbers, finding the correct family, and then trying to help them reach their appropriate destination, navigating moving sidewalks, x-ray scanners, and indoor bathrooms, without being able to communicate in their language. This was her invitation to “step into the world of refugees.”
In
This Flowing Toward Me, Sr. Marilyn tells of her work with both Asian and African refugees. She shares how this work initially caused her to question God’s methods. How could God care and yet leave some of his children in such a condition? The refugees she had met kept reaching out to her for assistance and she felt powerless to help. And then, in a mystical moment, the answer came from God. God had not done this. Other people had done this. Injustice had done this. “God never promises to take away our pain, but rather pledges to remain close to us in the midst of it.” She tells of her own struggles with learning new languages and experiencing new foods and new customs. She is able to laugh at her own ignorance, but nothing about the refugee’s experience is funny. There is one particularly heart wrenching story from Gabriel, one of the lost boys of Sudan. He is one of the lucky ones in that he made it to America. So many others didn’t. And yet, despite all his pain and suffering, he has never given up hope, never lost his faith in God. He ends his narrative with the powerful statement, “Am I not proof that the dead do rise? Remember, I am Gabriel and I want everyone to know that my news is good.”
Sr. Marilyn wrote
This Flowing Toward Me not only to share her story, but also to help people realize the need for justice. “Works of mercy without the works of justice can never bring lasting peace. We see that millions of people become impoverished because of global imbalances and structural sins, not because of quirks of their personality or individual failings.” We need to reach out to all who cross our path, all with whom our lives intersect. Sr. Marilyn invites us to allow “our fear of strangers” to “give way to the risk of welcoming them. Each step in that direction moves our bruised and broken world closer to the day when mercy and justice shall kiss.” No one who reads This Flowing Toward Me will be able to look at strangers the same way ever again. | 5,136 | 2,411 | 2.130236 |
warc | 201704 | About CEASE Founded in Massachusetts in 1979, CEASE is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to ending animal cruelty and exploitation. Over the past several years CEASE has focused primarily on the issue of fur. CEASE raises public awareness of this issue through media campaigns and public outreach. Learn more about CEASE...
CEASE respects your privacy and will not sell, rent, swap, or share your contact information with anyone.
Contributors’ Comments on Recent CEASE Campaigns
“You guys are amazing! I love your ads, well—I don't love what is going on in the ads, the poor sweet little animals, but
I love that you are out there advertising the cruel reality of fur all over the T.”
“During the past couple of winters I was very upset about people wearing fur trim ... and I firmly believe that their eyes must be opened to the suffering they support with their purchases.
After all, it is the consumer who has the power to end the fur trade. Thank you for your efforts!”
“Thank you very much ... for your
essential work in educating those who may be kind but ignorant of atrocities toward animals.”
“...
thank you for all the work you do for the animals. Your ads on the T make my day.” “Let me commend CEASE on your great Anti-Fur campaign! The posters and banners on the Boston T are outstanding and share the message of compassion powerfully ... Thank you for your dedicated effort to end animal suffering and exploitation.”
“...I find that
supporting a local animal rights group can be more satisfying...”
“I've seen your
great ads again on the T and just made my ... donation.” Welcome to CEASE. Learn about... What You Can Do... Learn the Top Ten Easy Ways to Help Animals. Spread the word about Everyday Ways to Help Animals. Volunteer for Massachusetts organizations. Support CEASE and help fund our campaigns to stop animal suffering. Tell your friends about CEASE! We rely on contributions from caring people like you. Video
Woody Harrelson narrates this video for The Humane Society of the United States, which takes a look at the cruelty of the fur industry via the experiences of one unfortunate stuffed animal.
On New Year's Eve, 1986, CEASE walked in the First Night Parade with this banner, then held the banner in Copley Square on First Night and again on New Years Day. Now 2017 is A Year of New Hope for Animals. Whatever the outlook on the federal level, animal advocates will forge on with education, outreach, and advances with protections for animals on the local and state level. Join with CEASE in our efforts to help animals.
If anyone considering wearing fur had to personally take the scared, struggling animals from their cages on a fur farm and apply the electrocution device or snap their necks, fur fashion would quickly lose its appeal. If a prospective fur wearer had to personally dispatch an animal who was gnawing off her own leg to escape a leg hold trap, there is no fur industry propaganda that would work. Fur fashion does make a statement, and it is not a flattering one.
Movies & Books
Looking for movies and books about animal advocacy to share with your friends and family? Here are some suggestions:
The award-winning animal documentary
The Ghosts In Our Machine tells the story of the myriad ways humans exploit animals. By following the sensitive and heartfelt lens of acclaimed animal photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, the film offers an artistic balance of beauty without denying the reality of the animals’ lives. Marshall skillfully portrays a hopeful landscape of alternatives by following McArthur as she enters the worlds and souls of animals caught in the “machine” of modern life or rescued to sanctuary. is a film about factory farming. “Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.” Food, Inc.
Jonathan Safran Foer’s new bestselling book,
explores the many stories we use to justify our eating habits—folklore and pop culture, family traditions and national myth, apparent facts and inherent fictions—and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.” Eating Animals, “
See the Boston Vegetarian Society’s list of recent “environmental, health and animal documentaries that encourage veg living.” | 4,506 | 2,220 | 2.02973 |
warc | 201704 | Myoglobin structure
The first x-ray crystallographic structural results on a globular protein molecule were reported for myoglobin (Figure 2.1) in 1958, and came as a shock to those who had hoped for simple, general principles of protein structure and function analogous to the simple and beautiful double-stranded DNA structure that had been determined five years before by James Watson and Francis Crick. John Kendrew at the Medical Research Council Labora tory of Molecular Biology, in Cambridge, UK, who determined the myoglobin structure to low resolution in 1958, expressed his disappointment about the complexity of the structure in the following words "Perhaps the most remarkable features of the molecule are its complexity and its lack of symmetry. The arrangement seems to be almost totally lacking in the kind of regularities which one instinctively anticipates, and it is more complicated than has been predicted by any theory of protein structure." [c.13]
J. R. Gunn, A. Monge, R.A. Friesner and G.H. Marshall, Hierarchical algorithm for computer modeling of protein tertiary structure folding of myoglobin to 6.2A resolution, J. Phys. Ghem. 98 (1994), 702-711. [c.222]
Ideally one could determine the primary structure of even the largest protein by repeating the Edman procedure Because anything less than 100% conversion m any sm gle Edman degradation gives a mixture containing some of the original peptide along with the degraded one two different PTH derivatives are formed m the next Edman cycle and the ideal is not realized m practice Nevertheless some impressive results have been achieved It is a fairly routine matter to sequence the first 20 ammo acids from the N terminus by repetitive Edman cycles and even 60 residues have been determined on a single sample of the protein myoglobin The entire procedure has been automated and incorporated into a device called an Edman sequenator, which carries out all the operations under computer control [c.1135]
Most protein tertiary structures are determined by X ray crystallography The first myoglobin the oxygen storage protein of muscle was determined m 1957 Since then thousands more have been determined The data are deposited as a table of crystallo graphic coordinates m the Protein Data Bank and are freely available The three dimensional structure of carboxypeptidase A m Figure 27 18 for example was produced by downloading the coordinates from the Protein Data Bank and converting them to a molecular model At present the Protein Data Bank averages about one new protein structure per day [c.1146]
Most potential energy surfaces are extremely complex. Fiber and Karplus analyzed a 300 psec molecular dynamics trajectory of the protein myoglobin. They estimate that 2000 thermally accessible minima exist near the native protein structure. The total number of conformations is even larger. Dill derived a formula to calculate the upper bound of thermally accessible conformations in a protein. Using this formula, a protein of 150 residues (the approx- [c.14]
Amino acids (or strictly a-amino acids) are the building blocks of peptides, proteins, and enzymes. Some examples (alanine, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid) are shown in Figure 45.3. Peptides and proteins play key roles in most biological processes. Besides forming structural materials in animate species (hair, muscle, ligaments, etc.), other peptides and proteins and especially enzymes determine the pattern of chemical reactions in cells and mediate many other functions, such as transport and storage of nutrients, immune protection, and the control of growth. For example, hemoglobin transports oxygen in blood, and the related myoglobin transports oxygen in muscle iron is carried in blood plasma by yet another protein, transferrin ovulation is controlled by simple hormonal peptides carbohydrates are broken down into sugars by enzymes. [c.330]
Many polypeptides also assume helical structures in the crystalline state and—in equilibrium with unwound random conformations-in solution. In this case the helix is stabilized by hydrogen bonding between the N-H and 0=C groups on successive turns of the helix. Fixed bond angles and bond lengths restrict stable helices to those containing either 3.7 or 5.1 repeat units per turn. The former, commonly called the a helix, is shown in Fig. 1.10b it possesses about 18 amino acid residues in every five turns. Many globular proteins, for example, myoglobin, contain helical sections in which the helix is interrupted occasionally, the chain bends through a kink, then the helix resumes. Finally, there is the most famous helical structure of all the DNA double helix. Random coils are not without competition as the structure of polymer molecules [c.65]
The simplest approach to calculating both AG and X is to assume that the energetics of the redox site and the outer shell can be determined independently (i.e., the energies are uncoupled). Thus, as a first approximation, the change in the energy of the redox site can be calculated from quanmm mechanical calculations of analogs, and the change in the outer shell energy can be calculated from classical calculations. The coupling between the redox site and outer shell energies is through the potential energy parameters, especially the partial charges, of the redox site used in the classical calculations. Because environmental effects due to the protein and/or solvent may influence the electronic structure, a higher order approximation is to use mixed quantum-classical methods (see Chapter 11) such as are used in a study of electronic tunneling pathways in ruthenium-modified myoglobin [6] however, such calculations are not yet routine. [c.395]
[c.14]
The a helix is the classic element of protein structure. It was first described in 1951 by Linus Pauling working at the California Institute of Technology. He predicted that it was a structure which would be stable and energetically favorable in proteins. He made this remarkable prediction on the basis of accurate geometrical parameters that he had derived for the peptide unit from the results of crystallographic analyses of the structures of a range of small molecules. This prediction almost immediately received strong experimental support from diffraction patterns obtained by Max Perutz in Cambridge, UK, from hemoglobin crystals and keratin fibers. It was completely verified from John Kendrew s high-resolution structure of myoglobin, where all secondary structure is helical. [c.14]
Figure 2.9 (a) The structure of myoglobin displaying all atoms as small circles connected by straight lines. Even though only side chains at the surface of the molecule are shown, the picture contains so many atoms that such a two-dimensional representation is very confusing and very little information can be gained from it. (b-d) Computer-generated schematic diagrams at different degrees of simplification of the structure of myoglobin, [(a) Half of a stereo diagram by H.C. Watson, Prog. Stereochem. 4 299-333, 1969, by permission of Plenum Press. [c.22]
[c.33]
The first globular protein structure that was determined, myoglobin, belongs to the class of alpha- (a-) domain structures. The structure illustrated in Figure 2.9 is called the globin fold and is a representative example of one class of a domains in proteins short a helices, the building blocks, are connected by loop regions and packed together to produce a hydrophobic core. Packing interactions within the core hold the helices together in a stable globular structure, while the hydrophilic residues on the surface make the protein soluble in water. In this chapter we will describe some of the different a-domain structures in soluble proteins. [c.35]
The pairwise arrangements of the sequential a helices in the globin fold are quite different from the antiparallel organization found in the four-helix-bundle a structures. The globin structure is a bundle of eight a helices, usually labeled A-H, connected by rather short loop regions and arranged so that the helices form a pocket for the active site, which in myoglobin and the hemoglobins binds a heme group (Figure 3.10). The lengths of the a helices vary considerably, from 7 residues in the shortest helix (C) to 28 in the longest helix (H) in myoglobin. In the globin fold the a helices wrap around the core in different directions so that sequentially adjacent a helices are usually not adjacent to each other in the structure. The only exceptions are the last two a helices (G and H), which form an antiparallel pair with extensive packing interactions between them. All other packing interactions are formed between pairs of a helices that are not sequentially adjacent. Because the globin fold is not built up from an assembly of smaller motifs, it is quite difficult to visualize conceptually in spite of its relatively small size and simplicity. [c.40]
[c.45]
Fermi, G., Pemtz, M.F. Atlas of Molecular Structures in Biology. 2. Haemoglobin and Myoglobin. Oxford, [c.46]
These calculations have shown that collective movements occur on the picosecond time scale for individual residues, and in nanoseconds for loop regions. Such movements are very important for the function of many protein molecules. Reactions such as electron transfer or ligand binding and release occur on these time scales and usually require movements of protein atoms. As soon as the structure of myoglobin was determined it was immediately apparent that the static picture of the myoglobin molecule seen in the crystal did not allow oxygen atoms to enter its binding site or diffuse out. We now know that while the myoglobin molecule is breathing, pathways are opened up between the solvent and the buried binding site to allow oxygen binding or release on a time scale of nanoseconds. [c.105]
Important novel information has thus been obtained for the specific biological function of those molecules, but disappointingly few general lessons have been learned that are relevant for other membrane-bound proteins with different biological functions. In that respect the situation is similar to the failure of the structure of myoglobin to provide general principles for the construction of soluble protein molecules as described in Chapter 2. [c.247]
Since there are so few direct packing interactions between protein molecules in a crystal, small changes in, for example, the pH of the solution can cause the molecules to pack in different ways to produce different crystal forms. The structures of some protein molecules such as lysozyme and myoglobin have been determined in different crystal forms and found to be essentially similar, except for a few side chains involved in packing interactions. Because they are so few, these interactions between protein molecules in a crystal do not change the overall structure of the protein. However, [c.375]
As described in Chapter 2, the first complete protein structure to be determined was the globular protein myoglobin. However, the a helix that was recognized in this structure, and which has emerged as a persistent structural motif in the many hundreds of globular proteins determined subsequently, was first observed in x-ray diffraction studies of fibrous proteins. [c.384]
Table 5.2 gives the amino acid composition of several selected proteins ribonuclease A, alcohol dehydrogenase, myoglobin, histone H3, and collagen. Each of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids is usually represented at least once in a polypeptide chain. However, some small proteins may not have a representative of every amino acid. Note that ribonuclease (12.6 kD, 124 amino acid residues) does not contain any tryptophan. Amino acids almost never occur in equimolar ratios in proteins, indicating that proteins are not composed of repeating arrays of amino acids. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Collagen, for example, contains large proportions of glycine and proline, and much of its structure is composed of (Gly-x-Pro) repeating units, where x is any amino acid. Other proteins show unusual abundances of various amino acids. For example, histones are rich in positively charged amino acids such as arginine and lysine. Histones are a class of proteins found associated with the anionic phosphate groups of eukaryotic DNA. [c.113]
FIGURE 5.30 Inspection of the amino acid sequences of the globin chains of human hemoglobin and myoglobin reveals a strong degree of homology. The u-globin and /3-globin chains share 64 residues of their approximately 140 residues in common. Myoglobin and the u-globin chain have 38 amino acid sequence identities. This homology is further reflected in these proteins tertiary structure. (Irving Geis) [c.146]
Globular proteins exist in an enormous variety of three-dimensional structures, but nearly ail contain substantial amounts of the a-helices and /3-sheets that form the basic structures of the simple fibrous proteins. For example, myoglobin, a small, globular, oxygen-carrying protein of muscle (17 kD, 153 amino acid residues), contains eight a-helical segments, each containing 7 to 26 amino acid residues. These are arranged in an apparently irregular (but invariant) fashion (see Figure 5.7). The space between the helices is filled efficiently and tightly with (mostly hydrophobic) amino acid side chains. Most of the polar side chains in myoglobin (and in most other globular proteins) face the outside of the protein structure and interact with solvent water. Myoglobin s structure is unusual because most globular proteins contain a relatively small amount of a-helix. A more typical globular protein (Figure 6.23) is bovine ribonuclease A, a small protein (14.6 kD, 129 residues) that contains a few short helices, a broad section of antiparallel /3-sheet, a few /3-turns, and several peptide segments without defined secondary structure. [c.179]
In addition to nonrepetitive but well-defined structures, which exist in all proteins, genuinely disordered segments of polypeptide sequence also occur. These sequences either do not show up in electron density maps from X-ray crystallographic studies or give diffuse or ill-defined electron densities. These segments either undergo actual motion in the protein crystals themselves or take on many alternate conformations in different molecules within the protein crystal. Such behavior is quite common for long, charged side chains on the surface of many proteins. For example, 16 of the 19 lysine side chains in myoglobin have uncertain orientations beyond the S-carbon, and five of these are disordered beyond the /3-carbon. Similarly, a majority of the lysine residues are disordered in trypsin, rubredoxin, ribonuclease, and several other proteins. Arginine residues, however, are usually well ordered in protein structures. For the four proteins just mentioned, 70% of the arginine residues are highly ordered, compared to only 26% of the lysines. [c.182]
Special Focus Hemoglobin and Myoglobin— Paradigms of Protein Structure and Function [c.460]
Hemoglobin and Myoglobin—Paradigms of Protein Structure and Function [c.480]
Before examining myoglobin and hemoglobin in detail, let us first encapsulate the lesson Myoglobin is a compact globular protein composed of a single polypeptide chain 153 amino acids in length its molecular mass is 17.2 kD (Figure 15.23). It contains heme, a porphyrin ring system complexing an iron ion, as its prosthetic group (see Figure 5.15). Oxygen binds to Mb via its heme. Hemoglobin (Hb) is also a compact globular protein, but Hb is a tetramer. It consists of four polypeptide chains, each of which is very similar structurally [c.480]
As noted, hemoglobin is an tetramer. Each of the four subunits has a conformation virtually identical to that of myoglobin. Two different types of subunits, a and /3, are necessary to achieve cooperative Oa-binding by Hb. The /3-chain at 146 amino acid residues is shorter than the myoglobin chain (153 residues), mainly because its final helical segment (the H helix) is shorter. The a-chain (141 residues) also has a shortened H helix and lacks the D helix as well (Figure 15.28). Max Perutz, who has devoted his life to elucidating the atomic structure of Hb, noted very early in his studies that the molecule was [c.483]
In any protein structure, the segments of the polypeptide chain that cannot be classified as defined secondary structures, such as helices or sheets, have been traditionally referred to as coil or random coil. Both these terms are misleading. Most of these segments are neither coiled nor random, in any sense of the words. These structures are every bit as highly organized and stable as the defined secondary structures. They are just more variable and difficult to describe. These so-called coil structures are strongly influenced by side-chain interactions. Few of these interactions are well understood, but a number of interesting cases have been described. In his early studies of myoglobin structure, John Kendrew found that the —OFI group of threonine or serine often forms a hydrogen bond with a backbone NIT at the beginning of an a-helix. The same stabilization of an a-helix by a serine is observed in the three-dimensional structure of pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (Figure 6.25). Also in this same structure, an asparagine residue adjacent to a /3-strand is found to form FI bonds that stabilize the /3-structure. [c.181]
Figure Bl.2.10. Structure of the protohaeme unit found in haemoglobin and myoglobin.
Macromolecules in general, and proteins in particular, display a broad range of characteristic motions. These range from the fast and localized motions characteristic of atomic flucmations to the slow large-scale motions involved in the folding transition. Many of these motions, on each and every time scale, have an important role in the biological function of proteins. For example, localized side-chain motion controls the diffusion of oxygen into and out of myoglobin and hemoglobin [1]. A more extensive medium-scale structural transition is involved, for example, in the hemoglobin R to T allosteric transition, which makes it such an efficient transport agent [1]. Finally, prion proteins exliibit a global structural transition of biological importance. These proteins undergo a global transition from an a-helical structure to a predominantly (3-sheet structure, which is implicated in the onset of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) in humans and the mad cow disease in cattle (bovine spongiform encephalopathy BSE) [10]. [c.40]
One of the most important a structures is the globin fold. This fold has been found in a large group of related proteins, including myoglobin, hemoglobins, and the light-capturing assemblies in algae, the phycocyanins. The functional and evolutionary aspects of these structures will not be discussed in this book instead, we will examine some features that are of general structural interest. [c.40]
Most protein tertiary structures are determined by X-ray crystallography. The first, myoglobin, the oxygen storage protein of muscle, was determined in 1957. Since then thousands more have been determined. The data are deposited as a table of crystallographic coordinates in the Protein Data Bank and are freely available. The three-dimensional structure of carboxypeptidase A in Figure 27.18, for exanple, was produced by downloading the coordinates from the Protein Data Bank and converting them to a molecular- model. At present, the Protein Data Bank averages about one new protein strncture per day. [c.1146]
FIGURE 5.7 (a) Proteins having structural roles in cells are typically fibrous and often water insoluble. Collagen is a good example. Collagen is composed of three polypeptide chains that intertwine, (b) Soluble proteins serving metabolic functions can be characterized as compactly folded globular molecules, such as myoglobin. The folding pattern puts hydrophilic amino acid side chains on the outside and buries hydrophobic side chains in the interior, making the protein highly water soluble, (c) Membrane proteins fold so that hydrophobic amino acid side chains are exposed in their membrane-associated regions. The portions of membrane proteins extending into or exposed at the aqueous environments are hydrophilic in character, like soluble proteins. Bacteriorhodopsin is a typical membrane protein it binds the light-absorbing pigment, cis-retinal, shown here in red. [c.116]
The secondary and tertiary structures of myoglobin and ribonuclease A illustrate the importance of packing in tertiary structures. Secondary structures pack closely to one another and also intercalate with (insert between) extended polypeptide chains. If the sum of the van der Waals volumes of a protein s constituent amino acids is divided by the volume occupied by the protein, packing densities of 0.72 to 0.77 are typically obtained. This means that, even with close packing, approximately 25% of the total volume of a protein is not occupied by protein atoms. Nearly all of this space is in the form of very small cavities. Cavities the size of water molecules or larger do occasionally occur, but they make up only a small fraction of the total protein volume. It is likely that such cavities provide flexibility for proteins and facilitate conformation changes and a wide range of protein dynamics (discussed later). [c.181]
Ancient life forms evolved in the absence of oxygen and were capable only of anaerobic metabolism. As the earth s atmosphere changed over time, so too did living things. Indeed, the production of Og by photosynthesis was a major factor in altering the atmosphere. Evolution to an oxygen-based metabolism was highly beneficial. Aerobic metabolism of sugars, for example, yields far more energy than corresponding anaerobic processes. Two important oxygenbinding proteins appeared in the course of evolution so that aerobic metabolic processes were no longer limited by the solubility of Og in water. These proteins are represented in animals as hemoglobin (Hb) in blood and myoglobin (Mb) in muscle. Because hemoglobin and myoglobin are two of the most-studied proteins in nature, they have become paradigms of protein structure and function. Moreover, hemoglobin is a model for protein quaternary structure and allosteric function. The binding of Og by hemoglobin, and its modulation by effectors such as protons, COg, and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, depend on interactions between subunits in the Hb tetramer. Subunit-subunit interactions in Hb reveal much about the functional significance of quaternary associations and allosteric regulation. [c.480]
FIGURE 15.24 Detailed structure of the myoglobin molecule. The myoglobin polypeptide chain consists of eight helical segments, designated by the letters A through H, counting from the N-terminus. These helices, ranging in length from 7 to 26 residues, are linked by short, unordered regions that are named for the helices they connect, as in the AB region or the EF region. The individual amino acids in the polypeptide are indicated according to their position within the various segments, as in His F8, the eighth residue in helix F, or Phe CDl, the first amino acid in the interhelical CD region. Occasionally, amino acids are specified in the conventional way, that is, by the relative position in the chain, as in Gly. The heme group is cradled within the folded polypeptide chain. (Irving G s) [c.481]
Lysozyme is a small globular protein composed of 129 amino acids (14 kD) in a single polypeptide chain. It has eight cysteine residues linked in four disulfide bonds. The structure of this very stable protein was determined by X-ray crystallographic methods in 1965 by David Phillips (Figure 16.32). Although X-ray structures had previously been reported for proteins (hemoglobin and myoglobin), lysozyme was the first enzyme structure to be solved by crystallographic (or any other) methods. Although the location of the active site was not obvious from the X-ray structure of the protein alone. X-ray studies of lysozyme-inhibitor complexes soon revealed the location and nature of the active site. Since it is an enzyme, lysozyme cannot form stable ES complexes for structural studies, because the substrate is rapidly transformed into products. On the other hand, several substrate analogs have proven to be good com- [c.526]
See pages that mention the term
Myoglobin structure: [c.213] [c.130] [c.1148] [c.704] [c.2] [c.1148] [c.147] [c.166]
Introduction to protein structure (1999) -- [ c.384 ] | 24,580 | 9,800 | 2.508163 |
warc | 201704 | If you have paid attention to the United State’s unemployment rate you know that there are more working age adults than there are jobs. Those born into our society are forced to beg for handouts or accept whatever job is available upon graduation from high school or college. Many argue that this is a life without dignity. Some argue that the “American Dream” has turned into a gruesome nightmare. This is precisely why so many are pushing for the implementation of a universal basic income (UBI) for all working age Americans.
Why UBI Is Needed And How It Would Work
Commonly referred to as a “guaranteed minimum income”, UBI has the potential to alleviate widespread suffering while simultaneously boosting our economy. Imagine having a monthly stipend or allowance to cover the cost of food, utilities and rent in a studio apartment. Sure, it’s not a lavish lifestyle but it would be enough to live a dignified life. UBI would provide funding for each of these necessities and it would not mean an end to capitalism. Our economic system would continue onward, unchanged, except for the fact that each adult is provided with just enough money to survive in a cubby hole sized apartment. Those who desire luxury items, vacations and other niceties will still be allowed to reach for the stars, whether it is as a CEO of a business, company founder, manager, scientist, doctor, lawyer and so on. Any income earned from a job will be tacked onto one’s monthly UBI stipend that covers the cost of rent, food and utilities.
An Economic Stimulus
Those who are in favor of UBI typically argue that such a stipend would jolt the economy. Imagine if America’s poor and lower middle class suddenly had an influx of cash to spend on housing, food, utilities and other necessities. Nearly all of that money would be put directly back into the economy in the form of rent payments, supermarket purchases, utility bill payments and so on. These individuals would not be living like modern day kings and queens. Rather, they would be scraping by while pumping much needed funds into our struggling economy. This is precisely the boost that America’s economy so desperately needs as we slowly emerge from the recession.
UBI Is The “Right” Thing To Do
While UBI would likely jump start the economy, there is another strong argument in favor of such a government program. Many argue that instituting UBI is the moral thing to do. After all, nobody willingly chooses to be born on this planet. Nobody gave their consent to be a wage slave to the capitalists. No human being has ever given his consent to 45-plus years of 40-hour work weeks. It can be safely said that in the history of humanity, no single person has ever stated on his deathbed that he wishes he would have worked more. On the contrary, the average person works too many hours. Add in the fact that there are over 100 million working-age Americans currently out of work and it is easy to see why so many are pushing for UBI to passed into law.
How Long Will We Allow Technology To Displace Human Workers?
If the moral and economic arguments outlined above have not convinced you that UBI is long overdue, consider the argument adopted by progressive capitalists. These individuals subscribe to the capitalist ethos yet still favor UBI simply due to the fact that our technology is replacing human workers with automated machines. We are quickly reaching the point where the automation of workplace tasks makes the contributions of human beings unnecessary. How can an individual be blamed for his unemployment or underemployment when technological advances took away his job? As technology continues to improve, more and more human beings will be left jobless, hungry and in financial ruin. At some point, technological advances will force UBI into law so every American can live a respectable life with some comfort and dignity. | 3,945 | 1,928 | 2.046162 |
warc | 201704 | News Tribuneeditorial points out that the Pierce County Jail has some serious budget problems, and why: Those costs are expected to run $1.8 million over budget this year. Some of that may be a result of sloppy management – without an in depth analysis, there’s no way to tell. But there’s no question that some of it is being driven, as Sheriff Paul Pastor maintains, by the high cost of dealing with inmates with serious psychiatric illnesses. According to the Sheriff’s Department, which operates the jail, roughly 118 inmates with serious mental illnesses are being confined there at any given time. Some of them are housed in a section of the building that’s been turned into what amounts to a psychiatric wing. Others are held maximum security. An additional 150 or more don’t suffer from acute illnesses – but are sick enough to require psychiatric medications. The jail’s budget for mental health treatment, coincidentally, is $1.8 million.In my book My Brother Ron, I make the claim that it isn't clear that deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill actually saved any money. That was never anything but a secondary concern, anyway, but today, when I make the point that we need to be willing to spend money on mental health care, the question that I am asked is, "Where's the money going to come from?" The answer is that we are already spending the money--but not on mental hospitals, but psychiatric wards of jails and prisons, on programs to provide very temporary assistance to the mentally ill homeless, and for the small fraction who become local or national headlines, murder trials, followed by years in prison.
These other ways of spending money are generally less efficient, and often less humane than what we had before: state mental hospitals that, for all their faults, at least did not have mentally ill people freezing to death on a winter's night, or dying of pneumonia.
I would call this misallocation of resources "robbing Peter to pay Paul," but that does not capture the full horror of it. Because about 10% of murders in the U.S. are done by severely mentally ill offenders, many of whom were already known to be mentally ill, and the costs of murder trials and subsequent prison terms are long and costly, we aren't
robbingPeter to pay Paul. We are murderingPeter to pay Paul. | 2,358 | 1,203 | 1.9601 |
warc | 201704 | Donna Lamframboise has reported on one recent instance of this, captured by a writer from the New York Times, a famously leftwing paper not at all hostile to the IPCC, exposing the blatant error in this UN press release:
Andrew Revkin, who blogs about climate change for the
New York Times, is doing what an experienced beat reporter is supposed to: he’s paying close attention. In a post filed from the Cancun climate summit, Revkin notes that a draft document currently being circulated by the United Nations contains a mistake.
The document lists some basic, agreed-upon climate change facts on page four. The third point, Revkin reports, currently says that the document
3. Recognizes that warming of the climate system, as a consequence of human activity, is unequivocal, as assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change [IPCC] in its Fourth Assessment Report;Revkin correctly points out that this statement is false. In his words: The only major conclusion of the climate panel that is described as “unequivocal” is that the climate has warmed.' A nice illustration for any class discussion on the nature and intentions of the IPCC. This is by no means the only instance of this sort of thing. It supports the contention that the de facto role of the IPCC is to generate severe alarm about human influence on climate, largely via the implausible hypothesis that CO2 is a major driver of climate. Yet many might have reasonably have assumed that the role was to critically review and summarise what is known about the causes and consequences of climate variation. No such luck! | 1,616 | 864 | 1.87037 |
warc | 201704 | Freshness- Do they list the crop year or do they say that all of their beans are recent crop unless identified as aged. Do they state when they received the beans, because this will help you know how long you might be able to continue to store some at home. Do they tell you anything about how they store their beans?
Bean Details- I need more than the word "Colombian". Farm or Cooperative name, region, elevation, soil type, varietal, how processed, bean size or mixed sizes, chemical usage and amount of defect beans are all very useful bits of information.
Cupping Notes- Every coffee is unique and cupping notes can describe the individual characteristics of each coffee.
As stated by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Assoc. of America):
"Cupping is a method of systematically evaluating the aroma and taste of coffee beans. It is often used by growers, buyers and roasters to assess the quality of a particular coffee sample. Proper cupping requires the adherence to an exacting set of brewing standards and a formal step-by-step evaluation process. A trained cupper generally looks at six characteristics:
Fragrance- the smell of beans after grinding Aroma- the smell of ground-up beans after being steeped in water Taste- the flavor of the coffee Nose- the vapors released by the coffee in the mouth Aftertaste- the vapors and flavors that remain after swallowing Body- the feel of the coffee in the mouth"
www.sweetmarias.com(see "links") is an example of a *great* green coffee bean online vendor! Detailed information, quality and integrity. | 1,560 | 846 | 1.843972 |
warc | 201704 | Nov 25, 2013 |
Updated Jan 25, 2014
Lisa Greene-Lewis, CPA CPA and the TurboTax Blog Manager
'Tis the holiday season, and that means vacation time, holiday parties and, the most loaded perk, holiday bonuses. But before spending your bonus, find out how much you'll really receive after taxes are withheld. While bonuses are separate from your regular pay, the IRS still views this money as income and has special rules regarding withholding taxes on bonuses. Here's everything you need to know about how withholding taxes are calculated on your end of year bonus.
Bonuses Defined Bonuses are considered "supplemental wages" and according to the IRS, supplemental wages are defined as compensation paid in addition to the employee's regular wages that include but are not limited to things like vacation pay, overtime, moving expenses, severance pay and last but not least, bonuses. If your bonus and regular wages are specified separately and income taxes were withheld from your regular wages in the current or immediately preceding year, there are two methods used to calculate taxes withheld on a bonus, the percentage method and the aggregate method. Percentage Method - If your employer uses this method, your bonus will be taxed at a flat 25 percent rate. For example, if you receive a $5,000 bonus, $1,250 (25 percent) goes to the IRS. This method is ideal for both the employer and employee, as it is less time consuming to figure out, and may leave you with a larger post-tax bonus amount than the Aggregate Method depending on your tax bracket. Aggregate Method - If your employer uses the aggregate method, your bonus may be taxed at a higher rate since your withholdings are calculated by combining your bonus with your most recent regular wages for the pay period and using your tax rate based on information provided on your W-4 form. Tax Tip: Bonuses are included in your total income for the year and your overall tax rate is based on information you provide on your W-4 form. If your bonus
puts you in a higher tax bracket this year and you expect to make less next year, see if your employer can defer your bonus to lower your tax bill this year.
Bonus Calculator: Know Exactly What You're Getting To see how much may be withheld from your bonus this year, check out this bonus calculator. Reduce Your Current Year Taxes with Your Bonus Money If you spend your bonus on the right things, you could end up getting a tax savings to help offset the taxes withheld on the bonus income. Here are some tax benefits for using your bonus money: Retirement Savings - Use your bonus money for additional retirement plan contributions. You could do this through your 401(k) or 403(b) at work. Just make sure you get the money into your account prior to the end of the year. You can contribute up to $17,500 to your 401K ($23,000 if over 50). If you don't have an employer plan, you could make a traditional IRA contribution. With an IRA you have until the date you file your taxes to make the initial contribution, just make sure you specify what tax year it's for. Green Home Improvements - Residential energy-efficient home improvements may provide you with a tax credit of up to 30 percent of the cost of the improvements. Qualifying improvements include things like solar water heaters and solar panels. Give it Away - Giving money to a qualifying charitable organization will provide you with a tax deduction as long as you itemize deductions on your return. Make Pre-Payments - If you have a mortgage, consider making your January mortgage payment in December. This will add to the amount of mortgage interest you paid in the year. Like charitable contributions, mortgage interest is deductible if you itemize. You should also consider making your property tax payments prior to year end, as this will give you another deduction.
Do you have other questions about bonuses? Be sure to visit the TurboTax blog or leave us a comment.
Source: m.huffingtonpost.com
Category: Taxes | 4,001 | 1,803 | 2.219079 |
warc | 201704 | A growing number of schools offer master’s degree programs that can be completed entirely or mostly online through distance learning. Civil + Structural Engineer now provides the Online Graduate Degrees & Distance Learning eNewsletter for working professionals seeking to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering, structural engineering, or a related discipline.
Additionally, a number of companies and organizations offer opportunities for continuing education, obtaining credentials, and professional development.
The following schools and organizations offer online accredited master’s degree programs or resources for professional development:
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Want to earn your master’s degree from a world-class research institution, but don’t want to relocate or leave your day job? Gain specialized knowledge and experience by earning an engineering graduate degree from Case Western Reserve University – 100% online. The Case School of Engineering is now offering its industry-recognized, comprehensive master’s degrees through a specialized online program in the following disciplines: Master of Engineering, MS in Biomedical Engineering, MS in Civil Engineering, MS in Mechanical Engineering, and MS in Systems and Control Engineering. Our unique online programs allow you to earn a prestigious degree while working, letting you boost your earnings and advance your career..
Learn more today: online-engineering.case.edu
DREXEL UNIVERSITY ONLINE
Since 1891, Drexel has developed a strong reputation in engineering, science and technology for preparing students for the workforce. Drexel University’s College of Engineering offers online programs in areas including project management, electrical engineering, systems engineering, engineering management, engineering technology and construction management.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
The College of Engineering at North Carolina State University offers sixteen online master degree programs including the Masters of Civil Engineering for practicing and professional engineers. Whether you are enrolled as an on campus or online student, the academic rigor and degree requirements will be the same. The online degree program has been available to distance students since 2002 and remains one of the largest online degree programs at NC State.
NORWICH UNIVERSITY
Norwich University offers their Master of Civil Engineering (MCE) program to engineering professionals looking to advance their career. Recognized by US News & World Report as one of the best online graduate engineering programs, Norwich’s MCE program has 4 concentrations to enhance your expertise and accomplished faculty with real-world and academic experience, dedicated to helping you achieve your career goals.
Click here to learn more.
OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Old Dominion University offers a coastal engineering certificate program, providing practicing engineers the opportunity to study coastal engineering at the graduate level to help them in practice of their engineering profession. The program is offered online over the Internet, in synchronous (video streaming) mode, over a two-year period. The certificate may provide the necessary credentials for continuing education by state licensing boards and professional organizations.
Learn more about this online program.
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
The J.B. Speed School of Engineering at University of Louisville ranks as one of the best engineering schools in the U.S. Our Master’s in Civil Engineering degree is delivered 100% online and is designed for professionals who have earned a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from a regionally accredited institution. Advance your skills and expertise in various areas of civil engineering, including masonry design, traffic engineering, groundwater hydrology, wetland design, and more – without putting your life or career on hold. Our curriculum prepares the next generation of civil engineers and aligns with “Raise the Bar” Strategic Education Initiative for professional engineers. Learn more about this online program at http://uofl.me/mscecse.
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-PLATTEVILLE
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a regionally accredited university, offers a 100% online MS in Engineering. Choose a technical emphasis in Engineering Design, Applications in Engineering Management, Control (Electrical) Systems, or Structural/Geotechnical Engineering. Certificates are offered in Engineering Management, Geotechnical Engineering, Structural/Geotechnical Engineering, and Engineering Design.
$10,000 scholarships, funded by the National Science Foundation, are available! The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has educated engineers for over 150 years and has earned a national reputation as a prestigious engineering institution. | 4,939 | 2,079 | 2.375661 |
warc | 201704 | A guest post written by Graham Bothwell
On clear winter days from our kitchen window we can see the peak of Mt. San Jacinto, 70 miles away, the second-highest mountain in Southern California. Late last summer, my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary by spending the day hiking to the top of the mountain. We drove the couple of hours out to Palm Springs, and then, like most people who hike this mountain, we took the Aerial Tramway, an amazing 10-minute ride from the hot desert floor at 2,600 feet to the cool alpine forest at 8,500 feet. From there we hiked the several miles of trail to the summit at 10,800 feet. It’s not an arduous hike, but it’s reasonably steep over substantial stretches, and ends with scrambling over boulders.
After enjoying the stupendous view and after eating our lunch, we began the descent back the way we came up. Two things happened on the descent. First I found myself experiencing the unpleasant, dizzying effects of the altitude. As a child I had attended the Christian Science Sunday School, where I first learned how to pray for myself, and that has been a good starting point for relying on Christian Science over the years. And so I was able to pray about the altitude effects while continuing with the hike, and the symptoms went away before we had gone much further.
Then after a while, on the steep downhill grade, my knees began to be extremely painful, each step requiring deliberate effort. Stopping for a rest didn’t help; the pain resumed when I continued walking. In handling this prayerfully, I consciously recognized my identity, structure, and functionality as expressing the nature of divine Life, or God, not subject to any physical circumstance.
The pain went away almost immediately, although it would come back if I diverted my attention to other things. So I continued thinking prayerfully for the remainder of the hike, with no discomfort — and at the same time I enjoyed the alpine wilderness. Since then, I’ve had no repeat of the condition, even though I’ve continued hiking up and down slopes in steep terrain. As we read in the Psalms, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.”
It’s a joy to rely on my relationship with the divine. It’s not just something that involves an occasional result of chance, but a reliance on the good that is God: that is, on spiritual laws that, when understood and applied, make all the difference in our daily lives. How gratifying it is that we can use these spiritual laws to bring fast relief when faced with unpleasant situations. | 2,637 | 1,393 | 1.893037 |
warc | 201704 | Beer Cooler Sous Vide Grilled New York Strip Steaks *Or, as I like to call it, Bubba Sous Vide.
I’ve been reading about the magic of sous vide cooking for a while now. Chefs have been using the technique for years; it lets them cook food to a very specific level of doneness, using a water bath with an immersion circulator. If they want a steak cooked to perfect medium-rare, 128*F, they set the immersion circulator to 128*F, seal the steak in a vacuum bag, and put it in the water bath. The steak cooks all the way through to the temperature of the water, and stays at that temperature for as long as it is in the water. When the chef is ready to cook, they unseal the bag, sear the steak, and serve it. Voila – perfect medium rare from edge to edge.
Immersion circulators aren’t cheap; professional models are out of the price range of home cooks. (Or at least this home cook.) Sous Vide Supreme came out with a model for home cooks last year – it is tempting, but at $500, I’ve been able to resist temptation so far.
*I’d love to get one, but I couldn’t justify the $500 price tag, and the kitchen space it will use. I love my gadgets, but this seemed like a gadget too far.
Then, Kenji Lopez-Alt had a brainstorm. Instead of an immersion circulator and a vacuum sealer, he filled a beer cooler with hot water, and used a zip-top bags. The cooler traps the heat, keeping the temperature of the water steady enough to use as a sous vide water bath.
Kenji’s Beer Cooler Sous Vide was a hack worthy of McGyver, and I loved reading about it. I put it on my “I need to try that” list, and…promptly forgot about it. That is, until I went grocery shopping for Valentine’s Day dinner. My local grocery store had a great deal on thick cut New York Strip steaks. I grabbed a couple, then wondered how I could cook them to a perfect medium-rare. (Perfect medium-rare is my quest.* And it’s tough with thick cut steaks.) Kenji’s technique popped back into my head, and I knew what I had to do.
*My greatest shame is presenting my mom with a steak that is not rare. For all my skill as a cook, I have a problem with overcooking beef. What can I say? I get distracted sometimes. I was hoping a side effect of this technique would be more consistent results. It is easier to measure the temperature of a cooler full of water than it is a thin steak.
The process is simple: fill a beer cooler with water about five degrees higher than the temperature you want the steak to finish at, because the temperature will drop slightly. Season the steak, then put it in a zip-top bag, and seal the bag most of the way shut. Slowly lower the bag into the water to force out the air. Once the bag is almost all the way submerged, seal the top and close the cooler. Let the steak sit in the water bath for at least one hour, to cook all the way through to the temperature of the water.
*Timing isn’t critical – the steak can’t get hotter than the water, so it can not overcook. This is part of the beauty of the technique.
Remove the food from the bag, pat it dry, then sear on ripping high heat. I go two minutes a side, rotating 90 degrees after one minute to get a diamond pattern of browned crust on the meat. It doesn’t need any more cooking than that; it is already cooked to the doneness you want by the water bath.
Instead of searing in a fry pan, I got my grill as hot as I could, then grilled the steaks for 2 minutes a side. I had nice browning, an impressive set of diamond grill marks. And the results? Oh…the results…Ohhhh…
*Sorry, give me a moment. I’m overcome by the memory.
This was, bar none, the best thick-cut steak I’ve ever cooked. An inch and a half of perfectly pink beef from edge to edge, with a thin browned crust on the outside. Not the usual gradation of red in the middle, through shades of pink, then gray and overcooked, before getting to the brown crust. This was medium rare from one side to the other. And, tender? The long, slow cooking in the water bath leaves the juices in the meat. They don’t get squeezed out during the cooking time. The result is buttery beef, the likes of which I’ve never made before.
*I can’t wait to try this technique with prime grade beef. Or rack of lamb. Or a thick cut pork chop. Oh, and about that Sous Vide Supreme? Darn it, now I’m lusting after one.
Are you a home cook looking to try something out of the ordinary? Have you been on a quest for a perfectly cooked piece of beef? You have to try this out. Thank you, Kenji!
Cook time: 1 hour water bath, 4 minutes on the grill
Equipment: Grill (I used my Weber Summit. Here is the current version of my grill.) Large cooler (At least 2 gallons capacity; more is better) Quart sized zip-top bags Ingredients: 2 thick-cut New York Strip Steaks (at least 1 1/2 inches thick) 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper Directions: 1. Cook the steaks in the beer cooler water bath: Fill a large cooler with 132*F water. (I fill the cooler most of the way with hot tap water, then add boiling water until I get to 132*F). Sprinkle the steaks evenly with the salt and pepper. Put each steak int its own zip-top bag. One at a time, slowly lower the bags into the water, letting the water push the air out of the bag and seal itself around the steak. When the bag is submerged to the level of the zip, seal the bag, then let it sink into the water. Close up the cooler and cook the steak in the hot water bath for at least an hour. *If you are cooking for more than two hours, check the water temperature and add boiling water occasionally to keep the temperature between 125*F and 130*F.
2. Prepare the grill: Set the grill up for cooking at high heat; as high as you can get it. For my Weber Summit, I turn all the burners to high, let the grill preheat for 15 minutes, then brush the grate clean with my grill brush. 3. Sear the steaks: Remove the steaks from the zip-top bags, and pat them completely dry. Put the steaks over the highest heat part of the grill, and cook for two minutes, rotating 90 degrees after one minute to make a cross-hatched pattern on the steaks. Flip the steaks and cook for another two minutes, rotating 90 degrees after one minute. Remove the steaks to a platter, and rest for ten minutes before serving.
Notes: *I cooked these steaks on my gas grill because my charcoal grill (and deck) are covered with mix of snow and ice that I haven’t been able to break through. I would much rather use charcoal for my searing; the high, dry heat of charcoal will brown the meat much better than gas. I’m going to use a full chimney of charcoal, piled two coals deep over half my charcoal grate to create a very high heat searing zone.
*February in my house can’t be described as warm, which gave me a couple of obstacles to overcome. The hottest water from my tap was only 115*F, so I added boiling water to bring the temperature up. (Luckily, my electric kettle boils water very quickly.) My house was also very cold; according to my Thermapen, the air temperature in my kitchen was 62*F. I did a dry run (wet run?) with the cooler and two gallons of water, and the temperature dropped ten degrees in two hours. I added a lot more water the second time around, filling the cooler completely, and trusted the extra thermal mass to keep the temperature up. I started the steaks in 133*F water; after an hour and a half the water was down to 126*F. I think the water bath can hold the steaks longer in the summer; in the winter I would be ready to grill after no more than an hour of cooking in the water bath.
*Another advantage to this technique is the brining effect, caused by seasoning the steaks before they are cooked in the water bath. I forgot the pepper – these steaks were just beef and salt, but they were seasoned all the way through.
*I’m really excited by this technique. Can you tell? I thought this would be a cute trick, something to try once; instead, I’ve been thinking about these steaks ever since I ate one, and I can’t wait to try this again.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below. *Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe using your RSS reader or by Email, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you! | 8,495 | 3,720 | 2.283602 |
warc | 201704 | If you have sensitive skin year-round, you know how rough the winter months can be. If you have dry skin, it can be frustrating to find products that work without spending a fortune or worrying about harmful side effects.
I’ve struggled with hyper-sensitive skin all my life. I’ve invested thousands of dollars in fancy creams and ointments because my face is my calling card to the world.
Symptoms of dry skin include irritation, inflammation, tightness, itchiness, flaking or scaling, fine lines, redness, and increased sensitivity. From acne to dryness to splotches – it’s shown on my face at one time or another and I’m self-conscious when I don’t look my best.
Unfortunately, most products I’ve tried are ineffective and some have even worsened my existing problems. All hype, no substance.
A few years ago, I started trying natural alternatives for skin care. I love finding natural options that don’t break the bank and give me measurable results.
The answer for your dry skin may lie in your pantry. Some of these methods have been around for centuries and people still use them today because they’re more effective than you’ll believe until you try them yourself.The answer for dry skin just may lie in your pantry! #NaturalSkinCareClick To Tweet
Top 3 Causes of Dry Skin Top 3 Causes of Dry Skin Aging:Your body changes over time and your skin is no exception. The production of natural oils that hydrate the skin diminishes as does your ability to regenerate fresh skin cells. Weather and environment:Excessive UV exposure, extreme cold, and wind speed up skin dehydration as does artificial heating and cooling. Lifestyle:There are two extremes to lifestyle causes of dry skin. The first is excess: too many processed foods, alcohol, and smoking. The second is deprivation: not having enough of the essential fatty acids and nutrients your body needs to stay healthy and hydrated. Treating your body right or wrong translates to your face.
To get your skin back on track, you need the right nutrients. Your skin is your body’s first line of defense against pollution, weather, and dirt. Treating from the inside out creates a level of protection for your skin that will make it more resilient.
The right foods, especially those rich in vitamins A, C, and E, will boost your natural production of collagen and oils to return moisture and suppleness to your skin. Drinking plenty of pure water will give your body immediate hydration.
There is no dispute that
diet is critical to skin health.
I know you want results now and changing your diet and lifestyle habits is a gradual process – it will take several weeks before you begin to see and feel the changes they make on your skin.
There’s a faster solution. Take those
natural ingredients your body is starving for and use them topically. That’s right…eat them and wear them. Attack your dry skin problems from both fronts! Facial Masks and Natural Cleansers for Dry Skin Facial Masks and Natural Cleansers for Dry Skin 1. Honey has been used for millennia to aid wound healing. It’s naturally antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic qualities made it a medical miracle in ancient times. It helps your skin retain water, mimicking the effects of a synthetic moisturizer without the cost or side effects. Apply directly to your skin and rinse with warm water after 15 minutes. It will give you a boost you didn’t know you needed! 2. Olive oil is cheap and effective. Used on the skin and scalp, your body will soak it up ravenously and use it to repair dry and damaged skin. Apply gently to dry skin and allow to sit for 5 minutes before rinsing gently with warm water and blotting dry. You’ll feel as though you’ve been to the spa. 3. Avocado is one of the most incredible antioxidants for your body and one of the least known. Puree the meat of an avocado with a bit of lemon juice and spread evenly on your face. Leave for 15 minutes and rinse with cool water for smooth, supple skin. It’s a natural moisturizer proven to reverse the signs of sun damage.
4. Green tea works as a natural sunscreen without the harmful side effects of chemicals. Apply a soft cloth soaked in cooled green tea and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Your skin will absorb it greedily.
Green tea works as a natural sunscreen without the harmful side effects of chemicals.Click To Tweet
5. Coconut oil acts a safe and gentle cleanser for your face while providing desperately needed hydration for dry skin. It’s able to remove dirt and harmful oil without damaging the new skin underneath. 6. Licorice root has anti-inflammatory properties that have been used by Asian culture for centuries. It is now being used in various cosmetics due to its proven effect against rosacea, dermatitis, psoriasis, and skin eruptions including cankor sores. Various research studies also show it to be anti-allergic, anti-viral, and antibacterial.
If you have problems with sensitive or dry skin, be careful about how you treat your face. It might seem like common sense to use hot water and soaps to “scare away” whatever issues you’re dealing with but fight that urge.
Stick with cool or lukewarm water on your skin, avoid harsh soaps (especially those with added deodorizers), be gentle while washing, always rinse sweat away as soon as possible, and protect your face from the sun with a natural sunscreen.
You can fight dry skin…naturally and effectively…and then eat your products.
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Discover how to detox and protect the most vital body system you usually ignore…with scientifically proven 10-minute “bio-hacks.” | 5,886 | 2,723 | 2.161586 |
warc | 201704 | Peer Wilby in New Statesman:
"Politicians now frequently quote research showing that, by 22 months, it is too late for many children because their development has already fallen far behind that of their peers in middle-class homes. This finding, shocking as it is, misses the bigger picture. As [Leon] Feinstein reports, even those children from the lowest socio-economic groups who are doing well at 22 months then tend to fall back relative to other children. The process continues throughout childhood, and it operates both ways: the initially low-achieving middle-class children improve their position, while the position of the high-achieving working-class children declines....
In other words, during their school years, children's performance, far from being equalised, is aligned more closely with their social origins. This might seem a depressing conclusion, but Feinstein argues it needn't be. As he puts it, children's educational development is 'malleable', and if everyone were more aware of that, we might make more progress in equalising opportunities....
Working-class children fall behind because their homes - however loving and well-intentioned - don't and often can't provide the same support for formal learning as more affluent homes. Given there's a limit to how much we can change the homes, we may have to consider changing schools, and the way they treat children and parents, more radically than we have done so far."
The rest is here. | 1,471 | 796 | 1.84799 |
warc | 201704 | A tobacco vaporizer is a great alternative to smoking. Instead of burning the tobacco that generates toxic and carcinogenic byproducts, this vaporizer heats the tobacco in a partial vacuum such that the active compounds boil off into a vapor containing almost no particulate matter. Also, the vapor contains far less amount of carbon monoxide. As there is no combustion involved in the working of tobacco vaporizers, there is almost no production of smoke.
Those who relish the taste and aroma of tobacco will enjoy vaporizing this herb as an alternative to smoking. During smoking, tobacco is burned and this generates tar and other toxins that prove really harmful to the health. Thus, a tobacco vaporizer is a healthier alternative because the herbs are heated to the point just below combustion, hence no burning occurs. The active ingredients in the tobacco convert into a vapor and could be easily inhaled.
A number of cigarette smokers find this habit to be filthy as the smoke penetrates their clothing and even stains the walls of their homes. On the other hand, tobacco vaporizer does not generate smoke, thus the vapor is pure and it does not dirty the atmosphere. Besides, as the tobacco is not burned, there is very less wasted herb. You could enjoy the pure essence of the herb, keep fit as well as save money because you will use less tobacco for the same level of satisfaction!
Using a tobacco vaporizer is a slower and more relaxing process in comparison to cigarette smoking. This is because you will first need to grind the herbs or buy a bag of loose tobacco, then wait for the vaporizer to heat up, and then finally load your herbs and allow them to vaporize. As the process is time consuming, you will vaporize less frequently than smokers and also use less amount of tobacco.
So, with tobacco vaporizers, you will be able to relax and enjoy the aroma of this herb without any guilt as you will not be harming your lungs and other components of your respiratory system with tar and carcinogens that are generated in smoking. These vaporizers are available in a variety of styles and designs. Some of these vaporizers have a digital heat control that sets the temperature to the exact temperature as needed. | 2,234 | 1,020 | 2.190196 |
warc | 201704 | 1.
Bird guides once listed the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler as distinct species that lived side by side in parts of their ranges. However, recent books show them as eastern and western forms of a single species, the yellow-rumped warbler. Apparently, the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler _____. (p. 465)
live in the same areas
successfully interbreed and produce fertile offspring
are almost identical in appearance
are merging to form a single species
live in different places
2.
According to the "biological species" concept, what is a species? (p. 465)
a population that interbreeds and produces fertile offspring
a population that is physically able to mate even if there are no offspring or the offspring is infertile
a population with a distinct fossil record
a clone of genetically identical organisms
a cluster of organisms that have a lineage of descent
3.
Imagine a scenario in which part of a population of South American finches is blown by a storm onto an island far offshore and manages to survive and reproduce there for a period of 10,000 years. After that period, a climate change results in lower sea levels and the reconnection of the island with the mainland. Members of the formerly isolated island finch population can now interact freely with members of the original mainland population. Which of the following observations would, by itself, lead you to conclude unequivocally that the island finch population had evolved into a distinct species? (p. 467)
The island birds all have red feathers, but the mainland birds have only green feathers.
Individuals from the different populations sometimes mate with each other, but all of the resulting eggs are sterile.
Individuals from the different populations seem to mate freely with each other, and the resulting offspring mate freely with either island birds or mainland birds.
Individuals from the different populations feed on the same kinds of seeds in the same habitats and frequently direct courtship behavior toward members of the other population.
Hybrid offspring of matings between individuals from the two populations do not look like either parent.
4.
Which one of the following conditions is necessary for speciation to occur? (p. 465)
reproductive isolation
sympatric allopatry
adaptive radiation
mass extinction
interbreeding among neighboring populations
5.
For which one of the following groups would the biological definition of species be LEAST useful? (p. 468)
elephants
pine trees
mosses
mushrooms
asexually reproducing organisms
6.
According to the "biological species" concept (that is, our definition of "species"), members of different species _____. (p. 465)
look different from each other
live in different geographic areas
do not mate successfully under natural conditions
speak different languages
belong to different political parties
7.
Each species has a closed gene pool because _____. (p. 465)
no gene lifeguard is on duty
each parent contributes only half of each offspring's genes
each species is reproductively isolated
different species can interbreed freely
lions and tigers can hybridize in captivity
8.
The biological species concept CANNOT be applied to organisms that _____. (p. 468)
have similar phenotypes
breed in different habitats
reproduce only asexually
are sympatric
all of the above
9.
Imagine that part of a population of flies is blown from the California coast to an offshore island. The island flies have no contact with the mainland flies for 10,000 years. Then an earthquake rearranges the landscape and the island is rejoined to the mainland. The former island flies can now mingle freely with the mainland flies. If attempts at mating between flies from the two groups are successful and the resulting baby flies grow up strong and healthy and have offspring of their own, you could conclude that _________. (p. 465)
over the past 10,000 years, a single species had split into two species
over the past 10,000 years, effective isolating mechanisms had evolved
over the past 10,000 years, no speciation occurred in these flies
there is insufficient information available to determine how many species of flies are now present
flies will mate no matter what
10.
Lake Victoria, in Africa, is home to a group of related fishes known as cichlids. Many of these fishes are similar in appearance but have different feeding habits. What is the best method for scientists to determine conclusively whether the fish are members of a population that has a lot of variation or members of entirely different species? (p. 465)
interbreeding them to see if they produce fertile offspring
studying the fossil record
sequencing DNA, because the DNA of members of the same species should be identical
doing studies on comparative anatomy, especially looking for homologous structures
all of these must be done to determine if a single population or different species are present
11.
Three species of frogs—
Rana pipiens, Rana clamitans, and Rana sylvatica—all mate in the same ponds, but they pair off correctly because they have different calls. This is a specific example of a _____ barrier, called _______ . (p. 466)
prezygotic barrier ... behavioral isolation
postzygotic ... hybrid breakdown
prezygotic ... temporal isolation
postzygotic ... behavioral isolation
prezygotic ... gametic isolation
12.
Which of the following reproductive barriers actually prevents individuals of different species from mating with each other? (p. 466)
hybrid inviability
hybrid sterility
gametic isolation
hybrid breakdown
behavioral isolation
13.
Bullock's oriole and the Baltimore oriole are closely related, but are they of the same species? To find out, you could see whether they _____. (p. 465)
sing similar songs
look alike
live in the same areas
have the same number of chromosomes
successfully interbreed
14.
Sometimes two quite different populations interbreed to a limited extent, so that it is difficult to say whether they are clearly separate species. This does not worry biologists much because it _____. (p. 470)
is quite rare
is true for almost every species
supports the theory of punctuated equilibrium
may indicate that the formation of a new species is in progress
happens only among plants, not among animals
15.
Two species of water lilies in the same pond do not interbreed because one blooms at night and the other during the day. The reproductive barrier between them is an example of _____. (p. 466)
temporal isolation
gametic isolation
mechanical isolation
hybrid breakdown
ecological isolation
16.
Which of the following is an example of a postzygotic reproductive barrier? (p. 467)
One species of frog mates in April; another mates in May.
Two fruit flies of different species produce sterile offspring.
The sperm of a marine worm penetrate eggs of the same species only.
One species of flower grows in forested areas, another in meadows.
Two pheasant species perform different courtship dances.
17.
Which of the following is an example of a postzygotic reproductive barrier? (p. 467)
One Ceanothus shrub lives on acid soil, another on basic soil.
Mallard and pintail ducks mate at different times of the year.
Two species of leopard frogs have different mating calls.
The hybrid offspring of two species of jimsonweeds always die before reproducing.
Pollen of one kind of tobacco cannot fertilize another kind.
18.
Individuals of different species living in the same area may be prevented from interbreeding by responding to different mating dances. This is called _____. (p. 466)
habitat isolation
hybrid breakdown
mechanical isolation
temporal isolation
behavioral isolation
19.
There are two groups of pine trees that appear to be very similar phenotypically and genotypically. However, one releases pollen in January, when the female structures of that group are receptive, and one in March. What kind of reproductive barrier is this? (p. 466)
temporal isolation
gametic isolation
mechanical isolation
hybrid inviability
a geographic barrier
20.
Which of the following is an example of mechanical isolation? (p. 466)
A mule, the offspring of a horse and a donkey, is sterile.
A sponge excretes eggs and sperm into the water, but only gametes from the same species will fertilize each other.
A female moth produces a pheromone to which male moths are indifferent.
Salamanders living in high mountain streams do not mate with salamanders living in valley streams.
none of the above
21.
Which of the following is NOT an example of a postzygotic barrier? (p. 467)
A hybrid fails to reach sexual maturity.
A hybrid fails to develop.
A hybrid fails to produce functional gametes.
The offspring of hybrids are infertile.
The two populations live in the same general area but not the same type of environment.
22.
At which point in the adaptation of a population is it clear that speciation has occurred? (p. 466)
gene pool changes adapt a population to a local environment
gene pool changes establish reproductive barriers between two populations
an allopatric separation occurs
hybrid inviability occurs
all of the above
23.
Three or four of the following conditions may lead to reproductive isolation between two species of similar physical appearance. Which one, if any, will NOT lead to reproductive isolation? If all the conditions will lead to reproductive isolation, choose answer (5). (p. 466)
Their geographic ranges do not overlap.
The mating behaviors of the two species are very different.
The gametes of the two species do not form a viable zygote when combined.
They have different habitat preferences.
All of the above conditions will lead to reproductive isolation.
24.
Which one of the following is NOT an example of a prezygotic isolating mechanism? (p. 466)
different courtship behaviors between two individuals
spontaneous abortion of an embryo
a geographic barrier between two organisms
incompatible sex organs between two individuals
being reproductively active during different seasons
25.
According to the fossil record, what is the average length of time that successful species survive? (p. 476)
3 billion years
50,000 years
250,000 years
5million years
20 million years
26.
Lake Malawi, in the African Rift Valley, is home to more than a hundred species of cichlid fishes, each with slightly different diets and habits. All these fishes probably evolved from one ancestor, making them an example of _____. (p. 474)
sympatric speciation
hybrid breakdown
adaptive radiation
gradualism
punctuated equilibrium
27.
Biologists have found more than 500 species of fruit flies on the various Hawaiian Islands, all apparently descended from a single ancestor species. This example illustrates _____. (p. 471)
polyploidy
temporal isolation
adaptive radiation
hybrid breakdown
meiotic failure
28.
Speciation is likely to occur in a population that has become allopatric if _____. (p. 469)
both gene pools are large and exhibit sufficient diversity of alleles
it is a species of plant only; allopatric speciation does not occur in animals
at least one of the gene pools is small
nonrandom mating does not occur
some individuals live in fresh water while others remain on land
29.
Which of the following organisms is most likely to be subject to allopatric speciation? (p. 469)
whales of the same species on each side of the ocean
pine trees in Alaska and pine trees in New Brunswick
mountain lions in the canyons of Wyoming and in the canyons of Utah
fruit flies on bananas and fruit flies on oranges
bacteria in a hospital and bacteria in a nursery
30.
Which of the following is NOT an example of adaptive radiation? (p. 470)
bony fish fitting into all areas of the ocean and fresh water
insects adapting to every land environment
speciation of finches into each Galápagos island environment
the few species of roundworms existing virtually everywhere in the world
placental mammals replacing reptiles and earlier mammals in their niches
31.
According to the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution _____. (p. 475)
the tempo of evolution comprises abrupt episodes of speciation among long periods of equilibrium
isolated species changing over a few thousand generations represent graduated equilibrium, not punctuated equilibrium
polyploidy is not a mechanism of punctuated equilibrium
intermediate forms do not leave fossil records
none of the above
32.
The existence in North America of numerous "species pairs" of similar but distinct species with distinct geographic ranges is taken to be indirect evidence of _____. (p. 469)
numerous sympatric speciation events
numerous allopatric speciation events
numerous saintpatric speciation events
rapid phyletic (within lineage) change
panmixia
33.
In which of the following groups has sympatric speciation been most important? (p. 473)
animals
plants
bacteria
fungi
protozoa
34.
Sympatric speciation by polyploidy was first discovered in the early 1900s by which of the following? (p. 473)
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Charles Darwin
Richard Dawkins
Hugo de Vries
Oenothera lamarckiana
35.
Which of the following is NOT a probable event in the evolution of a polyploid species? (p. 473)
hybridization of the two parent species
failure of meiosis in the resultant hybrid
sterility of triploid individuals
gametes forming by mitosis
mutation of cell cycle genes
36.
Which of the following important crops is NOT polyploid? (p. 473)
cotton
wheat
peas
oats
potatoes
37.
Which one of the following conditions could, by itself, allow a polyploid mutant plant to give rise to new species? (p. 473)
The polyploid individual can self-fertilize to produce fertile, polyploid offspring.
The polyploid individual fails to reproduce.
The polyploid individual is larger and more vigorous than its parents.
The polyploid individual is on an isolated island.
The polyploid individual has diploid siblings.
38.
If a new species of plant is to be produced by means of allopolyploidy from two parental species that are 2
n = 4 and 2 n = 8, how many chromosomes would you expect in the somatic cells of the new species? (p. 473)
6
12
24
48
none of the above
39.
A new species can arise in a single generation _____. (p. 473)
through geographic isolation
in a very large population spread over a large area
if a change in chromosome number creates a reproductive barrier
if allopatric speciation occurs
according to the gradualist model of speciation
40.
Comparison of fossils with living humans seems to show that there have been no significant physical changes in
Homo sapiens in 30,000 to 50,000 years. What might an advocate of punctuated equilibrium say about this? (p. 475)
It is about time for humans to undergo a burst of change.
That is about how long we have been reproductively isolated.
It is impossible to see major internal changes by looking at fossils.
You would expect lots of changes in the skeleton in that time period.
Lack of change is consistent with the punctuated equilibrium model.
41.
What is the major problem that biologists see in the gradualist model of evolution? (p. 475)
Big changes could never occur by a steady accumulation of smaller ones.
Populations do not adapt to the environment gradually.
Most fossil species appear suddenly in the fossil record without transitional forms.
This model does not fit Darwin's view of the origin of species.
Gradual changes would not be expected to be observed in rock strata. | 15,640 | 5,893 | 2.653996 |
warc | 201704 | Women: Pakistan’s second-class citizens By Sabina KhanPublished: July 31, 2013 The writer has a master’s degree in conflict-resolution from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California and blogs at Coffee Shop Diplomat | Blog, pics & articles Women in Karak have been prohibited from leaving their homes without a mahram due to the reason that they spread vulgarity and distract men during the holy month. Perhaps, a better way of ensuring that these weak-willed men stay chaste would be for the primitives to blindfold themselves and stay in their homes. Evidently, women do not suffer from any such inclinations when they head out to the store to purchase groceries; it is only the men who become overwhelmed by uncontrollable urges. It makes perfect sense that they should also be the ones to take precautions. The Constitution of Pakistan ensures equal rights for all, but women are still treated as second class citizens and their space is severely restricted in the rural areas each day. Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head for trying to pursue an education, rape victims are treated as adulterers and girls dancing in the rain in their own home are murdered because their video brought dishonour to their step-brother. Why is the honour of men so fragile and so easily undermined? Many women, who have had acid thrown on their faces, somehow find the will to carry on. Over the years, we have allowed our values to be subverted by Middle Eastern culture, which is brought over from Pakistanis working in the region. While driving through Skardu last year, I saw several signs stating “dear sisters, hijab is our culture. Be considerate so that you are respectedâ€. Hijab has never been a part of our culture; women who observe purdah have traditionally worn a chador. If women choose not to wear the hijab, niqab, burqa or chador, then that is their choice and should be respected. The flawed logic of comparing women with diamonds does not make sense either. No, women are not just pretty things that need to be hidden away and protected. They are human beings who deserve an equal chance just like men to live a self-sufficient life. Society needs to understand that women are not asking to be raped if they step out of the house to go to university or work. Patriarchal societies condone oppression of women for childish reasons, such as the unwillingness to accept a proposal rejection and the possibility of living side by side with a successful independent wife instead of ruling over a subservient child-bearer. In the long term, education is, of course, key to reversing the damage caused by religious charities in Pakistan funded by certain overseas countries. However, that remains an out of reach dream at the moment since Pakistan’s legislation is determined by a set of officials who themselves have fake degrees. Despite numerous challenges, women have recently made strides in Pakistan. The first female jirga in Swat is a recent step in the right direction. Women have joined the Pakistan Army, Air Force and also climbed Mount Everest. Although the Burqa Avenger’s costume has received a mixed reaction, there is even a new female superhero on the scene to save girls’ education. However, this is just the beginning; ultimately, Pakistanis need to decide if they are going to be governed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which grants equal rights to everyone or by the will of illiterate clerics and whatever fantasy laws they whip up. If the government remains silent and no action is taken to correct this dysfunction, then there is a risk that ignorance will spread to less affected urban areas. Nothing is static. We’re either advancing as a nation or slowly devolving into intolerant subcultures. Having lived in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, my vision of a modern Pakistan does not include a man followed at four paces by his wives draped in black with nothing but a slit for their eyes. Pakistani women may be irresistible beauties, but they have contributions to offer to society, many are well-educated and it would be a loss for the nation to hide them away like second-rate citizens. Women: Pakistan’s second-class citizens – The Express Tribune | 4,358 | 2,138 | 2.038354 |
warc | 201704 | Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology | Evolution | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the evolutionary importance and taxonomic distribution of euryhalinity. Euryhalinity refers to broad halotolerance and broad halohabitat distribution. Salinity exposure experiments have demonstrated that species vary tenfold in their range of tolerable salinity levels, primarily because of differences in upper limits. Halotolerance breadth varies with the species’ evolutionary history, as represented by its ordinal classification, and with the species’ halohabitat. Freshwater and seawater species tolerate brackish water; their empirically-determined fundamental haloniche is broader than their realized haloniche, as revealed by the halohabitats they occupy. With respect to halohabitat distribution, a minority of species (<10%) are euryhaline. Habitat-euryhalinity is prevalent among basal actinopterygian fishes, is largely absent from orders arising from intermediate nodes, and reappears in the most derived taxa. There is pronounced family-level variability in the tendency to be halohabitat-euryhaline, which may have arisen during a burst of diversification following the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction. Low prevalence notwithstanding, euryhaline species are potent sources of evolutionary diversity. Euryhalinity is regarded as a key innovation trait whose evolution enables exploitation of new adaptive zone, triggering cladogenesis. We review phylogenetically-informed studies that demonstrate freshwater species diversifying from euryhaline ancestors through processes such as landlocking. These studies indicate that some euryhaline taxa are particularly susceptible to changes in halohabitat and subsequent diversification, and some geographic regions have been hotspots for transitions to freshwater. Comparative studies on mechanisms among multiple taxa and at multiple levels of biological integration are needed to clarify evolutionary pathways to, and from, euryhalinity.
Recommended Citation
Schultz, Eric T. and McCormick, Stephen D., "Euryhalinity in an Evolutionary Context" (2013).
EEB Articles. 29. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/eeb_articles/29 | 2,254 | 1,152 | 1.956597 |
warc | 201704 | Title
Market Reform and the Expansion of China’s Moral Horizon
Document Type
Article
Abstract
In this paper, I will examine the transformation of the Chinese moral universe as it is reflected in their changing evaluation of occupational prestige. The first study took place, in 1983, during the height of Chinese socialism in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (IMAR). A follow-up study was conducted in 1987 at the beginning of the urban China's market reforms. The third and substantially larger survey (n= 844) was conducted in 2000 in two separate cities (e. g., Hohhot and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, in Southwest China) when the work unit system was a secondary, albeit still significant, player in the urban economy. In all the studies I was not interested in understanding the Chinese perception of occupational prestige per se. Rather I wanted to know which cultural principles shaped their perception in ranking an occupation as having more or less esteem. Special attention has been given to analyzing the way Chinese place themselves conceptually into hierarchies of social standing, which is the basis for ascribing social prestige. By exploring the cultural principles that frame the urban Chinese perception of social hierarchy, I will show that the Chinese conceptual order expanded from one2 organized in 1983 around four distinct cultural principles: (extraordinary administrative authority/no administrative authority, academic knowledge/ignorance and the genteel /the crude) had incorporated, by 1987, a new principle: money/no money. The 2000 occupational survey added one additional cultural principle: beneficial /not beneficial for national well being. The emergence of this new principle did not, however, eliminate or undermine the importance of the others. Yet it did add an additional criterion to the mix of the evaluative continuum. The emergence of these new principles constitutes a fundamental shift in our understanding of how present-day Chinese regard their place in society and in the world. The implications of this finding for understanding contemporary China as well as debates over the meaning of social hierarchy, nationalism, and altruistic behavior (Uzelac 2001) will be further explored. The shift in cultural logic altered the way urbanités perceive their relative social standing. In probing the motivation for the new rankings, what is revealed is a profound transformation in Chinese social and moral consciousness.
Disciplines
Anthropology | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social and Cultural Anthropology
Permissions
Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.
Citation Information
Jankowiak, W. R. (2004). Market Reform and the Expansion of China’s Moral Horizon.
Journal of Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, 33(2-4), 167-210. | 3,144 | 1,565 | 2.008946 |
warc | 201704 | One question stuck out to me - whether telcos still "own" the user's addressbook and process of initiation of personal communications. The consensus in the room was that operators still have a couple of years' window, before they risk losing control of the much-discussed "social graph". (I actually hate the term, but agree with the general idea that it's valuable to understand an individual's affiliations and personal universe).
By coincidence, I happened to read this article about youths' behaviours on Facebook this morning. This paragraph leapt out to me:
I asked Shamika why she bothered with Facebook in the first place, given that she sent over 1200 text messages a day. Once again, she looked at me incredulously, pointing out that there’s no way that she’d give just anyone her cell phone number. Texting was for close friends that respected her while Facebook was necessary to be a part of her school social life. And besides, she liked being able to touch base with people from her former schools or reach out to someone from school that she didn’t know well.
This actually tallies with my own use of social networks - I've only got a small fraction of my Facebook and LinkedIn affiliations in my mobile phone's addressbook. And I wouldn't want the others included - especially those affiliations which are not people (events, groups, fan pages, things I "like" and so on).
Even if I had some telco-based cloud addressbook, it would only reach a fraction of my personal or business universe. An increasing percentage of my communications are conducted "off-phonebook", especially on Facebook or Skype, but also via Twitter and various email accounts. As I've written before, I have no need for some sort of converged addressbook, especially one controlled by a gatekeeper who wants to charge me for the privilege, and use its bottleneck position to stop me churning when I want in future. The notion that this is somehow going to be solved by clunky centralised solutions like IMS and RCS is an exercise somewhere between self-delusion and wishful thinking.
I notice that Telco 2.0 has also published this post on the role of operators in understanding and monetising personal information. My view is that they have three uphill challenges:
The growing fraction of personal communications & data that it invisible to the operators The general happiness of end-users with fragmentation of their contacts / affiliations and communication channels. The "convergence layer" is in the brain, not the phone or the network. As increasingly multi-tasking capable users, this is not a problem to many of us. The poor structuring and accessibility of the data that they *do* possess, spread across multiple databases and repositories.
If the semi-mythical "social graph" does turn out to exist, it's more likely to be Facebook, Google or Apple that owns it, at least in the developed and Internet/smartphone-centric world. | 2,963 | 1,515 | 1.955776 |
warc | 201704 | 1 Making the most of agricultural investment: A survey of business models that provide opportunities for smallholders Sonja Vermeulen and Lorenzo Cotula Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty
2 Making the most of agricultural investment: A survey of business models that provide opportunities for smallholders Sonja Vermeulen and Lorenzo Cotula
3 Making the most of agricultural investment: A survey of business models that provide opportunities for smallholders Sonja Vermeulen and Lorenzo Cotula All rights reserved. FAO encourages reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Non-commercial uses will be authorized free of charge upon request. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, including educational purposes, may incur fees. Applications for permission to reproduce or disseminate FAO copyright materials and all other queries on rights and licences, should be addressed by to or to the Chief, Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy. FAO and IIED, 2010 For copies of this publication, contact IIED. IIED Order No: 12566IIED Citation: Vermeulen, S. and Cotula, L., 2010, MAKING THE MOST OF AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT: A SURVEY OF BUSINESS MODELS THAT PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALLHOLDERS, IIED/FAO/IFAD/SDC, London/Rome/Bern. ISBN: Cover photo: Woman harvesting rice with her daughters in Phalombe district, Malawi Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures Design: Smith+Bell (www.smithplusbell.com) Printing: Russell Press (www.russellpress.com) Printed on: Greencoat Velvet 200 gsm and Greencoat Velvet 100 gsm The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development or the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO, IFAD or SDC in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The designations developed and developing countries are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of FAO, IFAD or SDC. ii
4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work has been jointly funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the supporting institutions involved. The authors would like to thank the following people for the helpful discussions in the preparation of this report and/or for the useful comments on earlier drafts of the report: Abbi Buxton, Carlos da Silva, Stephen Gitonga, Diana Grusczynski, Ruth Hall, Rebeca Leonard, Harold Liversage, Paul Mathieu, Paul Munro-Faure, Garry Smith and Bill Vorley. Marie Jaecky ably steered proof-reading, design and production. The report also benefited from experiences and insights shared at an international workshop organised by IIED, IFAD, SDC and Maputo-based Centro Terra Viva, in partnership with the government of Mozambique s National Directorate for the Promotion of Rural Development (DNPDR). The workshop took place in Maputo on March 2010 and brought together about 30 participants, mainly from Africa but also representatives from South Asia, involved with inclusive business models. The literature review presented in this report helped identify workshop participants. Participants included practitioners from local and national support groups assisting local farmers in their negotiations with agribusiness; private sector operators; and observers with first-hand analysis of land deals and business models. After the workshop, some participants contributed short texts to share their experiences beyond the workshop; these texts and a full workshop report will soon be published separately. iii
5
6 ACRONYMS Asoproban BBBEE BEASB BSOC DCSL DFID DLPP DNPDR FAO GCMMF GDP GLOBALGAP IFAD IFC IIED ILG INR KDPL KES Asociación de parceleros y pequeños productores de bananos, Colombia Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, South Africa Boustead Estates Agency Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Blue Skies Organic Collective Association, Ghana Delhi Cloth and General Mills Shiriam Consolidated Ltd UK Department for International Development Department of Lands and Physical Planning, Papua New Guinea National Directorate for the Promotion of Rural Development, Mozambique Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, India Gross Domestic Product Global Partnership for Good Agricultural Practice International Fund for Agricultural Development International Finance Corporation International Institute for Environment and Development Incorporated Land Group, Papua New Guinea India Rupee Kieni Dairy Products Limited, Kenya Kenya Shilling v
7 KIT LCDA MBSA MYR NBPOL NCR NGO NIB PGK PSOM R&D REDD SALCRA SLDB SNV TWIN UK ULSPP UN US USD WBCSD WWF ZAR Royal Tropical Institute, The Netherlands Land Custody Development Authority, Malaysia Mali Biocarburant SA, Mali Malaysia Ringgit New Britain Palm Oil Ltd, Papua New Guinea Native Customary Rights, Malaysia Non-Governmental Organisation National Irrigation Board, Kenya Papua New Guinea Kina Programma Samenwerking Opkomende Markten, The Netherlands Research and Development Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, Malaysia Sarawak Land Development Board, Malaysia Netherlands Development Organization Third World Information Network United Kingdom Union Locale des Sociétés Coopératives des Producteurs de Pourghère à Koulikoro, Mali United Nations United States of America United States Dollar World Business Council for Sustainable Development World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa Rand vi
8 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...1 I. INTRODUCTION...11 II. CONTEXT: RAPID RESTRUCTURING IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETS...17 III. FEATURES OF INCLUSIVE BUSINESS MODELS Approaches to differentiate among business models Criteria for appraising the inclusiveness of business models Relevant market actors, institutions and policy areas...36 IV. BUSINESS MODELS IN PRACTICE Contract farming Leases and management contracts Tenant farming and sharecropping Joint ventures Farmer-owned businesses Upstream and downstream business links...79 V. CONCLUSIONS Overview: the value and limits of inclusive models for agricultural investment Moving forward...91 VI. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED FURTHER RESOURCES...99 vii
9
10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
11
12 About this report Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in agricultural investment. In many cases, this new momentum has translated into large-scale acquisitions of farmland in lower- and middle-income countries. Partly as a result of sustained media attention, these acquisitions have triggered lively if polarised debates about land grabbing. Less attention has been paid, however, to alternative ways of structuring agricultural investments that do not involve large-scale land acquisitions. These include a wide range of more collaborative arrangements between large-scale investors and local small-scale farmers and communities, such as diverse types of contract farming schemes, joint ventures, management contracts and new supply chain relationships. Drawing on a literature review, this report examines a range of business models that can be used to structure agricultural investments in lower- and middle-income countries, and that provide an alternative to large-scale land acquisitions. A business model is the way in which a company structures its resources, partnerships and customer relationships in order to create and capture value in other words, a business model is what enables a company to make money. Business models are considered as more inclusive if they involve close working partnerships with local landholders and operators, and if they share value among the partners. More inclusive business models encompass a wide range of arrangements. Some models involve large-scale farming but with closer involvement of local landholders. Others bring smallholder farmers into the value chain. Many are thoroughly tried and tested, while others are confined to narrow sectors and could be applied more widely, or else are still isolated, interesting pilots. None of these models is perfect the intention here is not an overview of best practice, but a survey of a range of possible business models, considering their pros and cons, opportunities and constraints, and options for scaling up. The report focuses on models for structuring agricultural investments. Models based on pure trading relations, for instance through direct relationships between retailers and farmer groups, are outside the scope of the report. 3
13 4 The business models Business models are discussed under six broad headings: contract farming, management contracts, tenant farming and sharecropping, joint ventures, farmer-owned business and upstream/downstream business links. Contract farming describes pre-agreed supply agreements between farmers and buyers. Usually, local farmers grow and deliver agricultural produce for specified quantity and quality at an agreed date. In exchange, the company provides upfront inputs, such as credit, seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and technical advice, all of which may be charged against the final purchase price; and agrees to buy the produce supplied, usually at a specified price. Management and lease contracts refer to the variety of arrangements under which a farmer or farm management company work agricultural land belonging to someone else. Management contracts may take the form of a lease or tenancy, but carry the connotation of stewardship, of managing the land on behalf of the owner. To provide incentives for the farm management, the contract often entails some form of profit-sharing rather than a fixed fee. Tenant farming and sharecropping are versions of management contracts in which individual farmers, for example smallholders, work the land of largerscale agribusinesses or other farmers. In tenant farming the usual arrangement is a fixed rental fee while in sharecropping the landowner and sharecropper split the crop (or its proceeds) along a pre-agreed percentage. Joint ventures entail co-ownership of a business venture by two independent market actors, such as an agribusiness and a farmers organisation. A joint venture involves sharing of financial risks and benefits and, in most but not all cases, decision-making authority in proportion to the equity share. Farmerowned businesses are formally incorporated business structures for farmers to pool their assets to enter into particular types of business (e.g. processing or marketing), gain access to finance, or limit the liability of individual members. Such businesses are often owned by cooperatives in order to facilitate business transactions. Finally, upstream and downstream business links is an umbrella expression for the set of business opportunities beyond direct agricultural production that exist for both agribusinesses and smallholders and small local enterprises. While the report discusses various models one by one, real-world investment projects may involve complex combinations of various models. For example, in the same investment project, the agribusiness company and smallholders
14 may set up a joint venture, in which the company contributes capital and smallholders land or other assets; smallholders may be organised in a cooperative or a company to hold their equity participation in the joint venture; the joint-venture company may enter into contract farming arrangements with individual smallholders for undertaking agricultural production; and management services may be contracted out to a specialised provider. In other words, rather than being necessarily alternative options, the models reviewed may be viewed as building blocks that can be combined into very diverse real-life hybrids. Assessing value sharing While it is accepted that economic viability is a precondition for agricultural investments to benefit the local population and that the choice among alternative business models needs to be grounded on solid economic analysis, this report focuses on the way in which the different types of business models share value between the business partners particularly between an agribusiness investor and local landholders and operators. Four criteria are used to assess value sharing: Ownership: of the business (equity shares), and of key project assets such as land and processing facilities. Voice: the ability to influence key business decisions, including weight in decision-making, arrangements for review and grievance, and mechanisms for dealing with asymmetries in information access. Risk: including commercial (i.e. production, supply and market) risk, but also wider risks such as political and reputational risks. Reward: the sharing of economic costs and benefits, including price setting and finance arrangements. These four aspects are closely interlinked. Ownership can influence voice, though a perfect correlation between the two should not be assumed (e.g., in a joint venture, equity shares and board representation may not be perfectly aligned). Voice in price-setting crucially affects reward. Ownership influences risk, as a jointly owned business also involves sharing of business risks. So a model that gives smallholders more ownership of the business may also expose them to more risk. In addition, context is crucial: the same distribution of ownership, voice, risks and rewards may have very different practical 5
15 viability and implications in contexts characterised by different population densities, or with different levels of smallholder capacity to engage in commercial agricultural production. Key findings Among the different business models reviewed here, no single model emerges as the best possible option for smallholders in all circumstances. Rather, what works best for smallholders while still being attractive to investors is very much context-specific, and is contingent on tenure, policy, culture, history as well as on biophysical and demographic considerations. Also, none of the arrangements reviewed here can be said to be perfectly fair, nor a holistic solution to rural development at local or national levels. By their very nature, these arrangements link two sets of players agribusiness and smallholders with very different negotiating power, which has direct implications for the design and implementation of the arrangements. Finally, the devil is often in the detail: in defining the extent to which an investment shares value with local smallholders, the detailed arrangements of the scheme may be more important than the abstract model. For example, depending on its specific terms, contract farming may be a vehicle for providing support and improving market access for smallholders or an exploitative relationship where smallholders are effectively providers of cheap labour, and expected to carry production risks. Better-resourced farmers may capture the contracts, while poorer farmers work as labour on the contracted farms. And the fact that a business model does not involve direct takings of land does not mean that it cannot trigger changes in land access in the longer term. Evidence from several experiences with contract farming suggests that, in the longer term, land access may shift from women, who cultivated subsistence crops, to men, who are more likely to sign contracts for cash crops with agribusiness. Shifts in land access may also favour local elites that are better positioned to make the most of the new market opportunities created by contract farming. Similarly, joint ventures can in principle offer a vehicle for enabling greater local control over business activities, and for granting local communities a regular stream of income in the form of dividends. But, if inappropriately structured, they can deliver very low dividends, as the bulk of revenues may be absorbed by suppliers controlled by the agribusiness company, and local influence over the decisions may in practice be nominal. 6
16 Even more fundamentally, no single business model seems fit for all purposes. The majority of the business models reviewed may be particularly relevant for labour-intensive crops, such as fruit and vegetables and some tree crops. But where economies of scale are significant, most of the models reviewed are likely to struggle in a competitive market. In these cases, leases and management contracts concluded directly with local communities may provide an avenue for exploiting economies of scale while still enabling local groups to participate in project benefits. The willingness of the company to engage with more inclusive business models as a genuine economic component of their business, rather than as part of corporate responsibility programmes, is a key ingredient for more inclusive business models to work. Government policy and action can do a great deal to promote more inclusive business models. The negotiating power of smallholders in their relations with government and agribusiness is also key. While negotiating power is shaped by several factors (including for example the degree of collective action and the representativeness and effectiveness of farmers organisations), security of local land rights is a crucial aspect. Where smallholders are engaged in agriculture production directly, secure rights over land are crucial for providing them with an asset in negotiations with agribusiness, and with incentives to invest, particularly in the case of long-term crops. If local land rights are insecure, smallholders would have little to negotiate with. Also, where agricultural production is carried out by agribusiness on the basis of leases or management contracts, secure land rights are a necessary condition for local landholders to contract the agribusiness company and allocate land rights for an agreed period of time. Another central issue is smallholders access to information concerning for example market trends, how product prices, royalties and dividends are calculated, the level of risk involved, how much debt they are taking on, or what legal protection and remedy they would have. Asymmetry of information, coupled with differential access to institutions (banks, insurers, law firms, courts), has proven to be a main constraint to the establishment of genuine business partnerships of equals. Where levels of education, awareness and support are higher, there is growing experience with long-term, economically successful joint ventures between agribusinesses and companies belonging to indigenous people. 7
17 Moving forward A first key next step concerns getting a more thorough understanding of more inclusive business models what works where and under what conditions. A proper assessment of concrete experiences would require much more detailed data than is available in the literature, particularly in three areas: the detailed structure of individual business models; issues of process, i.e. how a particular business model came to be chosen compared with alternative options, what conditions made the operation of that business model possible, what factors constrained it and how they were addressed by the company and smallholders; and socio-economic performance and outcomes, including the impacts of more inclusive business models on local livelihoods, incomes and empowerment. Generating solid evidence in these areas can help consolidate a robust business case for choosing more inclusive business models over largescale land acquisitions. Development agencies can play an important role both in supporting case studies and in facilitating exchange of experience among practitioners. The second set of next steps concerns national policies and programmes that can be put in place to promote and support more inclusive business models. Well thought out support to smallholders, aimed to tackle the power asymmetries that affect their dealings with agribusiness, can make a real difference to the process and outcomes of agricultural investment. Development agencies and other groups supporting smallholders (e.g. advocacy groups, public interest lawyers) can play an important role in that regard. Also, although most of the business models analysed in this report involve direct relationships between smallholders and agribusiness, action by government and other third parties can affect whether a more inclusive business model is chosen, its specific design, the way it works in practice, and its socio-economic outcomes. Government policy is effective when it pushes for the progressive improvement of more inclusive models that bring real economic benefits locally and accord some degree of shared power to the smallholder partners. This may involve providing strong safeguards and remedies for local people, for example with regard to security of local land rights; increasing the set of choices open to agribusiness and smallholders; providing more detailed regulation for available arrangements, and flexible model contracts where relevant, particularly for the more complex ones such as joint ventures and 8
18 management contracts; and providing support (or at least establishing a framework for others to provide support) to smallholders in their dealings with agribusiness. The third set of next steps concerns action at the international level. Ongoing discussions about international guidance on agricultural investments should go beyond minimising the possible negative impacts of large-scale land acquisitions and provide pointers for promoting models of agricultural investment that maximise opportunities for local smallholders. With regard to individual investments, development agencies have played important roles in some of the experiences reviewed in the report as providers of loan guarantees or of financing for the community s equity participation in a joint venture, or more generally as brokers and facilitators. Scaling up these efforts can help replicate the more inclusive business models in a wider range of situations. Given the major power asymmetries in the negotiation of agricultural investments, international development agencies can further help by strengthening the capacity of host governments and smallholder groups to negotiate and manage contracts with agribusiness. 9
19
20 I. INTRODUCTION 11
21
22 Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in agricultural investment in lower- and middle-income countries (UNCTAD 2009). This trend is underpinned by several structural factors. Population growth, increasing rates of urbanisation (which expand the share of the world s population that depends on food purchases) and changing diets (such as growth in consumption of meat and fast foods in some large industrialising countries) are pushing up global demand for food (Godfray et al. 2010). Given supply constraints in parts of the world, including declining production and productivity (in the Gulf, for example), this is likely to put upward pressure on food prices in the longer term. Global demand for energy and agricultural commodities and increasing technological capacity for higher yields and returns also make agriculture an increasingly attractive investment option. In addition to market forces, agricultural investments are promoted by policy changes. Governments in some food-importing countries have supported agricultural investments in foreign countries as part of their national food security strategies. Economic liberalisation, including the lifting of restrictions on foreign investment, is facilitating entry into a wider set of countries. Policy incentives have also been a key driving force for investments in biofuels. For people in recipient countries, this fast-evolving context creates opportunities to improve living standards, but also risks of losing land and being marginalised. Increased investment may bring macro-level benefits (GDP growth, greater government revenues), and create opportunities for raising local living standards. Investors may bring capital, technology, knowledge, infrastructure and market access, and may therefore play an important role in catalysing economic development in rural areas. But as outside interest rises, and as governments or markets make land available to prospecting investors, local people could lose access to the resources on which they depend not just land, but also water, wood and grazing. Large-scale investment can also marginalise family farmers, who in many parts of the world have proved to be highly efficient and resilient producers. The way in which agricultural investments are structured shapes the outcomes of these investments and the extent to which risks are minimised and benefits maximised. In many cases, the renewed momentum behind agricultural investment has translated into large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. These acquisitions entail outright purchase of 13
23 land or long-term leases on land under the tenure of local communities and the state. Partly as a result of sustained media attention, these acquisitions have triggered lively if polarised debates about land grabbing. Less attention has been paid, however, to alternative ways for structuring agricultural investments. These include a wide range of collaborative arrangements between large-scale investors and local smallholders, such as diverse types of contract farming schemes, joint ventures, management contracts and new supply chain relationships. Drawing on a literature review, this report examines a range of business models that can be used to structure agricultural investments in lower- and middle-income countries, and that provide an alternative to large-scale land acquisitions (plantations that are wholly owned by, or on long leases to, investors without inclusion of smallholders or small enterprises in the value chain). This focus does not imply that smallholders necessarily need to partner up with large outside investors in order to succeed. There is plenty of evidence that suggests that, where put in a condition to work, smallholders are able to produce competitively and seize new market opportunities. Equally, the focus of this report does not imply that the business models reviewed here are in all cases preferable to large-scale plantations. In some instances, plantations may be the best option for the investor, host country and the local community. For example, in areas with very low population densities and little local capacity to engage in agricultural production, it may be difficult to establish business models that include local ownership and operation. But as negotiations for large-scale land acquisitions evolve at rapid speed, the impression is that some countries are approving plantation-based projects without strong ideas of alternatives. The term business model describes the way in which a company structures its resources, partnerships and customer relationships in order to create and capture value in other words, a business model is what enables a company to make money. This report focuses on a specific aspect of a business model, namely the relationship between agribusiness, on the one hand, and local landholders and operators, on the other. It discusses arrangements for sharing ownership, decision-making, risk and reward between these two parties. Business models are considered to be more inclusive if they involve close working partnerships with local landholders and operators, and if they share value among the partners. In other words, for a business model to be 14
24 inclusive it must not only involve a collaborative relationship, but also fair and equitable terms. 1 More inclusive business models encompass a wide range of arrangements, such as shared ownership of key assets, formalised joint ventures, profitsharing arrangements, contract farming or local content schemes, community land leases and management contracts, or local service agreements. Some models involve large-scale farming but with closer involvement of local landholders. Others bring smallholder farmers into the value chain. Many are thoroughly tried and tested, while others are confined to narrow sectors and could be applied more widely, or else are still isolated, interesting pilots. None of these models is perfect the intention here is not an overview of best practice, but a survey of a range of possible business models, considering their pros and cons, opportunities and constraints, and options for scaling up. The focus here is on agricultural investments, covering food, fuels, fibre and other agricultural commodities. Besides agricultural production per se, this includes opportunities for partnerships upstream (e.g. in developing appropriate inputs, technologies, expertise, farming practices) and downstream (e.g. processing, distribution, service provision). But business models that do not involve an agricultural investment (for instance, those centred on direct trading relations between a retailer and smallholders) are not covered here as they are amply discussed elsewhere (see for instance Vorley and Proctor 2008 and more generally the materials available at Experience from sectors other than agriculture is referred to where relevant to discussions about agricultural investments. The report is likely to be of interest to policy-makers concerned with regulating agricultural investments, whether in recipient or home countries or internationally; to investors seeking alternative models and to other interest groups including farmers organisations, development NGOs and donor agencies. In recipient countries, the report can feed into the vigorous public debate about the future of agriculture and food security that is needed before strategic choices about agricultural investment are made. 1. The term inclusive business models was coined by the WBCSD-SNV Alliance on Inclusive Business (http://www.inclusivebusiness.org/) and provides a useful shorthand for the variety of models that share value with small-scale producers and enterprises. 15
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warc | 201704 | 1 Pre-print of an article scheduled to appear in the November 2012 issue of the American Journal of Sociology NETWORK-RELATED PERSONALITY AND THE AGENCY QUESTION: MULTI-ROLE EVIDENCE FROM A VIRTUAL WORLD July, 2012 Ronald S. Burt* University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL Tel: , Author Blurb: Ronald S. Burt is the Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His work concerns the social structure of competitive advantage (e.g., Neighbor Networks, 2010, Oxford University Press). *I am grateful to the Booth School of Business for financial support during my work on this article. I am also grateful to Dora Cai for continuing help with access to the EverQuest 2 (EQ2) data in 2009, to Dmitri Williams for originally obtaining the EQ2 data and making them available, and for student support to Cuihua Shen and Muhammad Ahmad from Air Force Research Laboratory contract FA C The three AJS reviewers were particularly helpful on the final edit. Earlier, the text benefited from discussion with Dimitris Christopoulos, Jacob Foster, Reid Hastie, Sarah Kaplan, Martin Kilduff, Erin Krupka, Ajay Mehra, Jennifer Merluzzi, Ray Reagans, Ezra Zuckerman and participants at the University of Minnesota Social- Computational Systems Community Workshop, the Cambridge University Microsoft Research Workshop on Social Networks and Economics, the 2011 annual meetings of the Academy of Management, NetSci 2012, Current Challenges in Computing 2012, and workshops at Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan, University of Chicago, University of Manchester, University of Michigan, and University of Toronto.
2 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 2 NETWORK-RELATED PERSONALITY AND THE AGENCY QUESTION: MULTI-ROLE EVIDENCE FROM A VIRTUAL WORLD Consistency across role-specific networks in a multi-role network reveals the recurring network-related personality a person brings to the roles she plays. The more consistent the role-specific networks, and the more important that consistency is for achievement, the more important agency is for understanding achievement. Using network, experience, and achievement data on people each playing multiple characters in a virtual world, evidence is presented to support two conclusions: (1) About a third of network variance is consistent within people across roles. In other words, people who build a closed network in one role are likely to build a closed network in other roles. People who build in one role a network rich in access to structural holes, are likely to do the same in other roles. (2) The network consistent across roles contributes almost nothing to predicting achievement. Achievement in a role is determined by experience and network specific to the role (about 90% of predicted achievement variance). The two conclusions are robust across substantively significant differences in the mix of roles combined in a multi-role network (too many roles, difficult combination of roles, or roles played to overlapping audiences). People tend to build similar networks in the roles they play, but their achievement in a specific role depends on experience in the specific role, and the network they build in the role. The concept of managers bridging the structural holes in networks has been useful in improving our ability to say why certain people achieve more than others, but agency continues to play an uncertain, and suspected large, role in the network effect on achievement. This article is about testing for agency in the network association with achievement, and the analytical opportunity provided by multi-role networks in virtual worlds. The gist of the network story is that information becomes homogeneous, tacit, and therefore sticky within clusters of densely connected people such that clusters disconnect, buffered from one another by the structural holes between them, which gives information breadth, timing, and arbitrage advantages to people whose networks span the structural holes. The advantaged people, often termed network brokers, are rewarded socially and materially for their work decoding and encoding information across the structural holes. The story is anchored in an association established in the
3 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page s between opinion and social clusters (e.g., Festinger, Schachter & Back 1950; Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955; Coleman, Katz & Menzel 1957), from which network concepts emerged in the 1970s on the advantages of bridge connections across clusters: Granovetter (1973, 1983) on weak ties when they are bridges, Freeman (1977, 1979) on network centrality as a function of connecting disconnected people, Cook and Emerson (1978; Cook et al. 1983) on the advantage of centrality from having alternative exchange partners, Burt (1980) on the advantage of disconnected contacts, later discussed as access to structural holes (Burt 1992), and Lin, Ensel & Vaughn (1981) on the advantage of distant, prestigious contacts, later elaborated in terms of having contacts in statuses diverse and prominent (Lin 2002). Application of these models to predict achievement differences in representative cross-sections of managers began in earnest in the 1980s and 1990s, encouraged by earlier images of boundary-spanning personnel (Aldrich & Herker 1977; Tushman 1977; with Brass 1984, a key transition showing the empirical importance of the more general network concept). Numerous research projects since then show that network brokers (relative to peers) are paid more, receive more positive evaluations and recognition, and get promoted more quickly to senior positions (see Burt 2005; Burt, Kilduff & Tasselli 2013, for review and contingencies; Aral & Van Alstyne 2011, for an exceptional analysis of network structure as a proxy for information in predicting achievement). The preceding paragraph reads as though achievement springs directly from network structure. There is no mention of individual differences except as people differ in their network. But, of course, networks do not act. Networks are merely the residue of people spending time together. Networks of connections with certain people and not others can facilitate or inhibit action, but people are the source of action. Common sense is sufficient to wonder about the role of agency. Certain kinds of people could be prone to building networks that bridge structural holes, and those kinds of people could be prone to high achievement. The agency question is often raised: How much does the network association with achievement depend on the person at the center of the network? Though often raised, the question has received
4 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 4 too little attention to allow a general response. The neglect has been noted from diverse perspectives (Emirbayer & Goodwin 1994; Kilduff & Krackhardt 1994; Ibarra, Kilduff & Tsai 2005; Baum & Rowley 2008; Kilduff & Brass 2010; Sasovova et al. 2010; Singh, Hansen & Podolny 2010). This is where multi-role networks become a welcome complication. How that is so is the substance of the next section, which concludes with two research tests for agency. The data to be analyzed are introduced in the second section. The data are unusual in organization and management research, but construct validity has been established such that it seems imprudent not to take advantage of the unique analytical opportunity the data provide. The third section contains summary results on the two hypotheses, and the fourth section shows that the results are robust across substantively significant differences in the roles combined in a multi-role network. AGENCY IN THE NETWORK EFFECT Agency has not been ignored in current research so much as it has been assumed away or held constant. Assume It Away Formal models of networks have been used to explore theoretical questions such as what would happen if everyone focused on bridging structural holes (Ryall & Sorenson 2007; Buskens & van de Rijt 2008), or if contacts exercised monopoly power, eroding the returns to bridging structural holes (Reagans & Zuckerman 2008). In these models, the agency question is often resolved by assuming that people act on all network opportunities (subject to a budget constraint of limited time or resources). Agency can be ignored because it is coincident with opportunity. To know who acts on opportunity, you need to know only who has opportunity. The assumption can seem less strident when embedded in data. Imagine that the network around a person is affected by personal preference. People adapt to the network around them. They also learn, editing the network to personal taste. People
5 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 5 are motivated to act on advantage provided by the network to which they have adapted and contributed. Motivation need not be measured directly because it is already measured by metrics on the opportunities built into a person s network (Burt 1992:34-36, 2005:47-50). The result is the same as assuming agency away. Empirical research supports the assumption, and calls it into question. The two points are illustrated in Figure 1 with graphs of achievement across increasingly closed networks for a couple thousand observations in diverse business functions in Asia, Europe and North America. Figure 1a displays data averaged within intervals on the horizontal axis. Figure 1b displays the data before averaging. In both graphs, people vary on the vertical axis by z-score achievement (compensation, evaluation, promotion) adjusted for variables in company human-resource archives so zero is the level of achievement typical for a manager s peers (same organization, location, job rank, experience, etc.), with respect to which the manager can be higher (positive z- score) or lower (negative z-score). The horizontal axis is a summary network index, network constraint (discussed below), which measures the extent to which a manager s network is small and dense such that it provides no access to structural holes. Network brokers are to the left in each graph (low network constraint, rich access to structural holes). People in closed networks are to the right (high network constraint, low access to structural holes). The aggregate data in Figure 1a show a nonlinear, downward-sloping association in which network brokers (relative to their peers) are paid more, receive more positive evaluations and recognition, and get promoted more quickly to senior positions. There is variation around the regression line, but it is clear that achievement adjusted for individual differences is higher for network brokers. The robust achievement-network association invites formal, theoretical attention, ignoring as random error variation from the regression line. Figure 1 About Here The aggregate data in Figure 1a obscure the fact that achievement differences between individual network brokers are substantial, with many brokers showing no more achievement than people in the most closed networks. The suspicion has long
6 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 6 existed (Burt 1992:37). The empirical fact is displayed in Figure 1b by statistically significant heteroscedasticity and a triangular data distribution, wider over network brokers, across achievement differences wider before individuals are aggregated into averages (vertical axis from -3.0 to 7.0 in Figure 1b, -2.0 to 2.5 in Figure 1a). The primary characteristic of the Figure 1b data distribution is not the absence of low achievement in broker networks so much as the absence of high achievement in closed networks. A formal-model strategy more consistent with the data would be to shift focus from broker advantage to the disadvantages of closed networks. Hold It Constant Some people are better educated, have more experience, work at central locations in an organization, or hold positions that give them more authority, any of which could make one person more likely than another to see and act on network opportunities. Such differences are recorded in human-resource archives, so the differences can be held constant in network predictions. In Figure 1, for example, manager achievement on the vertical axis is measured against the average achievement of peers; that is to say, the achievement of managers in the same job rank, same business function, with the same education, same years of experience, and so on. Beyond such controls, there is a growing body of work in which the research design illustrated in Figure 1 is extended to include behavioral and cognitive variables typically not in human-resource archives. Personality has long been studied as a correlate of network structure (Kilduff & Tsai 2003:Chp. 4) and interpersonal engagement more generally (Snyder & Deaux 2012), but it is increasingly common to see personality studied as an agency variable in the returns to network advantage. Snyder s (1974; Snyder & Sangestad 1986) concept of self-monitoring is central in the work. Self-monitoring distinguishes people by their tendency to adapt speech and behavior to social situations. Empirical measures capture four qualities (Snyder 1974:529, index items in quotes): a concern with being appropriate to the situation (e.g., At parties and social gatherings, I do not attempt to do or say things that others
7 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 7 will like reverse coding); the ability to control one s presentation to fit the situation (e.g., I can look anyone in the eye and tell a lie with a straight face [if for a right end] ); use of the ability (e.g., I may deceive people by being friendly when I really dislike them ); and experience adapting to situational demands (e.g., In different situations and with different people, I often act like very different persons ). Self-monitoring is particularly interesting because it is a psychological analogue to bridging structural holes. A manager with a network rich in structural holes (which in theory means he is connected to separate groups with different perspectives, policies, and practice), is likely to have experience presenting himself differently to different groups. A person who spends all his time in a closed network (which in theory means that he is surrounded by people similar to himself), has less experience engaging people who do not share his assumptions and behaviors. Self-monitoring measures the extent to which a person feels that he or she adapts to social situations and network metrics on access to structural holes measure the person s contact with disconnected social situations that require adaptation. Self-monitoring scores should be higher for network brokers. They are. Mehra et al. (2001) show it for employees in a small technology company. Oh & Kilduff (2008) show it for a population of Korean entrepreneurs in Canada. Sasovova et al. (2010) show it for a department of employees in a Dutch hospital, and go on to show self-monitors more likely to expand their networks to reach new structural holes. Given the correlation between achievement and structural holes, and the correlation between self-monitoring and structural holes, achievement should be correlated with self-monitoring. It is. Kilduff & Day (1994) show for a cohort of MBA students that high self-monitors were more likely to receive promotions in the five years after graduation. Holding constant network differences between employees in a small technology company, Mehra et al. (2001) show that high self-monitors received more positive evaluations from their supervisors. The summary statement at the moment is that access to structural holes is correlated with self-monitoring, and each variable is associated with achievement when the other is held constant.
8 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 8 Given the results on self-monitoring, there are a great many other personality dimensions likely to be relevant to network advantage. For example, people differ in the extent to which they believe their actions affect events. Why act on network advantage if your actions have no effect? Example personality measures to consider would include Rotter s locus of control in which high internal control refers to a belief that your actions affect events (e.g., Hansemark 2003 on internal-control men more likely to be entrepreneurs; Rotter 1966 for the initial statement), or Bandura s concept of self-efficacy in which stronger belief in one s capabilities is associated with greater and more persistent effort (Wood & Bandura 1989; Bandura 2001, for review). People differ in the extent to which they look for network advantages on which they can act. A familiar story is McClelland's (1961) thesis that early formation of a need to achieve is a personality factor significant for later entrepreneurial behavior. Anderson (2008) shows that managers with a high "need for cognition" are more likely to take advantage of information in their network. More generally, there are the big five personality factors correlated with career success (Judge et al. 1999; Ozer & Martinez 2006) though only modestly with network metrics (Klein et al. 2004) and inworld behavior (Yee et al. 2011). Beyond the summary measures are numerous scales in organizational psychology measuring dimensions of personality (see psychwiki.com; Butcher 2009), and there is no barrier to inventing new measures specific to network effects (Burt, Jannotta & Mahoney 1998). The list of possible personality measures to control expands with recent work emphasizing the importance of behavior for broker advantage. Powell, Packalen, and Whittington (2012) show that lucrative clusters of biotechnology firms emerged in cities where initial brokers in the local biotech network behaved in an academic fashion of encouraging ideas and independence. Where initial brokers behaved to maintain their central position as brokers, clusters did not develop. Studying the success of a program requiring coordination between doctors and lawyers in community medical centers, Kellogg (2012) finds successful implementation where the doctor-lawyer collaboration is buffered through intermediary brokers. Implementation is
9 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 9 comparatively unsuccessful in a community center where the doctors and lawyers had to engage one another directly. In short, behavior matters to broker advantage. What is productive broker behavior in one situation need not be productive in another situation. It can be advantageous to play contacts against one another (Fernandez- Mateo 2007), or connect contacts as a translation buffer to protect each side from the other s irritating specialist jargon (Kellogg 2012), while in other situations it is better to facilitate exchange otherwise at risk of misunderstanding (Obstfeld 2005; Lingo & O Mahony 2010; Leonardi & Bailey 2011), or facilitate the development of broker skills in colleagues (Powell et al. 2012). More generally, there are occupational norms; it would be unseemly for a nun to behave like a salesman, or a banker to behave like a construction worker. Behavioral norms can shift, as Stuart & Ding (2006) describe for the shift from academic to more commercial norms in biotechnology, but at any one point in time there are likely to be behavioral norms for successful brokerage. Given behavioral norms for successful brokerage, it follows that behavioral predispositions have implications for success as a network broker. Single-Role versus Multi-Role Networks The research design in the above work is a single-role design in the sense that network data and effects are aggregated to the level of a person playing a role. In Figure 1, for example, achievement is measured for a person in a management job (e.g., compensation for the job, evaluation of manager s work in the job, relative speed getting to job rank, etc.), control variables measure the person s background and the nature of her job (e.g., job rank, business function, education, experience), and interactions among manager and colleagues over a period of time are aggregated into a network describing how the manager does her job (e.g., 360-evaluations of work with colleagues, or more generally, sociometric data asking for key contacts). Kinds of relations can be distinguished for network association with achievement usually variations on formal versus informal (Podolny & Baron 1997; Mehra et al. 2001; Burt
10 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page :50-55; Mizruchi, Sterns & Fleischer 2011), but interactions of each kind are typically aggregated into summary relations between people. The single-role design has been, and will continue to be, productive. It fits the kind of person-level data typically available on achievement and networks, and it is an efficient way to study how specific personality traits enhance or erode network effects. For example, the design has been useful for exploring how individual differences in self-monitoring vary with network advantage, and affect returns to network advantage. Mehra et al. (2001) provide an exemplary analysis. The great strength of the design is its empirical validity relative to assuming agency away. Predisposition toward network advantage is measured directly. But agency is not about a single personality trait. It is about personality in all its dimensions. How much do individual differences in personality, as they are related to network advantage, affect the network association with achievement? The single-role design cannot provide a general answer to the agency question because there are too many personality measures that could be used to control for personality differences. Research on any one, or any subset of the many, does not provide a general answer to the agency question so much as it provides an answer interesting, but specific to the personality variables tested. A multi-role design can be helpful. Instead of analyzing data at the level of a person, data are analyzed at the level of the roles played by the person. Multi-role networks are an empirical analogue to Merton s (1957) conception of the role-set associated with a status. A single-role network is defined by variables z ij describing the connection between nodes i and j in a person s network. A multi-role network is a collection of K networks describing the relations around a person in each of K roles. The network is defined by variables z ijk describing the connection between nodes i and j in the person s performance of role k. The job of professor almost always involves playing the role of teacher, often involves the role of research scientist, and can involve administrative roles. In finer detail, there are distinct roles within the three aggregate ones: The teacher role in a college course is different from the teacher role
11 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 11 in a graduate seminar. A person s role in research can vary from project to project depending on the colleagues involved in the project. Administrative roles vary with organization level, from department, to school, to university, to extramural administration. Each role is defined by a network of relations among the people with, and for whom, the role is played: networks of students, networks of collaborating colleagues, or networks of interdependent administrators. A multi-role network is a social system composed of two or more of a person s role-specific networks. Network Consistency across Roles as an Indicator of Personality Given N k, a variable measuring ego s network advantage in role k, average ego s scores N k across K roles to describe ego s average network advantage in the K roles: P = Σ k N k / K. (1) To the extent that a person knows only one way of engaging people, or is comfortable with only one way of engaging people, that one way will manifest again and again in roles the person plays the average network a person builds will be characteristic of each network the person builds. Some people are closure-prone in preferring a cozy, closed network. Their roles tend to be enacted within a group of densely interconnected people. Trust is likely. Coordination is tight. Ego can just be one of the guys. People with a preference for the emotional and behavioral characteristics of closed networks can be expected to focus their role performances on a set of closely interconnected contacts: friendship groups tend to be tight-knit, work teams tend to be cohesive, and ego is surrounded by little tolerance for people clearly different from us. At the other extreme, people with consistently high network metrics for structural holes are brokerage-prone. Their roles tend to be enacted across people otherwise disconnected in separate groups. Contradictory opinion is likely in their open networks. Coordination costs are high and require constant attention. Ego stands out as a center of attention. People with a strong preference for the emotional and behavioral characteristics of open networks can be expected to broaden role networks to include
12 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 12 novel contacts: Ego often introduces friends to one another, often coordinates teams across otherwise separate groups, and has a tolerance for people clearly different from himself. Depending on the network index N k used in Eq. (1), the average, P, measures the extent to which a person is closure-prone or brokerage-prone. To simplify, I will refer to P as ego s network-relevant personality, an indicator of ego s propensity toward or away from brokerage. The how much does personality matter for network advantage agency question can be answered by predicting role-specific network scores from the average score across roles: N k = b n + b np P + b nx X k + U k, (2) where X k contains control variables for role k, and U k is the role-specific network index not predicted by ego s average across roles. To the extent that personal preference determines the network advantage measured by N k, ego s role-specific network scores will equal the average across roles, so ego s average network-relevant personality P will describe 100% of the variance in her role-specific scores. Personality is inferred from its effects in Eq. (2). Network-relevant personality, P, is not a measure of personality. It is the network advantage that can be attributed to personality manifest in consistent network behavior across roles. Consistent network behavior is to be expected if personality determines network behavior (as inconsistent behavior would raise questions about the usefulness of personality as a concept, Funder 2001: ). Generality is the virtue of the multi-role design. Whatever dimensions of personality are relevant to the roles ego selects and way ego performs those roles, those dimensions are captured in their effects by network consistency across ego s role-specific networks. Eq. (2) corresponds to a fixed-effects regression model in which individual differences P are removed from the network metric N k, holding constant the control variables. Comprehensive capture of personal preference as it affects network advantage allows a multi-role research design to address agency in a general way.
13 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 13 To be sure, the network associated with a role is affected by the nature of the role. A manager s network is likely to be closed when leading a team of people who often meet face to face. The same manager can have a network bridging structural holes when she leads a team of people who only meet online from their offices scattered around the world. More generally, network consistency across a person s roles has predictable correlates: More consistency is likely for people who spend much of their time in a small number of roles, or whose personal preferences typically dominate situational preferences, or who have the luxury of selecting roles consistent with past experience and personal preference. Less consistency is likely for people who spend small portions of their time playing many different roles, who play multiple roles rarely combined, or who play multiple roles to very different audiences. I return to these expected correlates later in the analysis to check that my summary conclusions are robust. For the moment, it is sufficient to say that random error and predictable variation in role performances mean that network-related personality will typically describe less than 100% of network variance. How much less is the empirical question answered by Eq. (2). Network-relevant personality can be used to test for agency in the association between achievement and network advantage. Figure 1 shows that achievement is higher, on average, for network brokers, but individuals differ substantially around the average. Agency is a factor in the association to the extent that the achievement differences reflect differences in individuals acting on advantage. Achievement could be unexpectedly low for a person who is rich in access to structural holes but uncomfortable in the role of network broker. Achievement could be unexpectedly high for a person whose brokerage-prone personality facilitates detecting and developing network advantage. To see how much of the average association should be attributed to such individual differences, add network-relevant personality to a model predicting achievement from network advantage: A k = b a + b ap P + b ax X k + b an N k + R k, (3)
14 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 14 where A k is a measure of ego s achievement in role k, P is ego s average network score across roles (Eq. 1), X k contains control variables for role k, and R k is a residual term. Given estimates for Eq. (3), coefficient b an measures the extent to which achievement in role k depends on network advantage specific to the role, and coefficient b ap measures the extent to which achievement in role k depends on network-relevant personality, the network advantage ego typically builds in the roles she plays. 1 Again, network-relevant personality is not a substitute for measuring personality. For example, Mehra et al. (2001) show that self-monitoring is associated with achievement independent of network advantage. Network-relevant personality in Eq. (3) captures only individual differences in self-monitoring as they are relevant to network advantage measured by index N k. However, in capturing all personality differences relevant to N k, network-relevant personality answers the agency question in a more general way. DATA The data needed to estimate personality and network effects in Eqs. (2) and (3) would not be impossible to obtain in the usual research designs but the data collection would be more difficult than usual. Data are needed on achievement within multiple roles, along with data on role-specific controls and networks relevant to achievement. For example, divide a manager s job into the roles he or she played on separate projects; say the two largest projects in which he participated last year. To measure achievement on each project you have to ask for evaluations from the manager s supervisor, or go into divisional archives for some kind of project data, because 1 Network-relevant personality is specified as an additive predictor in Eq. (3). The equation would be equally consistent with the discussion to this point if personality were written as a multiplier by adding an interaction term PN k to the equation. The coefficient for the interaction term would measure the extent to which people with personalities prone to the kind of network advantage measured by P and N k earn higher returns to the advantage. I use the simpler additive form in Eq. (3) because I do not find interaction effects in the forthcoming analysis (illustrated in Figure 7), which is consistent with Mehra et al. s (2001) analysis showing no interaction effect between brokerage and self-monitoring in predicting achievement. I make no claim that the PN k interaction is negligible in other populations; there is merely no need to introduce the complication here.
15 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 15 project-specific performance data are not in the typical company human-resource archives. Data are typically aggregated across the roles a manager plays to provide a summary description of the manager for promotion and compensation decisions. Peer-to-peer data gathered in 360 evaluations aggregate relations across a manager s roles to describe the overall relationship between manager and colleague, again to match the company s compensation and promotion decisions on a manager. To get data on project-specific z ijk relations, you have to ask people to describe their network separately for each project. It is difficult to get managers to complete network matrices for a single-role design. That difficulty is multiplied for multi-role networks. Even if you find a senior person willing to fund the work, data quality remains a concern. Guessing about time spent with John versus Mary is one thing; partitioning time with each into topics is a more difficult, fine-grain bit of remembering. Managers trying to be helpful will answer as best they can, but the quality of their answers to questions about project-specific connections between pairs of colleagues must be lower than the quality of their answers to the questions currently asked about the typical connection between pairs of colleagues (cf. Krackhardt 1987, on cognitive networks; Moldoveanu & Baum 2011, on epistemic networks). Online virtual worlds provide the needed data at high quality and low cost. I use data from EverQuest II (EQ2), a massively multiplayer online environment, analogous to World of Warcraft, in which people play in the role of an avatar engaged with others in quests and combat. EQ2 avatars are discussed as characters. Players develop their character up levels of achievement with higher levels reached by earning experience points for killing creatures, exploring new locations, and completing quests. The data cost and quality problems described above for managers are avoided in EQ2 because the game software records behavior and achievement accurately and unobtrusively at the level of characters, providing data for Eqs. (2) and (3) on each character s activity and achievement, which can be compared for consistency across characters played by the same person.
16 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 16 I obtained the EQ2 data through the Virtual World Exploratorium (Williams et al. 2011), through which reports are available describing the people in EQ2 during the observation period (e.g., Williams, Yee & Caplan 2008; Shen 2010; Shen & Williams 2011). The data were recorded during a nine-month observation period in 2006, from January 1 to September 11. The data include acts of support between characters and achievements, along with self-reported player age, gender, and geographical location. I follow the convention of using "inworld" to refer to activity by avatars inside the virtual world. The game owner, Sony Online Entertainment, selected the observation period and provided the data. People and characters are only identified in the data by Sony code numbers so personal identities remained confidential. The virtual world had been operating for two years before the observation period began. The network data for this analysis come from a report on the construct validity of the EQ2 network data (Burt 2011). The data are a server census of 13,968 people playing 44,185 characters active during the observation period active in the sense that the character advanced to a higher level in the game, sold something to another character, bought something from another character, exchanged items with another character, or was active in collaborative housing or mentoring with another character. Face Validity Face validity is an immediate issue. Figure 2 displays the 16 character races that were available during the observation period. You enter EQ2 by obtaining the inexpensive game software, registering in the game with your age, gender, and geographic location, then defining a character to play. There is a monthly subscription fee. Different people can play a character in different ways, but characters are broadly defined by the game software to have certain traits and abilities. There were male and female versions of the 16 races in Figure 2. Characters were further distinguished by a player-selected "class" (fighter, mage, priest, or scout) and character appearance, but Figure 2 is sufficient to communicate the fantasy nature of EQ2. A person could play the role of a lizard "iksar" (known to be people who "delight in cruelty and
17 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 17 conquest"), or a "gnome," or a "troll," or a "froglock" (known for their efforts to "eliminate villainy and corruption" in the community). The networks to be analyzed are composed of social relations between such characters. The virtual-world data could be seen as fixing a data cost/quality problem only to introduce a validity problem. Figure 2 About Here At the same time, player demographics are not completely inconsistent with management populations. Williams et al. (2008) use a survey of EQ2 players to debunk stereotypes about online gamers. As might be expected, players were more often male (84.3%), but contrary to expectation, the largest concentration by age was in the 30s, not the teens, or college age. The average player was 31.3 years old, with many in their college years (13.4% less than 23 years old), and many in their middle age or older (15.2% over 40). The sample server was used primarily by US residents (83.0%; next is Canada with 5.6%), but relative to the US population, players came from wealthier backgrounds ($84,715 average household income versus $58,526 in the US census) and higher levels of education (27.1% of players had bachelor s or graduate degrees versus 24.0% in the US census). Construct Validity Critical validation for using the EQ2 data in Eqs. (2) and (3) comes from a report on the construct validity of social networks in the virtual world. Network structure is associated with trust and achievement in EQ2 just as it is in the real world (Burt 2011). That is to say, first, that trust between characters is more likely in relations embedded in closed networks of mutual friends. Second, achievement is more likely for characters with social networks rich in structural holes, and the association is steeper when avatar behavior is less defined by game software, just as we see in the higher returns to network advantage for managers doing work less defined by the organization which makes achievement more on appealing to colleague interests. It seems that collaborative projects inworld falter without a central person holding things together just like collaborative projects in the real world. Au (2008: 45) opines:
18 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 18 almost invariably at the heart of the collaborative process is a strong avatar with wit and galvanizing energy, keeping up the team s cohesion and morale. Au follows with a quote from a leader in the virtual world of Second Life reflecting on her experience: It was difficult balancing so many strong personalities... responding to drama, trying to find compromises when no on wanted to compromise, having to deal with the result of the compromises wherein everyone was unhappy and feeling cheated... at one point I was just logging in to be available for people to bitch at. That quote, and others like it (Teigland 2010:12), would not be out of place in the real world coming from the person managing a large project, especially a project that spans more than one functional or corporate organization. High construct validity for the EQ2 data trumps low face validity. It would be imprudent not to take advantage of the unique analytical opportunity the data provide. However, the data to be analyzed here are a biased sample of the population. For this analysis of multi-role networks, I put aside single-role networks, i.e., the people who played only one character. The 6,229 excluded people and their characters are a substantial minority of the population: 44.6% of the 13,968 players and 14.1% of the 44,185 characters played. More, the excluded characters are concentrated in the lower-right corner of the graphs in Figure 1 in that the single-role people averaged small, dense networks and relatively low achievement. Excluding a concentration of observations consistent with the predicted low achievement in small, dense networks could leave a weak network association with achievement in the rest of the population. Figure 3 and Table 1 are a quick check on selection bias, a baseline for the analysis, and vehicle for introducing the data. Given the large population of observations, I focus on the relative strength of test statistics more than absolute magnitude. In Table 1, Models 1 and 2 predict achievement for all characters in the population. Models 3 and 4 are the same as Models 1 and 2 respectively, but exclude the 6,229 characters in single-role networks. Models 5 and 6 are the same as 3 and 4 respectively, but include an additional five thousand observations by not controlling for
19 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 19 player differences in age, gender, and geography. The models are in pairs to check for consistent results across the two network measures. Figure 3 and Table 1 About Here Judging from Figure 3 and Table 1, selection bias does not seem to be a problem. Regression results in Table 1 are the same with and without single-role networks (compare the pattern of corresponding results in Models 1 and 2 versus Models 3 and 4), and all four graphs in Figure 3 show character achievement on the vertical axis increasing with access to structural holes. More, the shapes of the achievement-network associations in Figure 3 resemble associations reported for the full population (cf. Burt 2011:Figure 5), as well as those observed in management populations (compare Figure 3d with Figure 1a). Achievement Dependent Variable and Controls For a criterion achievement variable, I use the game level a character achieved by the end of the observation period. Williams et al. (2008: ) report from their survey of EQ2 players that people rate achievement as their most important motivation, and motivation to achieve predicts time inworld better than any other motivations. From his close study of EQ2 players, Yee (2001:70-72) describes character level as representing manageable steps in task complexity such that the reinforcement of level increases operates like a virtual Skinner box, encouraging players to spend a little more time to reach that so-close next level (World of Warcraft is similar, Ducheneaut et al. 2006:23-24). On average, increasing amounts of time inworld are required to move between higher levels, but it takes more than spending time to move to higher levels. Level is not an outcome fixed by the game software to certain amounts of time inworld or kinds of social networks. Individuals vary widely in the time spent reaching higher levels, and their networks vary widely at each level. There are confirmed instances of gold farmers, that is, players who develop characters quickly for re-sale, but the instances are rare (0.43% of characters were banned by Sony as gold-farmer characters, Ahmad et al. 2009, with an equal number of the remaining characters estimated to be the
20 Network-Related Personality and the Agency Question, Page 20 undetected work of gold farmers, Roy et al. 2012). I use four variables to hold level of experience constant: a player s time inworld, the number of characters in which the player was active, time spent since character creation in the character whose achievement is being predicted, and the player s proportion of time inworld spent in the character. Rows four through seven in Table 1 show achievement increasing with the number of characters a person played (t-tests of 6 in Model 3, 9 in Model 5), the time a player spent inworld (19 t-test in Model 3), and especially time spent in in the character whose achievement is being predicted (t-tests of 15 and 55 in Model 3). Player age, gender, and regional differences are irrelevant to achievement. The strongest correlate in Table 1 is gender, with women less likely to develop their characters to high game levels. Achievement has no association with player age. Closer inspection for age effects among younger and older players separately yielded no strong local associations with age. I also tried controls for character gender and race, but neither improved the prediction (.65 R 2 for Model 3 in Table 1 remains.65 with three additional predictors: a dummy variable distinguishing female characters, a dummy variable distinguishing the five good characters in Figure 2, and a dummy distinguishing evil characters). Given negligible achievement distinctions by player age, gender, and region, I put the distinctions aside, which recovers 5,164 characters lost due to missing demographic data (20,446 characters in Models 3 and 4 increase to 25,610 in Models 5 and 6). 2 2 Player age, gender, and region are self-reported. At least one of the three variables is missing for a third of the players with multi-role networks. Players missing data were not much different from other players in the number of characters played, but very different in experience and achievement. Missing-data players spent an average total of days inworld since they first entered EQ2, versus days spent by other players. The average character played by a missing-data player reached game level with a network of 1.77 nonredundant contacts, versus a average game level and 5.72 nonredundant contacts for the characters of other players. Even though the missing-data players are returned to the analysis after Model 4, their systematic difference from other players makes it useful to see in Table 1 that the achievement-network associations estimated without the characters of missing-data players (Models 3 and 4) are similar to the associations estimated with the characters included (Models 5 and 6).
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warc | 201704 | EU pet passport with rabies vaccinations - EU-Heimtierausweis mit Tollwutimpfungen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Pets require a passport when they travel from one country to another. The passport has official information about the animal in picture. Pet Travel Scheme or PETS, is a scheme which allows the easy obtainment of the pet passport with out going through quarantine. The animal can easily travel between member countries. Even the issue of passport is expedited through this scheme. They issue passport for even transport of pets. Some of the member countries are countries of the European Union along with the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has been famous for rabies control in the past and that is the reason why they require six month quarantine period for imported animals.
PETS’ scheme was introduced on October 1st, 2001. The scheme has also been rolled out in countries like the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Pets travelling to countries other than the member countries require a valid passport and rabies vaccination.
The pet passport has multiple forms which are in a small blur booklet or on pink A4 sheet. The passport contains the tattoo number of the animal or a microchip. A certification too is included, which has information about the rabies vaccination, which is signed by a veterinary surgeon that is officially approved. People usually confuse the passport with a purple colored small folder which is a folder that has records of the pet’s complete vaccination history.
Some countries accept this passport alone and others ask for supporting documentations relating to the procedure that needs to be followed. All the documents are checked at the time of boarding and upon arrival, too. The pet can only be taken as cargo or excess baggage and not as a checked baggage.
There are different requirements for different countries. The rules also differ for import and export of the pets. But there are certain specifications which are common. The pet should have a microchip implant beneath the skin. The chip should be according to the ISOP specification. Also, there should be a rabies vaccination certification. And there should be a proof that the vaccination is working, this can be done by taking a blood serology test, which shows that the pet is presently rabies free.
Some countries demand that the pet should be treated for fleas, tapeworms, and ticks. It should be done within forty eight hours. The government certifications are documents which have information about the export of the animal. A letter should also be taken from the vet from whom they confirm the pet’s fitness for travelling. Each individual carrier also has their set of regulations about the export and import of the animal.
Before travelling, the owner should thoroughly research the regulations of the arrival and departure points. The destination’s government website should be checked out because some countries ask for separate certificates for proof, to see whether the pet meets their requirements or not. The county’s consulate should also be contacted for details about the formal procedures. The travel crate should also be approved prior to the travel. The crate should have the appropriate food and water containers.
The owner can apply for the pet’s passport soon after it gets the vaccination certificate. If the rabies vaccination is out of date, the new vaccination must be given, but this will delay the passport procedure. In some cases, booster vaccination can also be given. While travelling, the pet shouldn’t be sedated, because heights can have an adverse affect on medication. Even most of the carriers do not allow sedated animals. The charges of every carrier vary on the type and size of the animal. Also, animals might not be taken by a particular route because of adverse temperatures as that can risk the health of the animal. The authorized travel route must be taken, in this case.
If the required documents are missing the pet will be refused entry o the owner will be asked to put the pet for at least six months in quarantine | 4,137 | 1,801 | 2.297057 |
warc | 201704 | “Happiness is having a scratch for every itch,” said Ogden Nash, and probably there is no dog in this world which wouldn’t agree with this statement. Pruritus (itching) and skin problems in dogs can be caused by different causes, however, itching represents one of the most typical symptoms of dog skin allergies. You’ll notice that your dog is scratching the ears, the face and the armpit area frequently, or it is licking and chewing the skin in the area of the stomach and hind legs…
But, first, let’s explain the way how allergic reactions occur in the dog’s body… Probably you have witnessed a situation when an angry dog is running after a car, attacking ordinary passers-by without some reason, barking at the postman or trying to fight with another dogs during walk…
Actually, we talk about extremely aggressive behavior in ordinary situations when there is absolutely no need of aggression. This may help you understand the way allergies occur in the body. Allergic reaction is a synonym for an extremely aggressive response of the immune system to substances from the environment which in fact are not dangerous for the health.
Different substances from the environment may be responsible for causing an allergic reactions in dogs, and the most common among them are food and some food ingredients, pollens, dust and dust mites, fleas and flea control products, different groups of medications, cigarette smoke, cleaning products etc. These substances are called allergens and when a hypersensitive dog comes in contact with them a series of events occur in the dog’s body creating an immune respond known as allergic reaction.
The body creates specific antibodies called immunoglobulins E (IgE) against those allergens. The antibodies bind to special cells in the blood called mast cells.
When allergen links with an antibody, the mast cells which are connected to the antibodies start producing histamine, a substance that causes inflammation and is responsible for all of the symptoms typical for allergic reactions. Allergies in dogs include atopic dermatitis caused by airborne allergens from the environment, flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) caused by proteins found in the saliva of the fleas and food allergies which can be caused by different food ingredients.
Allergic reactions may occur in dogs of any breed, in males and females at any age. The main characteristic is that dogs in most of the cases react with skin problems and itching is the most typical sign. The symptoms of skin allergies in dogs include frequent scratching and chewing of the skin, hair lose, skin lesions, bad smell of the skin and possible occurrence of the syndrome of hot spots. Keep in mind that allergies can be hereditary, so the breeding of animals with significant allergy problems is not recommended!
Airborne allergies in dogs
Atopic dermatitis (allergic skin disease due to environmental allergens) is the most common type of allergy in dogs. Common environmental allergens include dust mites, fleas, molds and pollen from flowers, grasses and trees. Itching is the most typical symptom of this airborne allergy and the intensity of scratching is individual for each animal.
Anti-itch therapies will help your dog feel better for a while but you must have on mind that this medications only eliminate the symptoms but they don’t fix the root cause of the problem. Besides the frequent scratching you can also notice symptoms like hair lose, scaly areas or acne-like bumps on your dog’s skin.
Foul odor from the dog’s skin can also be present in cases where bacterial skin infection has developed. German Shepherds, retrievers, brachiocephalic dogs (breeds with short nose), west highland white terriers, Shih Tzu, are the most predisposed dog breeds to atopic dermatitis, but this disease can occur at any other dog breed including mixed-breed dogs.
The symptoms may be present seasonally or through the whole year, depending mostly on the fact if the suspected allergen is found indoor or outdoor. The scratching can be more pronounced in certain body areas but it can also occur all over the dog’s body. The frequent scratching and biting can cause skin lesions and wounds where secondary bacterial infections can develop.
Other signs of atopic dermatitis may include licking and chewing the paws and rubbing of the face and the eyes. This type of allergy can also cause problems with dog’s ears and has a significant role in the development of chronic inflammation of the inner ear. This type of allergy can be managed but not cured, and long term medical treatment and re-checks are required.
Immunotherapy is the most common method to manage the course of this disease nowadays. It is usually implemented through series of allergy vaccines that gradually increase the amounts of the allergen in the dog’s body till the immune system becomes accustomed to these substances and it’s reactive responses become reduced, making the symptoms of the allergic reaction less pronounced.
Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD)
This type of reaction is not caused by the flea itself but from the proteins coming from the flea saliva and feces. In the most of the cases this problem appears in dogs which are occasionally exposed to fleas, rather than dogs which are constantly infested. The dog will scratch and chew the skin making skin lesions and wounds without hair that sometimes can bleed. This condition is known as syndrome of hot spots in dogs.
Having on mind that this allergy is actually caused the flea saliva, it is recommended to bathe your dog to eliminate all traces of flea saliva and feces. Bathe your dog often, at least once a week, and always use a proper shampoo because clean animals are less attractive to ectoparasites, including the fleas. Have on mind that using wrong shampoos may cause problems with the dog’s skin and coat.
Do your best to prevent the flea infestation of your dog and your home. Pick a good quality flea control products for your dog and the environment recommended by your veterinary doctor.
Food allergy in dogs
Dogs may also be hypersensitive to some foods or certain food ingredients, such as beef, chicken, fish, soy, eggs etc.. The key thing in the whole issue is locating the substance that the dog’s immune system is considering an allergen. Speaking on this topics we have to mention the difference between food allergies (that are based on the immune response to specific nutrient) and food intolerance, which represents a digestive problem that occurs when the dog’s body doesn’t have a specific enzyme required for the digestion of certain food ingredient.
If it is suspected that the allergic reaction is caused by a substance present in the food or the dog treats an elimination diet in a consultation with your veterinary doctor is recommended. It means that your dog will be put on a 12 weeks exclusive prescription diet based on proteins from meat sources that your dog has never consumed before and are less likely to cause allergic reaction. This diet can also be provided by using a commercial hypoallergenic dog food made from novel food ingredients consisted of proteins from limited sources.
If the allergy was really caused by food the symptoms will start disappearing very soon.
The next step is to gradually introduce your dog the food he used to consume previously and try to conclude the type of food that caused the problem by noticing the first symptoms of allergic reaction which usually appear between one hour to two weeks after the allergen was ingested.
There are few nutrition tips that can help you prevent the appearance of allergies. Always use different sources of protein in the diet of your dog and rotate them constantly in order to reduce the chances of occurrence of hypersensitivity. It has been proven that puppies fed with food reach with probiotics are less likely to develop food allergies in the future as adults.
Besides this, significant role in the allergies control plays using fish oil in your dog’s diet as well as minced flax seed. Essential fatty acids such as omega-6 and omega-3 showed very good results in the treatment of many atopic dermatitis cases. Vitamin C addition in the dog’s diet is also recommended.
Diagnostics – the most important part
You must have on mind that many of the skin problems require a long-lasting medical treatments so the exact diagnosis plays a key role in solving the dermatology issues. Remember that a good veterinarian will never rush with diagnosis trying to impress you with his knowledge and security. He will always approach the issue very carefully and patiently and he will use all the available diagnostic methods before he sets the final diagnosis.
Your trusted vet and his ability to recognize and locate the real cause of the allergy is of the utmost importance for the allergy treatment. Therefore, one of the favorite veterinarian quotes says that the diagnostic in veterinary medicine is an art that requires passion, while the therapy is just a boring duty.
After a general clinical examination of the dog, if it is necessary your veterinarian may recommend additional tests and diagnostic methods in order to determine the main cause of the allergic reaction. These methods may include different blood tests and if it is considered that the allergic reaction is caused by a substance present in the dog’s environment, indoor or outdoor, the vet can recommend additional tests such as intradermal allergy test, very similar to the allergy test used in the human medicine that should help to detect the root cause of the allergic reaction.
The intradermal allergy test is consisted of series of intradermal shots that contain samples of the most common allergens from the environment. After that the veterinary dermatologist will simply check which substance caused the most significant skin reaction in order to detect the main cause of the immune response. Then you and your veterinarian should carefully develop a long-term treatment strategy in order of successful dealing with this complicated health condition.
Good treatment strategy will be consisted of plan for avoiding exposure of the dog to the allergen, providing immunotherapy (allergy vaccines), anti-itching symptomatic treatment that should help your dog feel comfortable, and a wide spectrum antibiotic therapy.
Corticosteroid therapy has an effect is to turn off the immune system and thus stops the allergic reaction. It is often used in combination with antihistamine therapy (most commonly used drug is Benadryl), but however, this treatment only works for eliminating the symptoms and it doesn’t fix the root cause of the the problem. The use of these drugs is very risky and carries many side effects which could be dangerous for the dog’s health, so therefore the long-term use of this kind of therapy is not recommended unless necessary.
A good vet will certainly avoid the use of this drugs unless the case requires their use and there is no better solution available. It must be noted that corticostroid therapy can interrupt the reproduction cycle in females (heat) so the owner must be informed for the consequences, especially if it is a breeding female. Cyclosporine’s as immunosuppressive drugs are very effective in the treatment of many cases of atopic dermatitis and have fewer side effects than corticosteroid / antihistamine therapy.
If the dog makes scratching skin lesions and wounds it is necessary to apply antibiotic therapy to prevent complications in form of secondary bacterial infections of the skin. Topical antimicrobial therapy (sprays with antibacterial and antifungal effect) are often used in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
Prevent your dog’s exposure to cigarette smoke!
Cigarette smoke is irritating for most of the dogs and some of them can also develop an allergic reaction to it. As an veterinarian by profession. but first of all as conscientious dog owner, I became allergic to the behavior of certain smokers which concerned that smoking in presence of pets is normal and can not be harmful.
I personally believe that there is nothing wrong if you politely ask smokers to avoid smoking in the presence of your pets just as you would ask them not to smoke in the presence of your children. At least this is a type of allergy where you really have a chance to take the allergen away of your dog.
Be up to date with your dog’s vaccination protocol and don’t allow over-vaccination of the dog as well as excessive use of medications without any important reason because these things significantly affect the state of the dog’s immune system. Always provide good hygiene of the dog’s coat, the place where the dog resides as well as his toys, dishes and water bowls because it plays a major role in preventing of different environmental allergies.
Make sure you perform effective dust mite control because dust and dust mites represent a very common cause of allergies in dogs that live indoor. Bathe and brush the dogs coat often and use a proper products. Consult with your veterinarian when picking a shampoo for your dog, because a long-term use of inappropriate products for dog bathing can cause dry skin and lead to dermatology problems.
The flea control products
Make sure your dog is free of ectoparasites such as fleas and ticks. Always use proven flea control products. Indoor allergens can cause allergic reactions in dogs during the whole year and the best solution would be to identify those substances and eliminate them from your home if it is possible. Outdoor allergens usually cause problems with seasonal allergic reactions.
Make sure you brush and bathe your dog often enough, at least once a week. It is also recommended to clean your dog’s paws after returning home from walks, to make sure the dog does not convey a specific substance with him in the house from the outside.
Hygiene maintenance
If your dog is sensitive to pollen limit the dog’s outdoor exposure during a season when pollen counts are high. Try to eliminate indoor moisture if the dog is sensitive to fungi and mold. Maintain hygiene and always use clean food dishes and water bowls. Reduce carpeting and upholstered furniture to prevent possible allergy to dust mites. Vacuum the dogs bedding often. It is recommended to do it at least twice a week.
Try to do everything in your power to eliminate the substances that can irritate your dog and cause an allergic reactions because prevention is always a better solution. Inform your trusted veterinarian as soon as you notice that some unusual changes have appeared at your dog’s body or in his behavior. Make sure you do everything you can for your dog to be healthy and happy, because your dog absolutely deserves to feel good in his skin! | 14,964 | 5,752 | 2.60153 |
warc | 201704 | The act of caregiving in general can be very difficult. Caregiving at end of life is extremely difficult. For many caregivers it can unexpectedly stir up emotions that were never felt before. Through caregiving, the focus is always on the person who is being cared for and the caregiver puts themselves and their feelings on […][Read more...]
Dying is never a topic that is easily talked about. Recently we have all learned about a dying young woman, Brittany Maynard. Brittany is only 29 years old and she is dying from a glioblastoma brain tumor. She is advocating for a movement called death with dignity in California, and nationwide in partnership with Compassion & Choices, […][Read more...]
Copyright © Dr. Dan Gottlieb. All rights reserved. Website designed and maintained by The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. | 836 | 500 | 1.672 |
warc | 201704 | A Selection from the Top US Facilities – Sponsored Sponsored centers in or near Michigan Find a Substance Abuse Rehab Center in Michigan
An addiction to alcohol and drugs is one of the most frightening problems in a person's life; not just for the abuser, but for family and friends as well. Therefore, you'll want to seek a MI drug abuse treatment clinic for you or someone you care about as quickly as possible. The longer the addiction endures, the higher the likelihood of the addicted individual doing irreparable harm to their relationships and their health.
Fortunately, MI is home to many highly-rated inpatient treatment clinics for dependence on drugs or alcohol. This means that whether you're looking for executive, private or some other type of treatment center, you'll be able to get it. If you find the options, or the process of choosing, too great to deal with, know that our no-cost help line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with helpful service advisors waiting to help you. For your sake and for the people you care about, don't delay. Call 1-888-744-0069.
Learn More about the Symptoms, Effects and Treatments by Substance The Treatment Process Intervention
Interventions are required when an abuser is unprepared to take charge of the issues associated with their narcotic dependence. These can be done by a gathering of everyone close to them or include professional help.
Detox Services in Michigan
While not all drugs require detox services, it is critical they are removed from your system before starting rehab recovery. Detox is often considered to be the hardest element of rehab, because it is at this time withdrawal symptoms occur. Depending on the abuse kind and severity, they can range from mild to dangerous, so it's important to have licensed practitioners there to help you through detoxifying.
Michigan Residential Rehabilitation Centers
Whether you're looking to stop taking Mushrooms, Narcotics, alcohol or some other substance, Michigan residential drug abuse rehab centers can help. Our industry-leading directory will assist you in locating all of the nearby facilities, though we're always here to take your call if you need further help or find the choices a bit too much to cope with. Our number - 1-888-744-0069 - at no charge is and staffed at any time of day.
Addiction Therapy after Inpatient Substance Abuse Rehab
30, 60 and 90-day treatment regimens aren't always enough. Upon leaving rehabilitation, you'll have the option of starting into ongoing therapy. The benefits of addiction therapy are you'll continue to have individual and group counseling while further building your confidence.
Exploring Trends for Drug-Related Searches in Michigan Interpreting This Streamgraph
The vertical height of the uniquely colored layers, or "streams", are demonstrative of the relative popularity of each drug keyword.The layers in aggregate demonstrate the search popularity for
all of the keywords relative to the entire time series. normalized search indexthat is relative to related search keywords. What About Luxury Drug Abuse Treatment Centers?
When you want to really take advantage of your MI inpatient drug abuse rehab stay, consider luxury or executive options. Luxury treatment for abuse of narcotics means you'll get the best-rated amenities and be receiving world-class rehab. Fine bed linens, four-star chef prepared meals and private rooms are just some of the perks you can expect. If we can help you decide, call around the clock on our hotline: 1-888-744-0069. | 3,558 | 1,760 | 2.021591 |
warc | 201704 | …any short run gains from delay tend to be outweighed by the additional costs arising from the need to adopt a more abrupt and stringent policy later.7 An analysis of the collective results from that research, described in more detail in Section II, suggests that the cost of hitting a specific climate target increases, on average, by approximately 40 percent for each decade of delay. These costs are higher for more aggressive climate goals: the longer the delay, the more difficult it becomes to hit a climate target. Furthermore, the research also finds that delay substantially decreases the chances that even concerted efforts in the future will hit the most aggressive climate targets.
The paper presents a meta-analysis of costs and delays:
…The data set for this analysis consists of the results on all available numerical estimates of the average or total cost of delayed action from our literature search. Each estimate is a paired comparison of a delay scenario and its companion scenario without delay. To make results comparable across studies, we convert the delay cost estimates (presented in the original studies variously as present values of dollars, percent of consumption, or percent of GDP) to percent change in costs as a result of delay.20 We capture variation across study and experimental designs using variables that encode the length of the delay in years; the target CO2e concentration; whether only the relatively more-developed countries act immediately (partial delay); the discount rate used to calculate costs; and the model used for the simulation.21 All comparisons consider policies and outcomes measured approximately through the end of the century. To reduce the effect of outliers, the primary regression analysis only uses results with less than a 400 percent increase in costs (alternative methods of handling the outliers are discussed below as sensitivity checks), and only includes paired comparisons for which both the primary and delayed policies are feasible (i.e. the model was able to solve for both cases).22 The dataset contains a total of 106 observations (paired comparisons), with 58 included in the primary analysis. All observations in the data set are weighted equally.
Analysis of these data suggests two main conclusions, both consistent with findings from specific papers in the underlying literature. The first is that, looking across studies, costs increase with the length of the delay. Figure 2 shows the delay costs as a function of the delay time. Although there is considerable variability in costs for a given delay length because of variations across models and experiments, there is an overall pattern of costs increasing with delay.
For example, of the 14 paired simulations with 10 years of delay (these are represented by the points in Figure 2 with 10 years of delay), the average delay cost is 39 percent. The regression line shown in Figure 2 estimates an average cost of delay per year using all 58 paired experiments under the assumption of a constant increasing delay cost per year (and, by definition, no cost if there is no delay), and this estimate is 37 percent per decade. This analysis ignores possible confounding factors, such as longer delays being associated with less stringent targets, and the multiple regression analysis presented below controls for such confounding factors. | 3,386 | 1,537 | 2.202993 |
warc | 201704 | Shane Robinson, associate professor in the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership wants to teach students math and science through green energy and biofuels. He is partnering with the OSU Biobased Products and Energy Center (BioPEC), who has an objective to provide education about biobased products and energy through secondary education.
“A focus of ours is to produce teachers who can teach science, math and technology in the context of agriculture,” Robinson said. “We really feel like our teachers have a unique opportunity to integrate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) competencies at the secondary level through real-life application of their students’ agricultural projects.”
It has been nearly three years in the making and now the National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) has joined the project. Currently students Marshall Baker and Joey Blackburn, are developing curricular materials for high school agriculture teachers focusing on biofuels and renewable energy. Environmental and energy education has become a primary initiative for teachers around the country, but many need help in developing curriculum and getting access to materials. This initiative is designed to meet this need.
“Everywhere you turn you read about green energy and the need for clean energy,” Robinson said. “We stress the importance of being a lifelong learner to our students. We stress to them the importance of being aware of the current issues of the world we live in and being able to talk about those issues in the classroom. Therefore, it’s important for our pre-service and in-service teachers to be knowledgeable about biofuels and other renewable energies.”
Most recently, a wind energy camp was held for Stillwater High School agriculture students ranging from 8th through 12th grade. The students were split into two groups for the camp. In one room, students were exposed to a very school-like, structured lecture and quizzed following each 40-minute session. The second room was much more loosely structured and more interactive, hands-on and student-led.
Baker, who designed the study, found that students in the student-led classroom scored significantly higher in creativity and practical applications after the one-day camp. While the students in the structured setting scored higher in content knowledge, Robinson said there was no statistically significant difference.
“There’s a way to teach this information,” Robinson said. “Allowing students to inquire into the learning process can be extremely beneficial. If you stand up there and try to teach it to them one slide after another and go through all the in-depth technical information necessary to make them experts in renewable energy, you’re going to lose them. Our goal is to raise their awareness of renewable energy and its impact on agriculture in Oklahoma so that they can be informed and make knowledgeable decisions on its utility in the future.” | 3,134 | 1,471 | 2.130523 |
warc | 201704 | Boeing, South African Airways (SAA) and SkyNRG are partnering together to develop aviation biofuel from a specific type of tobacco plant. SkyNRG is currently expanding its production of Solaris, an energy crop hybrid derived from the tobacco plant. Pilot farming of the plant, which is effectively nicotine-free, is underway in South Africa with to end goal of producing advanced biojet fuel from the seeds. As the program expands, Boeing expects emerging technologies to increase South Africa’s aviation biofuel production from the rest of the plant.
The project is an effort to expand the support of South Africa’s goals for improved public health along with economic and rural development.
“It’s an honor for Boeing to work with South African Airways on a pioneering project to make sustainable jet fuel from an energy-rich tobacco plant,” said J. Miguel Santos, managing director for Africa, Boeing International. “South Africa is leading efforts to commercialize a valuable new source of biofuel that can further reduce aviation’s environmental footprint and advance the region’s economy.”
In October 2013, Boeing and SAA agreed they would work together to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa. As part of that effort, they are working with the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials to position farmers with small plots of land to grow biofuel feedstocks that provide socioeconomic value to communities without harming food supplies, fresh water or land use.
Ian Cruickshank, South African Airways Group Environmental Affairs Specialist said of the expanded project, “By using hybrid tobacco, we can leverage knowledge of tobacco growers in South Africa to grow a marketable biofuel crop without encouraging smoking. This is another way that SAA and Boeing are driving development of sustainable biofuel while enhancing our region’s economic opportunity.”
“We strongly believe in the potential of successfully rolling out Solaris in the Southern African region to power sustainable fuels that are also affordable,” added Maarten van Dijk, Chief Technology Officer, SkyNRG. | 2,189 | 1,052 | 2.080798 |
warc | 201704 | Computer adaptive testing, Big Data and algorithmic approaches to education
Thompson, Greg (2016) Computer adaptive testing, Big Data and algorithmic approaches to education.
British Journal of Sociology of Education. (In Press)
Accepted Version (PDF 226kB)
Administrators only | Request a copy from author
Abstract
This article critically considers the promise of computer adaptive testing (CAT) and digital data to provide better and quicker data that will improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of schooling. In particular, it uses the case of the Australian NAPLAN test that will become an online, adaptive test from 2016. The article argues that CATs are specific examples of technological ensembles which are producing, and working through, new subjectivities. In particular, CATs leverage opportunities for big data and algorithmic approaches to education that are symptomatic of what Deleuze saw as the shift from disciplinary to control institutions and societies.
Impact and interest:
Citation counts are sourced monthly from and citation databases.
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Citations counts from the
indexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
ID Code: 94072 Item Type: Journal Article Refereed: Yes Keywords: adaptive testing, NAPLAN, datafication DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2016.1158640 ISSN: 0142-5692 Divisions: Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Education Copyright Owner: 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Deposited On: 24 May 2016 23:56 Last Modified: 30 May 2016 16:40
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Repository Staff Only: item control page | 1,960 | 1,084 | 1.808118 |
warc | 201704 | Title:
Measuring the impact of climate change on Britain
Adaptation to past changes in the climate of Britain may be indicative of the way in which society will respond to future climate change. The long run costs associated with climate change are, once full adaptation has occurred, not obviously detrimental. Furthermore even if the frequency of 'extreme events' such as floods and storms increases it is not apparent that these will necessarily be as detrimental to society as they currently might seem since society in effect chooses its exposure to extreme events. Some extreme events such as hard frosts are likely to decrease in frequency. The thesis uses the theory of hedonic prices to examine the role of climate variables in explaining differences in average residential land prices and wage rates relating to 127 English and Welsh counties, Scottish regions, metropolitan areas and London boroughs. Substantial evidence is found in favour of the hypothesis that compensating land price differentials exist for climate variables. An alternative approach to estimating amenity values is to argue that households respond in part to differing levels of environmental amenities by altering their patterns of consumption. This phenomenon can be given a 'Household Production Function' interpretation. Given the assumption of 'demand dependency' between climate variables and marketed commodities it is possible to determine the amenity value of climate change from market data. Using cross country data for 60 countries the analysis points unambiguously to the existence of a 'climatic optimum'. The hedonic technique can also be used as a means of determining the value to British agriculture of a marginal change in climate. In the hedonic approach sale price differentials between land characterised by different climates is given an interpretation in terms of underlying productivity differences. Data characterising over 400 separate transactions in farmland is analysed and the value of marginal changes in climatic variables computed. The analysis suggests that the financial value of climate variables to farmers could in some cases be quite high and also that changes in seasonal patterns and the frequency of 'extreme events' are quite important. The impact of climate change on the chosen destinations of British tourists is also investigated. Destinations are characterised in terms of various 'attractors' including climate variables, travel costs and accommodation costs. Together these variables are used to explain the observed pattern of overseas travel in terms of a model based on the precept of utility maximisation. This approach permits the changes in consumer surplus following climate change to be predicted and effectively identifies the 'optimal' climate for generating tourism. It is argued that British tourists are likely to experience a large gain in welfare in the sense that the attributes of nearby (low cost) locations improve following climate change. Finally, information on marginal willingness to pay for climatic amenities is combined with predictions concerning the scale and direction of possible climate change over Britain in order to provide a money measure of the welfare impact of such changes. Because households appear to prefer a climate characterised by much higher temperatures than currently prevail over Britain households reap large gains from climate change. | 3,424 | 1,552 | 2.206186 |
warc | 201704 | Title:
Leptin and acute appetite control
Moderate physical activity and snack intake suppress the appetite of obese and lean women acutely. The associations between circulating leptin and appetite-satiety ratings suggest that there is some physiological involvement of leptin in short-term appetite regulation in response to physical activity-induced factors but only in obese women. The exercise-related factors considered in this thesis as possible mediators of leptin action were catecholamines, fatty acids, glucose and insulin. Adrenaline is unlikely to be the exercise factor responsible for the coupling between leptin and satiety since adrenaline infusion stimulated an increase in subsequent energy intake in obese women. Labetalol decreased circulating FFA and increased glucose concentrations, which confirms at least b-adrenoceptor blockade. Any conclusion with respect to the a- adrenoceptor blockade should be drawn with caution since labetalol, an a/b blocker, has greater affinity for b- than a-adrenoceptors. No differences in appetite/satiety sensations were found following exercise with adrenoceptor blockade compared to exercise alone. This indicates that the observed anorexic effect of exercise on appetite in obese women was not mediated by b-adrenoceptors. Noradrenaline is another possible exercise factor that could mediate the coupling between leptin and appetite in obese women since it is known that leptin and noradrenaline (NA) have common hypothalamic targets (e.g. NPY) and their effects are mediated by a-1 adrenoceptors. Labetalol probably was not a sufficiently strong a-adrenoceptor blocker to investigate such effects. A study of a more selective a1-adrenoceptor antagonist might be helpful in the investigation of the interaction between leptin and NA in the regulation of eating. Study 4: In endurance-trained athletes a short term detraining increases postprandial plasmin leptin, induces insulin resistance but has no effect on appetite/satiety ratings. The results of the present studies implicate leptin, insulin, insulin resistance and noradrenergic factors in the control of eating following exercise and detraining. | 2,167 | 982 | 2.206721 |
warc | 201704 | Title:
Trade union, managerial and employee perceptions of organisational participation and democracy at work
This synoptic paper accompanies refereed articles, chapters in books and books published between 1977 and 2001 by the author on the theme of trade union, managerial, and employee perceptions of organisational participation and democracy at work and is submitted for a PhD by Publication. It shows how these eleven publications represent a "substantial, continuous and coherentb ody of work" on the theme and demonstratesh ow they, both individually and collectively, have made an original contribution to knowledge in this specific field. The author distinguishes between direct participation and indirect or representative forms of organisational participation and claims to have made a contribution to both. During the period spanned by these twelve publications, perceptions of trade unions, management and employees about organisational participation and democracy at work have undergone great changes. In the 1970s, trade union perceptions of organisational participation and democracy at work led the TUC among others to campaign for worker directors as a form of industrial democracy to influence boardroom decisions outside the scope of collective bargaining. The Labour government of the day supported the TUC initiative with the Committee of Inquiry on Industrial Democracy chaired by Lord Bullock. The author contributed to the national debate on worker directors with the publication of his book on the British Steel Worker Directors. He also researched direct forms of employee participation such as job enrichment, job enlargement, and autonomous working groups internationally, arguing for their incorporation in industry. When the Conservative Party came to power, the worker director avenue to indirect employee participation at boardroom level was effectively blocked. The author then turned his research attention to management-led forms of direct employee participation, namely Quality Circles and Total Quality Management with their forms of employee empowerment. His publications also foster participation for leavers and survivors in corporate downsizing. | 2,194 | 963 | 2.278297 |
warc | 201704 | While many people worry about typing and sending credit card numbers over the Internet, the reality is that few credit card numbers are stolen off the Net. Not only would a potential thief need to tap into your Internet account at the exact moment you're sending your credit card number to a website, but he or she would have to break the encryption scheme that many websites use to protect your credit card numbers online.
If someone's going to steal your credit card number, they're more likely to get it by breaking into the computers of a large organization, such as Amazon.com or CD Universe, and stealing the credit card numbers stored there. Such companies may also have the odd untrustworthy employee who has access to the company's list of customer credit card numbers, and who can steal a number simply by copying it off the computer screen.
Credit card fraud is actually much more troublesome for merchants, because merchants are responsible for verifying credit card orders. If a thief steals someone's credit card and orders thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, the merchant pays for the loss, not the owner of the stolen credit card.
So if you're a merchant, be extra careful when accepting credit card orders. To help protect your business, follow these guidelines:
Validate the full name, address, and phone number for every order. Be especially vigilant with orders that list different "bill to" and "ship to" addresses.
Watch out for any orders that come from free email services (http://hotmail.com, http://juno.com, http://usa.net, etc.). Free email accounts are easy to set up with phony identities, which means most credit card thieves will list a free email account when asked for an email address.When accepting an order from a free email account, request additional information before processing the order, such as asking for a non-free email address, the name and phone number of the bank that issued the credit card, the exact name on the credit card, and the exact billing address. Most credit card thieves will avoid such requests for additional information and look for a less vigilant merchant to con.
Be especially careful of extremely large orders that request next-day delivery. Thieves usually want their merchandise as quickly as possible, before they can be discovered.
Likewise, be careful when shipping products to an international address. Validate as much information as possible by email or preferably by phone.
For more information about protecting yourself from credit card frauds and other online thievery, visit the AntiFraud website at http://www.antifraud.com. | 2,628 | 1,206 | 2.179104 |
warc | 201704 | Published on October 28th, 2013 |
by Zach Best Electric Car Cities In US?
I’m a big fan of ranking… just like the rest of you. However, I generally hate that most rankings are presented in absolute terms rather than relative terms. For example, there are many rankings of the “best electric car cities” based on the total number of electric cars, total number of public electric car charging stations, etc. Much better would be if these cities we ranked based on electric cars
per capita or electric car charging stations per capita.
Luckily, ChargePoint gets that. ChargePoint is the company with the nation’s largest electric vehicle charging station network. On Friday, it released a ranking of the best electric vehicle (EV) cities “based on the number of EVs owned as well as the number of public charging stations available on the ChargePoint network,” and it made sure to calibrate those with population! ChargePoint, I love you.
First, here’s the quick snapshot of the best electric car cities in the US:
Here’s more info from ChargePoint:
“While Los Angeles has the most number of EV drivers (over 17,000), based on population differences, San Francisco Bay Area with nearly 15,000 EV drivers led the nation, followed by Honolulu and Seattle. When it comes to EV charging stations, San Francisco Bay Area also led the way both cumulatively and based on population with nearly 4,000 stations, and equating for population, Austin and Seattle followed.”
“We are witnessing historic growth in the electric vehicle market,” said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint. “The cities and the businesses in those communities that invest in EV infrastructure, not surprisingly, also see the largest sales in electric vehicles. We are no longer debating if EVs have a future, but instead are witnessing cities across America compete to be the most EV friendly.”
Indeed, 100% electric car sales grew 447.95% January–September 2013 compared to January–September 2012. That’s big. A number of states just last week teamed up in an effort to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles on their roads. You’ve got to be a little slow to think that electric cars are not the future of the automobile.
Thanks to ChargePoint for this latest ranking. And thanks to the following cities for their promotion of clean, electric vehicles:
San Francisco Seattle San Diego Austin Honolulu Los Angeles Portland (Oregon) Detroit Washington, DC Boston | 2,546 | 1,215 | 2.095473 |
warc | 201704 | With the end of 2015 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In August, we examined construction time trends for single-family homes. A separate post also examined multifamily trends.
————————————————————
The 2014 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that the average completion time of a single-family house is around 7 months, which usually includes around 25 days from authorization to start and another 6 months to finish the construction. The timeline from authorization to completion, however, is not consistent across the nation, depending on the housing category, the geographic location, and metropolitan status.
Among all the single-family houses completed in 2014, houses built for sale took the shortest time, 6 months to completion after obtaining building permits, while houses built by owners required the longest time, 11.5 months. Single-family homes built by hired contractors had around 8 months from permit to completion, and homes built for rent normally needed between 9 and 10 months. Compared to a prior 2012 analysis, the average permit-to-completion timespan of single-family houses built for sale and for rent was one month longer in 2014.
A large proportion of single-family homes built for sale and on owners’ land built by either owners or contractors began construction within the same month after obtaining building authorizations. However, homes built for rent typically had a one-month lag between permits and construction start in 2014.
The average time from authorization to completion also varies across the nation. The Middle Atlantic division had the longest time of 9.5 months, followed by New England of 9 months, Pacific and East North Central of 8 months in 2014. These four divisions all had above average time from permit to completion. The shortest period, 6 months, happened in the Mountain division, which also had the shortest waiting period from permit to construction start.
The metropolitan status indicates how long it takes to build a single-family home. Houses in metropolitan areas, on average, took nearly 7 months to completion, which was 2 months shorter than those in non-metropolitan areas. This pattern was quite consistent across the nation, except for the Middle Atlantic division where the average month to completion in metropolitan areas was longer than in non-metropolitan areas in 2014.
The SOC also collects sale information for houses built for sale, including the sale date when buyers sign the sale contracts or make a deposit. In 2014, the share of single-family sold while under construction was almost 70 percent, with 30 percent even sold before construction start and 12 percent sold during the same month of completion. The percent of single-family houses completed in 2014 stayed unsold at the first quarter of 2015 fell to 5 percent from 6 percent in 2012, indicating an improving sale market for single family homes. | 3,108 | 1,266 | 2.454976 |
warc | 201704 | Share Food Chemistry Research
It is similar to biochemistry in its main components such as carbohydrates, lipids, and protein, but it also includes areas such as water, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, food additives, flavors, and colors
This discipline also encompasses how products change under certain food processing techniques and ways either to enhance or to prevent them from happening. An example of enhancing a process would be to encourage fermentation of dairy products with microorganisms that convert lactose to lactic acid; an example of preventing a process would be stopping the browning on the surface of freshly cut Red Delicious applies using lemon juice or other acidulated water.
Food Chemistry researchers working in the Department of Food Science at Penn State. | 785 | 453 | 1.732892 |
warc | 201704 | Posted by fmba
on Sep 18, 2014 in Executive MBA
| 0 comments
Most people in full-time MBA programs are there because they expect a significant salary jump from their next job. Business schools advertise the return on investment their students can expect. Websites aimed at applicants offer ROI calculators. Some B-school rankings award extra points for schools that net their alumni big post-MBA salaries. (Bloomberg Businessweeks MBA rankings dont factor in salary outcomes.)
The executive MBA is different. Its not just a way to move up the pay scale. Employers, who often support EMBA candidates either by paying their managers tuitions or offering them time off, do expect a return on their considerable investmentjust one thats not measured only in dollars. Individuals and organizations want to transform themselves in an increasingly competitive market. Cultivating executives who can help them do that is far more valuable than producing managers who make for the next raise.
Companies want their EMBAs to bring fresh insights back to the job, and to be confident and thoughtful enough to make difficult decisions. Keeping this expertise within the corporation is extraordinarily valuable. Last year, during our Oxford EMBA program in India, for example, an American student spent a free afternoon recruiting potential staff for their employer from a Bangalore IT firm. Class peers gave him insight into the local job market and how to recruit the best team. He returned home, mission accomplished... | 1,515 | 867 | 1.747405 |
warc | 201704 | Discussion in 'Other Health News and Research' started by Christopher, Feb 3, 2014.
02 February 2014 http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.3442.html
I've asked oncologists how often cells with neoplastic potential arise and are eliminated by active immune response in healthy people. The answers I get basically indicate that they don't know because it isn't cancer until it proliferates. Some have added that immune function is not compromised until late in the disease. This is true for general immune function, but understanding of specific immune compromise, as in the case of those subsets of T-cells which perform this function against a particular pathogen, is still very poor. We saw evidence that highly specific immune dysfunction is possible in ME/CFS patients in recent research by Carmen Scheibenbogen's group in Berlin. The most striking aspect had to do with a missing response to EBNA-1, a protein produced at the very beginning of the replication cycle. As I understand things, (and this is a limited understanding,) LMP1 is formed fairly late in the sequence of events leading to EBV replication. Expression of this, and especially some mutant forms of the gene, seems to be connected with metastasis. It appears to perform dual, opposing roles: first, it signals on cell membranes that a cell is actively infected, enabling immune response to eliminate those cells; second, it interferes with the ability of the cell to adhere to membranes. Once cells with oncogenic properties cease to be confined to membranes they are much more likely to become metastatic. This is the point at which it becomes much, much harder to control or eliminate a neoplasm.
You can also try a Google Site Search
Separate names with a comma. | 1,760 | 960 | 1.833333 |
warc | 201704 | It doesn't matter much anyway...
all they're trying to do is to come up with an object database of the optimal process for every possible business. Unfortunately, anywhere there are humans involved, the optimal process is degraded by mistakes and lack of 100% productivity. After all, the optimal process would be wholly automatable - no humans required.
I agree with the others, BPM is a waste of time...unless they can do a stopwatch run on the new process that's faster than the previous process and doesn't detract from productivity - but that's an engineering process (tiny revisions to the model) rather than re-doing the entire process and hoping it works not only 100%, but better.
And don't forget that all the while, the poor users are trapped in the middle trying to hang on to their jobs. Change things, and productivity automatically drops.
This is not good business. Good business is not changing the production floor until the new process model is proven to be more effective than the previous model.
Business rules to live by:
1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
2. Don't break anything (you idiot).
3. If you break it, you buy it (and you're fired).
Live by these rules and you already have the optimal process, which has been in place for time immemorial. BPM is making management people forget rule #3 (especially when they change the production floor with unproven ideas). | 1,403 | 752 | 1.865691 |
warc | 201704 | On July 9, amid rainwater cracks in limestone rock, charcoal ibex painted by prehistoric man and discarded artifacts from Victorian-era picnics, a loose collective of Jewish women will sing songs of the Sephardic Diaspora.
Vocalists Sarah Aroeste, Mor Karbasi and Françoise Atlan will perform at the inaugural Gibraltar World Music Festival in the time-formed Cueva de San Miguel, or Saint Michael’s Cave, a labyrinth of limestone caverns in the Rock of Gibraltar. They will be joined by the band Ofir, and are billed together as the Sephardic Divas. Such a performance would have been unimaginable only a decade ago. Back then, Aroeste remembers, Ladino music, also known as Judeo-Spanish music, was just a shadow of a spirited klezmer scene packing venues throughout New York.
“I saw these klezmer musicians, and I was so jealous of them,” related Aroeste, now 36. At that time, in 2003, she was just wrapping up her debut album, a set of traditional Sephardic standards titled “
A La Una.” Since then, the Ladino community has exploded. Its growth has largely been due to the Internet, which has connected musicians like Aroeste to other artists and fans, taking small communities and forging them into a global movement.
“I don’t believe any of us have ever met,” Aroeste said of her soon-to-be co-performers in Gibraltar. “We’re all in different countries.” Their home bases include the United States (Aroeste), France (Atlan) and Spain (Karbasi). Yan Delgado, whose organization, Sephardic Stories, is putting together the festival, is from Casablanca but now lives in Gibraltar. Other artists, like Yasmin Levy, whose father, Yitzchak Levy, was the director of the Judeo-Spanish department in the Israeli broadcasting service Kol Israel, reside and perform in Israel. Sefiroth, a 10-piece minimalist band that deploys stripped-down interpretations of classical Sephardic songs, comes from England. The band released two EPs, “
Arboles Iloran por Iluvia” (“Trees Cry for Rain”) and “ Abre Tu Puerta Serrada” (“Open Your Closed Door”) in February.
The story of artists working to keep their historic culture relevant and fresh is a familiar one, but in the case of Ladino, it has a few unusual wrinkles. To start, the dispersed state of Ladino music is rooted in its very inception. Ladino refers both to the assorted dialects of the Spanish Jewish exiles who were forced to flee Spain in the 15th century and to their musical traditions. As such, there is not one Ladino culture, but a Diaspora filled with them, from the Balkans to Turkey to the Middle East and North Africa.
Practitioners of Ladino music reflect this eclecticism. Aroeste traces her ancestors back to Greece’s Macedonia and to the country’s once vibrant community of Salonica, which was almost completely obliterated in the Holocaust. “Honestly, it’s the most typical immigrant story,” Aroeste told me over the phone in early May, from her home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Her family fled to the United States during the Balkan Wars, in the 1910s.
“I knew my family was different from other Jewish families, so I made it my mission to teach myself as much as I could about my Sephardic tradition,” Aroeste explained. That mission took her to the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in 1997, where she studied with Nico Castel, author of two classic Ladino songbooks. In between opera lessons, they went through the Ladino repertoire together. Today, Aroeste performs and occasionally gives workshops on such topics as “Women and Sensuality in Sephardic Music” at local synagogues and at Jewish community center events. For the past two years, she has focused on songwriting and recording.
While Ladino music is part of an ethnic folk tradition and is still performed at weddings and community events, it has also become a serious subject of academic inquiry and, for artists like Aroeste, a bit of both. These exchanges between popular and academic studies of Ladino culture complicate notions of what is, or isn’t, authentic.
“In Judeo-Spanish song, it is particularly difficult to figure out where ‘outsider’ ends and ‘insider’ begins,” Judith Cohen wrote in a 1993 article in Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal. Cohen, an ethnomusicologist at Toronto’s York University who specializes in Ladino music, points out that some Ladino performers are gentiles, while others, like herself and her daughter, Tamar, with whom she released an album, “
Sefarad en Diáspora,” in 2006, are Ashkenazi Jews.
Even artists like Aroeste, who come from ethnic Sephardi backgrounds, may not have heard Ladino spoken in their homes and had to discover the language and music later in life. Only about 100,000 people around the world still speak Ladino, and they are concentrated mostly in Israel.
Notably, while there are a few male artists, the public faces of the Ladino revival today are female. “There are a lot of young, pretty women out there right now,” Aroeste said, explaining their particular visibility in Ladino music. “We’re dark haired, we’re exotic.” Aroeste’s music is specifically concerned with the role of women in Ladino and mainstream culture. The opening track of her new album, “Gracia,” samples Gloria Steinem, and poet Vanessa Hidary, aka the Hebrew Mamita, raps throughout. The album itself is named after Dona Gracia Mendes Nasi, a 15th-century Jewish woman who developed a sort of underground railroad for
conversos, Jews who converted to Catholicism to flee the Inquisition.
Ljuba Davis, who has been performing Ladino music since 1969 and just released her first album, “East and West,” agrees with Aroeste. “I think women relate to it more, but I’m not sure why,” Davis said. She recalls flipping through Sephardic catalogs at music stores and finding a predominance of women artists. “Maybe women are just more sensitive to this kind of emotional music,” she said.
Davis, a Ladino pioneer, performed folk protest music in coffee shops and campuses throughout Boston, Chicago and California’s Bay area in the 1960s and ’70s. When she moved to Berkeley in 1969, she started researching the Ladino canon and soon began performing it almost exclusively. “It was this music that had to do with my family’s oral tradition and heritage,” she said. “I had to learn it.”
Singing traditional songs as a woman creates its own set of issues. Davis released “East and West” as a double album. One disc has her vocals on it, while the other is just male vocals and instrumental tracks. Though she isn’t Orthodox herself, Davis wanted her music to reach as large an audience as possible, including Orthodox men who won’t listen to
kol isha, or women singing.
Aroeste has had her own
kol isha concerns. When she first started playing Ladino music, she got a call from a synagogue asking her to perform. Their only stipulation was that someone else sing her music. She declined. “I laughed,” she said. “I thought that was funny, because my music is me. It’s my voice.”
For all its novel characteristics, it’s change, more than anything else, that defines the Ladino revival. It’s an unmoored and eclectic musical movement that has been displaced geographically many times over, absorbing the languages and music of Jewish communities throughout the world. By accommodating a plethora of traditions that cross geographic, ethnic and musical borders, Ladino guarantees its survival. In the hands of artists sorting out their own narratives, it allows them to tell a generous story of inclusion.
Mordechai Shinefield has written about music for Spin magazine, Rolling Stone and the Village Voice. | 7,960 | 3,784 | 2.103594 |
warc | 201704 | Behavioral and accessible/cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits Darli Ozbun PSY/250 April 18, 2011 University of Phoenix/Jorey Krawczyn Behavioral and whole/Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits Behavioral and societal/cognitive accesses to forming uniforms give 6th sense and reasoning to habilitate formation. Behavioral approach looks whole on environmental influences. hearty/cognitive approach looks at how hoi polloi view their environments and how they be in relation to others. These approaches can be engrossd with the analysis of an undivided who continually asks if passel are softheaded or unkept with them. learning of a excogitation to interchange the drug abuse finished use of operant condition gives the psyche the option for successful tog reformation. Evaluation of which approach topper suits the individuals personality helps to determine the to a greater extent or less adept suggestions. (Friedman, H.S., & deoxyadenosine monophosphate; Schustack, M.W.,2009) Formation of the Habit Formation of the habit began at a in truth young age. Parents break and each remarried and divorced a substance of four generation without the development historic period of the individual. A child who lived with virtuoso parent or other at different quantify in their life, they became in well(p) and in pauperism of deficient to please people.
The individual began plainly asking people if they were upset with them based on how they comprehend behaviors exhibited towards them or through behaviors find in a friendly setting. A impart means to the habit was a stepmother who was emotionally and physically abusive. drop of attentiveness by the father march on enhanced the behavior. Social body process in school from the ages of 10 13 was most concentrated as the individual was the win of teasing and taunting. much of the habit formation was out of a desire to be discover and accepted. The habits life has seen progression through unstable quantify in the individuals life and has regressed at times where the individual was secure in family and work. The habit...If you want to get a full essay, station it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper | 2,225 | 1,138 | 1.955185 |
warc | 201704 | One town in California just announced that they’re planning something big: The largest “wounded warrior” center in the country. The facility will be used to help rehabilitate injured veterans — but instead of being a government project, it is being built by private individuals.
It’s called the National Wounded Warrior Center, and the goal is to be the premiere location in the United States for helping men and women who return from war.
According to Fox News, the proposed project in Mammoth, California will be a 28,000-square-foot facility with a variety of services for vets. Those will include physical and mental therapy for troops coming back from combat.
The plan goes beyond just therapy, however. It will also have a college and job training programs to help veterans transition to new careers.
Of course, the great location of the facility also means that attendees can enjoy outdoor activities such as skiing.
Much to the dismay of liberals, it turns out that the government doesn’t have to try to poorly solve every problem. The Mammoth project is proof of that.
It is being created by a private group called Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, and is being funded from non-government sources.
“We know that we can work our magic here, and the mountains are healing, the community is warm and welcoming,” said Kathy Copeland, the executive director of the group. “We know we change lives, we make a difference.”
Copeland also stated, “Service members tell me the hardest part of being in the military is getting out. Our wounded, ill and injured heroes need our support!”
This is definitely a great idea. Not only does it help America’s true heroes return to better lives, but it also reverses the leftist narrative that big, overreaching government is the only way to solve a problem.
—Courtesy of The Conservative Tribune | 1,916 | 1,013 | 1.891412 |
warc | 201704 | Think of this as a little 101 in decorating. While we all cannot possess the eye for exquisite design and detail — we can decorate our homes as though we do. In some ways, interior decorating can be thought of as a formula with specific steps; building blocks that will help create your very own interior design.
On the other side, there is an art to decorating; a flair that doesn’t really follow any rules or formulas. While you may not have an artful flair, you can begin to learn how to develop one.
How? Well, there are some basics when it comes to pulling together the interior design of a room. By following these 10 steps you can begin to create a peaceful and functional interior space that takes your four walls and makes them feel like home.
1) Functional Layout
Interior design must begin with a functional layout of a room. To begin, we suggest looking online for the numerous free offerings of online tools for room layout and design. In these design programs you can input room measurements, furniture measurements and then play with room layout to see what is most optimal.
We learn a lot of our floor plan mistakes the hard way, so why not virtually design your room first, avoiding the drudgery of moving heavy furniture around, and failing repeatedly to get the proper layout.
Functionality of your home is very dependent on individual lifestyles. If you have an empty nest, then you may be more willing to invest in expensive pieces and room decor, while busy families may prefer an open floor plan that is unobstructed by numerous decorative objects. Consider your individual living needs and then choose the right design software that can help you achieve your ideal layout.
2) Splurge on Seating
Most designers will tell you that if you are going to splurge on one item, then let it be the sofa. Choosing the correct seating for a room is overwhelming! What color do you choose? What fabric? What size? How much should you spend? What is a good quality sofa? This New York Times article offers some insightful advice when it comes to choosing a high-quality sofa.
Visiting numerous design showrooms will also help you in the initial search of style options that suit your needs and tastes. But before venturing out to shop, MEASURE! It would be awful to fall in love with a piece only to discover that it is too large for your space.
We suggest you narrow down your choices to a few final options and then choose based on highest quality. A sofa can be a lifelong investment when the best quality is purchased, so buy the best that you can afford. Oh, and choose a fabric that you won’t grow tired of…who wants to live with a floral patterned couch or a dated “it was hot when I bought it” color the rest of their lives?
3) Decorative Objects
It seems frivolous to add objects into a room that have no real use. Why would I buy something that I cannot use? Well, the answer is simple—because it makes a style statement, thereby adding to your decor.
An eye for appealing aesthetics is something that you may not posses right away, but through trial and error, you can discover the correct assortment of decorative objects that work in your home. A lot of interior designers say that if you absolutely love something, then buy it, you will find a place for it and a way to make it work. This mantra may work for those of us with a seasoned design knowledge, but not for the more timid newcomers to design.
If you are at a loss, we suggest browsing through magazines and interior showrooms to see what you love. Take notice of the way showrooms display their decorative objects; notice that most things are placed thoughtfully into groupings and not strewn about individually through the room. Most of all, buy what you love; what speaks to who you are.
4) Add Some Green
Plants are commonly an after-thought. This is a design mistake. You may think that you have a room completely, immaculately designed, but look to see if you have incorporated plants and natural elements.
It is amazing what happens to the warmth and design spirit of a room the minute that you add a tall potted palm plant. Immediately the room seems fresher and more properly put together.
The Huffington Post offers numerous houseplant suggestions that make your home brighter and the air cleaner. Even if you consider yourself anything but a green-thumber, you can still incorporate easy-care houseplants into your interior design—you will be so that glad when you admire the new level of interior design your room achieves thanks to greenery.
5) Add Layers
Layering a room is paramount to comfort and visual warmth. Look to the room in the image below. A fuzzy area rug is layered over the rooms main carpeting; pillows are perched in layers on the bed and on the chairs; curtains layer the windows; a blanket layers the side of a chair….
All of these elements form a cozy stratum within the room that help it achieve a well-decorated aesthetic. While considering the layers that you would like to add to your design think about choosing varying textures and fabrics— think velvet pillows, silk curtains, mohair blankets, and plush area rugs.
All of these different textiles make the layering effect even more lavish. Go from blah to beautiful by layering your room today.
6) Incorporate Black
This little-known trick works! No matter what your design tastes— country to minimalist— every interior design should incorporate a few splashes of black.
Why? Black adds a sense of depth, character and focus to a room like no other color can. It can be as simple as incorporating pictures in black wooden frames, or a black graphic print on your curtains, or a black stripe lining throw pillows… it doesn’t matter where you choose to incorporate this bold color, as long as you incorporate it somewhere.
Some may argue that this same effect can be achieved through other bold colors, but we suggest you just try it with black and see what happens.
7) Create Vignettes
As mentioned above, decorative objects can take a space from bland to outstanding. Not only do you have to incorporate decorative objects, you also have to place them into proper vignettes.
In home decorating, a vignette is a grouping of objects or furniture. You can create a vignette through a grouping of art on your wall, or a grouping of objects on a table, or a grouping of chairs near a window to create a conversational seating. By arranging your items in this manner, you create areas for the eye to stop, relax and stay awhile.
Try arranging your favorite objects on a coffee table, or create a centerpiece of candlesticks on your dining table…anything goes as long as it is a cohesive grouping. If you are new to this idea, then start slowly and keep your groupings limited to 3 items that have common elements such as color, theme, or texture.
8) Make It Yours
This is where you get to have fun and showcase your personality. There is nothing worse than a home that doesn’t speak to the owners loves, travels, tastes, passions, and hobbies.
If you love color, then find ways to incorporate color through pillows and removable wallpaper. If you have travelled the world, then showcase the pictures you have taken or the items you collected while traveling. If you love giraffes, then incorporate some giraffe print on a foot stool or area rug.
Get the picture? Make the interior design speak to who you are. This is where you get to have fun and create your own personal masterpiece.
9) Stick With Classic Lines
Whether you are a poor student trying to furnish your first apartment or you are upgrading to the home of your dreams—it is always best to keep the lines of your larger (more expensive) furniture pieces classic.
Classic lines are classic for a reason—they will never go out of style. Why spend $5000 on a sofa with bold angular lines that will date itself in 5 years? You can incorporate trends in less expensive pieces, but its best to keep your main furnishings simple, clean and classic.
Look to the dining room in the image below. The black dining chairs are classic and go with any decor; they stay on-trend via the leopard fabric that can easily be changed, while the shape of the chair will never go out of style and is a great investment piece.
10) Take a Picture and Then Edit
This might be one of the most important steps. After all, a picture is worth one-thousand words. Standing back and taking a snap shot of your room allows you to peer through a new perspective. In a way, a photograph allows you to see the room for the first time, through a visitor’s eyes.
Suddenly it becomes glaringly obvious that a picture needs to be moved because it is hung too high, or that you have too many small objects cluttering the room, or that the pillows really don’t work.
Taking several snapshots of the room from different angles is the best way to edit a room of its clutter and items that simply don’t work in the space.
Do you feel like this was a little 101 in decorating? While this certainly doesn’t cover all the design secrets (only an interior designer can do that), it does get you started on the right path to creating a well-designed home that is functional and attractive—a home that speaks to who you are.
Everyone can incorporate these tips: layout the room properly, splurge on a great sofa, arrange decorative objects into vignettes, layer your rooms, add plants, incorporate black, stick with classic lines, take pictures to edit, and most importantly make it yours.
What little tricks do you have up your sleeve to make your a home a well-designed space? | 9,721 | 4,244 | 2.290528 |
warc | 201704 | Follow the money and you’ll inevitably find out what’s really going on.
In the case of Clark County, Nevada, rancher Cliven Bundy’s standoff with federal agents from the Bureau of Land Management, the leading explanation has been that he hasn’t paid grazing fees and his cattle threaten endangered desert tortoises in the Gold Butte area.
But the fact of the BLM bringing in hundreds of armed rangers with trucks and helicopters seemed over the top for protection of a tortoise that has clearly survived despite more than a century of ranching by the Bundy family, and which the BLM had previously been slaughtering with the excuse that it lacked funding to care for the animals.
As reported by the Associated Press in August, the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center in Southern Las Vegas, funded by the BLM, was looking at killing half of its 1,400 tortoises because it could not afford to keep its doors open since the housing collapse resulted in less income from developers.
So why does the BLM profess to care so much about the fate of tortoises, who seem to be doing fine, in the Gold Butte area?
Certainly it’s not all of the answer because the BLM dispute with Bundy goes back to 1993, but part of the answer may be that Gold Butte also lies inside what the BLM has called the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone, part of the federal government’s plan to put solar power plants and factories on BLM-controlled lands in six Southwestern states.
As part of the plan for the Dry Lake solar zone, any solar developers are expected to pay into a fund to “mitigate” the Gold Butte area. However, the “mitigation” activities can’t take place with cattle grazing in the area. If the mitigation doesn’t take place, no money for the BLM.
One of the companies interested in building a solar plant on BLM-controlled land is the Chinese firm ENN Energy Group, which wants to build a $5 billion solar facility in the Nevada desert near Laughlin. ENN is represented by lawyer Rory Reid, Sen. Harry Reid’s son. The Chinese firm also wants to build on a 9,000-acre plot in Clark County, where rancher Cliven Bundy is holding off the BLM, and where Rory Reid used to be the chairman of the County Commission.
According to Reuters, the County Commission voted to sell ENN the public plot of land for $4.5 million, a fraction of its appraised value of $38.6 million.
Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid has been one of ENN’s most prominent supporters. According to Reuters, he recruited the company for the project during a trip to China in 2011. Reuters also reports that Reid has tried to pressure the state’s largest power company, NV Energy, to become ENN’s first customer.
Sen. Reid has had other links to dubious power projects, including Amonix, a company with no record of success that received huge tax breaks then collapsed. There was also Nevada Geothermal, which received $98 million in federal loan guarantees but in a recent filing with the SEC revealed that it is undergoing substantial problems that threaten its ability to continue as a company.
Both Reids have denied ever discussing the ENN project or working together in any way on it, but the paper trails suggest otherwise.
A Clark County commissioner recently said that supporters of Cliven Bundy “better have funeral plans,” and the situation seems primed and ready for violence, with hundreds of federal rangers on one side, and ranchers and militia members on the other.
If blood ends up being shed over a desert tortoise, the trail of gore may lead straight to Harry Reid’s desk in the Senate chambers. | 3,664 | 1,772 | 2.06772 |
warc | 201704 | We’re rolling out a new monthly feature on our Government Contracts Insights blog, presenting a handful of interesting bid protests from the preceding month. Rather than exhaustively analyzing each decision, we will highlight a few protest grounds that we think are noteworthy or just good reminders for companies competing for contracts and agencies conducting procurements.
As previously discussed in this blog earlier this year, the Court of Federal Claims refused to dismiss a protest where the protester was itself one of multiple awardees and objected to corrective action that resulted in award to a sixth firm. The court’s approach was interesting because it stood in stark contrast to the traditional position of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which customarily finds that awardees lack the direct economic interest necessary for standing to protest.
After letting the protester make its case, the court has now denied the protest on the merits, finding that the agency did not terminate its power to accept an offer by initially sending an “Unsuccessful Offeror” letter to the protested awardee, that awarding six contracts did not violate the solicitation’s provision for “approximately four” awards, and that the best value tradeoff was not flawed, even though the protested awardee’s past performance rating did not change as a result of the corrective action.
The last holding is a useful reminder of the “considerable deference” the court and the GAO give agencies in determining best value. Although the protested awardee’s underlying rating did not change from the first evaluation (when it did not receive an award) to the corrective-action evaluation (which resulted in an award), the agency’s second source selection decision added analysis and documented the agency’s consideration of factors that led the court to “discern[] no irrationality” in the award decision. In other words, the same underlying evaluation may support different award decisions, as long as the agency documents a reasonable tradeoff analysis in accordance with the solicitation’s evaluation scheme. If the agency does that, neither the court nor the GAO will substitute its judgment for that of the agency.
This protest centered on whether the page limits imposed by a Request for Quotes (RFQ) applied only to initial quotes, or also to revised quotes submitted in response to a request for quote revisions. The protester’s revised quote exceeded the RFQ page limits, and the agency disregarded the excess pages, leading to an adverse evaluation. The protester argued that the RFQ and request for revisions were ambiguous regarding whether the page limits continued to apply to revised quotes, and the protester reasonably assumed they did not. The court disagreed, finding that the RFQ clearly established a page limit that the request for revised quotes did not change, and that the protester’s contrary interpretation was unreasonable. Although the court’s resolution did not require it to decide whether the alleged ambiguity was latent or patent, it noted that, to the extent any ambiguity regarding the page limits was patent, Federal Circuit precedent required the protester to raise the ambiguity with the agency before the time set for submission of revised quotes or the protest ground would be waived.
The moral of the story is that bidders should not assume a solicitation means one thing when there is a readily apparent possibility it may mean something else. Although
ambiguities ( latent i.e., ones a reasonable reader would not notice) will be construed against the government as the solicitation’s drafter, a bidder that fails to challenge a ambiguity ( patent i.e., one a reasonable person should notice) before the date set for receipt of proposals waives the right to protest it later. If you are not sure what a solicitation provision means, ask the agency before you submit your proposal. GGear involved an agency’s rejection of a late proposal. The solicitation instructed offerors delivering proposals by hand to submit their proposals to the agency’s Business Opportunities Office by 3:00 p.m. The protester alleged that its courier arrived at the agency 45 minutes before the deadline, but was denied entry at three different security checkpoints when the guards were unable to contact the contracting officer or contract specialist (who did not work at the Business Opportunities Office) by phone. The agency, however, showed that the designated office was open and had escorts available for couriers, that no voicemails were received from the protester prior to 3:00 p.m., and that the protester did not send its first email requesting assistance until 3:27 p.m.—after the deadline had passed. The agency also showed that other offerors successfully hand-delivered proposals that day and blamed the protester for instructing its courier to seek out the contracting officer, rather than to go to the Business Opportunities Office as instructed. The GAO denied the protest, holding that the agency properly rejected the proposal, which was late through no fault of the government.
The takeaway here is that offerors should follow solicitation instructions to the letter and should not wait until the last minute to submit their proposals. And, after the proposal is submitted, an offeror would be wise to seek a confirmation of receipt well before the deadline has passed.
In this fixed-price procurement, the agency based its award decision in part on a determination that weaknesses in the protester’s technical approach were likely to pose a cost risk. The protester argued that, because the fixed-price nature of the task order shifted cost risk onto the contractor, the agency’s concerns about cost implications were unreasonable. The GAO agreed with the protest and also found that the procurement record did not demonstrate that the agency performed an adequate best-value tradeoff of the protester’s low price against the higher priced offeror’s higher evaluated technical merit.
This decision highlights the importance of contract type to the way agencies treat cost-related issues in a proposal. It is also a useful reminder that, despite the great deference shown to agencies’ best-value decisions, the GAO will not uphold a decision that is inadequately documented or based upon an underlying evaluation that is unreasonable.
Agencies use an offeror’s past performance to determine the degree of confidence they can have in that offeror’s ability to successfully complete a similar contract in the future. In
Rotech, the GAO found the agency unreasonable and gave the awardee a Good rating for past performance based on its performance of contracts that the agency failed to analyze for similarity in size to the work being solicited. Although the GAO generally considers past performance evaluations to be a matter within an agency’s discretion, here there was no record that the agency considered the size and scope of the reference contracts at all, and the GAO accordingly sustained the protest on this ground.
The GAO also found that, months after discussions had closed, the agency invited the awardee to confirm or update its pricing, but did not afford the protester the same opportunity. Although the awardee did not revise its pricing, the protester successfully argued that because seven months had passed since final proposals had been submitted, it would have been able to submit a lower price if it had been given the same opportunity as the awardee. The GAO considered the invitation to revise pricing to be disparate treatment, tantamount to a reopening of discussions with a single offeror, and sustained the protest on this ground as well. | 7,873 | 3,160 | 2.491456 |
warc | 201704 | by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
In today's world we are being told – brainwashed into believing actually – that material things will bring us happiness. Whoa! How wrong.
We are told that if we just work hard enough, get the right job, and earn more money we will be able to buy all those things that bring us happiness.
When we have bought the first things and that happiness is still alluding us we are told that we just need to buy more things and happiness will come from those things we are being told, by advertising (and our governments) that we need to make us happy, we will be happy.
The harder we work, the more we earn and the more we buy happiness is still always, so we are told, just around the corner if we fail, as most do, to obtain it by those means.
A bigger house, a bigger car, a bigger TV, a better PC, a new kitchen, vacationing abroad in exotic places, etc. All of those, supposedly make us happy. Does it?
Buying happiness, obtaining happiness, by means of ever more things and through work that does not make us happy just so we can buy all those things is an illusion. The problem is though that most people do not realize it.
More, more and yet still more is the name of the game of the rat race but happiness it brings not and happy it makes us not.
If we look at people who have very little they are often happier than we, in the developed world, are until such a time that they, unfortunately, also fall prey to the advertising hype.
Happiness eludes most people who try to pursue it by way of the rat race and more and more consumption. Most, if not indeed, all of the rich people are not happy at all. They still want more and more regardless that they already have more than enough.
This is also from whence comes a great deal of the woe that the world is experiencing. They want more and more, those rich, and not just the rich and those that cannot afford to buy themselves the happiness they are told is found in possessions go and commit crimes to satisfy the craving.
My greatest joy, personally, comes from making things for myself from trash or from natural materials; rebuilding bicycles from old, abandoned ones, and such like and from finding useful things that others have thrown away (or lost and cannot be bothered to retrieve). Not from craving more and more expensive things; toys basically. And it comes from trying to live with spending as little as possible.
I do not need this or that new gadget or whatever to be happy. However, this is possibly due to the fact that I grew up poor but being taught from an early age that money and possessions not for happiness make. And true this is a hundredfold.
We need to set out upon a different road to find fulfillment and happiness and one that, at the same time, reduces our impact on the Planet.
The pursuit of happiness by consumption is not sustainable and is destroying the very Planet that we depend upon and will not make us happy anyway. Time for a serious rethink and a new course of action.
© 2012 | 3,033 | 1,438 | 2.109179 |
warc | 201704 | by Michael Smith (Veshengro) What do monks and gardeners have in common? They spend much of their time on their knees.
Where monks spend this time in prayer gardeners spend this time battling weeds and often the only way to do that is, simply, by doing it by hand and kneeling is part of this exercise.
While some weeds are beneficial and many even are edible others are a nuisance and thus must be removed if our plants, especially our vegetables, are to thrive and, as said, often the only way to do that is removing those plants in the wrong place, aka weeds, by hand.
The fingers may be able to do some of the work there are definitely times, and I know that for certain, when weeding tools are called for. Many gardeners will use trowels or hand forks to loosen the ground and then pull the weeds by hand and, yes, that does work. Others, on the other hand, and pardon the pun, swear by the use of a weeding claw, much like the old-time cultivators.
To a degree, as with many gardening tools, it is a case of horses for courses but, as far as I am concerned, the best tool for hand weeding plant beds of any kind is a wire weeder, sold under the name of Wonder Weeder, but which can be made by easy DIY, or substituted with a hoof pick.
I have made my own wire weeders and do, more often than not though, use an old hoof pick for this purpose.
The advantage of a wire weeder or hoof pick to loosen the soil and pick out weeds is that you do not have to lay the tool aside when picking the weeds up with the hand and disposing off them into a trug, for instance. The tool just rests inside the palm of the hand while picking and then is ready for use again straight away. Saves time.
There are, no doubt, times when you have to remove a larger weed, or one with a deep root that has become rather established and other tools are required, whether this the hand fork, trowel, or a weed removal tool such as Grampa's Weeder or the Fiskars Weed Puller W52 or W82.
In general, however, a wire weeder is all you need, with the other tools as a back up
© 2013 | 2,073 | 1,044 | 1.985632 |
warc | 201704 | The MagSafe power connector for Apple MacBooks is probably one of the handiest features they developed — we’re not too sure why it hasn’t been integrated onto iPhones yet. [Tony Hoang] isn’t sure either, but that didn’t stop him making his very own!
Due to the size of the MagSafe adapter, it’s simply not possible to integrate it directly into an iPhone, so [Tony] took his trusty Otter-box case and modified it instead. He’s using a Qi wireless charging receiver on the inside of the case, because it has a very slim ribbon cable to the USB. Modifying that he was able to solder on the MagSafe adapter directly to the ribbon cable. In order for it to fit nicely through the case, he 3D printed an adapter bracket for it to stay nice and secure.
From there it was just a matter of soldering the MagSafe power cable onto a 5V USB power brick, and boom-bada-bing, he’s got a MagSafe compatible iPhone. Previously he’s done this mod to a Samsung Note II, and plenty of other people have added it to laptops and ultrabooks!
[Ivan] had a simple idea: being able to control his Android device from the small keypad on his car’s steering column. This would allow him to cycle through apps, navigation, and audio tracks while never taking his hands off the wheel. Feature creep then set in and [Ivan] asked himself how he could charge his phone through the same interface. What he ended up with is a head unit that’s also a dock.
While [Ivan]’s steering wheel doesn’t have the nice integrated remote control buttons found in newer cars, he does have a Blaupunkt remote, a small, clip-on controller that has a an IR transmitter on it. The IR receiver was connected to a PIC microcontroller, sending commands to the phone for up, down, left, right, menu, and home. Audio output from the phone is handled by a small USB sound card connected to a USB hub, sending the audio signals directly into the head unit’s amplifier.
Having the phone charge while it’s still in USB host mode is the crucial part of this build; not being able to charge on a long car ride would quickly drain the battery and make a car dock kind of pointless. To accomplish this, [Ivan] simulated a Galaxy S4 dock with a few resistors in the USB port, allowing the phone to control the USB sound card, listen to the emulated keyboard and mouse, and charge at the same time.
It’s not a pretty build, but it is extraordinarily useful. In the videos you can see that [Ivan] pretty much pulled this build together from stuff he had sitting around – a great reuse of junk, and a great addition to his car at the same time.
For years now, people have been trying to develop an affordable, RepRap-derived 3D printer that will create objects in metal. There has been a lot of work with crazy devices like high-powered lasers, and electron beams, but so far no one has yet developed a machine that can print metal objects easily, cheaply and safely. For The Hackaday Prize, [Sagar] is taking a different tack for his metal 3D printer: he’s extruding low temperature alloys just like a normal 3D printer would extrude plastic.
[Sagar]’s printer is pretty much a carbon copy of one of the many ‘plastic-only’ 3D printers out there, the only change being in the extruder and hot end. As a material, he’s using an alloy of 95.8% tin, 4% copper, and 0.2% silver in a 3mm diameter spool. This alloy melts at 235° C, about the same temperature as the ABS plastic these printers normally use.
The only real problems with this build are the extruder and nozzle. [Sagar] is milling his own nozzle and hot end out of stainless steel; a challenging bit of machining, but still within the realm of a hobbyist. He has some doubts about the RepRap derived plastic geared extruder being able to handle metal, so he’s also looking at designing a new version and milling that out of stainless as well.
It’s an awesome project, and we hope we’ll be seeing some updates to the project shortly. While a 3D printer that produces objects out of a low temperature alloy won’t be building rocket engines any time soon, it could be a great way to fabricate some reasonably high-strength parts at home.
The project featured in this post is an entry in The Hackaday Prize. Build something awesome and win a trip to space or hundreds of other prizes.
A team based in Russia has developed a program that has passed the iconic Turing Test. The test was carried out at the Royal Society in London, and was able to convince 33 percent of the judges that it was a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy named Eugene Goostman.
The Turing Test was developed by [Alan Turing] in 1950 as an existence proof for intelligence: if a computer can fool a human operator into thinking it’s human, then by definition the computer must be intelligent. It should be noted that [Turing] did not address what intelligence was, but only tried to identify human like behavior in a machine.
Thirty years later, a philosopher by the name of [John Searle] pointed out that even a machine that could pass the Turing Test would still not be intelligent. He did this through a fascinating thought experiment called “The Chinese Room“.
So last week the SupplyFrame office Prusa i3 finally gave up the ghost — the z-axis threaded rods unwound themselves from their couplers and the whole thing fell apart. So we needed to get some better couplers as our tubing wasn’t going to cut the mustard anymore. Thankfully Pasadena is full of 3d printer people! Within a few blocks of our office we have New Matter, DeezMaker, and a soon to be announced 3d printer from ToyBuilderLabs.
The one everyone is talking about right now is New Matter who recently announced an already successful fundraising campaign for the first run of their $250 3d printer, the MOD-t. This has been making the rounds recently due to its low price and stated aim of bringing 3d printing into the home of the masses (a tale as old as time, right?). It’s a lovely goal for sure, but they will definitely have their work cut out for them, but perhaps this is the team to make it happen? We decided to head over to their lab since it’s just around the corner from our office and see if we could get them to print some new couplers and maybe take a look at their printer while we were at it, videos and pictures after the break!
The lowly diode, a device with only two leads, can nonetheless do many things. Diodes can detect, rectify, suppress, emit light, detect light, change capacitance, emit microwaves and more. This wide range of use means diodes are included in almost every design and it’s well worth learning more about the inner workings of all kinds of diodes.
My introduction to diodes started like many of my generation with a homemade crystal radio set. My first diode was a piece of pencil graphite in contact with an old fashion safety razor with the joint of the two dissimilar materials — graphite and steel — creating the diode. In this configuration the diode is said to be “detecting” which is the act of turning a weak radio signal into a weak audio signal. At least in my home town of Marion Indiana, one radio station was stronger than the other so that I didn’t have to listen to two stations at once.
I eventually learned about “real” diodes and the 1N34A Germanium diode was my “goto” diode into my teens. Nowadays looking into a modern version of the 1N34A you can still see the semblance of the old “cat’s whisker” by looking carefully into the diode.
A quick and somewhat inaccurate semblance of the way a diode works can be demonstrated with marbles and jacks representing negative electrons and positive “holes”. Holes are basically an atom missing an electron due to the combination of elements, a process known as doping. Join me after the break for the explanation.
Virtually everyone has played Simon, that electronic memory game from the 70s, but who among us has actually beaten it? That was the goal of [Ben] and his 7-year-old daughter, and after a year of work, an Arduino, some servos, and a few Lego bricks, they’ve finally done it.
Instead of the large original Simon, [Ben] is using a key chain version of the game: much smaller, and much easier to build a device to sense the lights and push the buttons. The arms are made from Lego bricks, held up with rubber bands and actuated with two servos mounted on a cutting board.
To detect Simon’s lights, [Ben] connected four phototransistors to an Arduino. The Arduino records the pattern of lights on the Simon, and activates the Lego arms in response to that pattern. [Ben]’s version of Simon has only a maximum of 32 steps in the final sequence, but that still means each game takes 528 button presses – and a lot of annoying beeps – to complete. | 8,980 | 4,155 | 2.161252 |
warc | 201704 | The health care domains model identifies four domains within health and social care and medicine. What evidence is there to support the model's inclusion of:
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL
- plus the spiritual within and without? Steve Buller and Tony Butterworth undertook a ethnographic study in 2001 '
Skilled nursing practice - a qualitative study of the elements of nursing'. With skilled nursing practiceat the center (Fig. 5.) they identified:
relating and communicating doing the job being professional managing and facilitating
There is some overlap,
reflectionarises in relating and communicatingand doing the job. Overall however there is a definite correspondence between these domains and those within h2cm - the health care domains conceptual framework. I have equated being professionalwith the SOCIOLOGY domain as for the authors this includes being with patients, conveying confidence, handling situations, being informed. Managing and facilitatingis undoubtedly POLITICAL with supervising, auditing, making sure things get done. Doing the job- is based upon planning, informing, assessing, intervening, and being confident (with equipment, procedures, manual dexterity..?).
Having been thinking and writing about h2cm for many years it is a shame that other models have benefitted from funding and gain "ward and community (research) cred" while here evidence is retrofitted. Looking at the paper just in the decade since submission and publication I wonder which elements remain
local, and where other elements of the skills base (care concepts) have migrated to ethnographically?
Steve Buller, Tony Butterworth (2001) Skilled nursing practice — a qualitative study of the elements of nursing. Int. J. of Nursing Studies. 38, 4, 405-417. | 1,790 | 947 | 1.89018 |
warc | 201704 | Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body’s Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. ISBN:978-0062080639 Publisher:Harper One Date Published:September 20, 2011 Pages:288 Genre:Non-Fiction; Health Rating:5.0 out of 5 Book Summary:Why do some of us get sick with greater frequency than others?
What makes us more susceptible to illness?
Are we doomed to get sick when our coworkers and family members do?
Is there a secret to staying healthy?
Joel Fuhrman, M.D., a leading expert and board-certified medical specialist in prevention and reversing disease, offers a comprehensive guide to superior health.
Based on the latest scientific research,
Super Immunityshows us how we can become almost totally resistant to colds, influenza, and other infections.
The evidence is overwhelming: we can supercharge our immune system to protect our bodies against disease—everything from the common cold to cancer. Nutritional science has made phenomenal strides and discoveries in recent years, and when this new research is applied it enables us to seize control of our health like never before. Dr. Fuhrman explains this new science, providing everything you need to know to put this knowledge into action in your kitchen and in your life. What we eat has everything to do with our health, and, unfortunately, too many of us are living with a severely depleted immune function. Our dietary choices are making us sicker, shortening our lives, and costing us billions of dollars in doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescription medications. But Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t believe more medical care is the answer. Rather, he explains the solution is to change the way we eat. The standard American diet is nutrient deficient. We are eating too many highly processed foods, foods with added sweeteners, and animal fats and protein. At the same time, we are not eating enough fruits, beans, seeds, and vegetables, which leaves us lacking in hundreds of the most important immune-building compounds. By changing our diets and combining foods that contain powerful immune-strengthening capabilities, we can prevent most common modern diseases.
Combining the latest data from clinical tests, nutritional research, and results from thousands of patients, Dr. Fuhrman proves that super immunity exists and is well within reach for those who choose it. We all have the ability to live healthier, stronger, and longer than ever before. Isn’t it time you dis-covered super immunity?
My Thoughts: Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body’s Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free( Super Immunityhereafter), is a new and eye-opening book offering us the opportunity to live a vibrant and, possibly, completely healthy, extremely long life! In the book, Super immunity is, simply, the body's immune system working to its fullest potential. Dr. Joel Fuhrman claims that if we "fill every cell receptor lock with the right nutrient key and meet the demands of each cell, the body's take on super hero qualities - and you'll hardly ever get sick again." Fuhrman also insists that this change from basic immunity to super immunity can save our lives. And that's just the first page of the introduction to this book.
Fuhrman is sincere and passionate about his claims. He also backs up what he says in the first two-thirds of his book with a wealth of information, scientific, medical and nutritional studies and research on how to boost our immune systems, ward off diseases and illness and lessen our need for medical care, doctors and pharmaceuticals. He explains in-depth how the food most of us eat is weakening our immune systems and making us run-down and ill. We also learn how the proper foods give us, not only the energy and building blocks we need to grow which comes from the calories in food, but also the non-caloric micronutrients such as phytochemicals which strengthen and support normal immune function. Fuhrman explains specifically and with examples how combining the right foods we can build up our immune systems and prevent most common modern diseases. Compelling, although somewhat self-serving, patient testimonials appear throughout the text to boost the authenticity of Fuhrman's information.
Fuhrman includes an extensive and varied amount of information in this book with chapters that explain, in detail, what specific foods are the proper foods for building super immunity and why, with examples, modern medicine is failing us. His information on colds and the flu and why we continue to get ill year after year was enough to send me running to buy spinach, kale and collard greens just to avoid a cold or the flu this year! I really appreciate how Fuhrman not only informs us of medical studies, such as the in-depth study by the Kaiser Health Foundation that determined one-third of medical spending is for services that don't advance our health or the quality of care but may actually make things worse, but also explains them and gives examples where they're fitting. Fuhrman, for instance, tells us how, over time antibiotics not only fail to rid our bodies of illness but actually weaken our immune system!
The idea that by changing our diet there's a strong possibility we may never get another cold or virus let alone cancer is very powerful. But changing our diet especially to the extent encouraged in
Super Immunitydoesn't sound that easy. Even Fuhrman accepts that it can take time to change and is a process. His explanations about why plant protein is preferable to animal protein, the benefits to seeds nuts and certain fats, good carbohydrates vs. bad carbohydrates and the research done in the field of nutritional science in the last several years is all extremely helpful in understanding the advantages to building up our immune system. Fuhrman assists us further by providing a list of the 6 essential foods for strengthening our immune system and fighting cancer: GOMBBS: 1) Greens 2) Onions 3) Mushrooms 4) Berries 5) Beans 6) Seeds Fuhrman also gives us 5 easy to remember Daily Rules: 1) Eat one large green salad everyday (preferably two); 2) Eat at least a half-cup serving of Beans/Legumes in soup, salad or a dish once daily; 3) Eat at least 3 fresh fruits especially Berries, Pomegranates, Cherries, Plums, Oranges; 4) Eat at least one ounce of raw Nuts and Seeds a day; 5) Eat at least one large (double-size) serving of steamed Green Vegetables Daily
I found
Super Immunityextremely interesting and informative. Although at times the sheer amount of new information in the book necessitated a break from reading about micronutrients, phytochemicals and processed vs. organic foods, I think this is a terrific book for anyone interested in strengthening their immune system, promoting a healthier lifestyle and extending their life. The link between food and good health has always interested me (not that it's evident from my diet!) and it's something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. I'm not sure if I'm going to change my entire diet to reflect the 6 days of daily menus Fuhrman includes in the last third of the book, but I am certainly going to try to incorporate Fuhrman's 5 Daily Rules into my diet to start and see what happens. If I feel better, stronger and healthier after a few weeks, Fuhrman sincerely explains that major changes in diet often cause temporary fatigue, I'll probably make more changes to my diet. I also plan to try some of the many recipes included in the last third of Super Immunity. This book is captivating reading for anyone interested in the connection between illness and the foods we eat and a valuable source for those of you looking to incorporate healthy, life-altering dietary changes into your daily eating plans.
Joel Fuhrman, M.D.'s
website; Facebook; Twitter
Thank you to
TLC Book Toursand Harper One for a copy of Super Immunityto read and review. | 7,980 | 3,620 | 2.20442 |
warc | 201704 | Eating Really Healthy Fish HealthyEating Fish Eating Really Healthy Fish
We all know that salmon is a very healthy fish but it's not the only healthy fish in the sea, there are other fish that are good for you plus they are good for your heart and brain to so come on and follow me to the sea of healthiness.
Abbreviations for Grams are (g), Milligrams are (mg), Micrograms are (mcg), and International units are (IUs)
''Barramundi''
This is a mild tasting fish that is meaty and packed with omega-3's over 500 milligram preserving twice the punch of most fish.
A 3 ounce serving of Barramundi contains;
70 calories
1 gram of fat
35g protein
480mg of omega 3's.
''Catfish''
Many people call this fish a bottom feeder but this fish offers a lot of different daily requirements like B 12 and that's really good for people 50 and older. The 2011 study in the journal of Neurology says that vitamin B12 helps in keeping your brain from shrinkage.
A 3 ounce serving of Catfish contains;
122 calories
6 grams of fat
16g protein
165mg omega 3's
2.4mcg B12
8iu's of vitamin D
8mcb selenium
''Mackerel''
One of the best sources of vitamin D and sources from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics say vitamin D Plays a very important role with your bone. moods and immunity.
3 ounces of Mackerel contains
223 calories
15 grams of fat
20g of protein
1,208mg of omega 3's
16.2mcg B12
311IUs f vitamin D
44 mcg of selenium
''Pollock''
A super tasty fish known mainly for fish sticks, but it offers so much more a Pollock fillet is packed with selenium which is very good for us because it helps in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes according to sources at Harvard,School of Public Health.
3 ounces of Pollock contains;
100 Calories
1gram of fat
21g of protein
484 mg of omega 3's
3.1 mcg of B 12
43 iIU's of vitamin D
40 mcg of selenium
''Rainbow Trout'
A great tasting fish that is packed with protein and omega-3's, according to Columbia University Researchers that these healthy agents protects against cognitive decline.
3 ounces of Rainbow Trout contains;
143 calories
6 grams of fat
20g of protein
905 of omega 3's
3.5mcg of B 12
645IUs of vitamin D
24 mcg selenium
''Sardines''
This is one fish that you can eat the meat and the bones and is packed with more calcium than a cup of low-fat milk, just having these two agents working together can decrease the risk of premature mortality according to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
3 ounces of Sardines contains;
177 calories
10 grams of fat
21g of protein
1,259 of omega 3's
7.6mcg of B 12
164 IUs of vitamin D
45mcg of selenium
As you can see Salmon s not the only fish in the sea that is good for you so try some of these there tasty easy to work with and good for you in so ways.
More by this Author 15
Many people thinks that making a good Red Velvet cake takes a lot of work, but you can use a box mix with some good cream cheese and sour cream that will knock you off your feet, if you follow this quick and easy recipe... | 3,060 | 1,429 | 2.141358 |
warc | 201704 | Christianity and the Torture Issue The Problem
Guantanamo Bay is being shut down, and there are all sorts of problemsthat are coming out because of this. What is permissible in war-time?Was the War on Terror a just war? How far can/should we go in the nameof safety?
The UN Convention Against Torture (which the U.S. signed) says no torture for information.
Ever.
So what is torture? Is it psychological or merely physical? Are "enhanced interrogation techniques" and torture the same thing? The Physicians for Human Rights came out with a 135-page report in May 2005 answering just these questions. I am not convinced, as they are, that psychological torture must be off-limits; we cannot limit our military entirely because otherwise, how will they obtain information? Sleep deprivation is one thing, and waterboarding is quite another. Lumping them in the same category seems, to me, a grave mistake. Nevertheless, that report details striking consequences of prolonged torture, both for physical health and for mental health.
Just War Theory
Just War Theory, based originally on Roman and Christian ideals, was not studied in the public school I attended, but Americans hear the language of Just War all the time:
"limited casualties" or "minimum force" war as a "last resort" "authority" to declare war
These are just some of the words and phrases that were used to describe the now-ended War on Terror. And yet most of us have no idea what they mean or what their origins are. The answer? Just War Theory.
Prior to reading this hub, did you know that the Bush Administration used the language of Just War Theory to rally support for the War on Terror?See results without voting The Debate
And these phrases shapethe argument regarding torture. The debate rages on, some laying blame, somesaying we just need to condemn it from now on, and some insisting that we never tortured anyone anyway.That commenter writes that since no one bled, there was no torture. Wemerely made the "criminals" uncomfortable, he argues. In fact, he goesso far as to say,
" Waterboarding may have come close [toqualifying as torture], but it does not fit the bill. Torture is severeand agonizing. Waterboarding may have been trying and monotonous; butthat's it." Wow. If waterboarding does not classify as torture, I am not sure what does.
Assuming that most people are not lunatics like the one above, we then come to the questions: Whose fault is it? Who can we hold accountable for the torture that has happened, if anyone?
People with common sense and who are familiar withthe Stanford Prison Experiment will not question the fact that thesoldiers who actually committed the torture (by following their orders)should not be held accountable; almost any otherwise-rational humanbeing would have done exactly the same thing in those circumstances.This leaves the officials who proposed and then approved the torture asnecessary for interrogation.
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Just War
Does torture fit in with the largely Christian theory of a Just War? One of the problems inherent with detaining "enemy combatants" is that some of them will be civilians -- I don't see any way to avoid this.
So torturing the detainees is therefore going to torture some civilians, and even though those civilians are not the "targets," they are still being directly prosecuted.
The words "just war" sound like they would exclude torture, but other than the fuzzy point I just described, I don't see how torture alone could make a war "unjust" (with the strict definition given in Just War Theory). It may inconvenient or harm a few people, but arguably it could save thousands. For me, neglecting to rule out torture is a major fault of the Just War Theory.
More by this Author 20
From silent to soundtrack, follow the story of how music became an integral and significant part of our film experience.
93
A look at the pros and cons, the laws, and the ethics of cosmetic modification in dogs.
114
There's a serious debate as to whether the Prius is good or bad for the environment. How can this be; shouldn't it be obvious one way or the other? Read to see the complex issues on both sides. | 4,396 | 2,219 | 1.981073 |
warc | 201704 | Rapid Effects of Aldosterone Relevant in Cardiac Ischemia?
Not long ago, scientists celebrated the 50th birthday of aldosterone. And yet miracles around this dinosaur steroid hormone are creeping out of the bushes. For a long period, peaceful contentment overwhelmed even critical minds in the light of tremendous successes: the classical way of steroid action through a genomic machinery starting from the well-known intracellular receptors was close to being ideal in explaining both in vitro and in vivo data.
The more recent findings on rapid effects of steroid hormones such as aldosterone including those of Fujita et al
1 in this issue of Hypertension have stirred up our thinking about the mineralocorticoids and virtually all other steroid hormones. They cannot involve only genomic mechanisms because of their hasty appearance and, therefore, have been termed “nongenomic” effects.
Such effects are all but new with the first report for a steroid hormone—progesterone—dating back to the 1940s,
2 and those for aldosterone dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. 3,4 However, as a consequence of vigorous efforts, the general scientific audience has gradually accepted their existence, and the mechanisms involved are being progressively investigated, at least up to a certain level.
Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that those novel steroid actions use very common intracellular signaling pathways that are seemingly promiscuous and, thus, recruited by many other hormones that induce rapid signaling (eg, catecholamines). Though differing from steroid hormone to steroid hormone and from tissue to tissue to a some extent, common themes seem to be involvement of MAP kinases, phospholipase C, PI3 kinase, free intracellular calcium, and intracellular pH, to name just a few.
5,6
It is obvious that the receptors involved in such actions need to be identified, but this has been more difficult than the investigation of second messengers: divergent pharmacology and assumed membrane localization induced a wide search for novel steroid hormone receptors in the membrane; 4 of those have been cloned to date (eg, one presumably for estrogen
7). Unfortunately, an aldosterone membrane receptor is still not among them.
However, things have turned out to be much more complicated than originally thought. It is now clearly established that classic intracellular receptors belonging to the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors can mediate nongenomic responses as well, as shown in transfection experiments. Given the histories of scientists dedicated to classical receptors and those coming from somewhere else, an increasingly emotionally, sometimes even intellectually, violent debate has arisen regarding where to assume classical versus nonclassical receptors are involved. Opinions almost stretch from one extreme end to the other, with most effects mediated through classical versus mediated through novel receptors, with the truth certainly lying somewhere in between, as critically reviewed recently for aldosterone.
8
Having introduced the reader to a highly active new area of endocrinology still left with major unsolved questions and controversies, where would the findings of Fujita et al fit into the plot ? Do they contribute to the virulent debate on receptors?
No, they do not.
This, however, does not matter at all. They are yet
more significant in addressing an even greater and more important deficiency in our knowledge on these nongenomic steroid actions not mentioned here before their biological relevance.
Though observations in experimental animals initially opened the field (rats being instantly anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of progesterone
2) and neurosteroid actions have even been used clinically (Althesin for anesthesia induction), most findings in this context are derived from in vitro experiments with comparably little reflection into their in vivo significance. Partially, this holds true for rapid aldosterone effects as well, although a very early article clearly demonstrated acute cardiovascular effects in humans (Reference 7 in Fujita’s article). Subsequently, data were generated in clinical trials involving human volunteers demonstrating vasoconstrictory responses at the level of systemic resistance, blood pressure, 9 or renal arterioles. 10 However, forearm vasculature seems to react variably to aldosterone, depending on concomitant pharmacological interventions, 11 and controversies in the orientation of renal effects also exist (Reference 9 in Fujita’s article claims an acute vasodilatory effect of aldosterone on renal afferent arterioles).
Though these studies point to acute cardiovascular effects of aldosterone, their contribution to cardiovascular disease is still completely unclear. It is safe to assume that aldosterone can cause cardiovascular damage as blockade of its receptors by spironolactone or eplerenone can save lives in heart failure (RALES study) or post-myocardial infarction patients (EPHESUS trial).
For the first time to our knowledge, Fujita et al show a nongenomic, detrimental effect of aldosterone in a cardiac disease model. The authors demonstrate the early onset of the effect in an in vivo dog model of myocardial ischemia. Their experiments reveal the same dose–response relationship in the physiological range of free hormone concentrations, the same insensitivity of aldosterone effects to spironolactone as observed in many, if not all, related in vitro studies before. Reduced coronary perfusion seems to correlate with reduced cardiac function, which therefore implies that it is more than just a small, insignificant alteration of coronary flow. In general, this has been a criticism concerning the clinical relevance of nongenomic steroid effects because they normally are not impressively large.
These findings support the hypothesis that endogenous aldosterone can be harmful through acute, not just chronic, effects; of course, the relative contributions of both mechanisms to cardiovascular diseases are still unclear.
An involvement of PKC is shown in Fujita’s studies, which is also consistent with earlier in vitro results in this context. As a matter of fact, PKC has even been claimed to be “the receptor” for rapid aldosterone effects.
12
Taking this together, we should gratefully welcome such efforts to further elucidate the biological importance of rapid aldosterone actions in vivo, especially if aiming at disease models. As long as we do not have drugs that are specific for either genomic or nongenomic mineralocorticoid effects (as they exist for vitamin D and to a certain extent for estrogenic responses), this appears as an arduous attempt. As cardiovascular diseases develop slowly, any intervention aiming at disease progression has to last for quite some time, rendering the time window of few minutes as singular tool for the identification of nongenomic effects insufficient. However, there are clear demonstrations of acute cardiovascular effects of aldosterone in healthy humans, although they are neither thoroughly consistent nor obtained at physiological levels of the hormone (which is the beauty of the in vitro data or the first in vivo data in Fujita’s article that show effects at near-physiological levels ≈0.1 nmol/L). Still, such effects could acutely influence the course of dramatic events such as myocardial ischemic syndromes and thus bear a disease-modifying potential. These issues need to be addressed by further investigations. They, however, could finally lead to a valuable target for pharmaceutical interventions in a disease area still linked to the majority of deaths in Western countries: disorders of the cardiovascular system.
Footnotes
The opinions expressed in this editorial commentary are not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association.
References ↵ Fujita M, Minamino T, Asanuma H, Sanada S, Hirata A, Wakeno M, Myoishi M, Okuda H, Takashima S, Okada K, Tsukamoto O, Koyama H, Hori M, Kitakaze M. Nongenomic actions of aldosterone rapidly deteriorate canine ischemic hearts via PKC-dependent pathways. Hypertension .2005; 46: 113–117. ↵ ↵ Ganong WF, Mulrow PJ. Rate of change in sodium and potassium excretion after injection of aldosterone into the aorta and renal artery of the dog. Am J Physiol .1958; 195: 337–351. ↵ ↵ Losel RM, Falkenstein E, Feuring M, Schultz A, Tillmann HC, Rossol-Haseroth K, Wehling M. Nongenomic steroid action: controversies, questions, and answers. Physiol Rev .2003; 83: 965–1016. ↵ Callera GE, Touyz RM, Tostes RC, Yogi A, He Y, Malkinson S, Schiffrin EL. Aldosterone activates vascular p38MAP kinase and NADPH oxidase via c-Src. Hypertension .2005; 45: 773–779. ↵ ↵ Funder JW. The nongenomic actions of aldosterone. Endocr Rev. 2005 (April). [Epub ahead of print]. ↵ ↵ Arima S, Kohagura K, Xu HL, Sugawara A, Uruno A, Satoh F, Takeuchi K, Ito S. Endothelium-derived nitric oxide modulates vascular action of aldosterone in renal arteriole. Hypertension .2004; 43: 352–357. ↵ Schmidt BM, Oehmer S, Delles C, Bratke R, Schneider MP, Klingbeil A, Fleischmann EH, Schmieder RE. Rapid nongenomic effects of aldosterone on human forearm vasculature. Hypertension .2003; 42: 156–160. ↵ Doolan CM, Harvey BJ. Modulation of cytosolic protein kinase C and calcium ion activity by steroid hormones in rat distal colon. J Biol Chem .1996; 271: 8763–8767. | 9,585 | 4,326 | 2.215673 |
warc | 201704 | Synopsis
When the Supreme Court's effectively decided the presidential election of 2000, it decision illustrated a classic question in American politics: what is the appropriate role for the Supreme Court? The dilemma is between judicial activism, the Court's willingness to make significant changes in public policy, and judicial restraint, the Court's willingness to confine the use and extent of its power. While the Framers of the Constitution felt that the judiciary would be the "least dangerous branch" of government, many have come to the conclusion that courts govern America, a notion at odds with democratic government.Richard Pacelle traces the historical ebb and flow of the Court's role in the critical issues of American politics: slavery, free speech, religion, abortion, and affirmative action. Pacelle examines the arguments for judicial restraint, including that unelected judges making policy runs against democratic principles, and the arguments for judicial activism, including the important role the court has played as a protector of minority rights. Pacelle suggests that there needs to be a balance between judicial activism and restraint in light of the constraints on the institution and its power. Stimulating and sure to generate discussion,
The Supreme Court in American Politics is a concise supplemental text for American Government and Judicial Politics course.
About Richard Pacelle See more books from this Author
Published October 18, 2001 by Westview Press. 208 pages Genres: Political & Social Sciences, Professional & Technical, Law & Philosophy, History. Non-fiction | 1,615 | 840 | 1.922619 |
warc | 201704 | SUBSCRIBE
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Two Bows In The B Visa Quiver: B Visas Based On Medical Treatment And A Jones Act Claim
A client who simultaneously seeks to apply for a United States visa to obtain medical treatment and to pursue a Jones Act
Enacted in 1920, the Jones Act creates a right of action entitling foreign seamen to a jury trial in the United States for injuries sustained on the open seas in the course of their employment. Due to policy implications, Jones Acts claims may be brought against foreign employers and shipowners who have substantial American business contacts. According to the legislative history and court rulings interpreting the Jones Act, Congress adopted this legislation to defend the interests of seamen because their protection provides concomitant protection to Americans abroad and insures that American standards of care and safety will become the universal standards aboard vessels which often carry and service Americans.
In allowing aliens to seek relief in United States courts, the Jones Act also supports the longstanding common law “maintenance and cure” obligation of employers to pay the medical and living expenses of employees injured during the course of their employment on the high seas. Regarded by the Supreme Court as “an ancient duty of a vessel and her owner”
In many cases, a foreign national bringing a Jones Act claim will be required to participate in civil legal action within the United States and will require specialized medical treatment that is unavailable in the claimant’s home country. Each of these activities provides an independent basis for entry on a B visa.
As defined by § 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a B visitor is “an alien… having a residence in a foreign country which he [has] no intention of abandoning and who is visiting the United States temporarily for pleasure.” The interpretation of the term “pleasure” has positive implications for the success of a B visa application by a Jones Act claimant because it supports both activities that a typical Jones Act claimant will participate in. The Department of State interprets the term “pleasure” to include the legitimate pursuit of medical treatment in the United States.
With two discrete and independent grounds to qualify for a B visa, the Jones Act claimant seeking medical treatment in the United States is able to present a stronger case for entry into the United States.
The United States Secretary of State’s cable to all diplomatic and consular posts on issuance of nonimmigrant visas for medical treatment issued on November 19, 2001, states that “each medical visa application should be given a sympathetic and thorough hearing.”
The Jones Act claimant has several supporting arguments in her favor. As an initial matter, the employer’s duty to pay for living expenses and medical treatment during the applicant’s stay in the United States is absolute and does not depend on the success of the applicant’s Jones Act suit.
Beyond issues of medical treatment, the Jones Act claimant’s application is supported by the claimant’s need to participate in his or her case. Since the Jones Act reflects such a strong public policy for safety and protection on the high seas, the applicant may urge consular officers that granting the B-2 visa serves an overriding public interest. In addition to allowing the applicant to vindicate these essential rights, granting the visa is also crucial to the effective management of a damages action being tried before a jury.
Such arguments proved crucial to the successful B-2 visa application of a client who was injured during the course of her employment with a cruise liner. While on duty at a foreign port, the client sustained extensive injuries that resulted near complete amputation and massive vascular and nerve damage to her arm. At the time of the incident, it was determined that the specialized emergency treatment she required was not available at port and she was flown in to the United States. While in the United States, the client underwent extensive reconstructive surgery and months of intensive specialized physical therapy. During this period, her employer accepted responsibility for and complied with its maintenance and cure obligation. With further surgeries and therapy scheduled in the United States, the client was granted permission to return to her country for a short family visit. In her home country, the client sought a B-2 visa to re-enter the United States to resume her specialized course of therapy and to undergo additional surgeries but was initially denied the visa on the grounds that she did not have the required evidence.
At this point the client consulted us and we reformulated her application to reflect her position as an individual seeking specialized medical attention unavailable in her home country and as a Jones Act claimant. We incorporated the above argumentation into her application with substantial supporting documentation. Letters from her employer acknowledging their maintenance and cure obligation together with an Affidavit of Support demonstrating that the client would not become a public charge were attached to her visa application. Pleadings attached to the application further illustrated that the client was also pursuing litigation, was scheduled to be deposed and that she was at risk for being held in contempt of court if the visa application were to be denied. Lastly, her medical records, letters from her healthcare providers in the United States and medical experts in her country indicated the specialized course of treatment the client desperately needed was not available in her home country. Her B visa application was granted – due in no small part to the added narrative and urgency of her Jones Act claim.
Endnotes
© Hector A. Chichoni
The authors wish to extend special thanks to Marlyse McAQuillen for her assistance.
The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of ILW.COM. | 6,137 | 2,581 | 2.377761 |
warc | 201704 | PJM asserted today that its markets are a more efficient means of attracting cost-effective new generation resources while minimizing risk to consumers. PJM’s analysis on the effectiveness of its markets is outlined in a detailed study published yesterday.
The “Resource Investment in Competitive Markets” paper was developed to help policymakers, PJM members and other stakeholders understand the value markets provide and appreciate trade-offs in market efficiency that may result from potential public policy decisions.
”In addition to the well-recognized contributions that markets make to reliable electricity—such as operational efficiency, transparent price signals and the ability to accommodate innovative technologies—this study had some surprises,” said PJM CEO Andrew Ott.
“Once the cost of risk on consumers is taken into account, customers of merchant generation in PJM are procuring electricity at prices generally lower than under traditionally regulated structures,” Ott said.
The paper addresses the market’s effect on the entry of new resources, innovation, the exit of resources and public policy decisions. It was developed by a team of PJM thought-leaders, economists, analysts and industry experts.
The analysis shows that markets are providing adequate returns to incent new generation investment and that returns for investors in regulated generation are notably higher than the risk models predict, given the lower risks they face.
Other key findings are:
Markets provide a transparent environment that allows any project or technology to demonstrate its value to the customer and to flourish or fail based on its merit. PJM’s markets are producing prices that efficiently and reliably signal the entry of efficient, new resources and the exit of older, uneconomic resources. No evidence suggests that older but economically viable resources are not being adequately compensated or are forced to retire prematurely. When pursuing other social or environmental public policy objectives, policymakers must weigh the trade-offs of taking actions that defeat efficient market outcomes.
“Although PJM markets excel at handling a changing resource mix, our continuing ability to rely on market forces to do so is threatened,” said Ott. “The possibility of actions to promote other policy interests can distort wholesale market price outcomes and threaten the ability of markets to efficiently assure resource adequacy.” | 2,524 | 1,194 | 2.113903 |
warc | 201704 | رویکرد جریان شبکه برای تعادل برنامه ریزی مواد مورد نیاز
کد مقاله سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی ترجمه فارسی تعداد کلمات 50494 2006 16 صفحه PDF سفارش دهید 6360 کلمه Publisher : Elsevier - Science Direct (الزویر - ساینس دایرکت) Journal : International Journal of Production Economics, Volume 102, Issue 2, August 2006, Pages 317–332 چکیده انگلیسی
Material requirements planning (MRP) has been a very popular and widely used multi-level inventory control method since 1970s. Recent developments in computer and information technology accelerate and facilitate the calculations necessary for MRP, but MRP is simply a system to open and trace the production/purchasing orders under pre-determined lead-time and lot size constraints. It does not directly include any optimization feature. In this article, an approach, which consists of the Flow Network with Side Constraints, is discussed in order to optimize the material flows in MRP problems. Additionally, an example case is given in order to show the applicability of the flow network formulation to APS. The model of the example case is solved and the computational results are given. | 1,838 | 902 | 2.037694 |
warc | 201704 | MMWR. 1999;48:707-710
1 table omitted
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging community-acquired pathogen among patients without established risk factors for MRSA infection (e.g., recent hospitalization, recent surgery, residence in a long-term-care facility [LTCF], or injecting-drug use [IDU]).1 Since 1996, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Indian Health Service (IHS) have investigated cases of community-acquired MRSA infection in patients without established risk factors. This report describes four fatal cases among children with community-acquired MRSA; the MRSA strains isolated from these patients appear to be different from typical nosocomial MRSA strains in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) characteristics.
In July 1997, a 7-year-old black girl from urban Minnesota was admitted to a tertiary-care hospital with a temperature of 103 F (39.5 C) and right groin pain. An infected right hip joint was diagnosed; she underwent surgical drainage and was treated with cefazolin. On the third day of her hospital stay, antimicrobial therapy was changed to vancomycin when cultures of blood and joint fluid grew MRSA. The same day, the patient had another hip drainage procedure, but had respiratory failure and was placed on mechanical ventilation. Her course was complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and an empyema that required chest tube drainage. She died from a pulmonary hemorrhage after 5 weeks of hospitalization.
MRSA isolated from her blood, hip joint, and sputum was susceptible to multiple antibiotic classes. An autopsy revealed bilateral bronchopneumonia with abscesses. The patient was previously healthy with no recent hospitalizations. No family members resided in LTCFs or worked in health-care settings.
In January 1998, a 16-month-old American Indian girl from rural North Dakota was taken to a local hospital in shock and with a temperature of 105.2 F (40.6 C), seizures, a diffuse petechial rash, and irritability. She was treated with ceftriaxone but developed respiratory failure and cardiac arrest and died within 2 hours of arriving at the hospital. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures drawn immediately postmortem grew MRSA that was susceptible to multiple antibiotic classes. An autopsy revealed multiple small abscesses of the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys; autopsy cultures of meninges, blood, and lung tissue grew MRSA. One month earlier, the patient had been treated with amoxicillin for otitis media. Neither the patient nor family members had been hospitalized during the previous year; no family members resided in LTCFs or worked in health-care settings.
In January 1999, a 13-year-old white girl from rural Minnesota was brought to a local hospital with fever, hemoptysis, and respiratory distress. The day before admission she had a productive cough and a 2-cm papule on her lower lip. A chest radiograph revealed a left lower lobe infiltrate and a pleural effusion. She was treated with ceftriaxone and nafcillin. Within 5 hours of arriving at the hospital, she became hypotensive and was transferred to a pediatric hospital, intubated, and treated with vancomycin and cefotaxime. Despite pulmonary and hemodynamic support, the patient's respiratory status deteriorated, and she died on the seventh hospital day from progressive cerebral edema and multiorgan failure.
The patient's blood, sputum, and pleural fluid grew MRSA that was multidrug susceptible. An autopsy revealed consolidated hemorrhagic necrosis of the left lung. The patient had no chronic medical conditions and no recent hospitalizations; no family members were health-care workers or employees of an LTCF or had a history of IDU.
In February 1999, a 12-month-old white boy from rural North Dakota was admitted to a tertiary-care hospital with bronchiolitis, vomiting, and dehydration. He had a temperature of 105.2 F (40.6 C) and a petechial rash. Chest radiograph revealed an infiltrate in the right lung consistent with pneumonitis. On the second hospital day, the patient was diagnosed with a large right pleural effusion. He was transferred to the intensive-care unit, a chest tube was inserted, and treatment with vancomycin and cefuroxime was initiated. The patient developed severe respiratory distress and hypotension the following day and died.
The patient's admission blood culture was negative, but his pleural fluid and a postmortem blood culture grew multidrug-susceptible MRSA. An autopsy revealed acute necrotizing pneumonia with extensive hemorrhage and numerous gram-positive cocci in the right lung. The patient had not been hospitalized since birth and had no known medical problems; no family members were health-care workers or employees of an LTCF or known to be IDUs. His 2-year-old sister had been treated for a culture-confirmed MRSA buttock infection 3 weeks earlier. MRSA isolates from the sister and the patient had identical antibiotic susceptibility profiles.
MRSA isolates from these four cases were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested except beta-lactams. All vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations were ≤2 µg/L. Isolates from all four cases had the mecA gene by PCR assay at MDH. Isolates from cases 1 and 4 shared an indistinguishable PFGE pattern; isolates from cases 2 and 3 differed by two and three bands, respectively, suggesting clonal relatedness among these cases.2 In comparison, these PFGE patterns differed by an average of >10 bands compared with PFGE patterns among nosocomial MRSA isolates from several Minnesota hospitals. Sma I was the restriction enzyme used for PFGE. No isolate produced toxic shock syndrome toxin-1.
C Hunt, M Dionne, M Delorme, D Murdock, A Erdrich, MD, Indian Health Svc; D Wolsey, MPH, A Groom, MPH, J Cheek, MD, Indian Health Svc Epidemiology Program; J Jacobson, B Cunningham, MS, L Shireley, MPH, State Epidemiologist, North Dakota Dept of Health. K Belani, MD, S Kurachek, MD, P Ackerman, Children's Hospital and Clinics—Minneapolis; S Cameron, P Schlievert, PhD, Fairview Univ Medical Center; J Pfeiffer, MPH, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis; S Johnson, D Boxrud, J Bartkus, PhD, J Besser, MS, Minnesota Dept of Health Laboratory; K Smith, DVM, K LeDell, MPH, C O'Boyle, PhD, R Lynfield, MD, K White, MPH, M Osterholm, PhD, K Moore, MD, Acute Disease Epidemiology Section; R Danila, PhD, Acting State Epidemiologist, Minnesota Dept of Health. Div of Applied Public Health Training, Epidemiology Program Office; and EIS officers, CDC.
Since the first case reports of MRSA infections in the United States in 1968,3 MRSA has become an increasing problem. The percentage of nosocomial S. aureus isolates that were methicillin resistant increased from 2% in 1974 to approximately 50% in 1997.4,5 Methicillin resistance is usually conferred by the chromosomal mecA gene, which encodes an altered penicillin-binding protein (PBP-2A) that causes resistance to all beta-lactam antibiotics, including cephalosporins. However, many nosocomial MRSA strains have acquired resistance to numerous other antibiotic classes through a variety of mechanisms. Approximately 50% of MRSA isolates identified at National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (NNIS) system hospitals are susceptible only to vancomycin.5
Most documented MRSA infections are acquired nosocomially; previously, community-acquired cases were restricted to patients residing in LTCFs and among IDUs.6 However, both of these groups have extensive exposure to hospitals, and their infections are generally caused by nosocomial MRSA strains. More recently, however, community-acquired MRSA infections have been identified at a Chicago pediatric hospital, in day care centers, and among minority communities in other countries.1,7- 9 Unlike nosocomial MRSA isolates, community-acquired isolates from patients without known MRSA risk factors are generally multidrug susceptible (except to beta-lactams) and have distinctive molecular characteristics, as did the four isolates from the fatal cases presented in this report.
These four cases demonstrate the potential severity of community-acquired MRSA infections. Beta-lactam antibiotics (including cephalosporins) are used as empiric therapy for various adult and pediatric infections, but these agents are uniformly ineffective in treating MRSA infections. All patients in this report were initially treated with a cephalosporin antibiotic; the delayed use of antibiotics to which MRSA were susceptible may have contributed to the fatal outcomes. As a result, where such infections exist, obtaining appropriate cultures of infected sites is important. Clinicians should consider MRSA as a potential pathogen in severe pediatric pneumonia or sepsis syndromes in areas where community MRSA infections have been reported. In critically ill patients with invasive infections, empiric treatment with vancomycin (in addition to a third-generation cephalosporin) pending culture results may be necessary to treat cephalosporin-resistant S. pneumoniae10 or MRSA.
The rural/urban and racial diversity among these cases suggest that MRSA colonization may be widespread, especially in this region of the United States. The extent of community-acquired MRSA infection in the United States is unknown. Few data are available to define the molecular characteristics of these strains. It is also unclear how to limit the spread of MRSA within the community and whether it is feasible to decolonize selected high-risk persons. The role that increased antibiotic use in children—particularly beta-lactams and cephalosporins—has played in selecting for MRSA strains in the community also is unknown. Local or state-based surveillance is needed to characterize and monitor community-acquired MRSA infections and to develop strategies that will improve MRSA treatment and control.
Four Pediatric Deaths From Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus—Minnesota and North Dakota, 1997-1999. JAMA. 1999;282(12):1123-1125. doi:10.1001/jama.282.12.1123-JWR0922-2-1
© 2017 | 10,164 | 4,241 | 2.396605 |
warc | 201704 | • A two-trunked central retinal vein (CRV) in the anterior part of the optic nerve may persist as a congenital abnormality in a certain proportion of humans. One of the two trunks, like the CRV, may get occluded in the optic nerve to produce hemi-CRV occlusion (hemi-CRVO). It is shown that hemi-CRVO is a distinct entity, clinically and pathogenetically closely related to CRVO, and unrelated to branch retinal vein occlusion because of fundamental differences between the two. Hemi-CRVO clinically presents as either venous stasis retinopathy (VSR) or as hemorrhagic retinopathy (HR), usually involving one half of the retina, although occasionally it may involve one third to two thirds of the retina. The clinical features of VSR and HR caused by hemi-CRVO are identical to those caused by CRVO. The primary object of this article is to identify hemi-CRVO, a not uncommon condition, and to describe its main clinical features.
Hayreh SS, Hayreh MS. Hemi-Central Retinal Vein OcclusionPathogenesis, Clinical Features, and Natural History. Arch Ophthalmol. 1980;98(9):1600-1609. doi:10.1001/archopht.1980.01020040452011
© 2017 | 1,142 | 649 | 1.75963 |
warc | 201704 | John Hinderaker has some rather interesting advice for President Bush as to how to handle the current war in the Middle East.
So here is what you, President Bush, should do: take as a model the Cuban Missile Crisis. First John Kennedy, then Adlai Stevenson, laid before the world the evidence, in the form of aerial photographs, that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear arms in Cuba. The proof was taken as conclusive, and, consequently, the Kennedy administration’s actions enjoyed universal support at home, and widespread support abroad.
Do something similar here. Commandeer a half hour in prime time to tell the American people, and the world, that we have clear evidence of Iran’s involvement in killing American servicemen. Show the captured munitions. Explain exactly how they have contributed to American casualties. Display aerial photos of the training camps. No doubt there is much more evidence that can be presented or described.
You should say that Iran’s supplying of weapons in order to kill Americans is an act of war. In the dramatic finale of your speech, announce that thirty minutes earlier, American airplanes stationed in the Middle East took off, their destination, one of the munitions plants or training camps of which you have shown pictures. That training camp, you say, no longer exists. You say that if Iran does not immediately cease all support for, and fomenting of, violence in Iraq, we will continue to strike military targets inside Iran.
That would certainly get the attention of the mullahs in Iran. Those of us who pay attention to the situation in the Middle East have seen that what is going on is more than just violence in Iraq. Iraq is the battlefield for what amounts to a regional civil war that has been brewing within the heart of Islam for centuries. The old rivalry between Sunni and Shi’ite is exploding once more, and Iran is trying to claim influence for itself. The Saudis are already warning the United States that if the US leaves Iraq, they’ll be forced to defend Iraqi Sunnis. Meanwhile, Iranian-backed militants are massacring Iraqis by the dozens and trying to tear that country apart.
We are facing a regional crisis, and we need a regional solution. On that account, the Iraqi Survey Group was entirely correct: the problem is that neither Iran nor Syria have any interest in negotiating an equitable settlement. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become so dangerous that the true rulers of Iran, the Guardian Council and Grand Ayatollah Ali Khameini are trying to sideline him. With the upcoming Iranian elections key to deciding who replaces the ailing Khameini, Ahmadinejad has the opportunity to completely control all elements of the Iranian state. Should Ahmedinejad’s forces do well in this election, it’s likely that his rule will become even more absolute. While there is growing opposition in Tehran, Ahmadinejad is a shrewd politician and is quite popular among the poor in Iran. His political power should not be underestimated.
Ahmadinejad wants Iran to be a nuclear power, and once that happens, he will ignite a nuclear war in the Middle East. He is not the sort of leader who can be deterred. It is simply too risky having someone who may very well believe that the destruction of Israel will usher in the coming of the Imam Mahdi and the rise of a global Islamic caliphate to have the means to commence that apocalyptic vision.
By the time that Iran gains nuclear weapons, it will already have been too late. President Bush must act soon to prevent the Iranians from reaching nuclear capability. The left, which has done everything they can to undermine the President, has left America significantly weaker than before. By attacking the credibility of evidence that was the consensus of every major intelligence service on the globe, including those opposed to the invasion of Iraq, it has weakened our ability to go after future threats. Bush could make this his Cuban Missile Crisis moment, and there is no room for doubt that Iran is acting to destabilize Iraq, but it’s questionable whether Bush has the political capital here or abroad to do anything about it.
I agree with Hinderaker that something must be done. Where my doubts lie is whether this Administration has the political will or the political capital to do it. Not only have we been far too timid in Iraq, which has put a strain on our ability to fight elsewhere, but Bush has lost the support of the American people beyond just the radical left. Boldness does pay off, but it should have happened a long time ago when Bush had a chance to show initiative.
Sooner or later, we’ll have to deal with Tehran. Sadly, I don’t see it happening before things spiral to a point where we’ve absolutely no choice but to react. It’s a sad state of affairs, but it is the result of a lack of leadership from the Administration and the constant politicization of this war.
Then again, I’d love to be proven wrong on this, which is why if nothing else, Hinderaker’s advice should be taken quite seriously.
UPDATE: Military historian Arthur Herman has an interesting piece in Commentary on a realistic military option for dealing with Iran that involves taking control of the key Straights of Hormuz. 40% of the world’s oil (soon to be a majority) passes through that key region, and the Iranians have plans on the table to use it as an economic weapon against the world. The US has already engaged in active hostilities with Iran over the Straights in 1987-1989. We may need to use US naval and air power to keep them open again.
Herman argues that such a campaign would be quite effective in taking down the Iranian regime:
In fact, there is little Iran could do in the face of relentless military pressure at its most vulnerable point. Today, not only are key elements of the Iranian military in worse shape than in the 1980’s, but even the oil weapon is less formidable than imagined. Currently Iran exports an estimated 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. Yet according to a recent report in Forbes, quoting the oil-industry analyst Michael Lynch, new sources of oil around the world will have boosted total production by 2 million barrels a day in this year alone, and next year by three million barrels a day. In short, other producers (including Iranian platforms in American hands) can take up some if not all of the slack. The real loser would be Iran itself. Pumping crude oil is its only industry, making up 85 percent of its exports and providing 65 percent of the state budget. With its wells held hostage, the country’s economy could enter free fall.
A limited war that involves control over the Straights of Hormuz may be our best option for containing Iran at some point – although the Iranians could cause quite a bit of trouble for us by ratcheting up the violence in Iraq and using their Hizballah puppets in Lebanon to cause trouble along the Israeli border. In dealing with this looming crisis we don’t have good options, just options that are less bad than others.
UPDATE: The Washington Note says that Saudi Prince Bandar is pushing for military confrontation with Iran. That isn’t surprising, the Iranians could cripple the Saudi economy by closing the Straights of Hormuz. The rapid departure of Ambassador Turki from Washington suggests that there are deep divisions within the House of Saud as to how to proceed against this threat. Ultimately, if Iran does decide to act, the Saudis would feel the heat more than nearly anyone else, which is why they are quite worried about what Iran may do next. | 7,667 | 3,528 | 2.173186 |
warc | 201704 | Today’s Supreme Court opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller is a landmark decision in that it restores the original individual rights interpretation to the Second Amendment. What is frustrating about Heller is what it doesn’t say. Justice Scalia hinted at a standard of review that’s quite probing—but could also be something less than the usual strict scrutiny given to other constitutional rights. Heller leaves the door open for more cases in the future.
For all the commentators calling Heller “judicial activism,” it’s anything but. It restores the original intent of the Framers in drafting the Second Amendment. In fact, even Justice Stevens admits in his dissent that: “The question presented by this case is not whether the Second Amendment protects a ‘collective right’ or an ‘individual right.’ Surely it protects a right that can be enforced by individuals.” What is most intriguing from a lawyering standpoint is that Justice Stevens’ dissent is written on Scalia’s grounds. Only Justice Breyer uses the typical policy-laden arguments of Court liberals. Justice Stevens’ dissent, like Scalia’s majority opinion, is based almost solely on the question of original intent.
Does this suggest that originalism will be the dominant mode of constitutional interpretation used by the Court? It seems doubtful, but the fact that Stevens waged his war on Scalia’s battlefield is interesting.
Stevens’ dissent was quite well done, but ultimately Scalia’s dissent seemed to have a firmer grasp on history. The language of the Second Amendment is less than clear, but the idea that the phrase “keep and bear arms” is confined solely to having weapons to be used for the militia seems historically and linguistically obtuse. Justice Scalia puts it wryly:
In any event, the meaning of “bear arms” that petitioners and JUSTICE STEVENS propose is
not eventhe (sometimes) idiomatic meaning. Rather, they manufacture a hybrid definition, whereby “bear arms” connotes the actual carrying of arms (and therefore is not really an idiom) but only in the service of an organized militia. No dictionary has ever adopted that definition, and we have been apprised of no source that indicates that it carried that meaning at the time of the founding. But it is easy to see why petitioners and the dissent are driven to the hybrid definition. Giving “bear Arms” its idiomatic meaning would cause the protected right to consist of the right to be a soldier or to wage war—an absurdity that no commentator has ever endorsed. See L. Levy, Origins of the Bill of Rights 135 (1999). Worse still, the phrase “keep and bear Arms” would be incoherent. The word “Arms” would have two different meanings at once: “weapons” (as the object of “keep”) and (as the object of “bear”) one-half of an idiom. It would be rather like saying “He filled and kicked the bucket” to mean “He filled the bucket and died.” Grotesque.
Scalia knows how to twist the knife a bit.
The majority opinion hints that the Second Amendment applies to the states as well. What’s odd about Heller is that the Court never discusses the issue of how D.C. should be treated. That issue was a major issue in the D.C. Circuit, but does not get raised by the Court. It is possible that the Court will settle the issue of incorporation in a later case.
And make no mistakes, there
will be later cases. The Court has only provided one step, and the various sides will end up hashing out the rest.
Still, this is a good day for our Republic. Once banished, constitutional rights rarely return. To see the Court affirm that the Second Amendment recognizes an individual right to keep and bear arms is to see the Court reaffirm the values of our Founders. They incorporated the common-law right of self defense into the founding of this Nation, and for good reason. The Court has not made law, nor have they violated principles of stare decisis. They have done what the Court should do—”say what the law is.” Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137, 177 (1803). The law is that individual American citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. That conclusion is not a conclusion of five Justices, but an affirmation of what the Bill of Rights says. Those who take issue with that conclusion should not take umbrage at the Court, but at the Founders who made that decision in 1783. | 4,559 | 2,062 | 2.21096 |
warc | 201704 | Volume 2 Supplement 1
Linking the Resource Description Framework to cheminformatics and proteochemometrics 2(Suppl 1):S6 DOI: 10.1186/2041-1480-2-S1-S6
© Willighagen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011
Published: 7 March 2011 Abstract Background
Semantic web technologies are finding their way into the life sciences. Ontologies and semantic markup have already been used for more than a decade in molecular sciences, but have not found widespread use yet. The semantic web technology Resource Description Framework (RDF) and related methods show to be sufficiently versatile to change that situation.
Results
The work presented here focuses on linking RDF approaches to existing molecular chemometrics fields, including cheminformatics, QSAR modeling and proteochemometrics. Applications are presented that link RDF technologies to methods from statistics and cheminformatics, including data aggregation, visualization, chemical identification, and property prediction. They demonstrate how this can be done using various existing RDF standards and cheminformatics libraries. For example, we show how IC
50 and K i Conclusions
We have shown that existing RDF standards can suitably be integrated into existing molecular chemometrics methods. Platforms that unite these technologies, like Bioclipse, makes this even simpler and more transparent. Being able to create and share workflows that integrate data aggregation and analysis (visual and statistical) is beneficial to interoperability and reproducibility. The current work shows that RDF approaches are sufficiently powerful to support molecular chemometrics workflows.
Background
Molecular chemometrics is the field that finds patterns in molecular information, combining methods from statistics, machine learning, and cheminformatics. We argued before that semantic web technologies are important for lossless exchange of data [1], but it should also be noted that molecular properties are not well described by semantic web technologies alone; similarity of molecular structures is not easily captured by triples, but are required for pattern recognition. Therefore, we will focus in this paper on the interplay between the two kinds of knowledge representation.
Past research in molecular chemometrics has focused mostly on the development and use of statistics and cheminformatics, but semantic technolgies are equally important: the success of the statistical modeling depends very much on the setting up of proper input, as well as the ability to validate the created models against independent information sources afterwards, numerically [2], as well as visually [3]. This requires accurate and meaningful annotation of the data, which reduce the chance of errors introduced by the processes.
This need has been recently met in chemistry by the Chemical Markup Language (CML) [4–6]. CML, however, does not formalize ontologies into the standard, though it does have mechanisms to validate dictionary references. Ontologies have been proposed in chemistry on several occasions too. For example, Gordon used ontologies and reasoning for
chemical inference in 1988 [7] and more recently, ontologies have been suggested for representation of molecular structures [8–10] and applications in life sciences [11]. Simultaneously, the Open paradigms have been acknowledged as important components to improve cheminformatics [12, 13]: Open Data, Open Source, and Open Standards are crucial approaches here, and are promoted by, for example, the Blue Obelisk movement [14].
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) and derived Open Standards, such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and the SPARQL query language, are extremely useful technologies. The amount of Open Source software that can use these standards have greatly risen over the past 10 years; these tools now provide the crucial building blocks to handle chemical data expressed in RDF, and include the Jena [15] library and Virtuoso [16] software used in this paper.
What none of these RDF technologies address, however, is the process of converting back and forth numerical and non-numerical representations of knowledge. Neither do they track the errors introduced by these transformations. Converting a drug name into a representation suitable for data mining involves making assumptions, using algorithms introducing computational error, and will reflect errors in databases from which information is retrieved. Likewise, data analysis of a high-dimensional information space is collapsed into a low-dimensional language when we write down arguments and conclusions in publications and submissions to existing databases.
For statistical modeling, validation can address sources of error in translating knowledge in one numerical representation into another. For example, several statistical modeling methods have well-defined equations for the uncertainty of predicted properties. However, at the level of cheminformatics and general knowledge management there is yet no equivalent, but we believe that the Resource Description Framework and related technologies provide us the means to specify these sources of error, so that this information can be used in computation.
It is therefore the topic of this paper to further explore the roles of RDF as a critical component in molecular chemometrics [17]. We show that RDF technologies are sufficiently expressive to allow bridging the gap between non-numerical molecular knowledge representation and numerical representations used in statistical modeling. The next section will first introduce the methods we used to handle and integrate RDF data and how we performed the computations. We will then demonstrate how RDF can be used as input for cheminformatics and statistical studies. We will also show how computation results and computation itself can be done using semantic technologies.
Methods
We used a number of methods and technologies in this paper to show the possibility for efficiently linking drug discovery related data represented in RDF with cheminformatics and chemometrics. In addition to using existing RDF databases, we made use of newly developed resources using RDF server technologies. The query language SPARQL was used to retrieve data from those servers. The Chemistry Development Kit was used to convert data from the RDF knowledge base into representations suitable for cheminformatics algorithms and statistical analysis, as well as converting the latter back into RDF. The statistical modeling based on RDF data was done in the statistical package R. Visualization of molecular data and integration of other components was done in Bioclipse, and in particular by using the Bioclipse scripting functionality. The following sections discuss these methods in more detail.
Statistical modeling
Proteochemometric (PCM) models analyze experimentally determined interaction strength of series of ligands with series of proteins. PCM is based on quantitative descriptions derived from structural and/or physicochemical properties of interacting ligands and proteins, which are correlated to interaction affinity using mathematical modeling. PCM models thus reveal molecular properties in ligands and proteins that jointly determine selective interactions. The data set of the PCM model used here as an example comprised interactions of 786 chemical compounds with 8 types of
α-subunits (i.e. channel pore forming part) of voltage gated sodium channels and 10 types of α 1-subunits of voltage gated calcium channels, totally 1149 chemical compound-protein pairs. For 162 of these interactions dissociation constant (K i μ M. For the remaining 987 interactions IC 50 values were reported ranging from 1 nM to 100 μ M. Although IC 50 values are dependent on assay conditions and hence are not exactly comparable along multiple assays we here elected to analyze all available data in one PCM model. 50values against serine/threonine-protein kinase D3(ChEMBL target 10885, Swiss-Prot:O94806), from now on referred to as target 10885. Weighted regression was used in order to permit us to take assay confidence into consideration; we gave proportionally higher weights to observations where we had higher confidence in the IC 50value obtained from the assay. The Bayesian model can be summarized as:
where
y is the response variable (i.e. the mean centered logarithm of molecules’ activity scaled to unit variance), X the descriptor matrix (mean centered and scaled to unit variance), β are the regression coefficients, σ 2 the error variance, τ 2 the variance of the regression coefficients, n the number of compound in the dataset retrieved from ChEMBL (i.e. n = 449), and p is the number of descriptors used (which was 20). Further, W and I denote the diagonal weight and identity matrices, respectively. The diagonal elements in W thus represent the assay confidence for each compound retrieved from the ChEMBL database. To test whether using the assay confidence information improves the predictive ability of the model, we also fitted model (1) using W n I n Cheminformatics interpretation
Converting RDF expressed molecular data, such as SMILES strings, into chemical graphs was done using the Chemistry Development Kit (CDK) [21, 22]. Calculations of 2D coordinates for diagram visualization in JChemPaint and QSAR descriptors was also performed using the CDK.
Bioclipse
Bioclipse is a chem- and bioinformatics workbench aimed at integrating local and remote data and computation services [23, 24]. It combines integration of these services with visualization capabilities of various life sciences data types, including spectra, molecular structures, and reactions. Bioclipse was used to integrate various applications to provide a unified platform for handling RDF for life sciences related data. Bioclipse was extended to support handling and visualization of RDF data. The Jena RDF library was used to store RDF data as well as read and write data in the RDF/XML and Notation3 [15] formats. The provided triple stores available in Bioclipse include an in-memory store and a Jena-TDB-based on-disk store. Jena also provides an API exposed in Bioclipse to query remote RDF databases using the SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) [25].
For RDF graph visualization in Bioclipse we used the Eclipse Visualization Toolkit Zest [26]. Visualization of 3D molecular structures and 2D molecular diagrams made use of Jmol [27] and JChemPaint [28], respectively. The link between the RDF graph visualization and the JChemPaint molecular editor used the Eclipse extension point mechanism outlined in the Bioclipse papers [23, 24].
Bioclipse 2 introduced scripting functionality, and the above outlined functionality is available via managers made available to the Bioclipse scripting environment via Eclipse extension points [23]. Currently, the scripting language available in Bioclipse is JavaScript ("Bioclipse Scripting Language"), and scripts throughout this paper accordingly use this scripting language. The scripts mentioned in this manuscript require a release from the stable Bioclipse 2.4 series or from the matching 2.3 development series. Some of the scripts listed in this paper are available on myExperiment [29].
RDF graph analysis
Plugins for SWI-Prolog [30] and Pellet [31] have been developed for analysis of RDF graphs. SWI-Prolog provides an environment for running Prolog code and Pellet is an OWL-DL reasoner. Both have been used in this paper for the analysis of RDF graphs. Data stored in files in the Bioclipse workspace is transferred into the Prolog environment with the
swipl.loadRDFToProlog( rdfDataFile ) command. The SWI-Prolog plugin allows to query individual triples with the rdf_db:rdf( Subject, Predicate, Object ) Prolog command. Wrapper methods have been defined that allow to call this method directly from a Bioclipse script using the swipl.queryProlog( [”prologMethod”, ”ResultLimit”, ”Param1”, ”Param2”, … ] ) command. Pellet, instead, is integrated into Bioclipse via its Jena interface and can, therefore, operate directly on an existing RDF data store. RDF servers
Three RDF servers were set up to provide molecular knowledge in RDF format. The http://rdf.openmolecules.net/ server was set up, using
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) scripts [32] to dynamically resolve URIs into links to other RDF databases using search facilities of the latter. Two further servers, http://rdf.farmbio.uu.se/chembl/sparql/ and http://rdf.farmbio.uu.se/nmrshiftdb/sparql/, were set up using the Virtuoso 6 software [33] to provide a SPARQL query end points for ChEMBL [34] and NMRShiftDB [35, 36] data. Results
We here report a number of applications that demonstrate RDF as sufficient technology to integrate knowledge management and databases with cheminformational and statistical analysis. The chosen examples demonstrate the conversion of RDF data into cheminformatical representations and numerical representations for statistical analysis. They also show how cheminformatical representations and computation results can be expressed back into RDF.
From RDF to cheminformatics
Cheminformatics has provided machine representations of molecular structures for a long time: chemical graphs and derived representations, such as connectivity tables and line notations like SMILES [37] and InChI [38]. Literature, however, defaults to chemical names as labels, which can often only be resolved by means of look-up databases. We present here applications that show how we can use RDF to link non-numerical molecular compound names and labels, to machine readable chemical graph representations.
Molecular identity
Retrieval of information about molecular structures from databases is best done with unique identifiers. The InChI has recently acquired a prominent role as unique identifier, and is increasingly used to make resources and literature machine readable [39]. Alternative identifiers, like the Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System (SMILES), are often not unique, causing relevant data to be lost in the search.
While it is a unique identifier, the InChI is not ideal for RDF environments: it has a syntax that starts with an
InChI= prefix, and is not in the URI format used in RDF. To aid the adoption of the InChI in RDF data sets, we have set up a web resource that provides a one-to-one link between the InChI and a URI. Additionally, this URI is dereferenceable, making it suitable for use in LinkedData networks. The dereferenceable nature is important to discover further information, quite like the role of hyperlinks in the world wide web. owl:sameAstriples to establish an InChI-based chemical identity for its molecules. Currently, the website acts as a hub in the Linked Data network: links are provided to ChEBI [40], NMRShiftDB [35], and DBPedia [41]. Visualization of RDF data sdb:mol1,which is of type sdb:Moleculeand has a name ( Methanol) and a SMILES ( CO). It also has a statement on the molecular identity and a few alternative identifiers from the NMRShiftDB and ChEBI, retrieved via the website http://rdf.openmolecules.net/. This graph visualization functionality in Bioclipse recognizes objects of a supported ontological type, sdb:Moleculein the example. The icon in front of the sdb:mol1resource indicates that the resource is recognized as a molecule. The icon also implies that Bioclipse knows what to do with such resources. If the user clicks a resource with an icon, it will visualize and compute additional information. Figure 2 shows this in action for the RDF graph shown in Figure 3, where an InChIKey and molecular mass are computed and shown in the Properties view, as well as the matching 2D diagram shown in the 2D-Structure view. Double clicking such a resource will open it in an appropriate Bioclipse editor. For example, this allows a molecule resource in the RDF graph to be opened in a JChemPaint editor. Aggregating data sets
Bioclipse was extended for this paper to provide various ways of aggregating RDF data and now supports two methods to locally cache data: an in-memory data store and an on-disk data store. This makes it possible to download raw RDF data directly into Bioclipse, e.g. using the command
var data = rdf.createInMemoryStore()
followed by
rdf.importURL( data, “” ). http://rdf.openmolecules.net/?InChI=1/CH4/h1H4
Additionally, there is a method to extract RDF from XHTML+RDFa pages [42]:
rdf.importRDFa( data, "" ). http://egonw.github.com/
While these two approaches aggregate RDF data, they do not allow one to query a database. Downloading a full database locally is not often needed, and SPARQL provides a method to query a RDF database for particular bits of information instead. SPARQL queries have been used in earlier discussed visualization applications. It should be stressed that using a common standard like RDF, allows linking of any database; this is not possible when each database uses a distinct format or interface.
The RDF functionality in Bioclipse provides a few new methods to its JavaScript environment:
rdf.sparql( data, someQuery )
and
rdf.sparqlRemote( url, someQuery )
These method allows one to directly query remote SPARQL end points such as those we have set up for the NMRShiftDB and the ChEMBL databases, as discussed in the Methods section. Using this approach we can extract subsets of data from databases. For example, to ask an RDF database for all the predicates, we can run the following command from the Bioclipse JavaScript environment:
var results = rdf.sparqlRemote(
"SELECT DISTINCT ?predicate WHERE { [] ?predicate [] }"
)
The SPARQL shown in Figure 4 collects seven related properties from the ChEMBL RDF database, namely: activity identifier (
?act), assay identifier ( ?ass), molecule identifier ( ?mol), molecular SMILES ( ?smiles), activity value ( ?val) and its unit ( ?unit), and the assay confidence ( ?conf). The query retrieves molecular structures with IC 50 activities against the 10885 target. The SMILES can, for example, be used by Bioclipse to calculate molecular descriptors for use in statistical modeling. Other retrieved properties can be used in such modeling too, as we will show later.
The SPARQL shown in Figure 5 aggregates even more information, needed for a proteochemometrics study. The query finds molecules that bind targets that are involved in voltage-gated ion channels. The query limits the search results to sodium channels, taking advantage of the ChEMBL classification scheme for targets. The level 6 classification specifies for this target type the ion channel type, and is reflected in the SPARQL query by the
?l6 variable. Only compounds are queried having a K i 50 activity. The query retrieves nine properties: target identifier ( ?target) and its type ( ?type), the PubMed ID of the paper from which the activities were extracted ( ?pubmed), three classifications levels ( ?l4, ?l5, and ?l6), molecule identifier ( ?mol) and the molecule’s SMILES ( ?smiles), activity value ( ?val) and the protein sequence of the targets against which the activities have been measured ( ?seq). Visualization of 2D diagrams and 3D geometries rdf.sparqlRemote( sparql )call, after which it iterates over all returned hits and extracts the ?compoundand ?smilesfields for each hit as identified in the SPARQL. For each SMILES, the CDK is used to translate the SMILES into a chemical graph which is stored in a list. The list of molecules is finally saved as MDL SD file and opened in a molecules table. HIV.The PDB identifier is extracted and used for a webservice call against the PDB database, and opened in the 3D editor with a ui.open()call. Figure 9 shows fifteen downloaded PDB entries in the Bioclipse navigator of which the PDB:1GL6 entry is opened in a Jmol editor. The script is available for download at http://www.myexperiment.org/workflows/928. From RDF to chemometrics
The previous sections gave examples of how we can use RDF data in cheminformatics applications. This section shows how to link RDF and statistical analysis field chemometrics. The first example shows how SPARQL is used to retrieve data from RDF sources, and how Bioclipse is used to calculate molecular descriptors to convert the RDF graphs into a numerical representation suitable for statistical analysis. The second and third examples then show how this numerical data is used to find new patterns. The second example shows how to predict IC
50 values by a Bayesian statistics QSAR study, while the third example additionally takes protein sequences from the ChEMBL database into account, and analyzes the protein-drug interaction in a proteochemometrics setting. Descriptor calculation
Plugins were constructed for Bioclipse to provide convenience methods to access the RDF database with the ChEMBL data at http://rdf.farmbio.uu.se/chembl/. A first plugin provides a Java API for retrieving information from ChEMBL about targets, containing the methods
getProperties(targetID), getActivities(targetID), and getQSARData(targetID, activity). These methods use the SPARQL query functionality of Bioclipse introduced in the previous paragraph, and overcomes the problem of having to construct a full SPARQL query manually. This API is exposed as a Bioclipse manager [23], making these methods available to the JavaScript environment. New Wizardto bootstrap a new QSAR project by aggregating data from the ChEMBL database directly. It accepts a ChEMBL targetID and an activity type (e.g. IC 50or K ), as shown in the screenshot in Figure 10. This new wizard uses SPARQL to update the wizard page with information about the currently given targetID. While the user is typing the targetID number, SPARQL is being used, via the aforementioned wrapping API, to ask the RDF database about the title, type and organism of the current target. Additionally, it will query the database for available activity types, such as the d IC 50 , Inhibition, K i app, K , and a general i Activityfor the 101107 targetID given in the figure. The wizard for Bioclipse does not yet provide full text search for targets based on labels, keywords, and descriptions available in the ChEMBL database, but it is clear that SPARQL make such applications possible too.
When the user is satisfied with the selected target, the
Finish button can be clicked. The wizard will then download the SMILES and activity values for that target, and serializes all chemical structures into a MDL SD file with the activity scores as properties. Furthermore, it sets up a new QSAR project and populates the project with these structures and responses. The user can then select the descriptors to be calculated for the aggregated molecules and start the computation, all from within Bioclipse.
Thus, the here shown RDF-driven feature makes it straightforward to set up new QSAR datasets for data from the ChEMBL database.
IC 50 modeling 50activities against the 10885 target. Figure 11 shows the result from a 10-fold cross-validation as actual versus predicted values for model (1) when assay confidence was taken into consideration (Figure 11a) and when assay confidence was not taken into consideration (Figure 11b). It may be noted that including the assay confidence in model (1) seems to improve the predictive performance. The mean predicted residual sum of squares when using the confidence information was 9.3 (7.6; 12.8) compared to 11.2 (8.5; 15.1) when the confidence information was not used (the numbers in parentheses show the 95% Bayesian confidence intervals). Proteochemometric modeling of ion channel inhibition
As a second statistical modeling example, proteochemometric models predicting inhibition were built for ion channel data extracted from ChEMBL by using the SPARQL query given in Figure 5. Properties of chemical compounds were encoded by a set of commonly used molecular descriptors calculated by Dragon Web software, as described [46]. Protein sequences were aligned by ClustalW2, and encoded by physico-chemical property (zz-scale) descriptors of amino acids [47]. To reduce the number of protein descriptors they were subjected to principal component analysis extracting 17 orthogonal variables (principal components). Calculation of ligand-protein cross-terms correlation of descriptors and cross-terms to logarithmically transformed activity data by Partial Least-Squares projections to latent structures (PLS) was performed as described in an earlier paper from our group [46].
From cheminformatics to RDF
In order to fully integrate RDF data with cheminformatics and chemometrics, we need not only to be able to use RDF data as input to algorithms of the latter, but we need also to be able to express cheminformatics knowledge and calculation results from cheminformatics and chemometrics back into RDF. This section shows that RDF is easily able to handle chemical graphs and descriptor calculation output. Also, we demonstrate that traditional cheminformatics algorithms can be rewritten as algorithms directly operating on a corresponding RDF graph.
Chemical graphs
The scripts described above were used for QSAR and proteochemometrics, and provided links between protein sequences and drugs. The next integration step is to express data created with cheminformatics as RDF too, and in particular the expression of calculated molecular descriptors as RDF. For this purpose, the data models used by the CDK and the Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology (BODO) were expressed as OWL ontologies. The BODO was originally expressed in the Chemical Markup Language [14] by members of the Blue Obelisk movement that promotes Open Data, Open Source, and Open Standards in cheminformatics, and was later translated into OWL by EW. It is used as such in the CDK and in Bioclipse [45]. These ontologies make it possible to express descriptor calculation results as integral part of the Linked Data network.
example.com-based URIs in the example in Figure 13. Alternatively, anonymous resources can be used to reduce the number of URIs, though that puts hierarchical restrictions on how the data is serialized. The current source code that generates the RDF, allows us to use any arbitrary domain, and we anticipate that URIs for all Objects in the CDK will become available when the RDF representation becomes more popular. The Dublin Core namespace is reused for the name of the molecule, and an owl:sameAspredicate was used to link to the aforementioned http://rdf.openmolecules.net/ website. The OWL-based CDK data model ontology resembles the actual CDK data model. Compared to a basic chemical graph model, the CDK model has more complexity providing the flexibility needed to cover input from various chemical file formats. Molecular properties and descriptors
Calculated molecular descriptors can also be added to RDF documents for molecular structures. For this purpose, an extension was written for the above RDF input/output library for the CDK to serialize those descriptors. Serialization of descriptors in a format using semantic web technologies has been proposed earlier to use the Chemical Markup Language [21], and this approach is now extended to directly link to the Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology (BODO), as well as to support describing what algorithm parameter values have been used in the descriptor calculation.
The graph further links to an external dictionary of descriptors that also uses Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology; in particular, it refers to the entry describing the TPSA algorithm
(bodo:instanceOf bodo:tpsa), allowing interoperability as described in the Blue Obelisk paper [14]. The descriptor listing and the underlying ontology are currently found in two OWL documents: one describing the ontology, and the other containing a list of descriptor algorithms [50]. Spectral similarity using Prolog
Knowledge stored as RDF triples can easily be extended in Prolog by wrapping sets of triples inside Prolog methods with common unbound variables, thereby creating an RDF graph pattern. Using this feature, we can describe larger graph patterns in a uniform way, which is not possible using RDF triples directly. For example, we can combine a set of three RDF triples into a method that expresses the relationship between a molecule and shift values of its associated spectral peaks.
molecules which have a spectrum with a peak shift matching the given value.The resulting molecules are then returned, where they can be opened in a molecules table, if desired, as demonstrated in some of the earlier examples by using the SMILES for the found molecules.
However, we can take things even a step further, taking advantage of the expressiveness of the Prolog programming language by using it directly on the RDF knowledge base. Prolog makes it possible to let one Prolog predicate be composed of sets of other predicates. This makes it it possible to iteratively build upon previously defined
semantics and thereby step by step increase the expressive power. The Prolog-based code in the findMolWithPeakValsNear.pl file provided in this paper’s Additional files section demonstrates this, using more sophisticated code for finding spectra according to a given list of peak shifts that should have near-matches in the database of reference spectra. Discussion
The applications presented in this paper demonstrate various ways how RDF can be used to represent chemical information and link between data repositories. We also show how SPARQL can be used to query these repositories, and how these emerging standards based on RDF have sufficient expressiveness to cover typical studies in the field of molecular chemometrics. Even though they are sufficient, we can expecte future RDF technologies to enable more elaborate integration.
We must note that the RDF and related standards do not describe how chemical information should be modeled. This leads to a question of which ontologies should be used to markup and annotate the information. This paper uses various ontologies and includes a description of an ontology reflecting the data model used by the cheminformatics library, the Chemistry Development Kit. However, the topic of this paper is not to propose a cheminformatics or a chemistry ontology, but to shows how data expressed in ontologies can be mapped to the implicit ontologies in the various cheminformatics and statistics methods. Aligning with other chemical ontologies, such as ChemAxiom [49] and others [9], is currently being explored.
It is also important to note that RDF and ontologies do not overcome the limitations of what the concepts formalize: while an ontology helps us determine that some string is in fact a SMILES, that knowledge does not overcome the limitations of the SMILES representation as unique identifier. This is why the InChI is preferred, and here used for the http://rdf.openmolecules.net/ project.
Furthermore, we note that expressing similarity between resources only works in a qualitative manner: there are no equivalents of owl:sameAs or rdf:seeAlso that relate two resources given with a certain similarity. It can be argued that such knowledge can be captured with a small set of triples, where the similarity itself is defined as (anonymous) resource, linked to the two similar resources as well as defining the similarity value. However, such information would also require more complex queries to recover and process.
Additionally, neither the SMILES nor InChI contain the information needed by many cheminformatics algorithms: in particular, they do not contain 3D coordinates required by, for example, geometrical descriptors. We believe, however, that RDF contributes here by providing a simple standard that allows linking between databases. By using unique identifiers and the linked data approach, we can take advantage of other available resources that can, independently, contribute additional information, such as 3D molecular geometries.
Our paper does not cover all RDF related technologies, some of which will have a significant impact on the integration of RDF with molecular chemometrics in the future. One of these technologies is XHTML+RDFa [51] which allows embedding RDF data inside common HTML pages. Search engines are already supporting this technology, and we anticipate it to be adopted by the scientific publishing industry too. We predict that in the future data will no longer simply be extracted from dedicated databases, such as ChEMBL, but will be downloaded directly from the scientific literature instead. Such semantic annotation of human-targeted representations, will allow further integration with computing technologies. For example, this embedded RDFa can easily be used by web browser extensions to enrich HTML pages with information from third-party resources [52].
Another technology that will benefit from the integration is the availability of semantic computing services. We have recently started working towards implementing more semantically oriented web services [53], but these do not use RDF technologies yet. Computing services for life sciences that do use RDF standards are being developed by the SADI project [54]. These services allow defining queries that requires calculation of RDF content on demand, providing facilities to look up SADI services that provide information missing from other RDF databases, calling these for the missing information on the fly. This can be used, for example, to make available online descriptor calculation services that output results as RDF.
Conclusions
This paper shows how RDF data can be integrated with cheminformatics and proteochemometrics using RDF technologies, the CDK and Bioclipse. With these results we argue that semantics in health care and life sciences do not end with giving things names and semantics, but that the domain knowledge includes molecular information, and therefore must involve more technical fields like cheminformatics and proteochemometrics. The use of ontologies in chemistry is not new, but their use in existing tools is minimal. Many current cheminformatics libraries do indeed not have an RDF interface, despite the fact that RDF addresses the important area of data exchange and interoperability. Recent semantic chemistry technologies, like CML, did not use a single open standard, which RDF and its related technologies defines: while CML is restricted to particular chemical data types, RDF is universal, allowing any knowledge base to be linked to the chemical data.
Our examples show how to go back and forth between RDF and a few common cheminformatics representations, including the SMILES, InChI and chemical graphs. They also show how this link can be used to visualize chemical graphs present from online RDF data resources, and how RDF resources can be queried for subsets as input for use in statistical analysis. Further examples highlighted how cheminformatics calculation results can be represented in RDF, and even how traditional cheminformatics methods can be performed directly on RDF graphs using Prolog.
A possible future application of the here presented integration of RDF and molecular chemometrics, is the automatic curation of online (RDF) data repositories. For example, chemical content of Wikipedia can be automatically analyzed for internal consistency as well as consistency with external databases using the RDF version provided by DBPedia. Additionally, missing information can be identified and added. Taking advantage of the scripting functionality in Bioclipse and the sharing of such scripts via myExperiment, such analysis can easily be repeated and used for continuous quality assurance.
We can conclude that existing RDF standards provide the minimal requirements for integrating with existing molecular chemometrics methods. The framework does not solve all problems. For example, accurate and unique identifiers like the InChI are still required to link information sources accurately. The use of platforms like Bioclipse that unite the various technologies makes this simpler and, by using the scripting functionality, more transparent. Being able to create and share the scripted workflows to integrate data aggregation and analysis (both visual and statistical) is beneficial to the field of molecular chemometrics.
List of abbreviations BODO:
Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology
CDK:
Chemistry Development Kit
CML:
Chemical Markup Language
DL:
Descriptive Logic
IC 50:
Half maximal Inhibitory Concentration
InChI:
International Chemical Identifier
IUPAC:
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
LODD:
Linking Open Drug Data
NMR:
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
OWL:
Web Ontology Language
PCM:
ProteoChemoMetrics
PHP:
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
PLS:
Partial Least-Squares
QSAR:
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship
RDF:
Resource Description Framework
SADI:
Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration
SKOS:
Simple Knowledge Organization System
SMILES:
Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System
SPARQL:
SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language
URI:
Uniform Resource Identifier
Declarations Acknowledgements
This research was funded by a KoF grant from Uppsala University (KoF 07) and the Swedish VR-M (04X-05957).
This article has been published as part of
Journal of Biomedical Semantics Volume 2 Supplement 1, 2011: Semantic Web Applications and Tools for Life Sciences (SWAT4LS), 2009. The full contents of the supplement are available online at http://www.jbiomedsem.com/supplements/2/S1 Authors’ Affiliations References Willighagen E, Wehrens R, Buydens L: Molecular Chemometrics. Crit. Rev. Anal. Chem. 2006, 36: 189-198. 10.1080/10408340600969601.View ArticleGoogle Scholar Willighagen E, Denissen H, Wehrens R, Buydens L: On the use of 1H and 13C NMR spectra as QSPR descriptors. Journal of Chemical Information and Modelling. 2006, 46 (2): 487-494. 10.1021/ci050282s.View ArticleGoogle Scholar Willighagen EL, Wehrens R, Melssen W, de Gelder R, Buydens LMC: Supervised Self-Organizing Maps in Crystal Property and Structure Prediction. Crystal Growth & Design. 2007, 7 (9): 1738-1745. 10.1021/cg060872y.View ArticleGoogle Scholar Murray-Rust P, Rzepa H: Chemical Markup XML, and the Worldwide Web. 1. Basic Principles. 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BMC Bioinformatics. 2007, 8: 487-10.1186/1471-2105-8-487.View ArticleGoogle Scholar Wagener J, Spjuth O, Willighagen EL, Wikberg JES: XMPP for cloud computing in bioinformatics supporting discovery and invocation of asynchronous Web services. BMC Bioinformatics. 2009, 10: 279-10.1186/1471-2105-10-279.View ArticleGoogle Scholar SADI - Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration. [http://sadiframework.org/] Copyright
This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | 49,088 | 19,185 | 2.558666 |
warc | 201704 | Fill the signin form and go to your private zone.
House Bill 3162 Will Protect OR Kids From Chemicals
The Oregon House of Representatives took a step to protect Oregon’s children and environment by approving The Toxics Disclosure for Healthy Kids Act. House Bill 3162 requires manufacturers to report if any of 19 dangerous chemicals are used in their children’s products, and to phase out chemicals from certain high-exposure products over five years.
“We need to protect our children from needless exposure to chemicals that could make them sick,” said Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer, a chief sponsor of the bill. “Oregon is leading efforts to create a healthier environment, and this is a sensible step forward.”
The Act establishes an efficient, science-based system to identify the 19 chemicals that pose the greatest risk to children’s health when they exist in toys or other children’s products. As of now, this information is unavailable to parents and health officials who need more data in order to address rising rates of disease and make smart investments in preventative health. By phasing out toxic chemicals from the products that young children touch, put in their mouths or inhale – such as teething rings and car seats – The Toxics Disclosure for Healthy Kids Act will protect Oregon’s kids from products with the greatest potential for causing health problems later in life.
The Oregon Health Authority will collect data on the chemicals of concern and report to the legislature. Similar legislation in Washington State and around the country is raising awareness among manufacturers about the harmful impacts of certain chemicals. | 1,714 | 872 | 1.965596 |
warc | 201704 | At the World Affairs Council of Northern California Commonwealth Club of San Francisco
San Francisco, California, US
11 December 2004
As you know, I was in Washington earlier this week, discussing with President Bush and others, urgent next steps in the Middle East. I'd like to briefly share some thoughts with you, and then I hope we'll have the opportunity for some Q and A.
When I was here in San Francisco last April, I suggested that the time had come for real breakthroughs in the Middle East. Today, it is clear we have reached a moment of great potential. Elections are scheduled both in the Palestinian Territories and in Iraq. Israel is wrestling with disengagement. The Quartet – that’s the US, Europe, Russia and the UN – has recommitted to the road map peace process. Meanwhile, throughout the region, there is movement toward reform and development.
Experience teaches us that historic breakthroughs are easier to spot after the fact than before. But this much is certain: the next few critical months will set the course and speed of progress in my region for a long time to come. A promising but extremely tough journey has begun. Its success will require the full and active support of the international community. You might say, the boat is pulling away from the pier. We need every friend of peace and progress to be on board.
The United States has a central leadership role. No where is it more important than in meeting the region's core challenge: the Arab-Israeli conflict. This cycle of violence remains the key barrier to stability and progress in my region. It has bred global anger and extremist violence. The parties, the region, and the world all urgently need a just and comprehensive solution – one that ends the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis … opens the doors to new progress in the region … and restores faith in the international system of justice.
As many of you know, the groundwork is there. In 2002 in Beirut, Arab countries committed themselves to a landmark comprehensive two-state solution. Its terms are straightforward. A sovereign, democratic and viable Palestine. Security guarantees for Israel to live in peace with its neighbours. And a process that leads to a comprehensive settlement, addressing the Syrian and Lebanese tracks.
In June of 2002, at an historic meeting with President Bush in Aqaba, the parties agreed. The roadmap plan was endorsed by the G-8 countries and the Quartet. And let me say just a word about the roadmap process. In all my discussions in the months before the Aqaba meetings, I argued that for the peace process to succeed, it must win trust on the ground. That demands visible, timely results. All of you know how much business benefits from performance benchmarks, milestones and real accountability. Well, we who seek peace need to mean business. This is why the roadmap insists on, must insist on, measurable, concrete results, leading to a final settlement in a specific time-frame.
I don't need to tell you that the process has missed some milestones. And that should not be acceptable to anyone. Because every day of continued violence serves the enemies of Palestine's democratic development and Israel's ultimate security.
It is time to move seriously toward the two-state solution which is the basis for lasting peace. That calls for action and compromise on both sides. Israel's disengagement plan can be a constructive part of the roadmap, but it is only part. The world is looking to Israel to recommit to the roadmap, and to take real confidence-building measures towards peace. The Palestinians also must meet the challenge of responsible leadership. That means delivering on the reforms that statehood involves – good governance, effective security and a real partnership at the peace tables.
The upcoming Palestinian elections can be a crucial milestone. They need our support. I met with the European Commission last month and with leadership in Washington this week. I asked for all possible assistance for Palestinians, including reconstruction, reform and the election process. I am pleased and hopeful about the positive response.
The Arab-Israeli conflict is, of course, not the only regional focus of concern. Violence and chaos in Iraq is a threat not only to that country's future but to the world's. Regional and global stability demands a rebuilt and democratic Iraq. To achieve that, the international community must be an active partner, not just in humanitarian assistance, but in helping Iraq achieve security and reconciliation. That includes practical, effective measures to rebuild political institutions, restore a functioning economy and restore trust.
Iraq urgently needs a legitimate and inclusive political system. It is important that the upcoming elections be held as soon as possible – and it is also important that they be inclusive. To build confidence, majority rule must be coupled with minority rights. Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis should hold sacred Iraq's Arab allegiance. And all Iraqis should reject any interference in Iraq's internal affairs.
Let's keep the goal in sight: a sovereign, pluralistic, violence-free Iraq that gives its people a future. It is in all our interests – and it is the right thing to do – to work together to support and assist that process.
As a close neighbour, Jordan is committed to doing all it can to assist and support Iraq's future. For us, this is part of a larger responsibility: to promote unity, stability and development throughout the Arab world.
A better future for our region depends on reform: good governance, economic growth and national development. Such action must emerge from within the region itself. Imposing a process from outside cannot generate the commitment that real change requires. But the international community can help reform grow and succeed, by partnering with us as we move forward.
In Jordan, the reform process is well underway. Our country has made structural changes to embed human rights and build democratic political life. In the economy, we have encouraged innovation and partnership with the private sector. Jordan was the first Arab country to sign a free trade area agreement with the US, and that agreement has already contributed significantly to economic growth and opportunity.
Our vision is of an open, modern civil society rooted in true Arab-Islamic values: tolerance and respect for others; belief in the rule of law; the equal dignity of all people and the pursuit of excellence. Some of you may know that last month we issued the Amman Message, a major statement on Islam. It spells out the clear Quranic authority for moderation, tolerance and peace. A Jordanian conference on the Amman Message brought in religious leaders and teachers from around the world. In Europe, Muslim leaders told me the Message was essential to counter the false teachings of extremists. These are just a few steps toward giving moderate Islam the worldwide voice and pre-eminence it deserves.
My friends,
From religious scholars and private entrepreneurs, from teachers and social workers and high-tech professionals – the Arab world is being built by creative people, working hard to fulfil the promise of our region. Our future is in their hands. You can help them, you can help the world we share, through your partnership and support.
Together we can create a world in which peace is real; in which every human being can thrive; in which all share the promise of our century. I believe we can succeed.
Thank you very much. | 7,606 | 3,437 | 2.212976 |
warc | 201704 | 3 submarines, 40 warheads to a sub, 1 million deaths to a warhead. They are the kind of numbers that make for great newspaper columns, as Clive Lewis, writing in the New Statesman, and Polly Toynbee have recently demonstrated. They slot together with beguiling and gruesome simplicity to conjure the apocalypse out of the near future.
Yet the simple maths of destruction makes complex problems for Labour. As the next General Election approaches, Trident will be drawn into the public debate as both the Tories and the Lib Dems rummage through their trunk of ‘2010 electoral positions that we had to forget about’ and discover this handy yardstick for measuring their essential difference.
What many fear is that when Labour is implicated in this debate it will be exposed as deeply divided on the issue. 2007 still lingers ghoulishly in the memory, when 95 backbench MPs rebelled against Tony Blair, forcing the then PM to rely on Tory votes to get the Bill for Trident passed. This is why Nick Brown’s recent call for a full debate at the Party Conference has been met with an awkward silence; no one wants to explain the extent of the divisions that such a public airing might expose.
It is for Ed Miliband to pre-empt this potentially uncomfortable conversation by launching a credible Labour position sooner rather than later. Miliband will not give up the UK’s nuclear deterrent. The Tory posture in the next election will be ramrod straight, hair neatly parted, the sober decision makers steeled with Quaker-like resolve. They would love to be able to establish a comparison with the wilting idealists who would dismantle Britain’s nuclear capacity. Ed will back the Trident renewal. But, in so doing, he should seize the opportunity reframe the terms of the debate.
Trident supports 6,700 jobs, many of which are precisely the kind of technical, highly-skilled workers for which Britain normally looks enviously at Germany. Its renewal offers Labour the opportunity to invest up to £20 billion in one of UK’s last areas of industrial excellence: military provision. With a new wave of nuclear power construction expected in the next decade, and signs that the expertise gained in one field would be transferable to the other, Trident can form an integrated part of Labour’s industrial growth strategy. Miliband should repackage the Trident issue on this basis, focussing on the on the jobs created, not the lives terminated.
This will appeal directly to voters, but it will also outmanoeuvre a Tory party that is struggling to talk about the issue whilst gagged by the coalition agreement. Labour can seize the investment angle on this debate as their own and will differentiate themselves from the Conservatives with the emphasis of their support; Labour’s platform is one of level-headed industrial investment, the Tories’ the enthusiasm of the amateur military historian, keen for the latest piece of tech with which to project their hard power.
Trident is controversial issue and it will be a test of Miliband’s statesmanship to see that he can get his party into line. But, come 2015, Trident’s maths of economics may help Labour to reach 326. | 3,224 | 1,635 | 1.971865 |
warc | 201704 | Arathi Veeraswamy, Tanjia Pejovic, Han Ying, Aixingzi Aili, Farr Nezhat, Camran Nezhat
Although most benign ovarian tumors can be treated laparoscopically, observation of the adnexa enables a gynecologist to decide whether laparotomy is indicated.
OVARIAN BIOPSIES
It is often difficult to immobilize the ovary because of its smooth surface and firm texture. The uterine-ovarian ligament can be grasped to lift and rotate it, or the ovary can be wedged against the pelvic side wall by using the flattened edges of open or closed forceps. Sometimes Morgagni paratubal cysts can be used as a handle or the uterus can be manipulated under the ovary to provide a shelf (
Figure 1). Overly aggressive manipulation may cause lacerations in the capsule and result in bleeding from follicles or cysts.
A punch biopsy specimen of a lesion from the antimesenteric border of the ovary is sufficient for most purposes. Palmer biopsy forceps can take tissue without penetrating the vascular medulla, although a small wedge resection yields the best histologic features of the ovarian stroma and cortex.
1 Alternatively, tissue can be obtained by using toothed forceps and laparoscopic scissors or a laser ( Figure 2). Bleeding is controlled with bipolar electrocoagulation; sutures should be avoided so that postoperative adhesions can be minimized. 2 INDICATIONS FOR OOPHORECTOMY
In 1980, Semm reported his experience with a laparoscopic approach to oophorectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy.
3 Since then, several authors have described the efficacy and safety of these procedures using different techniques. 4-8 Laparoscopy may encourage ovarian conservation during hysterectomy and more conservative management of pain caused by adnexal disease. If necessary, oophorectomy maybe done laparoscopically at a later date, with a short hospital stay and recovery period. The indications for oophorectomy are as follows:
1. Persistent localized pain despite previous lysis of adhesions or treatment of endometriosis
2. Residual ovary syndrome
3. Dysgenetic gonads
4. Ovarian cysts 5cm or greater with ovarian damage, or when spillage of cystic contents increases the likelihood of complications (cystic teratomas, mucinous cystadenomas, malignancy)
5. Unilateral tubo-ovarian abscess
6. Prophylactic therapy for advanced breast cancer
7. Early ovarian cancer in young women (StageІ)
A uterine manipulator is inserted for traction and counter traction to aid in the exposure and manipulation of the ovary. The pelvis and especially the adnexa are inspected to plan the surgical approach. Before starting the procedure, it is important to observe the course of the ureter as it crosses the external iliac artery near the bifurcation of the common iliac artery at the pelvic brim. The left ureter may be more difficult to find because the base of the sigmoid mesocolon often covers it. If the ureter cannot be seen through the intact peritoneum, it must be identified by retroperitoneal dissection. If the patient does not have a uterus, it is essential to insert a vaginal probe or sponge stick so that the surgeon can maintain orientation, particularly with procedures involving extensive adhesions. When anatomic landmarks are distorted by adhesions, endometriosis, or prior surgical extirpation, one should begin the procedure at the most normal area and work toward the more distorted parts of the operative field. The entire ovary must be removed to prevent ovarian remnant syndrome or tumor development in a dysgenetic gonad. At the conclusion, the operative field is inspected and clots are removed with a suction irrigator or grasping forceps. Pedicles are inspected under water and with decreased pneumoperitoneum, and hemostasis is obtained with bipolar electrocoagulation.
9 OOPHORECTOMY AND SALPINGO-OOPHORECTOMY Management of the Infundibulopelvic Ligament
Three techniques have been described for managing the infundibulopelvic ligament: bipolar electrodessication, suture ligation with pre-tied sutures, and automatic stapling. Patient costs are approximately $600 for the linear stapler and $48 for each pre-tied ligature. There is no extra charge for bipolar electrocoagulation.
A bipolar forceps is preferable for hemostasis of the Infundibulopelvic ligament.
4 Endoloop sutures (Ethicon) cannot be applied in the presence of adhesions that distort the anatomy, and it is difficult to place Endoloop sutures on large pedicles such as the mesovarium and infundibulopelvic ligament, even if the anatomy is normal. Once it is applied, the slipknot can loosen under the tension of the large pedicle, increasing the risk of intraoperative hemorrhage, or a piece of the ovary may be left in the pedicle, predisposing the patient to ovarian remnant syndrome. 10
Aside from cost, there are several drawbacks to the stapling device. The instrument is bulky, and the operator must note its proximity to the ureter, bowel, and bladder. Adequate desiccation of tissue with bipolar forceps by monitoring the flow of electrons on an ammeter has been suggested before transecting the pedicles. Excessive desiccation creates friable tissue and increases thermal damage, and the tissue may adhere to the forceps. A self-limiting bipolar electrocoagulator (Valleylab Force II series generator, Boulder, CO) provides controlled desiccation without charring the adjacent tissue. In this mode, the power peaks at 100 ohms instead of 300 to 500 ohms in typical generators. The power then “rolls off” to provide the desired surgical effect without excess drying, blanching, or destruction of tissue.
The mechanism of closure of large blood vessels with high-frequency electrocoagulation was described by Sigel and Dunn.
11 Electrocoagulation begins with shrinkage of the vessel wall resulting from the denaturation of tissue proteins combined with the melting of the carbohydrate tissue components and the dehydration of tissue fluids. The resulting coagulum formed by this melting and fusion of the vessel wall obliterates the lumen. The most successful closures are characterized by low levels of heating that end before char is formed, which preserve the inherent fibrillar structure of the connective tissue. Too much heating destroys the inherent fibrillar structure, forming a more amorphous coagulum that is poorly penetrated by fibroblasts and capillaries and characterized by inflammatory-type reorganization and healing process that results in unsuccessful or weak closures. Further heating during electrocoagulation causes complete disintegration of the amorphous coagulum and carbonization. 11,12 Ammeters or flow meters measure only the flow of current in relation to tissue resistance and have no value in assuring hemostasis. Pedicles are reinspected after the intraabdominal pressure has been lowered because they can bleed again at the termination of a procedure the haemostatic effects of the elevated abdominal pressure are lost. 9
The technique for oophorectomy is similar to that for salpingo-oophorectomy except that the tube must be protected from thermal damage. The procedure begins at the utero-ovarian ligament (
Figure 3A).The pedicles are desiccated and cut. 4 The mesovarium is coagulated and cut into 2-cm bites, working from the uterine side to the fimbria until the ovary is removed ( Figure 3B-D). The latter step may jeopardize the fallopian tube if the mesovarium is over desiccated. In some circumstances, it may be preferable to sharply incise the individual leaves of the mesovarium if the distance between the tube and the ovary is small. The underlying vascular tissue may be coagulated and divided to allow excision of the remaining ovary. Laparoscopic oophorectomy causes less morbidity than oophorectomy by laparotomy, and the patient’s recovery is shorter. 4
An ovary and tube minimally involved with adhesions or endometriosis are approached from the infundibulopelvic ligament or the utero-ovarian ligament. Filmy adhesions that limit the mobility of the ovary are lysed. Ovarian cysts are aspirated and deflated, making removal of the ovary easier. The adnexa are removed by beginning with the infundibulopelvic ligament. This approach is preferable if the uterus is to be removed or significant disease is found in the uterine-ovarian ligament, in patients with a prior hysterectomy, or if hemostasis of the ovarian vessels is necessary. The procedure begins with ureteral identification through the peritoneum as it enters the pelvic brim and travels parallel to the infundibulopelvic ligament.
The isthmic portion of the tube and the ovarian ligament are desiccated and cut (
Figure 4). The ovary is held with a grasping forceps, and the infundibulopelvic ligament is put under traction by elevating it and pulling it medially. The infundibulopilvic ligament is desiccated with bipolar forceps and cut with a laser or scissors in 1-to 2-cm increments, working from lateral to medial until the adnexa are removed ( Figures 5, 6, 7, 8). To avoid damage to the lateral pelvic side wall, traction is used on the tube and ovary and excessive coagulation is avoided. The Stapling Device
The laparoscopic linear stapling device used during gynecologic procedures is a modification of the stapling device used for bowel resection. The trocar site used to introduce the stapler is modified depending on the specific adnexal disease. The trocar is introduced between the symphysis pubic and the umbilicus lateral to the rectus muscle and inferior epigastric vessels, although injury to inferior epigastric vessels is possible. At the end of the procedure, the fascia is closed to prevent a hernia. After the stapler is introduced, the adnexa are grasped with laparoscopic forceps and retracted medially and caudally to stretch and outline the infundibulopelvic ligament. The ligament is grasped and secured with the stapler (
Figure 9). The stapler is not fired until the contained tissue is identified and the ureter’s safety is assured. Once transected, the stapler line is examined for placement and hemostasis. Usually one or two stapler applications are required for each adnexa. The Endoligature
Pre-tied Endoloop sutures may be used in an oophorectomy or a salpingo-oophorectomy.
13 Peri-ovarian adhesions are lysed, and the ovary is freed. If a cyst is present, it is aspirated so that manipulation will be easier. The mesovarium and ovarian ligament are electrodesiccated and dissected to facilitate placement of the endoligature. The Endoloop (0 polydioxanone or polyglactin suture) is introduced into the abdominal cavity through the mid-suprapubic trocar sleeve. Using forceps, the ovary is pulled through the Endoloop. Atraumatic forceps are used to assist in placement. The suture is pushed onto the mesovarium while a knot pusher is used on the opposite side to place the slipknot at the most lateral position on the mesosalpinx and mesovarium. The suture is tightened as the ovary is pulled toward the midline, and the tube is retracted with the atraumatic foceps. A second and, if necessary, a third Endoloop are placed, each successively closer to the pelvic wall so that the mesovarian pedicle will be long. The mesovarium is transected with scissors. The pedicle is evaluated to confirm that the sutures have been placed beyond any ovarian tissue to avoid ovarian remnant syndrome.
For salpingo-oophorectomy, an Endoloop is placed over the adnexa after the ovarian ligament and tubal isthmus have been electrocoagulated and cut. The ovary and tube are grasped with forceps and pulled contra laterally. Simultaneously, the atraumatic forceps are used to push the Endoloop laterally, ensuring that the ligature is placed as far lateral as possible on the infundibulopelvic ligament. One or two additional sutures are placed progressively closer to the pelvic wall (at least 1 cm below the infundibulopelvic ligament) so that the pedicle will be long enough to prevent the sutures from slipping. The adnexal pedicle is transected with scissors. The ureter is evaluated at the pelvic brim to confirm that it is not damaged.
A borderline tumor of the ovary is an epithelial tumor with a low rate of growth and a low potential to invade or metastasize. They account for 10%–15% of all ovarian tumors. In particular, this type of ovarian tumor is characterized by a degree of cellular proliferation (stratification of the epithelial lining of the papillae, and nuclear atypia and mitotic activity) in the absence of stromal invasion.
88
Borderline epithelial ovarian tumors are generally discovered at an earlier stage than malignant tumors. They frequently affect young women in which conservative and minimally invasive surgery is required to preserve childbearing potential Laparoscopy can be used to perform all the surgical procedures needed in patients with early borderline ovarian tumors (BOT), including excision (adnexectomy and hysterectomy) and staging (peritoneal biopsies, omentectomy, appendectomy in patients with mucinous tumors, and removal of pelvic and paraaortic lymph nodes, although this last procedure has generated controversy in recent years). Laparoscopic management seems feasible in early BOT.
77 Laparoscopic treatment of adnexal masses has proven to be a safe and effective diagnostic and therapeutic tool in the hands of experienced laparoscopists. 88
All procedures are performed under general endotracheal anesthesia. Patients are usually placed in the dorsolithotomy position, with the legs in universal Allen stirrups. In addition, intraoperative lower extremity sequential compression devices for venous thrombosis prophylaxis are used.
The entire procedure is performed through laparoscopy and all patients are given antibiotic prophylaxis (cefoxitin 2 g IV). The vaginal cavity is cleansed with povidone-iodine solution and a Foley catheter is placed in the bladder.
After a carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum by Veress needle is induced at the level of umbilicus, a 10-mm trocar that incorporates the zero-degree laparoscope is inserted through an umbilical vertical incision and the entrance into the abdominal cavity is made under direct visualization, the laparoscope is connected to a video monitor.
Once the trocar has been safely introduced into the abdominal cavity, the intra-abdominal pressure is maintained at 15 mmHg.
Three suprapubic ancillary trocars are used: one 5-mm trocar is inserted in the midline 3 cm under the umbilicus, and one in each iliac fossa (5 mm on the left side and 10 mm on the right size) laterally to the inferior epigastric vessels.
Before the operative procedure, all the pelvic structures are inspected and the abdomen explored through the laparoscope in a clockwise fashion.
Guidelines for surgical treatment of BOT in women who do not wish any other pregnancy include peritoneal washing, hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and multiple peritoneal biopsies.
79 As has already been discussed, patients with BOT tend to be younger than women with invasive ovarian cancer. For many of these patients, fertility is an important issue. Previous studies have suggested the safety of conservative surgery with unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy or cystectomy for patients with stage I BOT. They are characterized by an excellent long-term survival. 80,81
The laparoscopic approach follows a standardized procedure. First, an observational time of adnexal masses in search of macroscopic findings suggestive of malignancy is performed. These features are: presence of extraovarian implants, presence of exophytic growth, anarchic vascularization on the surface of the ovary, and ascites.
The laparoscopic surgery includes a cytologic evaluation of pelvic and abdominal washings and treatment of adnexal mass by cystectomy or unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in accordance with recommendations for laparoscopic treatment of benign adnexal mass. Tissue is removed from the abdominal cavity using a plastic bag to reduce the possibility of parietal implantation of neoplastic cells. An intraoperative histologic examination on a frozen section preparation is carried out in all patients.
Multiple pelvic and abdominal peritoneal and contralateral ovarian biopsies, cytologic evaluation of pelvic and abdominal washings, infracolonic omentectomy, and an accurate abdominal inspection to obtain the intraoperative staging of the disease are performed. Systematic appendectomy is also a criterion for complete staging of mucinous borderline tumors. If there are no obvious abdominal or pelvic peritoneal lesions, random peritoneal biopsies are performed.
Laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy should be considered as the first choice of conservative treatment in most patients, because it seems to be associated with lower recurrence rates compared with laparoscopic cystectomy. The greatest risks of this procedure are cysts rupture, intra-abdominal spillage, and contamination of the abdominal wall. These risks can be reduced to an acceptable level by the use of a plastic bag, reducing the possibility of parietal implantation of neoplastic cells.
78
The laparoscopic approach to borderline tumors, as any suspicious adnexal mass, should follow strict criteria to reduce the risk of spreading and relapse. Spillage should be minimized and in case of intraoperative rupture during laparoscopy or laparotomy, the treatment is the same: a copious washing of the pelvis and abdomen; manipulation of the tumor should be kept to the minimum; any biopsy specimen should be extracted with an endobag protecting the abdominal wall.
Laparoscopic cystectomy may have more chance of preserving a woman's fertility compared with adnexectomy because of the removal of less ovarian tissue. Its greatest danger is the risk of inadvertently leaving behind some malignant cells. Therefore, this procedure should be reserved for patients with previous unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy or when bilateral lesions are present to preserve at least some ovarian tissue.
78
If bilateral adnexal masses are present in a young patient wanting to preserve fertility, intraoperative decision-making is more difficult. Before any resection, the ovarian masses should be carefully inspected and assessed for adjacent normal ovarian tissue. In general, the more suspicious ovary should be removed using the most conservative means on the contralateral side (ovarian cystectomy, if possible) and the specimens sent for frozen section analysis. If a borderline tumor is diagnosed, then either ovarian cystectomy or oophorectomy should be performed on the contralateral side.
82
The accuracy of frozen section diagnosis of ovarian tumors is important, especially in young women who may be managed conservatively with preservation of fertility. A recent series by Ilvan et al. confirmed that frozen section diagnosis is a reliable method for the surgical management of BOT with a sensitivity of 87 % and a specificity of 98 %.
87 However, diagnostic problems can occur in mucinous borderline tumors during frozen section examination. 87
Although several investigators would recommend routine biopsy of a normal-appearing contra lateral ovary, some investigators believe that careful macroscopic inspection of the normal ovary should be sufficient because unnecessary biopsy or wedge resection may result in peritoneal adhesions or ovarian failure.
In our opinion, conservative laparoscopic treatment of BOT is an appropriate and reasonable therapeutic option for young women with low-stage disease who wish to preserve their childbearing potential because the fertility results are encouraging.
Recurrence can be noted after this type of treatment, but the cases of recurrent disease can be detected with close follow-up and treated accordingly. For these reasons, careful selection of candidates for this kind of treatment is, of course, necessary and close follow-up is required.
Whenever possible, the treatment options for each possible operative finding should be discussed thoroughly with the patient and her family, including the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment approach.
The main objective of conservative treatment for women with BOT is to spare fertility without negatively affecting overall and disease-free survival. Our results are in keeping with previous studies in which recurrence rates were higher after cystectomy than after unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.
85,86 This suggests that laparoscopic cystectomy should be considered only for women with one ovary or with bilateral tumors who wish to preserve their childbearing potential. When BOTs are identified at surgery by intraoperative histology, the recommended conservative treatment should be laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy.
If these restrictions are rigorously applied, then fertility-sparing surgery may be considered a safe option for this pathology, but all laparoscopic procedures should be reserved for oncologic surgeons trained in extensive laparoscopic procedures.
Dysgenetic Gonads
Individuals with androgen insensitivity syndrome have a high risk (20-30%) of developing malignancy in their gonads.
14 Phenotypic females with the XY karyotype require gonadectomy to protect them from developing gonadoblastoma. These gonads present as streaks, and the boundaries between the gonadal tissue and the peritoneum are not always clear. Because there is a chance that some of the dysgenetic gonadal tissue will be missed, the peritoneal borders must be kept wide. The laparoscopic approach for gonadectomy has been used in patients with male pseudohermaphroditism, including patients with pure gonadal dysgenesis, testicular feminization, and mixed gonadal dysgenesis and dysgenetic male pseudohermaphroditism. 14-16
The laparoscopic procedure for removing a dysgenetic gonad is similar to that for removing an ovary that is densely adherent to the pelvic side wall.
17,18 Bilateral laparoscopic gonadectomy was performed under general anesthesia in patients without complications, the procedure may be performed safely, even with gonads located in inguinal canals. 99 Peritoneal insufflation with a Veress needle inserted.infraumbilically, insertion of a 5–10 mm umbilical trocar for laparoscopic evaluation, and two or three additional pelvic trocars for therapeutic procedures. The patient was then placed in a Trendelenburg position. The gonadal structures were evaluated initially, and when necessary, the bowel retracted. Both the utero-ovarian and infundibulopelvic ligaments are electrocoagulated and cut. The mesovarium above and below is incised with scissors or the CO 2 laser with hydro dissection. The loose areolar tissue immediately below the gonad is dissected away from the gonad. In some cases when the gonads are not easily seen, the gonadal vessels may be identified and followed downwards. Most often, the gonads are identified near the inguinal region, eventually with normal testicular or ovarian appearance, but also with a dysplastic or tumoral aspect. In some cases the gonads are not clearly identified because of dysplasia, sometimes leading to confusion with ductal structures. Once identified, the gonads are resected, most often together with the ductal structures. Adherent Adnexa
Adhesions between the ovary and pelvic side wall, broad ligament, and bowel are lysed with the CO
2 laser or scissors until the ovary is freed. The ovary is grasped with a toothed forceps and elevated. It is put on stretch to create a plane between the ovary and the peritoneum. To avoid injury to ureters, blood vessels, and other underlying structures, the retroperitoneal area is entered and hydrodissection is carried out. 19 Using the suction-irrigator probe as a backstop, the adhesions are lysed close to the ovary. Removal of ovarian tissue may require excision of the peritoneum attached to the ovary.
The ovary may be enlarged, may be adherent to the pelvic side wall and broad ligament, or may contain endometriomas, so the surgeon may need to enter the retroperitoneal space. In this case, the ovary is removed by retro peritoneal dissection. After hydrodissection is done, an incision is made between the round and Infundibulopelvic ligaments medial to the pelvic side wall. Blunt dissection, hydro dissection, and sharp dissection with the CO
2 laser are used to lyse adhesions and separate the adnexa and peritoneum, ureter, and blood vessels. Hemostasis is achieved with bipolar forceps. After dissection of the pelvic side wall, the remaining infundibulopelvic ligament, the ovarian ligament, and the proximal portion of the tube are coagulated and cut. The ureter is dissected from the ovary, and the adnexa are removed. Residual Ovary
In patients who have had a previous hysterectomy, many of the usual landmarks in the pelvic are absent and extensive adhesions.
May involve the left ovary and descending colon. Lysis of adhesions is carried out cautiously to avoid damaging the bowel. If the ureter cannot be identified, it is necessary to open the retroperitoneal space. A sponge stick placed in the vagina aids in orientation.
The ovary often is adherent to the vaginal cuff and is dissected from its attachment with scissors or the laser. The ureter is proximal to the lateral margins of the vaginal cuff, and its position can be altered from a previous operation. No ovarian fragments should remain on the pelvic side wall or vaginal cuff.
The ovary is immobilized with a grasping forceps and put on stretch, and the infundibulopelvic ligament is coagulated and transected in 1-to-2-cm increments until the ovary is removed. Depending on the pelvic anatomy, it is preferable to begin the oophorectomy from the infundibulopelvic ligament to improve the anatomic relationships.
The ovary is removed through an abdominal incision as was described previously. If the ovary is large, it is cut into pieces. Colpotomy is done if the ovary is 5 cm or greater. However, colpotomy remote from a hysterectomy is technically difficult and is associated with significant risks if the bladder and rectosigmoid colon are adherent to the vaginal cuff.
Removal of Tissue
Removal of the ovary may be difficult if it is more than 5 cm in diameter. It can be removed through a 10-mm trocar sleeve placed in a suprapubic punctures, pulling the sleeve and forceps together and bringing the tissue to the incision. A Kelly or Kocher clamp is used to grasp the tissue to remove it from the abdomen. Alternatively, a long clamp is inserted through the accessory trocar incision and the tissue is grasped under direct observation and pulled from the abdomen through the trocar incision. The tube and ovary can be divided wit scissors, a morcellator, or a laser and removed through trocar sleeves if fragmentation is not contraindicated by the characteristics of the cyst. If an open laparoscopy is required, the ovary is removed through an enlarged umbilical incision. After the ovary is removed, the pelvic cavity is irrigated and the pelvis is examined to assure hemostasis. For endometriomas and there cysts 5 cm or larger, the tissue is removed by posterior colpotomy. The cul-de-sac is identified by placing a sponge stick in the vagina and applying pressure to the posterior fornix between the uterosacral ligaments. An incision is made between the uterosacral ligaments with a laser or unipolar knife electrode. Once the incision extends to the sponge stick, the ovary is brought to the incision and grasped vaginally with an allis clamp. If a cyst is present, it is deflated with a large-bore needle or trocar while traction is applied to the ovary. As the ovary collapses, it is pulled into the vagina intact, with minimal spillage of its contents. The colpotomy is closed vaginally or laparoscopically, using two to three sutures. Removal the ovary and vaginal closure of the colpotomy are facilitated by placing the patient’s legs in the position for a vaginal hysterectomy.
If it is necessary to avoid spillage of the cyst contents, the ovary is removed in a specially designed laparoscopic bag (Endopouch Retriever™, Ethicon).
20 The bag is removed through a posterior colpotomy incision or an extended suprapubic incision. 21 When the ovary is large the cyst is drained, and deflated contained cyst is pulled from the abdominal cavity. Ovarian Wedge Resection
Stein and Leventhal described enlarged polycystic ovaries with the clinical features of menstrual aberrations, obesity, and hyperandrogenism.
22 Although polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) has variable manifestations, its hallmark is chronic anovulation. It was believed that the enlarged ovaries cause the condition, and so ovarian wedge resection was advocated. As ovulation induction agents were unavailable, ovarian wedge resection represented a major breakthrough, with ovulation and pregnancy rates of 80% and 50%, respectively. However, many patients who were initially ovulatory reverted to the previous anovulatory state after several months. 23 Although most had apparently normal ovulatory cycles, only 50% conceived ( Table 1) because postoperative adhesions developed in many of these women ( Table 2).
The availability of ovulation-inducing medications in the 1960s and 1970s (clomiphene citrate [CC] and human menopausal gonadotropins [hMGs]) offered a nonsurgical approach to the treatment of anovulatory infertility that was safer than ovarian wedge resection. As a result, ovarian wedge resection was carried out rarely. CC therapy does not induce ovulation in all women. The alternative, hMG, is expensive, requires intensive monitoring, and may cause ovarian hyperstimulation. For clomiphene-resistant patients, laparoscopic techniques have many advantages over gonadotropin therapy, including serial repetitive ovulation events, no increased risk of ovarian hyperstimulation or multiple pregnancies, and a lower incidence of spontaneous abortion. These procedures are not the first-line treatment for anovulatory patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), for whom CC remains the primary therapy.
24
Some endoscopists have accomplished ovarian wedge resection laparoscopically,
25 whereas others have reduced ovarian volume by taking multiple biopsies, 23,26 coagulating with monopolar current, 27-29 and creating craters on the ovarian surface with lasers, 30,31 or puncturing the small cysts on the ovarian surface. 32 Broadly similar results have been obtained using biopsy, multielectrocoagulation, and laser surgery: 50% or greater ovulation rate and a mean pregnancy rate of 50%. 24 Laparoscopic ovarian drilling appears to be associated with comparable rates of ovulation and conception ( Table 3). Regardless of the method used to decrease ovarian mass, the hormonal changes observed with the laparoscopic procedure are similar to those observed after ovarian wedge resection by laparotomy. 24,33 Laparoscopic techniques offer cost savings and a lower risk of postoperative adhesions compared with wedge resection by laparotomy. 24 A disappointing finding is that the risk of postoperative adhesions is high (average, 30%) in women undergoing ovarian drilling ( Table 4). Although adhesions were less common after laparoscopic multiple biopsies, they were observed in about 90% of patients after resection by laparotomy, 30% after laparoscopic electrocoagulation, and 50% after laparoscopic vaporization. 34 The possible effect of applying an oxidized regenerated cellulose (Interceed, Gynecare) barrier on postoperative surfaces after laparoscopic electrosurgical treatment for PCOS was studied in a prospective, randomized controlled study. 35 After bilateral ovarian treatment, one ovary was chosen randomly to have Interceed applied to its surface, using a specially designed applicator, with the other ovary serving as a control. Periadnexal adhesions of significant extent and severity developed in 57% of the women and 38% of the adnexa. The incidence of adhesions on the Interceed-treated side was 43%, whereas on the control side, it was 33%. In addition, the extent and severity of the adhesions appeared to be similar on the Interceed-treated and control sides. Larger numbers are required to ascertain statistically the effects of Interceed on prevention of adhesions after laparoscopic electrosurgical treatment of PCOS.
Theoretically, wedge resection and ovarian drilling work by reducing androgen production in the ovarian stroma. Appropriate patients are women who fail to ovulate after 3 to 4 months on clomiphene and do not respond to HMG. The procedure is achieved by using a 10-mm video laparoscope coupled to a CO2 laser. A 5-mm second puncture is placed suprapubically in the midline and is used for a suction-irrigator or grasping instrument. Associated pelvic abnormalities are corrected before ovarian coagulation. Each ovary is fixed in the anterior cul-de-sac or held by the utero-ovarian ligament during treatment. The ultra pulse (40 to 80 W, 25 to 200 millijoules [mJ]) or superpulse (25 to 40W) CO2 laser is used. All visible sub capsular follicles are vaporized and drained, and randomly placed 2- to 4-mm- diameter craters are made in the ovarian stroma (
Figure 10). Each ovary is treated symmetrically, and cysts are vaporized. The ovaries are irrigated, and hemostasis is obtained with bipolar forceps.
A potassium titanyl phosphate, neodymium: yttriumaluminum-garnet (Nd: YAG), or argon laser can be used also.
30,31 The fiber is threaded through the central channel of a special 5-mm dual-channel suction-irrigation probe. When the dual-channel probe is used, it is possible to suction the smoke from vaporization at the site of occurrence. Holes are drilled in the ovary in a manner similar to that described for the CO 2 laser.
Ovarian coagulation has been done using unipolar punch biopsy forceps
23 or a needle electrode. 26-28 The power setting for the monopolar current is 20 to 30 W in a cutting mode to minimize thermal damage, and the power is activated just before the ovary is touched. The ovary is penetrated in approximately 10 to15 sites at a depth of 3 to 5 mm. Ovarian Torsion
Adnexal torsion is a surgical emergency. When this is diagnosed early, the adnexa can be unwound.
36,37 However, the diagnosis often is delayed because of the inconsistent presenting symptoms and signs and intermittent pain. When the diagnosis is delayed, the adnexa become congested, ischemic, hemorrhagic, and necrotic. 38 Gynecologists have been taught to remove tissue that has undergone torsion and ischemia because of the risk of thrombotic embolism arising from the ovarian vein. Way reported successful conservative management of adnexa torsion. 39 The affected structure was straightened to assess the viability, and even ovaries that appeared infracted at laparoscopy regained normal color after untwisting. No complications related to the procedure were reported. Because adnexa torsion produces no path gnomonic clinical findings, laparoscopy is used for diagnosis and treatment. Prompt laparoscopic examination is essential because delay is associated with gangrene.
A prospective, controlled follow-up study to designed to examine the effects of adnexal torsion on long-term ovarian histology and free radical scavenger (FRS) activity and subsequent viability after the detorsion of twisted ischemic adnexa. Adnexal torsion was created by twisting the adnexa three times and fixing onto the side wall or by applying vascular clips in cycling female rats at 70 days of age. After an ischemic period of 4 to 36 hours, the twisted adnexa were removed and fixed. In the second group of rats, after the above ischemic periods, the torsions were relieved by untwisting or removing the vascular clips. Then the animals were perfused for a week, and adnexa were extirpated. After both ischemia and reperfusion, the removed adnexa were examined histologically and tissue concentrations of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione were ascertained. Regardless of the ischemic time, all the twisted adnexa were black-bluish. Despite the gross ischemic time, all the twisted adnexa were black-bluish. Despite the gross ischemic-hemorrhagic features, histologic sections revealed negligible changes, with intact ovarian structure similar to that of controls in 4- to 24-hour groups. Although decreased compared with controls, the change in tissue concentrations of FRS was not significant in the 4-to-24-hour groups. Only the 36–hour group showed prominent congestion on all sections and a significant decrease in all FRS concentrations studied. Although no long-term reperfusion injury was observed histologically in the 4-to 24-hour groups, the 36-hour group ended up with adnexal necrosis. These findings support the importance of early diagnosis and conservative surgical management (detorsion) in adnexal torsion. Lack of histologic changes and unimpaired FRS metabolism are consistent with recent data showing that vascular compromise is caused by venous and lymphatic stasis in early torsion; adnexal integrity is not correlated with gross ischemic appearance, thus providing evidengce of adnexal resistance against ischemia.
40
The cause of ovarian or adnexal torsion are Para ovarian cysts, functional and pathologic ovarian cysts, ovarian hyper stimulation, tubal pregnancy, adhesions, and congenital malformation.
41,42 The ischemic structures are straightened gently with atraumatic forceps to avoid additional adnexal damage. In women with ovarian hyper stimulation, the functional cysts are drained before untwisting. 43 The abnormalities contributing to torsion should be treated. One should shorten the utero-ovarian ligament if its length may have contributed to ovarian torsion. A running suture of monofilament material is placed along the length of the utero-ovarian ligament ( Figure 11) and tied to shorten it, limiting ovarian mobility.
Mage and associates, in a report of 35 patients, noted that 21 women showed no gross evidence of ischemia of mild changes, with immediate and complete recovery within 10 minutes of untwisting.
41 In eight, the tube or ovary was dark red or black, but partial recovery was apparent after the pedicle was untwisted. Six had gangrenous adnexa that required salpingectomy or oophorectomy. The first two groups were managed conservatively; the third group underwent excision of the involved organ(s). The postoperative course in all patients was uneventful. Six of the eight women in the intermediate group underwent a second-look laparoscopy that showed complete recovery. Ovarian Remnant Syndrome
In premenopausal women who have had a bilateral oophorectomy, a small piece of functional ovarian tissue may respond to hormonal stimulation with growth, cystic degeneration, or hemorrhage and produce pain.
44-46 In a rat model, Minke and colleagues showed that devascularized ovarian tissue can reimplant on intact or denuded peritoneal surfaces and that the revascularized tissue can become functional as evidenced by follicle formation and vaginal cornification. 47
Ovarian remnants remain because of dense adhesions, and distorted anatomic relationships invariably worsen with subsequent operations. It is not unusually for these patients to have had previous attempts to excise an ovarian remnant. Removal of the ovarian remnant is preferred, although the reported incidence of complications with laparotomy ranges from 16% to 30%.
48 The challenge and complications are related to the presence of extensive pelvic and abdominal adhesions multiple previous operations, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or ovarian cysts.
Diagnosis is based on history and localization of pelvic pain. Whereas some patients have cystic adnexal structures or ill-defined fixed masses, others have normal pelvic findings. Vaginal ultrasound can help locate the ovarian remnant.
49 Low or borderline levels of follicle-stimulating hormone in patients with documented bilateral oophorectomy are consistent with the presence of active ovarian tissue. 44 Hormonal suppression with oral contraceptives or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist provides no relief in most patients. 10,50 CC or hMG is used to increase ovarian remnant size to confirm the diagnosis preoperatively or to aid in locating the tissue intraoperatively. 51 Laparoscopic ultrasonography is used to detect ovarian remnants in patients in whom the pelvic anatomy is distorted by multiple adhesions. 52
Past reviews have considered laparoscopy ineffective in the management of ovarian remnant syndrome because of the presence of dense pelvic adhesions.
48 However, the absence of complications in series of 22 patients attests to the feasibility of the laparoscopic approach. 10
Attention should be focused on prevention. Factors associated with ovarian remnant syndrome are the use of Endoloops for laparoscopic oophorectomy, multiple operative procedures with incomplete removal of pelvic organs, densely adherent ovaries, and multiple ovarian cystectomies for functional cysts.
10 When pre-tied sutures are used for the infundibulopelvic ligament, they should be placed below the ovarian tissue. Electrocoagulation and transaction of the infundibulopelvic ligament or the application of clips is preferred.
We believe that ORS is often the result of blunt dissection of ovarian adhesions. Failure to sharply dissect ovarian adhesions risks tearing the ovarian cortex and leaving a fragment of the ovary attached to either the surrounding adherent peritoneum or the viscera. We therefore avoid the blunt dissection of these adhesions. In addition, failure to open the retro peritoneum at adnexectomy most likely increases the risk of ORS. During any adnexectomy, whether by laparotomy or by laparoscopy, we incise the peritoneum lateral to the ovarian vessels and widely open the retroperitoneum. This approach allows easy and accurate identification of vital structures, including the ureters and the pelvic vessels.
98 The surgeon can then safely ligate the ovarian blood supply well cephalad to the ovary and remove the adnexa and surrounding peritoneum en masse. We do not advocate the common technique of retracting the ovary medially with the transection of the vascular pedicle, using endoscopic staplers or surgical loops. Doing so risks leaving behind a fragment of the ovary behind. When the ovary is adherent to the pelvic side wall, retroperitoneal hydro dissection, meticulous adhesiolysis, and removal of the peritoneum underlying the ovary are essential in achieving a laparoscopic oophorectomy. The need for restraint in managing functional cysts is underscored by the fact that some patients in the author’s series had only a corpus luteum resected at first laparotomy. 10
A preoperative bowel preparation of GoLYTELY (Braintree Laboratories), enemas, and oral metronidazole is indicated. Anterior abdominal wall adhesions are probable after multiple laparotomies, and an open laparoscopy or mapping technique is advisable.
53 After all instruments are inserted, intra-abdominal adhesions are lysed and the ovarian remnants are dissected. Extensive and careful retroperitoneal dissection is required to facilitate identification and removal of the ovarian remnant tissue. 54,55 The pelvic peritoneum lateral and parallel to the ovarian vessels is incised, and the retroperitoneum is opened widely. The paramedical and Para rectal spaces are dissected, and the anterior division of the internal iliac artery is divided. After the ureters are identified, the ovarian vessels are isolated and relegated with excision cephalad to the pelvic brim, above the level of the aortic bifurcation. High religation of the ovarian vessels ensures that no remnant ovarian tissue is missed along the vascular pedicle. This vascular segment is sent for routine pathologic assessment, because it may contain residual ovarian cortical tissue. The ureters are then mobilized laterally, off the pelvic sidewall peritoneum, and traced down to their entrance into the bladder. The dissection and ligation of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery facilitates the dissection of the ureters to their point of entry into the bladder. Dissection at this point allows complete resection of the pelvic sidewall peritoneum. In most patients, the remnant ovary lies on the pelvic sidewall peritoneum, near the angle of the vaginal vault, and it is encased in dense, fibrotic scar tissue. The residual ovary, however, may be located anywhere along the pelvic sidewall; thus, we recommend the stripping and excision of the entire pelvic sidewall peritoneum. The bladder is then dissected off the vaginal vault, and wide excision of the remnant is performed en bloc with the peritoneum. To ensure complete resection of all residual ovarian tissue, the surgeon should perform segmental resection of a portion of the vaginal vault, bladder, ureters, or adjacent bowel when the ovarian remnant is densely adherent to any of these surrounding structures. Any compromise of, or deviation from, these surgical principles risks potential persistence of the patient's symptoms.
When the remnant is adherent to the bowel, adhesions are lysed using hydrodissection and the CO
2 laser. Ovarian tissue embedded in the muscularis of the bowel is removed superficially, skinning the mucosa beneath it. The serosa and muscularis layers are imbricated with one to three interrupted 4-0 polydioxanone sutures in one layer. All remnant ovarian tissue should be removed. When the lesion is embedded in the bowel or bladder muscularis or when the ureter is involved or possibly obstructed, partial removal of the organ and repair are necessary. Oophoropexy
In an attempt to protect ovarian function in young females given radiation therapy for HL, oophoropexy was first performed at the time of surgical staging in 1968 at Stanford University Medical Center, where the efficacy of this procedure in retaining ovarian function and enabling pregnancy was demonstrated in 60% of patients.
92 Recent studies showed that ovarian function was preserved in 88.6% of patients under 40 years old. 93,97
The debate concerning long-term cancer survivors and their future state of health and fertility is gaining more attention.
The use of oophoropexy is not restricted to HL but could be considered in all cases for which pelvic irradiation is planned. The technique is feasible with use of a laparoscopic approach; it is technically straightforward, and a portion of ovary can be collected for cryopreservation. Indications for laparoscopic ovarian transposition cover a fairly wide spectrum of neoplastic diseases in the literature: cervical cancer
94,95 Hodgkin’s disease 95 cauda equina ependymoma, 95 and anal canal cancer. 95
Successful preservation of ovarian function is dependent on two factors: the dose of radiation delivered to the ovaries and the age of the patient.
96 Because the rate of ovarian preservation is low after the age of 40 years, ovarian transposition should be performed only in patients who are <40 years of age.
A pneumoperitoneum was achieved and a 10-mm trocar was inserted just below the umbilicus. The uterus was not systematically probed. Three suprapubic 5-mm trocars were placed (one medially and two laterally). When laparoscopic lymphadenectomy was performed, a 10-mm trocar was introduced medially to extract the lymph nodes. The operative procedure began with complete surgical staging and careful inspection of the ovaries, peritoneum, and entire abdominopelvic cavity.
Peritoneal fluid sampling and peritoneal washing were performed. The ovaries were mobilized and grasped. The ureters were identified through the peritoneum. The uteroovarian ligament was cauterized and severed using bipolar forceps for coagulation and scissors alternatively. The fallopian tubes were separated from the ovaries through the mesovarium. The peritoneum then was incised along the infundibulopelvic ligament to mobilize the ovaries completely.
Dissection of the ovarian vessels was performed up to the level of the aortic bifurcation. The ovaries were transposed laterally to the paracolic gutters and fixed securely with the use of two transaponeurotic sutures. The ovarian vessels were not tunneled. The left ovary was placed at the level of the aortic bifurcation and the right ovary was placed above the pelvic brim, between the level of the aortic bifurcation and the lower pole of the right kidney.
Two metal clips were applied to each transposed ovary to guide subsequent roentgenographic localization. When the ovaries were macroscopically normal, they were both transposed. Only the remaining ovary was transposed after contralateral adnexectomy in the patient who had an ovarian dysgerminoma.
Evaluation of ovarian function
Ovarian function was assessed by a routine postoperative ultrasonographic (US) scan and by measurement of gonadotropin and E
2 levels 6 months after the transposition. This assessment was repeated when menstrual disorders and/or hot flashes were observed. Ovarian function was considered normal when the FSH level was <10 mIU/mL, when the E 2 level was >50 pg/mL, and when follicles were present on the US scan. 97 REFERENCES
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warc | 201704 | If you're in the freezing cold northeast like we are, you've no doubt unpacked all your winter clothes by now. Coats, sweaters, flannel shirts—they're all enjoying a steady rotation on the championship-caliber team that is your wardrobe.
What about the bench players, though? You know, like scarves, hats, and gloves? They aren't the stars of your outfit, but they deserve some attention, too. While you may have dry-cleaned your coats and sweaters, what kind of care did you give to your five-year-old leather gloves? I wouldn't put my hands in those if you paid me. The same goes for your scarf collection: You've probably sneezed on them a few dozen times.
But instead of just pointing out how gross your winter accessories are, let's do something about it. It's cleaning time, folks.
Leather Gloves
Your hands are probably the dirtiest part of your entire body. Think about it: You do
everything with your hands. Unless you're washing them every five minutes, they're going to be infested with germs. So what do you do?
You put on your favorite pair of gloves, that's what you do. And now your cashmere-lined hand covers are all sorts of
nasty.
Don't toss your fancy leather gloves in the washing machine, though. The goal is to freshen them up without ruining them.
Cleaning Instructions: Depending on how nice the leather is on your gloves, you may want to consider finding a specialist to treat them. But if your gloves cost $100 or less, cleaning them at home is a safe (and cheap) alternative.
According to Good Housekeeping, all you need is some saddle soap. Take a damp paper towel, apply a tiny bit of the soap, and produce a lather. Work the soap into the leather, then take a fresh damp paper towel and wipe it away. Air dry and you're done.
Just kidding! You still need to clean the grimy insides of your gloves. The Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins suggests turning your leathers inside-out, and then applying a few drops of Woolite or a similar gentle detergent. Work this in, then use a damp washcloth to take the detergent out. And if the insides of your gloves still smell unpleasant, spray some Febreze and let them them air dry.
Knit Accessories
Perhaps you own a knit scarf that was personalized just for you, or maybe you bought some knit gloves from a local consignment shop. Regardless, there's no denying the appeal of knit or crocheted accessories. They exude a style that's half DIY, half art.
Knit items are also very delicate, so like denim, you should keep them away from the washer and dryer (for the most part).
Cleaning Instructions: If your knits are looking more grungy than quirky, it's time for a wash. The yarn fetishists over at Knitter's Review bring up a good point: Yarn is (typically) just like human hair, and strong soaps and detergents can damage these fibers. The knitting experts suggest using a gentle shampoo and even conditioner for hand-washing your knit wearables.
Carefully place your knit gloves or scarf in lukewarm water mixed with a small amount of shampoo and conditioner. Press them down slightly until everything is fully saturated, then let your accessories rest for about a minute. To rinse, drain the sink and fill it with lukewarm water again. Add a few drops of white vinegar to the rinse, which will help protect the fibers.
Place your knit goods in the washing machine—yes, you read that correctly—on the spin cycle for 10 seconds. This will get rid of excess water without actually wringing them out, which causes knits to lose their form.
Do not, however, let them spin for longer than 10 seconds, unless you want disfigured scarves and gloves.
To complete the drying process, lay your knits flat on a drying rack or some towels.
Silk Scarves
A silk scarf may not be the warmest thing in your arsenal of winter goodies, but it's certainly one of the most stylish. And anything stylish is almost inevitably difficult to clean. The main factors to consider when washing something made from silk are how easily the fabric can pull, and how colors are more likely to bleed.
Cleaning Instructions: The scarf enthusiasts at Scarves.net advise that you proceed carefully when cleaning a silk scarf. You should use either a gentle non-alkaline soap, or a baby shampoo. Then you need to test whether your soap du jour will work on your scarf: Place a drop or two on a less noticeable section to see if it discolors the material. If not, you're cleared to move onto the actual cleaning.
Soak your luxurious scarf in lukewarm water mixed with a few drops of your chosen soap, and let it sit for about five minutes—then rinse it out with cool water. Add some distilled white vinegar to your rinse, which helps keep the silk shiny. Lightly squeeze your scarf to remove excess water and lay it flat on some towels to dry. If you're feeling adventurous, iron your silk on a low setting while still damp. This ensures a wrinkle-free finish (of course) and added shine.
Wool Accessories
Wool is a textile fiber from any number of animals, such as sheep, rabbits, and goats. To make things even more confusing, all of these types of wool should be cleaned differently.
Just to be clear, items that are classified as wool use many of the same textile fabrics as knit items. Actual wool items are constructed differently, so they should be washed accordingly.
As a general rule of thumb, do
not go near your dryer with wool. Sheep Wool: Also known as just wool, sheep wool is the most common type you'll find. Cleaning this material is a delicate process. Aside from dryers, other things that will ruin wool include hot water and hang drying. We want to avoid these pitfalls, so we went to eHow for help. A contributor suggests filling a container/sink with warm (not hot!) water and adding a small amount of mild detergent. Soak your wool items in this mixture for five minutes and then press them to make sure they're saturated. Rinse with cool water and lay flat to dry—hanging will cause the shape to distort. Mohair: This type of wool is from the Angora goat, which produces soft, silky hair. An item like a mohair scarf can be cleaned in a similar way to normal wool, but it is imperative that you never wring a mohair item. According to an article on the GlobalPost, you should fill up a sink or basin with lukewarm water. Add a small amount of mild detergent like Woolite, dunk your mohair accessory in, and lightly agitate the water. Gently squeeze the item, then rinse with more lukewarm water. Lay it flat on some towels for proper drying. Cashmere: Like mohair, cashmere comes from a goat. Unlike mohair, though, it comes from the undercoat of the Cashmere goat. If you own a cashmere scarf or hat, you probably treasure it because of how much you paid for it. In other words, take your prized cashmere items straight to the dry cleaner. Have any tips for cleaning winter accessories? Let us know in the comments. [Hero image: Flickr user "BilliKid"]
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warc | 201704 | Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Gabriel J. Chin (University of California, Davis - School of Law) has posted Race and the Disappointing Right to Counsel (122 Yale Law Journal, 2013, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Critics of the criminal justice system observe that the promise of Gideon v. Wainwright has been unfulfilled. They decry both the inadequate quality of representation available to indigent defendants, and the racially disproportionate outcome of the process. Some hope that better representation can help remedy the gross overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system. This essay is doubtful that better lawyers will significantly address that problem.
When the Supreme Court decided Gideon, it had two main purposes. First, it intended to protect the innocent from conviction. This goal, while imperfectly achieved at best, was explicit. Since Gideon, the Court has continued to recognize the importance of claims of innocence at trial, with important, pro-defense decisions in the areas of confrontation, jury fact-finding, the right to present a defense and in other areas. The Court's second goal was to protect African Americans subject to the Jim Crow system of criminal justice. But, as it had in Powell v. Alabama, the Court pursued this end covertly and indirectly; the Court attempted to deal with racial discrimination without explicitly addressing it. This timidity was portentous.
Since Gideon, racial disproportionality in the prison population has increased. Not only might Gideon not have solved the problem, it may have exacerbated it. To the extent that Gideon improved the quality of counsel available to the poor, defense lawyers may be able to obtain favorable exercises of discretion in investigation, prosecution and sentencing for indigent white defendants that they cannot for clients of color. For these reasons, racial disparity likely cannot be remedied indirectly, with more or better lawyers. Instead, the remedy lies in directly prohibiting discrimination, and having fewer crimes on the books, fewer arrests, and fewer prosecutions.
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2013/04/chin-on-race-and-the-disappointing-right-to-counsel.html | 2,218 | 1,153 | 1.923677 |
warc | 201704 | Observing Student Connections
Think about the student work you just observed and reflect on the following questions. Once you've formulated an answer to each question, select "Show Answer" to see our response.
Question: How does this problem provide an opportunity to assess students' understanding of functions that are graphed using technology? Show Answer
Sample Answer:
The students encounter the limitations of technology in terms of the number of significant digits that can be displayed. They become more aware of the importance of window size, since the graph behaves differently in various portions of the coordinate plane. Such considerations help students develop a more careful examination of the connections between various forms of representation.
Question: How does this problem entice students to informally consider limits? Show Answer
Sample Answer:
The specific discussion about the x value when x = -100 leads students to consider the value of 2
x and to engage in mathematical reasoning. Also, the rapid growth of y with positive x values encourages consideration of an expression that approaches a value of positive infinity as x takes on larger values.
Question: How does this problem encourage the exploration of mathematical connections? Show Answer
Sample Answer:
Connections are made to simpler concepts, such as significant digits, the effects of rounding, and scientific notation, and to real-world examples. Students are introduced to future topics, such as limits and the rate of growth in an exponential function. Students connect graphical and algebraic solutions for y when given x = -100. They also discuss the meaning of linear function and use reasoning to establish that the portion of the graph that looks linear is not. Finally, they make connections to doubling functions.
Further connections
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warc | 201704 | These days, social media should always be part of a comprehensive online marketing program. And for some businesses, especially lifestyle and image-related businesses, social media is particularly important.
Social Media Misconceptions – Advertisers can have unrealistic expectations of what social media can accomplish. Traffic does not equal sales, and most social media visits do not convert into sales, because that’s not what people are usually looking for when they go to a social media site. What they are looking for is engagement and a sense of community. Craigslist and Yelp, two of the top-40 sites in the world, are of course exceptions.
Another misconception is the real cost of managing an effective social media program; the upfront cost is usually negligible, but the labor cost is significant. A neglected social media program is worse than none at all, and a good one can take many hours a week to effectively manage.
There are literally thousands of sites, blogs, email newsletters and white papers with advice on how to run an effective social media program. We think the best approach is to focus on a short list of established, high-traffic sites, appropriate to your business, and do a good job there before expanding.
For starters, we like Yelp and Facebook:
Yelp – Yelp is the perfect social media complement to a robust local search marketing program. It has more user-generated reviews than any website in the world, and is among the best at identifying and removing fake reviews. And there is a lot you can do to optimize your presence on Yelp before paying for advertising on Yelp, consistent with our philosophy of accomplishing everything possible organically and paying selectively to supplement. Yelp is also a good source of online listing data.
Facebook – Like Yelp, having a Facebook presence allows you to leverage a vast existing community, but is not necessarily appropriate for all businesses. If you have or want a Facebook presence, the key is to make sure you’ve allocated regular, dedicated time to keep your content current, relevant, fun and on-brand, and to keep up with Facebook's constant changes. We are happy to develop a custom Facebook presence for your business, help you take better advantage of existing Facebook features or consult on your regular Facebook messaging. | 2,357 | 1,148 | 2.053136 |
warc | 201704 | As SEO professionals, copywriters and all around mad-crazy marketing gals, we get to think about fancy things like, “How are we going to use this keyword without totally bollixing the whole marketing aspect?” That’s always a fun consideration. Building Campaigns Around Key Words and Phrases: SEO, Marketing, Social Media, what’s it all about?
Others might be, “How many times can we use this keyword without it looking spammy in that social media campaign?” and “Should we make this one word or two? Which gets better clicks?”
It’s great when the work you do can be turned into helpful articles for readers… 😀
Any time a single word can be broken into two (i.e. keyword vs. key word), you have an opportunity for ranking. Any time you pay attention to the terms your clients/customers use to describe your product, there is an opportunity for ranking. In fact, there are a lot more ranking opportunities than you might think, rolling around in your site’s content.
Unfortunately, those ranking opportunities aren’t always good, grand and wonderful. Sometimes, they can be ranking pitfalls. If you need clarity, think of all the times you or someone else might have searched “company, scam”. Do you think those companies are happy they can be found under that search? Yeah – probably not.
While reading this article, keep the above in mind. You can accidentally rank for terms you don’t want associated with your company or product by
introducing a few stray words into your content. Bonus Tip: Quickly check the terms found in your content with Google Webmaster Tools Google Webmaster Tools – Verify your site and become a Google Webmaster. Why? Because it gives you a quick overview of important data you can use for your SEO campaign. For the purposes of this article, it shows you the words
As you move forward with your campaigns – whether marketing, SEO, social media, or a mix -, make sure to check the results every once in awhile. This is especially important if you have a blog attached to your site, as we do.
Every once in awhile depends on what type of campaign you’re running. For example, if you only put out two or three new pieces of content a month, every once in a while is approximately 6 months. On the other hand, if you put out eight new pieces of content or more, you want to check monthly.
Whether monthly or semi-annually, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll find some words that’ll make you do a “how’d
that get in there” double take. Like it’s, which is 9 th in our top 10. Go figure.
Now, let’s get to the main part of the article.
Did You Know: Traditional marketing uses key terms and phrases Traditional marketing uses key terms and phrases
Yes, yes it does. Think about the latest commercials you’ve watched on television. How many times does a specific phrase get used? A commercial about making your own baby food, for instance, might use “fresh, organic, baby food” four or five times before the 3-minute commercial is over.
Raid is another example. In every commercial, their main term is repeated at least twice, verbally, and more in the images themselves.
Another example could be the HeadOn commercials.
In television commercials, radio ads, direct marketing flyers, guerrilla marketing and more, you’ll find instances of key words and phrases. Some are in bold, some are in italics, some are just repeated, but they’re all
key to the campaign. Translating Traditional Marketing Methods to Modern, Online Methods
What’s that saying… twice is a mention, three times is a keyword, more is branding? Taking a lesson from traditional marketing, key words and phrases are simply the words you want your market to use in identifying your product or service.
For example, let’s say you sell all things red. In fact,
red has become your identifying phrase. You sell red widgets and red shoes, red shirts, socks and gadgets. Because this is a business and your business website, red would become one of your key terms (due to brand). Widgets would also become one of your key terms, and red widgets, your key phrase.
With this in mind, you might:
Create a site page about red widgets. Twitter a helpful tip about how red is a great color to get people excited about something. Use the hashtags #red #widgets. Write a blog about how recent studies have proven that a spot of red on a website can up conversions by 3%, and offer your red widgets. Link this blog to the site page. Send a tweet out about your new blog using hashtags #red #widgets. Include a short, to-the-point line about the study. Share your blog on Facebook, with a 10% off red widget sale from your company. Tweet about your 10% off red widget sale for those using hashtags #red #widgets. Post a video on YouTube about the psychological affects of red and the recent studies. Use a keyword /marketing rich title and description: Title – Red Widgets Increase Site Conversions by 3%, Study Shows Description – New psychology study shows a red widget added to a site can draw attention and increase site conversions by 3%. Using eye-tracking studies on high-conversion pages… Add this video to Facebook. Post this video on your blog. Send a tweet out about the video using hashtags #red #widgets #video. You Might Be Thinking…
You might be thinking, “How can I possibly do all that and run my business?” Well, in reality, the steps are a little more condensed:
Create site pages about your products Decide how many blogs you’re going to put out each month, write and schedule them. Decide how may videos you need and create them to compliment your blog. Either a) upload them all at once or b) upload them according to a schedule. Using HootSuite, TweetDeck or other program, schedule your tweets each morning (check in once in a while to see if someone is talking to you and respond back). Set your social media accounts to draw from your blog feed
You might also be thinking, “But I don’t sell widgets and red isn’t my color.” That’s fine, that’s fine. This strategy has two things going for it. One, it’s merely an example – a beginning outline of how one might go about using key terms in a marketing, SEO and social media campaign.
The second thing is that this strategy can be used for pretty much any key term or phrase. For example, if you sell real estate in Seattle,
Seattle would replace red, and real estate would replace widgets.
Finally, you might be thinking, “How do I know if all of this effort is paying off?” Smart question, and it’s answered by
monitoring. You have to monitor your important metrics – like, how many people have liked your posts on Facebook, shared them from your site, sent them on Twitter, watched your video, etc.
For each line of marketing you use, make a notation about where you were before the campaign started. “In April, I had 15 followers in Twitter. I have not bought followers or any such thing and I now have 125 in May.” Whatever metrics you’re looking at, you’re looking for growth. The biggest metric to remember is your bottom line. Is it paying off?
Conclusion
Other things are involved in creating and implementing campaigns based on key terms, but the main thing is to stay on course while being flexible at the same time.
Successful SEO professionals, copywriters, business owners, marketers and webmasters are the ones who remember the goal, but are willing to change tactics to reach the goal. The above is just an outline, to show you what’s possible. Take it and run with it!
Is there any particular step you’ve found to be useful in your campaigns? Share it with our readers! | 7,876 | 3,432 | 2.294872 |
warc | 201704 | larryc12 » 24 Jan 2014 7:37 pm wrote:
The problem, as I see it, lies in the fact that taxpayers are required to finance a behavior. Should we finance drunks, drug users, child molesters?
I have a real problem with you categorizing sex as a 'behavior' akin to drinking, drug use and child molestation.
That sounds very much like slut shaming to me.
Sex is a normal natural part of life, and contraception should be a routine part of women's health care.
I don't even understand why this is controversial.
larry: I know you think that providing free-of-charge BC pills will stymie births out of wedlock, but will it? How expensive are BC pills and why aren't they already stymying these births?
Why do you right wingers go right to free?
The issue is whether they should be covered under health insurance, just like any other part of a woman's health care.
The ACA mandates that contraception be covered under the policies that people are paying for.
How is that free?
You can't just go to the drugstore and buy BC pills.
You need to have regular checkups every six months or so to get your prescription renewed.
If you don't have insurance, that costs more than many women can afford.
Myself, I don't have a problem with giving poor women free BC.
It's a lot more cost effective than what it will cost us later on if they have children that they cannot afford to take care of.
One way or another we pay, so I'd opt for the cheaper option.
18 | 1,464 | 802 | 1.825436 |
warc | 201704 | By Matthew Easley
April 29, 2008
The Deaflympics
Deaf athletes from around the world have obstacles they must
overcome daily when competing against their hearing counterparts.
These athletes face barriers that range from communication with
their fellow athletes to reacting to starting pistols. The
Deaflympics has become a sporting venue where elite level athletes
who are deaf or hard of hearing can compete against their peers in
the deaf community. At the Deaflympics, athletes do not have the
obstacles to overcome that they have in standard athletic
competitions. They are also able to communicate and develop
relationships with their fellow athletes.
The Deaflympics have been in existence since 1924 and are the
“second-oldest multi-sport and cultural event in the world” (Jarvik
2005). The first session, held in Paris, was originally called the
International Games for the Deaf. There were 145 athletes that
competed in the first games. In the 2005 summer games in Melbourne,
over 3000 athletes took part in the Deaflympics. In 1966 the games
were renamed as the World Games for the Deaf and finally called the
Deaflympics in 2000. The winter Deaflympics were created in 1949 and
held in Austria. The next summer games will be held in 2009 followed
by the winter games in 2011.
“To be a Deaf snowboarder in a race with hearing competitors is, in
a single word, lonely” (Jarvik 2007). In the Deaflympics competitors
can develop a feeling of camaraderie with each other that does not
generally develop with hearing athletes. Although different
countries have different signed languages, this is only a minimal
barrier to interaction compared to communicating with the hearing (Jarvik
2007). Many hearing athletes perceive writing to each other to
communicate with the deaf as not worth the effort and time
consuming. This contributes to the difficulty and limitation of
interaction between the hearing and deaf. Friendships are not
developed as easily as between the athletes during normal
competition. Having the Deaflympics provides the deaf athletes with
an arena for socialization and competition. There are some modern
technologies beginning to assist with the interaction between the
deaf and hearing. Many competing athletes carry around T-mobile
sidekicks or other texting phones to type back and forth to one
another (Capps 2006).
Many sporting events have technical issues with deaf athletes that
may limit their performance. Nearly every sport has audible cues and
signals to manage the game or event. This is an obvious deficit for
deaf athletes in standard competition with their hearing
counterparts. Starter pistols for running events and whistles during
an ice hockey game are among many obstacles that can present
difficulties for deaf athletes. During the Deaflympics, these
problems can be easily overcome with the use of flashing lights,
flags and hand signals (Jarvik 2005). This allows the deaf athletes
competing to do so without suffering any loss of performance due to
audible cues. These adjustments create a level playing field and
competitive environment for the athletes involved.
All together, the Deaflympics create a very social environment ideal
for friendly competition. They bring together the elite deaf
athletes of the world to compete on an international stage
representing their home countries. Communication is not as big of an
obstacle, bringing fellow athletes together. The Deaflympics allow
these athletes to perform to their fullest potential among their
peers.
Works Cited
Capps, Reilly. Telluride Daily Planet. “U.S. Deaflympic Team
Chosen”. Telluride, CO. Mar 20, 2006. Telluridegateway.com. 26 Apr,
2008. http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2006/03/20/news/news02.txt
Jarvik, Elaine. Deseret Morning News "Deaf World Games in Utah".
Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Jan 31, 2007. FindArticles.com. 26
Apr. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20070131/ai_n17163169
Jarvik, Elaine. Deseret Morning News "Utah to host Deaflympics".
Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Feb 18, 2005. FindArticles.com. 26
Apr. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20050218/ai_n9727663
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warc | 201704 | The sense of smell is critically important to human beings. We may not have the same olfactory senses that animals do, but we often tie experiences and emotions to particular scents, which is why a simple whiff of baking cookies can make you feel as though you've been transported back in time to childhood visits at Grandma's house. Some people take scent association a step further by selecting a signature fragrance.
But before you permanently cause people to associate you with Chanel No. 5 or Britney Spears' personalized scent, there are a couple of tidbits to take under advisement when choosing a fragrance. First, whatever you do, apply your scent with a light hand! Quantity varies by person, but typically, a dab or small spray to your pulse points (throat, wrists, temple and anywhere else you can feel your heartbeat) is enough for anyone. You don't want to be the cause of other people's watery eyes, do you?
Second, it's important to know the various types of signature fragrances, which include cologne, perfume, oils, aftershave, eau de toilette and really anything else that changes your scent.
To find your ideal fragrance, first consider the following factors:
Personality type: If you're outdoorsy by nature, for example, pick a woodsy scent! Body chemistry: The same brand of perfume may not smell the same on every person, thanks to our own natural scents. Lifestyle: Consider your day-to-day activities. For example, boardroom professionals probably don't want overly fruity fragrances wafting off of them. Time of year and location: You might want one signature fragrance for hot, humid summer months and another for cool winter days. Cost: Obviously, certain fragrances are going to cost more than others (Chanel versus Britney Spears' line of perfumes, for example). A scent doesn't necessarily have to be designer to suit you and your expectations, but don't sell yourself short, either.
If you're overwhelmed by the sheer number of options out there, just take a deep breath and have fun with the selection process! You know those people who are always waving scent cards in your face at the mall? Walk around and get a few small sample bottles to take home. Then, use one for a few days in varying circumstances (at work, out with friends, around the house) and quantities. Switch to a new sample, and be sure to get input from others. If you're feeling extra adventurous, you might even try your hand at layering a couple of different colognes or perfumes to create a completely unique scent. Just make sure you don't have anywhere important to be right away, in case the experiment bombs and a shower becomes necessary. | 2,658 | 1,374 | 1.934498 |
warc | 201704 | LINGUIST List 20.3093 Mon Sep 14 2009 Diss: Anthro Ling/Socioling: Blythe: 'Doing Referring in Murriny...' Editor for this issue: Di Wdzenczny <dilinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.html. Directory 1. Joe Blythe, Doing Referring in Murriny Patha Conversation Message 1: Doing Referring in Murriny Patha Conversation Date: 14-Sep-2009 From: Joe Blythe <blythe.joegmail.com> Subject: Doing Referring in Murriny Patha Conversation E-mail this message to a friend Institution: University of Sydney Program: Department of Linguistics Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2009 Author: Joe Blythe Dissertation Title: Doing Referring in Murriny Patha Conversation Dissertation URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2123/5388 Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics Sociolinguistics Subject Language(s): Murrinh-Patha (mwf) Dissertation Director: Jane H. Simpson Linda Barwick Michael Walsh Dissertation Abstract: Successful communication hinges on keeping track of who and what we are talking about. For this reason, person reference sits at the heart of the social sciences. Referring to persons is an interactional process where information is transferred from current speakers to the recipients of their talk. This dissertation concerns itself with the work that is achieved through this transfer of information. The interactional approach adopted is one that combines the "micro" of conversation analysis with the 'macro' of genealogically grounded anthropological linguistics. Murriny Patha, a non-Pama-Nyungan language spoken in the north of Australia, is a highly complex polysynthetic language with kinship categories that are grammaticalized as verbal inflections. For referring to persons, as well as names, nicknames, kinterms, minimal descriptions and free pronouns, Murriny Patha speakers make extensive use of pronominal reference markers embedded within polysynthetic verbs. Murriny Patha does not have a formal 'mother-in-law' register. There are however numerous taboos on naming kin in avoidance relationships, and on naming and their namesakes. Similarly, there are also taboos on naming the deceased and on naming their namesakes. As a result, for every speaker there is a multitude of people whose names should be avoided. At any one time, speakers of the language have a range of referential options. Speakers' decisions about which category of reference forms to choose (names, kinterms etc.) are governed by conversational preferences that shape 'referential design'. Six preferences - a preference for associating the referent to the co-present conversationalists, a preference for avoiding personal names, a preference for using recognitionals, a preference for being succinct, and a pair of opposed preferences relating to referential specificity - guide speakers towards choosing a name on one occasion, a kinterm on the next occasion and verbal cross-reference on yet another occasion. Different classes of expressions better satisfy particular conversational preferences. There is a systematicity to the referential choices that speakers make. The interactional objectives of interlocutors are enacted through the regular placement of particular forms in particular sequential environments. These objectives are then revealed through the turn-by-turn unfolding of conversational interaction. Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Please report any bad links or misclassified data
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warc | 201704 | <b>COMPLEX SYSTEMS SEMINAR</b><br>Modeling Science Across Multiple Scales: From Individuals to Institutions
Quantitative measures are becoming increasingly prevalent at all scales of scientific evaluation: from countries, to universities, departments, laboratories, and individuals, and even knowledge itself. This is largely due to the advent of large comprehensive publication databases that allow for detailed studies of ideas, people, and institutions, and the vast networks connecting them.
In the first half of this talk, I will give an overview of the ‘science of science’, a research domain that addresses problems from economics, research policy, management, sociology, and complexity science perspectives. In particular, I will discuss the evolution of research careers based upon quantitative studies using longitudinal publication data, focusing on two mechanisms the drive career growth in science — reputation and collaboration.
In the second half of this talk, I will discuss what millions of patents and publications can tell us about the evolution of Europe’s integrated innovation system — the ‘European Research Area' (ERA) — which is a cross-border labor, funding, and mobility scheme aimed at fostering innovation and growth within Europe. Using econometric methods applied to R&D networks, we performed a comparative network analysis across time and between EU and non-EU countries to determine the “treatment effect” resulting from EU R&D integration policies. Using non-EU countries as the global baseline (control), and by analyzing cross-border -vs- intra-border collaborations as a second comparison group, our Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference strategy indicates that, despite decades of efforts to build an efficient and competitive ERA, there has been little cross-border integration in the EU above global trends — in other words, Europe remains a collection of national innovation systems. And finally, I will discuss recent results indicating that ‘brain drain’ of high-skilled labor following the 2004 EU enlargement (by 12 countries, e.g. Poland, Estonia, Romania, etc.) may largely explain why the cross-border integration of R&D within the ERA is lagging. | 2,262 | 1,156 | 1.956747 |
warc | 201704 | The Death of England and the Abolition of Man
It's been said that "when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." I'd like not to think that C.S. Lewis is a hammer that I need to go to for any discussion of public policy. But he was a brilliant writer and moral philosopher, and there is much of what he had to say that was relevant, sometimes in startling ways, to the world in which we live.
Over in the Corner, Jay Nordlinger and Mark Steyn are lamenting, again, the death of England. This time, the context is a fire in the town of Doncaster in which a family perished, plausibly because the police on the scene felt that their duty was to prevent neighbors from trying to help, rather than to help themselves. The inimitable Steyn went on to decry the way that
the emergency responders who are supposed to save you (or at least make an attempt) instead wind up killing you - because a rote prostration before rule enforcement trumps their basic humanity. In recent years, the British police have evolved from being merely useless (at least when it comes to traditional activities such as solving crime) into what John O'Sullivan calls "the paramilitary wing of The Guardian" - the blundering enforcers of the nanny state.
And finishes by noting that
New Hampshire's great motto, "Live free or die", is not just a bit of bloodcurdling stemwinding but a real choice that Britons, Canadians and, alas, Americans ought to ponder: You can live as free men, with all the rights and responsibilities and vicissitudes of fate that that entails. Or you can watch your society decay and die before your eyes - as England, once the crucible of freedom, dies a little with every day.
In 1942, Alec King and Martin Ketley published "The Control of Language: A Critical Approach to Reading and Writing." This was a text book, "intended for 'boys and girls in the upper forms of schools'." One of the people to whom publishers sent a copy was C.S. Lewis. Lewis took issue with the book. "I owe them, or their publisher, good language for sending me a complimentary copy. At the same time I shall have nothing good to say of them." He used the contents of the book as the jumping-off point for a series of three lectures, the Riddell Memorial Lectures, which he delivered at the University of Durham in February of 1943. The content was later published as The Abolition of Man.
In the lectures, Lewis addresses the ways in which the textbook, which he refers to as "The Green Book," teaches not so much literary analysis as moral philosophy. He gives the authors the benefit of the doubt on their intentions (
"I doubt whether Gaius and Titius have really planned, under cover of teaching English, to propagate their philosophy") but not on the impact: I am not concerned with what they desired but with the effect their book will certainly have on the schoolboy's mind. In the same way, they have not said that judgements of value are unimportant. Their words are that we 'appear to be saying something very important' when in reality we are 'only saying something about our own feelings'. No schoolboy will be able to resist the suggestion brought to bear upon him by that word only. I do not mean, of course, that he will make any conscious inference from what he reads to a general philosophical theory that all values are subjective and trivial. The very power of Gaius and Titius depends on the fact that they are dealing with a boy: a boy who thinks he is 'doing' his 'English prep' and has no notion that ethics, theology, and politics are all at stake. It is not a theory they put into his mind, but an assumption, which ten years hence, its origin forgotten and its presence unconscious, will condition him to take one side in a controversy which he has never recognized as a controversy at all. The authors themselves, I suspect, hardly know what they are doing to the boy, and he cannot know what is being done to him. ... They may be perfectly ready to admit that a good education should build some sentiments while destroying others. They may endeavour to do so. But it is impossible that they should succeed. Do what they will, it is the 'debunking' side of their work, and this side alone, which will really tell.
The lectures then move into moral philosophy, and a discussion of whether or not there are objective truths, objective values in the universe. The authors of the book, whether intentionally or not, are in the business of "debunking" traditional values. But
"their scepticism about values is on the surface: it is for use on other people's values; about the values current in their own set they are not nearly sceptical enough."They are "found to hold, with complete uncritical dogmatism, the whole system of values which happened to be in vogue among moderately educated young men of the professional classes during the period between the two wars."He sums up their values in the notes by saying that 1 It will be seen that comfort and security, as known to a suburban street in peace-time, are the ultimate values: those things which can alone produce or spiritualize comfort and security are mocked. Man lives by bread alone, and the ultimate source of bread is the baker's van: peace matters more than honour and can be preserved by jeering at colonels and reading newspapers.
With that as background, I can now get back to where I started. When Steyn and Nordlinger (and others) lament the "death of England," they aren't talking in geographical terms, or even (yet) in political or National terms. They are speaking in spiritual terms. They are speaking of a society that has reached a point where the attributes which made it a great society have withered or been bred away. Is this England the one upon which the sun never set? Is this the society that produced Shakespeare or Wellington or Shackleton? Which colonized the new world and Australia and India? The answer, obviously, is "no." A society may last for a while even if unwilling to respond to all assaults upon it; it cannot survive if unwilling to respond to
anyassaults upon it. And if "peace" is the highest moral value, one must accommodate rather than respond.
And now, to quote C.S. Lewis, from the first line of the second of the Riddell Lectures that make up The Abolition of Man, demonstrating prescience and foresight of the highest order:
The practical result of education in the spirit of The Green Book must be the destruction of the society which accepts it.
Is there any question that facts have proven Lewis correct?
And, unfortunately, I see the same things happening around me in the United States. And that train is rolling a lot faster than I'd dreamed possible two years ago...
1- If that sounds familiar, consider all of the people who look upon traditional marriage as a bigoted or outdated institution, but have no conception or understanding of any reason that one might oppose government recognition of homosexual marriages. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. | 7,051 | 3,380 | 2.086095 |
warc | 201704 | As the setting sun cast a glorious red glow across the city's skyline, a taxi parked at downtown's Greyhound bus station. That's a common practice elsewhere—but in Tucson, it's unusual and illegal.
Because of disputes involving cab drivers—some of which turned to fisticuffs—about four years ago, the city of Tucson banned taxis from parking at the bus station. It blanketed most of the property, which it owns, with signs stating: "No Taxi Parking."
Several independent cab company owners, though, believe the ban isn't being enforced uniformly. At a recent meeting, they expressed their frustrations.
Esam Abusaudu of Budget Cab Company claimed that one of his rivals had an improper monopoly situation at the Greyhound station. Nancy Langan of Jeannies Taxi seconded that sentiment, but she suggested two companies were involved.
"I'd get a ticket," Langan said when asked after the meeting what would happen if she parked at the Greyhound station for 15 minutes. Langan said she believes there are financial arrangements between people working at the station and certain cab companies that result in exemptions from enforcement.
That certainly seemed plausible recently, when the
Weekly watched a taxi stop in the Greyhound employee parking lot for at least 15 minutes—and nothing happened. The driver waited and then drove around the main parking lot for five more minutes before returning to the employee lot for a while and then finally securing a fare.
"Greyhound can let cabs park on (the property they lease from the city) if they want," commented Chris Leighton, director of the city's ParkWise program, which oversees parking enforcement. However, he then added: "We've not been told (by Greyhound) to leave any particular cab company alone."
According to Bonnie Bastian, media relations manager for Greyhound, the company does not have a parking agreement with any taxi company. "They shouldn't have been there," she said about the cab in the employee lot.
The Greyhound bus station situation is only one of several issues that some taxi-company owners have with ParkWise. Another is the harsh treatment they said is being dished out by the city's parking-enforcement agents.
"Every time we turn around, we're getting tickets for something we're doing," declared Rick Winkler of R.E.M. Transport. "But we're providing a valuable service by taking someone home who might be a little drunk."
Several other owners at the meeting expressed the feeling that ParkWise employees were being hostile toward them. They listed numerous complaints, including the lack of taxi stands in some high-traffic areas.
"The city's attacking the little guy," Langan said, adding that things have deteriorated in the last year. "We've become victims."
Leighton disputed that allegation, saying: "We could be perceived as unfriendly to those who habitually break the law." He points out that around the Fourth Avenue retail district, taxis often park in handicap spaces and crosswalks, safety violations that cost $175 per ticket.
But it was the expansion this past summer of the parking-enforcement program into nighttime hours that really irritated company owners, Leighton said. Two parking agents are out in the evening now, supplementing the four to six who work during the day.
Another major complaint the owners have is that tickets are mailed to them instead of being given directly to the taxi driver. Because of that, they said, the owners, and not the driver, are responsible for paying them.
On the other hand, one of the drivers who attended the meeting admitted throwing punches at another driver. Someone else even mentioned the potential for doing the same thing with ParkWise agents.
According to statistics supplied by Leighton, the number of total tickets issued by ParkWise this year to date is about 31,000. That's about the same pace as in 2005.
Leighton also supplied figures which show that 10 percent of the citations ParkWise issues are warnings, not tickets. "I want my staff to correct the situation," he stated, "not necessarily write a ticket."
Langan said the independent cab-company owners would like to work with city officials on areas of contention. But she didn't think it will happen, "since they're making money."
There is one issue, though, that the two sides may be discussing shortly: Leighton's staff is researching the introduction of a City Hall taxi-medallion program.
"There are about 450 cabs in Tucson now," Leighton said about what he characterized as, essentially, an unregulated system, "but there should be about 200 to provide adequate service. Thus, there's more supply than demand, and some drivers get desperate and behave inappropriately."
Leighton said a medallion program would restrict the total number of taxis while mandating biannual vehicle-safety checks, something not required now. He also said he thought imposing a requirement that the driver not have a felony conviction within the last five years would be reasonable, and said taxi drivers should receive information about the location of the city's main attractions.
"The program would keep a level playing field," Leighton said about the possible introduction of medallions. He thinks it might be springtime before a decision is made whether to move this idea forward to the City Council for consideration.
At least one taxi company owner said some of Leighton's suggestions for the medallion program may have merit, but he would like to discuss the details further.
"I'd need more information about how the selection would be made," Winkler said about which companies would receive medallions, "and wouldn't be opposed to meeting about it." | 5,736 | 2,661 | 2.155581 |
warc | 201704 | Thursday, August 31, 2006 Zim's homelessChurch leaders say that almost nothing has been done to house 700,000 people in Zimbabwe who lost their homes and livelihoods in demolit
Operation Murambatsvina, which the government said was a campaign to clean up cities, was condemned by the UN.
The Solidarity Peace Trust, a church- based group, says the whole exercise has further impoverished many Zimbabweans.
A report says the situation remains dire 15 months later.
In some houses, people now co-exist in around one square metre per person of floor space
Solidarity Peace Trust
Living in fear after eviction
Hard times for new homeless
Out of more than 100,000 displaced people in the west of the country, not one person has been officially housed by the government, according to the Solidarity Peace Trust, which is co-chaired by the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube.
International donor organisations have fared little better in providing shelter, the report says. Only 800 temporary dwellings have been built nationwide, and all of these are around the capital, Harare.
The evictions left hundreds of thousands of people homelessOne victim quoted by the report accuses the authorities of leaving people to live like animals in the open air: "If government had done this and then said 'go stay over there', it would have been better, instead of destroying everything and leaving us like animals."
"It's like when you pull down a cattle kraal (pen), first you build another one. You put the cattle in the new kraal and then you destroy the old one."
Archbishop Ncube told the BBC that the government had failed to live up to its promises:
"They themselves said that they would construct 300,000 houses. They've constructed a few hundred houses and none of them have been occupied." .....
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The government has been condemned for its carefree attitude and high propensity to spend on luxury goods, such as the recent purchase of vehicles for use by militia personnel, and aircraft from China.
Ambulances at most hospitals are grounded due to fuel shortages and lack of vehicle spares.
Despite the soaring levels of sexually transmitted diseases in the country, most cases go untreated as hospitals do not have the medication.
People are dying from minor illnesses that could have been easily treated but hospitals have run short of resources. The majority of rural folk, once regarded as Mugabe's loyalists, have jumped ship to join the opposition as they accuse the incumbent government of persecuting the poor...
The Keiskamma Altarpiece, 2005 The Keiskamma Art Project ArtistsKeiskamma, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Embroidery, beadwork, wirework,
photographs, wood frame
13' x 22'
Collection of the Keiskamma Trust BackgroundCreated by the women of the coastal town of Hamburg, in South Africa’s largely rural, poverty-stricken Eastern Cape Province, the Keiskamma Altarpieceis a message of hope for people who are contending with the devastation that AIDS has wrought in their lives in the midst of poverty and other hardships. Making its first voyage out of its homeland, the Keiskamma Altarpiece will have a three-venue journey to North America this summer with stops in Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
After its appearance at the Sixteenth International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the Altarpiece has traveled to Chicago for a month-long stay at St. James Episcopal Cathedral. From Chicago the Altarpiece will go to the University of California at Los Angeles for several months’ installation hosted by the UCLA AIDS Institute and UCLA’s Fowler Museum of Art.
The Keiskamma Altarpiece is the second monumental artwork made by the women of the coastal town of Hamburg, located in South Africa’s largely rural Eastern Cape Province. The first such piece, the 43 meter (138 ft) “Democracy Tapestry”, inspired by the famed Bayeux Tapestry, presents the history of South Africa’s first ten years of democracy.
The Keiskamma Altarpiece was made using embroidery, beadwork, wire sculpture, and photographs. Its shape and dimensions (6.5 meters wide when fully open and 4.2 meters high) exactly replicates those the multi-panel format of the famed Isenheim Altarpiece, now in Colmar, France. Moreover, the synchronicity between the two is not limited to size and shape. The Keiskamma Altarpiece reflects a kindred spirit the Isenheim, both of them created in the face of a devastating plague wreaking havoc on their communities....
A major reason for this epidemic and its devastating consequences is a near-global restriction on the production, export and use of DDT. The restrictions result from intense pressure by ideological environmentalists and threats by the United Nations, European Union, foundations and aid agencies to cut foreign aid or curtail trade with any nation that uses the insecticide.
Of course, none of these activists, bureaucrats or politicians have to worry about malaria killing them or their families. They can afford their viewpoints about malaria and pesticides. Their nations eliminated malaria decades ago, using the same pesticides (including DDT) that they now deny to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Nothing currently works better for fighting malaria than DDT. It's affordable (other pesticides cost 4 to 6 times more), and that's important for impoverished nations. It's long lasting. A single spraying retains its potency for at least six months, meaning more dangerous pesticides do not have to be applied more often. And mosquitoes are far less likely to build resistance to DDT than to other pesticides, which are still used heavily in agriculture.
Sprayed in tiny amounts on walls of traditional African homes, it repels mosquitoes for six months or more. It kills any that land on the walls, and disorients those it does not kill or repel. Where DDT is used, malaria cases and deaths plummet. Where it is not used, they skyrocket.
South Africa saw that first-hand not long ago, report Richard Tren and Roger Bate of the health advocacy group Africa Fighting Malaria. The country stopped using DDT in 1996, after malaria rates had fallen below 8,000 a year. Within two years, the rates had shot up to 65,000 cases. But within 18 months after Pretoria reintroduced this miracle pesticide, the disease and death rate had plunged by nearly 80 percent.
Despite rampant, far-fetched claims straight out of a Stephen King novel, DDT is not carcinogenic or harmful to humans. Used properly, it is safe for the environment, and minor ecological risks that might exist pale in comparison to human health benefits.
DDT History
During World War II, DDT was sprayed on Allied troops, protecting them from malaria and typhus, and saving tens of thousands of lives. After the war, concentration camp survivors and Italian and German citizens were also sprayed with the pesticide. In the 1950s, DDT helped eradicate malaria and typhus in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and other countries. No ill effects were ever demonstrated, but no one talks any longer about spraying people.
Rachel Carson helped launch modern environmentalism and the anti-pesticide crusade with her book, Silent Spring. At the time, DDT was used in near-massive quantities to control agricultural pests and exterminate disease-carrying flies and mosquitoes. Ms. Carson postulated that these chemicals would kill off America's raptors and songbirds, leaving us with only a silent spring. However, even as her book was being published, robin and other songbird populations were actually increasing, and subsequent studies failed to substantiate her alarmist predictions.
Nevertheless, the Natural Resources Defense Council (which also sponsored the infamous Alar scare), Greenpeace, the Pesticide Action Network, World Wildlife Fund, Physicians for Social Responsibility and other pressure groups still insist that pesticides in general, and DDT in particular, are terribly toxic to wildlife. Along with the United Nations Environmental Program, they do all they can to prevent the use of DDT and other pesticides.
Hollywood elites and big donors like the Ford, Pew, MacArthur and Schumann foundations support these groups with tens of millions of dollars a year. The World Health Organization refuses to prescribe, recommend or fund the use of any pesticide, and is particularly opposed to DDT.
Instead, they all promote drugs and insecticide-treated bed nets. These methods do help reduce malaria rates. However, they are expensive, hard to get and only partially effective. In fact, for some 20 years or more, the malaria parasite has been so immune to two of the cheapest and most-prescribed anti-malarial drugs, chloroquine and SP, as to render them virtually worthless. As to bed nets, while they certainly do help at night, if maintained and used properly, they are of no value during prime mosquito hours for people who are still working or moving about their homes and villages.
And still the WHO, supposedly the developing world's primary healthcare provider, refuses to alter its stance -- and the US Agency for International Development claims it can't support or fund DDT use, because the WHO opposes it, and the United States no longer permits its use.....
Sunday, August 27, 2006
"It is with this in mind that the Zimbabwe National Army intends to embark on a massive recruitment exercise next year to beef up the lower ranks of the army and prepare those in the middle ranks for the hand-over, take-over of the leadership of the army," Rugeje was reported as saying.
In a bid to make military service more attractive, the authorities are also promising to raise soldiers salaries to keep them in line with the ever-rising cost of living and give them new uniforms, the report said.
Soldiers last had their salaries upped at the end of April to around 27 million Zimbabwe dollars a month (now worth only 108 US at the official exchange rate, much less at the parallel market rate).
The cash-strapped Zimbabwe Government appears to be splashing out on the defence forces.
Despite biting shortages of foreign currency that often make it difficult for Zimbabwe to import fuel and medicine, the authorities have already paid out $1,2-million to buy more than 100 vehicles for top army officials, according to the official Herald newspaper on Friday.
The 127 Mazda vehicles were paid for with funds secured from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the newspaper said.
And earlier this week, the authorities were reported to have bought another six jet fighters from China worth an estimated 20 million US each. -
(On the other hand, the Zim government can hire them out as "peacekeepers" to make money...)
Angry cotton farmers from Chipinge district have been left holding billions of old Zimbabwe dollars (thousands of US), the official Manica Post newspaper said.
They say they did not have time to travel the long distances to commercial banks to exchange their old money before Monday's deadline.
People in my constituency are cotton farmers and they sold their cotton recently on cash basis. They have huge sums of money that they are failing to exchange, said the MP for the area, Enock Porusingazi.
Friday, August 25, 2006
The World Food Programme has estimated that some 1.8 million Zimbabweans may need food assistance between now and April of next year, when the next harvest will replenish larders, and said it will increase its provision of food aid to the country.
The Zimbabwean government is reported to have acknowledged that about 1.4 million people in rural areas will need food assistance. News site ZimOnline said the country's Vulnerability Assessment Committee sees a shortfall of 91,000 tonnes of cereals.
Economic Development Minister Rugare Gumbo told parliament recently that Harare has been trying to raise Z$34 million from alternative sources such as pension funds for the purchase of maize and soya beans to fill the food-output gap.
The impending food crisis could be exacerbated by the devastation of winter wheat crops in some areas by quelea birds. Some 150 million birds have been sighted in the Lower Veld of Manicaland and in Matebeleland South with harvest approaching.///
The order comes at a time when the country is experiencing a severe economic difficulties.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
An unidentifed Zimbabwean walks past a blind beggar with a plate full of old money in Harare, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006. Banks and stores did brisk business Monday, Aug. 21, 2006, on the last day the nation's old bank notes were being accepted as legal currency. The old notes become obsolete at the close of trading Monday, when a new range of bills, with three zeros struck off the old denominations, replaces them in the hyperinflationary economy. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
An unidentifed Zimbabwean walks past a blind beggar with a plate full of old money in Harare, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006. Banks and stores did brisk business Monday, Aug. 21, 2006, on the last day the nation's old bank notes were being accepted as legal currency. The old notes become obsolete at the close of trading Monday, when a new range of bills, with three zeros struck off the old denominations, replaces them in the hyperinflationary economy.
Some stores asked customers to make up their change with additional purchases of chocolate and candy displayed at checkout cash registers or accept IOU slips that were rubber stamped and signed by store managers for authenticity
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
But in typically iron-fisted fashion, President Robert Mugabe's regime is treating people carrying cash as criminals. Police at roadblocks, border posts and airports are searching the bags to see that no one is carrying more than Z$100 million.
Huge stashes of cash are being seized, particularly from rural peasants bringing their money to the cities to deposit in banks. More than 3,200 Zimbabweans have been arrested at roadblocks and Z$700 billion has been confiscated, according to the state media. Hundreds of businesses are also under investigation.
In a macabre twist, mourners transporting their dead to funerals are forced to open the coffins to prove that they are not smuggling illegal sums of cash along with the remains of their loved ones.
At Harare airport last week police seized several large containers that were filled with more than Z$1 trillion. The money was being smuggled back into the country by three large financial institutions, according to the state-owned Herald, to be exchanged for new currency.
Rampant inflation has rendered the once proud Zimbabwe dollar nearly worthless. Supermarket shoppers must push a trolley-full of currency to buy a trolley-full of basic groceries. Calculators, cash registers and checkbooks fail to cope with the number of noughts needed as prices for daily goods run into millions, houses and cars cost billions and company budgets are in the trillions. Taking off three zeroes will make the Zimbabwean currency easier to deal with until inflation adds the zeroes back on.
At the official rate of exchange Z$250,000 is worth US$1. But realistically the Zim dollar is worth much less because no dollars are available at the official rate. On the illegal but thriving parallel market it takes Z$600,000 to buy US$1.
"Our Zim dollar is useless," said Iddah Mandaza, a Harare factory worker. "It costs Z$600,000 to take a bus to work. We pay millions to buy a bit to eat. This striking off the zeroes is not going to change anything. We all know that. It will be easier to carry money around but it is not going to stop inflation and it is not going to make shortages of food and fuel disappear."...
The urban rich and the cross-border traders are busy finding ways to avoid being caught out by the remuneration. Many fear it is the rural poor who will be left holding the bag of unusable Zim dollars on the deadline today.
"The poor and the poorly educated will be hurt most," said John Makumbe, a Zimbabwean political science lecturer. "They are being treated like economic saboteurs. Their money is being seized if they travel with more than Z$100 million, yet they often have school fees to pay of Z$300 million. These are supposed to be Mugabe's strongest supporters, yet they will bitterly remember the day that the government confiscated their cash."
"There are growing fears that there will be riots over the currency change. Mugabe's fiercest opposition is the economy. He can rig elections, he can control the press, but he cannot rig the economy. The economy refuses to obey his orders," Makumbe said.
The major reason for Idoko's success is the Bush administration's AIDS program, which in the last three years has sent billions of dollars to Africa and helped save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. When I moved to Africa three years ago, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, was just getting off the ground. As I return to Washington this month, the $15 billion program is just hitting its stride, and many Africans believe it has become the single most effective initiative in fighting the deadly scourge.
``The greatest impact in HIV prevention and treatment in Africa is PEPFAR-there's nothing that compares," Idoko said.
Only you wouldn't know it in America-or Canada, or Europe, for that matter-given the tenor of the AIDS debate in Washington and the nature of the international media coverage.
That debate was on full view last week at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, which ended Thursday. While the AIDS epidemic in Africa is as urgent a crisis as it ever was-an estimated 24 million are infected on the continent and as many as 2 million died last year from AIDS-related illnesses-there are now at least some hopeful signs, though few activists in Toronto wanted to give the United States any of the credit. Indeed, the politically polarized bickering, according to those in Washington AIDS policy circles, could have effects far beyond the Beltway, threatening to impede national and international funding for AIDS programs.
. . .
One telling moment in Toronto came last Sunday when Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent billions on global health in recent years, praised PEPFAR, prompting a chorus of boos from the audience.....
The reason? Because it insists on trainng in abstinance and working with churches, both which are acceptable in African culture but unaccepatable in the US and European circles, where hatred of religion and anger at anyone hinting their promiscuity spread HIV is the dirty little secret no one wants to discuss.
Friday, August 18, 2006
From January 2003 school leavers were
sent to camps for compulsory youth service
training. Several thousand children and
young persons had received training by
March 2004, some of them as young as 11.
Training focused on paramilitary skills and
political education, and allegedly included
torture and killing techniques. Girls were
said to have been repeatedly raped by
other trainees and staff. Operating as
militia, trainees were allegedly used to
intimidate opposition supporters and were
accused of murder and torture....
National youth service training
program
In July 2002 the government announced that
a national youth training service program,
also known as youth militia training, would
be compulsory for all school leavers from
January 2003.5 The minimum age for national
youth service training was believed to be
16, with parental consent, but this could
not be confirmed. Access to the civil service
– in particular entrance to teacher training and
nursing colleges – is now dependent on having
graduated from the youth training service
program.6 According to initial government policy
documents, training camps responded to a need
to provide the nation’s youth, referred to as those
aged between 10 and 30 years of age, with “a
sense of national pride and history, as well as
skills suitable for employment”.7 In July 2003
the Minister of Defence was reported as saying
that weaponry training would be included in the
program, that the youth militia would “create
a reserve security force” and be a “lucrative
recruitment ground for the Zimbabwe National
Army”, and that 1,000 youth militia members had
already been recruited by the army.8
The first national youth training camp, Border
Gezi training camp in Mount Darwin, was set up
in 2001, with four more subsequently created.
Each centre provided militia training in a 120-day
program for 1,000 youths at a time.9 Government
budget statements in 2002 and 2003 indicated
plans to train 20,000 young people every year.
By the end of 2002, it appeared that as many as
9,000 children and young people had received
formal militia training, and at least as many again
had been trained in less formal programs at
district level.10 Circumstantial evidence collected
by a researcher suggested that a sizeable
proportion of the trainees were under 18: in one
camp, the register of participants indicated that
approximately one third were under 18, many
in the 15 to 16-year-old age range, with the
youngest a girl of 11.11
Serious human rights violations against
women and girls were reported by former
trainees.12 Girls were allegedly raped at the
training centres, including by officials.13 Girls
as young as 11 or 12 were said to have been
repeatedly raped.14 By early 2002 an estimated
one thousand women were held in militia camps
for sexual purposes.15
Allegations of murder, torture, rape and
the destruction of property by youth militias
emerged from January 2002 onwards.16 Youth
militias were reportedly used to occupy farms,
set up illegal roadblocks, force people from
their homes, steal identity cards, control food
distribution, and restrict access to health centres
and polling stations.17 One national youth service
camp commander reported that youths in his
camp had been sent to kill two government
opponents on the orders of his superiors.
A
former trainee reported being plied with alcohol
and drugs, and taught how to electrocute people
to extract information from them.18 Routine use
of alcohol and marijuana was reported during the
training and deployment of youth militia.19 The
government was alleged to have used the youth
militias to intimidate political opposition groups
in the run-up to the presidential elections in
200220 and to by-elections in 2004, in particular
in Zengeza in March 2004.21
In March 2004, the Minister for Youth
Development, Brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri,
denied that military training was compulsory
or was included in the national youth service
program. He said that the government “believes
firmly in the protection of children, especially the
girl child”.
In the past, the freedomfighters included child soldiers, but Mugabe did try to integrate them back in society when he took over the new government...
The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which is expected to eventually grow to cover 16,000 square miles, combines South Africa's Kruger National Park, Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park, The Times of London reported Thursday.
The presidents of all three countries gathered to witness the opening of the Giriyondo border between the Kruger and Limpopo parks.
"The Giriyondo access facility ... is just the beginning of a new era when we will bring down the colonial fences which divided our nations over several centuries," said South African President Thabo Mbeki. "Today, we take yet another step to free ourselves from the chains of our past and open up to our peoples and wild animals the spaces of freedom as nature has intended." ...
Thursday, August 17, 2006
In a stark reminder of how the gains of independence from Britain 26 years ago were fast eroding away, Zimbabweans woke up on Monday to celebrate Heroes Day holiday held in commemoration of fallen heroes of the liberation struggle, but with shops empty of maize-meal.
The chairman of the Zimbabwe Grain Millers Association (ZGMA) that groups private milling firms, Thembinkosi Ndlovu, said the countrywide shortage of maize-meal was because the state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB) had not supplied maize to millers because it did not have any in stock.
The corruption-riddled GMB is the only one permitted by law to trade in maize which is ground into maize-meal, the daily food of more than 90 percent of the 12 million Zimbabweans.
Ndlovu said: "There is a crisis, I can confirm that there is no mealie-meal around the country and millers are currently not getting any (maize) supplies."
Former army colonel Samuel Muvuti, put in charge of the GMB by President Robert Mugabe, could not be reached for comment on the maize shortage.
Both Muvuti and Mugabe have since the beginning of the year claimed that the GMB would collect enough maize from farmers after a bumper harvest from the 2005/06 farming season. They estimated that Zimbabwe would harvest 1.8 million tonnes, enough for national annual consumption.
But local farming experts and international food relief agencies have disputed the government's figures saying Zimbabwe was likely to harvest around 800 000 tonnes of maize after a shortage seed and fertilizer crippled planting operations despite the country having received good rains.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Billions of old Zimbabwean dollars that were smuggled out of the country and into SA, are now being smuggled back over makeshift bridges in a bid to beat next week’s deadline when the old currency becomes worthless.
The state-controlled Sunday Mail reports that, days before the old Zimbabwean dollars cease to be legal tender in the country, the race is on to return billions of dollars of the currency across the Limpopo River.
Desperate cash barons are creating small dams at some of the illegal crossing points using sand and sticks to reduce the flow of the river.
This enabled the smugglers trying to cross the river with large amounts of cash to spot crocodiles, the newspaper said, citing sources at Beitbridge border post...
"The parallel economy now underpins Zimbabwe's survival. The black market in particular has been flourishing over the years, and this has been made possible by the ever-shrinking formal market, due to reduced productivity in industry and in agriculture, shortages of foreign currency and a steep decline in investment," Kwesu said."Informal trade and the black market have been growing, owing to the economic problems the country has been facing for a number of years now. It has been easy for the two to take root, because they normally do not require a lot of money to start and they can easily be managed," he said....
Analysts say the rapid growth of the informal economy has been counter-productive, because the money generated is used mainly for consumption rather than development. "The parallel economy is not concerned about the building of schools, hospitals or the setting up of infrastructure that the majority of the people can benefit from. Instead, it creates a dangerous situation, because those who are involved in it do so for self-enrichment," said Zembe."Policy planning becomes difficult because the activities in the informal and black markets are not recorded, while people speculate and push inflation up, in addition to the creation of artificial shortages of foreign currency, basic commodities and industrial inputs," he commented....
Sunday, August 13, 2006
follow up post HERE
Thursday, August 10, 2006 Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Veldt fires cause problems for the environment (note: many are set to remove stubble in order to plant--something that is also done here in the Philippines---but in dry climates, the fires get out of control and can destroy huge areas..
And is Satan causing Zim's problems? The gov't is now targeting churchmen in the opposition...
Most stations in Harare and Bulawayo had no fuel. But those with gasoline or diesel to sell were demanding $Z650 a liter – about US$2.60 - compared with $Z400 dollars in the days before the currency overhaul was launched. But given the shortages, some dealers in the parallel market were demanding Z$1,000 (US$4) per liter of gasoline.
Industry and Trade Minister Obert Mpofu said price gougers would be prosecuted. But commuters complained that police turned a blind eye to operators hiking fares. Long queues are also emerging in the capital as a result of the fuel shortages.
Economists say the devaluation and higher taxes on fuel announced by the Ministry of Finance in its recent supplementary budget made such price increases inevitable.
Omnibus operators have raised fares by more than 60%, defying a government freeze of prices through August 21, the central bank's deadline for currency conversion.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Zimbabwe should have been a model of multiethnic democracy and economic growth. Mugabe didn't have to be as wise as Nelson Mandela to make his nation work; he just had to avoid being a madman. Unfortunately, that's exactly what he turned out to be. And the world stood by and did nothing while he ruined a country.
Black Americans have flocked to start businesses in South Africa; a few have sought citizenship in Ghana, which is offering the gimmick to draw entrepreneurial black Americans to live there. But none of that attention was ever turned toward Zimbabwe, which might have turned out differently had international pressure been brought to bear on Mugabe.
Instead, other African leaders turned a blind eye, afraid their own human rights records might be examined if they turned up the heat on the Zimbabwean dictator. Inexplicably, political leaders such as former
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"Our black leadership has been utterly ineffective in dealing with the autocrats and dictators in Africa who are not white," said Richard Joseph, political science professor at Northwestern University and director of its Program of African Studies. "Our collective black leadership -- organizations, church groups, civil rights organizations, civil rights leaders -- have not provided that leadership, and the African people have paid the price. It's shameful."
When I visited Zimbabwe in 1983, its black intelligentsia was high on hope, convinced they could provide a model for black rule. After a decades-long guerrilla war against the whites-only government of then-Rhodesia, black nationalists had finally brokered a peace accord, which led to elections that put Mugabe in power in 1980....
Zimbabwe offered the chance for a fresh start -- and, for a brief shining moment, it looked as if Mugabe would get it right.... He left in place an independent judiciary; he embarked on a literacy campaign for the country's uneducated black citizens; he called for racial reconciliation, urging Zimbabwe's 200,000 whites -- including its nearly 50,000 white farmers -- to stay and keep Zimbabwe free and prosperous.
But when poor blacks became impatient with the pace of change, Mugabe responded by allowing thugs to seize the farms of white landowners and turn the land over to his supporters. The agricultural sector quickly collapsed. Mugabe also began a brutal campaign against political opponents, shutting down opposition newspapers and taking over the courts. The country is a shell of its former self.....
"No trader, manufacturer, wholesaler, dealer or retailer of any commodity shall as a result of the conversion of any price of that commodity on August 1 2006 from the old currency system to the new currency system ... increase the price of that commodity by any amount," Obert Mpofu, Minister of Industry and International Trade told the Sunday Mail newspaper.
"This direction shall have effect from August 1 2006 to August 21 2006," he added.
Mpofu was not immediately available for comment on Sunday.
President Robert Mugabe's government keeps price controls on some basic commodities like maize-meal, bread and milk but can also revoke price increases in several other products.
Companies justify regular price increases to rising production costs due to inflation, which at 1,184.6 percent is the highest in the world, and argue that they source foreign currency for inputs at the black market where prices are more than twice the official rate.
Urban Zimbabweans are the worst hit by the country's economic crisis, dramatised by shortages of foreign currency, fuel, food and electricity while contending with water cuts, crumbling roads and burst sewers.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Consumers reported losing large amounts of cash at police roadblocks nationwide as they tried to reach banks to deposit expiring banknotes or swap them for the new bills that the central bank started issuing Tuesday. Central bank officials were present at some but not all roadblocks, local police spontaneously threw up many others.
Human rights defenders and other legal experts criticized the indiscriminate search of travelers on the borders and inside the country in search of black market gains. The central bank and government launched the campaign in an attempt to confiscate much of the trillions of dollars circulating in domestic and foreign parallel markets.
Within the financial system, bank automatic tellers remained out of service as financial players struggled to overhaul systems to cope with new denominations - for instance, the old Z$100,000 note is being replaced by a new Z$100 note which at the post-devaluation exchange rate of Z$250 to the U.S. dollar is worth 40 U.S. cents.
The central bank lopped three zeroes from the old currency one day before releasing a new set of banknotes aimed at offsetting some of the effects of 1,200% inflation, in particular the need to carry around wads of currency for routine transactions.
Police and ruling party youth militia members searched travelers and seized currency in excess Z$100 million (old notes) for individuals, $400 at the new exchange rate.
Reliable sources said there were 10 roadblocks on the highway between the Zambian border to the north and Karoi, 150 kilometers towards the capital, Harare.
Legal experts questioned the way financial authorities sought to enforce recently-set limits on the amount of cash individuals or businesses can legally hold.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has struggled to produce electricity at its two main thermal and hydro plants due to a critical shortage of cash to repair damaged equipment, which has led to frequent power cuts for consumers and industry.
The wholly government-owned company, the sole provider of electricity in Zimbabwe, has said it is required to charge what it says are uneconomic tariffs as the government seeks to keep a lid on spiralling inflation.
On Thursday power expert Simbarashe Mangwengwende, a former ZESA chief executive, said that "inappropriate regulation", including the low consumer charges, had kept investors away from ZESA, leaving the cash-strapped government with the sole burden of keeping the utility running.
Erratic power supplies have piled pressure on local industries struggling to stay in business in the face of an eight-year economic recession critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's government.
"There is a myth that energy supply costs are high and are a major source of inflation. That is why we then end up with inappropriate regulations that prevent investments," Mangwengwende told an annual congress of Zimbabwe's main industry body.
"The result is that we have over-dependence on an investor with limited resources for investments," he told the meeting in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo.... | 35,849 | 15,690 | 2.284831 |
warc | 201704 | Most internet marketing specialists say that, in order for a blog to succeed, bloggers only need to publish unique and informative content. However, there are other elements that people can include in their blogs in order to increase their readership and, consequently, increase their potential to make money out of it. These include images, RSS feeds, and contextual links.
Images for Enhanced Visitor Experience and Blog SEO
All internet users are attracted to graphical representations of what they are reading. This is why it is important to use photographs and graphics when engaged in blogging. Bloggers can use them to demonstrate what they are trying to explain in their posts or simply to brighten up their content. The point is to make their blog more attractive to enhance their visitors' experiences. Bloggers should just be sure that they don't overdo it; it's important to avoid a situation where the images overpower their posts.
Using photographs and graphics in blogs also enhance search engine optimization efforts. Such images provide bloggers additional opportunities to make use of pertinent keywords. Opportunities include adding such keywords and search terms in the image URL, title, and caption.
RSS Feeds to Gain Loyal Blog Followers and Continuously Fresh Blog Content
Serious bloggers should ensure that their blogs feature an RSS feed and they can encourage visitors to subscribe to their feed. By doing this, subscribers will be prompted to visit a blog each time the blogger publishes a new post. RSS feeds can be very effective in trying to gain loyal readership for a site's content, so bloggers should make good use of them.
Bloggers can also use RSS feeds from related websites. They can publish those feeds in portions of their blogs so that their visitors will have more content to read through and engage with. Bloggers should just keep in mind that such feeds link to other sites to they should make sure that they are not as prominent on their blogs as their own content.
Contextual Links to Promote Additional Revenue Streams
Bloggers who take part in affiliate marketing programs and other activities for additional revenue streams should use their blogs as online promotional assets not by placing banner advertisements and publishing promotional posts but by using contextual links properly. They should keep in mind that they should not make their visitors feel as if their blogs are all about sales pitches. By using contextual links, blog readers and loyal followers should not feel as if they're constantly bombarded by promotion and sales attempts.
Contextual links should be used to promote affiliate products and other sources of revenue only when the products or programs are actually relevant to the blog's theme. They should be utilized only when the specific blog content is actually related to the products, programs or services being promoted. If not, readers will feel as if they're being deceived and it's unlikely they'll return to the blog.
By making use of the three important elements detailed above, bloggers can be sure to gain a loyal following and make money online through their blogging efforts. | 3,176 | 1,417 | 2.241355 |
warc | 201704 | "In a groundbreaking effort to close the wage gap between men and women, Massachusetts has become the first state to bar employers from asking about applicants’ salaries before making them job offers.
"The new law will require hiring managers to offer a compensation figure upfront — based on what the applicant’s worth is to the company, rather than on what he or she made at a previous position.
...
"No longer will job seekers be compelled to disclose their salary or wages at their current or previous jobs — which often leaves applicants with the nagging suspicion that they might have been offered more money if the earlier figure had been higher. Job candidates will still be allowed to volunteer their salary information.
"The Massachusetts law, which will take effect in July 2018, takes aim at the subtle factors that often play into compensation decisions. Companies will not be allowed to prohibit their workers from telling others how much they are paid, a move that advocates say can increase salary transparency and help employees uncover disparities."
*********
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The intention is to free people from being forever constrained by their salary history. Employers will be worried about the winner's curse... | 1,302 | 717 | 1.8159 |
warc | 201704 | Strong economic data, especially in the manufacturing sector
We saw some important manufacturing-related data on Wednesday, with industrial production, manufacturing production, and capacity utilization all coming in better than expected. The most interesting part was not so much the headline numbers, but the revisions to February, which were gargantuan. Certainly any theory that the January slowdown was something other than weather-related weakness was dismissed on Wednesday. If anything, it’s looking like the economy is accelerating.
Housing starts were weak, however
Housing starts were weaker than expected and have been well below where they usually are at this part of the economic cycle. That said, this isn’t a normal recovery because the Great Recession was not a garden-variety recession, but the response to a residential real estate bubble. As the economy improves, sub–1 million deliveries will be insufficient to meet demand.
Homebuilder earnings
We heard from KB Home (KBH) and Lennar (LEN) recently. Both reported strong numbers, and average selling prices continue to rise. The homebuilding segment has definitely been a case of two sectors—the luxury sector, which is doing extremely well, and the first-time homebuyer sector, which is getting bombarded by increasing real estate prices, rising interest rates, and a lousy job market. The homebuilders could very well find themselves caught flat-footed when the first time homebuyer returns. There is a tremendous amount of pent-up demand.
Commercial REITs will be encouraged by economic strength
Commercial REITs in the retail space like Simon Property (SPG) and General Growth Properties (GGP) will certainly take comfort in the initial jobless claims report, and the manufacturing data which signals jobs growth. This will undoubtedly be good news for office REITs like Boston Properties (BXP) and Vornado (VNO).
Implications for mortgage REITs
Mortgage REITs, like Annaly (NLY) and American Capital (AGNC), are driven by interest rates, which have been in a tight trading range. Investors are becoming more comfortable with the idea that the Fed isn’t looking to raise rates too soon (people seem to have digested the possibility, although probably unlikely, that the Fed will start hiking rates at the June 2014 FOMC meeting).
Interested in BXP? Receive notifications on the latest research and sign up for a Market Realist account in one simple step: | 2,467 | 1,277 | 1.931872 |
warc | 201704 | Play It Out: Understanding Sexual Consent (the physical, emotional and legal consequences)
$149.95
Many times people may feel confused when it comes to sex and intimacy. Sometimes it’s difficult to know if the person you’re with wants to be intimate and even more difficult to ask or find out. Everyone needs to understand consent is and is not. That’s what this program is about.
In this program students will learn that consent is not passive. Consent is a behavior that clearly shows that the person agrees to the sexual activity at the time. Viewers will come to understand that giving in is not the same as giving consent and you can’t assume consent.
The video points out that many people are manipulated into doing things they’re not ready or willing to do. The program show’s examples of how manipulators use insults and threats to get what they want and that manipulation is not consent.
Teens will learn that saying yes one time does not imply ongoing, unlimited consent and that they have the right to change their mind and say no anytime for any reason.
Students will come to understand what consent IS and what it is NOT. They will come to realize that a misunderstanding can cause physical, emotional and legal consequences that can impact the rest of their life.
Running Time: 21 min | CC: Yes | ISBN: 978 1936418466 | UPC: 092388114691 | 1,390 | 735 | 1.891156 |
warc | 201704 | Video series addresses sheep lameness Sheep producers will be able to benefit from a new series of videos about sheep lameness, thanks to industry body AHDB Beef & Lamb.
The collection of 13 short videos, presented by vet Rachel Clifton from the University of Warwick, will provide expert advice for producers. Identifying and treating causes of lameness, preventing and reducing spread on farm, culling, vaccination and identifying the structure of a healthy foot are all topics that will be covered during the series.
“Identifying the correct cause of lameness makes it easier to diagnose and treat the ailment appropriately,” said Katie Brian, AHDB Beef & Lamb’s Better Returns Programme (BRP) project manager. “This can save time and money and improve the welfare of the livestock. “Each of the videos is approximately two minutes long and offers easily digestible information on a range of aspects to help producers reduce lameness in their flock. Rachel is an experienced vet who specialises in veterinary epidemiology and did an excellent job presenting the information.” The videos are being launched in conjunction with the release of the updated BRP manual, Reducing Lameness for Better Returns, which now includes up-to-date research information.
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Keywords: lamb ahdb sheep better returns programme AHDB Beef & Lamb Rachel Clifton University of Warwick Katie Brian Reducing Lameness for Better Returns | 1,529 | 808 | 1.892327 |
warc | 201704 | Our aim and goal, if you will, is at some point during the process each client will not only begin to relax and enjoy the process but more importantly will come to fully understand and believe that we really do have your best interest at heart.
Of course every builder aims to build to the client’s specific tastes and desires, though undoubtedly the builder’s style will show through to some degree. My personal preference is to build homes versus houses. Houses are built to show where homes are built to live.
While we strive to achieve each goal, every client we build for is a little different. Most people enter into the building process with some level of anxiety and apprehension. It’s a time of excitement but also of caution allowing your minds to play all the possible “what if” scenarios you can imagine. We’ll use our personalized touch to make sure you’re comfortable.
I want each home to uniquely meet the client’s needs – both present and future, to accommodate their lifestyles, and most importantly to create memories and share life with those who matter most in their lives. While this style may not have a formal name I like to think it exists in each home we build.
We want you to be happy with your home, pleased with the process, and feel like you’ve received great value for your investment – To reach that point where the client says “I trust you, do what you think is best”.
We at Michael Allen Homes do our best to invigorate and improve the local community. We focus our work to where we live – the Auburn/Opelika area(s) of Alabama. Only then can we truly help our neighbors.
Our aim every day is to reward your trust by making every decision with your best interest at heart – especially when no one is watching. Whether it be the process by which your home is built, the individuals working to build the home, the materials being used, or the money being spent – every decision is made with the client in mind. | 2,029 | 1,031 | 1.967992 |
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