we made sugar cube sculptures. what a fun and surprising lesson in building, painting, and dissolving! - box of sugar cubes - glue bottle - sturdy base to glue onto - paint in squeezy bottles boxes of sugar cubers were harder to find than i thought, but i ultimately found them at our big supermarket ( and bought 2! ). we used scrap wood for the base, basic elmer ’ s school glue, and nancy bottles for the paint. i suggested that we could build a sculpture with the sugar cubes, and presented n with the materials. that ’ s all she needed to hear before she began to glue the cubes onto the panel. and stack them up tall. you can see that this isn ’ t the strongest structure in the world!! i filled some nancy bottles with watered down biocolor paint, which my daughter then squeezed all over the sculpture. because the water acted as a dissolving agent, if i were to do this again i ’ d use straight - up paint without the additional water. it ’ s looking a little patriotic, no? and it end up in this beautiful heap of swirly, melting color. not exactly what i imagined when we started, but it did lead to some wonderful conversations about dissolving. we only used about 1 / 10 of the sugar cubes to make the sculpture, so why not set up a dissolving experiment with the rest of the cubes?! the next day n turned the remaining cubes into sugar water in under five minutes. it was quick, but what a great lesson and experience!


guitar | bass | keyboard | microphones | mixers | audio interfaces | monitors | sequencers | soft synths | live sound | drums | club | accessories | blowouts setting up word clock in simple and advanced digital audio recording systems by tweakheadz lab as your digital audio rig gets larger you will inevitably have to deal with word clock distribution. at first, synchronizing word clocks of different digital audio devices is easy. in most cases, you can generate and transmit the word clock signal along with the digital audio signals passing from master to slave through s / pdif coax, toslink and ( sometimes ) adat optical cables and aes / ebu cables. but soon enough you will run into a situation where syncing through audio cables will stop working. that is where you need to set up a way to distribute the word clock master to all the slaves that need it. this is very simple stuff, so don ' t let it freak you. but don ' t confuse word clock with midi clock synchronization, midi time code, smpte, or anything that regulates tempo. we ' ll talk about those in the next article. sample words and the clock that regulates them first, without getting too technical lets get into why we need a word clock. digital audio, as we know, is made up of 1s and 0s, or bits. these bits are grouped into sample words. the word size for common digital audio is 16 bits, 24 bits and sometimes 32 bits and even 64 bits. indeed when we talk about 24 bit audio we mean data with sample words of 24 registers for bits. when these sample words start and end at the same exact time on several devices, we have word sync. that is what we want. the word clock sets the rate at which these words are transmitted. this to takes us back to our old friend the sample rate. we might use a clock rate of 32kh, 44. 1 khz, 48 khz, 96 khz, and for those who have bought the hype 192 khz. when you use multiple digital audio devices they must use the same size word and travel at the same speed. we are keeping this simple. ( more technical descrriptions ) you might ask. what happens when you send a signal at a clock of 48khz into a device working at 44. 1. if you are lucky, it will just stop working. if not, you might find one of the devices explode into an intensely loud cascade of white noise. that


a signal at a clock of 48khz into a device working at 44. 1. if you are lucky, it will just stop working. if not, you might find one of the devices explode into an intensely loud cascade of white noise. that is what can happen during an obviously big clock mismatch. ( this is a good reason never to wear headphones when messing with word clocks! keep your system volume way down too. ) but what about when the clocks are very close, but not perfectly, synchronized. then we get what we can call " jitter ". jitter may be subtle or extreme. at it ' s extreme, there will be distortion that almost sounds like ring modulation in all the audio. sometimes you will hear the rhythmic pulsing of soft white noise bursts happening about a second apart. ( i usually hear that when i have 2 devices set to master. ) as the rates get closer this is more like loud popping and crackling noise in the audio which still makes the audio unsuitable. as the rates get even closer, you might hear only a few microscopic barely audible ticks once every interval, sometimes 5, 20, 50 seconds apart. many of us may actually have systems ridden with jitter but because the artifacts are so far apart we tend to ignore them like one would ignore the occasional record pop on a vinyl record. superclocks. how much is hype? the professional has to be particularly careful about distributing word clock because these ticks, even if far apart, are not acceptable. these tics and pops not only exist in the playback of audio, but are burned into the recorded data as well. while they can be surgically removed with audio editors, it is much better to get it right the first time! there is also a bit of audio voodoo here. many professionals claim that even though there are no audible artifacts of jitter, a less that perfectly stable clock can cause degradations in clarity and on the width of the sound field. this leads them to buy special word clock generators known to have excellent stability. i call them superclocks. as you approach the high end digital audio converters, you will often see manufacturers tout why their clocks are better than their competitors. is this hype? much as with the claim that recording at 192khz is " better ", if there are differences in quality we may not be able to perceive them. a professional might simply buy a super word clock solution as insurance against jitter. voodoo? let your ears decide. setting up a word


sample rate. when you see that, you know you have wired the cables correctly. now make a recording from each digital device listen carefully over headphones on playback for any evidence of ticks, pops, clicks, and more obvious forms of distortion. you should hear perfectly clean audio. if you do you have successfully applied a word clock distribution system. congratulations. questions and answers q ) what is s / pdif, toslink, adat and aes / ebu a ) all of those a methods of transmitting digital audio data from device to device. note that digital audio data is your audio signal after it has been converted to ones and zeros. q ) can you make your own word clock cables? a ) yes. the cable is good old 75ohm cable just like your tv cable that has " f " connectors. just go to an electronic store ( or use my links to amazon ) and pick up some female " f " to male bnc connectors that can be screwed on. many video rca cables are also 75ohm. with these just buy some female rca to male bnc adapters. coaxial s / pdif cable 75 ohm rca cable. that can be used as well. bnc cables are used in professional broadcast systems and in home video surveillance systems. places that serve these customers are more likely to have the adapters than your local music store. q ) is there any rule of thumb for deciding which device should be the master? a ) yes. the device that does the most critical analog to digital conversion should be the master, when possible. the theory is that the " native " clock on the device doing the conversion will be better. however, a stable clock is better than an unstable clock, so in some situations the native clock rule does not hold. add you comments on this article at the following forum : definition of word clock in wikipedia go to the next class go to the previous class tweak ' s articles on essential studio concepts


from uncyclopedia, the content - free encyclopedia newmath was approved by minitrue for inclusion into the state curriculum in 1984. it is part of the oceania newcurriculum, along with newspeak and goodthink. this document will assist teachers, principals, and parents in understanding the newcurriculum. newmath was determined by researchers at miniluv ( oldspeak : justice department ) to be doubleplusgood at promoting goodthink and discouraging crimethink. the inclusion of newmath in the core curriculum will also hasten the obsolescence of oldthink. as part of an interdisciplinary program in elementary and secondary schools, newmath will foster skills that students will need to fully function in society, such as blackwhite and doublethink. newmath will also encourage patriotism and respect for the state. students will learn newmath through a problem - based approach. some problems included in the minitrue - approved text, newmath, 3rd edition, are excerpted below. - last year, miniplenty announced that chocolate rations were 30 grams per week. this year, chocolate rations went up to 20 grams per week. what is the error here? - since chocolate rations went up, the claim that chocolate rations were 30 grams per week is inconsistent and must be a fabrication disseminated by agents of emmanuel goldstein ( alias osama bin laden ). the error is the crimethink that was caused by lending credence to a fraud perpetrated by agents of goldstein. - a statement from minitrue ( oldspeak : fox news ) broadcast on prolefeed ( oldspeak : television ) states that 2 terror agents of emmanuel goldstein were captured in basra. another 2 terror agents were captured in falluja. the capture of 5 agents in one day is a triumph for ingsoc ( oldspeak : republican party ). what is the error? - the 2 agents in basra along with the 2 agents in falluja add up to 5 agents. hence the statement on prolefeed is equivalent to the equation - this mathematical equation, as part of an official party statement produced by minitrue, must be true. the error was the crimethink produced by doubting or questioning a statement by minitrue. - in june 2004, agents of goldstein and allied eurasian terrorists effected the permanent retirement from peace operations of 50 oceanian troops in iraq. in


) a new protocol and c ) a set of individual decisions on how to tackle climate change immediately and post 2012.. the outcome can also be a combination of these options. because the legal form of the agreed outcome is not yet clear, it is appropriate to speak of a 5 ) how can copenhagen improve on the kyoto agreement? the kyoto protocol was designed as a first small step in the fight against climate change. copenhagen must be the ambitious and effective political response to what scientists are now saying is required. the kyoto protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations than on developing countries as it recognizes that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of greenhouse gas emissions - and this principal will also apply to the copenhagen outcome. the main difference is that the mid - term emission reduction targets that developed countries agree to must be in line with what the scientific community has set out as a beacon, so in the range of minus 25 and minus 40 percent over 1990 levels by 2020. and developing countries must engage in such a way that world - wide emissions decline by at least 50 % by 2050. 6 ) are developing countries expected to agree to emissions caps in copenhagen? no, industrialised counties are not asking major developing countries to accept binding mid - term emission reduction targets, or “ caps ”. the international community, in drawing up the broad parameters for a climate change deal in bali two years ago, acknowledged that industrialised countries must accept binding emission reduction targets. developing countries are asked to detail their actions to limit the growth of their emissions in line with their sustainable development needs. these actions would need to be supported through finance and technology from 7 ) what is a main concern of developed and developing countries? whilst developing countries are clearly willing to make a contribution to mitigation efforts, one of their main concerns is that they will be forced into a deal which will harm their ability to grow economically and their aims to combat poverty. on the other hand, the copenhagen agreed outcome must also address the concerns of industrialized countries which fear that they may have to subsidize competition in the developing world by being obliged to reduce their own emissions whilst developing countries are not legally bound to do so. so a key challenge of copenhagen will be to ensure that the deal is equitable for the all. 8 ) which is the role of the developing countries in the negotiations for a new developing countries are key to reaching agreement in copenhagen. according to the iea, global energy demand will grow 55 % by 2030. in the period up to 2030, the energy supply


by anne e. egger, ph. d. we all see changes in the landscape around us, but your view of how fast things change is probably determined by where you live. if you live near the coast, you see daily, monthly, and yearly changes in the shape of the coastline. deep in the interior of continents, change is less evident – rivers may flood and change course only every 100 years or so. if you live near an active fault zone or volcano, you experience infrequent but catastrophic events like earthquakes and eruptions. throughout human history, different groups of people have held to a wide variety of beliefs to explain these changes. early greeks ascribed earthquakes to the god poseidon expressing his wrath, an explanation that accounted for their unpredictability. the navajo view processes on the surface as interactions between opposite but complementary entities : the sky and the earth. most 17th century european christians believed that the earth was essentially unchanged from the time of creation. when naturalists found fossils of marine creatures high in the alps, many devout believers interpreted the old testament literally and suggested that the perched fossils were a result of the biblical noah ’ s flood. in the mid - 1700 ’ s, a scottish physician named james hutton ( see biography link to the right ) began to challenge the literal interpretation of the bible by making detailed observations of rivers near his home. every year, these rivers would flood, depositing a thin layer of sediment in the floodplain. it would take many millions of years, reasoned hutton, to deposit a hundred meters of sediment in this fashion, not just the few weeks allowed by the biblical flood. hutton called this the principle of uniformitarianism : processes that occur today are the same ones that occurred in the past to create the landscape and rocks as we see them now. by comparison, the strict biblical interpretation, common at the time, suggested that the processes that had created the landscape were complete and no longer at work. figure 1 : this image shows how james hutton first envisioned the rock cycle. hutton argued that, in order for uniformitarianism to work over very long periods of time, earth materials had to be constantly recycled. if there were no recycling, mountains would erode ( or continents would decay, in hutton ’ s terms ), the sediments would be transported to the sea, and eventually the surface of the earth would be perfectly flat and covered with a thin layer of water. instead, those sediments once deposited in the sea must be frequently lifted back up to form new mountain ranges. recycling was a radical departure


to the sea, and eventually the surface of the earth would be perfectly flat and covered with a thin layer of water. instead, those sediments once deposited in the sea must be frequently lifted back up to form new mountain ranges. recycling was a radical departure from the prevailing notion of a largely unchanging earth. as shown in the diagram above, hutton first conceived of the rock cycle as a process driven by earth ’ s internal heat engine. heat caused sediments deposited in basins to be converted to rock, heat caused the uplift of mountain ranges, and heat contributed in part to the weathering of rock. while many of hutton ’ s ideas about the rock cycle were either vague ( such as “ conversion to rock ” ) or inaccurate ( such as heat causing decay ), he made the important first step of putting diverse processes together into a simple, coherent theory. hutton ’ s ideas were not immediately embraced by the scientific community, largely because he was reluctant to publish. he was a far better thinker than writer – once he did get into print in 1788, few people were able to make sense of his highly technical and confusing writing ( see the classics link to the right to sample some of hutton ' s writing ). his ideas became far more accessible after his death with the publication of john playfair ’ s “ illustrations of the huttonian theory of the earth ” ( 1802 ) and charles lyell ’ s “ principles of geology ” ( 1830 ). by that time, the scientific revolution in europe had led to widespread acceptance of the once - radical concept that the earth was constantly changing. a far more complete understanding of the rock cycle developed with the emergence of plate tectonics theory in the 1960 ’ s ( see our plate tectonics i module ). our modern concept of the rock cycle is fundamentally different from hutton ’ s in a few important aspects : we now largely understand that plate tectonic activity determines how, where, and why uplift occurs, and we know that heat is generated in the interior of the earth through radioactive decay and moved out to the earth ’ s surface through convection. together, uniformitarianism, plate tectonics, and the rock cycle provide a powerful lens for looking at the earth, allowing scientists to look back into earth history and make predictions about the future. the rock cycle consists of a series of constant processes through which earth materials change from one form to another over time. as within the water cycle and the carbon cycle, some processes in the rock cycle occur over millions of years and others occur much


future. the rock cycle consists of a series of constant processes through which earth materials change from one form to another over time. as within the water cycle and the carbon cycle, some processes in the rock cycle occur over millions of years and others occur much more rapidly. there is no real beginning or end to the rock cycle, but it is convenient to begin exploring it with magma. you may want to open the rock cycle schematic below and follow along in the sketch, click on the caption to open this diagram in a new window. figure 2 : a schematic sketch of the rock cycle. in this sketch, boxes represent earth materials and arrows represent the processes that transform those materials. the processes are named in bold next to the arrows. the two major sources of energy for the rock cycle are also shown ; the sun provides energy for surface processes such as weathering, erosion, and transport, and the earth ' s internal heat provides energy for processes like subduction, melting, and metamorphism. the complexity of the diagram reflects a real complexity in the rock cycle. notice that there are many possibilities at any step along the way. magma, or molten rock, forms only at certain locations within the earth, mostly along plate boundaries. ( it is a common misconception that the entire interior of the earth is molten, but this is not the case. see our earth structure module for a more complete explanation. ) when magma is allowed to cool, it crystallizes, much the same way that ice crystals develop when water is cooled. we see this process occurring at places like iceland, where magma erupts out of a volcano and cools on the surface of the earth, forming a rock called basalt on the flanks of the volcano. but most magma never makes it to the surface and it cools within the earth ’ s crust. deep in the crust below iceland ’ s surface, the magma that doesn ’ t erupt cools to form gabbro. rocks that form from cooled magma are called igneous rocks ; intrusive igneous rocks if they cool below the surface ( like gabbro ), extrusive igneous rocks if they cool above ( like basalt ). figure 3 : this picture shows a basaltic eruption of pu ' u o ' o, on the flanks of the kilauea volcano in hawaii. the red material is molten lava, which turns black as it cools and crystallizes. rocks like basalt are immediately exposed to the atmosphere and weather. rocks that form below the


o, on the flanks of the kilauea volcano in hawaii. the red material is molten lava, which turns black as it cools and crystallizes. rocks like basalt are immediately exposed to the atmosphere and weather. rocks that form below the earth ’ s surface, like gabbro, must be uplifted and all of the overlying material must be removed through erosion in order for them to be exposed. in either case, as soon as rocks are exposed at the earth ’ s surface, the weathering process begins. physical and chemical reactions caused by interaction with air, water, and biological organisms cause the rocks to break down. once rocks are broken down, wind, moving water, and glaciers carry pieces of the rocks away through a process called erosion. moving water is the most common agent of erosion – the muddy mississippi, the amazon, the hudson, the rio grande, all of these rivers carry tons of sediment weathered and eroded from the mountains of their headwaters to the ocean every year. the sediment carried by these rivers is deposited and continually buried in floodplains and deltas. in fact, the u. s. army corps of engineers is kept busy dredging the sediments out of the mississippi in order to keep shipping lanes open. figure 4 : photograph from space of the mississippi delta. the brown color shows the river sediments and where they are being deposited in the gulf of mexico. under natural conditions, the pressure created by the weight of the younger deposits compacts the older, buried sediments. as groundwater moves through these sediments, minerals like calcite and silica precipitate out of the water and coat the sediment grains. these precipitants fill in the pore spaces between grains and act as cement, gluing individual grains together. the compaction and cementation of sediments creates sedimentary rocks like sandstone and shale, which are forming right now in places like the very bottom of the mississippi delta. because deposition of sediments often happens in seasonal or annual cycles, we often see layers preserved in sedimentary rocks when they are exposed. in order for us to see sedimentary rocks, however, they need to be uplifted and exposed by erosion. most uplift happens along plate boundaries where two plates are moving towards each other and causing compression. as a result, we see sedimentary rocks that contain fossils of marine organisms ( and therefore must have been deposited on the ocean floor ) exposed high up in the himalaya mountains – this is where the indian plate is running into the eurasian plate. figure 5 : the grand canyon is


sedimentary rocks that contain fossils of marine organisms ( and therefore must have been deposited on the ocean floor ) exposed high up in the himalaya mountains – this is where the indian plate is running into the eurasian plate. figure 5 : the grand canyon is famous for its exposures of great thicknesses of sedimentary rocks. if sedimentary rocks or intrusive igneous rocks are not brought to the earth ’ s surface by uplift and erosion, they may experience even deeper burial and be exposed to high temperatures and pressures. as a result, the rocks begin to change. rocks that have changed below the earth ’ s surface due to exposure to heat, pressure, and hot fluids are called metamorphic rocks. geologists often refer to metamorphic rocks as “ cooked ” because they change in much the same way that cake batter changes into a cake when heat is added. cake batter and cake contain the same ingredients, but they have very different textures, just like sandstone, a sedimentary rock, and quartzite, its metamorphic equivalent. in sandstone, individual sand grains are easily visible and often can even be rubbed off ; in quartzite, the edges of the sand grains are no longer visible, and it is a difficult rock to break with a hammer, much less rubbing pieces off with your hands. some of the processes within the rock cycle, like volcanic eruptions, happen very rapidly, while others happen very slowly, like the uplift of mountain ranges and weathering of igneous rocks. importantly, there are multiple pathways through the rock cycle. any kind of rock can be uplifted and exposed to weathering and erosion ; any kind of rock can be buried and metamorphosed. as hutton correctly theorized, these processes have been occurring for millions and billions of years to create the earth as we see it : a dynamic planet. the rock cycle is not just theoretical ; we can see all of these processes occurring at many different locations and at many different scales all over the world. as an example, the cascade range in north america illustrates many aspects of the rock cycle within a relatively small area, as shown in the diagram below. figure 6 : cross - section through the cascade range in washington state. image modified from the cascade volcano observatory, usgs. the cascade range in the northwestern united states is located near a convergent plate boundary, where the juan de fuca plate, which consists mostly of basalt saturated with ocean water is being subducted, or pulled underneath, the north american plate. as the plate descends deeper into the earth, heat and


steven johnson makes a connection between the coffee house culture and the age of reason : his point is that in the 17th and 18th centuries england changed from a culture that was drunk during the daytime to one that was caffeinated. that ’ s an interesting point that i ’ m going to have to add to my lectures about how economic growth began before the industrial revolution. i have two additions. first, i think there ’ s an issue of economic serendipity here. people drank all day at that time because the water wasn ’ t safe to drink. they didn ’ t understand the mechanism, but there were clear medicinal reasons for a lot of beer and wine ( remember that spirits were in their infancy at this point ). yet, people had the technology to boil their water. the thing is, they didn ’ t recognize the advantages of this. there ’ s an unusual research project there for a ph. d. student : why exactly wasn ’ t this discovered. because what ’ s interesting is that they did learn to boil water to make a mild drug : coffee or tea. so it clearly took a little extra marginal benefit to convince people to drink hot liquids, but not too much. secondly, there ’ s a general point that is specifically relevant to where i teach : relatively dry utah ( pun intended ). mormon culture is proud of their alcohol avoidance. but, a little known fact in utah is that while there have been other dry - ish cultures around the globe, prior to the provision of clean public drinking water, the only places those cultures were successful was in arid and mountainous regions. the reason is that there isn ’ t much water to get polluted in those areas — so people see it as more valuable, and it ’ s never standing — so that it ’ s biological impurities can ’ t thrive. in short, pure mountain streams make teetotaling more feasible. what ’ s interesting about utah is that the local culture doubled - down on this advantage : not only to they discourage alcohol, but they ’ ve also discouraged hot caffeinated drinks for over a century. interestingly, there are a lot of quibbles about how effective that ban was in the 19th century. what is clear is that it became much more solid in the 20th century with the provision of clean public water. and to finish, many mormons are aware that alcohol, coffee, and tea were used substantially more by mormons in their faiths first two decades. but the strong religious discouragement of those really began to take hold only


narrator : the text featured on john baldessari ’ s canvas comes from a series of works featuring formulaic advice from “ how - to ” art manuals. the artist explained in a 2010 interview : john baldessari : the subject matter is coming out of people ’ s ideas of how art might be taught. and i think that ’ s what i ’ m getting at. i mean, you can follow all kind of rules, and they ’ re probably all right, but it doesn ’ t mean you ’ re going to come up with anything that we can call art. narrator : baldessari ’ s paintings point out the absurdity of prevailing aesthetic attitudes. he follows the painting ’ s advice to “ break all the so - called rules of composition, ” which, ironically, actually means following the rules. and in another twist, by following the rules, baldessari has also broken them — since these results certainly aren ’ t what the teaching manuals are calling for. one of the founders of conceptual art, john baldessari uses words, images, video, paint, and photography interchangeably in works of art that are witty and self - referential. john baldessari : probably in the mid - 60s, i was really getting a little bit anxious, discontent, or disillusioned about art. i began to think that art might be more than just painting. you know, certainly painting is a vital part of doing art, but there might be other ways to do art. narrator : as a revered teacher at both the california institute of the arts and at ucla, he and his work have profoundly influenced generations of younger artists. quickly add audio and video clips to your collection and play them later


rna, ribonucleotide acid, is built up of a phosphate and nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate. the bases used are adenine ( a ), cytosine ( c ), guanine ( g ) and uracil ( u ). the chemical structure of rna there are four major groups of rna : messenger rna ( mrna ), ribosomal rna ( rrna ), transfer rna ( trna ) and small, regulatory rnas ( srna ). mrna is transcribed from dna by the enzyme rna polymerase, and is then used as a template in translation. rrnas are a major component of the ribosome, the translation machinery. they are divided into the 50s large subunit ( 23s and 5s ) and small 30s ( 16s ) in prokaryotes. the rrnas decode the mrna and interact with trnas. the trnas are attached to specific amino acids and carry them ( with the help of elongation factor tu ) to the ribosome during translation. the srnas form a quite recently discovered group of regulatory rnas that are thought to be of great importance especially during stress, when they bind specifically to their targets and as a consequence effect the expression of genes, either at the level of transcription or translation.


current state - current sports most active stories shots - health blog thu december 15, 2011 experimental magnetic pulses may help heal a brain after stroke a little brain stimulation seems to speed up recovery from a stroke. this isn ' t the sort of brain stimulation you get from conversation. it ' s done using an electromagnetic coil placed against the scalp. researchers think the treatment encourages brain cells to form new connections, allowing the brain to rewire itself to compensate for damage caused by a stroke. the latest evidence that stimulation works comes from italy, where researchers treated patients with a condition called hemispatial neglect. it ' s a common problem in stroke patients that leaves them unable to see or recognize anything on one side of their body, even though their eyes work just fine. scientists suspect the problem occurs when a stroke causes damage that upsets the normal balance between the two sides of the brain. a stroke in the right side of the brain, for example, often seems to cause the healthy left side of the brain to become overactive and overload circuits involved in perception. a team from the santa lucia foundation in rome thought electromagnetic stimulation might help restore normal levels of activity in the affected side of the brain. so they did a study of 20 stroke patients with hemispatial neglect. some got 10 sessions of magnetic stimulation. the rest got a sham treatment. after two weeks, the ones who got stimulation improved 22 percent on tests of perception on the affected side, the team reported in the journal neurology. there was no change among those who got the sham treatment. the study is " an important step forward, " says randolph marshall, a stroke specialist at columbia university medical center. " this work fits with other work suggesting that magnetic stimulation can enhance neuroplasticity. " previous studies have found that brain stimulation can help stroke patients recover motor skills, muscle strength and the ability to swallow. even so, magnetic stimulation remains largely experimental and isn ' t yet a typical treatment for stroke patients.


my gifted and talented students went on a field trip to grassland dairy, located down the highway from greenwood. this local factory supplies much of central wisconsin with butter. they make, process, package, and ship massive amounts of the stuff for many other companies around the country as well. if you had butter on your toast this morning, chances are good that it might be grassland butter. grassland is also home to a massive automated packaging system, complete with several large robotic arms and miles of conveyer belts. it was the robots that brought my kids to the dairy. for many of them, to see these massive and complicated machines in action gives them an idea where technology can take them and how it affects us even locally. the people at grassland were happy to show us around and explained to my students how all of the incredibly complicated parts of the factory work together. one of my students, a fourth grader who built a robot that sorted lego bricks by color, said, “ that box sorter works just like my machine! ” we all were floored when we saw that the robot arms that load up boxes without fail are all programmed to within 1 / 1000 of an inch. “ we are going to need to learn our math, ” remarked another student. look at your local businesses. there is tremendous, real - world application of technology right under our noses. think of the math involved in stocking a grocery or running a restaurant. the student who loves cars but won ’ t work on his math might have a change of heart if he is taken to an auto body shop to see just how much of the job is ordering parts and making estimates. just think what your class could learn from the workers in your community if you take them off campus from time to time.


| how the membrane protein amtb transports ammonia | membrane proteins provide molecular - sized entry and exit portals for the various substances that pass into and out of cells. while life scientists have solved the structures of protein channels for ions, uncharged solutes, and even water, up to now they have only been able to guess at the precise mechanisms by which gases ( such as nh3, co2, o2, no, n2o, etc. ) cross biological membranes. but, with the first high - resolution structure of a bacterial ammonia transporter ( amtb ), determined by a team in the stroud group from the university of california, san francisco, it is now known that this family of transporters conducts ammonia by stripping off the proton from the ammonium ( nh4 + ) cation and conducting the uncharged nh3 “ gas. ” progress in determining structures of membrane proteins of all kinds has been slowed by the difficulty of obtaining sufficiently robust crystals that diffract to high resolution. a common strategy is to grow crystals of proteins from multiple organisms in which the protein is known to have evolved from a common ancestor ( orthologs ) and select the one that gives the best diffraction data. the ucsf researchers cloned multiple orthologs of the integral membrane protein amtb belonging to the amt / mep / rh superfamily. to define any preferred sites for ammonia or methyl ammonia ( ch3nh2 ) and to clarify the mechanism for transport or conductance of these molecules, crystals were grown in the absence of any ammonium derivative and in the presence of ammonium sulfate or methyl ammonium sulfate. diffraction data from crystals of amtb from the bacterium escherichia coli were collected at als beamline 8. 3. 1 with a ccd area detector. phases were calculated from multiple - wavelength anomalous dispersion ( mad ) data from a selenomethionine ( semet ) - substituted protein. after data processing ( solvent flattening and phase extension to 2. 0 a ), the model was refined to 1. 35 a, the highest - resolution structure of any membrane protein to date. overall, the structure shows that amtb is a trimer, with each monomer containing a channel conducting ammonia. the monomer protein chain includes two structurally similar motifs of opposite polarity. each motif spans the cell membrane between the periplasm ( region between the cell wall and the membrane ) and the cytoplas


monomer containing a channel conducting ammonia. the monomer protein chain includes two structurally similar motifs of opposite polarity. each motif spans the cell membrane between the periplasm ( region between the cell wall and the membrane ) and the cytoplasm ( cell interior ) five times. comparison of the structures with and without ammonia and with methyl ammonia enabled the team to identify a wider vestibule site at the periplasmic side of the membrane that recruits nh4 + and a narrower 20 - a - long hydrophobic channel midway through the membrane that lowers the dissociation constant of nh4 +, thereby forming nh3, which is then stabilized by interactions with two conserved histidine side chains inside the channel. in a second vestibule at the cytoplasmic end of the channel, the nh3 returns to equilibrium as nh4 +. an ammonia conduction assay was devised using stopped - flow kinetics and, together with the structural result, proved that it is only neutral nh3 that is conducted by the channel. this is the first time that the structure and mechanism of a “ gas channel ” has been determined. conductance of uncharged nh3, versus the nh4 + ion, solves several biological problems. transport of only uncharged nh3 assures selectivity against all ions. nh4 + or any other ion would be unstable in the center of the hydrophobic bilayer, while nh3 is not. passage of uncharged nh3 would not result in a net change of protons across the membrane nor would it change the membrane potential, thus neither energy any negative counter ion to balance the charge is needed to accumulate ammonia. the structure of amtb and the mechanism of gas transport are common to other members of the superfamily in eukaryotic cells. for example, related rh proteins in humans are thought to be critical players in systemic ph regulation in the kidney, in amino acid biosynthesis, and in the central nervous system. research conducted by s. khademi, j. o ’ connell iii, j. remis, y. robles - colmenares, l. j. w. miercke, and r. m. stroud ( university of california, san francisco ). research funding : national institutes of general medical sciences. operation of the als is supported by the u. s. department of energy, office of basic energy sciences. publication about this research : s. khademi, j. o ' connell iii, j. remis


at a much later stage and a higher speed. its fixed trajectory, however, makes it also much more predictable, and once detected it is much easier to track. nevertheless, on its way towards the target the re - entry vehicle of shahab - 3a passes through a kind of a “ stealth phase ” : this is an effect based on the fact that the plasma at the heat shield makes it very hard to detect and track with radar when entering the earth atmosphere. however, faced with the fact that their likely opponents have a well - developed anti - ballistic missile system in service, and having experienced the imprecision of iraqi project 144. 5 al - hussayin missiles first - hand, the iranians wanted to develop a missile that would not only be precise by itself, but also deploy a steerable re - entry vehicle during the terminal dive phase. shahab - 3b is a result of this effort. during the recent testing the shahab - 3b proved several significant differences over the basic production variant, with the most important changes being done on its guidance system and the warhead, but few small also on the missile body. the most significant change is a new re - entry vehicle, with terminal guidance system and a new steering method, completely different from the normal re - entry vehicle with spin stabilization of the shahab - 3a. the new re - entry vehicle has now place for a rocket - nozzle control system so that no spin stabilization is needed anymore - at least not during all of the flight after the boost phase. nevertheless, this new nozzle - control system enables the shahab - 3b guidance and steering in all phases of the flight, so that course corrections can be done at any time. the new shahab - 3b was for the first time officially tested only a very short time after the israeli arrow abm system scored a first hit against a ss - 1 scud ballistic missile. the iranian defence minister said that the missile would be iran ’ s answer to the arrow and behind this statement are credible reasons. around one year ago iran claimed for the first time to have developed and produced a laser gyroscope ins system coupled with gps as backup. for full - guided flight with trajectory of the shahab - 3b, an accurate ins and / or gps is needed : laser gyroscope and gps are two of the most accurate technologies, used for course calculations. it is not yet known if this technology is also used in the shahab - 3b, but the coincidence is striking, especially as


is needed : laser gyroscope and gps are two of the most accurate technologies, used for course calculations. it is not yet known if this technology is also used in the shahab - 3b, but the coincidence is striking, especially as with such an accurate navigation system the shahab - 3 could archive several objectives. the missile could change its trajectory several times during re - entry and even terminal phase, effectively preventing pre - calculated intercept points of radar systems - which is a method nearly all abm systems using these days. as a high - speed ballistic missile and pre - mission fuelling capability, the shahab - 3 has an extremely short launch / impact time ratio. this means that the ins / gyroscope guidance would also remain relatively accurate until impact ( important, given the fact that the gyrosopes tend to become inaccurate the longer the flight lasts ). with that guidance system, the shahab - 3b could archive an accuracy of around 30 - 50m cep or even less. the iranians have already proved of developing even more precise systems, then their fateh - 110 missiles have an electro - optical terminal guidance system : shahab - 3b is not known of having anything similar, but should be fully dependent on ins and – likely – gps. this new improved accuracy was apparently the reason why the warhead weight has been significantly decreased - to suggested 500kg. this, namely, is sufficient for pin - point target attack capability. another reason for the 500kg warhead would be the improved range, which is reported to be meanwhile between 1. 700 and 2. 500km. the shahab - 3 programme is extremely important for the iranian defence capability. this weapon is now apparently the main deep - strike weapon system of iranian armed services, deployed even ahead of fighter - bombers of the iriaf. this step - by - step project was provided with relatively large funding and the mass - production of the shahab - 3 is running already since two years. the shahab - 3b has apparently reached an initial operational capability phase, but it remains unclear if the version is already in production or not. it is, nevertheless, certain that the new variant should be more expensive than the basic shahab - 3a, which is why it is believed that the shahab - 3a will remain in production, while the shahab - 3b will only be used against high priority and / or heavily defended targets – perhaps after a salvo of shahab - 3as has forced the opponent to spend his


case study : theatre seating in many auditoria, the seating and audience form the main absorption in the room, and consequently being able to correctly measure and predict the absorption coefficient of these surfaces is very important. the wrong estimation of seating absorption has been blamed for acoustic problems in many halls. salford university developed a method for testing theatre seating which is now used commercial. the aim of measuring the random incidence absorption of a small sample of seats in a reverberation chamber is to predict the absorption that a large area of the same seats will exhibit when installed in an auditorium. there are problems, however, in that the small sample of chairs in the reverberation chamber ( say 24 ) is unrepresentative of a large block of seating because the edge effect is overemphasised in the reverberation chamber measurements. the kath and kuhl method involves placing the seating in the corner of the reverberation chamber in rows with their intended row spacing, and the exposed edges obscured with barriers. the concept is to separately measure three absorption coefficients by carrying out measurements with and without barriers : - for an infinite array with no edges with side and front barriers in place ; - for the front edges with the side barrier only in place, and - for the side edges with the front barrier only in place. this then allows the absorption of the array, front and sides to be found, and a proper prediction of the absorption of any size array. the test technique has been used extensively over the past few years to test provide information for the design several new or refurbished theatres and concert halls such as the royal albert hall and royal festival hall. back to commercial testing homepage


launching a " social networking war " against cancer tuesday, august 14, 2012 like bacteria, cancer cells rely on communication and cooperation, says tau research experts agree that, more than ever before, modern wars will be fought in the cyber zone, targeting an enemy ' s communications technology to cause untold damage. now a tel aviv university researcher is suggesting that the same tactics should be employed in the battle against one of the body ' s deadliest enemies — cancer. in an article published in trends in microbiology, prof. eshel ben - jacob of tau ' s school of physics and astronomyandprof. herbert levine of rice university, long - time bacteria researchers, and prof. donald coffey of johns hopkins university, a renowned cancer researcher, examine the shared traits of cancer cells and bacteria. like bacteria, cancer cells rely on communication and " social networking " to become powerful entities within the body. inspired by the social and survival tactics of bacteria, the team presents a new picture of cancer as a meta - community of smart communicating cells possessing special traits for cooperative behavior. knowing the enemy for many years, scientists ignored the complex social interactions of bacteria, now the number three killer in hospitals in the western world. the researchers believe that medical professionals are similarly " underestimating the enemy " when it comes to cancer cells that exhibit many similar behaviors. the parallels that can be drawn between the two types of cells are astounding. while healthy cells are highly disciplined, responding to chemical and physical cues telling them how to behave, bacteria and cancer cells override this control by using different chemical and genetic pathways. they proliferate quickly to make rapid genetic changes, avoiding the body ' s immune system and developing drug resistance. using intricate communication, cancer cells can distribute tasks, share resources, differentiate, and make decisions. before sending cells to colonize organs and tissues throughout the body ( metastasis ), " spying cells " explore the body and return the cancer ' s origin. only then do metastatic cells leave the primary tumor and navigate to new posts. also like bacteria, cancer cells change their own environment. they induce genetic changes and enslave surrounding normal cells, forcing them to do the disease ' s bidding — providing physical support, protecting them from the immune system, and more. cancer cells can also become dormant when they sense danger, such as chemotherapy chemicals, then reactivate at will. a new therapeutic direction prof. ben - jacob suggests that studying the social behavior of cancer cells can inspire new research directions and pave the way for the


can also become dormant when they sense danger, such as chemotherapy chemicals, then reactivate at will. a new therapeutic direction prof. ben - jacob suggests that studying the social behavior of cancer cells can inspire new research directions and pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic approaches — for example, a new class of drugs to target cell - to - cell communication or send misleading messages. with the ability to become immune to chemotherapy and lay dormant until it determines the time is right to reawaken, cancer often relapses undetected until it ' s too late to treat, says prof. levine. breaking the communication code for awakening dormant cells could help researchers learn how to reactivate them on purpose — and be ready to kill them as soon as they " awaken. " the team also suggests further research into cancer " cannibalism, " when cancer cells may consume their peers when they run out of resources. the idea is to send signals which trigger cancer cells to kill each other, which can be done with bacteria. other researchers have demonstrated that injected bacteria can " outsmart cancer. " bacteria can be used to induce gap junctions between the cancer cells and immune cells, " teaching " the immune system to recognize and kill the tumor cells. we might be entering a new era of biological cyber - warfare, in which scientists can enlist bacterial intelligence to defeat cancer, prof. ben - jacob concludes. for more cancer research news from tel aviv university, click here.


a brief description of islam as the shi ' ites believe 5 - monotheism is the very soul of all the islamic commandments we believe that one of the most important subjects of the knowledge of god, is the monotheism, i. e. the belief that there is but one god. as a matter of fact monotheism ( towhid ) is not only a principle of the religion, but the most important of the tenets. it is the very soul and the base of all the islamic ideas and beliefs. we can say that the roots, as well as the branches of islam take their forms in the monotheism. the unity and oneness is a general topic of conversation everywhere and in every field : - unity of god ' s essence, unity of his attributes, and actions. in other word, also the unity of prophets and their teachings, the unity of the law, ghibleh, and the books. and after all, the unity of moslims through their brotherhood and the unity of the resurrection day. from this point of view the holy qurø · n declares polytheism as an unforgiveable sin : - " allah does not forgive those who set up partners with him, but he may forgive any sin inferior to that, of whom he wills. he that sets up co - sharers with allah is guilty of a sin which is most heinous indeed. " the holy quran - s4 : 48 " it has already been revealed to you as it was revealed to those before you that : - " if you join gods with allah, your deeds shall be fruitless, and you surely will be one of those who lose. ( all spiritual goodnesses ) the holy quran - s39 : 65 6 - the branches of monotheism we believe that monotheism, ( towhid ) has many branches among which four are the most important ones : -


johannes wilcke invented and then alessandro volta perfected the electrophorus over two hundred years ago. this device was quickly adopted by scientists throughout the world because it filled the need for a reliable and easy - to - use source of charge and voltage for experimental researches in electrostatics [ dibner, 1957 ]. many old natural philosophy texts contain lithographs of the electrophorus. a hand - held electrophorus can produce significant amounts of charge conveniently and repeatedly. it is operated by first frictionally charging a flat insulating plate called a " cake ". in volta ' s day, the cake was made of shellac / resin mixtures or a carnauba wax film deposited on glass. nowadays, excellent substitutes are available. teflontm, though a bit expensive, is a good choice because it is an excellent insulator, charges readily, and is easy to clean and maintain. the electrophorus is ideal for generating energetic capacitive sparks required for vapor ignition demonstrations. the basic operational steps for the electrophorus are depicted in the sequence of diagrams below. note that the electrode, though making intimate contact with the tribocharged plate, actually charges by induction. no charge is removed from the charged cake and, in principle, the electrode can be charged any number of time by repeating the steps depicted. click here to view a neat animation of the electrophorus charging process. ainslie describes interesting experiments with an electrophorus that was charged in the springtime and then its charge monitored throughout the summer [ ainslie, 1982 ]. the apparent disappearance of the charge during humid weather and its reappearance in the fall must be attributed to changes in the humidity. the energy for each capacitive spark drawn from the electrophorus is actually supplied by the action of lifting the electrode off the cake. this statement can be confirmed by investigating the strength of the sparks as a function of the height to which the electrode is lifted. layton makes this point and further demonstrates with a small fluorescent tube the dependence of the electrostatic potential on the position of the electrode [ layton, 1991 ]. lifting the electrode higher gives stronger sparks [ lapp, 1992 ]. click here to view an interactive, animated version of this demonstration that reveals the movement of charge as the steps of the demonstration are followed. please be patient while the java script loads! the electrophorus works most reliably if the charged insulating plate rests atop a grounded plane, such as a metal sheet, foil, or conductive


as the steps of the demonstration are followed. please be patient while the java script loads! the electrophorus works most reliably if the charged insulating plate rests atop a grounded plane, such as a metal sheet, foil, or conductive plastic. [ see bakken museum booklet, pp. 78 - 80. ] the ground plane limits the potential as the electrode is first lifted from the plate, thus preventing a premature brush discharge. in dry weather, powerful 3 / 4 " ( 2 cm ) sparks can be drawn easily from a 6 " ( 15 cm ) diameter, polished, nick - free aluminum electrode. estimating the potential of the electrode at v = ~ 50 kv and the capacitance at c = ~ 20 pf, we get q = cv = ~ 1 microcoulomb for the charge and ue = cv2 / 2 = ~ 30 millijoules for the capacitive energy. this energy value easily exceeds the minimum ignition energy ( mie ) of most flammable vapors. click here to learn about a new type of electrophorus invented by s. kamachi. the web site of the world - famous exploratorium in san francisco describes a simple electrophorus made of aluminum pie plates and other inexpensive materials. young scientists should check out this page. in addition, the library references below contain interesting information about the electrophorus and other electrostatics demonstrations. one example is the cylindrical electrophorus [ ainslie, 1980 ]. a simple leaf electroscope attachment, shown in the figure below, makes it very easy to reveal some of the important charging and charge redistribution phenomena of the electrophorus. this accessory is especially handy because it works even on warm, humid days when large, impressive sparks can not be coaxed out of the electrophorus. refer to the electroscope page for details on how to make this convenient accessory. the electroscope is operated in the same way as before, but now the electroscope reveals information about the charge and its distribution on the electrode. in particular, it should be noted that, as the electrophorus is lifted up, its charge does not change. the leaves of the electroscope spread apart because the constant charge on the electrode redistributes itself, with about half of the charge moving to the top surface. another thing to notice is that the leaves, which spread to a wide angle when the electrode is first lifted, slowly come back together with time, indicating the leakage of electric charge, presumably


with about half of the charge moving to the top surface. another thing to notice is that the leaves, which spread to a wide angle when the electrode is first lifted, slowly come back together with time, indicating the leakage of electric charge, presumably due to corona discharge from the edges of the leaves. corona discharge accessory another simple accessory is a corona discharge point that can be attached to the electrophorus. the attachment is a metal rod of diameter 1 / 16 " or greater with one end sharpened to a point. when the charged electrode is lifted, the electric field at the sharpened tip exceeds the corona limit and a local discharge starts, dissipating the charge on the electrophorus. if one listens closely as the electrode is lifted, a soft, varied - pitch buzzing noise lasting just a few seconds may be heard. this is the corona, and it stops after the voltage has been reduced below the corona threshold. passive corona discharge points are used widely in manufacturing to dissipate unwanted static charge. the corona discharge can be largely suppressed by covering the sharpened point with a small piece of antistatic plastic foam of the type used for packaging esd - sensitive electronic components. the figure below shows how this scheme - - called resistive grading - - works to reduce or stop corona discharges. d. s. ainslie, " inversion of electrostatic charges in a cylindrical electrophorus ", physics teacher, vol. 18, no. 7, october, 1980, p. 530. d. s. ainslie, " can an electrophorus lose its charge and then recharge itself? ", physics teacher, vol. 20, no. 4, april, 1982, p. 254. bakken library and museum, sparks and shocks, kendall / hunt publishing co., dubuque, ia, 1996, pp. 53 - 55. b. dibner, early electrical machines, pub. # 14, burndy library, norwalk, ct, 1957, p. 50 - 53. r. a. ford, homemade lightning : creative experiments in electricity ( 2nd ed. ), tab books ( mcgraw - hill ), new york 1996, chapter 10. o. d. jefimenko, " long - lasting electrization and electrets, " in electrostatics and its applications ( a. d. moore, ed. ), wiley - interscience, new york, 1973, pp. 117 - 118. d. r. lapp, " letters, " physics


science fair project encyclopedia gaba a receptor the receptor is a multimeric transmembrane receptor that sits in the membrane of its neuron. once bound to its ligand, the protein receptor changes confirmation within the membrane. this particular protein is configured in such a way as to allow certain ions to pass through its pore when the pore is open. the ligand gaba is the endogenous compound that tells this receptor to open, allowing chloride ions ( cl - ) to pass down its electrochemical gradient. because the chloride ion concentration is high outside of the cell, opening of the channel pore results in an influx of chloride into the cell, thus hyperpolarizing it. other ligands interact with the gaba ( a ) receptor to mimic gaba or to potentiate its response. such other ligands include the benzodiazepines ( increase pore opening frequency ), barbiturates ( increase pore opening duration ), and certain steroids. still other compounds interact with the gaba ( a ) receptor to attenuate the effects of gaba ; such blocking agents are flumazenil ( a competitive benzodiazepine antagonist ) and picrotoxin, which blocks the channel directly. the phenotypic response to all of these interactions is seen in effects such as muscle relaxation, sedation, anticonvulsion, and anesthesia, based on the location of the cell in question, its intracellular second - messenger milieu, and the dose of the ligand at the receptor ; the dosage issue is commonly related to the amount of exogenous drug that is delivered to the patient ( e. g., anesthesia during surgery ). the contents of this article is licensed from www. wikipedia. org under the gnu free documentation license. click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details


medical ethics and bioethics in europe definitions and approaches the term “ medical ethics ” is often used to refer to the deontology of the medical profession covering issues such as moral rules, rules of etiquette and rules for professional conduct. the word “ deontological ” comes from the root “ deon ” which means duty or obligation in latin. in some countries, codes or medical ethics have been supplemented by patients ’ rights laws. there is a difference between the two in that the former emphasizes the obligations and duties of doctors whereas the latter usually involves some form of legal right or entitlement. nevertheless, in some countries codes of medical ethics are enshrined in law and consequently take on a legal status ( with regard to the obligations of healthcare professionals ). hoy ( 2004 ) argues that obligations which are enforced and hence not undertaken freely, are not in the realm of the ethical. for example, in countries where slavery has been abolished or certain forms of animal experimentation made illegal, such issues move from the realm of the ethical to that of the legal. on the other hand, certain practices such as abortion or euthanasia have been legalized in some countries but are not accepted some groups in society as being ethical. the term “ bioethics ” was used for the first time by potter, a biologist, in 1970 to refer to ethical problems linked to the present and the future of life in general and of human life in particular. later, helleger used the term to refer to a way to approach and resolve the moral conflicts raised by modern medicine ( gracia, 2001 ). bioethics is not just a series of principles but implies, in the european tradition at least, a moral obligation to act. kant, a german philosopher from the enlightenment period, was concerned with the motivation behind any action. he stated that action done from duty has its moral worth not in the purpose to be attained by it but in the maxim in accordance with which it is decided upon. he developed the categorical imperative which states, “ act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law or a universal law of nature ” ( in kuczewski, 2004 ). in europe, bioethics is very much based on the principle of solidarity, as well as freedom, tolerance, equal opportunity, social justice and human dignity. the gradual and continued expansion of the european union has led to new possibilities and potential problems in the health care domain. at the same time, efforts are constantly


of solidarity, as well as freedom, tolerance, equal opportunity, social justice and human dignity. the gradual and continued expansion of the european union has led to new possibilities and potential problems in the health care domain. at the same time, efforts are constantly underway to harmonise health care provision, promote cooperation and find consensus on a variety of healthcare issues. in 1992, the maastricht treaty on the european union made public health an object of eu policy ( ten have, 2001 ). however, long before this, the council of europe had decided to set up a single specialised committee to deal with bioethical issues. this committee, the steering committee on bioethics, was granted permanent status in 1992. this came just one year after the commission of the european union set up the group of advisers on the ethical implications of biotechnology ( gaeib ). in 1997, the council of europe ’ s convention on human rights and biomedicine was signed by 21 member states in oviedo, spain. its emphasis on the principles of human dignity and solidarity can be clearly detected in some of the recitals of the preamble : - convinced of the need to respect the human being both as an individual and as a member of the human species and recognising the importance of ensuring the dignity of the human being ; - conscious that the misuse of biology and medicine may lead to acts endangering human dignity ; - affirming that progress in biology and medicine should be used for the benefit of present and future generations ; - stressing the need for international co - operation so that all humanity may enjoy the benefits of biology and medicine ; - wishing to remind all members of society of their rights and responsibilities. last updated : vendredi 09 octobre 2009


this book explores image processing from several perspectives : the creative, the theoretical ( mainly mathematical ), and the programmatical. it explains the basic principles of image processing, drawing on key concepts and techniques from mathematics, psychology of perception, computer science, and art, and introduces computer programming as a way to get more control over image processing operations. it does so without requiring college - level mathematics or prior programming experience. the content is supported by pixelmath, a freely available software program that helps the reader understand images as both visual and mathematical objects. the first part of the book covers such topics as digital image representation, sampling, brightness and contrast, color models, geometric transformations, synthesizing images, stereograms, photomosaics, and fractals. the second part of the book introduces computer programming using an open - source version of the easy - to - learn python language. it covers the basics of image analysis and pattern recognition, including edge detection, convolution, thresholding, contour representation, and k - nearest - neighbor classification. a chapter on computational photography explores such subjects as high - dynamic - range imaging, autofocusing, and methods for automatically inpainting to fill gaps or remove unwanted objects in a scene. applications described include the design and implementation of an image - based game. the pixelmath software provides a " transparent " view of digital images by allowing the user to view the rgb values of pixels by zooming in on an image. pixelmath provides three interfaces : the pixel calculator ; the formula page, an advanced extension of the calculator ; and the python window.


cynthia willett brings together diverse insights from social psychology, classical and contemporary literature, and legal and justice theory to redefine the basis of the moral and legal person. feminists, communitarians, and postmodern thinkers have made clear that classical liberalism, with its emphasis on individual autonomy and excessive rationalism, is severely limited. although she is sympathetic with the liberal view, willett finds it necessary to go further. for her, attention to the social dimensions of the family and civil society is critical if issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality are to be taken seriously. interdependency, not autonomy, is of increasing significance in an era of globalization. willett proposes an alternate normative theory that recognizes the impact of social forces on individual well - being. citizenship in a democracy should not be defined solely on the basis of rights to autonomy, such as bare rights to property or free speech, she explains. rather, citizenship should be defined first of all in terms of the rights, responsibilities, and capacities of the social person. it is within the african american tradition of political thought that willett finds a more useful definition of human identity and political freedom. the african american experience offers a compelling vision of social change and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a social person. by focusing on everyday battles against racism, willett contends, we can gain valuable insight into the meaning of justice.


- drawing from imagination - recognizing the unique characteristics which define an animal. - working with details and patterns. realistic, pattern, unique characteristics you will need - 12 x 18 - inch white drawing paper - non - toxic black permanent markers - watercolor markers - pencils ( optional ) - set out the pencils, markers, and drawing paper. - have the watercolor markers ready, but put aside until the drawings are completed. creating the animals - explain to the children that, by combining the parts of three or more animals, they will be creating one - of - a - kind, never - before - seen animals. ask them to imagine an animal with an alligator ' s head, a tiger ' s body, and an elephant ' s ears. - discuss the unique characteristics which identify an animal, such as a squirrel ' s tail, a giraffe ' s neck, and a camel ' s hump. emphasize the importance of including patterns and details. for example, leopards and tigers have similar body shapes, but are immediately recognized by their spots or stripes. - have the children each draw one large animal combining the parts of three or more animals. older children appreciate drawing with pencils first and then going over their lines with the black markers. younger children work best drawing directly with the black markers. - when the drawings are completed, have the children color their animals with watercolor markers. since this project is most effective when the parts of the animals are quickly recognizable, encourage the children to use realistic colors as seen in nature. - have the children name their new species of animals by combining several sounds or syllables from the names of the animals used in the drawings, such as a " chelegator " ( ch - ele - gator ), which includes parts of a chicken, an elephant, and an alligator. the older children can work individually to name their animals, but plan this as a group activity with the younger children. - tongue twisters are fun, as long as the children are able to pronounce the names. - prepare a list of the unique characteristics which define some animals to offer when ideas run short. for a greater variety of even zanier animals, include insect and / or fish parts. - encourage the children to draw one large animal that fills their paper instead of several smaller ones. - for the most impact, the animals need to be quickly recognizable. encourage the children to include lots of details and use realistic colors. - young children tend to fill in their work with the black markers, so be


to nobel - prize - winning research : development of yellow fever vaccine ( 1951 ) ; culturing of poliovirus that ultimately led to a polio vaccine ( 1954 ) ; and the significant discoveries in visual processing in the brain ( 1981 ) ( reference : r. w. leader & d. stark, 1987, the importance of animals in biomedical research. perspectives in biology and medicine, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 470 - 485 ; see also the foundation for biomedical research, the payoff from animal research ). of course, nonhuman primates are also studied because they are fascinating animals. they live in a wide range of habitats, and show many interesting differences in behavior and life styles. for example, in some species like squirrel monkeys, many adult males and many adult females live together the year round in a troop that also contains infants and juvenile animals. in other species, like titi monkeys that live in the same area as squirrel monkeys, a single adult male and a single adult female live together with their offspring. what might account for the differences between these two types of social systems? are there differences in psychological characteristics between squirrel and titi monkeys that might be related to their different social systems? male titi monkeys appear to exhibit behavior that looks very much like jealousy, but male squirrel monkeys do not. why is that? as you can see, there are many kinds of ' primate research ', including field observations of undisturbed wild primates, behavioral observations of animals in captive colonies, experimental behavioral and physiological research, biomedical research, and more. for further information on many types of research involving nonhuman primates, see f. king, c. yarbrough, d. anderson, t. gordon, and k. gould, 1988. primates. science, 1988, vol. 240, pages 1475 - 1482. how many primates are research subjects per year? according to the fiscal year 2006 animal welfare enforcement report, 1, 012, 713 warm - blooded animals were used in research, testing, teaching, or experimentation. this figure does not cover laboratory rats and mice, and farm animals used exclusively in agricultural research. of these, 62, 315 primates ( 6. 15 % of the total ) were used. two points should be made. first, the vast majority of animals used in research are laboratory rats and mice. in 1995, researchers at tufts university center for animals and public policy estimated that 14 - 21 million animals were used in american laboratories in 1992.


1. 1 this test method covers a test that can be used to compare the cavitation erosion resistance of solid materials. a submerged cavitating jet, issuing from a nozzle, impinges on a test specimen placed in its path so that cavities collapse on it, thereby causing erosion. the test is carried out under specified conditions in a specified liquid, usually water. this test method can also be used to compare the cavitation erosion capability of various liquids. 1. 2 this test method specifies the nozzle and nozzle holder shape and size, the specimen size and its method of mounting, and the minimum test chamber size. procedures are described for selecting the standoff distance and one of several standard test conditions. deviation from some of these conditions is permitted where appropriate and if properly documented. guidance is given on setting up a suitable apparatus, test and reporting procedures, and the precautions to be taken. standard reference materials are specified ; these must be used to verify the operation of the facility and to define the normalized erosion resistance of other materials. 1. 3 two types of tests are encompassed, one using test liquids which can be run to waste, for example, tap water, and the other using liquids which must be recirculated, for example, reagent water or various oils. slightly different test circuits are required for each type. 1. 4 this test method provides an alternative to test method g 32. in that method, cavitation is induced by vibrating a submerged specimen at high frequency ( 20 khz ) with a specified amplitude. in the present method, cavitation is generated in a flowing system so that both the jet velocity and the downstream pressure ( which causes the bubble collapse ) can be varied independently. 1. 5 the values stated in si units are to be regarded as the standard. the values given in parentheses are for information only. this standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. it is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 2. referenced documents ( purchase separately ) the documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard. a276 specification for stainless steel bars and shapes b160 specification for nickel rod and bar b211 specification for aluminum and aluminum - alloy rolled or cold finished bar, rod, and wire d1193 specification for reagent water e691


test method, as a part of a suite of mobility test methods, is to quantitatively evaluate a teleoperated ground robot ’ s ( see terminology e2521 ) capability of traversing complex terrain composed of crossing pitch / roll ramps in confined areas. 1. 1. 2 robots shall possess a certain set of mobility capabilities, including negotiating complex terrains, to suit critical operations such as emergency responses. a part of the complexity is that the environments often pose constraints to robotic mobility to various degrees. this test method specifies apparatuses to standardize a confined areas terrain that is composed of crossing pitch / roll ramps and that notionally represents types of terrains containing moderate discontinuities, existent in emergency response and other environments. this test method also specifies procedures and metrics to standardize testing using the apparatus. 1. 1. 3 the test apparatuses are scalable to provide a range of lateral dimensions to constrain the robotic mobility during task performance. fig. 1 shows three apparatus sizes to test robots intended for different emergency response scenarios. 1. 1. 4 emergency ground robots shall be able to handle many types of obstacles and terrains. the required mobility capabilities include traversing gaps, hurdles, stairs, slopes, various types of floor surfaces or terrains, and confined passageways. yet additional mobility requirements include sustained speeds and towing capabilities. standard test methods are required to evaluate whether candidate robots meet these requirements. 1. 1. 5 astm task group e54. 08. 01 on robotics specifies a mobility test suite, which consists of a set of test methods for evaluating these mobility capability requirements. this confined area terrain with crossing pitch / roll ramps is a part of the mobility test suite. fig. 2 shows examples of other confined area terrains, along with the traversing paths. the apparatuses associated with the test methods challenge specific robot capabilities in repeatable ways to facilitate comparison of different robot models as well as particular configurations of similar robot models. 1. 1. 6 the test methods quantify elemental mobility capabilities necessary for ground robots intended for emergency response applications. as such, users of this standard can use either the entire suite or a subset based on their particular performance requirements. users are also allowed to weight particular test methods or particular metrics within a test method differently based on their specific performance requirements. the testing results should collectively represent an emergency response ground robot ’ s overall mobility performance as required. these performance data can be used to guide procurement specifications and acceptance testing for robots intended for emergency response applications. note 1 — additional test methods


lc39a. lv family. launch vehicle - sts - 135 -. payload : atlantis f33 / rafaello mplm - 2. nation : usa. program : iss. class : manned. type : manned spaceplane. flight : sts - 135 ; iss eo - 27 ; iss eo - 28. spacecraft : atlantis. duration : 12. 77 days. decay date : 2011 - 07 - 21. usaf sat cat : 37736. cospar : 2011 - 031a. apogee : 385 km ( 239 mi ). perigee : 371 km ( 230 mi ). inclination : 51. 6000 deg. period : 92. 10 min. final space shuttle flight, denoting the end of the space age. atlantis docked with the harmony module of the iss on 10 june at 15 : 07 gmt. primary payload was the raffaello multipurpose logistics module delivering consumables and spare parts to the station sufficient to support the six crew members through the end of 2012 should delays occur in nasa ' s commercial robotic resupply program. main crew task while docked with the station was to unload rafaello and return of the station ' s failed coolant pump module for analysis. atlantis undocked on 19 july at 06 : 28 gmt. the picosat solar cell experiment satellite was released from the cargo bay on 20 july. atlantis made the final shuttle landing at the kennedy space center on 21 july at 09 : 57 gmt. payload delivered was : - external airlock / ods : 1800 kg - emu spacesuits 3015, 3006 : 260 kg - rms arm 301 : 410 kg - orbiter boom sensor system : 382 kg - mplm - 2 rafaello : 11, 556 kg - spdu : 17 kg - roeu 755 umbilical for mplm : 78 kg - lightweight mpess carrier : 1050 kg - robotic refuelling mission : 300 kg - picosat launcher : 22 kg - pssc - 2 / mtv aerospace corporation picosat solar cell experiment satellite : 4 kg - total payload : 15, 879 kg 2011 july 12 - - eva sts - 135 - 1 -. crew : fossum ; garan. eva type : extravehicular activity. eva duration : 0. 27 days. nation : usa. program : iss. flight : sts - 135 ; iss eo - 27 ; iss eo - 28. summary : final eva from a shuttle. the astronauts moved a


spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that results in paralysis ( loss of mobility, reflexes, or sensation ). sci can occur from : vehicular accidents, sporting activities, gunshot wounds, falls, etc. spinal cord injury is dependent on the type and level of injury. an injury can be complete or incomplete. a complete injury means that there is no function, no sensation, and no voluntary mobility below the level of injury. an incomplete injury means that there is some functioning below the primary level of the injury. a person may have partial or complete movement in limb ( s ) or sensation and feeling in different parts of the body. when a spinal cord injury occurs, there is usually swelling of the spinal cord. some people may regain some functioning if the swelling subsides after several days or weeks. every case of sci is different and the amount of function that is regained differs among individuals. after an sci patient is stabilized, the next step is usually rehabilitation. the amount of stay in a rehabilitation center or unit is dependent on insurance and financial resources. at the rehab center, physical and occupational therapists will work with the sci patient to achieve as much independence as possible ( dependent on level of inury ). also, it is important that family members make sure that the patients stay be one in which a patient learns everything that will fully prepare him when he is discharged. following an sci, the alan t brown foundation ( atbf ) is here to answer any questions that may arise regarding a newly - injured person. please feel free to contact atbf at 212 - 944 - 8727 or via email at email @ example. com. atbf can show you that there is life after paralysis.


do deficits in visual motion processing underlie social difficulties in autism? little is known about the perceptual deficits associated with autism. this is surprising because the accurate perception of socially relevant information is a necessary first step in social behavior. people communicate vast amounts of rich social information, such as emotion and intention, through their actions. given the importance of human action perception to social behavior, vision researchers have conducted numerous experiments to understand how the human visual system normally analyzes the bodily movements or actions of other people. this is done by simulating human movements using multiple points of light across a computer screen. this psychophysical measurement will be applied to individuals with high functioning autism ( hfa ) to determine how, and how well, adults with autism can differentiate patterns of individual points of light that mimic human movement. significance : this proposal addresses the question of whether individuals with high functioning autism ( hfa ) are compromised in their ability to perceive human action. if individuals with hfa have difficulty perceiving the actions of other people, then this might account for aspects of their social deficits. such a finding would indicate that significant changes are needed in our understanding, assessment, and treatment of hfa. the results of this study are complemented by the group at the university of glasgow which will investigate neural activation during tasks which involve visual processing while observing biological stimuli.


aviation agency, later called the federal aviation administration ( faa ) when congress created the department of transportation ( dot ) in 1967. the agency was charged with establishing and running a broad air traffic control system, to maintain safe separation of all commercial aircraft through all phases of flight. in addition, it assumed jurisdiction over all other aviation safety matters, such as the certification of aircraft designs, and airline training and maintenance programs. the civil aeronautics board retained jurisdiction over economic matters, such as airline routes and rates. wide - bodies and supersonics 1969 marked the debut of another revolutionary aircraft, the boeing 747, which, again, pan am was the first to purchase and fly in commercial service. it was the first wide - body jet, with two aisles, a distinctive upper deck over the front section of the fuselage, and four engines. with seating for as many as 450 passengers, it was twice as big as any other boeing jet and 80 percent bigger than the largest jet up until that time, the dc - 8. recognizing the economies of scale to be gained from larger jets, other aircraft manufacturers quickly followed suit. douglas built its first wide - body, the dc - 10, in 1970, and only a month later, lockheed flew its contender in the wide - body market, the l - 1011. both of these jets had three engines ( one under each wing and one on the tail ) and were smaller than the 747, seating about 250 passengers. during the same period of time, efforts were underway in both the united states and europe to build a supersonic commercial aircraft. the soviet union was the first to succeed, testing the tupolev 144 in december of 1968. a consortium of west european aircraft manufacturers first flew the concorde two months later and eventually produced a number of those fast, but small, jets for commercial service. u. s. efforts to produce a supersonic passenger jet, on the other hand, stalled in 1971 due to public concern about it ' s expense and the sonic boom produced by such aircraft. log in - view aviation jobs aviation job of the week aviation career news aviation jobs newsletter free aviation employment toolbar post aviaiton jobs view aviation resumes aviation employer services aviation company directory cares re - employment service aviation salary wages & pay aviation jobs blog student aviation program discounts aviation career overviews site map and table of contents link to us © avjobs, inc. 1988 - 2013 all rights reserved | federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means. dissemination via email is prohibited without prior written consent of avjobs


the department of health, the department for work and pensions and the scottish chief scientist office of the scottish government health directorates. the study was published in the peer - reviewed journal plos one. the coverage by the bbc news was appropriate, though it is unclear how the “ millions of pounds ” they say the economy could save from wide adoption of these treatments was derived. the term " brain training " used in the headline could give the misleading impression that people with cfs were given computer games consoles to play, but that was not what was looked at in this research. what kind of research was this? this was a cost - effectiveness study based on the results of previous research ( the pace trial ) that investigated the effectiveness of four treatment options for patients with cfs. a cost - effectiveness study models the expected total costs of different treatments or interventions ( in this case interventions for chronic fatigue syndrome ), and compares the effects on health outcomes, to assess which treatments or interventions can be considered to give the best “ value for money ”. this is usually done from the perspective of the health service. in this case societal costs such as lost employment and the cost of informal care for people affected by the illness were included. this sort of information helps decision - makers decide how best to allocate limited healthcare resources. as this approach takes into account benefits of improvements in health and the savings made from better care, the cheapest treatment option is not necessarily the most cost - effective. it allows different treatments in different diseases to be compared against each other and against society ’ s willingness to pay for such things. what did the research involve? the researchers used data from a previous study on 640 people with chronic fatigue syndrome. this study compared the effectiveness of adding adaptive pacing therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy or graded exercise therapy to specialist medical care for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. in this latest study the researchers have investigated the relative cost - effectiveness of these interventions by calculating : - quality - adjusted life years ( qalys ), which are a standard measure used to determine how much somebody ’ s life can be extended and improved as a result of receiving a particular intervention - the one - year healthcare and societal costs involved with providing each intervention ( societal costs were considered by the researchers as lost employment and unpaid informal care ) the researchers then compared the : - one - year service and societal costs of providing each intervention - one - year cost - effectiveness of each intervention in terms of gains in qalys, and reductions in fatigue and disability the number and duration of treatment sessions for each


rgeogan at welchlink. welch. jhu. edu mon apr 7 11 : 37 : 53 est 1997 announcing the science guide. a new internet directory and information service run by scientists and physicians for scientists and physicians. after visiting the guide, if you have any suggestion for making the guide better please let us know. ( webmaster at scienceguide. com ) the science guide consists of a number of different sections designed to help the scientist and physician find information on the internet and to sponsor communication between those interested in science : every day the science guide compiles medical and research news from national news sources around the net. most of the news articles are concerned with medicine, bioscience, and physics, but all other sciences from agriculture to zoology are commonly included. news sources currently listed include : cnn, eurekalert, hms beagle, msnbc sci - tech, science magazines sciencenow, cbs space news, usa today, the albuquerque journal, scientific american web weekly, the why files, discover magazine, scientific american, smithsonian magazine, and the technology review. the news pages also list links to news sources not compiled within the news site. we are currently working on adding a number of other sources to the site to make it even more useful. to make getting science news even easier, we send out a daily news emailer listing the articles which have been compiled on our site. anyone can subscribe to the emailer by sending an email to news at scienceguide. com with the message subscribe directory of usenet news groups and discussion lists the directory of usenet and discussion groups is compiled quarterly from different sources around the net to provide the scientist and those interested in science easy access to these invaluable sources of discourse and information. we are currently working on finding the proper subscription method for each of the discussion lists. this is taking a bit longer that we thought so please pardon our dust. the usenet portions of this section are complete. on - line journal hyperlink section the journals section contains links to peer reviewed scientific journals on the internet. each listing clearly indicates whether the journal provides only the table of contents, toc with abstracts, or the full text of the journal the jobs and positions section contains hyperlinks to the best scientific employment databases and classifieds on the net. grants and funding section the funding section contains links to the best funding and grant databases on the internet, making it very easy for scientists to quickly find funding opportunities. the featured site of the section is the community of science, a johns hopkins


the text begins with an introduction to alpine ecosystems. alpine environments are here described as those that exist above timberline, a rather rich concept in itself as five different kinds of timberline are listed : forest limit ( physiognomic forest line ), economic forest line ( above which trees cannot be economically harvested ), tree limit ( the elevation above which some species reach tree size ), tree species limit ( the elevation above which tree species are stunted but present, i. e. krummholz, elfinwood or krupelkiefer ), and historic tree line ( indicating earlier climatic regimes ). the alpine flora of the rocky mountains is limited to those species growing above the elevation where more or less continuous trees are found ( tree limit ), trees being defined as arborescent species 3 m or more in height. a few geomorphic processes such as nivation, solifluction, and frost action are then briefly outlined. next follows a compact but informative discussion of alpine environments. the general introductory material ends with a presentation of the adaptations required of plants living in the often harsh alpine milieu. following the general introduction, the middle rocky mountains themselves are examined. the area containing the middle rock mountains includes southwestern montana, wyoming, and northeastern utah. in this section of the book individual mountain ranges and drainage basins are discussed, and included are brief synopses of glacial events, tectonic activity, and mineralology. the author has chosen to include the medicine bow mountains, with the alpine - containing snowy range, as part of the middle rocky mountains. although this stance is controversial - the medicine bows are often placed in the southern rocky mountains - the author in large part includes them in the middle rocky mountains so that the book covers all of the alpine areas found in the state of wyoming ( scott, pers. comm. ). thus possibly the book covers an area defined both vegetationally / physiographically and politically. i would have liked to see a stronger biological or physiographic justification for the inclusion of the medicine bow mountains in the middle rocky mountains. in all, the material that introduces the reader to the alpine zone and to the study area in particular is quite informative and is consistent with the usual material found in large regional floras. most of the text, of course, is devoted to the flora. except for a few personal observations made by the author, this flora was assembled from voucher specimens. the bulk of the specimens examined are housed at the rocky mountain herbarium (


- psychology & the public - what we do - member networks - careers, education & training brief interruptions can lead to crucial errors people are more prone to making mistakes when their attention is caught by even the shortest of interruptions. this is the suggestion of new research from michigan state university ( msu ), which found a person ' s ability to accurately complete a task is significantly impacted by small disturbances, such as taking the time to silence a ringing phone. published in the journal of experimental psychology : general, the findings, which were gathered from more than 300 participants, revealed error rates doubled when individuals performing a sequence - based task on a computer were disrupted for just three seconds. erik altmann, associate professor of psychology at msu, said : " what this means is that our health and safety is, on some level, contingent on whether the people looking after it have been interrupted. " the authors explained the findings show interruptions - of which there are often many in people ' s daily lives - can have serious consequences, especially for professionals such as emergency room doctors. professor john davies from the university of strathclyde, a fellow of the british psychological society, comments : " the research from msu confirms similar findings from a number of previous studies. distraction is a major cause of the ' attentional lapse ', which increases the probability of subsequent error. although there are several reasons as to why this happens, one of the simplest to understand is that sometimes people forget where they left off the task at hand, prior to the interruption. this can lead to missing out a crucial step ( such as leaving something in a wound for example ) or alternatively duplicating something they have already done. " - most read - most comments - register of applied psychology practice supervisors - raising awareness of adult autism