it reaches the brain, caffeine probably has multiple targets. but the main one seems to be adenosine receptors. adenosine is a chemical that dampens brain activity. this counters the action of another brain chemical, dopamine. dopamine acts as a brain stimulant and mood enhancer. by hogging the adenosine receptor sites, caffeine doesn ' t allow adenosine to dampen brain activity. this puts the balance in favor of dopamine. it leads to feeling more awake and alert, with a more positive mood. what changes can i make now? overall, coffee is generally safe when used in moderation. but the key word is moderation. in some people, too much caffeinated coffee can raise blood pressure. teenagers seem to be more susceptible to an increase in blood pressure from caffeine. coffee also can interfere with how well your body absorbs iron and calcium. but you need to drink a lot of coffee for it to greatly lower the amount of iron and calcium in your bloodstream. and it ' s not the caffeine that interferes with the absorption. it ' s related to another ingredient in coffee called phenolic acid. so decaf coffee also will decrease absorption of these minerals. depending on how you make your coffee, it can raise cholesterol levels a little. again, it ' s not the caffeine that influences cholesterol levels. it ' s the coffee oil from the bean. if you boil or press your coffee, then the coffee oil gets into the brew. however, today most coffee in the united states is filtered through paper. and filtered coffee does not increase cholesterol levels. so what ' s the bottom line? if you are already a coffee drinker, enjoy it. if you don ' t drink coffee, processing of words that convey positive emotions is not a good enough reason to start. there ' s probably some amount of coffee ( and other drinks containing caffeine ) that carries a risk of real health hazards. i am still unclear as to what that level is for an otherwise healthy adult. my advice : if even one cup of coffee makes you jittery or anxious, or interferes with sleep, that is one cup too many. i am honest with patients. i don ' t know if 10 cups of coffee per day is too much. i would not drink that much ; 3 cups per day is my own limit. what can i expect looking to the future? the great


the well - being of people all over the world depends on the various goods and services provided by ecosystems, including food, fuel, construction materials, clean water and air, and protection from natural hazards. ecosystems, however, are under increasing pressure from unsustainable use and other threats including outright conversion. to address this concern, iucn promotes the sound management of ecosystems through the wider application of the ecosystem approach – a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that places human needs at its centre, through the ecosystem management programme. the ecosystem management programme works on four key programmatic areas for iucn : - drylands, where the programme aims to demonstrate the importance of dryland ecosystem services for livelihood improvement and for adapting to climate change. - climate change, where the climate change initiative aims to include biodiversity concerns in adaptation and mitigation polices and practice, as well as furthering natural resource management strategies that help biodiversity and people to adapt to the impacts of climate change. the initiative coordinates climate change work across iucn ' s programmes, regions, commissions and member organizations. - islands, where the islands initiative focuses on addressing integrated management challenges for marine, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, for the conservation of island biodiversity and the sustainable development of island communities, and facilitates iucn ’ s work on islands across the union. - disaster risk reduction, where the programme aims to promote integration of ecosystem management, livelihoods, community vulnerability and climate change adaptation to disaster management. in addition, the programme provides technical input on integrating wider ecosystem - scale biodiversity issues into iucn ’ s programmes globally, regionally and nationally. the programme also serves as a focal point in the secretariat for iucn ’ s commission on ecosystem management ( cem ), a network of more than 800 volunteer ecosystem management experts from around the world. the ecosystem management programme works in close collaboration with cem to realize the commission ’ s objectives in enhancing the implementation of the ecosystem approach. cem members also contribute technical information to the ecosystem management series : a compilation of best practices and lessons learnt in implementing the ecosystem approach.


the enola gay in history and memory by christine girardin with the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings fast approaching, commemorative events and symposia are being planned across the globe in places as diverse, yet symbolically significant, as hiroshima, nagasaki, tinian, london, tokyo, washington, and los alamos. while forthcoming books by historians tsuyoshi hasegawa, gerard degroot, and martin sherwin and kai bird will advance the scholarly criticism of the bombings and show that viable alternatives for quickly ending the war without a u. s. invasion of the japanese homeland existed, the bombs ' defenders, including gen. paul tibbets, the pilot of the enola gay, will also be out in force. tibbets, echoing a refrain made popular by president harry truman, insists that he never lost sleep over that decision. interestingly, the 1952 hollywood film, above and beyond, on which tibbets consulted, shows him unable to sleep on the night before the bombing of hiroshima as he grappled with the profound consequences of what he was about to do. as historian peter kuznick explains, those consequences included not only the wanton slaughter of over 200, 000 people in hiroshima and nagasaki, and the condemning of additional scores of thousands to a life of torment, but the inauguration of the nuclear era in a fashion that truman and others understood could ultimately end life on the planet. the major mobilization this may around strengthening the non - proliferation treaty during the review meetings at the united nations is designed to reverse the spread of nuclear weapons and the further increase in nuclear weapons states to make sure that that dire prospect is never realized. japan focus introduction. titusville - - there were 12 men onboard the b - 29 that dropped the world ' s first atomic bomb in war, annihilating 70, 000 people that day in hiroshima, japan, and killing about 130, 000 more in the aftermath. historians still disagree about whether the bombing was necessary to prevent the loss of more lives in battle, but the man who flew the aircraft on aug. 6, 1945, remains proud of his role in the closing days of world war ii. col. paul tibbets with the enola gay on tinian prior to takeoff for hiroshima " i regretted it was necessary, but to me it was necessary to do it. i tell everybody i never lost a night ' s sleep over it, " said retired gen. paul w. tibbets, who is telling tales of those heady days and meeting fans this


, but to me it was necessary to do it. i tell everybody i never lost a night ' s sleep over it, " said retired gen. paul w. tibbets, who is telling tales of those heady days and meeting fans this weekend at the 28th annual tico airshow in titusville. col. paul w. tibbets stands next to the b - 29 superfortress " enola gay " which he piloted over hiroshima, japan, aug. 6 1945, to drop the world ' s first atomic bomb in combat. tibbets, 90, makes about a dozen appearances a year, promoting his book and talking about his place in military history. but the enola gay, and it ' s payload, little boy, weren ' t always something he talked about. for the first 10 or 12 years after the war, nobody wanted to revisit the manhattan project and the two atomic bombs it produced - - at least not publicly. everyone was just so tired of killing that talking about it was shunned, tibbets said. it was when the tide of public and scholarly opinion began to turn against the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki that tibbets went on the offensive. ever since, he ' s talked about the special b - 29 developed under his supervision to carry little boy, and details about the bombing run into japanese skies. that bombing has been ranked as the most important news event of the 20th century, and one that changed humankind forever, said peter kuznick, director of the nuclear studies institute at american university in washington, d. c. as a scholar who believes it probably wasn ' t necessary to drop the atomic bomb to end wwii, kuznick said the ultimate lesson about the event is that once such terribly effective weapons are developed, they are extremely likely to be used. moral debates and a scientific awareness of potential long - term problems won ' t be enough to prevent their use, just as they weren ' t enough to stop president harry s. truman from giving the order to drop the bomb. " he knew it wasn ' t just another bomb. he knew it wasn ' t just a bigger, more terrible bomb. he knew that he was beginning a process that could ultimately mean the annihilation of the human species, " kuznick said. proof of the bomb ' s destructive power is displayed in old photographs on the hiroshima peace memorial museum ' s web site. survivors closest to the blast, a little more than half a mile from the explosion ' s center,


introduction / history jews represent the oldest monotheistic religion of modern times. because of the uniqueness of their history and culture, all jews have a strong sense of identity. persecution of and discrimination against the jews have been the historical reasons for their migrations and settlements around the world. the jews of europe arrived on the continent at least 2, 000 years ago during the early days of the roman empire. since then, they have been a significant influence in the history and culture of europe. much of what is considered " jewish " today finds its roots among the european jews. one of the unique features among european jews is the distinction between the ashkenazic jews and the sephardic jews. the word ashkenaz is derived from a biblical word for the larger germanic region of europe. therefore, ashkenazim jews are those whose ancestry is linked to that area. this group traditionally speaks the yiddish language, which is a german dialect that has hebrew and slavic elements. the word sephard was the name used by jews in medieval times for the iberian peninsula. sephardim jews, then, are the descendants of the jews who lived in spain or portugal prior to expulsion in 1492 by king ferdinand and queen isabella. sephardim also have a distinctive language called ladino, or judeo - spanish. this is a dialect of castilian spanish with hebrew and turkish elements. what are their lives like? during the last few centuries, eastern europe had the largest jewish population in the world. national attitudes toward the jews were ambivalent, depending on the usefulness of the jewish inhabitants to the nations ' rulers. anti - semitism was prevalent and frequently led to either persecution or expulsion. the holocaust of world war ii was the climax of jewish persecution in europe, leading to the extermination of six million jews. many eastern european countries lost the majority of their jewish population in this tragedy. as a result of the holocaust, thousands of jewish survivors and their descendants have emigrated from eastern europe to israel, the united states, or western europe. the recent memories of the holocaust as well as the centuries of discrimination and persecution play a strong part in modern jewish identity. european jews are strong supporters of " zionism, " a revival of jewish culture and support of israel as a national, secure, jewish homeland. since the dissolution of the soviet empire, former soviet jews no longer live under oppressive government rule. anti - semitism is still a concern, but jewish life has been revitalized in recreated countries like the ukraine. synagogues


secure, jewish homeland. since the dissolution of the soviet empire, former soviet jews no longer live under oppressive government rule. anti - semitism is still a concern, but jewish life has been revitalized in recreated countries like the ukraine. synagogues are functioning and kosher ( traditional, acceptable ) food is once again available. the jewish emigration from eastern europe is cause for concern among the remaining aged jewish population. as the older jews die, the jewish community dwindles. many of the younger jews are unlearned in their jewish identity. they are either non - observant or have assimilated into the prevailing culture. however, strong efforts are being made to maintain a jewish presence and clarify their identity. jewish schools are being opened and judaic studies are being promoted in universities. jewish hospitals and retirement homes are being built. community centers also promote cultural events such as the israeli dance, theater, yiddish and hebrew lessons, and sports. western europe now has the largest concentration of european jewish residents. the netherlands received a large influx of sephardic jews from portugal in the late 1500 ' s, and another contingent of ashkenazic jews after world war ii. they have been very influential in the development of dutch commerce. england ' s jews are concentrated in the greater london area and have been politically active for over 100 years. they have been avid supporters of zionism and solidly committed to the settlement of diaspora jews in israel. a large percentage of england ' s jews are affiliated with the traditional orthodox synagogues. italy ' s jewish population is primarily sephardic due to its absorption of spanish jews in the 1500 ' s. france ' s ashkenazic community received 300, 000 sephardic jews from north africa in recent decades. what are their beliefs? for religious jews, god is the supreme being, the creator of the universe, and the ultimate judge of human affairs. beyond this, the religious beliefs of the jewish communities vary greatly. european jews are extremely diverse in religious practice. the ashkenazic jews are the most prevalent, representing the orthodox, ultra - orthodox, conservative, and reform movements. the unusual and adamantly traditional hasidic movement was born in poland and has gained a strong following in the united states and israel. the sephardic denomination is similar to the orthodox ashkenazic, but is more permissive on dietary rules and some religious practices. each jewish denomination maintains synagogues and celebrates the traditional jewish holiday calendar. while most european jews are religiously affiliated, there is a


denomination is similar to the orthodox ashkenazic, but is more permissive on dietary rules and some religious practices. each jewish denomination maintains synagogues and celebrates the traditional jewish holiday calendar. while most european jews are religiously affiliated, there is a significant minority which is not religious. what are their needs? the jews have a wonderful understanding of their connection with the abrahamic covenant. however, they also have a history of rejecting jesus christ as messiah, the one who has fulfilled that covenant. pray that as the gospel is shared, it will not be viewed as anti - semitic, but rather as the fulfillment of what god promised through abraham centuries ago. prayer pointsview jew, eastern yiddish - speaking in all countries. * ask the lord of the harvest to send forth loving christians to work among the jewish communities. * ask the holy spirit to grant wisdom and favor to the missions agencies that are focusing on the european jews. * pray that the jewish people will understand that jesus is the long - awaited messiah. * ask the lord to soften the hearts of the jews towards christians so that they might hear and receive the message of salvation. * pray that the lord jesus will reveal himself to the jews through dreams and visions. * pray that god will grant jewish believers favor as they share their faith in christ with their own people. * pray that strong local churches will be raised up in each jewish community. * pray for the availability of the jesus film in the primary language of this people.


by julie steenhuysen chicago ( reuters ) - in the latest installment in the mammogram debate, a new study finds that getting a mammogram every other year instead of annually did not increase the risk of advanced breast cancer in women aged 50 to 74, even in women who use hormone therapy or have dense breasts, factors that increase a woman ' s cancer risk. the findings, released on monday by researchers at the university california, san francisco, support the conclusions of the u. s. preventive services task force, an influential government panel of health advisers, which in 2009 issued guidelines that said women should have mammograms every other year starting at age 50 rather than annual tests starting at age 40. the controversial recommendations to reduce the frequency and delay the start of mammogram screening were based on studies suggesting the benefits of detecting cancers earlier did not outweigh the risk of false positive results, which needlessly expose women to the anguish of a breast cancer diagnosis and the ordeal of treatment. the matter, however, is not settled. the american cancer society still recommends women be screened for breast cancer every year they are in good health starting at age 40, but the group is closely watching studies such as this. " i don ' t think any one study ought to change everything, " dr. otis brawley, chief medical officer of the american cancer society, said in a telephone interview. but he added, " this is one of several studies that are all pointing in the same direction over the last several years. " brawley said he did not expect screening recommendations from professional organizations to change in the next year, but he does see doctors moving toward a more personalized approach over the next five years. there may be some women who need to be screened every six months and others every two years depending on their breast density, family history and genetic testing. in the latest study, dr. karla kerlikowske of the university of california, san francisco, and colleagues wanted to see whether risk factors beyond a woman ' s age play a role in the decision of when to start mammogram screening. in addition to age, the team considered whether women had dense breast tissue - which has a higher ratio of connective tissue to fat - or took combination estrogen and progesterone hormone therapy for more than five years, both of which can increase the risk of breast cancer. " if you have these risk factors, would it help if you got screened annually vs. every two years


or took combination estrogen and progesterone hormone therapy for more than five years, both of which can increase the risk of breast cancer. " if you have these risk factors, would it help if you got screened annually vs. every two years? " said kerlikowske, whose study was published online in jama internal medicine. to study this, the team analyzed data from 11, 474 women with breast cancer and 922, 624 without breast cancer gathered from 1994 to 2008. even after looking at these other factors, the team found no increased risk of advanced cancer in women 50 to 74 who got a mammogram every other year instead of every year. " it didn ' t matter whether you screened that group every year or every two years, the risk of advanced disease or having a worse tumor was no different, " kerlikowske said. more frequent screening in these women did result in more false - positive results. women aged 50 to 74 who had annual mammograms had a 50 percent risk of having a false - positive result over a 10 - year period, but a 31 percent risk when they were screened every other year. studies suggest a false positive can have lasting psychological effects. a march study in the annals of family medicine said, " three years after a false - positive ﬁnding, women experience psychosocial consequences that range between those experienced by women with a normal mammogram and those with a diagnosis of breast cancer. " breast density was a factor in younger women, however. when the team looked at screening frequency in women 40 to 49, they found those with extremely dense breasts who were screened every other year had a higher risk of having a more advanced cancer than those who got screened every year. younger women also were far more likely to have false - positive results and undergo unnecessary procedures. without getting a mammogram in their 40s, kerlikowske said, " women aren ' t going to know if they have extremely dense breasts. " among women in their 40s, about 12 percent to 15 percent have extremely dense breast tissue. for these women, kerlikowske said she recommends that they get a mammogram if they have other risk factors that might put her at risk of breast cancer, including having a first - degree relative that a common term, or just " close relative "? such as a mother or a sister with breast cancer. " once we see their breast density is high, we will offer annual mammography


breast cancer, including having a first - degree relative that a common term, or just " close relative "? such as a mother or a sister with breast cancer. " once we see their breast density is high, we will offer annual mammography, " she said. the american college of radiology and the society of breast imaging, groups that represent radiologists, said the study ' s methodology was flawed because it used early and late breast cancers to determine the outcomes of breast screening rather than more refined measures of tumor size, nodal status and cancer stage, which could determine whether screening detected cancers at an earlier stage. it also faulted the study for not being a closely controlled, randomized clinical trial. the study used data from the breast cancer surveillance consortium, a national mammography screening database that gathers information from community mammography clinics on millions of women. " we ' re never going to have a randomized study. this is the best in terms of the type of study anyone can actually hope for, " said brawley, whose group monitors scores of breast studies from around the world each year. he said such a study would take decades and would be prohibitively expensive. catching cancers earlier does not always translate into lives saved, according to a november study published in the new england journal of medicine by dr. gilbert welch of the dartmouth institute for health policy & clinical practice in new hampshire. that study suggested that as many as a third of cancers detected through routine mammograms may not be life - threatening, contradicting the deeply ingrained belief that cancer screening is always good. kerlikowske said the strength of her study is that it allows researchers to consider other risk factors, such as breast density, allowing doctors to offer women personalized choices about when to start breast cancer screening. " we ' re trying to move it away from this idea that it all should be based on age. there should be some thoughtfulness to it, " she said. ( reporting by julie steenhuysen ; additional reporting by bill berkrot ; editing by jilian mincer and douglas royalty )


indo - china : the new frontier time. monday, may. 29, 1950 the u. s. now has a new frontier and a new ally in the cold war. the place is indo - china, a southeast asian jungle, mountain and delta land that includes the republic of viet nam and the smaller neighboring kingdoms of laos and cambodia, all parts of the french union. for more than three years this land, in prewar times the rich french colony of indo - china, has been suffering, on a lesser scale, the ruinous kind of civil war which won china for communism. the mao tse - tung of the indo - chinese is a frail, but enduring comrade, who looks like a shriveled wizard ; his nom de guerre is ho chi minh ( or one who shines ). chiang kai - shek has no counterpart in indo - china. the initial brunt of the red attack has been borne by french soldiers. meanwhile, the job of rallying native anti - communist forces falls mainly on the meaty shoulders of the emperor bao dai ( or guardian of greatness ), who now bears the official title of chief of state of viet nam. while the dust of the chinese civil war was settling before the bemused eyes of the state department, the u. s. paid scant attention to the indo - chinese struggle. it seemed largely a local affair between the french and their subjects. since the dust has settled in china, asia ’ s communism is thrusting southward. indo - china stands first on the path to singapore, manila and the indies ( see map ). last january, led by peking and moscow, the world ’ s communist bloc recognized ho chi minh ’ s “ democratic republic. ” it was more than the kremlin had ever done for the communist rebels of greece. over the past several weeks, arms and other supplies were reported passing from russia and china to the comrades in indo - china. the stakes in southeast asia were big — as big as the global struggle between communism and freedom. a fortnight ago in paris, u. s. secretary of state dean acheson drew a line in the dust that has so long beclouded u. s. diplomacy. he implicitly recognized that the war in indo - china is no local shooting match. he pledged u. s. military and economic aid to the french and vietnamese. the u. s. thus picked up the russian gauntlet. what kind of frontier and what kind of ally had history chosen for the u. s.


shooting match. he pledged u. s. military and economic aid to the french and vietnamese. the u. s. thus picked up the russian gauntlet. what kind of frontier and what kind of ally had history chosen for the u. s.? a golden asset. unlike china, where u. s. traders and missionaries began a fruitful acquaintance more than a century ago, indo - china has had little contact with americans, either commercial, cultural or diplomatic. * the last comprehensive u. s. book on the country was published in 1937. among other things, its author observed : “ indochina lies too far off the main scene of action to play any but a secondary role in the pacific drama. ” in the pre - french past, most of indo - china had been conquered by the chinese, who had left their culture indelibly behind. † through the last half of the 19th. century, the french converted indo - china into a tight, profitable colonial monopoly. they explored its fever - laden jungles, lofty ranges, great river valleys. they discovered its antiquities, including the majestic loth century towers of angkor wat in northern cambodia. they wrote about its mandarins, its buddhist temples and confucian family life. the french invested $ 2 billion, built up indo - china ’ s rice and rubber production ; before world war ii, the colony, along with siam and burma, was one of the world ’ s three leading rice exporters. its surplus went to rice - short china, a fact of great significance these days in communist china ’ s support of communist ho chi minh. all the raw rubber france needed came from indo - china. there were other lucrative items : coal, wolfram, pepper, opium ( which, to french shame, was sold to the natives through a state monopoly ) and many jobs for a white bureaucracy. french politicians called the colony “ our marvelous balcony on the pacific. ” a dangerous liability. indo - china is no longer a golden asset for france. as everywhere in the east, the old colonialism has died beneath the impact of western nationalist, egalitarian ideas, a process greatly hastened by the japanese march in world war ii under the slogan “ asia for the asiatics. ” the french have bowed grudgingly to the times. in an agreement signed march 8, 1949 with bao dai, they promised limited freedom for viet nam within the french union. under its terms, a viet nam cabinet has charge of internal affairs, the right to a national army. paris keeps


the times. in an agreement signed march 8, 1949 with bao dai, they promised limited freedom for viet nam within the french union. under its terms, a viet nam cabinet has charge of internal affairs, the right to a national army. paris keeps direct control of foreign policy, maintains military bases and special courts for frenchmen, retains a special place for french advisers and the french language. by that time the french were up to their necks in a costly campaign to crush ho chi minh and his communist bid for power. the civil war has cut rice production in half and disrupted the rest of indo - china ’ s economy. it has tied down 130, 000 french troops, about half of the fourth republic ’ s army, and thereby weakened the contribution france might make to western europe ’ s defense. in lives, the indo - china war has cost the french 50, 000 casualties. in money, it has cost $ 2 billion — just about the sum of ecaid to france. indo - china, in brief, has become a dangerous liability for france — nor does any realistic frenchman think it can ever again be an asset. why, therefore, spend more blood and treasure in thankless jungle strife? why not pull out? the answer is : more than french war weariness and prestige are at stake. if indo - china falls to communism, so, in all probability ”, will all of southeast asia. for u. s. citizens, the first fact about their new frontier is that it will cost money to hold — much more than the french can pay alone, much more than the $ 15 million in arms and $ 23 million in economic aid thus far promised by washington. the second fact is more compelling : the new frontier, if it is not to crumble, may need u. s. troops as well as french. otherwise, the u. s. might surfer another catastrophic defeat in the far east. a question of sympathy. the french have made more than the usual colonial mistakes. all too often, especially since they put the foreign legion and its german mercenaries to the work of restoring order after world war ii, they have been arrogant and brutal toward the indo - chinese. they are paying for it now, for the bulk of communist ho chi minh ’ s support comes from anti - french, or anti - colonial indo - chinese. a sign over an indo - chinese village street tells the story ; it reads “ communism, no. colonialism, never. ” but the issue of native sympathy is complex. the vast majority of the people


, or anti - colonial indo - chinese. a sign over an indo - chinese village street tells the story ; it reads “ communism, no. colonialism, never. ” but the issue of native sympathy is complex. the vast majority of the people are simple rice farmers, who want peace and order so they may tend their paddy - fields. ho chi minh himself does not now preach communism openly : his explanation is that his people have no understanding of the word. besides a crude, hate - the - french appeal ( including atrocity propaganda — see cut ), he has another effective persuasion : terror. his guerrillas and underground operators stalk the countryside ; his assassins and bomb - throwers terrorize the cities. indefatigably he spreads the word that he is winning, as his comrades have won in china. the result is that many are cowed into helping him, or at least staying out of the anti - communist effort. others, especially among the intelligentsia, sit on the fence, waiting to jump on the winning side. this is where bao dai comes in. a display of strength. it is bao dai ’ s mission, and the u. s. - french hope, to rally his countrymen to the anti - communist camp of the west. in this undertaking he needs time. “ nothing can be done overnight, ” he says. he needs time to organize an effective native government, train an army and militia that can restore order in the villages, win over the doubting fence - sitters among the intelligentsia. besides a military shield, he also needs a display of winning strength and patient understanding by his western allies. as a national leader, bao dai has his weaknesses, and largely because of them he does not enjoy the kind of popularity achieved by india ’ s jawaharlal nehru. but, as the lineal heir of the old monarchs of annam, he is his nation ’ s traditional “ father & mother, ” its first priest ( buddhist ) and judge. the french say that bao dai should act more decisively ; whenever he does, there is impressive popular response. nehru ’ s government of india, trailed by burma ’ s thakin nu, indonesia ’ s soekarno and even by the philippines ’ elpidio quirino, has so far refused to follow the major western democracies in recognizing bao dai ’ s viet nam republic. they look on him as a french puppet. but bao dai has shown a judgment on the crucial ideological conflict of his time that compares strikingly and favorably with


refused to follow the major western democracies in recognizing bao dai ’ s viet nam republic. they look on him as a french puppet. but bao dai has shown a judgment on the crucial ideological conflict of his time that compares strikingly and favorably with the petulant, third - force position of pandit nehru. recently, for example, bao dai told a time correspondent about his impressions of ho chi minh in 1946, when both leaders were cooperating with the french to establish a new viet nam regime. “ at first, ” recalled bao dai, “ we all believed the ho government was really a nationalistic regime... i called ho ‘ elder brother ’ and he called me ‘ younger brother. ’... “ then, i saw he was fighting a battle within himself. he realized that communism was not best for our country. but it was too late. he could not overcome his own allegiance to communism. ” a royal notion. bao dai is essentially a product of the old french colonialism — the best of it thwarted by some of the worst. born in 1913, the only son of the ailing emperor khai dinh, he studied under chinese tutors until nine. then his father ’ s french advisers decided he should go to france for a western education. the emperor put on a parasol - shaped red velvet hat and a golden - dragon robe, accompanied his son on the first trip abroad for any of their dynasty. in paris he put the prince under the tutelage of former annam governor eugene charles. “ i bring you a schoolboy, ” said khai dinh. “ make of him what you will. ” three years later, khai dinh died. he was buried in a splendid mausoleum, at hue ; at the foot of his tomb lay his prized french decorations, toothbrush, thermos bottles and “ big ben ” alarm clock. bao dai, who had come ‘ home for the funeral, was crowned the 13th sovereign of the nguyen ( pronounced new inn ) dynasty. he turned the throne over to a regent, and hurried back to paris. the young emperor continued his chinese lessons, studied annamite chronicles, browsed through french history, literature and economics. he was especially fond of books on henry iv, the dynast from navarre who began the bourbon rule in france with the cynical remark, “ paris is worth a mass, ” and the demagogic slogan, “ every family should have a fowl in the pot on sunday. ” bao dai put his money in


navarre who began the bourbon rule in france with the cynical remark, “ paris is worth a mass, ” and the demagogic slogan, “ every family should have a fowl in the pot on sunday. ” bao dai put his money in swiss banks ( and thereby saved it from world war ii ’ s reverses ), collected stamps, practiced tennis with champion henri cochet, learned ping - pong, dressed in tweeds and flannels, vacationed in the pyrenees, scented himself heavily with coty and chanel perfumes. up to this point the emperor had absorbed a good deal of the education of an intelligent, progressive french adolescent. he had high notions of applying what he had learned back home. in 1932, at 19, bao dai formally took over the dragon throne at hue ; two years later he married beautiful mariette - jeanne nguyen huu thi lan, the daughter of a wealthy cochin - chinese merchant. the empress nam phuong was a roman catholic, educated at paris ’ convent “ aux oiseaux. ” bao dai reigned but he did not rule. the french ( third republic and vichy ) shrugged off his earnest pleas for social and economic reforms and more native political autonomy. cleverly, as they thought, they encouraged the emperor to devote himself to sport and pleasure. bao dai was hunting tigers near his summer villa at dalat when the japanese, early in 1945, made their 1940 control of the colony official and complete. they surprised his party, took him prisoner, installed him as a puppet emperor — until their own capitulation to the allies a few months later. agitator ho. at this point, the lines of bao dai ’ s destiny first crossed those of his fellow annamite ho chi minh. the two men made a dramatic contrast. the emperor was young ( then 32 ), plump, clean - shaven, bland - faced, fond of snappy western sport clothes. ho was aging ( 55 ), slight ( hardly 5 ft. tall ), goat - bearded, steelyeyed, usually seen in a frayed khaki tunic and cloth slippers. ho chi minh, too, had gone to france for education. as a young man, he had been sent into exile by the french police of indo - china because of his family ’ s nationalist agitation. his father and a brother went to political prison for life. a sister received nine years of hard labor. in paris, ho ( then known as nguyen ai quoc ) became a photographer ’ s assistant,


because of his family ’ s nationalist agitation. his father and a brother went to political prison for life. a sister received nine years of hard labor. in paris, ho ( then known as nguyen ai quoc ) became a photographer ’ s assistant, wrote anti - imperialist articles. he also joined the french communist party. he was sent to moscow for training, became a comintern functionary, re - emerged in 1925 at canton, where he helped russian agent borodin in communism ’ s first attempt to seize china. from hong kong in 1931 ho chi minh organized the first indo - chinese communist party. the british clapped him into jail for a year. when he came out, he continued organizing red cells in his country. japan and world war ii gave him his big chance. using popular front - tactics, ho established the viet minh — league for the independence of viet nam. it directed guerrilla war against both vichy french and japanese, enlisted the support of many indo - chinese nationalists. american oss agents and arms were parachuted to ho ’ s side. “ uncle ho. ” by the time the french were ready to pick up the postwar strings again in indo - china, communist ho was very much a popular hero, better known as “ uncle ho. ” he spoke a “ soft ” communist line, talked more about freedom, democracy and reform. bao dai was in a different position. he had suffered in reputation because he had “ gotten along ” with vichy french and japanese. the returning french began negotiations with the viet minh leader. there were polite hints that bao dai must go — he was too “ unpopular. ” bao abdicated, and ho was in the saddle. bao dai stayed on in indo - china for a while, as plain citizen nguyen vinh thuy and honorary councilor to the republic. nobody had much use for him. he went abroad and flung himself into a reckless round of pleasure and sport. playboy. most of his time he spent at cannes, on the french riviera, where he had bought the palatial chateau de thorenc ( reported purchase price : $ 250, 000 ). in his garage were a pale blue lincoln convertible, a black citroen limousine, a blue simca “ gordoni ” one - seat racer, a sleek italian two - seater, a simca - 8 sports model. he also kept several motorcycles. he insisted that every engine run “ as accurately as a watch. ” he dallied in the bars and casinos, chain - smoked cheap gauloise


sleek italian two - seater, a simca - 8 sports model. he also kept several motorcycles. he insisted that every engine run “ as accurately as a watch. ” he dallied in the bars and casinos, chain - smoked cheap gauloise cigarettes, treated hangers - on to champagne and caviar, played roulette for 10, 000 - franc chips ( “ his majesty ’ s losses, ” remarked a croupier, “ befitted his rank ” ), sometimes conducted jazz bands, sent his secretary to open negotiations with the many women who caught his eye. ( “ my grandfather had 125 wives and 300 children, ” bao dai once remarked to a journalist. “ i have a few mistresses. what then? ” ) he played golf capably and bridge like a master. a crack shot with rifle or revolver, he often arranged target competitions with the chateau ’ s servants. meanwhile the french, back in indo - china, had broken with ho chi minh, were floundering in a communist - led nationalist uprising. they appealed to bao dai to come home again and help rally his people against the red menace. they promised to grant viet nam gradual independence within the new french union. bao was persuaded. on march 8, 1949, he signed the document creating the new indo - chinese republic which he would head as chief of state. as he left the gaudy safety of the riviera for the hazards of a country torn by civil war, he grinned and said : “ i risk my skin. ” french communists snarled : “ cet empereur des boites de nuit [ this nightclub emperor ]. ” behind him, at the chateau de thorenc, he left empress nam phuong and their family of two boys and three girls. statesman. bao dai has been back in indo - china about a year. he has made some progress, but it is slow and the difficulties are enormous. the french have promised his government more authority, but they are vague in making good and sometimes stupidly petty. one point of friction between bao dai and french high commissioner leon pignon concerns the high commissioner ’ s residence in saigon. it is the old imperial palace, and the symbol, in native eyes, of paramount place. bao dai wants it for his own use, and he stays away from the city lest he lose face by residing elsewhere. the french, with bureaucratic pigheadedness, have refused to part with it, though there are reports that they will soon do so.


it for his own use, and he stays away from the city lest he lose face by residing elsewhere. the french, with bureaucratic pigheadedness, have refused to part with it, though there are reports that they will soon do so. another disappointment has been bao dai ’ s effort to enlist capable ministers and lower - echelon administrators. partly this is because so many vietnamese are fence - sitters or fear the terror of viet minh agents. partly it is a consequence of french failure, in the past and at present, to train enough natives to take over the government. bao dai seems to be counting on u. s. pressure to loosen up the french in this respect. most serious failure is the sluggish pace in recruiting a viet nam army. bao dai ’ s government has thus far assembled only four battalions, about 4, 000 men. field of decision. though ho chi minh ’ s forces ( 70, 000 regulars with equipment as good as the french, plus 70, 000 well - trained guerrillas and an unknown number of poorly equipped village militia ) have been pushed back from such centers as hanoi in northern viet nam, french officers report that “ the situation steadily grows no better. ” french commander in chief marcel carpentier aims to sweep ho chi minh ’ s men from the lower, heavily populated mekong and red river valleys. these are the best rice - producing areas and consequently the best source of rebel supply. by airlift and truck convoy, the french maintain a line of forts at the chinese border, where aid could flow in for ho. it is rugged hit & run fighting in forest and swamp terrain well suited for guerrilla tactics. by day the french control about half the countryside ; and if they want to, they can penetrate where they will, though ambush takes its toll. at night, however, the french draw into their forts and garrisoned centers. then ho chi minh ’ s men steal forth, terrorize peasants, collect taxes ( two - fifths of a farmer ’ s rice harvest ), and run the countryside almost everywhere the french insist that the military problem is the no.. i problem, and that western men and arms must lick it. given sufficient u. s. equipment, up to $ 150 million a year or more, they think they can crush ho chi minh within three years. lacking such support, they may be facing a debacle within one year ; and, of course, down in the wreckage would go bao dai. the piecemeal approach. all in all, the new


crush ho chi minh within three years. lacking such support, they may be facing a debacle within one year ; and, of course, down in the wreckage would go bao dai. the piecemeal approach. all in all, the new u. s. ally in southeast asia is a weak reed. and the alliance is as ironic as anything in history. for the same u. s. government which abandoned the chinese nationalists because they were not good enough was committed by last fortnight ’ s decision to defend a playboy emperor and the worst and almost the last example of white man ’ s armed imperialism in asia. nevertheless, indo - china had to be defended — if it could be defended. so had formosa, last stand of china ’ s nationalists, which has advantages not to be found in indo - china — a strong government, a well - trained defending fighting force, and easily defensible tactical position. the u. s. decision to go into such a doubtful project as the defense of indo - china was the result of an idea that it ought to do something, somehow, to stop the communists in southeast asia. but the u. s. policy in indo - china was a piecemeal operation. not until it saw the southeast asia problem whole, until it went to the help of all threatened governments, would the u. s. be making soldier ’ s or statesman ’ s sense. * there was one abortive attempt to get acquainted in the 18305, when president andrew jackson sent envoy edmund roberts of new hampshire to draw up a treaty with emperor ming mang. reported roberts : “ the insulting formalities required as preliminaries to the treaty... left me no alternative save that of terminating a protracted correspondence marked... by duplicity and prevarication in the official servant of the emperor. ” roberts was told to 1 ) make five kowtows, 2 ) beg for “ deep condescension, ” 3 ) change a sentence in president jackson ’ s letter to the emperor from “ i pray to god ” to “ i pray to the gods of heaven. ” he refused. † the chinese invasions took place between 213 b. c. and 186 a. d. from the latter date until the loth century the chinese governed the country. then the annamites threw off the chinese yoke ; it was clapped on again for a brief span in the 15th century. french missionaries and traders ( preceded by the portuguese and dutch ) came to indo - china in the


a testosterone test measures the blood level of the male sex hormone testosterone. testosterone, which plays an important role in sexual development, is produced mainly by the testes in boys and in much smaller amounts by the ovaries in girls. testosterone is also produced by the adrenal glands in both girls and boys. in young boys, testosterone levels are normally low. as puberty approaches — usually between the ages of 10 and 14 — the pituitary gland ( a pea - sized gland near the base of the brain ) secretes two hormones ( luteinizing hormone, or lh ; and follicle - stimulating hormone, or fsh ) that work together to stimulate the testes to make testosterone. increased testosterone production is what causes boys to develop deeper voices, bigger muscles, and body and facial hair. it also helps the testes produce sperm, and it plays a role in speeding a boy ' s growth in height during puberty. two separate assessments may be performed as part of a testosterone test : total testosterone, which measures the entire amount of testosterone in the body, including both the amount bound to proteins that help transport the hormone through the bloodstream and free testosterone free testosterone, which measures only the testosterone that ' s not attached to proteins the doctor may order one or both tests. however, because sexual development involves many other hormones, a more complete picture can often be obtained by performing other tests at the same time, including an lh or fsh test. for example, low levels of testosterone can be due to a problem with the testes ' production of testosterone or to the pituitary gland not making enough of the hormones that stimulate the testes to produce testosterone. why it ' s done doctors may order a testosterone blood test if a boy appears to be entering puberty earlier or later than expected. high levels are associated with precocious ( early ) puberty, while low levels may indicate a delay in sexual development. in girls, high levels can be associated with the appearance of masculine characteristics, such as facial hair. the test may also be used in either boys or girls to check for damage or disease of the testes, ovaries, adrenal glands, or pituitary gland, or to check for steroid use. in teens and adults, testosterone levels can help doctors evaluate fertility or menstrual problems and sexual function. no special preparations are needed for this test. the doctor may want to perform the test in the morning, when testosterone levels usually are highest. on the day of the


testosterone levels can help doctors evaluate fertility or menstrual problems and sexual function. no special preparations are needed for this test. the doctor may want to perform the test in the morning, when testosterone levels usually are highest. on the day of the test, it may help to have your child wear a short - sleeve shirt to allow easier access for the technician who will be drawing the blood. a health professional will clean the skin surface with antiseptic, and place an elastic band ( tourniquet ) around the upper arm to apply pressure and cause the veins to swell with blood. then a needle is inserted into a vein ( usually in the arm inside of the elbow or on the back of the hand ) and blood is withdrawn and collected in a vial or syringe. after the procedure, the elastic band is removed. once the blood has been collected, the needle is removed and the area is covered with cotton or a bandage to stop the bleeding. collecting blood for this test will only take a few minutes. what to expect collecting a sample of blood is only temporarily uncomfortable and can feel like a quick pinprick. afterward, there may be some mild bruising, which should go away in a few days. the blood sample will be processed by a machine and the results are commonly available after a few days. the testosterone test is considered a safe procedure. however, as with many medical tests, some problems can occur with having blood drawn : fainting or feeling lightheaded hematoma ( blood accumulating under the skin causing a lump or bruise ) pain associated with multiple punctures to locate a vein helping your child having a blood test is relatively painless. still, many children are afraid of needles. explaining the test in terms your child can understand might help ease some of the fear. allow your child to ask the technician any questions he or she might have. tell your child to try to relax and stay still during the procedure, as tensing muscles and moving can make it harder and more painful to draw blood. it also may help if your child looks away when the needle is being inserted into the skin. if you have questions if you have questions about the testosterone test, speak with your doctor.


12. june 2012 10 : 55 retinal hemorrhage occurs when the blood vessels in the retina get damaged or ruptured, leading to abnormal bleeding. the retina, which is composed of rods and cones is the region of the eye responsible for sensitivity to light, and vision. the retinal vein and artery, along with a dense network of capillaries, are responsible for transmitting the blood supply to the retina. when these blood vessels are damaged, due to any reason, this affects the blood supply to the retina, which in turn leads to a decrease in visual acuity. diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in people aged between 20 and 65. the dense network of cells in the retina is extremely sensitive, and can be damaged with even a slight trauma. the causes due to which this damage might occur include : - high blood pressure - forceful blows in the head region - child abuse in infants - improper development of blood vessels in infants born prematurely - blurred vision - spotted vision - lines in the field of vision - blind spots - distorted vision - progressive vision loss - the disease is diagnosed by an ophthalmologist, who uses an opthalmoscope to examine the internal structure of the eye. - another method that is commonly used to detect the abnormalities in the blood vessels is a fluorescein angiography test, in which a fluorescent dye is injected into the patient ’ s bloodstream, after which photographs are clicked to view the blood vessels. - in some cases, the physician might also order for a blood test to be performed. - the disorder is self - limiting in most patients, with more than 85 % cases healing on their own. - the most common treatment for retinal hemorrhages is laser treatment, in which a laser beam is used to remove the affected blood vessels. - if the disease is caused by some underlying medical condition like diabetes or hypertension, the treatment focuses on eliminating that disorder. - injection of anti - vegf drugs like avestin has been found to be effective in the treatment of hemorrhages associated with the growth of new vessels. - the administration of various nutritional and herbal supplements like antioxidants, omega - 3 - rich foods, antioxidant vitamins, zinc, lutein, pine bark extract, grape seed extract, etc. has also been found to be effective in improving the symptoms of the disease. we at killeen eyecare center are renowned throughout killeen for providing the


by chris wickham london ( reuters ) - scientists in switzerland have come up with a material mimicking the way tendons connect to bones, which could speed the development of stretchy, wearable electronic devices. the stretchable electronics industry is in its infancy but devices that are able to flex without breaking could revolutionize devices from smartphones and solar cells to medical implants. futurists have long predicted clothes with sensors that monitor the vital signs of the wearer, or smartphones and screens woven into the fabric of shirts or jackets. but while circuits and wiring are quite happy on rigid surfaces like those in a tablet computer, they break easily when combined with materials that stretch. " you have two materials with very different mechanical properties, " andre studart, a researcher at the swiss federal institute of technology in zurich, told reuters. " the challenge is to bridge these different properties. " studart and his team have overcome the problem with a stretchy material made from polyurethane that contains " islands " stiff enough to house and protect delicate circuits. while the soft part can stretch by 350 percent, the stiff regions created by impregnating the material with tiny platelets of aluminum oxide and a synthetic clay called laponite, hardly deform and can protect the electronics. the material, presented in research published in the journal nature communications, is made from bonded layers and because the concentration of the platelets is gradually increased, the junction between the stretchy and stiff parts is also durable. " there are many biological materials that have these properties as well, like the way tendons link muscle to bone, " said studart. " but there are not so many examples in synthetic materials. " one of the companies trying to commercialize stretchable electronics is mc10 inc, a massachusetts - based start - up born out of research by john rogers and his team at the university of illinois. the firm recently announced plans to start selling a sensor - laden, flexible skullcap that monitors impacts to the head during sports. it was developed with reebok and goes on sale next year. amar kendale, the company ' s strategist, said the skullcap gives a level of contact with the head that previous attempts to put sensors in helmets or gum shields have not been able to achieve. mc10 is using a different approach from the zurich team. the company uses extremely thin silicon chips sandwiched in a stretchable polymer and connected by tiny wires in a concertina configuration that can stretch about 60 percent, about the same as the


achieve. mc10 is using a different approach from the zurich team. the company uses extremely thin silicon chips sandwiched in a stretchable polymer and connected by tiny wires in a concertina configuration that can stretch about 60 percent, about the same as the body ' s soft tissues. mc10 has also developed a balloon catheter with built - in electronic sensors for heart patients, which researchers plan to start testing on people in the next year or so. " decorating the surface of the balloon with sensors or a mechanism that delivers energy gives a good way of delivering therapy to soft tissue, like the heart, to correct arrhythmia, " kendale said. market potential is difficult to estimate but kendale said the technology could be applied to the monitoring and management of chronic diseases from diabetes to hypertension. the swiss researchers say their technique could also be used to build synthetic cartilage or false teeth with better matches to their natural counterparts. currently the ceramics used for dental fillings are so hard they can damage natural teeth if a patient bites too hard. and one treatment for women with crumbling vertebrae from osteoporosis involves injecting a stiff polymer that over time can damage the surrounding healthy vertebrae. " the problem is that it is equally stiff everywhere, " said studart. " the vision is that you will be able to make materials that are as heterogeneous as the biological ones. " ( editing by david holmes )


fertilizer facts : april 1997, number 15 response of oat to water and nitrogen land resources and environmental sciences dept. montana state university nitrogen ( n ) is the most common nutrient that limits oat production in montana. deficiency symptoms are frequently characterized by general chlorosis ( yellowing ) of leaves and a reduction in overall plant vigor and growth. oat n deficiency symptoms, as with other cereal grains, will most often appear in the early to late spring depending on severity. once present, symptoms become more severe through vegetative growth stages. at flowering, n deficient plants are stunted and have fewer tillers and smaller heads than healthy plants. grain yield is reduced primarily through a reduction in kernels per head and head density. nitrogen typically represents a grower ' s largest fertilizer input cost. current fertilizer n recommendations in montana are based on an average relationship between n requirement ( nr ) and estimated yield potential [ yield potential ( bu / a ) x 1. 1 = nr ( lbs / a ) ] ( table 1 ). the recommendation assumes 1. 1 lbs n / a are needed to produce each bushel of grain. however, this relation may vary with growing season and the yield potential at an individual site. since yield potential is most closely associated with available water ( stored soil water + growing season precipitation ), we were interested in determining the effects of available water supply on the n requirement and oat yield potential. field experiments were conducted on a lohmiller silty clay loam ( ustic torrifluvents ) at the southern agricultural research center near huntley during 1993 and 1994. initial soil n levels ( 0 - 36 in. depth ) were 15 and 22 lbs / a in 1993 and 1994. field experiments were previously seeded to barley. a line - source sprinkler irrigation system was used to establish a water gradient in the field. monida oats were planted in early april at 18 seeds per square foot. stripped at right angles to the water gradient were six fertilizer n levels ( 0, 20, 40, 80, 120, 160 lbs n / a ). the combined treatments produced a field site with a wide range of available water and n conditions. table 1. predicted n requirements for oats with growing season water. | growing season water | | yield potential | | available n requirement | | n : yield ratio | as expected, available water increased oat yield potential and the response to n. under high water stress, the response to n was small and


water. | growing season water | | yield potential | | available n requirement | | n : yield ratio | as expected, available water increased oat yield potential and the response to n. under high water stress, the response to n was small and yield potential was low, producing a comparatively flat curve. as water conditions improved, the response to n increased, producing a steeper curve that reached a higher plateau ( figure 1 ). yield potential at the plateau levels, or where n was no longer limiting yields, were similar for the two growing seasons. however, oat yields without n fertilizer were higher in 1994 than 1993. this difference may have been a result of greater n mineralization from organic matter in 1994, resulting in less n deficiency where no fertilizer n was applied. maximum economic yield ( mey ) was defined as the point along the yield - n curves ( figure 1 ) where increases in n no longer paid for themselves through higher yield ( < 1 bushel increase in yield resulted from 4 lbs additional n ), or where dollars returned from n was maximized. maximum economic yields were generally within 2 % of the theoretical maximum, hence they provide a good estimate of yield potential. the mey - available water relationships ( figure 2 ) indicate that yield potential increased linearly with water in both 1993 and 1994. the relationships indicate that it takes approximately 4 to 5 in. of water to produce the first bushel of oat, and thereafter yield increases 12 to 14 bu / a with each inch of additional water. available n requirements ( soil n + fertilizer n ) for mey increased linearly with water for both growing seasons. the slopes of the lines for the two seasons were similar and indicate that n requirements increased approximately 8 lbs n with each inch of additional water. however, the intercepts for the lines differ for the two seasons. as a result, it took approximately 35 to 40 lbs / a less n in 1994 to achieve mey than in 1993 at similar water levels. background soil n analysis levels for the two seasons were similar. however, barley residue from the preceding crop was burned prior to seeding the 1994 oat crop. this likely enhanced organic n mineralization and resulted in the lower calculated n requirement. typically, most cereal growers do not burn their residue, hence under most situations the upper line in figure 3 is probably the better predictor of fertilizer n needs. using this approach, sufficient fertilizer n should be applied to achieve 60 lbs available n / a where 8 inches


types of literature primary sources are publications that report the results of original research. they may be in the form of conference papers, monographic series, technical reports, theses and dissertations, or journal articles. because they present information in its original form ( that is, it has not been interpreted or condensed or otherwise “ repackaged ” by other writers ), these are considered primary sources. the works present new thinking / discoveries / results and unite them with the existing knowledge base. journal articles that report original research are one of the more common and important steps in the information sharing cycle. they often go through a process in which they are “ peer reviewed ” by other experts who evaluate the work and findings before publication. secondary sources are those which are published about the primary literature, that generalize, analyze, interpret, evaluate or otherwise “ add value ” to the original information, or which simplify the process of finding and evaluating the primary literature. some examples of secondary sources are “ review ” articles and indexes or bibliographies, such as pubmed or the sciencedirect. tertiary sources compile or digest information from primary or secondary sources that has become widely accepted. they aim to provide a broad overview of a topic, or data, already proven facts, and definitions, often presented in a convenient form. they provide no new information. these include “ reference ” types of works such as textbooks, encyclopedias, fact books, guides and handbooks, and computer databases such as the handbook of the microbiological media and scifinder. gray literature are source materials not available through the usual systems of publication ( e. g., books or periodicals ) and distribution. gray literature includes conference proceedings, dissertations, technical reports, and working papers. locating this type of literature is a little more difficult, but there are finding tools such as dissertations abstracts and papersfirst. what is a literature review? a literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. a literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. a summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re - organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. it might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. and depending on the situation, the


, or a reshuffling, of that information. it might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. and depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant. but how is a literature review different from an academic research paper? while the main focus of an academic research paper is to support your own argument, the focus of a literature review is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others. the academic research paper also covers a range of sources, but it is usually a select number of sources, because the emphasis is on the argument. likewise, a literature review can also have an " argument, " but it is not as important as covering a number of sources. in short, an academic research paper and a literature review contain some of the same elements. in fact, many academic research papers will contain a literature review section. but it is the aspect of the study ( the argument or the sources ) that is emphasized that determines what type of document it is. why do we write literature reviews? literature reviews provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic. if you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone. for professionals, they are useful reports that keep them up to date with what is current in the field. for scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. literature reviews also provide a solid background for a research paper ' s investigation. comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the field is essential to most research papers. who writes these things, anyway? literature reviews are written occasionally in the humanities, but mostly in the sciences and social sciences ; in experiment and lab reports, they constitute a section of the paper. sometimes a literature review is written as a paper in itself. excerpt from “ literature reviews ” from the writing center, university of north carolina at chapel hill ( http : / / writingcenter. unc. edu / resources / handouts - demos / specific - writing - assignments / literature - reviews ), 2007. collection development librarian 1014 boswell ave. crete ne 68333


educationala ' s great web sites for kids the american library association ’ s search engine of recommended sites for children. includes grade level appropriateness and summaries of each website. california preschools and daycare centers looking for a preschool or daycare for your child? this site lets you search preschools by city and includes address, phone number, tuition, hours of operation, and links to the school ' s webpage. california reading list ( crl ) this site provides reading lists that corresponds with the child ’ s reading level from grades k - 12, based on their scores reflected in the california english - language arts standards test. education. com advice, reference articles, and an online community for parents of preschool to high school students. great schools discusses california school - related issues and provides ratings and tips on how to evaluate a school. helping your child with homework the u. s. department of education ’ s publication explaining the " hows " and " whys " of homework which includes helpful tips. home schooling resources from the librarian ' s index to the internet links to home schooling websites including california organizations. star program resources additional resources including the star scoring guide, sample subject and writing test questions and informative guides for parents and teachers. star program results school, district, county and statewide summary results for standardized testing and reporting ( star ) program for the current year. includes prior year cst, sat / 9, and cat / 6 results. star test questions gives a list of cst released test questions and answers from 2003 - 2008, by subject and grade. created by moms, this site contains books reviews from a parent ' s perspective. find " fiction that fits " your criteria for a good book. recommended by the 2010 association for library service to children ' s great websites for kids committee.


your toddler 18 - 36 months - your 18 - 24 month old : your toddler learns new things every day! he or she may carry books around and pretend to read, recognize favorite books, and develop a routine with a caregiver that involves reading. - by the age of 2, children have a constantly growing vocabulary of between 1, 000 and 2, 000 words. he or she may use words in simple combinations such as " all done " or " pick up. " - your 24 - 36 month old : your toddler will be speaking in sentences, and will ask and answer simple questions. he or she will imitate sounds, actions, and words in books, as well as label parts of illustrations. your toddler will enjoy hearing his or her favorite stories read aloud repeatedly and will enjoy reading being a part of daily routines. - by age 3, children often demonstrate obvious enjoyment of reading, and will label items in illustrations. toddlers at this age may also begin creating scribbles that resemble printing. tips for reading with your toddler : - discuss the books that you read with your child. ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions. - your child will enjoy the chance to answer questions like " what is this animal? " or " what do you think will happen next? " be sure to give your child enough time to answer questions before telling them the answer or moving on. counting to ten silently in your head will help you to wait long enough for a response. this will show your child that you have respect for their developing thinking and speaking skills. - choose books that show characters doing things that your toddler does too ( eating, playing, going to bed ). - keep books on low shelves so that your toddler has easy access to them. - choose non - fiction books about colors, shapes, animals, families, etc. - teach your toddler how to handle books correctly and carefully. - share stories with repetitive text and encourage your child to repeat familiar parts along with you. - recite rhymes and sing songs during daily routines. books for toddlers : - brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? by bill martin - chicka chicka boom boom by bill martin jr. and john archambault - freight train by donald crews - from head to toe by eric carle - gingerbread baby by jan brett - my car by byron barton - planes by byron barton - the little red hen by bryon barton - the very hungry caterpi


world water day is on monday, march 22nd, and it ' s a crucial moment in the fight against the global sanitation and water crisis that ’ s killing thousands of people every single day. no matter where you are in the world you can celebrate world water day! check out some of the ways below : the world ’ s longest toilet queue is a mass mobilization event and guinness world record attempt bringing together thousands of campaigners from across the world to demand real change. ever seen water flow uphill? without help of petrol or electricity? meet the hydraulic ram, a robust and simple water - powered water pump. the ram pumps uses the power of water with a height difference flowing in the spring, stream or river to lift a fraction of the water up to 200 meters vertically, and sometimes pump it over a kilometre or two to where it is needed. no fuel or electricity required. the ram pump holds great potential for rural drinking water and irrigation water supply in hilly and mountainous areas, such as afghanistan, colombia, nepal, and the philippines. photo above : children surrounding a hydraulic ram produced by aidfi on the island negros, the philippines. if you are in the los angeles area, come celebrate world water day with a night of generosity at skybar on march 22nd at 8pm. water is big business. just five beverage companies consume enough water over the course of a year to satisfy the daily water needs of every person on the planet. of course, we may not be able to control how much water is put in a can of soda or a beer ( less water, more alcohol, please ) or the amount it takes to make paper, but we can control our own use at the workplace and even influence those who manage supplies. it may not be our nickel that gets spent on the utility bill at work, but the gains are certainly ours when we reduce the corporate water footprint on the planet. water prices are poised to rise due to increased water stress, and corporate growth is expected to be impeded as resources dwindle. make no mistake, all of this comes out of our paychecks in one way or another. at this very moment, millions of women are carrying 40 pounds of water on the return leg of their average 3. 5 - mile daily trek. so today, on international women ' s day, i want to pay tribute to the resiliency of these women, and highlight the collective possibility they embody - - if freed from the back - breaking and time - consuming burden of collecting water. providing women with access to


women ' s day, i want to pay tribute to the resiliency of these women, and highlight the collective possibility they embody - - if freed from the back - breaking and time - consuming burden of collecting water. providing women with access to a nearby source of clean water frees up their days to earn an income or engage in other more productive activities – which can help significantly elevate their status in the community. photo by beth harper via creative commons. outdoors is where we as residents tend to use huge amounts of water. in some parts of the country, mostly out in the arid west, 70 percent or more of residential water is used for lawn irrigation. something is seriously wrong with this picture. pink flamingos and fountains aside, decorative lawns that need lots of care and lots of water are scourges. it may be that suburbia is making the wells run dry. indeed, homeowners use an average of 120 gallons of water each day for things outside. think about that for a second : " things outside " - - where rain should be able to do the job nicely - - if we stick with the vegetation that grows naturally in our locale, that is. irrigation, my dear water - freak neighbor, was invented to keep our fields of food alive, not your imported turf. un secretary general ban ki - moon and former u. s. president bill clinton unveiled a new united nations program to raise money to help fight hiv / aids, malaria, tuberculosis, and more. through the program, called massivegood, travelers can donate a minimum of $ 2 on top of their airfare to support an international un health financing initiative by clicking on massivegood. five clicks, the equivalent of $ 10, bought an insecticide - treated bed net, while 25 clicks was enough to pay for a year ’ s worth of hiv medication for one child. around the world, most boreholes are drilled with big, heavy equipment which arrives by truck, makes a lot of noise, and gets the job done in a short time, at a cost of about $ 5, 000 to $ 20, 000 per borehole. but there is a growing interest in doing it in a different way - - drilling by hand. it takes longer, it is heavy work, but it also gets the job done. why are people getting interested? a hand - drilled borehole costs about $ 500 or less. lakarmissionen is one of our ngo partners in sweden and is helping us to fight the global water crisis. their operation began


knowledge is from the heart as well as the mind. it is not a mere mental perception of the forms of things or a knowledge of their material nature ; it must include the soul of things, the divine ideas that they enshrine. everything is dependent on the small things : relaxation - you always relax more ; acceptance, oneself and others - can always try ; house - cleaning - will always be just as difficult, but at least you have done it before. it is important to do all these little things question : - how can we discern whether it is the divine conscience animating us and directing us in a certain direction, or the animal soul seeking release from seemingly unfavorable environments : answer : - the divine conscience acts in all struggles for betterment, but clouded more or less in each by reason of education and habit of thought ; hence it varies in brightness. it is not possible to make a hard - and - fast fixed rule for finding out what is the animating motive. if we are trying to get into a better state, it is for us to decide if that be simply and wholly selfish. all actions are surrounded by desire as the rust is round the polished metal or the smoke round the fire, but we must try. so if we fix for ourselves the rule that we will try to do the best we can for others, we will generally be led right. if we rely on the higher self and aspire to be guided by it, we will be led to the right even if the road goes through pain, for sorrow and pain are necessary for purification of the soul. but if we wish to run away from an environment because we do not like it and without trying to live in it while not of it, we are not altering ourselves but simply altering the circumstances, and may not always gain anything. questioner : what is your attitude to the early teachings of theosophy, the blavatsky type? do you consider we have deteriorated or advanced? krishnamurti : i am afraid i do not know, because i do not know what madame blavatsky ' s teachings are. why should i? why should you know of someone else ' s teachings? you know, there is only one truth, and therefore there is only one way, which is not distant from the truth ; there is only one method to that truth, because the means are not distinct from the end. now you who have studied madame blavatsky ' s and the latest theosophy, or whatever it is,


is not distant from the truth ; there is only one method to that truth, because the means are not distinct from the end. now you who have studied madame blavatsky ' s and the latest theosophy, or whatever it is, why do you want to be students of books instead of students of life? why do you set up leaders and ask whose teachings are better? don ' t you see? please, i am not being harsh, or anything of that kind. don ' t you see? you are christians ; find out what is true and false in christianity — and you will then find out what is true. find out what is true and false in your environment with all its oppressions and cruelties, and then you will find out what is true. why do you want philosophies? because life is an ugly thing, and you hope to run away from it through philosophy. life is so empty, dull, stupid, ignominious, and you want something to bring romanticism into your world, some hope, some lingering, haunting feeling ; whereas, if you really faced the world as it is, and tackled it, you would find it something much more, infinitely greater than any philosophy, greater than any book in the world, greater than any teaching or greater than any teacher. we have really lost all sense of feeling, feeling for the oppressed, and feeling for the oppressor. you only feel when you are oppressed. so gradually we have intellectually explained away all our feelings, our sensitiveness, our delicate perceptions, until we are absolutely shallow ; and to fill that shallowness, to enrich ourselves, we study books. the theosophical society has had three objects for more than a century. they are : of these three objects the first has been considered the most important, at least since the time h. p. blavatsky and h. s. olcott arrived in india in 1879. strangely enough the ' mission - statement ' of the theosophical society in wheaton ( adyar ) rephrases the above, but leaves brotherhood out. it is as follows : to encourage open - minded enquiry into world religions, philosophy, science, and the arts in order to understand the wisdom of the ages, respect the unity of all life, and help people explore spiritual self - transformation. a mission statement is merely another word for aim or object. so one would expect the three objects of the theosophical society to agree precisely with


of the ages, respect the unity of all life, and help people explore spiritual self - transformation. a mission statement is merely another word for aim or object. so one would expect the three objects of the theosophical society to agree precisely with the mission - statement. one would also expect the wording of the mission - statement to be more modern. in that vein it would have been a nice challenge if the board of directors of the us - section of the ts had found a new sex - neutral way of saying that people should treat each other well. what else does a ' nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity ( etc ) ' mean? but to leave it all out is really going too far for me, and for several of the people i met in wheaton this summer. this mission - statement sounds selfish to me. great : i find an organisation where people will help me with my self - transformation en where my open enquiry into religions, spirituality and science will be supported. wonderful. and there is no suggestion that i personally need to do anything at all. i don ' t need to practice loving kindness. i don ' t need to find tolerance in my heart for those i ' ve learned to despise or ignore. i will perhaps learn to respect the unity of all life in abstract, but there is no need for me to do anything practical at all... i ' m obviously being cynical. in actual fact the attempt to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color is work. it means a constant attempt to overcome my conditioning. it means reaching out to people. it means practicing kindness. it means learning to deal with people i may not like. i find it very disappointing that the ts in america has edited this very important attempt out of its ' mission statement ' and hope they will change things soon. each summer the american section of the theosophical society ( ts ) has a gathering that is both business meeting and summer school. non - members of the ts are not explicitly invited, but in practice nothing is done to discourage them from coming either. the atmosphere of the gathering was both very familiar to me, as strange and new. familiar, as it was as comfortable talking to these overseas theosophists, as it has always been talking to theosophists here in the netherlands. strange as well, as inevitably things are done differently, when there is a different host - country. the opening was a lot former than


these overseas theosophists, as it has always been talking to theosophists here in the netherlands. strange as well, as inevitably things are done differently, when there is a different host - country. the opening was a lot former than i ' m used to seeing it. ' evening dress optional ' says it all, i think. for those who have not been to olcott for this : evening dress means suits and ties and dresses and in the case of theosophists : saris and indian dresses in general. first betty bland, the national president of the ts in the usa, welcomed us. then there were prayers from ' all the world ' s religions ', though this is obviously practically impossible there were a lot. the atmosphere of that ceremony was more informal than i saw it in india. it looked like people could just come up and give whatever prayer they wanted. among the many prayers more than one christian denomination was represented, as well as islam, the gayatri mantra and a humanist prayer. the opening ended with greetings from all over the world. i gave greetings from the netherlands and the international theosophical centre at naarden also in the netherlands. the business meeting consisted of reports from the various departments. i was surprised to see the work that went into making it literally entertaining. the quest bookshop even got a ( fake ) stance on the way in which annie besant appeared. this is certainly different from how i ' m used to seeing it, but i enjoyed myself anyhow. the theme of the school was ' theosophy in action '. radha burnier, international president, gave most of the lectures. room had been made for diana chapotin ' s coverage of the order of service, john algeo and joy mills. after the main lecture, each morning, there were group discussion that were - as usual - very interesting. in the afternoon there were usually lectures, workshops and meditation classes. to be honest i wasn ' t impressed with what i saw of the meditation classes. theosophists don ' t have a reputation of being very good at meditation and this didn ' t help any in my book. the morning meditation even reminded me of group hypnosis. a bad sign that confirmed this impression was that several people told me that they had a tendency to fall asleep during the morning - meditation. the lectures were very good. radha burnier ' s opening lecture was about finding balance. she meant finding a balance between the development of buddhi ( roughly


that several people told me that they had a tendency to fall asleep during the morning - meditation. the lectures were very good. radha burnier ' s opening lecture was about finding balance. she meant finding a balance between the development of buddhi ( roughly intuition ), thought, emotion and action. if there is insight, don ' t act on it immediately. let it germinate, it will express itself naturally in action or words at some point. spiritual aspiration as well needs to be in harmony. too much of it leads to ambition, too much tension or waste of energy. mental balance includes overcoming the duality of thought. this means that likes and dislikes will disappear and we will neither accept nor reject what is. diana chapotin, in her lecture about the theosophical order of service ( tos ), stressed that theosophists are active in social service in various ways. one of the main ways is individual action. she meant that theosophists all over the world are active in social work through organisations that have nothing to do with theosophy. the second way in which theosophists are active practically in the world is through the activities of local theosophical lodges and sections. the tos complements all that with very specific projects in area ' s like education, animal welfare, vegetarianism and help in case of natural disasters like recently katrina. on an organisational level tos - groups are led by theosophists, but the volunteers don ' t have to be members. though any kind of social work can be taken on, it is necessary that central theosophical values behind the work are communicated regularly to keep the work theosophical. diana explained that the work of the tos has grown dramatically recently under her leadership. she can ' t cope on her own anymore and a reorganisation is necessary. joy mills gave a public lecture on the vitality of living truth. she stressed the difference between living wisdom and book wisdom. theosophists always risk not going beyond book wisdom. if we really see the truth, our heart and our whole being will change. that ' s the power of living truth. in order for that to happen, we need to actually practice truth as we know it ( not as we want it to be ) in our daily lives. every experience that broadens our sensitivity, mirrors living truth for us. in modern thought the interconnectedness of everything is becoming quite clear. h. p. blavatsky actually went one


we want it to be ) in our daily lives. every experience that broadens our sensitivity, mirrors living truth for us. in modern thought the interconnectedness of everything is becoming quite clear. h. p. blavatsky actually went one step further : she saw everything as one living being, one life. the theory of gaia shows this on the level of the earth, but for blavatsky it ' s true of the whole universe. breath is used as an image of that oneness. radha ' s second lecture dealt with a very central theme : growing in wisdom. in this lecture she repeated a theme that threads through her watchtower pieces in the theosophist as well : humanity grows in knowledge, but not in wisdom. the knowledge that has been developed over the past two centuries leads to destruction because there is no knowledge on what is right in the long run. it is relatively easy to develop knowledge. it is very hard to find out what right action is. we don ' t realise enough that in hurting someone else, we hurt ourselves. wisdom leads to a peaceful, sensitive world. knowledge leads to pride and this can only be challenged by becoming aware of the limitations of knowledge. otherwise knowledge leads to a feeling of separateness. on the other hand it is necessary to learn to think independently and become aware to what extent we are all influenced by others. an example she gave is that the simple life is no longer seen as ideal. everybody wants to live as is portrayed on television. in all her lectures this week radha reminded us that our personal problems need to come second. growth in wisdom means growth in altruism and that means forgetting self. our personal problems and our joys are both temporary. we make them bigger than they are. why is suffering such a large problem? the ts was founded to fight prejudice. prejudice hinders an insight into real problems and can only be dissolved by a feeling of connectedness with all human beings. our altruism needs to become universal. the buddha said : it ' s better to give a little lovingly, than to give a lot without love. it was very impressive to hear the report of theosophists living near the area where katrina hit. there were slides as accompanying there very personal report. the most important insight i got from that was that storms are normal for the people in this region. normally people do not leave in case of a storm. despite that fact, and this has not been stressed enough, this was the most successful evacuation in history


most important insight i got from that was that storms are normal for the people in this region. normally people do not leave in case of a storm. despite that fact, and this has not been stressed enough, this was the most successful evacuation in history. around 90 - 95 % of the people in the new orleans region were evacuated. we were told that criminals always stay behind so they can loot. this is part of the pattern. because this storm did so much more damage than most other storms, everything got bigger than usual. john algeo spoke about the most holy mission of theosophy. he started by saying that blavatsky in her final five years on earth, had left a legacy of five : these three letters were the backbone to johns two lectures. they give direction to theosophical work in the world. blavatsky ' s last years were tough, but john stressed that out of disaster, blessings often come. disasters mix things up. tibetan buddhism would never have spread to the west as it has, if china hadn ' t invaded tibet. in her 1891 letter, blavatsky mainly spoke of living theosophy, not the teachings. in her first letter she stressed the aim of the theosophical society to unite people of all nations and altruism. organisations are important, but they can ' t created holiness, health or wholeness. we have to become fully human, that is what the word master signifies : to master ourselves. there can only be harmony in organisations, if opposites are balanced, not through wiping out differences. in his second lecture he returned to the theme of unifying people of all nations. he also pointed out that every wise administration knows that things can ' t be forced. no rule can open the heart - mind of people. no group is safe from fundamentalism. theosophists too run this risk, though in real theosophy there can be no dogmas, because it is based on real insight and rational thinking. real theosophy reflects divine reason, the reason of buddhi. john closed with blavatsky ' s words in the last letter to the american conventions : to be theosophists, live theosophy. in her next lecture radha talked about growing in love. love is our true being, that aspect of ourselves which is one with every other. love is beyond words, it ' s part of universal life. it is necessary to feel affection for kids and animals. continually looking for security, that wish


love. love is our true being, that aspect of ourselves which is one with every other. love is beyond words, it ' s part of universal life. it is necessary to feel affection for kids and animals. continually looking for security, that wish masks a desire for love. our world is dark, there is little friendship, little love. how do we remove the barriers that separate us from our essential nature : love? to this practical question, radha ' s answer is to be more sensitive. we have to feel as others feel, without identifying with their pain. you can ' t help others by going along with their pain, but you have to know what it is. right action requires going beyond social custom and convention and being really sensitive. this sensitivity doesn ' t hinder our happiness. our real nature isn ' t just love, it ' s also bliss. but we need to become conscious of other people. unkind thoughts hurt others, and ultimately ourselves. they are like a hungry wolf that eats up our best tendencies. annie besant said that if we can ' t see god in others, we must be the worst possible atheists. the problem with gossip is that it is superficial. we have to learn to look under the surface, without judgment of any kind. the habit to criticize strengthens the ego. be a missionary of love and generosity. be prepared to give of yourself. don ' t just do what is necessary, but actively contribute to the welfare of people in conversation. every tendency of personality has to disappear. that way of looking teaches us to overcome pettiness. the first step is the last step, because the direction in which we move is of primary importance. radha ' s final lecture was called ' purification through action '. real wisdom is in seeing action in non - action and non - action in action. the central question she asked : what is right action? each of us has to decide that for ourselves. keep in mind that our energy impacts the world, not just our actions. everything is interconnected. that ' s why abstaining from action isn ' t the same thing as freedom from action. when actions create problems, it ' s not right action. right action is necessary, but we have to avoid identifying with it. in everything you do, ask yourself if there is egoism involved. the tricky part is that even that thought is in a way selfish. we need an inner balance that is independent of success or failure. success and failure are part of the ups and downs of


you do, ask yourself if there is egoism involved. the tricky part is that even that thought is in a way selfish. we need an inner balance that is independent of success or failure. success and failure are part of the ups and downs of life, but we don ' t have to inwardly get involved in that. the risk of accomplishment is that one starts thinking : i can do this. that feeling can get in the way of right action. the problem with selfish action is that even if the short - term result seems good, it ' s never permanent. radha closed with one of krishnamurti ' s insights : actions that are a product of the past, don ' t work. action only works if it ' s the consequence of right insight. this lecture was very insightful, but i missed one aspect that the title does suggest : that sometimes insight follows unselfish action. right action can help clean the personality. one has to start somewhere. the final session was a question and answer round with radha burnier, joy mills and john algeo. the questions had come in through the internet and from the discussion groups. what follows is a selection. can muslims become members of the theosophical society? yes, we have muslim members in indonesia, india and pakistan. radha stressed that muslim women aren ' t forced to stay at home in all countries. in many countries they are free. why do people ignore the middle path? the middle path is hard, said radha, people prefer it easy. it ' s hard to overcome the tendency to overdo things. a question was asked about loving yourself. joy mills answered that it is important to look at yourself objectively. observe yourself, it is unnecessary to become emotional or judgmental about yourself. loving yourself means accepting what is, and resolving to change. radha asks what it means to love yourself. can you love your shadow? reality is, it doesn ' t need to be loved. as this summary shows, the lectures were very interesting and deep. i really enjoyed myself and met some very good people.