! this process is often imitated with perfumes and " natural " or artificial flavoring, but results in unpleasant and sharp aromas and tastes. choose real jasmine blossoms and scenting methods for the best experience. oolong teas are made from large, broad tea leaves that are picked later in the season than green tea. oolongs can be made from the bud of the tea plant with up to three large leaves still attached to the twig, or from a single large leaf. some oolongs are green in color and tightly rolled into little pellets, while others are brown, crimped, or loosely folded. what separates oolongs from other classes of tea is that oolongs are only partially oxidized. particular to the style of oolong being produced, a complex method of bruising the tea leaves is used to break down cell walls and begin the oxidation of the leaf. low heat is then used to halt the process, allowing for the still pliable leave to be rolled, curled, crimped, twisted, and fired into their final form. different levels of oxidation and firing are used to bring out complex flavors and aromas that are uniquely “ oolong. ” sometimes referred to as the “ tea for connoisseurs, ” oolongs possess aromatics that range from distinctively floral, to reminiscent of stone fruit. flavors can be smooth, savory, full - bodied and rich ; or delicate, with notes of orchid, honey, and exotic fruits. black tea results from the full oxidation of the bud and first two leaves of the tea plant. like green and white teas, a high quality black tea is picked early in the spring and contains a high ratio of bud - to - leaf. unlike other teas, leaves destined for black tea are spread thickly during the withering process. an extended withering time ( up to 18 hours ) drives moisture out of the leaf and begins the conversion of delicate “ juices ” within the leaf into dark, complex liquoring compounds. the oxidation begins at this stage and continues into the rolling process. after being sorted by size, the withered leaves will be twisted, compressed, and rolled multiple times, breaking down cell walls and allowing enzymes to mix. special oxidation chambers are used to feed air through thin layers of rolled leaves to quicken the process. once the tea master determines oxidation is complete and the flavors and aromas properly developed, the leaves will be dried, cooled, and


enzymes to mix. special oxidation chambers are used to feed air through thin layers of rolled leaves to quicken the process. once the tea master determines oxidation is complete and the flavors and aromas properly developed, the leaves will be dried, cooled, and packaged for sale grown and produced similarly all over the world, black tea is graded and sold by its size of leaf and point of origin. high quality black teas are of whole leaf with a high ratio of leaf buds ( tips ) to leaf. terms like “ flowery orange pekoe ” ( fop ) are used to describe a full leaf tea with tips. names like : assam, darjeeling, yunnan, and ceylon refer to the region where the tea was grown lower quality black teas are prepared from fannings and dust ( not full leaf ) will taste bitter and harsh. full leaf black teas will have aromas that are clean, nutty, and bright, with flavors that are brisk, full, coppery and soft. pu · erh ( pu - er ) is an ancient healing tea picked from 500 year old organic wild tea trees in the majestic mountains of china ' s yunnan province. pu · erh ’ s history began over 2000 years ago when tea was transported along five tea horse roads ’. the first and most traveled road began in the village of pu erh. in order to maximize their load, merchants compressed the tea, and to their surprise, the tea tasted better at the journey ’ s end and yielded additional health benefits. it is said the last emperor ’ s mother, known as the beautiful countenance, was cured of her gout by drinking pu · erh pu · erh is processed differently than traditional white, green, oolong, and black teas. pu · erh undergoes a unique fermenting process : once picked, the leaves are piled, dampened, and turned, over a 60 - day period. the tea is then dried and ready to be compressed into bricks for additional aging, or left as loose tea, which numi uses in its tea bags. the resulting taste is rich and smooth with hints of malt - a great alternative to coffee. numi is first to bring you this revolutionary healthy tea in tea bags, aged compressed tea bricks and bottled iced teas. health & vitality the roots of these mature trees gather more minerals from the earth resulting in elevated levels of antioxidants ; more than most green teas. the unique fermentation process then acts on the nutrients


and bottled iced teas. health & vitality the roots of these mature trees gather more minerals from the earth resulting in elevated levels of antioxidants ; more than most green teas. the unique fermentation process then acts on the nutrients that already exist in the tea leaves. pu · erh has been purported in chinese culture to aid digestion and metabolism, maintain healthy cholesterol levels, help with weight management and naturally boost energy ( without the jitters ). * according to independent orac tests, numi ’ s bottled puerh iced teas contain 3x more antioxidants than leading brand black and green iced teas. * along with a healthy diet and exercise. after tea leaves are picked and still moist, they are sewn with cotton thread together with flowers into various shapes and bundles ( tea leaves may also be scented with jasmine blossoms before sewing for a more floral flavor ). some shapes take one minute to sew, while other more elaborate designs containing lilies, chrysanthemum, or osmanthus flowers may take up to twelve minutes. the sewn leaves and flowers are shaped into bundles or rosettes and then undergo the usual drying and firing process. they require boiling water in order for the leaves to expand and unfurl. tea is a misnomer for anything steeped in hot water. teas come from the tea plant. “ teasan ” is our term, from the french tisanes, for brewed herbal beverages ; which, strictly speaking, are not from the camellia sinensis plant. herbal teasans are dried pure herbs, fruits, spices and flowers, and are naturally caffeine free ( with a few exceptions like yerba mate ). grown all over the world, teasans have been steeped in hot water since the beginning of time for a warm soothing beverage or an inigorating boost to the day. “ tea absorbs yesterday ’ s weather ” and soaks in anything around it. it is recommended to store loose leaf tea in an air - tight container that is placed in a dry cool area away from light and strong scented items such as coffee or spices. stored in this fashion, tea will remain fresh for approximately 6 - 9 months. we offer small and large storage containers. tea is one of the few beverages naturally containing caffeine and has been enjoyed for millennia as an enlivened boost with focused clarity. unlike coffee which is absorbed quickly and can cause unpleasant jitters and an afternoon crash, the caffe


. tea is one of the few beverages naturally containing caffeine and has been enjoyed for millennia as an enlivened boost with focused clarity. unlike coffee which is absorbed quickly and can cause unpleasant jitters and an afternoon crash, the caffeine in tea provides a gentle and sustained energy balanced by the calming effect of theanine, another compound found naturally in tea leaves. this unique combination makes tea the perfect beverage to enjoy throughout the day. a 6 to 8 ounce cup of tea generally contains between 15 and 70 milligrams of caffeine. remember, 8 ounces of brewed coffee has a range of 95 - 200 miligrams, so you can be sure that your cup of tea will always be lower in caffeine. we ’ re asked all the time how many milligrams of caffeine are in a particular tea, and the honest answer is : we don ’ t know for sure! the environment each year, location of the bush, processing style and method of steeping all has an effect on the amount in your cup, so we can only provide a range. we use the lower, medium, high and higher caffeine labeling on our package based on past tests and the proportion of tea to ingredients in each blend. our decaffeinated teas have 99. 9 % of the caffeine removed with a beneficial process known as effervescence that leaves no - residue and preserves the antioxidants. herbal teasans are derived from a variety of plants and herbs that naturally do not contain caffeine and are thus caffeine - free. one exception is the south american beverage yerba mate which contains a caffeine content comparable to coffee.


| nih guidance on informed consent for gene transfer research nih guidelines : " how will the major points covered in appendix m - ii, description of proposal, be disclosed to potential participants and / or their parents or guardians in a language that is understandable to them? " improving comprehensibility of the consent form : comprehensibility of the consent form is promoted by : the text of the consent form can then provide detailed information about the particular study, and may repeat some of the summarized issues in the context of the particular study. sometimes, " research " and " treatment " terms are used interchangeably in consent forms. consistent use of terms is preferred, however, to help minimize the potential for confusion. for example, one term should be used to describe the experimental gene transfer intervention, instead of calling it, at various places, study injection, delivery of a modified virus vector, or gene shot. one term should be used to refer to the investigator ( instead of using, for example, both " researcher " and " study doctor " ), and one term should refer to participants ( instead of using, for example, both " patients " and " subjects " to refer to those enrolled in the study ). furthermore, consent forms should be written in the second person rather than the first person. telling potential subjects, " this is what will happen to you if you are in this study " conveys information more clearly than " i have been told that if i join this study, this will happen to me " - a construction that can be awkward and confusing. in addition, the use of emphatic and directive language should be avoided. a common example is " you understand that.... ". this construction should never be used in consent forms because it conveys a presumption about what the participants comprehend and detracts from the consent form ' s proper educational focus on providing information and explanations to potential participants. various tools exist to gauge the comprehensibility of the consent form before it is used with potential participants. such tools include : improving comprehensibility of the consent process : in some studies that are especially complicated or risky, or that propose to enroll especially vulnerable participants, it may be desirable to develop a communication evaluation plan to ensure that study personnel have clearly and thoroughly explained key information and that potential participants understand key issues. such evaluation can take many forms, including : communicating with non - english speakers : federal regulations require that consent be provided in a language understood by the potential participant. for potential participants who do not


the good news just keeps rolling in for sharks – this time from toronto and taiwan. yesterday the toronto city council voted to ban the sale and use of shark fins in the city ; the ban will take effect in september 2012. meanwhile, taiwan has announced its intention to ban the practice of shark finning starting next year, a step forward in promoting the sustainable fishing and humane treatment of sharks. shark finning is the practice of cutting the valuable fins off of sharks, and throwing the dead or dying body back in the ocean. shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, a popular and expensive dish that is served primarily in china and taiwan. while the new regulation won ’ t stop the catching of sharks, it will mean that boats have to bring the whole shark in to port. this means that the species and size of the caught sharks can be monitored, and therefore can help assess the trends in populations. while this is a step in the right direction, it is important to reduce the demand for shark fins as well. up to 73 million sharks are killed each year for the global shark fin trade, and according to the international union for conservation of nature, about 20 percent of all sharks are threatened with extinction. that ’ s why oceana works to save sharks from overfishing. you can help by supporting our work to protect sharks! - disabled killer whale survives with help from its pod posted tue, may 21, 2013 - oceana ceo andy sharpless discusses his new book, the perfect protein posted wed, may 22, 2013 - happy world turtle day! posted thu, may 23, 2013 - washington passes legislation to fight seafood fraud posted fri, may 24, 2013


leafscale gulper shark today the european commission proposed new catch limits for 2013 and 2014 that will allow fishermen to exploit some little - known but important deep - sea fishes against the advice of scientists. as this video of the european deep - sea prepared by our european office demonstrates, even though light doesn ’ t penetrate to the ocean bottom, it ' s still thriving with life. it ' s a strange world and the animals themselves often have fittingly strange names, like the mediterranean slimehead, greater forkbeard, and conger, to name a few. some species, like the roundnose grenadier, blue ling and red seabream, need special protection. executive director of oceana europe, xavier pastor explains why : “ due to their biological characteristics, like low reproduction, slow growth rate and late maturity, deep sea species are highly vulnerable to overexploitation. their management must, now more than ever, follow the precautionary approach. ” european fishermen have increasingly turned to scouring the deep - sea for fish as more traditional stocks have fallen and pirate fishermen have been able to hammer stocks of threatened deep - sea sharks through the sale of shark liver oil in the eu. right now oceana ’ s research vessel, the oceana ranger, is sailing off of the picturesque algarve section of portugal using an underwater robot, known as an rov, to explore and document the scarcely seen world of seamounts, deep - sea coral reefs and seafloor habitat. it ’ s an effort that will help scientists develop conservation proposals and better protect this vital ecosystem - - one that can be obliterated in an instant by bottom trawlers. keep up with the ranger expedition online and check out the latest pictures and video.


seco de los olivos : overview located in front of the coast of almeria ( southeast spain ), the chella bank ( seco de los olivos in spanish ) is a seamount whose top is found at a depth of 80 metres. it is a set of elevations that houses a very rich biodiversity, including deep - sea coral reefs, cetaceans, sharks and lots of fish. oceana is responsible for documenting this area as a partner of the life + indemares project of the european union, with the objective of turning it into a protected marine area within the natura 2000 network. in the frame of this project, oceana has obtained never before seen images of the bank with an underwater robot ( rov ). as well as these videos, which reach 600 metres depth, the on board diaries which are identified with the logo life + indemares illustrate the main findings of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 expeditions and also explain the threats presented by aggressive fishing and rubbish. oceana first documented chella bank in 2006 and the following year found in these waters the first carnivorous sponge observed in spain. all the details put together up to now demonstrate that this site in the alboran sea is an ecologically important area within the mediterranean and it is necessary to protect it.


theophany ( from greek theophania, meaning " appearance of god " ) is one of the great feasts of the orthodox church, celebrated on january 6. it is the feast which reveals the most holy trinity to the world through the baptism of the lord ( mt. 3 : 13 - 17 ; mark 1 : 9 - 11 ; luke 3 : 21 - 22 ). baptism of christ this observance commemorates christ ' s baptism by john the forerunner in the river jordan, and the beginning of christ ' s earthly ministry. the feast of theophany is the culmination of the christmas season, which starts on december 25 and ends on january 6. in mystic commemoration of this event, the great blessing of water is performed on this day, and the holy water so blessed is used by the local priest to bless the homes of the faithful. the feast is called theophany because at the baptism of christ the holy trinity appeared clearly to mankind for the first time - - the father ' s voice is heard from heaven, the son of god is incarnate and standing physically in the jordan, and the holy spirit descends on him in the form of a dove. this feast is also sometimes referred to as epiphany by english - speaking orthodox christians, but that name more properly refers to the western christian feast falling on that same day and commemorating the visit of the magi to the child jesus. the term " epiphany " does appear in the services for this feast, however. originally, there was just one christian feast of the shining forth of god to the world in the human form of jesus of nazareth. it included the celebration of christ ' s birth, the adoration of the wisemen, and all of the childhood events of christ such as his circumcision and presentation to the temple as well as his baptism by john in the jordan. there seems to be little doubt that this feast, like easter and pentecost, was understood as the fulfillment of a previous jewish festival, in this case the feast of lights. celebration of the feast the services of theophany are set up exactly as those of the nativity. historically the christmas services were established later. - for as many as been baptized into christ, - have put on christ the gospel readings of all the services tell of the lord ' s baptism by john in the jordan river. the epistle reading of the divine liturgy tells of the consequences of the lord ' s appearing which is the divine epiphany. since the main feature


readings of all the services tell of the lord ' s baptism by john in the jordan river. the epistle reading of the divine liturgy tells of the consequences of the lord ' s appearing which is the divine epiphany. since the main feature of the feast is the blessing of water. it is prescribed to follow both the divine liturgy of the eve of the feast and the divine liturgy of the day itself. but most local parishes do it only once when most of the parishioners can be present. the blessing verifies that mankind, and all of creation, were created to be filled with the sanctifying presence of god. - when you, o lord were baptized in the jordan - the worship of the trinity was made manifest - for the voice of the father bore witness to you - and called you his beloved son. - and the spirit, in the form of a dove, - confirmed the truthfulness of his word. - o christ, our god, you have revealed yourself - and have enlightened the world, glory to you! kontakion ( tone 4 ) - today you have shown forth to the world, o lord, - and the light of your countenance has been marked on us. - knowing you, we sing your praises. - you have come and revealed yourself, - o unapproachable light. troparion ( tone 4 ) - today the lord enters the jordan and cries out to john : - " do not be afraid to baptize me. - for i have come to save adam, the first - formed man. " kontakion ( tone 4 ) - prepare, o zebulon, - and adorn yourself, o naphtali ; - river jordan, cease flowing - and receive with joy the master coming to be baptized. - adam, rejoice with our first mother - and do not hide yourself as you did of old in paradise ; - for having seen you naked, - he has appeared to clothe you with the first garment. - christ has appeared to renew all creation. eve and afterfeast hymn troparion ( tone 4 ) - of old, the river jordan - turned back before elisha ' s mantle at elijah ' s ascension. - the waters were parted in two - and the waterway became a dry path. - this is truly a symbol of baptism - by which we pass through this mortal life. - christ has appeared in the jordan to sanctify the waters! - discourse on the day of the baptism


what is the ca 19 - 9 radioimmunoassay ( ria ) test? what does the ca 19 - 9 test measure? the ca 19 - 9 radioimmunoassay ( ria ) is a simple blood test that measures the level of tumor - associated antigens found in the blood serum of a person who has pancreatic cancer. antigens are substances that cause the immune system to make a specific immune response. ca 19 - 9 antigens are foreign substances released by pancreatic tumor cells. the normal range of ca 19 - 9 in the blood of a healthy individual is 0 - 37 u / ml ( units per milliliter ). ca 19 - 9 associated antigen levels are elevated in the blood of many patients with pancreatic cancer. it is important to note that not every patient with pancreatic cancer will have an elevated ca 19 - 9 level and some non - cancerous conditions can cause high ca 19 - 9 levels. for these reasons, the ca 19 - 9 test cannot be used as a diagnostic or screening test for pancreatic cancer. when is the ca 19 - 9 test performed? after the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is confirmed and if the individual ’ s ca 19 - 9 level was elevated before treatment, the ca 19 - 9 test is used periodically to judge the effectiveness of various treatments. what do the values or numbers of a ca 19 - 9 test mean? in general, if ca 19 - 9 values increase, then progression or growth of the tumor is indicated. if the values remain the same, then the disease is stable. finally, if ca 19 - 9 values decrease, then a response to treatment is indicated. a decline in ca 19 - 9 levels after treatment for pancreatic cancer followed by a rise later may suggest tumor recurrence. why is the ca 19 - 9 test performed? changes in ca 19 - 9 levels help determine if the tumor is progressing, remaining stable or responding to treatment. this test helps doctors decide if treatment should be changed or if additional tests or scans are necessary. how is the ca 19 - 9 test performed? a blood sample is taken from the patient and then sent to a laboratory for testing to determine the level of ca 19 - 9 present in the blood. this blood sample is measured using a radioimmunoassay, or ria, test. radioimmunoassay is a laboratory technique that can identify specific substances in the blood. how often is the ca 19 - 9 test performed? the doctor


sample is measured using a radioimmunoassay, or ria, test. radioimmunoassay is a laboratory technique that can identify specific substances in the blood. how often is the ca 19 - 9 test performed? the doctor will determine how frequently the ca 19 - 9 tests should be performed. if the tumor seems to be growing despite treatment efforts, the ca 19 - 9 test may be repeated weekly or after each round of treatment is completed. in a patient who is not currently receiving treatment, the ca 19 - 9 test may be used periodically over time to determine if that patient should resume treatment or undergo additional testing. people who had their tumors surgically removed might have periodic ca 19 - 9 tests as part of their follow - up care. can conditions other than pancreatic cancer cause an elevated ca 19 - 9? yes. while a high ca 19 - 9 is most commonly associated with pancreatic cancer, other cancers, such as colorectal, lung, and gall bladder cancers, can also cause elevated levels. high ca 19 - 9 levels can also be caused by non - cancerous conditions such as gall stones, pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, and liver disease. during radiation therapy, ca 19 - 9 levels might be elevated due to the dying cancer cells releasing ca 19 - 9. since the results of a ca 19 - 9 test are not accurate, the test is not performed while the patient receives radiation treatment. the information and services provided by the pancreatic cancer action network, inc. are for informational purposes only. the information and services are not intended to be substitutes for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. if you are ill, or suspect that you are ill, see a doctor immediately! the pancreatic cancer action network does not recommend nor endorse any specific physicians, products or treatments even though they may be mentioned on this site. in addition, please note that any personal information you provide to the pancreatic cancer action network ' s associates during telephone and / or email consultations may be stored in a secure database to assist the pancreatic cancer action network, inc. in providing you with the best service possible. portions of the constituent data stored in this database may be used to inform future programs and services of the pancreatic cancer action network, inc., and may be provided in aggregate form to third parties to guide future pancreatic cancer research and treatment efforts. the pancreatic cancer action network, inc. will not provide personal identifying


uncovering the origins of the earth study of the earth bricks of the earth : an innovative way to engage students in green building techniques the politics of the earth : environmental discourses movement of the earth ’ s crust the assessment of the damage from indian ocean tsunami on the coastal morphology of the andaman seacoast of thailand by remote sensing facts about the earth the blood of the earth — water mapping and analysis of marine pollution in tuticorin coastal area using remote sensing and gis evaluation of fluoride contamination in groundwater using remote sensing and gis techniques in virudhunagar district, india use coupon below to get discount at ecampus. com! $ 3 off textbook orders over $ 75 $ 4 off textbook orders over $ 90 $ 5 off textbook orders over $ 100 copy the coupon code before clicking the button! | amazon us | | paperback | | $ 303. 49 - $ 389. 00 | the book presents a comprehensive overview of the current state - of - the - art in the atmospheric boundary layer ( abl ) research. it focuses on experimental abl research, while most of the books on abl... remote sensing of the earth from space : atmospheric correction tsunamis are underrated as major hazards, mainly due to the misconceptions that they occur infrequently and happen along some distant shoreline. however, evidence for past great tsunami has recently... buried waste on the seabed is a major source of pollution. but, very often, waste sites are not known until a serious problem occurs, or are not adequately mapped. recent examples around europe... this book describes a new tool called the generic model system for simulations and assessment of potential radioactive spreading in the arctic regions. it considers the present and future potential... this popular book introduces the fundamentals of remote sensing from an earth resource ( versus engineering ) perspective. the author... the enclosed and marginal seas surrounding the european continent exhibit a wide spectrum of environmental traits, ranging from sub - polar to sub - tropical climates, from shallow continental shelves to... this book is an introductory graduate - level text on atmospheric remote sensing. the basic interaction between radiation and the atmosphere is examined, and illustrated with actual sensing examples.... a classic of nineteenth - century french literature, this science fiction tale delves into the depths of the earth, and by so doing, reveals the staggeringly long history of our planet. this... many advances in spaceborne instrumentation, remote sensing, and data


you have an empty container, and an infinite number of marbles, each numbered with an integer from 1 to infinity. at the start of the minute, you put marbles 1 - 10 into the container, then remove one of the marbles and throw it away. you do this again after 30 seconds, then again in 15 seconds, and again in 7. 5 seconds. you continuosly repeat this process, each time after half as long an interval as the time before, until the minute is over. since this means that you repeated the process an infinite number of times, you have " processed " all your marbles. how many marbles are in the container at the end of the minute if for every repetition ( numbered n ) a. you remove the marble numbered ( 10 * n ) b. you remove the marble numbered ( n ) ( in reply to my ideas? well... to be specific, i think you said that you can ' t multiply or divide infinity ( not dividing by infinity ). i ' m not sure what dividing by infinity means, unless you ' re implying dividing by a variable as the variable grows towards infinity. in which case, you are talking about the " normal " limit described by calculus. you said in your first post " so it ' s infinity times 9 divided by 10... wait, we can ' t divide or multiply infinity ". i don ' t see why not. but an infinity multiplied by, divided by, added to, or lessened by a constant is the same infinity. again, i would refer you to studies about what infinities mean and that they are normally dealt with as sets of elements and operations ( often mappings ) on those sets.


a pheochromocytoma is a tumor typically of the adrenal gland, originating within the chromaffin cells, which produces excessive adrenaline. aside from the adrenal glands, it may also be located in other chromaffin tissue. although such tumors may grow to a considerable size, most are less than 10 cm. signs and symptoms pheochromocytoma symptoms vary depending upon the case and individual, but some possibilities may include the following : anxiety, nervousness, or panic attacks excessive sweating ( diaphoresis ) hyperglycemia ( elevated blood sugar levels ) hypertension ( high blood pressure ) localized amyloid deposits ( upon microscopic examination ) lower chest pain pallor ( pale color ) tachycardia ( elevated heart rate ) upper abdomen pain continue reading additional information on pheochromocytoma symptoms. diagnosis and treatment pheochromocytoma diagnosis is made by a doctor or medical professional. common methods of receiving a diagnosis involve measuring the catecholamines in the blood plasma, or metanephrines and catecholamines in the urine. if a pheochromocytoma is diagnosed, ct scan imaging may be useful in localizing the tumor. certain other conditions can be ruled out in the diagnosis process : anxiety disorders, essential hypertension, hyperthyroidism, insulinoma, paragangliomas, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, and renovascular hypertension. pheochromocytoma treatment methods involve surgery : either surgical resection ( laparotomy or laparoscopy ), or adrenalectomy ( total removal of any adrenal glands affected by the tumor ). pheochromocytoma prognosis depends upon a number of factors, such as whether the tumor is malignant, and if so, how far it has spread. prognosis of such malignant cases in children is not as well known as in adults. continue to read more regarding diagnosis and treatment. it is sometimes known as the " ten percent tumor " due to the fact that a variety of its statistics are approximately 10 %. as an example, roughly 10 % of cases involve malignant pheochromocytoma tumors.


ariel schalit / ap locusts land on a sand dune in negev desert, southern israel, near the border with egypt, march 5. a swarm of locusts crossed into israel from neighboring egypt monday, raising fears that israel could be hit with a biblical plague ahead of the passover holiday. israel sent out planes to spray pesticides over agricultural fields to prevent damage by the small swarm of about 2, 000 locusts, said dafna yurista, a spokeswoman for the agriculture ministry. the ministry also set up an emergency hotline and asked israelis to be vigilant in reporting locust sightings. scientists can learn a lot about the locusts swarming over egypt and israel just by looking at the pictures. keith cressman, senior locust forecasting officer for the u. n. food and agriculture organization, is based hundreds of miles away in rome — but he can tell that these particular bugs may be on their last legs. " the few good pics i have seen of the locusts show that they are a brick red rather than pinkish, " cressman told nbc news in an email. " both colors indicate they are immature adults, but the dark color suggests they are old and tired rather than young and hungry. hence, the infestations arriving in northeast egypt and israel will probably come to nothing. " that ' s the good news. the bad news is that other locust swarms could pose a more serious threat to the region ' s agriculture later this year. to get the details, check out the full story in cosmic log. ibraheem abu mustafa / reuters a palestinian farmer displays locusts at a farm in khan younis in the southern gaza strip, march 5. palestinian officials said locusts had not hit gaza in several decades and numbers of locusts that reached gaza on tuesday were small but the agriculture ministry said they have taken all necessary steps to fight it if larger numbers hit the gaza strip. amir cohen / reuters a swarm of locusts fly near kmehin in israel ' s negev desert. ariel schalit / ap a locust on a sand dune in negev desert, southern israel. experts estimate that a swarm of 30 million locusts in egypt will cause severe crop damage. the correlation to the plague of locusts in the bible has the internet buzzing. more about locusts : - locusts hit egypt and israel before passover - gaddafi ' s fall leads to desert locusts ' rise - locusts illustrate the science of swarm


ingenious fishing method may be spreading through dolphinsaugust 24th, 2011 in biology / plants & animals ( physorg. com ) - - researchers from murdoch university believe a recently documented method of fishing may be spreading throughout a population of dolphins. indo - pacific bottlenose dolphins ( tursiops aduncus ) in shark bay were photographed engaging in conching in 2007 and 2009. the dolphins would trap small fish in large conch shells with their rostrums ( beaks ), then bring the shells to the surface and shake them, causing the water to drain out and the fish to fall into their mouths. murdoch cetacean research unit researcher simon allen says this previously rarely witnessed phenomenon might be on the increase, suggesting that the technique is spreading. in the last four months alone, the research team have seen and photographed the behaviour no less than six times, possibly even seven. if and that is a big if we are witnessing the horizontal spread of this behaviour, then i would assume that it spreads by an associate of a conching dolphin closely observing the behaviour and then imitating it, mr. allen said. it is a tantalising possibility that this behavior could spread before our very eyes over a field season or two and that we could track that spread. the prospect of observing a learned behavior spreading through a population over a short period of time is exciting in itself, but the behavior also raises new questions about how exactly dolphins engage in conching. as yet, we dont know if dolphins simply pursue fish into the refuge of the large, empty conch / bailer shells or whether they actually manipulate the shells prior perhaps turning them over so that the opening is facing up in order to make them appealing to fish as a place to hide from the jaws of death, mr. allen said. if we were to set up a few shells opening down in a known location and either witness dolphins turning them over, see evidence of them having been turned over when we werent around, or better still get some video footage of dolphins manipulating them in some way, then that would be priceless, since that implies forward planning on the dolphins part. i wouldnt be too surprised to find such cunning and devilish ploys being adopted by shark bays bottlenose dolphins. until such observations are recorded though, mr. allen says it is too early to rush to any conclusions. members of the murdoch cetacean unit, with colleagues from the university of zurich, spend roughly four months of the year studying western shark bays


the steps by which molecules in the primordial soup came together to form the genetic backbone of life are largely unknown. one approach to finding out is to artificially create basic life functions in the laboratory and consider if such conditions might have been possible in the earth ’ s past. writing in physical review letters, hubert krammer and colleagues at the ludwig maximilian university of munich in germany show they are able to drive the replication of segments of trna ( transfer ribonucleic acid ), the molecule responsible for translating genetic code into the production of specific proteins, using a purely thermal process. krammer et al. begin by rapidly cooling a solution of four halves of trna from high temperatures to so that the molecules form hairpins — a state where the strand forms a closed loop on itself, except for a snippet of a sequence of bases, called a “ toe hold. ” it is this toe hold, which, in principle, carries enough information to encode a protein, that the authors try to protect and replicate by using a thermal process to coax the hairpins to open and pair to a complementary strand. when krammer et al. thermally cycle the solution between and, the energy stored in the hairpin ( which prefers it to bind to a complementary pair instead of itself ) compensates for the loss of entropy associated with the molecules pairing up with their partners. this thermally driven process occurs on a relatively fast time scale of about seconds, an important factor since molecules need to replicate faster than they degrade. according to the authors, convection currents in prebiotic liquids could have provided the necessary quenching and thermal cycling. – jessica thomas


biologic therapy may be used in the treatment of kidney cancer that has spread. biologic therapy is a treatment that uses drugs to improve the way your body ’ s immune system fights disease. your immune system is your body ’ s natural defense against disease. biologic therapy attempts to repair, stimulate, or enhance the immune system so that it can fight the cancer more effectively. these therapies can be used to fight cancer or to lessen the side effects that may be caused by some cancer treatments. examples of agents used to treat kidney cancer include interferon and interleukin 2 ( also known as il - 2, aldesleukin, or proleukin ). doctors are investigating using interferons with other biologic agents. interleukin 2 ( il - 2 ) is approved for metastatic kidney cancer, when the disease has spread to other places in the body. the medicine is given either subcutaneously ( shots under the skin ) or intravenously ( by vein ) either in the hospital or in an outpatient setting. treatment may be given in cycles separated by a rest period. although only about one in six patients with renal cell carcinoma have shrinkage of their cancer with il - 2, some of these patients have disappearance of their cancer ( complete remission ) that can be long - lasting. unfortunately, the medicine has many side effects and is not appropriate for all patients with renal cell carcinoma. a combination treatment of bevacizumab ( avastin ) and interferon - alpha is used for patients with kidney cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. the medicines are given intravenously and work by preventing the growth of new blood vessels to the tumor. the drugs were approved after clinical trials showed an increase of five months in survival rate versus interferon - alpha alone. tumor size also decreased 30 % with the combination medicines, versus 12 % with interferon - alpha alone. the most common side effects are hypertension and gastrointestinal bleeding or perforation. interleukin 2 produces responses in 15 % of kidney cancer patients. interferon response rate is about 15 %. the combination of interferon with other chemotherapy drugs and il - 2 increases the response rate. research shows adverse events occur in the majority of patients. the percentages of people experiencing common adverse events of il - 2 are as follows : - chills : 52 % - fever : 29 % - low blood pressure : 71 % - diarr


. research shows adverse events occur in the majority of patients. the percentages of people experiencing common adverse events of il - 2 are as follows : - chills : 52 % - fever : 29 % - low blood pressure : 71 % - diarrhea : 67 % - vomiting : 50 % - rash : 42 % - shortness of breath : 43 % side effects for the bevacizumab and interferon alpha combination included : - protein in the urine - high blood pressure this new class of medicines attempts to interfere with the growth of the tumor by blocking the formation of new blood vessels around the tumor. in recent months, this drug has received fda approval. sorafenib ( nexavar ) is a new medicine that targets several different pathways of tumor growth. the most common side effects seen with this drug include : - blisters on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet - nerve damage this medicine is given in the form of a pill. taken in pill form, sunitinib ( sutent ) attacks both blood vessel growth and other targets that stimulate cancer cell growth. the results show tumor shrinkage in one third of the patients treated. the most common side effects are diarrhea, change in skin color, mouth irritation, weakness, and altered taste. other possible effects include tiredness, hypertension, bleeding, and hypothyroidism. temsirolimus ( torisel ) is an intravenous medicine used in advanced kidney cancer, which also works to inhibit cell growth. the most common side effects include : - skin rash - feeling weak - mouth irritation - loss of appetite - fluid buildup in the face or legs - increases in blood sugar and cholesterol levels pazopanib ( votrient ) is approved for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer. it is taken once a day as a pill either an hour before eating or two hours after eating. it works by preventing the growth of new blood vessels to tumors. the most common side effects include : - reviewer : mohei abouzied, md - review date : 09 / 2012 - - update date : 00 / 93 / 2012 -


when the manchu ruled china during the qing dynasty, certain social strata emerged. among them were the banners, mostly manchu, who as a group were called banner people. manchu women typically wore a one - piece dress that came to be known as the cheongsam. the qipao fitted loosely and hung straight down the body. you can pull on cheongsam of plus size dresses under the dynastic laws after 1644, all han chinese were forced to wear a queue and dress in manchurian qipao instead of traditional han chinese clothing, under penalty of death. in the following 300 years, the qipao became the adopted clothing of the chinese ( though it cannot be considered as the traditional dress of chinese, as it was forced upon them ), and was eventually tailored to suit the preferences of the population. such was its popularity that the garment form survived the political turmoil of the 1911 xinhai revolution that toppled the qing dynasty. silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. the best - known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm bombyx mori reared in captivity ( sericulture ). the shimmering appearance for which silk is prized comes from the fibers ' triangular prism - like structure which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles. " wild silks " are produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm and can be artificially cultivated. a variety of wild silks have been known and used in china, south asia, and europe since early times, but the scale of production was always far smaller than that of cultivated silks. they differ from the domesticated varieties in color and texture, and cocoons gathered in the wild usually have been damaged by the emerging moth before the cocoons are gathered, so the silk thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths. commercially reared silkworm pupae are killed by dipping them in boiling water before the adult moths emerge, or by piercing them with a needle, allowing the whole cocoon to be unraveled as one continuous thread. this permits a much stronger cloth to be woven from the silk. wild silks also tend to be more difficult to dye than silk from the cultivated silkworm. we can plus size dresses for you


what is api? api is an interface that allows software programs to interact with each other. it defines a set of rules that should be followed by the programs to communicate with each other. apis generally specify how the routines, data structures, etc. should be defined in order for two applications to communicate. apis differ in the functionality provided by them. there are general apis that provide library functionalities of a programming language such as the java api. there are also apis that provides specific functionalities such as the google maps api. there are also language dependent apis, which could only be used by a specific programming language. furthermore, there are language independent apis that could be used with several programming languages. apis needs to be implemented very carefully by exposing only the required functionality or data to the outside, while keeping the other parts of the application inaccessible. usage of apis has become very popular in the internet. it has become very common to allow some of the functionality and data through an api to the outside on the web. this functionality can be combined to offer an improved functionality to the users. what is sdk? sdk is a set of tools that can be used to develop software applications targeting a specific platform. sdks include tools, libraries, documentation and sample code that would help a programmer to develop an application. most of the sdks could be downloaded from the internet and many of the sdks are provided free to encourage the programmers to use the sdk ‘ s programming language. some widely used sdks are java sdk ( jdk ) that includes all the libraries, debugging utilities, etc., which would make writing programs much easier in java. sdks make the life of a software developer easy, since there is no need to look for components / tools that are compatible with each other and all of them are integrated in to a single package that is easy to install. what is the difference between api and sdk? api is an interface that allows software programs to interact with each other, whereas a sdk is a set of tools that can be used to develop software applications targeting a specific platform. the simplest version of a sdk could be an api that contains some files required to interact with a specific programming language. so an api can be seen as a simple sdk without all the debugging support, etc.


depression is of high public health concern because it is the most common mental disorder and a primary cause of disease burden, disability ( 1 ), long - term sickness, absence from work, and premature retirement ( 2 ). furthermore, it has been described as the most costly brain disorder in europe ( 3 ). in southern european countries, prevalence rates of depression and suicide are lower than elsewhere in europe ( 4, 5 ), and a recent study of depression in spain, one of the largest southern european countries, found additional characteristics specific to this country, such as an earlier age at onset and higher rates of comorbidity and of chronicity ( 5 ). health services are a crucial resource in reducing the suffering of persons with depression ; however, studies have found large differences between countries in rates of depression treatment, with low overall rates ( 6 — 8 ). although health care systems vary widely across the world, certain system characteristics, such as access to services, number of health professionals, and quality of care, contribute to the outcomes of depression treatment. studies of service use for the treatment of depression are scarce and mostly limited to western and northern european countries. although information from many countries, such as spain, is available, it remains fragmented and incomplete. the spanish national health system provides free and universal access to most types of health care. it is financed by general taxation and by out - of - pocket expenditures, including copayments for pharmacological treatments. the primary care sector acts as the gatekeeper to the system and therefore to specialized mental health care. because administration of health care is decentralized and is the responsibility of the 17 autonomous communities, the number and quality of mental health services is not homogeneous across spain. frequently described deficiencies include lack of specific budgets for mental health, heterogeneous information systems, and insufficient coordination with primary care services ( 9 ). the objective of this study was to analyze service use in the past 12 months for a major depressive episode among respondents to the european study of the epidemiology of mental disorders ( esemed ), in spain. we estimated the level of use of services, determined the proportion of individuals using services who could be considered to have received minimally adequate treatment, and identified the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with service use. we also compared these results with international data. the esemed - spain study was a cross - sectional, general population, household survey conducted with a representative sample of the spanish noninstitutionalized adult population. a


with service use. we also compared these results with international data. the esemed - spain study was a cross - sectional, general population, household survey conducted with a representative sample of the spanish noninstitutionalized adult population. a detailed description of methods is available elsewhere ( 10 — 12 ). a stratified, multistage, clustered - area, probability sample without replacement design was used to guarantee the representativeness of all the regions in the country. the target population was noninstitutionalized adults ( aged 18 years and older ), who were identified from census tract data. the final sample included 5, 473 respondents ( including a random selection of 323 spouses of the married main respondents, who were also interviewed ) ; the final response rate was 78. 6 %. data collection was conducted from september 2001 to september 2002. individuals provided informed consent to participate in the interview. data for the individuals were weighted to account for the different probabilities of selection within households and among hard - to - reach individuals, as well as to reflect age, gender, and autonomous community distribution of the spanish general population. interview and questionnaire the survey instrument was the world mental health ( wmh ) survey version of the world health organization ( who ) composite international diagnostic interview ( cidi 3. 0 ) ( 13 ), which is a fully structured diagnostic interview to assess disorders and treatment, as well as several additional variables, such as disease severity and disability. by means of computerized algorithms, the cidi provides lifetime and 12 - month diagnoses of mental disorders based on dsm - iv criteria ( 14 ). in establishing the diagnosis, cidi rules about excluding organic mental disorders ( direct physiological effects of a general medical condition, a drug, or a medication ) were imposed. the cidi was administered by trained lay interviewers using a computer - assisted personal interview. assessment of depression severity respondents were assessed for major depressive episode in the past 12 months. on the basis on researchers ' consensus, individuals with the disorder were classified into three severity groups. the group with the most severe symptoms included those who had attempted suicide in the past 12 months, those who had a diagnosis of alcohol dependence with physiological dependence syndrome, and those who experienced severe role impairment ( scores from 8 to 10 ) in at least two areas of the wmh - adapted version of the sheehan disability scales ( sds ). individuals not classified as having severe symptoms were assigned to the moderate group if they had moderate role impairment in at


from 8 to 10 ) in at least two areas of the wmh - adapted version of the sheehan disability scales ( sds ). individuals not classified as having severe symptoms were assigned to the moderate group if they had moderate role impairment in at least one domain of the sds ( a score of more than 4 ) or if they had alcohol dependence disorder without physiological dependence. all other individuals were classified as having mild symptoms. health and social services use all respondents were asked about use of services for their " emotions or mental health problems " in the 12 months before the interview. those reporting use of services were asked to select from a list all providers whom they visited, including psychiatrist ; psychologist ; general practitioner, other physician, or other health care professional ; human services ( outpatient treatment with a religious or spiritual advisor or with a social worker or counselor in any setting other than a specialty mental health setting ) ; and a complementary - alternative medical sector ( outpatient treatment with any other type of healer, participation in an internet support group, or participation in a self - help group ). psychiatrists and psychologists constituted the specialized mental health category ; general practitioners, other physicians, and other health professionals constituted the general medical care category ; and both specialized mental health and general medical care constituted the health care sector. the type of treatment received by individuals who reported use of a service in the health care sector was assessed. pharmacological treatment was defined as that prescribed by a psychiatrist, general practitioner, or any other physician or health professional in the previous 12 months. psychotherapy was defined as having more than one session in the past 12 months of psychological counseling or therapy with a mental health professional ( psychiatrist or psychologist ) that lasted 15 minutes or longer. individuals who received neither drug nor psychological treatment were classified as being in the group with no active treatment. the definition of minimally adequate treatment followed previous research that was based on recommendations from clinical guidelines ( 15 — 17 ). it was defined as receipt of antidepressant pharmacotherapy for at least two months plus at least four visits with a psychiatrist, a general practitioner, or any other physician or health professional or at least eight sessions with a psychologist or a psychiatrist lasting an average of 15 minutes or longer. human services and complementary - alternative medicine treatments were not considered to constitute adequate care because of the lack of experimental data documenting the effectiveness of such treatments for major depression ( 18 — 22 ). chronic conditions and mental disorder variables the variable for chronic conditions included eight groups : musculoskeletal ( arthritis )


to constitute adequate care because of the lack of experimental data documenting the effectiveness of such treatments for major depression ( 18 — 22 ). chronic conditions and mental disorder variables the variable for chronic conditions included eight groups : musculoskeletal ( arthritis ), chronic pain ( neck or back pain or other somatoform pain ), digestive ( stomach or intestinal ulcer ), respiratory ( asthma, allergies, or any other chronic lung disease ), neurological problems, cancer, cardiovascular ( stroke, heart attack, heart disease, or high blood pressure ), and diabetes. the variable for mental disorders included mood disorders ( major depressive episode or dysthymia ), anxiety disorders ( panic disorder, specific phobia or social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and agoraphobia without panic ), and alcohol abuse or dependence. all analyses were performed with sastm software, version 9. 1, of the sas system for windows as well as sudaan, version 9. 0, a statistical package used to estimate standard errors of data obtained from surveys with complex designs. data analyses were carried out at the imim - hospital del mar in barcelona, spain, and at harvard university in boston. lifetime prevalence of a major depressive episode in the overall sample was 10. 6 %, and 12 - month prevalence was 4. 0 %. table 1 presents data on sociodemographic characteristics of the total sample and of those with a lifetime and 12 - month major depressive episode. among respondents with a depressive disorder in the past 12 months, 59. 1 % had used some type of service in the past 12 months for their emotional problems. as shown in table 2, the highest proportion of service users ( 58. 7 % ) reported use of services in the health care sector ( either general medical care or specialized mental health ). among those who used services in the health care sector, the highest proportion reported use only in general medical care ( 35. 3 % ). among respondents who had used past - year services for emotional problems in the heath care sector, at least 76 % received some type of active treatment : 70. 1 % reported receiving psychopharmacological treatment, either alone ( 37. 9 % ) or combined with psychotherapy ( 32. 2 % ). receipt of no active treatment was highest among respondents with moderate major depressive episode ( 10. 9 % ) and lowest among those with a mild disorder ( 5. 0 % ). as shown in table


with psychotherapy ( 32. 2 % ). receipt of no active treatment was highest among respondents with moderate major depressive episode ( 10. 9 % ) and lowest among those with a mild disorder ( 5. 0 % ). as shown in table 3, among respondents who had received active treatment in the past 12 months from providers in the health care sector, 31. 2 % received treatment that met criteria for minimal adequacy. in the overall sample, meaningful differences were found by type of health service used : respondents who received both specialized mental health care and general medical care accounted for the highest proportion of those receiving minimally adequate care ( 38. 6 % ), and the lowest proportion was among those who received services in general medical care only ( 12. 8 % ). these differences were also found among respondents with severe major depressive episode. results of logistic regression analyses of potential predictors of past - year service use among respondents with a 12 - month major depressive episode are shown in table 4. respondents in the group aged 35 — 49 years were more likely than those in the other age groups to have used any services for their emotional problems within the past year ( or = 5. 7 ). service use was also more likely among those in the " other " employment group ( unemployed or too disabled to work ) ( or = 4. 9 ), compared with those who were employed. respondents who had a moderate disorder were more likely ( or = 3. 2 ) than those in the other severity groups to have used any services. respondents who had more than one 12 - month mental disorder ( that is, a mental disorder comorbid with their depression ) were significantly more likely than those with depression only to use any services ( two mental disorders, or = 2. 9 ; three or more mental disorders, or = 4. 1 ). on the other hand, respondents with a low - average income were less likely than those with a high income to have used any services for their emotional problems in the past 12 months ( or =. 3 ). the regression analyses also examined use of specialized mental health services in the past 12 months ( table 4 ). respondents in the group aged 35 — 49 were more likely than those aged 18 — 34 to use these services ( or = 3. 0 ). those with a severe or moderate disorder were significantly more likely to use these services than those with a mild disorder ( or = 5. 1 and or = 4. 7, respectively ). on the other hand, those with a high -


0 ). those with a severe or moderate disorder were significantly more likely to use these services than those with a mild disorder ( or = 5. 1 and or = 4. 7, respectively ). on the other hand, those with a high - average education level were less likely than those with a high level to use specialized services ( or =. 3 ). the study found that 40. 9 % of respondents to esemed - spain with a 12 - month major depressive episode reported not having used any type of service for their emotional problems in the past year. moreover, 68. 8 % of those who received active treatment in the health care sector ( specialized mental health or general medical care ) did not receive minimally adequate treatment. thus only 15. 0 % of all those with a 12 - month major depressive episode had received appropriate care. of particular concern is the 30. 8 % of those with a severe disorder who did not use any type of service for their emotional problems. by far, psychotropic medication was the treatment most used, either alone or ( less frequently ) in combination with psychological treatment. higher odds of any service use were found among respondents with a moderate disorder, those with a comorbid mental disorder, those who were unemployed or too disabled to work, and middle - aged respondents. study limitations and strengths our results should be interpreted within the context of some limitations. first, information about treatment was self - reported, which could have led to recall bias. previous studies have found that self - reports of service use for some mental disorders may be higher than use documented in administrative records ( 23, 24 ). the wmh survey tried to reduce recall bias by excluding respondents who failed to say that they would think carefully and answer honestly. furthermore, use of a 12 - month time frame can further reduce the risk of recall bias. second, some analyses consisted of small numbers of respondents, and this might have affected the reliability of results. third, esemed excluded several population groups, such as those who were institutionalized or homeless. although service use patterns of these groups may be different, their relative size is small, and it could be argued that overall population estimates would not diverge considerably if they were included. fourth, there is no consensus on criteria for defining minimally adequate treatment ; however, to our knowledge, the relationship between various criteria and significant clinical outcomes has not been studied. fifth, the spanish national health system comprises 17 regional systems whose management relies on each regional government. as a consequence, the level


minimally adequate treatment ; however, to our knowledge, the relationship between various criteria and significant clinical outcomes has not been studied. fifth, the spanish national health system comprises 17 regional systems whose management relies on each regional government. as a consequence, the level of development of the mental health network, the allocation of economic resources, and the population density of professionals vary across regions ; these differences may influence the use of services. because of limitations in sample size, it was not possible to perform a more detailed analysis that would offer a clearer picture of probable regional differences. with these limitations in mind, we note that this is the first study that provides information about the use of services for a major depressive episode in spain that is based on a nationally representative sample and that used a standardized methodology that allows for international comparisons. previous research was restricted to specific regions and population subgroups ( 25, 26 ) or clinical samples ( 27 ) or used mixed methodologies, which provided an incomplete picture of service use for depression. our findings show that almost half of respondents with a major depressive episode did not use services in the health care sector for their emotional problems in the year before the interview. although concrete and easily comparable data are lacking, some studies have found lower use of health services for mental disorders in certain southern european countries, such as spain and italy, compared with other european countries, but the rates are still higher than those found in many low - income american samples or in asian countries ( 6, 28 ). comparable data on service use by individuals with major depression are even scarcer, but studies have shown that use is higher in spain than in countries such as italy and germany ( 29 ) and lower than in some northern european countries, such as finland, ireland, and the united kingdom ( 30 ). although underrecognition and undertreatment of common mental disorders are frequent in most countries, substantive cross - national differences in treatment rates have been described. treatment rates ranging from 50 % to 79 % in high - income countries have been reported, with rates typically lower in low - income regions ( 6 ). reasons for these differences are not well known, but several factors have been proposed. they include factors that predispose patients to seek treatment, factors related to the type and amount of services available from the health care system, and factors related to health care professionals ' ability to provide an adequate response to the need for treatment ( 6, 31 — 35 ). the effect of social networks and support, which might be stronger in spain than in other european countries


health care system, and factors related to health care professionals ' ability to provide an adequate response to the need for treatment ( 6, 31 — 35 ). the effect of social networks and support, which might be stronger in spain than in other european countries ( 36 ), has also been discussed in the literature as either reducing service use by helping an individual to cope with stress or increasing service use by supporting treatment seeking ( 37 ). although an extensive review of these factors is beyond the scope of this article, the relevant findings are summarized below. a personal level of comfort and confidence about consulting with professionals has been considered the most important factor in help seeking for depression, together with personal understanding and self - evaluation of the problem and the anticipated or experienced reactions of family and friends ( 31, 32 ). attitudes toward seeking mental health care seem to be more positive in spain than in other european countries, and spaniards seem to place greater trust in treatments provided by health care professionals ( 38 ). in regard to stigma, a well - known cultural barrier to help seeking for mental disorders ( 32 ), two recent studies showed that stigma may be less prevalent in spain than in other european countries ( 39, 40 ). health system - related factors. the ability to access professional care is a key feature of health systems and also influences service use for mental disorders. access to services is free and universal in the spanish national health system, as is the case in many other european countries, where treatment rates are, however, higher. a link between a country ' s overall spending on health care and the rate of treatment for mental disorders has also been described ( 6 ), and available data show that the amount spent in spain is lower than the european average ; this is also true of spending on mental health, which remains around 5 % of spain ' s total health care budget — one of the lowest spending rates in the european union ( 41 — 43 ). the availability of services and of professionals is another relevant determinant that has also been linked to the use of services for depression. studies have shown that regions with the lowest resources often have lower rates of consultation with health care professionals ( 44 ). spain has fewer psychiatrists and psychologists and fewer available mental health services than many other countries with the same level of development, and differences are even greater for psychiatric nurses and social workers ( 9, 42, 43 ). factors related to health care professionals. the spanish national health system is based on primary care, and referral from a general practitioner is usually required to gain access to specialized mental


even greater for psychiatric nurses and social workers ( 9, 42, 43 ). factors related to health care professionals. the spanish national health system is based on primary care, and referral from a general practitioner is usually required to gain access to specialized mental health services. thus general practitioners act as gatekeepers of the system and have a key role in the correct detection and early management of most cases of depression. this is especially relevant in light of the high prevalence of major depression in primary care ( 45 ) and the evidence linking poor recognition of depression in primary care with worse short - term outcomes ( 46 ). in fact, underrecognition of depression in primary care has been extensively reported ( 47 — 49 ), and a recent meta - analysis that included more than 50, 000 international patients showed that correct identification of depression by general practitioners occurred in only 47. 3 % of cases ( 50 ). this worrying situation has also been described in spain ( 51, 52 ), but international comparisons are scarce. roles of general practitioners and mental health specialists our results show that the proportion of respondents who sought service in the general medical care sector was only slightly higher than the proportion who visited mental health specialists. this finding is in contrast to other european countries and regions of the world, where general practitioners are clearly the professionals most frequently involved in the treatment of depression ( 6, 44 ). this difference might be partly explained by the higher rates of referral to mental health specialists by general practitioners that have been described in spain ( 44 ). these higher referral rates could be considered an attempt to improve the efficiency of a short - resourced health system. additional factors, such as the relative delay in mental health care reform in spain, may help explain why individuals with mild disorders were more likely to receive specialized mental health care. sociodemographic and clinical correlates of use the likelihood of use of services for depression has been linked to a variety of sociodemographic factors, such as middle age, female gender, higher education and income level, and not being married ( 6, 16, 53, 54 ). however, our results support only a few of them. of special concern is our finding that women were no more likely than men to seek treatment. this finding should receive attention because the higher prevalence of depression among women compared with men in spain was found to be much higher than in many other countries ( 5, 55, 56 ). symptom severity is another major determinant of service use ( 30, 57, 58 ), and mono


depression among women compared with men in spain was found to be much higher than in many other countries ( 5, 55, 56 ). symptom severity is another major determinant of service use ( 30, 57, 58 ), and monotonic relationships between severity and the probability of service use have been previously described ( 6 ). our results show that among individuals using any health sector services, those with a moderate disorder had higher odds of receiving treatment than individuals with mild disorders. further research should be undertaken to confirm these findings — in particular, the role of severity and of gender in help seeking. also, the finding that 31. 7 % of those with a severe disorder received care only from a general practitioner raises some concern about possible misallocations of scarce specialized resources, especially when the misallocations affect patients with higher risks of serious complications. minimally adequate treatment in our study 31. 2 % of the patients with a major depressive episode who received active treatment from general medical or mental health specialty care received minimally adequate treatment, a rate considerably lower than in other european countries ( 17 ). consistent with previous studies, our study found low overall rates of treatment adequacy ( 6, 59 ) and more adequate treatment in specialized settings ( 16, 60 ). reasons for the low rate of treatment adequacy are unclear, but they presumably involve provider factors, such as inadequate training and failure to adhere to guidelines ( 16 ). inadequate treatment has significant health and economic consequences, because treatments that meet clinical guidelines are more cost - effective and have been shown to decrease the number of years lived with a disability ( 61 ). taken together the results offer a complex picture of patterns of service use for a major depressive episode in spain. they include a less clear influence of disorder severity, a less relevant role for general practitioners than for mental health specialists, varying effects of sociodemographic factors, and a lower overall rate of minimally adequate treatment. low rates of service use for major depression in a country such as spain, with free and universal access to mental health care and a population with more positive attitudes toward help seeking for mental health problems, are worrisome and should call for a more proactive attitude of the health system. in particular, rates of comorbidity and of chronicity are higher in spain than in other european countries ( 5 ), and both are a possible consequence of inadequate treatment and a possible cause of increased costs of major depression. potential country - specific barriers to treatment, such as lower availability


there were some notable differences between groups targeted for the 2009 - 10 pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines, and substantial differences in target groups between countries. the greatest inconsistency in target groups was seen in comparisons between s0910 and p0910. some groups targeted for the pandemic vaccine more commonly than for the 2009 - 10 seasonal vaccine, including pregnant women and obese persons, and health care workers were subsequently more commonly targeted for the 2010 - 11 post - pandemic seasonal vaccine. subsidies to increase vaccine uptake were available to target groups in many countries by either providing the vaccine for free, at a subsidized cost or through national health insurance ( figures and ). before further discussing the patterns in target groups, two important issues should be noted : ( a ) the social and political backgrounds of policy decisions to prioritize certain groups for p0910 are likely to differ from those for seasonal vaccines and ( b ) the ' best ' or ' optimal ' strategy to achieve certain public health objectives has yet to be fully clarified in the context of including or excluding certain groups for prioritization. as for ( a ), compared to seasonal vaccines, public health decision of prioritized groups for p0910 may be more associated with maintaining social security during emergency vaccination and avoiding any confusion that could arise from ' first come, first served ' basis among the public [ 8 ]. on the other hand, policymaking of seasonal vaccines is unlikely to face needs to give rapid decisions for implementing emergency vaccination programmes and to maintain social security, and rather, target groups of seasonal vaccines may sometimes reflect the results of surveys of public demands among the potential target groups and may also take into account aspects of cost - benefit and cost - effectiveness. with respect to ( b ), various studies including modeling exercises considered optimal vaccination strategies [ 16 ] but those exercises have not allowed full clarification of all target groups. it should be emphasized that the limitations of modeling studies and inconsistency in target groups ( as seen in the present study ) may be attributable to non - uniform public health objectives of vaccination, such as reducing peak hospital burden versus reducing overall mortality, as well as uncertainties with respect to the transmission dynamics, severity and age - specific immunity against influenza viruses before and after vaccination. the objective of this study has been not to criticize certain choices of target groups, but to explore to what extent target groups are similar between countries, or even within


, severity and age - specific immunity against influenza viruses before and after vaccination. the objective of this study has been not to criticize certain choices of target groups, but to explore to what extent target groups are similar between countries, or even within countries from year to year and between the seasonal and pandemic vaccines. some inconsistent patterns were seen between pandemic and seasonal vaccines in targeting certain age groups, those with underlying medical conditions and those with occupations associated with higher risk. first, mathematical modeling studies have shown that achieving high vaccination coverage among school - age children could substantially elevate herd immunity and protect other risk groups ( including elderly and those with underlying diseases ) by means of a ' transmission - limiting ' strategy [ 17 ]. nevertheless, many countries experienced substantial attack rates in children before vaccines became available [ 21 ], and in such an instance ( e. g. after observing epidemic peak ), effectiveness of transmission - limiting strategy tends to be minimal [ 19 ]. while school - age children were targeted for the p0910 vaccine in some countries, most countries included in our review adopted a morbidity - limiting strategy and targeted groups at high risk of severe disease ( figures and ). vaccine effectiveness in the elderly remains uncertain [ 6 ] but the elderly are commonly targeted to receive interpandemic influenza vaccine because of their high risk of severe disease [ 4 ]. however, early seroepidemiological studies in 2009 suggested that the elderly may be protected against infection [ 23 ], and few countries included elderly in the target groups for the p0910 vaccine ( figure and table ). second, with regard to underlying medical conditions, pregnant and postpartum women appeared to be at higher risk of severe disease if infected from the early stages of the pandemic [ 24 ] and many countries prioritized this group to receive the vaccine when it became available. whereas pregnant women were less commonly targeted for seasonal influenza vaccination before the pandemic, evidence of an increased risk of severe influenza had already been observed in pregnant women before 2009 [ 28 ]. influenced by the 2009 pandemic, 22 / 34 countries targeted this group for s1011 vaccine ( figures and, table ). other than pregnant women, a number of studies during the pandemic found obesity to be a risk factor for hospitalization and death [ 26 ], and some countries incorporated obese individuals into the target groups for the p0910 vaccine and again retained them in the target groups for the post - pandemic


##mic found obesity to be a risk factor for hospitalization and death [ 26 ], and some countries incorporated obese individuals into the target groups for the p0910 vaccine and again retained them in the target groups for the post - pandemic s1011 vaccine ( figures and, table ). third, regarding roles and occupations, health care workers were targeted for both pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines by many countries and they have been increasingly targeted during and after the course of the pandemic ( figures, and, table ), although they may not necessarily face higher risk of infection due to occupational exposures [ 34 ] and the issue of mandatory vaccination in this group remains controversial [ 36 ]. workers in long term residential care homes were less commonly targeted for the pandemic vaccine compared to the seasonal vaccines, perhaps because of the apparent low risk of ph1n1 in the elderly [ 7 ]. animal contacts might have been less commonly targeted merely because of displacement by other risk groups as p0910 vaccine was initially expected to be scarce. later they were more commonly targeted for the s1011 influenza vaccine which included the pandemic strain. a few limitations should be discussed. we were not able to find information on priority groups in many countries, and thus, the data included in our review may not sufficiently represent the worldwide patterns in target groups. in addition, information available online could differ from what was actually implemented, even though most of the information included in our study was from official government websites. potentially lower quality sources were excluded by limiting our search to official webpage of the government, news or academic journal articles. future studies of influenza vaccine policies could consider a survey - based approach interviewing a representative health official from each country. actual vaccine uptake or influenza - associated morbidity should also be investigated in relation to the policy decisions of target groups when relevant data are available as part of policy evaluations. there were also within country variations ; e. g. recommendations on target groups in canada and the united states differed between states. in these situations, the federal recommendations were used to reflect the central policy, but more detailed investigation of the heterogeneity in target groups between states or regions could be a topic for further research especially for a within - country policy evaluation.


michael dirda : " five propositions about poetry " - in a very general sense, poets tend to use language in two ways : the artful or the natural. either they transmute their thoughts through metaphor, striking imagery, or unusual syntax into something rich and strange ; or they pack their meaning into what wordsworth famously called the language really used by men ( and women ). on the one hand, wallace stevens, gerard manley hopkins, and jorie graham ; on the other, william carlos williams, archilochos, and billy collins. most poets opt for flash and filigree — after all, " o, for a beaker full of the warm south, / full of the true, the blushful hippocrene " ( keats ) sounds like poetry. it takes real confidence, and sure judgment, to set down words as simple and deeply moving as " pray, undo this button " ( shakespeare ). - where a " complete poems " is a monument, a " selected poems " is an invitation, a sometimes needed icebreaker for shy new readers. in other words, most of us. just as expository prose generally aims to ingratiate, emphasizing clarity and communication, so a lot of poetry blithely ignores the ordinary courtesies : it is simply there, true to itself. let me be fanciful : if you picture good prose as a smooth politician deftly reaching out to the crowd and welcoming everyone into the party, then poetry is clint eastwood, serape flapping in the wind, standing quietly alone on a dusty street, pure coiled energy. he ' s not glad - handling anybody. - to read a volume of poetry is to enter the world of the mesmerist. in a serious artist ' s collected poems, the single constant is usually his or her distinctive, increasingly hypnotic voice. without relying on plot, dramatic action, or a cast of characters, lyric poets, especially, must entrance us with their words until we cannot choose by hear. eager for more, we turn page after page because we find ourselves in thrall to a particular diction. - nearly everyone can come up with a good explanation for why they don ' t keep up with contemporary poetry, but the main one is simply that reading strange and unfamiliar poems sounds a lot like schoolwork. the language often seems so... high - pitched and bizarre or just plain hard to understand. in fact, the best way to enjoy contemporary verse is simply to read it as though you were


strange and unfamiliar poems sounds a lot like schoolwork. the language often seems so... high - pitched and bizarre or just plain hard to understand. in fact, the best way to enjoy contemporary verse is simply to read it as though you were dipping into a magazine, listening to a news report, overhearing a conversation. don ' t make it a big deal, simply thrill to the words or story. as the critic marvin mudrick once proclaimed : " you don ' t read for understanding, you read for excitement. understanding is a product of excitement. " later on, you can return to the poems that speak most strongly to you and make them a part of your life. - memorize the poems you love most. as anthony burgess wrote : " the dragging out from memory of lines from volpone or the vanity of human wishes with the twelfth glass is the true literary experience. i mean that. verse is for learning by heart, and that is what a literary education should mostly consist of. " when i was a teenager, i used to walk to high school. to pass those tedious twenty or thirty minutes i decided to memorize favourite lines and stanzas from oscar williams ' anthology, immortal poems of the english language. " with rue my heart is laden... i met a traveller from an antique land... we ' d rather have the iceberg than the ship... the waste remains, the waste remains and kills... that dolphin - torn, that gong - tormented sea... our revels now are ended. " in all my life no time has ever been better spent. labels : writing about poetry


qfk - quest for knowledge what is qfk? qfk is the game based mobile learning ( gbml ) platform. it enables development and playing of mobile educational games. games can be played via multimedia mobile devices ( mobile phones, smart phones ) or regular internet browser from the desktop computer, using www technologies only. players may use additional multimedia devices, such as digital cameras, pda ' s, or gps devices. qfk was developed within the emapps. com ( motivating active participation of primary schoolchildren in digital online technologies for creative opportunities through multimedia ) 6th framework program strep project. what are mobile educational games? games are based on the previously prepared game scripts called game matrixes. these are basically game stories ( narrative ), plots, challenges and belonging multimedia objects that form the game in the platform. there are no technical obstacles to implement any kind of game matrix in the platform. each game consists of multiple missions ( layers ). each mission consists of multiple tasks that need to be completed by the teams of players. games are played outside, in the real environment, on different locations and in real time by several teams of players. each team is divided into two parts : game base ( part of the team on the desktop computer ) and avatars ( part of the team on the field ). each game is run by the game master who gives additional clues, misguides teams and tracks progress. communication among players and game master is performed via integrated chat. players submit their results as text answers, uploaded files ( pictures, video, audio... ), solved puzzles or set of geographical coordinates. games are played by pupils of elementary or secondary schools. game masters are usually their teachers. games cover topics from different curricula fields. game stories are interesting, appealing and represent the modern approach to learning. why mobile educational games? games, played in the qfk platform differ from regular computer games which usually define aims, rules or missions and are played in the pure virtual world. mobile educational games take the players outside of their classrooms, involve real world and real people, blurred with alternate reality that can be defined in the game story. using modern multimedia devices enable infinite possiblities of communication, social netorking and creation of multimedia content. players learn through performance. this requires active participation and discovery, analysis, interpretation, problem solving, and physical activity. the educational value of the experience is not just the game itself, but creative coupling of educational media with effective pedagogy to engage students


fifth grade, lesson 1 : biodiversity the more diverse an ecosystem is, the more interdependence of species exists within that system. the complex relationships among diverse species are difficult to identify. as species disappear or become extinct we begin to see the vital links that exist among species. essential levels of biodiversity vary among biomes and bioregions. could an ocelot live where you live? step 1 - - connect ( the concept to prior knowledge ) students will observe the biodiversity in their backyard by connecting the adaptations of the animals in their neighborhood to the climate and habitats in which they live in. - access to schoolyard or nearby park - paper, pencils - take students out into the school grounds and look for signs of life. - search for insects, birds, animal tracks, scat, feathers, nests, different types of trees, grasses, soil types, etc. - make a class list that shows all findings in the schoolyard and post it as a visual in the classroom. - make headings to organize groupings : insects, plants, mammals, birds, etc. - discuss the web of life concept. draw lines that connect one thing to another. step 2 - - literature / discuss ( give expert information book ; ask questions ) students will learn about the biodiversity of the rainforest and compare and contrast with that of their own schoolyard findings. - book : the great kapok tree by lynne cherry - biodiversity list from step 1 - 1 piece of long string or rope - read the great kapok tree by lynne cherry. discuss the different perspectives voiced throughout the book. activity : the web of life - have students stand in a large circle. - each student should choose one of the items from the classroom biodiversity list, making sure everyone represents a different living thing. - use a string or a rope to represent the links between each person. - one person starts by saying the name they chose and, as a class, decide how they are connected to another organism in the circle. - the rope is then passed to that organism. - the goal is to finish with a web that is connected to everyone. - this game demonstrates the intricate web of life. - debrief in order for students to see how everything in their backyard, as in the rainforest, is ultimately connected in some way or another to their specific environment. step 3a - - practice ( math and learning centers ) students will come up with their own web of life example. - access to natural area ( i. e., yard, park, etc


connected in some way or another to their specific environment. step 3a - - practice ( math and learning centers ) students will come up with their own web of life example. - access to natural area ( i. e., yard, park, etc. ) - each student will look for an animal or insect in their own backyard or the schoolyard. - students will make observations based on the behavior of that animal or insect. - students will come up with their own web of life example based on the observations made and research on the behavior, food and habitat of that organism. - students will make observations that support the theory that all organisms are connected : behavior, food, habitat, etc. step 3b - - create ( performance tasks related to standard indicators ) students will demonstrate through writing how all living things interact with their environment in order to survive. - paper, pencils students will synthesize their observations of an organism and create a story that parallels the great kapok tree. using their observations as a framework, they will write their own stories to explain who depends on what for survival and why these interactions are unique to their environment. step 4 - - present ( edit work / students present projects ) students will practice their oral reading skills. - story from step 3b each student will read their story to the class. the rainforest alliance curriculum is unique in that it teaches science, math, language arts and social studies essentials while addressing the united states national standards for learning. these are the standards addressed in the fifth grade lessons. standard 3 : evaluation strategies students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate and appreciate texts. standard 1 : reading for perspective students read a wide range of print and non - print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves and of the cultures of the us and the world. standard 4 : communication skills students adjust their use of spoken, written and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. standard 7 : evaluating data students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. students develop an understanding of the structure and function in living systems, populations and ecosystems, and diversity and adaptations of organisms. standard 1 : grades 3 - 5 students understand the need for measuring with standard units and that measurements are approximations and how differences in units affect precision. standard 5 : technology research tools students use technology to locate, evaluate and collect information from a variety of sources. standard 4 : technology communication tools students use a variety of media and formats to


that measurements are approximations and how differences in units affect precision. standard 5 : technology research tools students use technology to locate, evaluate and collect information from a variety of sources. standard 4 : technology communication tools students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. standard 5 : environment and society students should understand how human actions modify the physical environment. standard 6 : personal and social perspectives students develop an understanding of populations, resources and environments. fifth and sixth grade resources - fifth grade curriculum - sixth grade curriculum - el salvador slideshow [ pdf ] - el salvador slideshow script [ pdf ] - coffee slideshow [ pdf ] - alex goes exploring in el imposible [ pdf ] - alex explora el imposible [ pdf ] - alex explora o parque nacional o impossivel [ pdf ] - life in san miguelito [ pdf ] - la vida en san miguelito [ pdf ] - a vida em sao miguelito [ pdf ] - ocelot [ pdf ] - great curassow [ pdf ] - king vulture [ pdf ] - ruby - throated hummingbird [ pdf ] - blue - crowned motmot [ pdf ] - coffee [ pdf ] teacher summary : el imposible national park, el salvador [ pdf ]


can microsoft save the world? microsoft research teams with top scientists to tackle the world ' s most pressing problems - - and it could turn conventional computing on its head in the process. three years ago, william henry gates iii ordered microsoft research to launch a science division. money was one motive - - by staking out a position in the growing field of scientific computing, future profits were insured. fortunately microsoft research doesn ' t have to turn every dollar and man - hour into marketable products. the science group has the wonderful freedom to work on the big problems : global warming, disease, the future of medicine, the origin of the universe and the creation of life - - those sorts of things. leading this charge is stephen emmott, director of the microsoft research european science program, an englishman with some 20 years of experience in science and computing, including a stint at bell labs. emmott ' s main goal is to blend computer science and traditional science, and in the process transform both. " we are at a profoundly important point in time where computer science and computing have the potential to completely revolutionize the sciences, " emmott says. microsoft doesn ' t plan to do this all alone. today 14 microsoft researchers are working with some 40 scientists around the world. those numbers are rapidly expanding. " within 12 months, there ' ll be 30 microsoft research cambridge scientists collaborating with around 80 to 100 scientists worldwide to build new software tools for addressing important scientific challenges, " emmott these efforts were given legs during the 2020 science conference, where some 30 scientists, hailing from nations from japan to germany and representing universities such as stanford and companies like glaxosmithkline inc., gathered. the group produced an 82 - page oversized glossy book, " towards 2020 science, " outlining their goals, technologies and plans. the conference also set the stage for research projects, now ongoing, that match microsoft researchers with their scientific counterparts. " the real benefits come from bringing together people from microsoft research - - whether they ' re computer scientists or computational biologists or computational climatologists or oceanographers - - with people in the wider science community, to do the kinds of things that neither of us could do on our own, " emmott understanding life bit by bit one of the more interesting microsoft projects is " simulating biological systems in the stochastic pi calculus. " the idea is to create a more scaleable way to track " the behavior of biological systems. " one approach is to build a so -