overspending can be very stressful when it comes time to pay your credit card bill. however, it ' s the added interest that makes overspending just that much more expensive. spending your future income one survey of 21 - to 35 - year - old college graduates found that this group owes an average of $ 30, 000 in student loans. the several hundred dollars these graduates pay each month to pay off the loan is money that can ' t be saved or invested for the future. it can ' t be spent on other necessities, such as emergency car repairs or household expenses either. it ' s money that ' s tied up until the debt is repaid. while debt for education is considered " good " debt because it ' s an investment in your future, all debt obligates your future income because of the payments that must be made. so make sure you use debt wisely - eliminate " bad " debt ( debt for depreciating assets, such as car loans and credit card debt ) and limit the " good " debt to reasonable amounts. paying the price of debt interest payments on debt work against you. new college graduates carry an average credit card balance of $ 3, 000. let ' s say you ' re lucky — or better yet, careful — and you accumulate only $ 2, 200 in credit card debt. your interest rate is 18 % and you pay the minimum amount each month on your card ( $ 40 ) without any further purchases on your card. how long will it take to pay off your balance? did you guess five years? try 10. it will take almost 10 years to pay off the debt. your total cost will be $ 4, 680 ( original balance of $ 2, 200 plus $ 2, 480 in interest ). getting into debt is easy it ' s easy to run up a credit card. how many times have you gone to dinner, put the whole bill on your credit card, collected money from friends for their portion of the bill, and then found that money gone by the time the bill arrives in the mail? how easy is it to buy another sweater on sale, not so much because you need it but because it was a good bargain? pretty soon you ' ve built up a large balance on your credit card. you could easily charge $ 2, 200 on your credit card in two months, but it will take 10 years to pay it off if you only pay the minimum balance each month. two months versus 10 years. now that ' s downright scary!


when was the last time you farmed after a devastating drought, and tried to figure out how to balance all of the agronomic challenges it presented. lack of soil moisture? herbicide carryover? fertility needs? biomass? soil tilth? dad and granddad may or may not have worried about any of those, but today ’ s agriculture will put some or most of those on a high priority list. although it may take most of the winter to learn how to address most of those issues, it may soon be time to take action on some of those. and to kill multiple birds with one stone, a cover crop may be that stone you may be new to the concept of a cover crop, and some research may be necessary, but it could be just the answer for questions that you have not yet thought about. purdue agronomist eileen kladivko will tell you that a cover crop will be one way to keep your unused 2012 nitrogen on your farm and recycle it into the 2013 crop. her factsheet in a recent purdue crops bulletin says the residual nitrates that were not used by the crop this year will soon be leached out of the soil by fall precipitation. while she is most concerned about where the nitrates will go ( into waterways, streams, and the river ), kladivko says, “ for farmers who lose the residual n, they are also losing the opportunity to trap that n and keep it in their fields for subsequent crop use. cover crops are an excellent practice to scavenge residual n and recycle it through their plant biomass ( shoots and roots ). ” click image to zoom kladivko says when the cover crop decomposes next spring some of the nitrogen it has absorbed will be released for use by the next row crop planted in that field. and some will help build the organic matter in the soil. how much uptake of nitrogen there will be depends on how much residual nitrogen you have in the soil, the type of cover crop that is planted, how much it grows until it is terminated, and how it decomposes next spring. but kladivko says, “ this is precisely the type of year when a cover crop is needed, to trap the much larger amount of residual n that will be present after the poor ( corn ) crop. cover crops will help the farmer recoup part of the fertilizer n investment from this season, and will provide some benefits in improving soil organic matter and soil biological activity. ” her study


will be present after the poor ( corn ) crop. cover crops will help the farmer recoup part of the fertilizer n investment from this season, and will provide some benefits in improving soil organic matter and soil biological activity. ” her study of cover crops points to many other benefits, including protecting against soil erosion, and providing food for soil organisms. if a cover crop is something that may be of interest, there are many decisions to make, particularly what you are going to plant, and how to manage it. kladivko suggests : - if the main focus of the cover crop is to scavenge n and build soil organic matter, then grasses such as oats, cereal rye, or annual ryegrass, perhaps mixed with oilseed radish, are good options. - if fall grazing is desired, then turnips or crimson clover could be mixed with the oats and cereal rye. - farmers need to consider their next cash crop and have a plan for cover crop termination in the spring, as an important step before seeding cover crops this fall. - careful spring management is essential if cover crops are to be beneficial to the farmer and not pose major difficulties in planting the next crop. - the amount of n scavenged by these cover crops is difficult to predict but may be in the 50 to 100 lb n / acre range in a year like this one. - although the amount of n released by the cover crop for next year ’ s crop is also difficult to predict, it may potentially be up to half of the n in the above - ground biomass, if the cover crops or cover crop mixture have a low c : n ratio and are terminated while in the vegetative state. - a pre - sidedress nitrate test ( psnt ) would be one way to help determine whether sidedress n applications could be reduced next year. - herbicides applied to row crops this year may have an impact on the cover crop to be planted, so read the label for the herbicide that was used. kladivko says a lot of advice is available from the midwest cover crops council. many farmers, who have explored the use of cover crops in the past and have been frustrated with the rules about insuring row crops following a cover crop, are advised that usda ’ s recent drought initiatives have addressed some of the issues. while the official authorization has not yet occurred, usda indicates it will allow insurable row crops to be grown after a cover crop has been cultivated over the winter. corn ground which


nature science education seriesexplores science topics of adaptations, animal survival, climate change, extreme environments, and changes in plants and animals in our world. creative reading and writing with roald dahlwelcome to the mad and merrily macabre world of british author roald dahl, who continues to capture the imaginations of young readers. fundamental mathematicsgreat resources for helping students understand the fundamental aspects of mathematics cultural legacies of ancient civilizations seriesthis series explores the life and times of a diverse array of ancient civilizations, including the egyptians, minoan, greeks, romans, mayans, and incas. secrets of plant genomes : revealed! this program takes viewers on a lively and upbeat journey that explores how plants got to be the way they are and how we can make better use of them in the future. teachers have embraced media as an educational tool. students, too, view media in the classroom as an extension of the media - rich environment in which they live. new dimension media has taken educational media beyond simple video playback in the classroom by pioneering an interactive media - on - demand system, ccc! video on demand. ccc! is a rich content and multimedia resource for educators and students to find pathways to teaching and learning for the world of tomorrow. as schools and districts look to upgrade their curriculum to meet the new rigor of stem, many are finding that their resources are insufficient. this collection represents content from the most respected producers in today ' s educational media industry including disney educational productions, nature, britannica and the national science foundation. this stem program is a must if you want to help reduce the pressure your teachers feel today about insuring their students are ready for college and the world of work tomorrow! visit the stem home page to learn more! veteran educator credits ccc! with assisting in award win mike mcgowan - supervisor of technology at lincoln elementary school district 156 in calumet city, illinois - has been named the 2012 smart exemplary educator of the year by smart interactive solutions. mike credits his incorporation of ccc! streaming educational media from new dimension media ( ndm ) with helping him to achieve this national recognition. ccc! now serves over 200, 000 students in new york state over the past few months, a number of new school districts and boces ( board of cooperative educational services ) have signed on to bring their classroom into the 21st century by adding ccc! streaming media. this means that over 200, 000 students in new york state utilize ccc! ' s award


school districts and boces ( board of cooperative educational services ) have signed on to bring their classroom into the 21st century by adding ccc! streaming media. this means that over 200, 000 students in new york state utilize ccc! ' s award - winning content in their classrooms. ccc! content partner wins three emmys new dimension media is pleased to announce that atlantic productions - producers of several of the over 4, 500 programs on its ccc! streaming media service - has received three 2011 emmy awards from the national academy of television arts & sciences. atlantic productions won emmys for... ndm provides professional development for interactive classroom media new dimension media ( ndm ) is helping teachers create interactive lesson plans incorporating streaming media, interactive whiteboard technology, and web 2. 0 through a new professional development program. under this program, ndm representatives travel to ccc! - subscribing schools and school districts to train educators on these new technologies, provide model lesson plans, and share cutting - edge classroom technology practices. about ccc! vod founded in 1978, new dimension media, a division of questar, inc., is the premier producer and distributor of original core curriculum media content created for k - 12 classrooms. ndm programs have won over 100 of the industry ' s most prestigious honors, including the cine golden eagle and the golden apple. ndm content is used in over 100, 000 schools around the country. the 21st century classroom teachers have embraced media as an educational tool. students, too, view media in the classroom as an extension of the media - rich environment in which they live. new dimension media has taken educational media beyond simple video playback in the classroom by pioneering an interactive media - on - demand system, ccc! video on demand. ccc! is a rich content and multimedia resource for educators and students to find pathways to teaching and learning for the world of tomorrow. its powerful, multifaceted software empowers teachers to seamlessly integrate thousands of core curriculum programs into their lesson plans. the ccc! library is comprised of over 3, 500 titles, with hundreds of new programs added each year.


the creation of three distinct and separate branches of government were meant to create the necessary checks and balances to ensure that no one branch would be able to oppress the people as had been the case in england. georgia ' s constitution follows that same concept with a separate article for each of the three branches of government that defines the offices of each branch and their responsibilities. it is no surprise that leaders want to amass powers, always promising to never abuse them. it is up to the members of each branch to defend the powers assigned to them by the constitution. we have certainly seen our share of those exercises during these first four days of our 2013 legislative session. we began our first day, as we begin each day, with the pledge to both the u. s flag and the georgia flag followed by our devotion and prayer. we then took our oath to support the georgia and u. s. constitutions. we also swore that we were not the holder of any unaccounted for money due to the state or any political subdivision or authority thereof. it was an honor to be sworn in by former state senator and now superior court judge bill hamrick. it all began on monday when we convened for the first day. as we began to take our seats, amendments to the rules by which the senate conducts its business we ' re introduced. we had the opportunity to see these proposed changes as we were convening in the senate chambers. as we began our day, newly proposed senate rules were distributed. these rules made some significant changes in how the senate would conduct itself. the most notable changes were a change in who controls every action in the senate and a cap on lobbyist gifts to senators, albeit with many exceptions. article v of the georgia constitution lists the members of the executive branch and their duties and powers. paragraph iii of this article addresses the office of the lieutenant governor. this paragraph states, " the lieutenant governor shall be the president of the senate and shall have such executive duties as prescribed by the governor and as may be prescribed by law not inconsistent with the powers of the governor or other provisions of this constitution. " the newly proposed amendments to the senate rules gave the lieutenant governor, clearly a member of the executive branch, the powers to decide which committees each member serves on and who chairs those committees. prior to this change those powers had resided in the senate itself, thereby preserving the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. the lieutenant governor was also given the powers to assign each bill to the committee of his / her choice. while


committees. prior to this change those powers had resided in the senate itself, thereby preserving the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. the lieutenant governor was also given the powers to assign each bill to the committee of his / her choice. while these changes don ' t necessarily give the executive branch the power to pass legislation, it certainly gives it the power to stop any legislation. in an effort to be the first to claim the adoption of " ethics reform, " the rules included a prohibition of any " gift " with a value in excess of $ 100. of course there were exceptions. among them were " actual and reasonable expenses for admission, registration, food, beverages, travel, and lodging attributed to participating in events, seminars, or educational programs sponsored by or in conjunction with a civic, charitable, governmental, educational, professional, community, or business organization or institution where attendance is related to the senator ' s official duties. " of course these rules only apply to senators, not members of the house of representatives, executive or judicial branches. as i promised to do on day one, i introduced sb 36 that prohibits any gift to any public officer by a lobbyist. the law already includes the definition of a gift as something with a value in excess of $ 100. on thursday, the senate took up sb 24. the stated purpose of the bill is to allow the continued collection of what has been referred to as the hospital bed tax. in 2010, the hospital bed tax was coupled with a reduction in insurance premium taxes ( once the state ' s revenue shortfall fund reached $ 500 million ) as a temporary measure to mitigate a medicaid funding shortfall due to the declining revenues of the state. sb 24 grants the department of community health the ability to tax net hospital revenues at any rate up to the cap set by the federal government of 6 percent for up to four years. in an attitude of compromise, recognizing the difficulties facing the state, conservatives in the senate fought for amendments that would have limited the measure to only two years, cap the rate at the current 1. 45 percent and adopt reform measures that are predicted to save approximately $ 1 billion. those amendments failed and ultimately the measure passed on a vote of 46 to 9. it is an honor to represent you, the constituents of the 31st senate district at the state capitol. if you ever have any questions or concerns, please don ' t hesitate to call or email my office.


“ perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. ” — antoine de saint - exupery most designers will recognise the quote, but it ’ s a shame so many fail to follow its advice in their writing. good writing conveys information more clearly, of course, but the reader isn ’ t the only beneficiary. writing also makes us better thinkers. even a talented wordsmith must first clarify his thoughts and eliminate ambiguity to make a convincing argument. editing is integral to this thought process. yet we often overlook it as the unglamorous relation ; perhaps it doesn ’ t flatter our mental model of the creative scribe giving birth to a masterpiece. designers know well that we often miss problems until we review our intended solutions. similarly, we may think we have a clear argument until the blank page forces us to find the right language to describe it. therefore, just as we appreciate the power of iteration in design, we should embrace the power of editing. in essence, editing is critique for the written word : review, question, revise. like its design counterpart, it involves attention to detail, viewing the problem from many angles, and even the familiar outflanking death - spiral : “ why is this section even here? why am i even writing this piece? ” here are a few tips i ’ ve found useful when bringing the iterative mentality to the written word. the best writers are inquisitive readers, just as the best designers are attentive users. we need only look at our terminology to see the parallels : “ design vocabulary ”, “ design literacy ”. so a good writer reads incessantly. absorb different styles and approaches : quality, trash, everything. find writers whose style you admire, and consider what attracts you to their style. find writers whose style you loathe, and again consider why. deconstruct their language to understand better how to use it in useful ways. make every word matter every wasted word is an unnecessary design element. in fixed - length pieces, you lose space to tell your story, but even in open pieces an unnecessary word distracts the reader ’ s focus, diluting your message. the data - ink ratio isn ’ t just for graphics. this rule applies at many levels in parallel. - if a word doesn ’ t notably improve a sentence, remove it. - if a sentence doesn ’ t notably improve a paragraph, remove it. - if a paragraph doesn ’


t just for graphics. this rule applies at many levels in parallel. - if a word doesn ’ t notably improve a sentence, remove it. - if a sentence doesn ’ t notably improve a paragraph, remove it. - if a paragraph doesn ’ t notably improve a text, remove it. screenwriters know that every line, page and scene should either - advance the storyline, or - provide depth to the characters and setting so that the storyline can advance later. adopt a similar mentality. cut adjectives and adverbs superfluous adjectives and adverbs are the staple of the pedestrian writer. it ’ s easy to see why : they appear to add spice to bland text. but adjectives and adverbs are often mere props, and editors i ’ ve worked with tend to slaughter them without mercy. this can be alarming : without this seasoning, where is my flavour going to come from? the answer? replace your adjective and adverbs with richer nouns and verbs. - “ apple ’ s auteur ”, not “ apple ’ s demanding ceo ”. - “ the barman snarled ”, not “ the barman replied gruffly ”. - “ an environmental obscenity ”, not “ a dreadful environmental accident ”. memorable nouns are the nodes in your story. the static components ; the space ; the architecture. nouns form mental models and associations : apple ’ s leader is talented, painstaking and difficult. lively verbs describe the interactions in your story. the dialog, the motion, the time. they drive the text, giving it momentum and feel. a broad vocabulary – a happy by - product of regular reading – will help you choose better nouns and verbs, but don ’ t be ashamed of a good thesaurus too. however, the most convincing language may not lie in synonyms but in creative parallels that help the reader to make unexpected associations. so use your inventive, lateral instincts to think of descriptive metaphorical words. a lothario might ooze across the dancefloor. a face might melt into tears. active, not passive active verbs encourage vigorous writing. it ’ s dogmatic to decree the passive a sin, but you should have a good reason in mind if you use it. scientific writing rewards use of the passive – presumably to discourage the appearance of individuality ( and hence subjectivity ) within the scientific process – but non - scientific writing needs individuality. so rephrase passive sentences by focusing on the subject of the sentence – the thing or


of the passive – presumably to discourage the appearance of individuality ( and hence subjectivity ) within the scientific process – but non - scientific writing needs individuality. so rephrase passive sentences by focusing on the subject of the sentence – the thing or person that ’ s doing something. then rewrite the phrase, putting the subject first and choosing the verb that correctly follows. - “ designers overestimate the power of research ”, not “ the power of research is overestimated by the design community ”. kill these redundant phrases on sight : - “ blah blah blah is that ” – for example “ one such issue is that … ” - “ in my opinion ” – it ’ s obviously your opinion, you ’ re the writer. - cliches – the comic sans of writing. - “ as x, we y ” – “ as ux people, we must have empathy ”, and so on. a well - targeted piece doesn ’ t need to remind its readers who they are ; so know your audience and address it directly. from the longman guide to revising prose : “ one of the factors that limits and warps the development of a theory of composition and style by teachers of the subject is the tendency to start with failed or inadequate writing ” here, we have a string of prepositional phrases ( phrases beginning with “ in ”, “ of ”, “ by ”, “ with ” etc ) linked by a non - descriptive verb “ is ”. it ’ s easy to inadvertently chain together these monster sentences, but they ’ re a clear warning sign of overloading. to untangle the knot, follow the same principle as for passives : identify the subject first, then the natural verb. split into multiple sentences if you like. here ’ s one way to rewrite the sentence above : “ teachers tend to start with inadequate writing. this limits students ’ understanding of composition and style. ” singulars and plurals look at the subject of your sentence, and make sure that your verbs and pronouns match. - “ the user ( singular ) might not understand why she ( singular ) needs to enter her password ”, not - “ the user ( singular ) might not understand why they ( plural ) need to enter their password ”. english has no gender - neutral singular pronoun. cater for this by alternating gender where appropriate – just don ’ t change someone ’ s gender mid - paragraph. for added bonus points, remember that in british english, companies and teams are usually plural : “ microsoft have released an


singular pronoun. cater for this by alternating gender where appropriate – just don ’ t change someone ’ s gender mid - paragraph. for added bonus points, remember that in british english, companies and teams are usually plural : “ microsoft have released an update ”. in american english, they ’ re singular : “ microsoft has released an update. ” in short, choose the simple explanation over the complex one. again, a sentiment we recognise in design, but it should also apply to language. simplify, simplify. this doesn ’ t spell the end of rich verbs and nouns – instead, use occam ’ s razor to eliminate redundancy and buzzwords : - “ use ”, not “ utilise ” - “ quickly ”, not “ in a timely manner ”. the design industry is, of course, as ridden with jargon and gobbledygook as any specialist group. - “ make the logo bigger ”, not “ increase the visual hierarchy of the masthead brandmark ” - “ make it obvious what to do ”, not “ expose the primary function of the interface ”. the plain english campaign offers a range of free guides that can help those with a jargon affliction. just like music, language has a tempo. an album of songs at the same speed quickly becomes boring, so use different sentence lengths to vary the pace of your writing. the paragraph on the right mixes long, detailed sentences and short, punchy ones. different sentence lengths give rhythm and variety to your writing. so mix it up. proofing your work some people say writing should be like speech. i don ’ t agree – i believe writing presents more scope for density and precision – but a writer must find her own voice. however, the common tip of reading your work aloud is definitely helpful. it will help you to draw out clumsy phrases, and show where you need to quicken the pace or elaborate on a point. some swear by reading their work backwards, from the last paragraph to the first. other suggestions include proofing on paper, or changing the typeface to force you to re - parse the text. what works for you? for further advice, i recommend austin govella ’ s ( more ) tips for writing well.


want to ' win the future '? start by reimagining education the little red schoolhouse — full of bright - eyed pupils carrying satchels and an apple for teach ’ — doesn ’ t exist anymore. innovation, collaboration, and social entrepreneurship must be the lesson plans of tomorrow. new studies show that three - quarters of american college students would not be able to study without some form of technology — almost half said they can ’ t even go ten minutes without checking their laptop, smartphone, or ereader. notes are taken with keyboards instead of paper, presentations are carried by flash drives instead of poster board, and questions are asked in pixels. number 2 pencils? haven ’ t seen one in years. our current education system is failing our students in two areas : area of interest and delivery. our standardized approach to education is leaving all students behind. they see a world growing smaller each day, woven tighter by a web of digital and internet - based connections. unfortunately, we too often look at the flawed, underfunded education system with tired eyes as we dust off old ‘ solutions ’ to persisting problems. the 21st century school bell is ringing with a different tone, commanding a novel approach to education. education must be deeper and richer. it must be faster and more complete. it must be inclusive and more accessible. and above all, it must speak to our children ’ s passion for technology, mathematics, engineering, and other science related fields ( stem ). tapping into that innate curiosity is paramount if we expect to see innovative ideas brought to life. we now find ourselves living in the imagination age, according to rita j. king, executive vp of business development at science house, a period between the dark and grimy industrial era and the embedded technological revolution. at its very core is “ collaboration, rapid prototyping, a deeper understanding of failure as part of the process and the ability to think in the long - term despite the accelerated pace of transformation ” — an approach that must be adopted in schools, from “ k to 12 ” and beyond. charles leadbeater, a researcher at the london think - tank demos and former advisor to tony blair, during his tedsalon talk in london last year called for a new, imaginative response to our global society ’ s educational needs. “ education is a global religion — and education, plus technology, is a great source of hope, ” said leadbeater. “ mass education started with social entrepreneurship in the 19th century, and that ’ s desperately what we need again on a


. “ education is a global religion — and education, plus technology, is a great source of hope, ” said leadbeater. “ mass education started with social entrepreneurship in the 19th century, and that ’ s desperately what we need again on a global scale. and what can we learn from all of that? well, we can learn a lot because our education systems are failing desperately in many ways. they fail to reach the people they most need to serve. they often hit the target but miss the point. improvement is increasingly difficult to organize. our faith in these systems, incredibly fraught. and this is just a very simple way of understanding what kind of innovation, what kind of design we need. ” according to leadbeater, sustaining and disruptive innovations are essentially kindling to fuel the fire behind an educational reinvention. what the world needs, and at scale, is threefold : - a radical inception of new ideas about what education could be — we mustn ’ t be afraid to dream a little bigger. - community efforts to supplement schools because just as much, if not more, learning takes place outside of the classroom walls. - and transformational innovation to empower all the world ’ s citizens with information and learning. when president obama delivered his state of the union this past january, he voiced an undeniable determination to win that future. they way forward is not to fold in the face of adversity, but to re - up with a new course of action. there must be a greater emphasis on math and science, on research and new technologies, on innovation and imagination. so while this nation is transforming the american dream, shouldn ’ t we give the latest dreamers a legitimate chance of making it a reality? it is a pass - or - fail examination and the big, fat clock on the wall is ticking. the choice is simple : we must evolve as educators to prepare our children, our students with stem education in order for them to succeed in the future. a curriculum built around cross - border, cross - cultural collaboration and tied together with rich stem learning is the only solution. why force our students to view their world through the bifocals of iron and steel, when they should be exploring an open sourced world of global connections in three dimensions? such a dedication to innovation and entrepreneurship, when adopted by faculty and peer - educators worldwide, will shift the worldviews of students. they ’ ll analyze problems with systems in mind and see unlimited potential for change in interdisciplinary solutions. that brand of


" heavy womenis chances higher. " by lindsey tanner from the washington times. chicago o obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests. itis among the first studies linking the two and, though it doesnit prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country. studied women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal - weight women to have autistic children. they also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays. on average, women face a 1 - in - 88 chance of having a child with autism ; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 - in - 53 chance, the authors said. the study was released online monday in pediatrics. since more than one - third of u. s. women of child - bearing age are obese, the results are potentially worrisome and add yet another incentive for maintaining a prescribed normal weight, said researcher paula krakowiak, a study co - author and scientist at the university of california, davis. previous research has linked obesity during pregnancy with stillbirths, premature births and some birth defects. dr. daniel coury, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at nationwide children ' s hospital in columbus, ohio, said the results draise quite a concern. e he noted that u. s. autism rates have increased along with obesity rates and said the research suggests that may be more than a coincidence. more research is needed to confirm the results. but if mothersi obesity is truly related to autism, it would be only one of many contributing factors, said dr. coury, who was not involved in the study. genetics has been linked to autism, and scientists are examining whether mothersi illnesses and use of certain medicines during pregnancy might also play a part. the study involved about 1, 000 california children, ages 2 to 5. nearly 700 had autism or other developmental delays, and 315 did not have those problems. mothers were asked about their health. medical records were available for more than half the women and confirmed their conditions. itis not clear how mothersi obesity might affect fetal development, but the authors offer some theories. obesity, generally about 35 pounds overweight, is linked with inflammation and sometimes elevated levels of blood sugar. excess blood sugar and inflammation - related substances in a motheris blood may reach the fetus and damage the developing brain, ms. krakowiak said. the study


heart disease : first signs different, but threat similar for men and women ( bpt ) - while heart disease continues to receive a lot of attention, certain myths surrounding the disease persist. a couple of the most common myths are that heart disease is more common in men than women, and that the first signs of a heart attack are the same for both men and women, says dr. mary ann mclaughlin, medical director of the cardiac health program at the mount sinai medical center in new york. heart disease remains the leading cause of death in men and women in the united states, affecting both sexes relatively equally. " women are more afraid of dying from cancer, " says mclaughlin. " but in fact, they are much more likely to die from heart disease. " also, the first signs of a heart attack can manifest themselves in different ways between men and women. while both men and women can experience the more well - known symptoms like chest pain or tightness and a shooting pain in the left arm, here are the most common differences in symptoms by sex, according to mclaughlin. the more obvious symptoms are more prevalent in men, which might be why research shows that men go to the emergency room with symptoms much earlier in than women. more subtle symptoms are more likely in women. these include shortness of breath, sweating or dizziness, nausea, severe fatigue, sudden sleep disturbances, pain radiating through the jaw, small of the back or between the shoulder blades. " women with diabetes are about twice as susceptible to heart attacks as men with the condition, " says mclaughlin. " increased risk factors for women also include having an autoimmune disorder and a history of gestational diabetes or preeclampsia during pregnancies. " knowing the first signs of a heart attack is important, but reducing your risks for heart disease is the best way to avoid experiencing one. mclaughlin offers the following tips for a healthy heart : * reduce salt intake. limiting your consumption of processed foods can help with this, as they are often high in salt. * choose your fats wisely. use olive oil instead of butter, snack on nuts instead of other sugary and high - fat snacks, and take supplements like flax seed oil that can boost your levels of omega - 3 fatty acids, which can reduce artery inflammation. consuming more omega - 3s can also help you reduce your ldl ( bad cholesterol ) levels. * get regular exercise. a good rule of thumb is when balanced with a proper diet, 30 minutes of exercise a day will


artery inflammation. consuming more omega - 3s can also help you reduce your ldl ( bad cholesterol ) levels. * get regular exercise. a good rule of thumb is when balanced with a proper diet, 30 minutes of exercise a day will help you maintain your current weight, while 60 minutes will help you lose weight. if that seems like a lot, try to work exercises in to your daily tasks by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking or biking to work. maintaining a healthy weight lowers your risk for cardiovascular disease. * ask your doctor whether a daily regimen of low - dose aspirin would be appropriate for you, as it could lower your risk of a heart attack. * maintain a daily intake of 1, 000 mg of vitamin d, which can be found in some of the same fatty fish that contain high levels of omega - 3 fatty acids. vitamin d supplements can also help you achieve this, as low levels are associated with heart disease and high blood pressure. exposure to sunshine also helps your body produce vitamin d, but don ' t forget your sunscreen. * know your numbers. your doctor can help you get your readings and give you advice on how to meet the following goals for optimum heart health : total cholesterol : less than 200 ldl ( bad cholesterol ) : less than 100 hdl ( good cholesterol ) : greater than or equal to 40 total cholesterol to hdl ratio : less or equal to 4. 4 for women and less than or equal to 5 for men triglycerides : less than 150 blood pressure : less than 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic non - fasting glucose : less than 120 fasting glucose : less than 100 hemoglobin a1c : less than 7 to learn more about heart disease and care, and to hear stories from patients who have experienced heart disease, visit www. mountsinai. org / heart


with the economic situation as bad as it is, can we really afford to support sustainable agriculture? it ’ s a question of priorities, says carlo petrini, founder of the international slow food movement, and a question of waste. if we as a society were more conscientious eaters, we could cut our waste and not have to spend as much on food. and the price of food must be fair — which does not, of course, necessarily mean cheap. over the last two decades, journalist and political activist carlo petrini has led the grassroots slow food movement - which began as a critique of fast food fast life - and watched it grow into a global phenomenon with nearly 100, 000 members in 150 countries around the world. this past weekend, mr. petrini was in toronto to receive an eco - hero award from the planet in focus international environmental film & video festival. he also met with slow food leaders from across canada who had gathered in toronto to incorporate slow food canada. the globe and mail spoke to him on his first visit to english - speaking canada. never before has food been such a popular topic in newspapers, magazines and on television. does this mean progress? we are in the presence of many paradoxes. we have never talked so much about food, and yet we have never had so much soil that is infertile, or a water table so polluted. we have never talked so much about food, and yet farmers are disappearing. we have never talked so much about food, and yet it has never been less tasty. everywhere, all over the world, at every hour of the day, there is always someone on television with a frying pan. you get the recipe, the aesthetic vision of food, but not the history or where it comes from. it risks becoming food pornography. we need instead a new gastronomy, a fuller vision of gastronomy. what kind of food should we be eating? food must be good to eat, because it must be pleasurable. it must be clean, because the production must respect the environment. it must be fair because it must respect those who work the land. if one of those things is not present, quality is not there. there must be a fair price for the people who produce our food, and a fair price for the co - producer. a fair price does not mean a low price. how can we afford to pay more for our food when our budgets are shrinking with the economic recession? why don ’ t we look at what we waste


your child needs elective surgery and a date has been scheduled. unlike emergency surgery, an elective procedure isn ' t done as an immediate matter of life and death. having an elective procedure gives you the time to prepare your child psychologically for the hospital and the surgery. good preparation can help kids feel less anxious about the anesthesia and surgery and get through the recovery period faster. but, like parents everywhere, you ' re probably uncertain about the best way to prepare your child. the key is to provide information at your child ' s level of understanding, correct misunderstandings, and get rid of fears and feelings of guilt. help your child understand why the surgery is needed and become familiar with the hospital and some of the procedures he or she will undergo. kids of all ages cope much better if they have an idea of what ' s going to happen and why it ' s necessary. to do that, prepare yourself first and correct any misconceptions of your own. if a parent is anxious and nervous, a child will often reflect these feelings and behaviors as well. it ' s a good idea to educate yourself, feel comfortable with the process, and make sure all your questions are answered. the horror stories you heard from grandparents and parents about traumatic parent / child separations and very limited hospital visiting hours belong to days gone by. hospitals have changed enormously and have become more family - friendly and patient - centered. for example, many surgeries are now " same - day " procedures requiring no overnight or prolonged stays ; most kids are back home, in their own beds, the same night. furthermore, most u. s. hospitals permit at least one parent to stay with the child at all times except during the operation. after the surgery, you may return to your child in the recovery room. as your child awakens, he or she will not even realize you left. ask the doctors, nurses, or staff for the information you need about what will take place so that you can prepare your child and deal with your own fears or concerns. to parents, one of the most fearful aspects of surgery is anesthesia. anesthesia is much safer today than in the past, but still carries some risk. you should discuss any concerns you have in advance with the anesthesiologist. when hospitalization is required overnight or longer, most hospitals avoid separation anxiety by permitting at least one parent to stay with the child day and night. check with the hospital about its rules regarding parents staying over and when other close family members can visit.


. when hospitalization is required overnight or longer, most hospitals avoid separation anxiety by permitting at least one parent to stay with the child day and night. check with the hospital about its rules regarding parents staying over and when other close family members can visit. as soon as your child is able, he or she may be playing with other children, toys, and games in a children ' s recreation room — even if that involves taking along an intravenous ( iv ) bag on a rolling support. explain the problem now that you ' re more at ease, start preparing your child. begin by explaining the reason for the surgery in simple, nonthreatening words. explain — at your child ' s level of understanding — about the medical problem and why surgery is necessary. don ' t use alarming language like " the doctor will cut you, " " open you up, " or " sew you with a needle. " say that the doctor will fix the problem, and explain that many kids have this problem and must get it fixed at the hospital. although they seldom express it, kids may fear that their parents aren ' t telling them everything — that their health problem is worse than they ' ve been led to believe. to build trust, don ' t mislead your child — tell as much of the truth as your child can understand. many kids fear that an operation will be painful. it can help to explain that a special doctor, called an anesthesiologist, gives medicine to make patients sleep very deeply so they won ' t feel anything during the operation and once it ' s finished, they ' ll wake up. ( older kids, in particular, need special assurances that they will wake up. ) again, avoid frightening language — don ' t say, " you ' ll be given gas " or " you ' ll be put to sleep. " young kids may confuse " gas " with the fuel that can poison or kill and " put to sleep " with what can happen to sick pets. explain that you ' ll be there when your child wakes up — and a favorite toy can come along, too. tell your child that if anything feels sore right after the operation, a doctor or nurse can give medication that will make it feel better. common surgery - related fears of young children are the possibility of separation from ( or abandonment by ) parents and the possibility of pain. school - age kids also fear needles, knives, and damage to their bodies. give a child this age clear, rational information as well as assurance


of young children are the possibility of separation from ( or abandonment by ) parents and the possibility of pain. school - age kids also fear needles, knives, and damage to their bodies. give a child this age clear, rational information as well as assurances that the surgery is to fix an existing problem, not create a new one. the fears of teens go well beyond those of younger kids. besides pain, change of appearance, and disfigurement, a teen might be afraid of losing control, missing out on events, being embarrassed or humiliated in public, and sounding childish by expressing fear, anxiety, or pain. a teen may also be afraid of waking up during the operation — or not waking up afterward. anticipate these fears, then emphasize that expressing fear, anxiety, and response to pain is quite normal ( and ok ) at any age, even adulthood. correct any misconceptions about disfigurement or injury. and explain that anesthesia is very safe today and that patients do not wake up during operations but will certainly wake up afterward. encourage your teen to read up on the medical condition and share the information with the family. reading and sharing information is an excellent coping mechanism. one further fear that affects kids of all ages is being seen naked and having their " private parts " touched. if the operation involves the genital or anal area, your child will cope better if you explain in advance that although it might be embarrassing, doctors and nurses will need to examine these private areas, especially to check if they ' re healing after the operation. explain that doctors, nurses, and parents are the only exceptions to the rules about privacy. encourage your child ' s questions about the health problem and hospital experience, so that other fears and anxieties can be expressed. take all questions seriously and answer them to the best of your ability. if you don ' t know an answer, tell your child that you ' ll find it out, and explain that the doctors and nurses are happy to answer questions, too. children often believe that their medical problem and operation are really punishments for " being bad. " they may not say so, but they may feel guilty and believe that they ' ve brought events on themselves. explain that the medical problem is not the result of anything your child may have done or failed to do, and that the operation is not a punishment, but simply the way to " fix " the problem. on the other hand, if the medical problem was caused by an accident that could have been avoided by


your child may have done or failed to do, and that the operation is not a punishment, but simply the way to " fix " the problem. on the other hand, if the medical problem was caused by an accident that could have been avoided by obeying safety rules, make sure your child understands the reason for the rules and will follow them in the future. explaining what will happen find books, appropriate to your child ' s level of understanding, about what to expect at the hospital. reading together and discussing the surgery will make the hospital seem less threatening. discuss each idea and encourage your child ' s questions. young kids also will benefit from practicing on a doll or stuffed teddy bear with toy doctor - kit " instruments. " your child can take the toy ' s " temperature " and " pulse " and listen to its " heartbeat " and " breathing. " ask your doctor for suggested videos or multimedia tools for parents or kids that can help explain the procedure. as you discuss the hospital and surgery, remember that in addition to your words, your nonverbal cues convey assurance : your tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, and body language send powerful messages. if you appear fearful, your child is likely to feel fearful regardless of the words you use. pre - operative orientation and tour many hospitals offer special pre - operative children ' s programs, family orientations, and hospital tours, conducted by specially trained nurses or licensed child - life specialists. child - life specialists are a valuable resource for parents and children. they are professionals trained to talk to kids and teens about medical procedures, comfort them if they ' re upset or need extra support, and organize " play time " for hospitalized kids and teens to get together and hang out. call the hospital to schedule a pre - operative tour, program, or orientation as soon as possible, even from the doctor ' s office when the appointment for the surgery is made. it ' s best to schedule the appointment for a few days before the surgery. an orientation program can remove the mystery of the surgery for kids and their families by making the hospital familiar and friendly and the experience predictable. on the day of surgery when you arrive on the day of surgery, your young child can play with toys and books you bring from home or sit on your lap and be cuddled during the waiting time. you won ' t be allowed to stay in the operating room during the surgery, but afterward, you ' ll be escorted to the recovery room to be with your child as he or she awakens. upon discharge, you


what is skin testing for allergies? the most common way to test for allergies is on the skin, usually the forearm or the back. in a typical skin test, a doctor or nurse will place a tiny bit of an allergen ( such as pollen or food ) on the skin, then make a small scratch or prick on the skin. the allergist may repeat this, testing for several allergens in one visit. this can be a little uncomfortable, but not painful. if your child reacts to one of the allergens, the skin will swell a little in that area. the doctor will be able to see if a reaction occurs within about 15 minutes. the swelling usually goes down within about 30 minutes to a few hours. other types of skin testing include injecting allergens into the skin or taping allergens to the skin for 48 hours. with a skin test, an allergist can check for these kinds of allergies : - environmental, such as mold, pet dander, or tree pollen - food, such as peanuts or eggs - medications, such as penicillin some medications ( such as antihistamines ) can interfere with skin testing, so check with the doctor to see if your child ' s medications need to be stopped before the test is done. while skin testing is useful and helpful, sometimes additional tests ( like blood tests or food challenges ) also must be done to see if a child is truly allergic to something. while skin tests are usually well tolerated, in rare instances they can cause a more serious allergic reaction. this is why skin testing must always be done in an allergist ' s office, where the doctor is prepared to handle a reaction. reviewed by : larissa hirsch, md date reviewed : may 2012


may 24, 2011 contact : rachel salis - silverman, department of public relations, 267 - 426 - 6063 using immunotherapy — biologic agents that stimulate the body ’ s immune system — pediatric oncologists have achieved the first substantial increase in over a decade in cure rates for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. a newly released study shows that the new treatment improved two - year survival rates by 20 percentage points, compared to standard treatment for an aggressive form of neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system. the study appears in the sept. 30 issue of the new england journal of medicine, along with a separate cog study on intermediate - risk neuroblastoma. the corresponding author of the immunotherapy study is alice l. yu, md, phd, of the university of california, san diego. “ we expect these findings will change clinical practice, setting a new gold standard of treatment for this often - deadly disease, ” said john m. maris, md, a co - author of the study and director of the center for childhood cancer research at the children ’ s hospital of philadelphia. maris is the chair of the neuroblastoma committee of the children ’ s oncology group ( cog ), the cooperative multicenter research organization that sponsored the study. neuroblastoma, a cancer of the peripheral nervous system, usually appears as a solid tumor in the chest or abdomen. it accounts for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, but because it frequently occurs in an aggressive form, it causes 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths. while low - risk forms of neuroblastoma may spontaneously disappear, in high - risk forms, the cancer tends to return after initial treatment, usually with lethal results. in the current study, researchers assigned 226 high - risk patients at multiple cancer centers to receive one of two treatments : immunotherapy consisted of : monoclonal antibodies are molecular “ guided missiles ” engineered to kill cancer cells by targeting a substance appearing on those cells. cytokines are naturally occurring signaling proteins that regulate immune responses. the cancer center at the children ’ s hospital of philadelphia has been using this immunotherapy regimen as part of standard treatment for children with high - risk neuroblastoma for more than a year, since preliminary trial results were reported in june 2009. children have arrived from around the world to receive this treatment at children ’ s hospital, which has a long - established research and


with high - risk neuroblastoma for more than a year, since preliminary trial results were reported in june 2009. children have arrived from around the world to receive this treatment at children ’ s hospital, which has a long - established research and clinical program in neuroblastoma. dr. maris is internationally prominent as a neuroblastoma expert. some highlights of his neuroblastoma research efforts include : “ together, these studies report important advances in care for children with this challenging cancer, ” said maris. “ we will continue to investigate treatments to further refine the standard of care. ” this study, outcome after reduced chemotherapy for intermediate risk neuroblastoma, found that physicians could substantially reduce the dose and duration of chemotherapy used for neuroblastoma and still achieve very high survival rates of 98 percent among children receiving the treatment. the benefits of lower doses include : the corresponding author of this study was katherine k. matthay, md, of the university of california, san francisco. grants from the national institutes of health and the food and drug administration supported the immunotherapy study. grants from the national cancer institute, part of the national institutes of health, supported the study of intermediate - risk neuroblastoma. both studies were conducted through the children ’ s oncology group.


by katrina vogelgesang, contributing writer for april gottung, an active and healthy young girl, a heart issue shouldn ' t have been a worry. yet, april had spells of fainting for six years until her issues peaked with a seizure at the age of 14, when she was rushed to the hospital. diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia, april had to have a defibrillator put in her chest, restrain from all strenuous activity, and will be on medication for the rest of her life. an arrhythmia is an interruption in the electrical impulses that cause your heart to contract. with many different kinds of arrhythmias, and many different magnitudes as well, arrhythmias are more common than you think. according to webmd, an arrhythmia can sometimes be present without showing any symptoms. often times, though, an arrhythmia causes palpitations, shortness of breath, fainting, dizziness, discomfort in the chest and weakness, according to webmd. you should see a doctor if any of these symptoms occur frequently or suddenly, or at times when you would not expect, instructs the mayo clinic. if any fainting or collapsing occurs, 911 should be called immediately. there are two types of arrhythmias, according to the mayo clinic. a tachycardia is a sped up heart rate, and a bradycardia is a slowed heart rate. according to the mayo clinic, arrhythmias can be hereditary, but can also be caused by scarring on the heart, stress, smoking and other substance abuse, diabetes, or other health issues. blocked arteries or changes in the heart structure can also cause an arrhythmia. some of the most common types of arrhythmias include pvc ' s and atrial fibrillations. a pvc is a premature ventricular contraction. this is a common arrhythmia that we all experience from time to time. it can be due to many things, including stress or caffeine, according to webmd. if someone has an unusual amount of pvc ' s, they should have their heart examined by a doctor, says webmd. atrial fibrillations are when the upper chambers of the heart contract abnormally. to diagnose both the magnitude and type of arrhythmia, the mayo clinic states that the doctor will most likely perform an electrocardio


. atrial fibrillations are when the upper chambers of the heart contract abnormally. to diagnose both the magnitude and type of arrhythmia, the mayo clinic states that the doctor will most likely perform an electrocardiogram, or an ecg. this test attaches sensors to your chest to monitor your heart. other tests could include bringing a monitor home to wear over a period of time in hopes of recording an arrhythmia. this will allow your doctor to examine your heart ' s pattern. once diagnosed, there are several treatments that can help cure or harbor an arrhythmia. sometimes, it simply requires a lifestyle change, such as less caffeine or alcohol intake, stopping smoking, or restraining from certain activities. other times the condition is more serious, and requires drugs or surgery. according to webmd, the most common drugs used are drugs that control heart rate or reduce the risk of blood clots. if drugs are not suitable, a doctor may suggest some sort of surgical procedure, whether it be to insert a device or directly operate on the heart. a pacemaker is a device that helps the heart beat at a suitable rate. other devices that serve relatively the same purpose include electrical cardioversion and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ( icd ), states webmd. webmd also says that heart surgery may be necessary to cure heart disease, which could be the cause of the arrhythmia. whichever treatment you receive depends on the severity and type of your arrhythmia. anyone at any time can have an arrhythmia. it ' s important to know what the symptoms of an arrhythmia are, and when it ' s time to go get checked out. it ' s also important to know what usually causes an arrhythmia, and what kind of tests will be run to figure out the state of your arrhythmia. it ' s important to be informed on something as common as arrhythmias so that you can stop them before they progress, or even prevent them all together.


by michael morris, parks canada june 5, 2002 en route to rogers pass, park warden tim laboucane braked in time to avoid a debris flow on the highway. as he parked well back from the mess of muck, rock, and timber, he felt the shock wave and the subsequent roar of another landslide as it hurdled down on to the trans - canada highway, just west of glacier national park. while new and unexpected debris flows have occurred along the highway in recent weeks, park staff expect this sort of trouble each spring at the heather mountain landslide near the eastern boundary of glacier national park. slumping on heather mountain was first noticed by helicopter pilot don mctighe in january 1997 when an unseasonably warm front including heavy rain caused water to percolate into the exposed fractures near the top of heather mountain. when the weather cooled quickly to minus 20 degrees celsius, the rock face froze and the pressure of trapped water in behind the face created the slope separation. flying for nearby heli - skiers, mctighe watched the cracks in the slope grow day by day. blocks failed and slid, and by spring grew into a massive debris flow that ended up as mud on the highway. here the failing rock is a talc - rich mica schist that is strong enough when dry but disintegrates easily when it comes in contact with water. talc is the same mineral as in talcum powder. over the next two springs, the exposed surface was eroded and lubricated by the combination of rain and melting snow, creating an mountainside gash about two kilometers long and half a kilometer wide. it ’ s a wound that continues to ooze each spring, some years more than others, depending on the rate of melt of the snowpack and concurrent rain events. while checking this place out i noticed that the freshly broken rocks on the landslide have an iridescent sheen and smell like rotting vegetation. the newly exposed surface is a mix of small and large boulders and mud as slick as soap. walking across it was a process of finding the least slippery spots. then there ’ s the clatter of the occasional tumbling rock departing the headwall. it ’ s not a place to visit. the bottom of the landslide is a jumble of shattered timber with several outlets of cafe - au - lait colored mud which flow through 500 meters of forest to a diversion berm. culverts under the highway to help the mud on its way into the beaver river.


is a jumble of shattered timber with several outlets of cafe - au - lait colored mud which flow through 500 meters of forest to a diversion berm. culverts under the highway to help the mud on its way into the beaver river. sometimes the debris flow is more than the catchment basin and culverts can handle. the result is mud spread over the road and highway crews working around the clock, passing traffic whenever possible. with the advice of scientists from the geological survey of canada, parks canada established a monitoring program to keep an eye on this chronic safety concern. similar to the remote weather recording stations used in the prediction of avalanche activity or forest fires, a site on heather mountain transmits temperature and precipitation amounts to parks canada ’ s highway service section in rogers pass, alerting road crews that the debris flow may increase, though the situation remains far from predictable. recognized as a national historic site because of its role in national transportation history, the rogers pass story continues to unfold. landslides, avalanches, floods and other land - forming events occur all through the mountains but are only noticed when it interferes with our activities. the road crews, flag persons, and park wardens that work on the highway contribute to an essential service that sees ever - increasing expectations. on the highway we ’ ve come to expect to get from point a to point b in a certain amount of time and are put out if we are delayed. however, the mountains don ’ t care. occasionally the highway is closed for safety reasons as we respect that not everything in these rugged mountains can be controlled. columbia mountains institute of applied ecology box 2568 revelstoke, b. c. v0e 2s0 tel : 250 - 837 - 9311 fax : 250 - 837 - 9311


london ( cnn ) - - bamboozled by eurozone debt crisis jargon? cnn is here to help you tell your bond yields from your banking interventions, your defaults from your haircuts. and if you need anything more explained, please submit your questions to soundoff at the bottom of the story. the euro is the common currency used by a bloc of nations within the european union. the 17 states that use the euro - - including germany, france, italy and spain - - form the eurozone. a further 10 eu nations - - including the uk, sweden and denmark - - continue to use their own currencies. a recession is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking output - - or a country going backwards financially. the eurozone is currently teetering on the edge of recession, triggered in part by the crisis which has rolled on since may 2010. a double dip recession is when a country which has been in recession enters a downturn again after a brief and weak recovery. the " contagion effect " referred to in the eurozone crisis is the fear that one country ' s financial problems will spill over to another country. this happens because the capital markets - - where sovereign bonds are bought and sold - - can be influenced by sentiment as well as the fundamentals of each country. contagion can also occur because the more countries within the bloc struggle, the higher the cost to others of giving aid. countries, or companies, default when they can no longer pay their bills on time. defaults can come in different forms : " orderly " - - when investors holding the bonds can agree to take haircuts ( see below ) - - or " disorderly, " where losses are unexpected and sudden. countries raise money by issuing sovereign bonds which are then purchased by investors. the ' " yield " of the bonds - which can be thought of as ious - - is how much the investor wants to be paid to hold that bond. so, a higher yield indicates a higher risk bond. for sovereign bonds a yield of more than 7 % is considered unsustainable for any extended period of time, because a country ' s earnings are unlikely to be able to cover repayments. liquidity is the oil which greases the world of finance. it refers to the ease at which funds - - cash, for example - - can flow through the system. a market with lots of buyers and sellers is liquid, while one without is illiquid. a haircut refers to a cut in the value


refers to the ease at which funds - - cash, for example - - can flow through the system. a market with lots of buyers and sellers is liquid, while one without is illiquid. a haircut refers to a cut in the value of investments lenders are asked to take. for example, a 50 % haircut on an investment means you ' ll get back only half of what you paid. investors in greek bonds have been asked to take a haircut on their debt. it would be in their interest to do so if they thought the value of the debt could drop further in the future. investors can also be asked to swap bonds maturing soon for longer dated ones which would pay out at a much later date. the ratings agencies - - moody ' s investors service, standard & poor ' s and fitch ratings being the big three - - award scores based on a company or country ' s credit worthiness. " junk " refers to when that rating drops below investment grade. once a credit rating drops below the bbb level, it is " sub - investment " grade and is commonly referred to as junk. eurobonds are being suggested as a way to tie the finances of the eurozone ' s 17 countries more closely. a eurobond would be a bond - - or debt which investors buy in return for yield - - backed by all the countries of the bloc. the idea remains under discussion, although it has rejected by the eurozone ' s two most powerful leaders, german chancellor angela merkel and then - french president nicolas sarkozy earlier this year. francois hollande, sarkozy ' s successor, has been more favorable to the idea. fiscal unity is centered on integrated taxation and spending. the eurozone is a monetary but not fiscal union, meaning its 17 members maintain their own taxation policies and also raise money to fund themselves. however, the bloc does have a central bank - - the european central bank ( see below ) - - which maintains monetary policy. the bloc appears to be moving toward closer fiscal integration as it seeks to stem the crisis. european central bank the european central bank, based in frankfurt, germany, was set up in 1998 to maintain monetary policy for the eurozone under its common currency, the euro. the ecb ' s mandate is to keep inflation at around 2 % or below, and ensure some level of stability for the countries that use the euro. like other central banks, the ecb ' s main tool for keeping to these targets is by raising or lowering interest rates -


is to keep inflation at around 2 % or below, and ensure some level of stability for the countries that use the euro. like other central banks, the ecb ' s main tool for keeping to these targets is by raising or lowering interest rates - - a key tool for influencing financial markets. the ecb has also been actively buying the sovereign bonds of troubled eurozone economies, in the hope that it will lower those countries ' funding costs. european financial stability facility the european financial stability facility ( efsf ) is europe ' s temporary bailout fund. it was hurriedly set up after greece needed its first bailout in may 2010, and has since become a key tool to combat the debt crisis. european leaders have increased its lending capacity from around €250 billion to €440 billion, and are investigating ways to boost its clout. a permanent bailout fund, the european stability mechanism, or esm, will be operational mid 2012. international monetary fund the international monetary fund, which is based in washington d. c., is an organization of 187 countries. it is designed to assist countries in financial trouble. member countries contribute to the fund, relative to their economies, when assistance is needed. it has been a key player in the european bailouts. a group of auditors from the international monetary fund, the european union and the european central bank tasked with monitoring the progress of nations that have requested sovereign bailouts such as greece, portugal and ireland.


editor ' s note : mainsail is cnn ' s monthly sailing show, exploring the sport of sailing, luxury travel and the latest in design and technology. ( cnn ) - - one of the world ' s largest private superyachts is the latest to set sail on an expedition to uncover the secrets of a british battle cruiser lost during world war ii. octopus - - a 414 foot megayacht - - was donated to the british navy by paul allen, co - founder of microsoft. allen will fund the recovery and research expedition, sparing the british government any cost. this week the recovery team will return to the wreck site with a two - fold mission : retrieve the ship ' s bell and document the remains of the battle cruiser in the hopes of later determining what happened in the hood ' s final moments. david mearns, director of blue water recoveries, said the ship ' s bell was " lovingly looked after " by the crew. its recovery is seen by those who lost loved ones as a way to commemorate those who died. the hms hood was sunk during a battle in the north atlantic with german battleship bismarck in 1941. the hood remains the largest royal navy vessel to have gone down, and resulted in the largest loss of life suffered by any single warship in british history. the wreck of hms hood is designated under the protection of the military remains act, meaning the recovery team had to seek permission from the british navy in order to retrieve the bell. the mission was agreed to by the british government, and the ministry of defence say the bell - - if recovered - - will form a tangible and fitting memorial to the ship and the 1, 415 men who died when she sunk in the north atlantic. mearns recalls the astonishment of the team when they located the ship ' s bell, on their first dive, in 2001. " there was just a miscellaneous pile of twisted and torn metal... most of it was very angled steel but there was this curved shape, " mearns remembers. " we pushed in on the camera and, lo and behold, there was the bell sitting basically unattached, not connected to the ship [ and ] all by itself on its side. " the team, mearns recalls, " were just stunned by it. " the 40, 000 ton wreck is strewn over two and half kilometers of seabed, and uncovering the bell was a stroke of luck for the recovery team. " it ' s a really iconic item and personal symbol of the ship, but we were there conducting


, 000 ton wreck is strewn over two and half kilometers of seabed, and uncovering the bell was a stroke of luck for the recovery team. " it ' s a really iconic item and personal symbol of the ship, but we were there conducting this investigation on a ' don ' t touch ' basis. it never occurred to us, even for a second, ' what if we recovered the bell? should we attempt to? ' " mearns tells cnn. by the time mearns and his team had returned to land, news of the bell ' s discovery had broken. a public debate had erupted over the ethics of disturbing a wreck where so many lives had been lost. mearns gained the support of the hms hood association - - whose members include veterans and relatives of those who died - - before seeking financial support to return and recover the bell. the association ' s president, rear admiral philip wilcocks, said in statement on the mission : " there is no headstone among the flowers for those who perish at sea. " wilcocks added, " future generations will be able to gaze upon [ the hood ' s ] bell and remember with gratitude and thanks the heroism, courage and personal sacrifice of hood ' s ship ' s company who died in the service of their country. " if recovered, the bell will go on display in 2014, at an exhibition at the royal navy museum in the southern english port of portsmouth - - where the hood was based. mearns says : " it ' s been out there as a wish of the association to do this and i ' ve just been looking for the right sponsor to do it in the right way and to get the permission to do it. " i ' d been working with vulcan, paul allen ' s company, and it just so happened we could combine the availability of octopus in the region at the right time, because you can only really work in this area two months of the year. " the octopus, the world ' s 13th largest megayacht, is a " fantastically capable vessel, " mearns says. despite being classified as a yacht, the octopus carries equipment including a deepwater diving rov [ remotely operated vehicle ] and survey and navigation equipment. the octopus, says mearns, " is very qualified " for the job. the british royal navy has asked the team to place an ensign on the site of the wreck, mearns added. the mission also hopes to shed light on the final moments of the battle cruiser, which broke in two during the attack.


in all modern languages like c # and java, we gain benefits of garbage collection. what about implementing our own. in this article, i will try to explain how to implement garbage collector for c language. what is garbage collection? in c language, dynamic memory management operations are done with free ( ) functions. when a piece of memory area is required, programmer calls the malloc ( ) function and receives a pointer of this area, and releases this area using free ( ) function when it is not used anymore. this is really a very easy task, you create memory area using malloc ( ) and release it using free ( ). what if the programmer forgets to call the free ( ) function or application breaks before the free ( ) function is executed? if free ( ) function is not called, operating system cannot use this area and still thinks that it is in use. large chunks of unreleased memory areas can affect system performance vitally. need for an automated garbage collection mechanism is born at this point. automated garbage collection mechanism guarantees that all allocated memory during program run are released at the end. there are a lot of garbage collection algorithms such as mark and sweep, copying, generational, reference counting, etc. in this article, i will try to explain mark and sweep algorithm. what about conservation? garbage collectors ( abbreviated gc from now on ) should not force developers to tag data or force to use special datatype as pointers. gc also should work on existing source code. working on existing code without compilation would be a more elegant solution. gc should not force to change on compilers. conservative garbage collection approach provides gc solution preserving the above mentioned tasks. in order to work properly, gc should have knowledge about the following tasks : - variables actively in use - which variable is a pointer and which is not - information of the allocated memory information about the allocated memory can be collected while gc allocates memory. in c language collection about variables in use can be done with a special scanning on heap, stack and static data of the application. this solution is highly hardware dependent. also in c language, we do not have knowledge of a type at runtime. this means, at runtime phase it is not an easy task to distinguish pointers from non - pointers. again we receive no assistance from the compiler. once we have information about variables actively in use, we can scan this list with a special pointer identification algorithm to distinguish pointers. this step has some shortcomings but efficiency can be provided


pointers. again we receive no assistance from the compiler. once we have information about variables actively in use, we can scan this list with a special pointer identification algorithm to distinguish pointers. this step has some shortcomings but efficiency can be provided with elegant algorithms. conservative approach allows developers to use gc in their already written codes without any change on it. developers call malloc ( ) function and never call free ( ) again inside the code. the rest is handled by gc as a smart servant. stop the world approach i mentioned that we scan memory areas of the application. we also need to release unused memory areas. these operations take additional cpu cycles. so when garbage is being collected, we need to use cpu. at this point, there are two main approaches for use of the cpu. these are stop the world and concurrent approaches. concurrent approach handles gc cycles on different threads. for this approach, complex locking mechanisms are needed. as a result, it benefits high performance which is desirable by most of the modern architecture. for further information, you can search on tri - color marking algorithm. stop the world approach stops program execution, does garbage collection and resumes program execution. this has a completely big disadvantage, it does not allow the application to use cpu while garbage is collected. this can cause the application to pause while garbage is being collected. also we cannot use multi processor even if hardware has more than one cpu which can be a big performance gap. although it has a lot of disadvantages, it is really very easy to implement so in this article we will use this approach. mark and sweep algorithm mark and sweep algorithm is the first algorithm which handles cyclic references. this algorithm is one of the most commonly used garbage collectors with combination of some other techniques. mark and sweep algorithm is a tracing collector so it traces through all available pointers to distinguish used and unused memory areas. it consists of two phases. the first phase is the marking phase. in marking phase, gc traces through all available variables and finds pointers using pointer identification algorithm. once pointers are determined, marking phase finds the heap area of the pointers and marks them as used. in the second phase, gc traces through the heap and picks unmarked areas. unmarked areas are the memory areas which are not currently used. these areas are reclaimed. as mentioned, mark and sweep can handle cyclic references. moreover, it includes no overhead on variables. conservative gc faces two main difficulties, the first is for identifying where to find root set and the second is


currently used. these areas are reclaimed. as mentioned, mark and sweep can handle cyclic references. moreover, it includes no overhead on variables. conservative gc faces two main difficulties, the first is for identifying where to find root set and the second is how to identify pointers. root set can be described as the variables which are in use at time ( t ). finding root sets without the assistance of the compiler is a highly system and hardware dependent issue. root sets can be found on stack, registers and static area of the application. in order to implement our gc, we should find base addresses of these memory areas. gc should discover the bottom and top of the stack. stack is the main stack of the application. if we take a closer look into the cpu architecture, we can see that there is a dedicated stack which holds addresses of execution points, passed parameters to functions and local variables. stack grow direction may change in each architecture. when a new item is pushed into the stack in some architectures, the stack grows downward and in some, it grows upward. gc should be aware of this. stack bottom and top addresses can be found by combination of ebp, esp and ds register values of 32bit architecture. also there are alternative ways. static areas are held in the data segment register in 32bit cpus and stored in the heap of the running application. static areas are the memory block where local static and global variables are held. in a realworld application, we can have some global and static local variables which hold pointers. gc should be aware of these variables. registers are cpu registers of the hardware. these memory areas are highly system dependent. gc should be aware of the root sets held in the registers before gc takes place. reclaiming of the memory areas which are in use could cause severe bugs. the second difficulty that conservative gc faces is identification of the pointers. in c and c + + languages, pointers can be held inside the integer variables. in some cases, it is not an easy task to distinguish a pointer with a 32 bit integer value. as gc has no assistance from the compiler, it has to handle identification of the pointers by itself. in general, the approach for conservative garbage collector is that " gc must treat any word ( integer ) that it encounters as a potential pointer unless it can prove otherwise " ¹. while in this step, gc should be aware of pointers to pointers. in this project, i implemented depth first


" gc must treat any word ( integer ) that it encounters as a potential pointer unless it can prove otherwise " ¹. while in this step, gc should be aware of pointers to pointers. in this project, i implemented depth first search as pointer traversal algorithm. in order to identify pointers, gc should have some test steps to filter pointers with non - pointers. some of the tests are mentioned below : - does a potential pointer refer to the atom pointer. - does a potential pointer refer to application heap - does a potential pointer refer to root sets. if so, execute pointer traversal algorithm to find which portion of the heap it refers. - if potential pointer refers to heap, traces through allocated block to find exact block that it points. atom pointers are the pointers which are used by gc itself. gc should distinguish these pointers from actual application pointers. also gc should give the ability to the developer to identify custom atom pointers. atom pointers are being skipped at pointer identification phase and they are not recognized as pointers by gc. gc never touches the memory areas of these pointers. if a potential pointer passes these tests, it is treated as a pointer and marked as in use at mark phase. pointer identification has some deficiencies such as false pointers. false pointers are the integer values which hold heap addresses. assume that we have an integer i which holds random 32bit value, also assume that this value is 0x003932e8. when gc takes place, we have also a pointer p which points to 0x003932e8 heap address with size in mbs. p is set to nil and not used anymore. application requests new memory block but having less memory gc cannot allocate free space and steps into collection phase. in collection phase, p should be reclaimed so it is not used anymore but i can be recognized as a pointer actually which is not. this type of situations can be troublesome. boehm reports that certain classes of data, such as large compressed bitmaps, introduce false references with an excessively high probability [ boehm, 1993 ]. after a lot of theoretical information, let ' s take a look at how we can implement that type of automated memory manager. as mentioned, the gc we will design will be highly system and hardware dependent. we will use ia32 architecture and windows operating system. the first thing gc should do is to find root sets.


can implement that type of automated memory manager. as mentioned, the gc we will design will be highly system and hardware dependent. we will use ia32 architecture and windows operating system. the first thing gc should do is to find root sets. stack top can be found by retrieving address of the last created variable. in windows environment, the address of the last created variable can be used to query active memory block using virtualquery function. this function tells the base address and other properties of the related memory area². after calling virtualquery function with top of the stack, we can retrieve full set of stack roots. this root set gives us the variables currently in use. defining static root sets requires another call to virtualquery function. this time we query memory area using a created static local variable. register roots can be retrieved using when developer calls malloc function of gc, our code should add additional header information to this memory block. this block is linked to doubly linked list. using this list, we can store and query which memory areas are allocated by gc. in my implementation, allocation does not invoke collection step which it should do when system gets low on memory, it does only create new memory area using low level malloc and returns address of this block. in future releases, my implementation of gc _ malloc should work in a smarter and elegant way. in our implementations, the developer should be able to call collect function of gc. calling this function is not recommended but for flexibility we can allow developers to call our collect function should invoke the following steps. first it should determine root sets, then it should invoke mark and sweep phases respectively. in mark phase, gc should trace through whole root sets. code should invoke pointer identification step for each possible pointer in the root set. once possible pointer is passed identification step code should mark it as in use ( in my current implementation, i have two lists. the first list holds used areas, and the second holds free areas. when i mark a pointer as used, i remove it from the used area and link it to a free area which decreases cpu use on sweep phase ). in sweep phase, gc should trace through the whole heap. in this step, only marked areas are not reclaimed and the rest is reclaimed. ( in my current implementation, i free the memory area when it is not used anymore. this can cause performance penalties. a more advanced approach can be used at this step. )


step, only marked areas are not reclaimed and the rest is reclaimed. ( in my current implementation, i free the memory area when it is not used anymore. this can cause performance penalties. a more advanced approach can be used at this step. ) the last thing gc should do is reclaiming the whole heap when the application quits. we can use atexit ( ) function of standard c. in this function, we will trace through the whole heap to reclaim all used memory. source code and last words this project is an open source project. please feel free to join this project. if you wish to work on this project, please let me know. source repository of this project can be found here. please note that this project is actively in development. also the current version supports a fully working gc mechanism and it has a lot of deficiencies on performance issues. - garbage collection - algorithms for automatic dynamic memory management 1996, richard jones, rafael lins - an introduction to garbage collection part ii, richard gillam - mark - and - sweep garbage collection - why conservative garbage collectors - automatic garbage collection - fast multiprocessor memory allocation and garbage collection, hans - j. boehm, hp laboratories - composing high - performance memory allocators, emery d. berger, benjamin g. zorn, kathryn s. mckinley - hoard : a scalable memory allocator for multithreaded applications, emery d. berger, kathryn mckinley, robert d. blumofe, paul r. wilson - managing heap memory in win32 - heap pleasures and pains - the measured cost of conservative garbage collection, bejamin zorn - conservative garbage collection for general memory allocators, gustavo rodriguez - rivera, charles fiterman - conservative garbage collection for c, christian hoglinger yasin has more than 10 years of professional experience. he has several published articles includes graphics programming, robotics and application development in academic resources and national press. he is now working as a software developer for semi - governmental organization in turkey.


declaration on genuine democracy adopted on 24 january 2013 the conference of international non - governmental organisations ( ingos ) of the council of europe, 1. as an active player in promoting democracy and defending the principles of the universal declaration of human rights and the european convention on human rights ; 2. noting that “ genuine democracy ”, a term enshrined in the statute of the council of europe, goes hand in hand with “ the protection of human rights ” and “ the rule of law ” as a requirement for accession by states to membership of the council of europe ; 3. believing that there is a need for the fundamental elements of genuine democracy to be brought together in a reference text based on existing council of europe conventions and declarations, as well as the case - law of the european court of human rights ; 4. recalling the work of the council of europe on the principles of genuine democracy *, which served us as basis for the drafting of this declaration ; 5. underlining the need to determine and clarify more effectively the fundamental elements of the three complementary and inseparable principles that are the distinguishing features of the council of europe ’ s common heritage, namely respect for the universal and indivisible rights of the individual, the rule of law and the genuinely democratic nature of political systems ; 6. underlining the crucial part which civil society, in particular ngos, can play in building a genuine democracy ; 7. believing that a general declaration on the fundamental principles of pluralist democracy will help to expand and consolidate democracy in europe and throughout the world ; 8. recommending that this text be used to determine the conditions required for becoming or remaining a member state of the council of europe ; 9. bearing in mind the universal declaration of human rights and the european convention on human rights, as well as the statute of the council of europe and all the texts adopted by the organisation listed in the appendix ; 10. urging those states which have not yet ratified the conventions included in the list to do so as soon as possible ; 11. believing that genuine democracy is a political, legal and cultural system based on respect for human rights, the rule of law and the ability of all individuals to take part in public life ; 12. aware that democracy entails the active commitment of individuals and their governments to equality, tolerance, and respect for diversity, as well as to social integration ; 13. recognising that education is the key means of developing democratic values in the young, and wishing to encourage them to exercise fully the rights and assume the responsibilities of citizenship ; 14


and respect for diversity, as well as to social integration ; 13. recognising that education is the key means of developing democratic values in the young, and wishing to encourage them to exercise fully the rights and assume the responsibilities of citizenship ; 14. believing that effective democracy and good governance at all levels are essential for preventing conflicts, promoting stability, facilitating economic and social progress, and hence for creating sustainable communities where people want to live and work, now and in the future, and that this can only be achieved through the active involvement of citizens and civil society ; 15. wishing member states to maintain and develop effective, transparent and accountable democratic institutions, responsive to the needs and aspirations of all ; 16. adopts the present declaration : a. principles and values of genuine democracy i. human dignity a. genuine democracy must ensure respect for the dignity and the equal value of all persons and for their inalienable rights. ii. equality and non - discrimination a. all persons are equal under the law and shall be entitled to the equal protection of the law without any discrimination. b. gender equality is a fundamental criterion of democracy which must be ensured in all areas of public and private life. c. any discrimination based on sex, ethnic origin, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, association with a national minority, sexual orientation, property, birth or other status is prohibited. d. genuine democracy ensures that all individuals enjoy equal and effective protection against any form of discrimination and also affords them full equality of opportunity. e. no measure aimed at correcting existing imbalances or hastening the achievement of equality may be regarded as discriminatory. iii. respect for diversity and tolerance a. the principles of pluralism and tolerance require respect for the cultural and linguistic identity of all persons, as well as respect for their freedom to hold or not to hold religious or philosophical beliefs and to change them insofar as their manifestations remain compatible with human rights. b. genuine democracy must stand firm against all those who seek its destruction, in particular those advocating racial hatred, anti - semitism, xenophobia, persecution on religious or ideological grounds or violence and terrorism. c. the activities of any organisation which opposes the democratic order through violence or the encouragement of violence shall be punished by the law. iv. universality and indivisibility of human rights a. human rights and fundamental freedoms are inherent in the individual and are inalienable ; their protection is the primary responsibility of states. respect for, and full enjoyment of


by the law. iv. universality and indivisibility of human rights a. human rights and fundamental freedoms are inherent in the individual and are inalienable ; their protection is the primary responsibility of states. respect for, and full enjoyment of, human rights and fundamental freedoms are the bases on which liberty, justice and peace are founded. b. civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent. c. any derogation from obligations to respect human rights shall remain within the limits provided for in international and european law. such derogations are by definition of an exceptional nature and shall be applied and interpreted restrictively. v. interdependence of human rights, democracy and human development a. genuine democracy and human rights are intrinsically related concepts which cannot exist without each other. political rights and freedoms form part of human rights, while respect for human rights is essential to the establishment and maintenance of a democratic system. the implementation of a democratic culture helps to develop a human rights culture and vice versa. b. genuine democracy must maintain a balance between the requirements of the general interests of the community and the need to safeguard the fundamental rights of all individuals. c. democracy, human development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually enhancing. vi. the rule of law the principles of the rule of law include, in particular : a. respect for the principles relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms provided for in international law and, in particular, in the european convention on human rights ; b. respect for a constitutional order implementing fundamental rights and conformity of laws to this constitutional order ; c. the fact that the government and all other public authorities are subject to the law ; d. legal certainty, which includes the principle of accessibility to the law and the principles of predictability and proportionality in the application of laws ; e. refusal of impunity, which means that : - in the event of violation of the rule of law, it shall fall to states and the international community to make sure that such violation does not go unpunished ; - gross violations of human rights, in particular, torture, genocide, ethnocide, systematic rape and massacres should be condemned and their perpetrators punished. vii. government accountability a. in a genuine democracy, those in authority are accountable for their acts to all citizens on whose behalf they exercise power and to their representatives. b. political conditions for the achievement of genuine democracy i. citizen participation