asthma : using an asthma action plan what is an actionset? if you or your child has asthma that requires daily treatment, it is important to have an asthma action plan. an asthma action plan is a written plan that tells you what asthma medicine to take every day and how to treat an asthma attack. it can help you make quick decisions in case you are not able to think clearly during an attack. an asthma action plan usually includes : - treatment goals, which include your personal goals about your asthma. - an outline of which medicines you take daily for asthma control and when to take them. - an asthma diary where you record peak expiratory flow ( pef ) and the triggers that cause asthma symptoms. - steps to take and medicines to use to treat an asthma attack early, before it becomes severe. - what to do if an attack becomes an emergency, and where to get medical treatment. using an asthma action plan can help you stay active with fewer asthma problems. following your plan is a big step toward controlling the disease so you can live the life you want. return to topic : an asthma action plan has three zones. you can find out what zone you are in by checking your peak flow or symptoms. peak flow is a measure of how fast you breathe out when you try your hardest. you check your peak flow with a peak flow meter, an inexpensive device that you can use at home. your doctor can show you how to use it. the zones of an asthma action plan are based on the colors of a stoplight. see an example of an asthma action plan ( what is a pdf document? ). green zone. green means go. - you are in the green zone if your peak flow is 80 % to 100 % of your personal best measurement. you should have no asthma symptoms when you are in the green zone. you want to be in the green zone every day. - if you continue to stay in the green zone, your doctor may lower your daily asthma medicines. yellow zone. yellow means caution. - you are in the yellow zone if your peak flow is 50 % to 79 % of your personal best measurement. you may not have any symptoms, but your lung function is reduced. when symptoms are present, they may be mild to moderate, or may keep you from your normal activities or disturb your sleep. - being in the yellow zone means that you should take action. your action plan should state what medicines you need to take, how much to take, and when to take them. - if you keep


you from your normal activities or disturb your sleep. - being in the yellow zone means that you should take action. your action plan should state what medicines you need to take, how much to take, and when to take them. - if you keep going into the yellow zone from the green zone, talk with your doctor. you may need a different medicine. or the doses of your medicines may need to be increased. red zone. red means stop. - you are in the red zone if your peak flow is less than 50 % of your personal best measurement. your symptoms will be severe, and you may cough and be very short of breath. - if your symptoms and peak flow are in the red zone, follow your action plan. - callright away if you are in the red zone and you have followed your action plan, but : - you are having severe difficulty breathing. - 20 to 30 minutes after taking the extra medicine, you do not feel better and / or your peak flow is still less than 50 % of your personal best measurement. using an asthma action plan takes the guesswork out of treating asthma attacks. it can help you to : - take control of your treatment. - have fewer or less severe attacks. - avoid trips to the doctor or the hospital. develop your plan - work with your doctor to make an action plan for you or your child. the action plan is based on peak flow and asthma symptoms. these help your doctor know how bad your asthma is. an action plan may include : see an example of an asthma action plan ( what is a pdf document? ). - the peak flow readings and symptoms for each zone. - what medicines to take in each zone. - when to call a doctor. - a list of emergency contact numbers. - a list of your asthma triggers. - let your doctor know what you want regarding asthma care. for example, if you are not comfortable using a peak flow meter, tell your doctor. - if you make an asthma action plan for your child, give a copy to the child ' s school or caregivers and make sure they know how to use it. follow your daily treatment, and use the asthma action plan - take your daily medicines to help minimize long - term damage and avoid asthma attacks. - check your peak flow every morning and evening. this is the best way to know how well your lungs are working. - check your action plan to see what zone you are in. - if you are in the green zone, keep taking your daily asthma medicines as prescribed


flow every morning and evening. this is the best way to know how well your lungs are working. - check your action plan to see what zone you are in. - if you are in the green zone, keep taking your daily asthma medicines as prescribed. - if you are in the yellow zone, you may be having or will soon have an asthma attack. you may not have any symptoms, but your lungs are not working as well as they should. take the medicines listed in your action plan. if you stay in the yellow zone, your doctor may need to increase the dose or add a medicine. - if you are in the red zone, follow your action plan. if your symptoms or peak flow don ' t improve soon, you may need to go to the emergency room or be admitted to the hospital. - use an asthma diary. write down your peak flow readings in the asthma diary. if you have an attack, write down what caused it ( if you know ), the symptoms, and what medicine you took. see an example of an asthma diary ( what is a pdf document? ). review the plan with your doctor - take both the asthma action plan and the asthma diary when you see your doctor. get answers to any questions you may have about your asthma plan or your symptoms. let your doctor know if treatment is not controlling your asthma attacks. - take your peak flow meter and medicines so your doctor can review your treatment. - make sure you know how and when to call your doctor or go to the hospital. - tell your doctor if you are having trouble following your action plan. now that you have read this information, you are ready to start using an asthma action plan. for related information, see : talk with your doctor if you have questions, take this information with you when you visit your doctor. you may want to mark areas or make notes in the margins where you have questions. if you would like more information on asthma, the following resource is available : | asthma and allergy foundation of america ( aafa ) | | 1233 20th street nw | | washington, dc 20036 | | phone : | | 1 - 800 - 7 - asthma ( 1 - 800 - 727 - 8462 ) | | web address : | | www. aafa. org | the asthma and allergy foundation of america ( aafa ) provides information and support for people who have allergies or asthma. the aafa has local chapters and support groups. and its web site has online resources, such as fact sheets


american scientists make great leap in battery technology one of the primary concerns with owning an electric vehicle is cost of the battery, the range it offers, and the time it takes to recharge. those concerns will be significantly lessoned with the development of a new lithium - ion battery. designed by scientists at envia systems, a us - based company, the new battery has roughly twice the energy density of existing rechargeable batteries. such an innovation could greatly increase the range of electric cars as well as cut the price of the battery packs in half. the research conducted by envia systems was funded by a $ 4 million federal grant through arpa - energy ( advanced research projects agency ). the work was done at the argonne national laboratory. the new battery can achieve an energy density of 400 watt - hours per kilogram, double that of existing rechargeable batteries. the key was introducing manganese into the mix of materials used in the cathode, the electrode where the lithium ions congregate. then, they added silicon to the anode, the electrode toward which the ions flow, producing the electric current. the costs of the batteries are cheaper per kilowatt - hour than standard lithium ion batteries. at $ 125 per kwh, they are less than half the cost. the is not trivial because the batteries constitute roughly 65 percent of the total cost of an electric vehicle. the major automakers have taken notice of this battery breakthrough and are knocking on envia ' s door. general motors is already an investor in the technology. however, according to envia chairman and ceo, atul kapadia, envia is " working with all the brand name [ carmakers ] in the world. " the new batteries could greatly boost the nascent electric car industry. for example, a nissan leaf combined with the new envia battery could potentially travel 300 miles on a single $ 10 charge, as opposed to its 80 mile range today. this is roughly the same range as many conventional internal combustion engines. it is the equivalent of driving from philadelphia to pittsburgh on a single charge. the new battery breakthrough may well revolutionize the auto industry. it is foreseeable that electric vehicles may actually surpass sales of conventional vehicles, potentially phasing them out forever. for more information : http : / / enviasystems. com / image shows envia laboratories. image credit : john f. martin for general motors


trilobite olenoides erratus. source : mark a. wilson a fossil is the preserved remain of a lifeform that lived in prehistoric times. most commonly fossils are mineralized parts or a whole organism which is no longer alive. in other cases the fossil may contain actual remains of the dead organism ; in particular, dna may be preserved over long periods of time under the right conditions, since dna is fundamentally an inanimate molecule. while the most familiar fossils are those derived from animals and plants including such exotic species as dinosaurs and woolly mammoths, there are also fossils from ancient bacteria. there are several methods of fossil formation including re - crystallization, permineralization, compression, molding and entombment. examination of fossils was the earliest technique of palaeoentology, the study of ancient lifeforms, and it continues as the companion of molecular biology, to be key in the elucidation of phylogenies ( ancestral relationships of species ). the earliest animal fossils date from the cambrian period, approximately 540 million years before present, although some bacterial fossils exist from at least two billion years before present. process of formation most fossils are the result of sedimentary rock formation where coverage of the original organism occurred quickly ; preservation and mineralization is encouraged by anoxic ( oxygen deprived ) conditions, where decompostion was not able to occur rapidly upon death of the subject. body parts most readily preserved are teeth and bony animal parts and the chitonous elements of plants, which elements are most resistive to decay, and thus have more time to enter their preserved state. recrystallized scleractinian fossil coral. source : mark a. wilson one of the simplest processes for fossil formation is the phenomenon of re - crystalization. this is an easily understood process, whereby substances such as teeth and bone, which begin with a high mineral content, have their chemicals replaced by a new crystalline lattice. in a number of instances, mineral replacement of the original body part transpires so gradually that microstructural features are conserved even though a complete transformation of the original organism ' s material occurs. a shell is termed recrystallized when the original skeletal compounds are still present but in a different crystal form, as in a transition form aragonite to calcite. the process of re - crystallization is often termed replacement. living organisms ordinarily contain large amounts of volume that is filled with water or gases. when an organism is covered with sediment, those aqueous


transition form aragonite to calcite. the process of re - crystallization is often termed replacement. living organisms ordinarily contain large amounts of volume that is filled with water or gases. when an organism is covered with sediment, those aqueous and gaseous portions of the individual may be replaced with mineral rich water from an aquifer or surface water body. this process is termed permineralization, and often is best viewed as a replacement phenomenon at the cellular level. fine grained or small scale permineralization produces very detailed fossil specimens. for permineralization to occur, it is essential for the organism to become covered by sediment rapidly upon death, before significant decay has set in. in ideal cases of preservation, individual cell walls can be effectively fossilized, producing an incredible level of microscopic preservation. compression fossils, most often exemplified by planar plant forms such as leaves or ferns, result from chemical reduction of complex organic molecules that comprise biotic tissues. the fossil actually preserves original organism material, but in a geochemically altered state. in many cases the preserved fossil is nothing but a thin carbonaceous film. lepidodendron external mold. source : mark a. wilson such a chemical change is a manifestation of diagenesis, the transformation of sediment after its original deposition. in some cases dna may effectively be extracted from compression fossils. internal or external mold in some cases the entire organism may vanish, but an exterior mold will be made by sedimentary rock encasing the original remains of the organism which has been completely dissolved or destroyed. this casting results in a sculptured cavity within the rock, with the exterior three dimensional outline of the original organism ' s exterior ; the product of this process is termed an external mold. if this hole is subsequently filled with different minerals, it is a cast and called an internal mold. a common example of this latter type of mold is a bivalve mollusc. ant entombed in baltic amber. souce : anders l. damgaard in some cases exceptional preservation may occur by a relatively rapid fatal trapping and encasing of a live organism with ( usually ) an organic substance such as amber or tar. some of these circumstances create fossils of unusual life - pose forms, and many of these instances provide substantial detail of the subjects. for example, recent research using crystallography has yielded amazing structural detail of the morphology of long extinct insects that were trapped in amber. bioimmuration is a form of fossilization whereby a skeletal organism envelopes or subsumes


the subjects. for example, recent research using crystallography has yielded amazing structural detail of the morphology of long extinct insects that were trapped in amber. bioimmuration is a form of fossilization whereby a skeletal organism envelopes or subsumes another living creature, preserving the latter, or its mold, within the skeleton. most typically this process occurs with a sessile skeletal animal, such as a bryozoan or an oyster, which grows along a substrate that covers other sessile encrusting organisms. frequently the bioimmured organism is soft - bodied and is thus conserved in negative relief in an external mold form. there are also cases where an organism settles on top of a living skeletal organism which grows upwards, preserving the settler within its skeleton. most of the examples of bioimmuration are from the fossil record of the ordovician period. the geological record and fossil records are respectively the prehistoric sequence of events for rocks and organisms. in the 19th century early days of research in these fields age of rocks was imputed from the best estimates of the age of the fossil organisms found entrained within those rocks. the fossil record and flora and faunal succession form the basis of biostratigraphy, the science of determining the age of rocks based on the fossils they contain. for the earliest years of geological study, biostratigraphy and superposition were the chief methods of assigning the relative age of rocks. the geologic time scale was first developed based on the relative ages of rock strata as determined by pioneering paleontologists. since the early 1900s, absolute dating methods, including radiometric dating ( including potassium - argon argon / argon and uranium - lead dating techniques were applied. in the case of young fossils, carbon - 14 dating has been applied to verify the relative ages obtained by fossils and to provide absolute ages for many fossils. radiometric dating has shown that the earliest known stromatolites, or bacterial fossils, are more than 3. 4 billion years old. since the close of the 20th century new techniques in molcular biollogy using dna marker techniques have allowed great progress to be made in defining phylogenetic trees, which illustrate the lineage of plant and animal families. these techniques can also use regression techniques to establish reasonable estimates of the absolute timelines of common parentage of biotic families. proterozoic stromatolite cyanobacteria fossil, bolivia. source : gnu snp the most ancient fossils are bacterial colonies constructed from sedimentary layers of rock


estimates of the absolute timelines of common parentage of biotic families. proterozoic stromatolite cyanobacteria fossil, bolivia. source : gnu snp the most ancient fossils are bacterial colonies constructed from sedimentary layers of rock ; these fossils are termed stromatolite. based on studies of living stromatolites it has been ascertained that the formation of stromatolitic fossils was biogenetically mediated by microorganism mats via sediment entrapment. however, abiotic mechanisms for stromatolitic growth are also known, leading to a decades - long scientific debate regarding biogenesis of certain formations, especially those from the lower to middle archaean eon. stromatolites from the late archaean through the middle proterozoic eon were chiefly formed by massive colonies of cyanobacteria, and that the oxygen byproduct of their photosynthetic metabolism first resulted in earth ’ s massive banded iron formations and subsequently oxygenated earth ’ s atmosphere. history of fossil studies georges cuvier, french zoologist ( 1769 - 1832 ) the greek scientist aristotle observed that fossilized shells were previously living organisms, constituting the first observational recognition of the relationship of a time relationship between earlier living organisms and their fossilized remnants. in the pre - darwinian era of the 18th century english geologist william smith noticed that rocks of varying ages and origins preserved different fossil assemblages, which succeeded in a systematic sequence. he was the first to state that rocks from distant locations may be correlated based on the fossils they contained, and he termed this the principle of faunal succession. smith expressed no awareness of biological evolution, and he did not speculate why faunal succession occurred. his contemporary lord monboddo, in nearby scotland, was expressing a clear recognition of evolutionary sequences, but the two are not known to have communicated. biological evolution would later explains faunal and floral succession exists : as different organisms evolve, change and go extinct, they leave behind fossils. faunal succession was one of the chief pieces of evidence cited by darwin that natural selection had occurred. georges cuvier in 1796 noted that the majority of the animal fossils he examined were remains of species that had become extinct. it was not until the era of charles darwin and his contemporaries that a clearly stated link existed with the hierarchical tree of life and the fossil record. image by ghedoghedo ( wikimedia commons ) process of formation - t. p


what are the six common air pollutants? the clean air act requires epa to set national ambient air quality standards for six common air pollutants. these commonly found air pollutants ( also known as " criteria pollutants " ) are found all over the united states. they are particle pollution ( often referred to as particulate matter ), ground - level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. these pollutants can harm your health and the environment, and cause property damage. of the six pollutants, particle pollution and ground - level ozone are the most widespread health threats. epa calls these pollutants " criteria " air pollutants because it regulates them by developing human health - based and / or environmentally - based criteria ( science - based guidelines ) for setting permissible levels. the set of limits based on human health is called primary standards. another set of limits intended to prevent environmental and property damage is called secondary standards. click on one of the pollutants below for information on sources of the pollutant, why the pollutant is of concern, health and environmental effects, efforts underway to help reduce the pollutant, and other helpful resources. air pollution trends for each of these pollutants, epa tracks two kinds of air pollution trends : air concentrations based on actual measurements of pollutant concentrations in the ambient ( outside ) air at selected monitoring sites throughout the country, and emissions based on engineering estimates of the total tons of pollutants released into the air each year. despite the progress made in the last 30 years, millions of people live in counties with monitor data showing unhealthy air for one or more of the six common air pollutants. for epa ' s most recent evaluation of air pollution trends for these six pollutants, click on the following : health effects information exposure to these pollutants is associated with numerous effects on human health, including increased respiratory symptoms, hospitalization for heart or lung diseases, and even premature death. try these helpful resources : - air quality index ( aqi ) - ozone - good up high, bad nearby - ozone and your health - particle pollution and your health - air quality guide for ozone - air quality guide for particle pollution - smog - who does it hurt? state implementation plan status and information epa must designate areas as meeting ( attainment ) or not meeting ( nonattainment ) the standard. the clean air act ( caa ) requires states to develop a general plan to attain


ozone - good up high bad nearby what causes " bad " ozone? ground - level or " bad " ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen ( nox ) and volatile organic compounds ( voc ) in the presence of sunlight. emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of nox and voc. at ground level, ozone is a harmful pollutant. ozone pollution is a concern during the summer months because strong sunlight and hot weather result in harmful ozone concentrations in the air we breathe. many urban and suburban areas throughout the united states have high levels of " bad " ozone. but many rural areas of the country are also subject to high ozone levels as winds carry emissions hundreds of miles away from their original sources. how does " bad " ozone affect human health and the environment? breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. it can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. " bad " ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue. healthy people also experience difficulty breathing when exposed to ozone pollution. because ozone forms in hot weather, anyone who spends time outdoors in the summer may be affected, particularly children, outdoor workers and people exercising. millions of americans live in areas where the national ozone health standards are exceeded. ground - level or " bad " ozone also damages vegetation and ecosystems. it leads to reduced agricultural crop and commercial forest yields, reduced growth and survivability of tree seedlings, and increased susceptibility to diseases, pests and other stresses such as harsh weather. in the united states alone, ground - level ozone is responsible for an estimated $ 500 million in reduced crop production each year. ground - level ozone also damages the foliage of trees and other plants, affecting the landscape of cities, national parks and forests, and recreation areas. what is being done about " bad " ozone? under the clean air act, epa has set protective health - based standards for ozone in the air we breathe. epa, state, and cities have instituted a variety of multi - faceted programs to meet these health - based standards. throughout the country, additional programs are being put into place to cut nox and voc emissions from vehicles, industrial facilities, and electric utilities. programs are also aimed at reducing pollution by reform


smart - 1 : the lunar adventure begins esa info 14 - 2003. this is clearly europe ' s time for interplanetary exploration. having sent the first european mission to mars, esa is about to launch its first probe to the moon. it is called smart - 1 and its goals are both technological and scientific. it is the first of a series of ' small missions for advanced research in technology '. on the one hand, smart - 1 will test new state - of - the art instruments and techniques essential to ambitious future interplanetary missions, such as a solar - electric primary propulsion system. on the other, smart - 1 will answer pending scientific questions, addressing key issues such as the moon ' s formation, its precise mineralogical composition, and the presence and quantity of water. these data will help scientists to understand the earth - moon system and earth - like planets, and will also provide invaluable information when considering a long - lasting human presence on the moon. on 15 july 2003, smart 1 was shipped to the european launch base in kourou, french guiana, where it is being prepared for its launch, due to take place on an ariane - 5 rocket on 29 august 2003 ( central european summer time ). for the first time, smart - 1 will combine the power obtained by solar - electric propulsion - never used before by europe as a main propulsion system - with lunar gravity. it will not follow a direct path to cross the 400 000 kilometres distance between the earth and the moon. instead, from an elliptical orbit around the earth where it is placed by the rocket, smart - 1 will gradually expand the orbit in a spiral pathway that will bring it closer to the moon every month. finally, the moon ’ s gravitational field will capture the spacecraft. smart - 1 will not land on the moon, but will make its observations from orbit, obtaining a global view. when it reaches its destination, in december 2004, it will enter orbit around the moon and make measurements for a period of six months possibly extended to one year. why the moon? water, minerals, and a violent origin “ our knowledge of the moon is still surprisingly incomplete, ” says bernard foing, esa ’ s smart - 1 project scientist. “ we still want to know how the earth - moon system formed and evolved, as well as the role of geophysical processes such as volcanism, tectonics, cratering, or erosion in shaping the moon. and, of course, in preparation for future lunar and planetary exploration, we


moon system formed and evolved, as well as the role of geophysical processes such as volcanism, tectonics, cratering, or erosion in shaping the moon. and, of course, in preparation for future lunar and planetary exploration, we need to find resources and landing sites. ” so, there are many unsolved questions about the moon, even though six nasa apollo missions and three unmanned soviet spacecraft have landed on it and brought back rock samples. the far side of the moon - - the one that never faces earth - - and the polar regions remain fairly unexplored. the existence of water on the moon has also never been confirmed, although two orbiters in the 1990s found indirect evidence. we are not even sure how the moon was formed. according to the most accepted theory, 4500 million years ago an asteroid the size of mars collided with our planet, and the vapourised debris that went into space condensed to form the moon. smart - 1 will map the moon ' s topography, as well as the surface distribution of minerals such as pyroxenes, olivines, and feldspars. also, an x - ray detector will identify key chemical elements in the lunar surface. these data will allow scientists to reconstruct the geological evolution of the moon, and to search for traces of the impact with the giant asteroid. if the collision theory is right, the moon should contain less iron than the earth, in proportion to lighter elements such as magnesium and aluminium. by gauging the relative amounts of chemical elements comprehensively for the very first time, smart - 1 can make a significant contribution in resolving this issue. as for water, if it exists, it must be in the form of ice in places always hidden from the sun. in such places, the temperature will never rise above - 170ºc. dark places like that could exist in the bottoms of small craters in the polar regions. peering into these craters is maybe the trickiest task that the smart - 1 scientists have set themselves. they will look for the infrared signature of water - ice. it will be difficult because no direct light falls in those areas, but rays from nearby crater rims, catching the sunshine, may light the ice sufficiently for smart - 1 instruments to see it. new technologies to prepare for future interplanetary missions future scientific missions will greatly profit from the technologies being tested on smart - 1. solar - electric primary propulsion is a new propulsion technique based on so - called ' ion engines ' that feed on electricity derived


new technologies to prepare for future interplanetary missions future scientific missions will greatly profit from the technologies being tested on smart - 1. solar - electric primary propulsion is a new propulsion technique based on so - called ' ion engines ' that feed on electricity derived from solar panels. it is a technique that has only ever been used once before. these engines provide a very gentle thrust, but they work for years while conventional, more powerful chemical rockets burn for only a few minutes. ion engines offer key advantages. they need considerably less propellant than chemical propulsion, which means less weight at launch and more mass available for scientific instruments and payload. ion engines open the door to truly deep space exploration. they slash the time for interplanetary flight : although they provide less thrust they can last for years. the ion tortoise will therefore eventually overtake the chemical hare. moreover, another application of the gentle thrust provided by electric propulsion allows very accurate spacecraft attitude control, a skill that will be useful for scientific missions that require highly precise and undisturbed pointing. future esa science missions will rely on ion engines. smart - 1 will also test new miniaturisation techniques that save space and economise on mass : in space, less mass per instrument enables scientists to have more instruments on board, so more science. the smart - 1 payload consists of a dozen technological and scientific investigations performed by seven instruments weighing only 19 kilograms in total. for example, the x - ray telescope d - cixs, consists of a cube just 15 centimetres wide and weighing less than 5 kilograms. the ultra - compact electronic camera, amie, weighs no more than an amateur ’ s camera. new navigation and space - communication techniques will also be tested. an experiment called oban, based on images from the miniature camera amie and the star trackers, is the first step towards future ' autonomous ' spacecraft. in a not - too - distant future, scientific satellites will be able to ' find their way ' with a minimum of ground control, just by using stars and other celestial objects to guide themselves along predefined paths. as for communications, engineers need to develop new and efficient ways to communicate with earth from deep space, for interplanetary missions that are long or go far. smart - 1 will test both very short radio waves ( called ka band, with the instrument kate ) and a laser experiment to try to communicate with the earth using a laser beam, instead of traditional radio frequencies. esa already has laser links with telecommunications satellites from an optical ground station on


economic growth in india has no automatic connection to reducing undernutrition in indian children and so further reductions in the prevalence of childhood undernutrition are likely to depend on direct investments in health and health - related programs. these are the conclusions of a large study by researchers at the schools of public health at university of michigan and harvard university, that is published in this week ' s plos medicine. malavika subramanyam, s v subramanian and colleagues collected data from the national family health surveys conducted in india in 1992 - 93 ( 28, 066 children ), 1998 - 99 ( 26, 121 children ) and 2005 - 06 ( 23, 139 children ), which use stratified, representative samples of the population from every state of india. they used the measurementsoweight - for - age, height - for - age, and weight - for - heightoin these surveys to classify individual children ' s nutritional status as underweight, stunting or wasting, respectively, as per the world health organization child growth standards. the study reports that the prevalence of underweight decreased from 49. 1 % in 1992 - 93 to 43. 8 % in 1998 - 99 to 40. 2 % in 2005 - 06. stunting prevalence also decreased while the prevalence of wasting decreased only marginally from 24 % in 1992 - 93 to 22 % in 2005 - 06. meanwhile, during the study period, the indian economy grew at an annual rate of 7 % - 9 %. further, there was substantial variation between states in each of the measures of undernutrition, as well as economic growth, and this enabled the authors to examine whether changes in state economic growth were associated with a reduction in the risk of a child being undernourished in a given state. the authors found that state economic growth was not associated with the risk of underweight, stunting, and wasting. the authors conclude : " we failed to find consistent evidence that economic growth leads to reduction in childhood undernutrition in india. " they add, " direct investments in appropriate health interventions may be necessary to reduce childhood undernutrition in india. " funding : no direct financial support or funding was obtained to conduct this study. svs is supported by a national institutes of health career development award ( nhlbi k25 hl081275 ), and the robert wood john health investigator award in health policy research. mas was supported by the richmond fellowship from the harvard center on the developing child at the time when majority of the analysis was conducted


nhlbi k25 hl081275 ), and the robert wood john health investigator award in health policy research. mas was supported by the richmond fellowship from the harvard center on the developing child at the time when majority of the analysis was conducted. the funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. competing interests : the authors have declared that no competing interests exist. citation : subramanyam ma, kawachi i, berkman lf, subramanian sv ( 2011 ) is economic growth associated with reduction in child undernutrition in india? plos med 8 ( 3 ) : e1000424. doi : 10. 1371 / journal. pmed. 1000424 in your coverage please use this url to provide access to the freely available paper : http : / / www. plosmedicine. org / article / info % 3adoi % 2f10. 1371 % 2fjournal. pmed. 1000424 s. v. subramanian harvard school of public health department of society, human development and health 677 huntington avenue kresge 7th floor boston, ma 02115 united states of america aaas and eurekalert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to eurekalert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the eurekalert! system.


what your blood pressure says about you here ' s how to get the most from your blood pressure readings. medically reviewed by lindsey marcellin, md, mph doctors have been measuring patients ’ blood pressure, the force that blood exerts on the inside walls of your vessels — since the first sphygmomanometers ( yes, that ' s what blood pressure cuffs are called ) were invented at the beginning of the 20th century. doctors are still finding new ways to glean information about your health from these numbers. british researchers recently found differences in blood pressure between the right and left arms might be a sign of vascular disease. likewise, a difference in blood pressure when you ’ re lying down vs. standing up may indicate heart problems or blood vessel disease. doctors can tell that from a painless test that takes only a few minutes. the basics : what does blood pressure mean the most important thing to know about your blood pressure is whether or not it ' s high. a blood pressure reading consists of two numbers, with acceptable ranges for each one. the first, or top, number is called the systolic number. that ' s the pressure inside your arteries when your heart beats. the bottom, or diastolic, number is the pressure between beats. you want those numbers to be below 120 and 80, respectively. " what high blood pressure means is too much resistance inside your arteries, " says ivan v. pacold, md, a cardiology professor at loyola university ' s stritch school of medicine and director of cardiology at gottlieb memorial hospital in chicago. " simply speaking, that causes arterial damage and increases your risk for stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney failure. " the lowdown on low blood pressure " in a healthy person, low blood pressure is a sign of good health as long as the systolic pressure is above 80, " explains dr. pacold. " very low blood pressure in a person with heart disease could be a sign of heart failure. " one type of low blood pressure that could predict future heart problems is called orthostatic hypotension. in this type of low blood pressure, " there is a drop of 10 to 20 points of blood pressure when a person moves from a sitting or supine ( flat ) position to a standing position, " pacold says. " it causes a sudden sense of lightheadedness and can be due to a heart that is starting to have trouble compensating. " a recent study on


supine ( flat ) position to a standing position, " pacold says. " it causes a sudden sense of lightheadedness and can be due to a heart that is starting to have trouble compensating. " a recent study on orthostatic hypotension published in the journal hypertension followed more than 12, 000 adults for about 17 years. none of them had heart failure at the start. people who had episodes of orthostatic hypotension during the study period, especially between the ages of 45 to 55, were more likely to develop heart failure by the end. blood pressure differences between arms has your doctor ever measured your blood pressure in both arms? " not a bad idea, " says pacold. " finding blood pressure differences between one side of the body and the other can be a warning sign for atherosclerosis in the main blood vessel leaving the heart or elsewhere in the body. it is a signal that you need to look further. " research published in the british medical journal the lancet found that a blood pressure difference of 10 to 15 points between arms increases the risk for dying from a stroke or from heart disease. having a difference of 15 points or more was found to double the risk for peripheral artery disease ( pad ), a condition that affects more than 12 million americans. researchers concluded this after reviewing 20 studies that recorded blood pressure differences between arms. getting blood pressure help you should get your blood pressure checked during your routine doctor visits, or at least once every two years, according to the american heart association. " blood pressure is called the silent killer because there may be no symptoms until damage is already being done, " pacold says. " you can prevent that damage by getting early diagnosis and treatment. " here are some takeaway tips : - blood pressure readings from 120 to 139 ( systolic ) or from 80 to 89 ( diastolic ) are considered to be pre - hypertension. you may need to have your blood pressure checked more frequently. - if your blood pressure readings stay at or above 140 and 90 over time, your doctor may start you on a treatment program. - any time you have a blood pressure reading of over 180 systolic or over 110 diastolic, check it again. if it is still that high, you need to get emergency blood pressure help right away. your blood pressure readings can tell you and your doctor a lot about your current health and may even predict future problems. if you are concerned about pad or if


a lost human race : neanderthal today, it has been definitively verified that neanderthal man, who is presented as the " primitive ancestor of man " by evolutionists, is simply a lost human race. trinkets made of bone, which belonged to the neanderthals. neanderthals are human beings who suddenly appeared 100, 000 years ago in europe and disappeared – or were assimilated by being blended with other races – quietly yet quickly 35, 000 years ago. their only difference from modern man is their skeleton being more robust and their cranial capacity slightly bigger. a comparison made between neanderthal man and modern human races. to the far left and second from left are neanderthal men. neanderthals bear the greatest resemblance to eskimos who live in cold climates today. we had seen a neanderthal in the street today, we would think him or her to be no different from other people. neanderthals are a human race and this fact is admitted by almost everybody today. evolutionists have tried very hard to present them as " a primitive species ", yet all findings indicate that they were no different from a " robust " man walking on the street today. a prominent authority on the subject, erik trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist from new mexico university estimations based on bone fragments indicate that neanderthals were physically stronger than modern man. detailed comparisons of neanderthal skeletal remains with those of modern humans have shown that there is nothing in neanderthal anatomy that conclusively indicates locomotor, manipulative, intellectual, or linguistic abilities inferior to those of modern many contemporary researchers define neanderthal man as a sub - species of modern man and call him " homo sapiens neandertalensis ". the findings testify that neanderthals buried their dead, fashioned musical instruments, and had cultural affinities with the homo sapiens sapiens living during the same period. to put it precisely, neanderthals are a " robust " human race that simply disappeared in time. man had thick eyebrow projections just like those of the australian natives living today. | | the cranial capacity of neanderthals was bigger than that of modern man by 150 cc. this finding refuted the evolutionist claim that " the brain got bigger over time. " the skull of neanderthal man differed slightly from that of modern man. 55 - erik trinkaus, " hard times among the neanderthals ", natural


| the rosary dissected | | t. l. frazier the most emblematic sacramental in catholicism is the rosary, that string of beads with a crucifix attached. televangelist jimmy swaggart pictured one on the dust jacket of his anti - catholic book, < catholicism and christianity >. 1 swaggart wrote, " the rosary ( or prayer beads ) was introduced by peter the hermit in a. d. 1090. this was copied from the hindus and muhammadans [ sic ]. the counting of prayers is a pagan practice and is expressly condemned by christ aside from the fact that the rosary consists of prayer beads, swaggart got nothing right. this is regrettable since such crude misrepresentations frighten away uninformed christians from a powerful aid to prayer and contemplation. tradition links the rosary not to peter the hermit but to st. dominic ( 1170 - 1221 ), who is said to have received it from the virgin mary to combat the albigensian heresy. this legend seems to be derived from the writings of alan de la roche ( 1428 - 1475 ), that indefatigable dominican preacher of the rosary. modern critical scholarship from dominicans and others reveals a far more complicated history, though one having nothing to do with hindus and muslims. medieval monks had a practice of daily praying the 150 psalms. since lay brothers of the orders were illiterate and couldn ' t read the psalms, among them arose the practice of reciting the our father 150 times. beads were used to keep track of the prayers. ( the word " bede " in middle english, from which we derive the word " bead, " originally meant " prayer. " ) this practice spread among the laity, and other easily - remembered prayers were added. during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the rosary settled into its present form. it now consists of the apostles ' creed, the our father, the hail mary, and the gloria. the apostles ' creed appeared first as a second - century roman baptismal creed, and it took its present form in the 400s. although this creed wasn ' t written by the apostles, it ' s generally agreed it could very well have been of apostolic origin. the our father is prayed on the solitary beads that separate the groups of ten beads ( the " decades " ). every christian is familiar with this prayer, which is found in matthew 6 : 9 - 13. significantly, it is given in the same passage of


father is prayed on the solitary beads that separate the groups of ten beads ( the " decades " ). every christian is familiar with this prayer, which is found in matthew 6 : 9 - 13. significantly, it is given in the same passage of scripture in which jesus says, " but when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. for they think that they will be heard for their many words " ( matt. 6 : 7 ). this is the verse jimmy swaggart says condemns the " pagan practice " of " counting prayers. " though jesus himself gave us the our father, some fundamentalists try to discourage christians from using it as anything other than a model prayer because they feel that actually praying it would constitute a " vain repetition. " but let ' s look at the context of the " vain repetitions " verse. matthew 6 : 5 - 6 deal with the prayer practices of the jews themselves ; jesus derides these as hypocritical. he doesn ' t condemn repetitive jewish prayers, of which there were a countless number. for example, the book of psalms is a collection of hymns and prayers repeatedly used in jewish celebrations in which jesus himself participated. the passover, celebrated by jesus before his crucifixion, had fixed prayers that were repeated annually. following the last supper, jesus went to the garden of gethsemane and prayed the same prayer three times in a row ( matt. 26 : 39 - 44 ) — he engaged in repetitive prayer. in the next pair of verses jesus warns against the prayer practices of the pagans, who held a magical view of prayer and whose repetitious prayers he < does > condemn. verse 7 reads, in the king james version, " [ d ] o not use vain repetitions [ < battalogeo > ] as the heathen do. " this is a misleading rendering. the greek word < battalogeo > is better translated as " babbling, " and it is so translated in the new international version. ( the revised standard version has " empty phrases. " ) 3 jesus isn ' t condemning mere repetition — something he himself engaged in, as did other good jews — but the babbling of the pagans. what sort of babbling did the pagans practice? look at 1 kings 18 : 2629, where the pagan prophets on mount carmel tried to invoke baal all day long, repeatedly calling on his name and performing ritual dances : " [ they ] called on the name


the pagans practice? look at 1 kings 18 : 2629, where the pagan prophets on mount carmel tried to invoke baal all day long, repeatedly calling on his name and performing ritual dances : " [ they ] called on the name of baal from morning until noon, saying, ' oh baal, answer us! ' but there was no voice, no one answered. and they leaped about the altar which they had made.... and they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out of them. and as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the [ evening ] oblation, but there was no voice, no one answered, no one heeded. " once the pagan prophets had given up, elijah came forward and called on the god of israel, and immediately his prayer was answered. the prayers of the pagan prophets were " vain " because, after spending the entire day frantically calling upon him, baal never responded. he wasn ' t a real god, unlike the god of israel, who always answers sincere prayer. jesus ' point in matthew 6 : 7 is that we don ' t need to spend all day leaping over altars, cutting ourselves, and raving to get our heavenly father ' s ear. he hears our prayers no matter what type of prayer is offered : lengthy or short, composed or extemporaneous, group or individual, repetitious or unique. thus jesus says in the next verse : " therefore do not be like them [ the pagans ]. for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask him " ( matt. 6 : 8 ). this doesn ' t mean that, since god already knows our needs, we don ' t have to pray at all. as jesus taught in the parable of the persistent widow ( luke 18 : 1 - 8 ), we are to be tenacious in prayer, freely and repeatedly ( repetitiously ) bringing our petition before the seat of grace. paul says we are to " pray without ceasing " ( 1 thess. 5 : 17 ), not " pray reservedly lest we repeat ourselves " ( as is inevitable in ceaseless prayer ). one of the benefits of the rosary is that it leads naturally to the ceaseless prayer and meditation which scripture enjoins upon us. if there should be any lingering doubt that god doesn ' t look askance on repetition in prayer, note that in revelation


of the benefits of the rosary is that it leads naturally to the ceaseless prayer and meditation which scripture enjoins upon us. if there should be any lingering doubt that god doesn ' t look askance on repetition in prayer, note that in revelation 4 : 8 - 11 we find the heavenly host engaging in repetitive prayer ( " holy, holy, holy lord god almighty " ), said " day and night " before the throne of the almighty, followed by repetitious antiphons from the elders. the hail mary is the heart of the rosary and is said on each of the ten beads which are grouped together to form a decade, there being fifteen decades totaling 150 hail marys - as many hail marys as there are psalms. the first part of the prayer is composed of two bible verses strung together : " hail mary full of grace, the lord is with thee " ( luke 1 : 28 ) and " blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb " ( luke 1 : 42 ). the remainder of the prayer reads, " holy mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. amen. " as she was on earth called the object of divine grace ( luke 1 : 28 ) and is now in heaven a glorified saint, mary is called " holy. " the title " mother of god " ( greek, < theotokos >, " god - bearer " ) is an ancient one. a piece of papyrus found in egypt and dating to 250 - 270 invokes the intercession of the < theotokos >. 4 catholics maintain that the person born of the virgin mary is the second person of the blessed trinity, the divine word ( greek, < logos > ), and is therefore god ( john 1 : 1, 14 ). as jesus is god, humanity and divinity fully united in one person, the mother of jesus is therefore the mother ( but not the originator or creator ) of god ; she is the < theotokos >. 5 many non - catholics object to the practice of asking the saints in heaven, including the virgin mary, to pray for us. often cited is 1 timothy 2 : 5, " for there is one god and one mediator between god and men, the man christ jesus. " since jesus is our only mediator, they argue, mary ( or any other saint ) shouldn ' t be asked to pray on our behalf. by praying " holy mary, mother of god, pray


god and men, the man christ jesus. " since jesus is our only mediator, they argue, mary ( or any other saint ) shouldn ' t be asked to pray on our behalf. by praying " holy mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, " catholics intrude on the sole mediatorship of christ. but this idea can be held only if one believes that death creates a chasm between christians on earth and christians in heaven. catholics believe that christians aren ' t separated from christ or each other at death ( rom 8 : 38 - 39 ). the body of christ " is one though it has many parts " ( 1 cor. 12 : 12 ), and christians don ' t become amputated from the body when they go to heaven. nor are there two churches, one in heaven and another on earth, separated by death and thus somehow not in communion with each other. the church is the bride of christ ( rev. 21 : 9ff ), and jesus is a strict monogamist. we reject any idea that separates us from one another and consequently destroys the unity of the church. as stated in the apostles ' creed, catholics believe in " the communion of saints. " this means that since we ' re all one in christ, we can ask the saints in heaven to pray for us every bit as much as we can ask our brothers and sisters in the lord here on earth to pray for us. since we are specifically commanded to pray for each other ( 1 tim. 2 : 1, eph. 2 : 1, heb. 4 : 16 ), and since the word of the lord " stands firm in the heavens " as well as on earth ( ps. 119 : 89 ), we don ' t violate scripture by asking for the prayers of the saints in heaven. it is precisely because of christ ' s mediatorship that christians in heaven can pray for those on earth. we know the saints in heaven are aware of what occurs to us ( heb. 12 : 1, luke 15 : 7 ) and that they offer prayers ( rev. 5 : 8 - 10, 8 : 3 ), including praying for god ' s intervention on the earth ( rev. 6 : 9 - 10 ). hebrews 12 : 22 - 24 tells us we approach not only jesus, " the mediator of the new covenant, " but the heavenly jerusalem and the " assembly of the first - born enrolled in heaven " and " the


9 - 10 ). hebrews 12 : 22 - 24 tells us we approach not only jesus, " the mediator of the new covenant, " but the heavenly jerusalem and the " assembly of the first - born enrolled in heaven " and " the spirits of the just made perfect. " we don ' t hesitate to ask them for their prayers because the prayers of the righteous " availeth much " ( jas. 5 : 16b ). some object that the saints are dead and that the bible forbids communication with the dead ( lev. 19 : 31, 20 : 6, 27 ) through mediums and other occultic means ( necromancy ). but catholics do not attempt to get information from spirits, as is done in seances. the church condemns occult practices. moreover, the saints in heaven aren ' t " dead " ; they ' re more alive than you or i : " i am the god of abraham, the god of isaac, and the god of jacob, " jesus quoted from exodus. " he is not the god of the dead, but the god of the living. ye therefore do greatly err " ( mark 12 : 26 - 27 ). if jesus did not intend the saints on earth to communicate with the saints in heaven, he certainly set a rather poor example in appearing to peter, james, and john on mount tabor ( matt. 17 : 1 - 8 ). sometimes fundamentalists such as jimmy swaggart say that praying ten hail marys to every our father confirms their worst fears about catholicism : catholics prefer mary to god by a margin of ten to one. this assertion is not only offensive to catholics, but it ' s logically awry as well. looking at a king james bible, does the fact that paul ' s name occurs 126 times in the book of acts compared with only 68 times for jesus ' name imply that the author of acts thought paul twice as important as jesus? does the fact that the protestant translation of the book of esther contains neither the word " god " nor the word " lord " mean that the author of that book was an atheist? such statistical " proofs " prove nothing at all. the rosary is a devotion in honor of the blessed virgin mary, who, under divine inspiration, herself prophesied that all generations would call her blessed ( luke 1 : 48 ). in such devotions catholics happily fulfill the prophecy, recalling that god blesses us when we bless those whom he has especially favored ( gen. 12 : 3, 27 : 29


in heaven ( rev. 12 : 1 - 2, 5 ). note that all of the fifteen mysteries, except for the last two, are explicitly taught in the bible. we ' ll close with an examination of the two that are present only by implication. the bodily assumption of mary into heaven at the end of her life is neither explicitly taught nor contradicted by the bible, though there are precedents ( hebrews 11 : 5 mentions the assumption of enoch ; 2 kings 2 : 113 recounts that of elijah ; paul admits the possibility of his own bodily assumption in 2 corinthians 12 : 2 - 4 ). there is no indication that mary ' s remains were venerated as relics ( a customary practice in the early church ), and the belief in her assumption is held both in the east ( orthodox ) and in the west ( catholic ). mary is perceived in catholic thought as the proto - christian and the symbol of the church as a whole. hence her assumption is seen as a sign of the ultimate destiny of the church : christ will come at the end in order to take his bride into the kingdom and to glorify her ( 2 thess. 4 : 16 - 17 ). the belief in the assumption is affirmed by all christian communities having historic links with the ancient church — which our lord promised to lead into all truth ( john 16 : 12 - 13 ; cf. matt. 16 : 18, 28 : 20 ). the belief is very old as well as widespread, and those who deny this teaching do so without scriptural warrant, for christians are to follow < all > apostolic traditions, whether or not written in the new testament ( 2 thess. 2 : 15 ). the coronation of mary in heaven should be understood against the jewish background of early christianity. in judah, partly because of the fourth commandment ( ex. 20 : 12 ), the mother of the anointed king had a function of considerable importance, and her name is with only two exceptions associated with the accession of the king in the official annals. 6 the king ' s mother bore the powerful and prestigious title of gebirah7 and received honors of the first order. she had an official place at the court, was mistress of the harem, had enough power to seize complete control over the nation ( as did athaliah in 842 b. c., 2 kgs. 11 : 1 - 3 ), was sent into exile with the king ( as was nehushta in 597 b. c.,


control over the nation ( as did athaliah in 842 b. c., 2 kgs. 11 : 1 - 3 ), was sent into exile with the king ( as was nehushta in 597 b. c., jer. 29 : 2 ), and could be deposed ( as was king asa ' s idolatrous grandmother, maacah, who first became queen mother during the reign of her son abijam, 1 kgs. 15 : 2, 10, 13, 2 chron. 15 : 16 ). the < gebirah > was a monarchical institution and had a throne and a crown. 8 as jesus is the ultimate king of the jews, fulfilling the messianic prophecy in 2 samuel 7 : 10 - 17, it would be strange indeed if mary did not have this crown as the ultimate queen mother. the monarchical nature of the kingdom of god, complete with queen mother, may be difficult to appreciate for those who live in a democratic culture, but it was something accepted as natural in early christendom, as witnessed by the art and literature. in 1 kings 1 : 16, 31 we see queen bathsheba petitioning king david, her husband, by bowing " her face to the earth, and [ doing ] homage to the king, and [ saying ], ' let my lord, king david, live forever! ' " this was common protocol in the court of an oriental monarch, though the position of the queen seems to have been somewhat higher in other near eastern countries than it was in judah and israel ( but compare jezebel in 1 kings 21 : 7 - 11 ). contrast this to the next chapter. in 1 kings 2 : 13 - 20 solomon, the son of david, has come to the throne. adonijah approaches " bathsheba the mother of solomon " with a request and says, " please speak to king solomon, for he will not refuse you. " bathsheba promises to intercede with solomon on his behalf ( compare john 2 : 1 - 11, where mary intercedes with jesus ), not seeing through adonijah ' s plot to seize the throne. " bathsheba therefore went to king solomon, to speak to him for adonijah. " the use of the title " king solomon " hints that solomon acts in his official capacity ( cf. verse 23 ). instead of bathsheba scraping her face on the floor before solomon as previously she had done before david, king solomon " rose


" the use of the title " king solomon " hints that solomon acts in his official capacity ( cf. verse 23 ). instead of bathsheba scraping her face on the floor before solomon as previously she had done before david, king solomon " rose up to meet her and bowed down to her and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king ' s mother ; so she sat at his right hand. then she said, ' i desire one small petition of you ; do not refuse me. ' and the king said to her, ' ask it, my mother, for i will not refuse you ' " ( vv. 19 - 20 ). solomon wasn ' t merely being a nice son. it was a custom throughout the ancient world to make the right - hand seat the place of honor and of delegated authority, which is precisely why the new testament speaks of christ as being seated at the right hand of the father. bathsheba ' s status in society had changed ; she had become the " king ' s mother. " the bible teaches that the old testament types ( such as the passover lamb, the flood, hagar, and sarah ) find their fulfillment in the new testament ( john 1 : 29, 1 pet. 3 : 18 - 21, gal. 4 : 21 - 31 ). as christ is superior to the passover lamb which foreshadowed him, the fulfillment of the type is always greater than the type itself. christians have recognized that jesus christ, son of david and king of israel < par excellence >, is the perfect fulfillment of king solomon, the original son of david. christians have also recognized that the virgin mary fulfills perfectly the role of solomon ' s mother, the original < gebirah > who foreshadowed the mother of the messiah. catholics believe jesus rose from his throne in heaven and, like solomon, came down to meet his mother and elevated her to be with him ( the assumption ). he then led her to a throne set up for her at his right hand in a position of authority and special honor ( the coronation ). here, like bathsheba, she intercedes on our behalf as the queen mother of the church, the spiritual israel ( rom. 11 : 17ff, 1 pet. 2 : 9 ). from lowly handmaid of the lord to < gebirah > of the kingdom of god : " for he has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant ; for behold, henceforth all generations will


pet. 2 : 9 ). from lowly handmaid of the lord to < gebirah > of the kingdom of god : " for he has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant ; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. for he who is mighty has done great things for me.... he has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly " ( luke 1 : 48 - 49, 52 ). epicetus in the second century said that " if your heart is set upon a crown, make and put on one of roses, for it will make the prettier appearance. " " rosary " comes from the latin < rosarium >, which means " rose garden " and suggests the presention of a rose wreath to our lady. here is the crowning of the king ' s mother ( rev. 12 : 1 ) and, more importantly, of the king of kings himself ( rev. 6 : 2 ). it is through persevering in the faith that we hope to be given our own crowns ( rev. 2 : 10 ), and no other devotional practice surpasses the rosary in obtaining and strengthening the grace necessary for this end. " every athlete exercises discipline in every way. they do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one " ( 1 cor. 9 : 25 ). t. l. frazier writes from the los angeles area, where he prays the rosary regularly. 1. jimmy swaggart, < catholicism and christianity > ( baton rouge : jimmy swaggart ministries, 1986 ). 2. ibid., 160 - 161. 3. < battalogeo, > which is a very rare greek word except in writings dependent on the new testament, is perhaps connected with the aramaic word < battal > ( idle, useless ). < battal > is used in an aramaic papyrus from qumran with the meaning of " without effect. " the sinaitic syriac manuscript of matthew renders this verse as " do not be saying idle things. " 4. papyrus 470 in the john rylands library, manchester, england. 5. if a biblical proof - text is wanted for the title < theotokos >, one should look at the visitation of mary to her cousin elizabeth, who looks at mary and exclaims, " but why is this granted to me, that the mother of my lord ( greek : < ha mater tou


theotokos >, one should look at the visitation of mary to her cousin elizabeth, who looks at mary and exclaims, " but why is this granted to me, that the mother of my lord ( greek : < ha mater tou kyriou mou > ) should come to me? " ( luke 1 : 43 ). as anyone familiar with the bible is aware, the title " lord " is practically synonymous with the god of israel ( ps. 110 : 1 - 4 ). indeed, whenever the translators of the greek old testament ( the septuagint ) found the word " yhwh " ( the tetragrammaton, " yahweh " ) in the hebrew text, they translated it as lord ( kyrios ), though kyrios is really the greek translation of < adonai >, the hebrew word for lord. thus what elizabeth exclaimed could be reworded, " but why is this granted to me, that the mother of my god should come to me? " 6. see 1 kings 14 : 21 ; 15 : 2, 10 ; 22 : 42 ; 2 kings 8 : 26 ; 9 : 6 - 7, 22 ; 12 : 1 ; 14 : 2 ; 15 : 2, 33 ; 18 : 2 ; 22 : 1 ; 23 : 31, 36 ; 24 : 18. 7. literally " lady " or " mistress, " used six times in the bible and always as the title of a queen, whether the wife ( 1 kgs. 11 : 19 ) or mother of a king ( 1 kgs. 15 : 13, 2 kgs. 10 : 13, 2 chron. 15 : 16, jer. 13 : 18, 29 : 2 ). it ought to be noted that the title is used only once in reference to the wife of a king, and even there it is used of tahpenes, the queen of egypt, and not of a queen of judah, where the title is associated more with the queen mother. 8. compare jeremiah 13 : 18, where the prophet proclaims to the eighteen - year - old jehoiachin and the queen mother, nehushta, " say to the king and to the queen mother, ' come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads. ' " this article was taken from the september, 1994 issue of " this rock, " published by catholic answers, p. o. box 17490, san diego, ca 92


if you have trouble writing or coming up with ideas a story project plan may be just the thing to help you on your way. the very first thing you must decide on is the type of genre you want to write. if you are unsure of what the genres are, here is a good explanation you can study as well as here. once you have your story genre chosen, you can move on to setting up your story project plan. 1. what do you want to do with your story? 2. what characters do you want to involve? 3. is there a back story within the plot? 4. where do you want to go with the story? 5. how do you intend to get there? these questions may take a lot of consideration and thought on your part. a word of advice, do not answer these questions unless you are in a calm state of mind and have clear thinking. 1. set up your characters as they come to mind in a document. label it something to help you remember what it is. 2. set up the city, state, country, and environment where the story is taking place. this should be done for each character. remember an environment is your immediate surroundings of which you are in right now. 3. set up any minor characters that may be involved. 4. plan to make time to write. ( if possible ), and choose an environment that is not distracting. 5. set up a " deadline " for when your story has to be finished. 6. if there is a delay, or a time you cannot write on your scheduled day, simply reschedule. simple as that. a story project plan can be implemented into a story outline and chart. the first two sections are best to go into a story outline while story schedule would go into a chart. or better a time chart. next you will want to research the towns, provinces, or country where your story is taking place. suppose you wanted to put your character in baltimore, md. your resources are the web and the library. you should never write your character in any place of living that you have never been to without research first! once you have gathered all your requirements, you can then start writing.


compiled records for mid - south researchedit this page from familysearch wiki this is a bibliographic essay of compiled records for doing mid - south research, which includes kentucky, missouri, north carolina, south carolina, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia. most of the compiled records come from published sources. over the years as the amount of these sources has become too numerous, it became essential to index many of them. as a researcher it is often necessary to utilize these indexes early on in ones research project, especially if the exact location of the individual or families being researched is not known. indexes of biographical sources might be a good place to start. also, as you begin to narrow your search down to your specific area you will want to look at an index to biographies in local histories in the library of congress ( baltimore : magna carta book, 1979 ). this index contains biographical sketches of 170, 000 individuals found in 340 local histories. unfortunately, including biographical sketches in the histories of the southern states was not as prevalent as seen in the mid - western states, but there are quite a few and this index would be worth a try. the southern states courier ( natchitoches, louisiana : courier publications, 1984 - 1986 ) is a periodical exploring the history and records of the following states : alabama, arkansas, delaware, florida, georgia, illinois, indiana, kentucky, louisiana, maryland, mississippi, north carolina, pennsylvania, south carolina, virginia, and possibly others. information is extracted from biographies, cemetery records, census, church records, deeds and land records, maps, marriage records, military records, mortuaries, naturalizations, obituaries, post office records, school records, vital records, wills, and other sources. some family names and persons are featured. these are interspersed within these publications, family histories. there is no index but persi discloses the titles of the articles in each issue, referring to which parish and record - types are included. time period covered is roughly from the 1700 ’ s - 1900. when doing research, there will come a time when it may become necessary to narrow your search to specific records, such as military, ethnic, religious, or occupational. a couple of examples follow : a good military publication for the south might be military bibliography of the civil war, compiled by c. e. dornbusch ( new york, new york : new york public library ; distributed by readex books, 1971 - c1987 ). it consists of 3 volumes.


be military bibliography of the civil war, compiled by c. e. dornbusch ( new york, new york : new york public library ; distributed by readex books, 1971 - c1987 ). it consists of 3 volumes. volume 1 does not deal with the south, but volume 2 and volume 3, originally published in 1967 under title " regimental publications and personal narratives : southern, border, and western states and territories ; federal troops ”, does contain personal narratives from southern soldiers and union and confederate biographies. there is an index. then if you are looking for compiled records of a certain ethnic group you could use a publication such as who was who among the southern indians, a genealogical notebook, 1698 - 1907 by don martini ( falkner, mississippi : the author, c1998 ). it is in alphabetical order by surname. it is a comprehensive guide to the prominent leaders of the cherokee, chickasaw, choctaw, and creek indian tribes and the relatives / possible relatives of those leaders. the information for each individual varies from as little as a sentence to half a page. this publication is very interesting reading and has some valuable information. after a place of residence has been established, compiled records specific to an area of interest should be the next step in the research process. many records are available at the state level as well as the county and township level. the purpose of the rest of this paper will be to take a look at some of those compiled records. under each state are examples of historical, military, ethnic, and religious publications which contain compiled records, as well as a few examples of periodicals. by far not complete, this was intended to give the reader a glimpse into the many publications available which contain compiled records. it is always exciting to find a biography on an individual that is being researched. although, the mid - south does not have as wonderful collection as the mid - west, there are still good publications available. a good place to start might be michael cook ’ s kentucky : index of biographical sketches in state, regional and county histories, ( evansville, indiana : cook publications, 1986 ). this compiled record indexes 65 various state, regional and county histories and there are notes on how to use the volume and where to obtain the histories. a list of the codes and their meanings is at the front of the book. there is an alphabetical index, which is easy to use, but it is important to note that for the biographies, the index only lists the names of


the histories. a list of the codes and their meanings is at the front of the book. there is an alphabetical index, which is easy to use, but it is important to note that for the biographies, the index only lists the names of those who are the subject of the biographical sketches. there is also, kentucky genealogy and biography, 9 vols. ( owensboro, ky. : genealogical reference, 1969 – ) is another publication worth taking a look at. these are reprints of the biographical sections of various editions of kentucky : a history of the state, by w. h. perrin, et al., published during the 1880s. the biographies are arranged by county. another reprint of the biographical sections of perrin ’ s work was published by the southern historical press and bears the title of the original work, kentucky : a history of the state. these volumes are facsimiles of the original biographies, with complete name indexes prepared by various individuals. new material was added in 1979. lyman copeland draper, draper ' s biographical sketches, chicago : university of chicago library, 1951. within this publication are many biographies of eminent early residents of kentucky and nearby states. the kentucky papers consist of thirty - seven volumes. both a subject index and an index to the interview have been published by the wisconsin historical society. for a county specific publication there is echo ' s of the past, in the western part of scott county, kentucky ( stamping ground, kentucky : stamping ground woman ' s club, 1975 - ). volume one includes a few biographies and volume 2 contains family lineages. a history of the pioneer families of missouri - with numerous sketches, anecdotes, adventures, etc., and relating the early days in missouri. also, the lives of daniel boone and the celebrated indian chief black hawk by william s. bryan and robert rose. ( baltimore : clearfield co., 1996 ) most of the sketches are brief, but do contain a lot of genealogical information. most of the sketches contain wealth of information on their migration pattern. missouri : family histories and genealogies, a bibliography by donald hehir ( bowie, maryland : heritage books, 1996 ). this book contains a comprehensive listing of all printed missouri genealogies and family histories that have made their way into major library collections across the u. s. over 1600 missouri surnames are arranged alphabetically. pioneer kentuckians with missouri cousins by frances t. ingmire 2 vols. ( signal mountain, tennessee : mountain press, n. d. )


major library collections across the u. s. over 1600 missouri surnames are arranged alphabetically. pioneer kentuckians with missouri cousins by frances t. ingmire 2 vols. ( signal mountain, tennessee : mountain press, n. d. ) the two volumes of missouri records show over 65, 000 persons born in kentucky but who by 1850 are living in missouri. contains the following missouri counties : adair, lincoln, linn, livingston, mcdonald, macon, madison, marion, mercer, miller, pike, platte, polk, gasconade, pulaske, putnam, ralls, randolph, st. charles, ray, reynolds, ripley, schuyler, saline, scott, scotland, shannon, shelby, stoddard and sullivan. missouri also has some interesting publications. one such is l. l. broadfoot ’ s pioneers of the ozarks ( caldwell : the caxton printers, 1946 ). the biographical sketches were written by the ozark pioneers themselves. their grammar is somewhat back country, but the stories hold some wonderful tidbits of genealogical and historical information. an example of a publication specific to an ethnic group is the italians in missouri, by g., schiavo ( new york : arno press, inc., 1975, c 1929 ). it is a “ scrapbook ” biographical publication. the biographies are small and all come with a picture of the individual. most of the biographies appear to be of professionals and businessmen. if it is the early years of north carolina that the researcher is concerned with, then one publication to look at is one that was compiled by marilu burch smallwood ; some colonial and revolutionary families of north carolina, 3 vols. ( washington, north carolina : m. b. smallwood, 1964 - ). these volumes provide the names of the husband, wife, date of marriage and county. for research that requires a wider timeframe, biographical history of north carolina history from colonial times to the present, samuel a ’ court ashe, ed., 10 vols. ( greensboro, north carolina : c. l. van noppen, 1905 - 1917 ) is great because it covers a large time period in the history of north carolina, through biographical sketches of those who lived there. new volumes have been added from time to time and volume 10 has an index. an example of a wonderful publication for research within a specific ethnic group is german speaking people west of the catawba river in north carolina 1750 - 1800 and some emigres ’ participation


been added from time to time and volume 10 has an index. an example of a wonderful publication for research within a specific ethnic group is german speaking people west of the catawba river in north carolina 1750 - 1800 and some emigres ’ participation in the early settlement of southeast missouri, lorena shell eaker, compiler and editor ( franklin, north carolina : genealogy publishing services, 1994 ). in the introduction of this book it states, “ this is a migrational history of more than six hundred immigrants who pioneered the settlement of the present - day north carolina counties of burke, catawba, cleveland, gaston, lincoln, and rutherford. ” it is presented in a compiled lineage format and includes an every name index. for a specific area of research such publications as the heritage of the toe river valley, avery, mitchell, and yancey counties, 5 vols. ( marceline, missouri : walsworth publishing co., inc. 1994 ) may be helpful. each of these volumes contains lengthy family biographical sketches. many of these biographical sketches include a very comprehensive genealogy of the family. there is also an index and the family sketches are done in alphabetical order. history of south carolina ( chicago : lewis pub. co., 1920 ) edited by yates snowden, comprises five volumes. like most history books, the biographies of individuals who paid to be included in the publications are given a page or two to give a brief history of themselves and sometimes their families. fortunately, there is an index, because the biographies have no certain order to them. richard n. cote, local and family history in south carolina, a bibliography, ( easley, s. c. southern historical press 1981 ). at the end there is an alphabetical surname index to many major south carolina collections. it contains about 7, 600 names. as an example of a more area specific resource, there is herbert ravenel sass ’ s, the story of the south carolina lowcountry, 3 vols. ( west columbia, s. c. : j. f. hyer publishing co., 1956 ). the low country included charleston, and volumes two and three are the biographies of those citizens who played an important part in the growth and development of this particular area. the third volume includes an index, which indexes only those people for whom the biography was written. there are also many publications of compiled records written for various religious groups. the brief baptist biographies by robert p hamby ( greenville, south carolina : a press, 1982 - ) is one


which indexes only those people for whom the biography was written. there are also many publications of compiled records written for various religious groups. the brief baptist biographies by robert p hamby ( greenville, south carolina : a press, 1982 - ) is one example. this book is divided up into 5 divisions. the third division is titled “ brief historical sketches of twenty - one baptist associations from 1707 to 1861 which have made their contribution to western north carolina. " this is a compilation of historical sketches, and there are also biographical sketches found within the other divisions. compiled records can also be found in periodicals. for this state there is the south carolina magazine of ancestral research. along with abstracted records, included in these periodicals which are done on a quarterly basis, are memoirs of individuals, biographies, and histories of families. there is also a book review section and an index of these articles is available in a book under fhl call # : 975. 7, b2sc. the carolina herald and newsletter, which is an official publication of the south carolina genealogical society and published quarterly, is another periodical worth searching through. some of the editions do contain individual biographies and family histories, although there appears to be more abstracted and copied records. there is no indexing. leaves from the family tree ( easley, south carolina, 1982 ) compiled by penelope johnson allen for the “ chattanooga times sunday magazine ”, is a collection of family histories, primarily from east tennessee. although, it is more area specific, it does include about 100 family histories that are full of wonderful information and many of these histories include photographs. it does include an index and if one is fortunate enough to be researching someone in the east tennessee area, this would be worth reading. in a book written by worth s. ray, called tennessee cousins ( baltimore : genealogical publishing co., 1960 ) the author has done a wonderful job of writing a history of the some of the counties of tennessee and the people, by using original sources, and evaluating them. he has written personal histories on many of the individuals who lived there. the use of the index is imperative as the family histories are not in any logical order and are interspersed with abstracted records. when narrowing your research to specific counties within a state, you will often find compiled records in publications that have been written by genealogical or historical societies. these books were often written for a specific historical event, such as a centennial. a good example of this is, families and history of sullivan county, tennessee volume one 1779 - 1992, compiled by


publications that have been written by genealogical or historical societies. these books were often written for a specific historical event, such as a centennial. a good example of this is, families and history of sullivan county, tennessee volume one 1779 - 1992, compiled by the holston territory genealogical society, 1993. it is a collection of stories submitted by residents, former residents, and those having roots in sullivan county. the bios run a quarter to half page in length. there is a surname index, and the bios are in alphabetical order. they are a great tool for finding genealogical information. a researcher can also get very specific. take for instance tennessee convicts : early records of the state penitentiary by charles a. and tomye m. sherrill. this book includes an index of places ( vol. 1 ) and full - name indexes ( vols. 1 & 2 ). volume 1 covers the years 1831 - 1850 and volume 2 the years 1850 - 1870. volume 1 might be of particular interest since it was transcribed from volume 45 of the tennessee state penitentiary and in this particular volume are detailed descriptions and biographies of 600 inmates from 1831 - 1842. ransom b. true, biographical dictionary of early virginia, 1607 - 1660. ( richmond association for the preservation of virginia antiquities, 1984 ). this record is in alphabetical order by surname and then by given name or title. it gives the name, title, event, date and place of event, source code and page number. there is often more than one event for each name and each event is listed with its source code and page number under the name. this record is a list of names extracted from various sources for " people who were involved in any capacity with the settlement and development of virginia from 1607 through the end of 1660 " encyclopedia of virginia biography by lyon gardiner tyler fhl book 975. 5 d3tl, 5 vols. ( new york : lewis historical pub., 1915 ). includes multi - generation family histories. the first three volumes contain a small paragraph of some of the founders, colonial presidents and governors, colonial councilors of state, and burgesses, those elected to political positions and other prominent persons and their involvement in the political climate of virginia. contained in some of since slavery was well established in virginia pre civil war, the use of compiled information regarding these people may be very useful in doing virginia research. weevils in the wheat ; interviews with virginia ex - slaves, edited by charles l. perdue, jr., thomas e. barden,


war, the use of compiled information regarding these people may be very useful in doing virginia research. weevils in the wheat ; interviews with virginia ex - slaves, edited by charles l. perdue, jr., thomas e. barden, and robert k. phillips, is an interesting book. it is a compilation of interviews of ex - slaves from the state of virginia. earl gregg swem, virginia historical index, ( gloucester, massachusetts : peter smith, 1965 ). lists many genealogies that were published in periodicals. it is a 1930 index to some major virginia periodicals including : tyler ' s quarterly historical and genealogical magazine ; william and mary quarterly ; virginia magazine of history and biography. r. a. brock alonzo and virgil a. lewis, virginia and virginians, salt lake city filmed by the genealogical society of utah 1972 [ microfilm of original published : richmond and toledo : h. h. hardesty, 1888 ] lists five to ten prominent citizens from each county with early governors and generals. it includes genealogical data abstracted from the 6 volume set, history of virginia. it is an index to the biographical volumes of that history. a researcher will find that often when researching in west virginia they will be consulting virginia sources ; however, there are still some very good publications that deal primarily with those individuals living in west virginia. a couple of these publications are : thomas condit miller and hu maxwell, west virginia and its people, 3 vols. ( new york : lewis historical publishing co., 1913 ). the first volume is devoted to the history of west virginia and the remaining two volumes are family and personal histories. these histories are usually about one to two pages in length, but the information contained within these personal histories is invaluable. there is an index, but it only names the person for which the personal history was written. another is james morton callahan ’ s history of west virginia old and new and west virginia biography, 3 vols. ( chicago and new york : the american historical society, inc., 1923 ). again the two last volumes are dedicated to a compilation of biographies. this publication was written later than the previous mentioned book, so it gives you a few more years of information and does contain biographies on quite a few more people. the west virginia encyclopedia, edited by paul conley ( charleston, w. v. : west virginia publishing company, 1929 ) contains mini biographies, only a paragraph in length, about individuals who have made some contribution to the state of west virginia. these are interspersed throughout


encyclopedia, edited by paul conley ( charleston, w. v. : west virginia publishing company, 1929 ) contains mini biographies, only a paragraph in length, about individuals who have made some contribution to the state of west virginia. these are interspersed throughout the book in alphabetical order. there is only a topical index. a publication specific to the jewish population is west virginia jewry : origins and history 1850 - 1958 by abraham i. shinedling, 2 volumes. ( philadelphia, pennsylvania : m. jacob, 1963 ). this publication contains brief biographies of individuals who lived in the jewish communities of west virginia. these types of ethnic specific sources can be very informative when doing research. although the sources cited in this bibliographic essay do not come close to informing the reader of just how many compiled records are available, it has shown that there are many different avenues to take when deciding which records to utilize. it is also important to note that with the use of the internet, the amount of compiled records will continue to grow. the use of published sources, however, is a necessary tool in genealogical research. as indexing of these records continues, so will the efficiency of using these sources grow. the use of compiled records in genealogical research is now and always will be a must for any conscientious researcher. - church of jesus christ of latter day saints, family and church history department, family search research guidance, statewide indexes and collections ( intellectual reserve, inc., 1998, 2001 ) online < familysearch. org >. - church of jesus christ of latter day saints, family and church history department, research outline ( intellectual reserve, inc., 1988, 1997 ) - meyerink, k. l. editor, printed sources, a guide to published genealogical records ( salt lake city : ancestry incorporated, 1998 ) - szucs, l. d., & luebking, s. h. editors, the source, a guidebook of american genealogy ( salt lake city : ancestry incorporated, 1997 ) - the handybook for genealogists, united states of america, tenth edition ( draper : everton publishers, 2002 ) - this page was last modified on 28 january 2013, at 14 : 30. - this page has been accessed 2, 480 times. new to the research wiki? in the familysearch research wiki, you can learn how to do genealogical research or share your knowledge with others. learn more


your skin in the largest organ of your body, one of your first lines of defense from illness and can be a window into undiagnosed medical problems in your body. skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the u. s. affecting almost one in eight americans. regular examination of the skin by both you and your doctor increases the chance of finding skin cancer early. most skin cancer that appear in the skin can be seen by the naked eye. however there is a long period of time when the cancer grows beneath the top layer of skin but does not grow into the deeper skin layers. this period of slow growth allows time for skin cancer to be found early. skin cancer may be completely cured if the tumor is found before it spreads deeper. monthly self - examination of the skin may help find changes that should be reported to a doctor. regular skin checks by a doctor are important for people who have already had skin cancer. beginning in 2005 dr. aaron hartman began attending advanced dermatologic training courses sponsored by training centers including the university of florida and the university of miami in the diagnosis and treatment of skin disorders. this additional training includes over 600 hours of studies and didactic time. in addition he has also received training in advanced skin surgical procedures and techniques. during your office visit, if needed, he can perform a full body skin exam, any needed biopsies and address your skin concerns. for information on performing a self skin exams and making your own personal body mole map, download the following : bodymolemap. pdf for a comprehensive online skin cancer resource please visit skin cancer net. for more information about specific skin disorders please visit the american academy of dermatology ’ s a - z informational site.


earlier chapters have presented all the key elements of an observer programme. this final chapter gives a brief overview on how to put all the elements together. three aspects are considered : design, implementation and maintenance. there are two main sets of influences that condition the framework of a programme. policy decisions ( and complementary decisions at management, science, mcs / compliance and observer operations levels ) - possibly reflected through the fishery management plan that lays down programme objectives. the situation ( or environment ) within which the programme must function, i. e. the factors that will shape the programme strategy and ultimately define its success or failure. decisions that underlie an observer programme were outlined in the introduction, and programme objectives were discussed in chapter 1. it is important to define objectives in a way that is easy to understand, but which is sufficiently comprehensive to meet the needs of observer data users. over - ambitious objectives may lead to disappointment within and outside of the observer programme. once the objectives have been defined, they must continually be assessed in terms of the functional environment of the programme. this involves attention to the following components. a ) physical environment conditions of the area covered - e. g. temperate or tropical location of ports. b ) biological environment for example, the key species, by - catch and predictions of catch rates. c ) fishing activity the resource users e. g. vessel nationality, size of vessel, fishing methods. d ) owner organization background information on the government fma that will be home to the programme. e ) other data collection programmes any other programmes that collect data for fisheries management. f ) the potential observers consider skills, abilities, professionalism and qualifications. g ) national level policies and objectives consider wider political, social and economic policies that may influence the programme, e. g. the need to address national employment problems, including gender or empowerment questions. h ) international level is the fishery sector party to any international or regional agreements that may influence the scope of the programme? i ) legal instruments what legal instruments exist, both informal and formal, such as acts, regulations, tribal rights, etc.? l ) financing options where will the programme finance come from? if from donor support, how will donor objectives influence the strategy of the programme? if from industry, should joint management be considered? who will care about the programme? draw up a list of all the possible stakeholders and consider current links and historic problems between them, and gauge their interest in the programme. assessment of the functional environment helps to clarify programme prospects and problems. these can be further clarified through sw