: the effect of altering brain activity in a specific brain area on symptoms in ts patients will be studied. patients will be asked to continue to focus their thoughts as they did during feedback scanning any time that they feel an urge prior to a tic or every hour while awake, whichever is more frequent, until a follow - up visit and fmri scan two or three days later. phase 3 will require four visits ( one screening, one evaluation, one scanning, and one follow - up ). no visit will last more than 4 hours. the primary outcome for phases 1 and 2 is the difference in brain activation within a specific area after feedback training compared to a baseline, and for phase 3 it is the difference in symptoms measured by a ts rating scale before fmri scanning compared to two or three days after learning the feedback technique. secondary outcomes for all three phases include the changes in activation in a specific brain area compared to a baseline after repeated scanning trials and when no feedback image is displayed. | contact : elaine p considine, r. n. | | ( 301 ) firstname. lastname @ example. org | | contact : mark hallett, m. d. | | ( 301 ) email @ example. com | | united states, maryland | | national institutes of health clinical center, 9000 rockville pike | | recruiting | | bethesda, maryland, united states, 20892 | | contact : for more information at the nih clinical center contact patient recruitment and public liaison office ( prpl ) 800 - 411 - 1222 ext tty8664111010 firstname. lastname @ example. org | | principal investigator : | | mark hallett, m. d. | | national institute of neurological disorders and stroke ( ninds ) |


t - reg cell kinetics, stem cell transplant, regale patients have a type of blood cell disorder that is very hard to cure. we are now suggesting a treatment that might help patients live longer without disease than other treatment plans would. this treatment is known as a stem cell transplant. we believe this may help patients as it allows us to give much stronger doses of drugs and radiation to kill the diseased cells than we could give without the transplant. we also think that the healthy cells may help fight any diseased cells left after the transplant. stem cells are special " mother " cells that are found in the bone marrow ( the spongy tissue inside bones ), although some are also found in the bloodstream ( peripheral blood ). as they grow, they become either white blood cells which fight infection, red blood cells which carry oxygen and remove waste products from the organs and tissues or platelets, which enable the blood to clot. for the transplant to take place, we will collect these stem cells from a " donor " ( a person who agrees to donate these cells ) and give them to recipient. patients do not have a sibling that is a perfect match, so the stem cells will come from a donor who is the best match available. this person may be a close relative or an unrelated person whose stem cells best " matches " the patients, and who agrees to donate stem cells. before the transplant, two very strong drugs plus total body irradiation will be given to the patient ( pre - conditioning ). this treatment will kill most of the blood - forming cells in the bone marrow. we will then give the patient the healthy stem cells. once these healthy stem cells are in the bloodstream they will move to the bone marrow ( graft ) and begin producing blood cells that will eventually mature into healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. this research study will also use campath - 1h as a pre - treatment. campath - 1h is an antibody against certain types of blood cells. campath - 1h is important because it stays active in the body for a long time after infusion, which means it may work longer at preventing gvhd symptoms. the stem cell transplant described above is considered to be " standard " treatment. we would like to collect additional blood as described below in order to evaluate how the immune system is recovering. we are asking permission to draw blood from the patient so that we can measure the number of certain blood cells called t regulatory cells. t regulatory cells are special immune


to collect additional blood as described below in order to evaluate how the immune system is recovering. we are asking permission to draw blood from the patient so that we can measure the number of certain blood cells called t regulatory cells. t regulatory cells are special immune cells that can control or regulate the body ' s immune response. we want to determine whether t regulatory cells are important participants in graft versus host disease ( gvhd ), infection and relapse. in gvhd, certain cells from the donated marrow or blood ( the graft ) attack the body of the transplant patient ( the host ). gvhd can affect many different parts of the body. the skin, eyes, stomach and intestines are affected most often. gvhd can range from mild to life - threatening. we do not know whether t regulatory cells can modify these conditions. we want to measure these t regulatory cells and learn if these cells do influence these conditions. if we learn that t regulatory cells do affect these conditions, then it may be possible to modify these cells for the benefit of transplant patients. non hodgkin lymphoma drug : ara c radiation : total body irradiation ( tbi ) procedure : stem cell infusion | study design : | | intervention model : single group assignment masking : open label primary purpose : treatment | official title : | | t - regulatory cell kinetics for patients receiving alemtuzamb and undergoing stem cell transplantation from hla mismatched - related, or hla matched, or one antigen mismatched - unrelated donors | - to define the biologic recovery and behavior of t reg cells for pts undergoing stem cell transplant [ time frame : 3 years ] [ designated as safety issue : no ] - to determine that the administration of campath 1h as part of conditioning therapy to patients undergoing stem cell transplantation from mismatched related donors or from matched unrelated donors permits t regulatory cell recovery. [ time frame : 3 years ] [ designated as safety issue : no ] | study start date : | | october 2007 | | estimated study completion date : | | may 2013 | | estimated primary completion date : | | may 2013 ( final data collection date for primary outcome measure ) | experimental : stem cell transplant all patients will receive ara c iv every 12 hours for 6 doses starting at 1400 hours on day - 8. cyclophosphamide iv once daily on day - 7 and day - 6 starting at 1400 hours. mesna will be administered 15 minutes prior to each


c iv every 12 hours for 6 doses starting at 1400 hours on day - 8. cyclophosphamide iv once daily on day - 7 and day - 6 starting at 1400 hours. mesna will be administered 15 minutes prior to each dose of cyclophosphamide and 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours after each dose of cyclophosphamide. campath 1h will be given on day - 4, day - 3, day - 2 and day - 1. tbi ( total body irradiation ) will be delivered in 8 fractions of 1. 75 gy in two fractions on day - 4, day - 3, day - 2, and day - 1. stem cell infusion are infused on day 0. drug : ara c ara c ( 3000 mg / m2 ) iv every 12 hours for 6 doses ( days - 8 to - 5 ) other name : cytarabinedrug : cyclophosphamide cyclophosphamide ( 45mg / kg ) iv once daily on day - 7 and day - 6 other name : cytoxandrug : mesna mesna ( 45mg / kg ; divided into 5 doses ) will be administered 15 minutes prior to each dose of cyclophosphamide and 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours after each dose of cyclophosphamide. other name : mesnexradiation : total body irradiation ( tbi ) tbi : total dose 14. 0 gy, will be delivered in 8 fractions of 1. 75 gy in two fractions on day - 4, day - 3, day - 2, and day - 1 other name : radiationbiological : campath - 1h campath ( 3 mg iv for patients between 5 and 15 kg ; 5 mg for patients between 16 and 30 kg ; and 10 mg for patients greater than 30 kg ) will be given on day - 4, day - 3, day - 2 and day - 1. other name : alemtuzumabprocedure : stem cell infusion stem cells are infused on day 0 to participate in this transplant, the patient will need to have a central line. before the transplant we will test the blood for viruses which can cause problems after the transplant. these viruses include hepatitis b, cytomegalovirus and hiv. if the patient is positive for the aids virus, they will not be able to undertake the transplant. standard therapy : the patient will


for viruses which can cause problems after the transplant. these viruses include hepatitis b, cytomegalovirus and hiv. if the patient is positive for the aids virus, they will not be able to undertake the transplant. standard therapy : the patient will be given 6 doses of chemotherapy with a drug called ara c in high doses ( every 12 hours ) which will begin 8 days before the stem cell transplant. then, another chemotherapy drug called cyclophosphamide will be given in high doses by vein for two days on the 7th and 6th days before the transplant. a drug called mesna will be given with cyclophosphamide. mesna is used to decrease the side effects caused by cyclophosphamide. the patient will also receive an antibody called campath ( each day for 4 days before the transplant ) to help destroy the immune system so that there is less host resistance to the growth of the donor cells. radiation treatment will be given to the entire body on each day for 4 days before transplant. this will be given 2 times a day for 4 days. the chemotherapy and radiation treatment will last 8 days. if the patient has a diagnosis of t - cell lymphoma, they will not be given the ara - c. extra bone marrow tests may be recommended by the physician to check on the patients condition, especially if the marrow is slow to grow. the day after the radiation treatment is completed ; the patient will receive the healthy stem cells by vein. once in the bloodstream, these stem cells will go to the bone marrow and should begin to grow. in prevention of gvhd, the patient will also receive medicine called fk506 as well as low dose methotrexate. the fk506 will be given intravenously initially starting 2 days before the transplant and later by mouth ( when they are able to take oral medications ). this drug will be given each day for several weeks. four doses of low dose methotrexate will be given intravenously. the methotrexate will be given on the day after the transplant, 3, 6 and 11 days after the transplant. if the gvhd cannot be controlled with fk506, other medicines may need to be given. the doctor will describe these medicines at that time. blood samples for research : to study how these cells are working in the patients system, blood samples will be taken each month for six months, at nine months, at one year, 2 years and 3 years following transplant.


small cetacean species may not survive another decade warns new landmark publication iucn - the world conservation union, gland, switzerland, 14. 05. 03. a new publication on the status of the world ' s cetaceans - whales, dolphins and porpoises, offers a stark warning that the smaller, lesser - known species such as the baiji ( or yangtze river dolphin ) may not survive the next decade. dolphins, whales and porpoises : 2002 - 2010 conservation action plan for the world ' s cetaceans, is an authoritative, benchmark publication providing the latest information on the status of cetaceans worldwide while recommending actions that could help save the most threatened species. as a guiding document for all those involved in cetacean conservation, it will be used by scientists in the field and academic institutions, as well as those making critical decisions about the future of these species and their habitats. this new publication is the most recent of three action plans compiled by the cetacean specialist group ( csg ) of iucn ' s species survival commission during the past 15 years. the group has over 75 members worldwide contributing significant experience and expertise to the growing pool of knowledge about cetaceans. this action plan provides scientific information about the current status of cetaceans worldwide ; identifies threats to their survival and ways to further understand and assess these threats ; and recommends specific conservation actions. with ongoing revision and debate about how they should be classified, there are currently 86 recognised cetacean species. these animals live in a variety of habitats, from the high seas far beyond the national jurisdiction of any country, to the shallow freshwater rivers, lakes and coastal waters of southern asia and south america. some species are highly migratory, requiring vast areas of ocean to move between feeding and calving waters, whilst others reside in particular sections of rivers and coastal waters. " some of the great whales such as the blue, humpback, sperm and right whales often receive a lot of attention. they are magnificent animals, and certainly important to the csg ' s mission. the group focuses, however, on smaller species, often lesser - known and in developing countries, that are particularly threatened with extinction, " says dr randall reeves, chair of the csg. swimming against extinction to date, humans have not caused the extinction of any cetacean species. this claim may not hold true for much longer though. according to former csg chair, william f. perrin, " it seems unlikely that the bai


swimming against extinction to date, humans have not caused the extinction of any cetacean species. this claim may not hold true for much longer though. according to former csg chair, william f. perrin, " it seems unlikely that the baiji [ or yangtze dolphin, lipotes vexillifer ] will still be around when the next new action plan is formulated eight or ten years from now ". the baiji, a freshwater dolphin with its distribution now limited to the main channel of the yangtze river in china, is considered the most endangered cetacean. from surveys conducted in 1985 and 1986, the total baiji population was guessed to number around 300 animals. between 1997 and 1999, extensive surveys sighted only 21 - 23 dolphins. the new action plan states that there may be no more than a few tens of yangtze dolphins in existence. of the species / populations that have been assessed against the iucn red list of threatened species criteria, the baiji, vaquita ( gulf of california porpoise, phocoena sinus ), and several geographical populations of whales and dolphins are categorised as critically endangered. northern hemisphere right whales ( eubalaena glacialis and e. japonica ), the blue whale ( balaenoptera musculus ), hector ' s dolphin ( cephalorhynchus hectori ) and ganges / indus river dolphins ( platanista gangetica ) are listed as endangered. there are others yet to be formally assessed, some of which are known to be in serious danger of extinction. threats facing cetaceans the first cetacean action plan, published in 1988, expanded awareness of not only the great whales ( the 14 recognised baleen species and the toothed sperm whale ), but also the approximately 70 species of smaller and medium - sized species. in 1994, the second action plan emphasised the vulnerability of freshwater and coastal cetacean populations, highlighting their geographically restricted ranges and dependence on resources also used by humans. perrin sees a glimmer of conservation success, but notes that urgent action is warranted to deal with the extinction crisis facing particular species and populations. " some progress has been made, but as the present plan testifies, grave threats to the continued existence of many cetaceans still exist, and some threats are worsening, " says perrin. " cetacean diversity, like all biodiversity worldwide, is crumbling so we must redouble our efforts, " he concludes. traditional threats


existence of many cetaceans still exist, and some threats are worsening, " says perrin. " cetacean diversity, like all biodiversity worldwide, is crumbling so we must redouble our efforts, " he concludes. traditional threats to cetaceans such as the deliberate killing of some species for food and predator control continue. these are increasingly accompanied by additional threats : animals die from entanglement in fishing gear ; collisions with powered vessels injure and kill cetaceans ; some species are targeted to supply the demand from oceanaria for live animals ; changing ecosystem dynamics resulting from either industrial or intensive artisanal fishing may be depleting food sources for some species ; activities such as the construction of dams, irrigation infrastructure, and aquaculture facilities degrade habitat ; in addition to longstanding concerns about acoustic disturbance, new types of military sonar apparently can cause lethal trauma to deep - diving cetaceans. cautious optimism for some populations whilst recognising that the status of many cetaceans is worsening and threats to their survival are in many cases increasing, cautious optimism is now being expressed about the effectiveness of past and ongoing conservation actions for some populations of great whales. right and bowhead whales have been protected from commercial whaling under international law since 1935, gray whales since 1946, and humpback whales ( megaptera novaeangliae ) and blue whales since the mid - 1960s. add to this the continuing worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling which took effect in 1986, and it appears that a lot of work has been done by many individuals over the years to achieve effective conservation measures for cetaceans across the globe. despite the fact that many thousands of right, blue, and humpback whales were taken illegally in the southern ocean and north pacific during the 1950s and 1960s ( in some cases putting populations of these species in jeopardy ), several populations of southern right whales ( eubalaena australis ), humpbacks in many areas, gray whales in the eastern north pacific, and blue whales in both the eastern north pacific and central north atlantic have begun to show signs of recovery. recommendations for action " over the past 15 years, it has become clear that, in certain cases, existing scientific evidence is sufficient to justify, or indeed require, immediate action. the csg therefore decided to include a number of recommendations in this action plan that go beyond research ; these address specific actions that need to be taken to promote the recovery of species or populations immediately threatened with extinction, " says dr reeves


, immediate action. the csg therefore decided to include a number of recommendations in this action plan that go beyond research ; these address specific actions that need to be taken to promote the recovery of species or populations immediately threatened with extinction, " says dr reeves. amongst others in the publication, recommendations include actions to prevent injury to the baiji from snag - line and electric fishing ; eliminate fishing methods that take vaquitas as bycatch throughout their range ; and for the hector ' s dolphin, endemic to new zealand, increase the size of existing protected areas to include the harbours and bays in the north island sanctuary, and also extend the offshore boundaries for both sanctuaries. dolphins, whales and porpoises : 2002 - 2010 conservation action plan for the world ' s cetaceans is available electronically on this site in. pdf and can be purchased in hard copy from the iucn world conservation bookstore http : / / www. iucn. org / bookstore / ; email : firstname. lastname @ example. org ; tel : + 44 1223 277894 ; fax + 44 1223 277175. read more on the website of the wildlife conservation society, a key partner in production of the action plan. for more information contact : dr randall reeves, chair, iucn / ssc cetacean specialist group and action plan co - author tel : + 1 450 458 6685 ( canada ) fax : + 1 450 458 7383 brian smith - csg asia coordinator and action plan co - author tel : + 66 ( 76 ) 383 144 ( thailand ) email : email @ example. com or firstname. lastname @ example. org andrew mcmullin - communications officer - species programme iucn - the world conservation union tel : + 41 ( 0 ) 22 9990153 fax : + 41 ( 0 ) 22 9990015


the introduction to this series of posts can be found here. articulation, or speech sound production, is the part of a speech - language pathologist ’ s job that the public is most aware of. when we tell the majority of lay people what we do for a living, they assume we spend our days working with kids on their / l /, / r / and / s / sounds, and when children are referred to us due to concerns about language development, we often have a lot to explain about the breadth of our expertise. no matter what our areas of expertise, most of us spend at least some of our time working with children on articulation. there are some terrific ipad apps dedicated to assisting children in their articulation development. while there are many apps that families can use at home to improve their children ’ s communication, these dedicated apps are more appropriate for use under supervision of a trained clinician in a therapy session. why would a speech - language pathologist work on articulation using an ipad? for one thing the device makes the clinician ’ s job substantially easier in that it holds a great many pictures, replacing the boxes of ( typically ) outdated picture cards that often sit on our shelves, and it makes it very simple to collect and share data. further, kids are highly motivated by the interactive, hands - on nature of the device. however, there is absolutely no reason to purchase more than one dedicated articulation app for your clients – choose carefully to make sure that the app you invest in will work for the majority of the kids you see. the articulation app i have been using the most in my work this past year is artikpix. articpix allows you to customize the flashcards you use in practice and then in a matching game. the graphics are simple drawings, similar to mayer - johnson symbols. after selecting target phoneme ( s ), the clinician can select which word position will be practiced ( e. g., you can create an activity that includes / s / in initial word position and medial / l / ). when the child taps the screen, the word is clearly pronounced. the child can tap a microphone icon to record him or herself repeating the word, and then listen to it. this immediate feedback is wonderful. the clinician then taps the smiley face or frown face to collect data on accuracy. there are “ yay! ” and “ awww … ” sounds that correspond with these, but you can also turn those sounds


this immediate feedback is wonderful. the clinician then taps the smiley face or frown face to collect data on accuracy. there are “ yay! ” and “ awww … ” sounds that correspond with these, but you can also turn those sounds off in settings. however, the child can see how you judged their production and with older children, i ’ ll ask them to rate their own productions that way. the latest update of artikpix allows the clinician to collect data easily for up to four students in a group. the app saves your data for each child ( and any notes you have added on that session ). you can share results by email. for $ 29. 99 you can purchase the “ full ” version which comes with 21 card decks of 40 cards for each phoneme – there are close to 1, 000 total articulation cards. click here for a complete description. we did not purchase the full version at our office. we downloaded the free artikpix app and we purchase individual phoneme decks for $ 1. 99 each as needed. it is possible to download extra decks of cards from within the app so it ’ s very quick and easy. since we see a small number of children for speech sound production, this worked well for us, but if you are working with many kids who have a variety of error sounds, it would be more cost effective to purchase the full version. this app does not target phonological processes, but the developer created an additional app to address this. phonopix - full can be purchased separately for $ 24. 99. here is a video of a client working with one of my graduate student clinicians on his / l / sound using artikpix : i recently purchased articulate it! for my ipad. articulate it! was developed by smarty ears, whose wide variety of apps are created by a speech - language pathologist. this app includes all english phonemes and over 1, 200 photo cards. similar to artikpix, the clinician can collect data and share it ( but more easily, in a clear graph form, and you can opt to include the client ’ s recordings in your email ). additionally, the clinician can choose targets based on phoneme, phonological processes ( e. g., fronting, stopping, initial consonant deletion, to name a few ), or manner of articulation ( e. g., fricatives, glides, nasals ). again,


with the ipad, but the general idea is that the child chooses a background theme and characters ( or draws their own! ), and then uses the structured narrative arc to create and narrate his or her own story. after creating each scene, the child has an opportunity to choose appropriate background music that fits the mood of the scene ( e. g., scary, happy, excited ). for our older clients we usually incorporate all pieces of the story arc, but with younger children like this one we stick to a beginning, middle, and ending by deleting some steps within the app. kids love it and it ’ s been a really fun way to move into less structured articulation practice! if the clinician and child want to share the story, it can be uploaded to the toontastic website. before doing so, i make sure that the child ’ s identification is protected. in any therapy, the ipad is only as creative as you are. toontastic illustrates an important point about use of the ipad in speech therapy, which is that you can go light years beyond dedicated speech apps in therapy if you use your natural creativity as a clinician. if you are able to think outside the box without the ipad, you ’ ll be able to do the same with it. it is simply another tool in your toolbox. you can have as much success with apps that were never intended for therapy as with dedicated ones like artikpix or articulate it! in addition to activities like toontastic, you might engage a child in drawing a series of nice, long / s / sounds while producing the “ sssssss ”, using a free app like draw, or you could work with a young child on a puzzle in an app like puzzld!, targeting all the / s / words in it. the sky ’ s the limit! please feel free to share your experiences with these apps – and any others you ’ ve tried – when remediating articulation and phonology difficulties in a pediatric population! stay tuned for a summary of our favorite ipad apps for language remediation! jordan sadler, ms, ccc / slp, is a speech - language pathologist and has been the director of communication therapy, p. c. since 2004. she loves finding new ways to bring the ipad into therapy sessions and helping families find useful apps for home and community settings.


join hundreds of early years practitioners in the tes early years group. find lesson ideas and inspiration, share best practice and get your questions answered by your peers. what age group? what ' s wrong with paper and pencils? give them a variety of paper and writing implements to choose in your writing area, include different colours and sizes, post - it notes, envelopes, rolls of paper etc. and access to glue sticks, sellotape, paper clips. have clipboards and pens or pencils, post its, notebooks, exercise books, etc. placed in all your other areas so they can writie while they are there. at the moment i ' ve got scrolls made from paper discoloured with tea bags and rolled up in my castle role play along with a quill pen made from a feather taped to a biro. i ' ve got a clipboard next to some castle and knights small world play and they use it for noting down the score between two sets of knights, i haven ' t been able to fathom their rules yet but never mind! i ' ve got small world superhero characters made from laminated photos of some of the boys dressed up and mounted on wooden blocks placed on my author ' s table with appropriate vocabulary and small blank books for them to write in, these are well used. laminated photos of other children are mixed with the wooden fairytale characters in a fairytale small world setting along with a clipboard, i haven ' t had much writing in that area yet but a lot of verbal story telling. don ' t forget paper on clipboards, long rolls of wallpaper as well as whiteboards and pens, chalkboards and large chalks for writing on the ground outside. in the past i ' ve had paper and a plastic bottle near pirate small world play and they used it for writing messages. it was hard getting the scrunched up paper out of the bottle but certain reluctant boys improved rapidly. most important - celebrate any writing that they do. share it with the class - praise the letter formation, the quantity, the firm positive pencil strokes, the attempt at using letter sounds, anything positive at all - the other children will take their cue from this and want to get in on it. i agree with inkyp mashed potato is fun and so is paint and sand and mud and... but in reception they need to use pen / pencil and paper and sometimes reluctant boys have to do things they don ' t automatically choose. it ' s not what they use to mark


is fun and so is paint and sand and mud and... but in reception they need to use pen / pencil and paper and sometimes reluctant boys have to do things they don ' t automatically choose. it ' s not what they use to mark make with it ' s giving it a purpose that is important and why any child chooses to write. our nursery boys were very taken with paper sellotaped to the underside of tables. they lay on cushions and had a lot of fun - good for hand strength too. letter formation is of prime importance [ sorry to state the obvious ] in reception and you need something a lot more structured and, yes, monitor - able than vague squishy activities if you want to make sure it ' s developing well. inkypwhat ' s wrong with paper and pencils? mszbut in reception they need to use pen / pencil and paper and sometimes reluctant boys have to do things they don ' t automatically choose. i think you need to be clear whether you want exciting mark making activities or you want to encourage reluctant boys to engage in writing ( emergent or more structured ) because however exciting the mark making is it is not going to make boys want to write only to make marks, which is fine in itself as it develops lots of skills. hi some ideas i use in my room are ; taping down wall paper and giving a selection of mark making tools - they love this as they feel there writing on the table. clip boards everywhere especially in the construction area as they make plans for their models. coloured sand in shallow trays to use paint brushes / fingers etc. magnifying glasses outside to hunt for words and write them. home corner - shopping lists, copying out of catalogues, telephone numbers from the phone book etc. we put crates tyers and police fancy dress costumes outside and they loved writing the names of who they caught and writing a sign for their police station. and lots of other random bits and pieces that work with our daily routines in rec. msz i think you need to be clear whether you want exciting mark making activities or you want to encourage reluctant boys to engage in writing ( emergent or more structured ) because however exciting the mark making is it is not going to make boys want to write only to make marks, which is fine in itself as it develops lots of skills. had you said that was what you wanted i would have posted ideas for mark making unfortunately they won ' t encourage relucatant boys to want to write! korunot interested in


, which is fine in itself as it develops lots of skills. had you said that was what you wanted i would have posted ideas for mark making unfortunately they won ' t encourage relucatant boys to want to write! korunot interested in a debate come on, koru - the debate is needed and one day you ' ll join in with alacrity. why are you not interested in debate? should we not be quetioning our practice? i ' m so pleased we aren ' t alone in having enthusiastic boys when it comes to reading and writing. " driving " the toy cars through paint then driving them around the paper. ~ or wheeled vehicles outdoors sponge pan scourers in paint. or large sponge floor mops bubble wrap is good - get them to paint the bubbly side then lay a sheet of paper on top. painting with decorators brushes shaving brushes are good in paint, easier than paint brushes for little hands, feathers in paint roll tyres / balls through paint sticks and mud washing up liquid bottles with water or watery paint plant sprays and paint top of page tes editorial © 2012 tsl education ltd. all pages of the website are reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any material on the website for any commercial purposes. tsl education ltd registered in england ( no 02017289 ) at 26 red lion square, london, wc1r 4hq


the classic free - speech axiom is that the cure for bad speech is more speech. this article considers the possible social costs of speech, focusing on speech strategies that impede and degrade change, even if the speech itself is socially acceptable. this article introduces the clucking theorem, which states that human nature unnecessarily inflates the costs of processes related to proposed legal changes. clucking is a form of externality — it is an action that inflates the social costs associated with discourse over a new or revised norm. it also alters transitions, degrades the quality of reforms, impedes certain changes, and facilitates undesirable transitions. this article ’ s inquiry into the characteristics of clucking is supported by a qualitative study of debates and disputes over changes to backyard chicken laws in more than one hundred localities between 2007 and 2010. this study emphasizes that certain clucking characteristics are unrelated to the substance of the issue at stake, the size of the population, or the innovation in the proposed change. in synthesizing the study, this article identifies five categories of individuals who engage in clucking : losers, winners, status quo enforcers, political opportunists, and human roosters. finally, this article stresses that civility norms and procedural rules are viable means to reduce the social costs of clucking. a supplement to this article is available here.


history of border walls in the u. s. and around the world much of the 3, 000 - mile ( 4, 828kilometer ) great wall of china was constructed during the ming dynasty ( 1368 - 1644 ) [ see timeline of chinese history ] to prevent attacks from rival forces, although officials as early as the fifth century bce also built sections of this and other walls. the roman empire was protected by natural barriers, including rivers in europe and the sahara desert in north africa. however, when the roman emperor hadrian ( 76 - 138ce ) visited britain in 122 ce, he ordered a stone wall built to protect this more vulnerable northern boundary. hadrian ' s wall stretched across england for over 73 miles ( 117 kilometers ) and was as thick as 10 feet ( 3 meters ). [ see list of roman emperors ] during world war ii, the nazis forced hundreds of thousands of polish jews into a small area of warsaw and contained them with a wall. within the walled territory, which was known as the warsaw ghetto, disease, starvation, and other pitiful conditions spread. the warsaw ghetto became a symbol of severe repression throughout the world during the mid - twentieth century. the 96 - mile ( 154 - kilometer ), nearly 12 - foot ( 3. 6 - meter ) high berlin wall built in 1961 by the communist german democratic republic ( gdr ) divided east berlin from west berlin. the wall effectively prevented most citizens in the east from defecting to the west until 1989, when the cold war ended and the wall was demolished. in 1986, congress passed, and president reagan signed the immigration reform and control act ( irca ), granting lawful permanent residence to 2. 7 million people. instead of ending the flow of illegal immigration, it actually caused a brief spike, as family members of the newly legal residents entered the country illegally. within a decade, the number of illegal immigrants was back to more than five million. in 1990, the united states constructed a 66 - mile ( 106 - kilometer ) fence along the california coast from san diego to the pacific ocean to deter illegal immigration. arrests of illegal immigrants in the san diego region declined sharply as a result of the fence, but increased nearly 600 percent in arizona, where the number of accidental deaths also climbed as mexicans attempted to traverse the harsh desert environment. in 1996, president bill clinton signed the illegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act. the act increased fines for illegal aliens, provided additional funding for border patrol and surveillance, and also approved the installation of an additional 14 - mile


traverse the harsh desert environment. in 1996, president bill clinton signed the illegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act. the act increased fines for illegal aliens, provided additional funding for border patrol and surveillance, and also approved the installation of an additional 14 - mile ( 22 - kilometer ) fence near san diego. some landowners in arizona, new mexico, and texas erected their own fences, often with the help of militia, but no permanent barrier had been constructed by the government in these areas until recently. the secure fence act, signed by president george w. bush in 2006, promised 700 miles ( 1, 126 kilometers ) of fencing along the u. s. - mexico border ; however, lawsuits and protests from citizen groups halted construction. the sierra club and defenders of wildlife filed a lawsuit challenging the ability of the bush administration to waive important environmental regulations in order to build the wall on the san pedro riparian national conservation area in arizona. these regulations include the endangered species act, the clean water act, and the migratory bird treaty act. in october 2007, a u. s. district court sided with the organizations and stopped construction. many members of the tohono o ' odham nation in arizona also protest a section of the barrier being built on their reservation, especially since they claim they were not first consulted by the bush administration. the tohono o ' odham have members who live on each side of the border and consider both countries their home. they value the ability to cross the border unimpeded, but also express frustration at the problems that illegal immigrants bring to their reservation. bodies are found almost daily, as people die from exposure to the harsh desert climate or are killed by smugglers. a virtual wall may offer a compromise for some residents who live along the border ; such a wall was among the requests put forth by representative raul grijalva ( d - az ), who introduced the borderlands conservation and security act ( hr 2593 ) in 2007. the bill would mitigate some of problems cited by critics of the secure fence act. virtual walls are not without controversy. some americans who live in areas in which high - tech surveillance is used complain of the invasion of privacy caused by cameras and other equipment, and safety issues related to using laser, radar, and biometric technology.


the seasat - a scatterometer ( sass ) was designed to measure the near - surface wind field over the ocean by inferring the wind from measurements of the surface radar backscatter. while backscatter measurements were also made over land, they have been primarily used for the calibration of the instrument. this has been due in part to the low resolution of the scatterometer measurements ( nominally 50 km ). in a separate paper the present authors introduced a new method for generating enhanced resolution radar measurements of the earth ' s surface using spaceborne scatterometry. in the present paper, the method is used with sass data to study vegetation classification over the extended amazon basin using the resulting medium - scale radar images. the remarkable correlation between the ku - band radar images and vegetation formations is explored, and the results of several successful experiments to classify the general vegetation classes using the image data are presented. the results demonstrate the utility of medium - scale radar imagery in the study of tropical vegetation and permit utilization of both historic and contemporary scatterometer data for studies of global change. because the scatterometer provides frequent, wide - area coverage at a variety of incidence angles, it can supplement higher resolution instruments which often have narrow swaths with limited coverage and incidence angle diversity. ( c ) 1994 ieee. personal use of this material is permitted. however, permission to reprint / republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the ieee. ;


philippines – the coconut country philippines, in southeast asia, is also known as the republic of the philippines. the country covers an area of 299, 700 square kilometers and has a population of 82. 7 million, of which 85 % are malay. other groups include indonesians, chinese and so on. residents are catholic. filipino is the language, and english is also spoken. the currency is the peso. the capital is manila ( manila ). a white equilateral triangle is located to the side, inside of which there is a yellow sun, with yellow five - pointed stars at the corners. the right side of the flag is blue and red, usually blue over the red after the last war. as the sun represents freedom, eight represents the initial eight provinces and the rest represents other provinces. the three five - pointed stars symbolize the three regions : lu case, samar, and mindanao. blue symbolizes loyalty, honesty, and integrity, and red symbolizes courage, while the white symbolizes peace and purity. the philippines was originally a number of indigenous tribes, separatists from the kingdom of malay. in 1521, magellan led a spanish expedition to the philippines. spain occupied the philippines in 1565 and ruled the philippines for over 300 years. on june 12, 1898, the philippines declared independence, establishing the republic of the philippines. in the same year, the united states and spain, after their war, signed a " paris treaty " concerning the occupation of the philippines. in 1942, the philippines were occupied by japan. after " world war ii, " the philippines once again became a u. s. colony. on july 4, 1946, the united states was forced to agree to the independence of the philippines. economic and cultural customs the economy dominated by agriculture, with 20 % of the population involved in agriculture. coconut, sugar cane, tobacco, and ge ma are the four agricultural specialties of the philippines. one fifth or more of the population is directly involved in the coconut industry. ge ma fiber is solid and resistant to seawater corrosion, an excellent raw material for marine cables. northern luzon cigars are made of tobacco leaf produced in the phillipines and are world - renowned. industry is primarily in the manufacturing, mining, fuel, and power sectors. philippines flowers are said to be the " garden island " and " pacific fruit plate. " lush fruit, such as coconut, mango, pineapple, durian and other fruits are delicious. filipinos love to wear bright colors and a simple skirt -


philippines flowers are said to be the " garden island " and " pacific fruit plate. " lush fruit, such as coconut, mango, pineapple, durian and other fruits are delicious. filipinos love to wear bright colors and a simple skirt - like sarong, and they also love to sing and dance, especially the opening and closing jump of the bamboo pole dance. a popular pastime is cock fighting on sundays and holidays ; it is legal in the cock - fighting the coconut palace is a large modern building constructed using coconut. reclamation of the new district is located in manila. of hexagonal roof construction, a total of 2000 trees were used for more than 70 years of age at the completion of the palace. the roof was built using coconut wood, while a coconut column was constructed of dry wall made of coconut fiber ( shell hair ) and cement. bricks and doors are inlaid with coconut shell pieces in the composition of 4000 geometric patterns. lamps, chandeliers, floor clocks, and the dining table are made from coconut shell. the palace has a restaurant with a dining table inlaid with 47, 000 pieces of different shapes of coconut shell. using a coconut tree for the raw material for carpet, furniture, handicrafts and so on is fascinating. the palace has 150 coconut trees planted around it, and with forest green grass, flowers and trees, it is a unique delight. bana wei titian in northern luzon in the philippines, in ifugao province, there is a mountain with rice terraces that are more than 2000 years old. ancient working people transformed this with their hands. the mountain is steep, and the terraces were constructed through ancient hard work. the two to four meters high outer terrace is built of huge stone blocks, with a the total amount of material larger than the pyramids of egypt. with a total height of 2, 400 meters, its majesty is crazy. according to statistics, the total length of the irrigation canals on the terraced mountain are thousands of meters above 1. 9, almost a half circle around the earth ' s equator. on the southeastern tip of luzon is the philippines largest active volcano, one of the most famous in the world. rising 2416 meters above sea level, the perimeter is 138 km. the top of the conical volcano was hailed as " the world ' s most perfect volcanic cone. " it stands in the middle of green rice fields and plains and is covered with coconut trees. is the mountain is majestic, tall, and straight. during the day, the volcano is


what is a cyborg? revision as of 00 : 15, 24 december 2010 by caseorganic anything that is an external prosthetic device creates one into a cyborg. the idea of a cell phone being a technosocial object that enables an actor ( user ) to communicate with other actors ( users ) on a network ( information exchange and connectivity ) makes one into what david hess calls low - tech cyborgs : " i think about how almost everyone in urban societies could be seen as a low - tech cyborg, because they spend large parts of the day connected to machines such as cars, telephones, computers, and, of course, televisions. i ask the cyborg anthropologist if a system of a person watching a tv might constitute a cyborg. ( when i watch tv, i feel like a homeostatic system functioning unconsciously. ) i also think sometimes there is a fusion of identities between myself and the black box " ( gray, 373 ). types of cyborgs " according to the editors of the cyborg handbook, cyborg technologies take four different forms : restorative, normalizing, reconfiguring, and enhancing ( gray, 3 ). cyborg translators are currently thought of almost exclusively as enhancing : improving existing translation processes by speeding them up, making them more reliable and cost - effective. and there is no reason why cyborg translation should be anything more than enhancing ". source : cyborg translation consumptive vs. necessitative prosthetics i ' d additionally define two additional types of cyborgs based on consumptive practices : those who attach prosthetics as a necessity, and those who attach them as an external representation of status and tribal affiliation. in the latter case, one ' s external prosthesis is chosen carefully and updated frequently. this is most often seen in middle classes, especially in the young offspring of these classes. other specialized cyborg types : 1. cyborgs actually do exist ; about 10 % of the current u. s. population are estimated to be cyborgs in the technical sense, including people with electronic pacemakers, artificial joints, drug implant systems, implanted corneal lenses, and artificial skin. a much higher percentage participates in occupations that make them into metaphoric cyborgs, including the computer keyboarder joined in a cybernetic circuit with the screen, the neurosurgeon guided by fiber optic microscopy during an operation, and the teen gameplayer in the local videogame arc


them into metaphoric cyborgs, including the computer keyboarder joined in a cybernetic circuit with the screen, the neurosurgeon guided by fiber optic microscopy during an operation, and the teen gameplayer in the local videogame arcarde. " terminal identity " scott bukatman has named this condition, calling it an " unmistakably doubled articulation " that signals the end of traditional concepts of identity even as it points toward the cybernetic loop that generates a new kind of subjectivity ( gray, 322 ). 2. this merging of the evolved and the developed, this integration of the constructor and the constructed, these systems of dying flesh and undead circuits, and of living and artificial cells. have been called many things : bionic systems, vital machines, cyborgs. they are a central figure of the late twentieth century.... but the story of cyborgs is not just a tale told around the glow of the televised fire. there are many actual cyborgs among us in society. anyone with an artificial organ, limb or supplement ( like a pacemaker ), anyone reprogrammed to resist disease ( immunized ) or drugged to think / behave / feel better ( psychopharmacology ) is technically a cyborg. the range of these intimate human - machine relationships is mind - boggling. it ' s not just robocop, it is our grandmother with a pacemaker ( gray, 322 ). - george p. landow, professor of english and art history, brown university. in " cyborgology : constructing the knowledge of cybernetic organisms " - - the introduction to the ( gray, introduction ), four classes of cyborg are described : the latter category seeks to construct everything from factories controlled by a handful of " worker - pilots " and infantrymen in mind - controlled exoskeletons to the dream many computer scientists have - downloading their consciousness into immortal computers ( gray, 3 ).


type 1 diabetes tied to thinner bones study : women with type 1 diabetes may need early bone density test jan. 27, 2006 - - women with type 1 diabetes may want to consider getting their bone density checked before menopause, researchers report. the scientists studied bone density in women with and without type 1 diabetes. their finding : women with type 1 diabetes tended to have thinner bone and more bone fractures. thinner bone is at higher risk to break and can be a sign of developing osteoporosis, in which bone density dips dangerously low. think of the difference between a thin, brittle twig and a thick, firm tree branch - - denser is better to avoid a sudden snap. the university of pittsburgh ' s elsa strotmeyer, phd, and colleagues conducted the study, which appears in diabetes care. osteoporosis usually strikes later in life. in women, it ' s typically seen after menopause. men can also develop osteoporosis, but strotmeyer ' s study only included women. participants were 67 women with type 1 diabetes and 237 women without diabetes. the women were 33 - 55 years old and had not gone through menopause. the researchers checked the women ' s height, weight, and bone density. the women also completed surveys about health habits that can help bones ( such as weight - bearing exercise ) or hurt bones ( such as smoking, heavy drinking, use of certain medications, and skimping on calcium and vitamin d ). weaker bones with type 1 diabetes even after adjusting for those factors, women with type 1 diabetes had lower bone density than those without diabetes. in addition, a third of women with type 1 diabetes reported having a bone fracture after age 20, compared with less than a quarter of those without diabetes. it ' s not known if the results apply to men or to people with type 2 diabetes, since they weren ' t included in the study. most people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, which usually starts later in life than type 1 diabetes. for instance, in strotmeyer ' s study, women with type 1 diabetes had been diagnosed at age 10, on average, and had had type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years. bone density tests to measure the women ' s bone density, the researchers used a dexa ( dual - energy x - ray absorptiometry ) machine. the machine checked the women ' s overall bone density as well as the density of their hips, neck, and spine. bone density peaks in the


pet care : cats nutrition for the cancer patient cancer is a disease that most of us are familiar with. we are either survivors or know someone who is a survivor or someone who lost the battle with this dreadful disease. most of the cancers that affect people can also affect our beloved furry companions. as dogs and cats live longer and longer, they are more likely to develop cancer. recently, investigations into dietary effects on the survival of pets battling cancer have been made. there is some interesting study about certain cancers and how they are affected by nutrition. pets with cancer often develop a condition called cancer cachexia. this simply means that the pet is losing body condition despite adequate calorie intake. pets that are undergoing chemotherapy may not feel very well and may not eat as well as they should. chemotherapy in pets is much different than it is for humans. much lower doses are used so they don ’ t lose their hair and are seldom ill with vomiting. keeping pets that are ill ( no matter what is causing their illness ) in good body condition helps them recover more quickly. composition of the diet plays a role in this equation. cancers are most able to use carbohydrates as an energy source, so low carbohydrate diets are best for cancer patients. diets are made up of protein, fat, moisture, ash, fiber, and carbohydrates. in traditional pet foods, carbohydrates make up the biggest percentage of the diet. if we lower the percentage of carbohydrates, we must add higher percentages of some other category or categories. we don ’ t want to raise the ash or fiber, so this leaves protein, fat, and moisture. most dry pet foods are less than 10 % moisture to help prevent mold from developing in the bag. so, raising the moisture is not really an option either. protein and fat are typically the two nutrients that are present in higher quantities. this helps the patient by restricting carbohydrates that are available to the cancer. increasing the fat content helps provide more calories to the pet to help prevent cancer cachexia. fat is also the nutrient that cancer cells are least able to use for energy. omega - 3 fatty acids are important for keeping many systems of the body in ideal condition. these important substances are known to inhibit the growth of tumors and enhance the body ’ s ability to fight the cancer by stimulating the immune system. many pet foods contain ratios of omega - 6 fatty acids to omega - 3 fatty acids of 5 : 1 to


these important substances are known to inhibit the growth of tumors and enhance the body ’ s ability to fight the cancer by stimulating the immune system. many pet foods contain ratios of omega - 6 fatty acids to omega - 3 fatty acids of 5 : 1 to 10 : 1. recommended for cancer patients is a ratio as low as 3 : 1. therefore, a supplement of omega - 3 fatty acids may be required. arginine is an amino acid that is essential for cats and conditionally essential for dogs. this means that cats must obtain arginine from their diets, while dogs require it in their diets only in certain situations. cancer may just be one of those situations. arginine enhances the immune system by stimulating t - cells ( one of the types of cells that is responsible for attacking foreign invaders ). the mechanism behind this is not very well understood. arginine may also suppress tumor growth, like omega - 3 fatty acids. vitamins may affect cancer as well, particularly the antioxidant vitamins a, c and e. the vitamin a family may be responsible for impeding the cancer ’ s ability to develop new cells. vitamin c is a water - soluble vitamin that has been studied extensively. despite the numerous studies, there is little scientific proof that vitamin c is as effective as many people believe. vitamin e is the most promising of the three vitamins, with scientific proof that it interferes with cancer and enhances the immune system. minerals have beneficial and detrimental effects on the cancer patient. selenium and zinc have the ability to block the development of cancer in rodents. iron is required by most cancers to grow and multiply. so, restricting iron intake may help slow the process. it is critical to provide the patient with adequate calories and nutrition to maintain body condition. this may not be possible without other methods of feeding ( besides oral ). tubes can be placed into the esophagus, stomach, or directly into the small intestine to provide nutrients directly to the gastrointestinal tract. this is especially true in cases of mouth cancer or facial cancer. working closely with a veterinarian to develop a treatment plan is critical. focusing on nutrition is just as important as the surgical or medical treatments that are involved. please note that this information does not replace professional veterinary care. it is solely for educational purposes. your pet ' s medical condition should be evaluated by a veterinarian before any medical decisions are implemented. if there is a potentially life - threatening emergency involving your pet,


| a children ' s mummer ' s parade, as on the fourth of july, with prizes for the best costumes. | | a fool or simpleton ; ninny. | | the science or occupation of cultivating land and rearing crops and livestock ; farming ; husbandryrelated : geoponic | | [ c17 : from latin agricultura, from ager field, land + cultura | | agriculture ( ag ' ri - kul ' chər ) pronunciation key the science of cultivating land, producing crops, and raising livestock. tilling the ground ( gen. 2 : 15 ; 4 : 2, 3, 12 ) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. the egyptians excelled in agriculture. and after the israelites entered into the possession of the promised land, their circumstances favoured in the highest degree a remarkable development of this art. agriculture became indeed the basis of the mosaic commonwealth. the year in palestine was divided into six agricultural periods : - i. sowing time. tisri, latter half ( beginning about the autumnal equinox. ) marchesvan. kisleu, former half. early rain due = first showers of autumn. ii. unripe time. kisleu, latter half. tebet. sebat, former half. iii. cold season. sebat, latter half. adar. [ veadar. ] nisan, former half. latter rain due ( deut. 11 : 14 ; jer. 5 : 24 ; hos. 6 : 3 ; zech. 10 : 1 ; james 5 : 7 ; job 29 : 23 ). iv. harvest time. nisan, latter half. ( beginning about vernal equinox. barley green. passover. ) ijar. sivan, former half., wheat ripe. pentecost. v. summer ( total absence of rain ) sivan, latter half. tammuz. ab, former half. vi. sultry season ab, latter half. elul. tisri, former half., ingathering of fruits. the six months from the middle of tisri to the middle of nisan were occupied with the work of cultivation, and the rest of the year mainly with the gathering in of the fruits. the extensive and easily - arranged system of irrigation from the rills and streams from the mountains made the soil in every part of palestine richly productive ( ps. 1 : 3 ; 65 : 10 ; prov


mainly with the gathering in of the fruits. the extensive and easily - arranged system of irrigation from the rills and streams from the mountains made the soil in every part of palestine richly productive ( ps. 1 : 3 ; 65 : 10 ; prov. 21 : 1 ; isa. 30 : 25 ; 32 : 2, 20 ; hos. 12 : 11 ), and the appliances of careful cultivation and of manure increased its fertility to such an extent that in the days of solomon, when there was an abundant population, " 20, 000 measures of wheat year by year " were sent to hiram in exchange for timber ( 1 kings 5 : 11 ), and in large quantities also wheat was sent to the tyrians for the merchandise in which they traded ( ezek. 27 : 17 ). the wheat sometimes produced an hundredfold ( gen. 26 : 12 ; matt. 13 : 23 ). figs and pomegranates were very plentiful ( num. 13 : 23 ), and the vine and the olive grew luxuriantly and produced abundant fruit ( deut. 33 : 24 ). lest the productiveness of the soil should be exhausted, it was enjoined that the whole land should rest every seventh year, when all agricultural labour would entirely cease ( lev. 25 : 1 - 7 ; deut. 15 : 1 - 10 ). it was forbidden to sow a field with divers seeds ( deut. 22 : 9 ). a passer - by was at liberty to eat any quantity of corn or grapes, but he was not permitted to carry away any ( deut. 23 : 24, 25 ; matt. 12 : 1 ). the poor were permitted to claim the corners of the fields and the gleanings. a forgotten sheaf in the field was to be left also for the poor. ( see lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; deut. 24 : 19. ) agricultural implements and operations. the sculptured monuments and painted tombs of egypt and assyria throw much light on this subject, and on the general operations of agriculture. ploughs of a simple construction were known in the time of moses ( deut. 22 : 10 ; comp. job 1 : 14 ). they were very light, and required great attention to keep them in the ground ( luke 9 : 62 ). they were drawn by oxen ( job 1 : 14 ), cows ( 1 sam. 6 : 7 ), and asses ( isa. 30 : 24 ) ;


required great attention to keep them in the ground ( luke 9 : 62 ). they were drawn by oxen ( job 1 : 14 ), cows ( 1 sam. 6 : 7 ), and asses ( isa. 30 : 24 ) ; but an ox and an ass must not be yoked together in the same plough ( deut. 22 : 10 ). men sometimes followed the plough with a hoe to break the clods ( isa. 28 : 24 ). the oxen were urged on by a " goad, " or long staff pointed at the end, so that if occasion arose it could be used as a spear also ( judg. 3 : 31 ; 1 sam. 13 : 21 ). when the soil was prepared, the seed was sown broadcast over the field ( matt. 13 : 3 - 8 ). the " harrow " mentioned in job 39 : 10 was not used to cover the seeds, but to break the clods, being little more than a thick block of wood. in highly irrigated spots the seed was trampled in by cattle ( isa. 32 : 20 ) ; but doubtless there was some kind of harrow also for covering in the seed scattered in the furrows of the field. the reaping of the corn was performed either by pulling it up by the roots, or cutting it with a species of sickle, according to circumstances. the corn when cut was generally put up in sheaves ( gen. 37 : 7 ; lev. 23 : 10 - 15 ; ruth 2 : 7, 15 ; job 24 : 10 ; jer. 9 : 22 ; micah 4 : 12 ), which were afterwards gathered to the threshing - floor or stored in barns ( matt. 6 : 26 ). the process of threshing was performed generally by spreading the sheaves on the threshing - floor and causing oxen and cattle to tread repeatedly over them ( deut. 25 : 4 ; isa. 28 : 28 ). on occasions flails or sticks were used for this purpose ( ruth 2 : 17 ; isa. 28 : 27 ). there was also a " threshing instrument " ( isa. 41 : 15 ; amos 1 : 3 ) which was drawn over the corn. it was called by the hebrews a moreg, a threshing roller or sledge ( 2 sam. 24 : 22 ; 1 chr. 21 : 23 ; isa. 3 : 15 ). it was somewhat like the roman


corn. it was called by the hebrews a moreg, a threshing roller or sledge ( 2 sam. 24 : 22 ; 1 chr. 21 : 23 ; isa. 3 : 15 ). it was somewhat like the roman tribulum, or threshing instrument. when the grain was threshed, it was winnowed by being thrown up against the wind ( jer. 4 : 11 ), and afterwards tossed with wooden scoops ( isa. 30 : 24 ). the shovel and the fan for winnowing are mentioned in ps. 35 : 5, job 21 : 18, isa. 17 : 13. the refuse of straw and chaff was burned ( isa. 5 : 24 ). freed from impurities, the grain was then laid up in granaries till used ( deut. 28 : 8 ; prov. 3 : 10 ; matt. 6 : 26 ; 13 : 30 ; luke 12 : 18 ). the active production of useful plants or animals in ecosystems that have been created by people. agriculture has often been conceptualized narrowly, in terms of specific combinations of activities and organisms - wet - rice production in asia, wheat farming in europe, cattle ranching in the americas, and the like - but a more holistic perspective holds that humans are environmental engineers who disrupt terrestrial habitats in specific ways. anthropogenic disruptions such as clearing vegetation or tilling the soil cause a variety of localized changes ; common effects include an increase in the amount of light reaching ground level and a reduction in the competition among organisms. as a result, an area may produce more of the plants or animals that people desire for food, technology, medicine, and other uses. learn more about agriculture with a free trial on britannica. com.


- the ghegs resemble kosovar albanians in having a higher frequency of e1b1b1. - tosks on the other hand have a higher frequency of i. - the high j2 frequency resembles greeks, with the expected 10 to 1 or so ratio between j2 and j1, and is dissimilar from northwestern balkan populations. past studies have shown however, that j2b is dominant in albanian, rather than j2a which is dominant in most greek populations tested so far ( although j2b is also represented ). - similar frequencies to greeks are also found in r1. - there is also a relative paucity of g compared to greeks, and limited introgression of gypsy chromosomes ( h1 ) in the main albanian groups ( gheg and tosk ). international journal of legal medicine doi : 10. 1007 / s00414 - 010 - 0432 - x y - str variation in albanian populations : implications on the match probabilities and the genetic legacy of the minority claiming an egyptian descent gianmarco ferri et al. y chromosome variation at 12 str ( the powerplex® y system core set ) and 18 binary markers was investigated in two major ( the ghegs and the tosks ) and two minor ( the gabels and the jevgs ) populations from albania ( southern balkans ). the large proportion of haplotypes shared within and between groups makes the powerplex 12 - locus set inadequate to ensure a suitable power of discrimination for the forensic practice. at least 85 % of y lineages in the jevgs, the cultural minority claiming an egyptian descent, turned out to be of either roma or balkan ancestry. they also showed unequivocal signs of a common genetic history with the gabels, the other albanian minority practising social and cultural roma traditions.


date of award doctor of philosophy ( phd ) frank j. floyd, ph. d. - chair this study examined mechanisms by which sibling relationships may buffer the harmful effects of negative peer experiences on the psychological adjustment of children with mental retardation ( mr ) or learning disabilities ( ld ). the study broadened existing findings with typically developing children and examined the effects of sibling social competency training on peer experiences and the impact of sibling relationship qualities, including warmth and positivity, supportiveness, conflict, and negativity, on children ’ s loneliness, internalizing, and delinquent behavior problems. the participants included 100 families with children who were between 8 and 10 years old. the families had a sibling dyad in which the target child had mr ( n = 36 ), an ld ( n = 43 ), or was typically developing ( n = 21 ), while siblings were typically developing. parents, target children, and siblings completed questionnaires and interviews assessing family and peer relationships. sibling dyads completed a video - taped interaction. results indicated that, as predicted, children with an ld or mr experienced significantly lower rates of positive peer experiences and significantly higher rates of negative peer experiences than did typically developing children. they exhibited significantly higher rates of loneliness and internalizing, but not delinquent, behavior problems than typically developing children. there was only partial support for the hypothesized protective effects of siblings on children ’ s development of adverse peer experiences. in particular, there was an indirect effect of one form of social competency training : social involvement mediated the effect of learning disabilities on adverse peer experiences. as predicted by the buffering hypothesis, emotional supportiveness by siblings moderated the impact of negative peer experiences on children ’ s internalizing and delinquent behavior problems. in addition, negativity within the sibling relationship moderated the effect of negative peer experiences on children ’ s internalizing problems while sibling conflict moderated the effect of positive peer experiences on loneliness. there were no significant effects for sibling warmth and positivity. findings that siblings of children with mr or an ld can buffer some of the harmful effects of adverse peer experiences on psychological well being in specific instances suggest that including siblings in interventions aimed at improving peer experiences and psychological functioning may be relevant under certain circumstances. hindes, andrea r., " the buffering effect of sibling relationships on problems with peer experiences and psychological functioning in children with cognitive disabilities " ( 2006 ). psychology dissertations. paper 20.


for animals like us, eating seems pretty simple : you bite the food directly, or you use arms to shovel it in. but that ' s far from the only way to do it. across the animal kingdom there are numerous creative ways to ingest food and drink - - some gross, some conniving, and some wonderfully weird. these are a few of our favorites. polychaeta are a class of worms that are commonly called bristle worms because of the many bristles that help them move around. but they also have a bizarre way of ingesting : an axial proboscis ( pictured at right ) that researchers liken to a retractable elephant trunk. it ' s actually inside the worm ' s body, and after the worm deploys it to catch food it flexes muscles that retract it. if you ' re a snoozing bird, that is. madagascar has more than its fair share of odd animals, and that includes this moth with a fearsome proboscis it uses to snatch the tears of birds. there ' s no shortage of tear - stealers on mainland africa, but those typically exploit animals too big to swat them or to flee. with a bird, you have to be more careful. so the moth strikes at night, using its barbed implement to peel back the bird ' s double eyelid. this moth isn ' t a tearjerker ; it ' s a tear - drinking jerk. you may have heard about the extraordinary tongue of the chameleon, the longest compared to its body size for all vertebrates. but within mammals, that honor goes to anoura fistulata, the tube - lipped nectar bat discovered in the cloud forests of ecuador. while some of its relatives can extend their tongues an inch and a half, this bat ' s tongue can reach an astonishing 3. 4 inches, or more than one and a half times its body length. this gives it access to the nectar inside bell - shaped flowers that no other bat can reach, and it ' s possible because the tongue is anchored deep inside the bat ' s rib cage, between its heart and sternum. that lends it this extra leverage. the vicious thorns of the acacia tree, insects flying around the eyes - - these are no match for the tongue of the giraffe, one of the longest in the animal kingdom. besides its prodigious span, the giraffe tongue is also marked by its distinct bluish - black color. some zoologists think this


no match for the tongue of the giraffe, one of the longest in the animal kingdom. besides its prodigious span, the giraffe tongue is also marked by its distinct bluish - black color. some zoologists think this may be a way to keep the tongue from getting sunburned, since it spends so much time outside the animal ' s mouth. hawk moths aren ' t the most svelte or slender fliers. but when you can unfurl a 14 - inch long proboscis, who cares? like nectar bats, many species of hawk moths ( sometimes called sphinx moths ) can reach nectar inaccessible to other flying creatures. instead of keeping their appendages tucked deep inside, though, the moths keep theirs curled up until they need them. famously, charles darwin predicted that there must have been moths with exceedingly long proboscises in madagascar after he saw the orchids from that island with deeply recessed nectar. those moths weren ' t discovered until after the great naturalist ' s death, so he was posthumously proven correct. no, they ' re not elephants. and technically, they ' re not even shrews. but it ' s not hard to see how elephant shrews got their name. this insectivorous african animal uses that glorious and elongated nose to hunt down spiders, worms, and insects, and then suck them up like an anteater does. biologists in the past believed these creatures were related to true shrews, hedgehogs, or maybe even primates and rabbits. but, it seems, they are rather their own distinct order dating back millions of years, and a new species turned up in tanzania just two years ago. as is the case the elephant shrews, it ' s clear where this handsome fellow, the star nose mole, gets his moniker. that star nose is made of 22 separate tentacles covered in 160, 000 sensors per square inch, according to the pbs nature episode " the beauty of ugly, " which featured the mole. when it burrows, those tentacles can touch 12 different objects every second, appearing to the human eye as no more than a pink blur of activity. with this ability, it takes less than a second for the star - nose mole to devour its prey, often worms or insects. as we said about naked mole rats in our gallery of weird lab animals, you ' ve got to be tough and talented if you ' re this ugly. star nose moles certainly are. the scientific name for barnacle


traditional medicine has come far. but in some ways, it has not kept pace with the times. far too often, through today ’ s symptom based healthcare system, ‘ illnesses ’ are too quickly diagnosed. introducing yet another foreign substance ( more medication ) into the system may not be the best solution. toxins in the body frequently are the problem. toxins can enter our bodies in many ways … from the foods and liquids we eat and drink or from our environment. major culprits can be processed foods, junk foods, deep - fried foods, fast foods, preservatives, soft drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, and a variety of sugars. also included are chemicals and substances such as hormones and antibiotics from meats, dairy and poultry products, even fertilizers and pesticides used in farming. plus, other chemicals used in manufacturing, cleaning solutions, painting and building supplies may prove harmful. sadly, in the times we live in, even personal care products and popular, handy containers should be suspect. of course, heavy metals like mercury, lead and others are always a red flag... while the list goes on. surprisingly, we can also create our own toxins. mental and emotional stress from personal loss, worry, your job, depression, divorce and finances, among others can cause the body to manufacture its own toxins. additionally, a lengthy illness or hospital stay with prescribed medication, although sometimes necessary, can be toxic themselves, and may actually worsen one ’ s biochemical imbalances long term. to our detriment, all of these toxins may become stored in the liver and other vital organs, creating inflammation and making us more susceptible to disease. in many a case, the symptoms alone can make us feel sick. for some people it may be one or two ; for others, an entire rash of symptoms, which can manifest quickly or gradually, over months or years. it is the mission of the detoxification network of america ( dna ) to bring awareness of these challenges to the masses. dna will also educate and inform them of viable solutions : through the new medicine foundation protocol, detoxification happens by removing these toxins and restoring health at the cellular / biochemical level. as balance is restored, the symptoms ; many symptoms, sometimes misdiagnosed as illness, quite often diminish and then disappear completely. at dna, we work with a diligence toward assuring you the highest quality in knowledge, treatment, counseling and personal


maryland ' s natural communities - shale barrens in maryland kasecamp shale barrens, allegany county photograph by richard h. wiegand being on a shale barren feels a bit like being in an old western. hot. dry. gritty. stunted trees and copperheads, crumbling rock and open sky. all that ' s missing is the withered old prospector. but you won ' t find gold in " them thar hills. " there ' s a different kind of treasure here. the treasure of shale barrens is not gold or silver. the hidden treasure of the shale barrens is the collection of rare and endemic plants and animals, the unusual geology, the extreme conditions that encourage patience and determination to unlock the secrets of this rare and forbidding natural community. shale barrens, for the most part, occur along a band of devonian shale in the ridge and valley physiographic province of the appalachian mountains. locally, that means you can find them in allegany county ; there are several good examples in green ridge state forest. shale barrens are the result of a unique combination of geology, soil, topography and climate. at the base of it all is bedrock, shale. shale is a highly friable rock, meaning it crumbles easily. small fragments of rock, called " channers, " cascade down the steep south - to west - facing slopes, creating a highly unstable substrate. the soil is consequently shallow. it sheds water easily so it tends toward a xeric, or dry, state. rains hit the shale and run off, causing erosion, resulting in crumbled rocks and loose soil. couple the lack of infiltration by water with the hot sun from a southern exposure and you have desert - like conditions, especially in the summer when temperatures on the outcrops easily exceed 100 degrees fahrenheit. this environment is not for every plant or animal. these hostile conditions favor open canopies, often with rock outcrops, and usually sparse woodlands of stunted drought - tolerant trees with little herbaceous understory. plant species composition and density can vary with the acidity of the soil, with the more acid soils supporting fewer scattered species and the neutral or basic soils hosting a more developed herbaceous layer with higher diversity. the most commonly found trees include scrubby forms of chestnut oak, virginia pine, eastern redcedar and pignut hickory. other typical trees include white ash, oaks ( post, black and red ), pines ( table - mountain and white


diversity. the most commonly found trees include scrubby forms of chestnut oak, virginia pine, eastern redcedar and pignut hickory. other typical trees include white ash, oaks ( post, black and red ), pines ( table - mountain and white ), and shagbark hickory. the few shrub species include shadbush, black huckleberry, deerberry and bear oak. many of the herbaceous species that do occur on shale barrens are endemic or near - endemic, meaning they are found on no other habitat type. their names tell the story : shale - barren pussytoes, shale - barren ragwort, shale - barren evening primrose. unusual habitats often support rare species and shale barrens are a perfect example of this. kate ' s - mountain clover, yellow nailwort, and low false bindweed are three rare species associated with shale barrens. common plants that occur on shale barrens can also be found on other natural communities that also tend toward dry conditions ; these species include : wavy hairgrass, common dittany, rattlesnake - weed, poverty oat - grass, little bluestem, birdfoot violet and reindeer lichens. herbaceous openings are sparsely vegetated and often scattered within a woodland matrix. even with these extreme conditions, there are some animals that still call shale barrens their home. reptiles include five - lined skinks, eastern fence lizards, wood turtles, copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. birders will find pine warblers, prairie warblers, carolina wrens, common ravens and broadwing hawks. turkeys have been spotted soaring from the elevated heights of the barrens to the floodplains of the potomac below. the sunny herbaceous openings provide patrolling areas for many skippers, butterflies and moths. several mammal species, both game and nongame, can be found on shale barrens : white - tailed deer, eastern gray squirrels, foxes, coyotes, striped skunks, bobcats, eastern red bats and many more. even though many shale barrens are remote, there are still threats to their existence. the greatest of this is the encroachment of invasive species. certain non - native species, which have no natural control, are capable of moving into an area and changing the conditions, adding organic material to the soil and shade to the open canopy while crowding out the native species. non - native grasses, spotted knapweed, japanese honeysuckle, garlic - mustard and tree - of - heaven


certificate - based authentication over an ssl connection is the most secure type of authentication. therefore, when authentication occurs at the connection layer, the client does not need to provide an additional name ( bind dn ) and password to directory proxy server during the ldap bind. a client can only perform certificate - based authentication over an ssl connection. the basic steps in establishing an ssl connection are as follows : the client requests that a secure connection be established. as part of this request, directory proxy server provides a server certificate to the client. a server certificate is a single certificate associated with one instance of directory proxy server. when a secure connection is used, the server certificate identifies the instance of directory proxy server to the client. the establishment of the connection includes a negotiation phase. during this phase, the client and directory proxy server attempt to agree on the encryption policy that is used. the server certificate contains the list of encryption policies ( ciphers ) that are supported by the directory proxy server. depending on the security configuration of the proxy server, the server might require the client to provide a certificate. the client provides a certificate to the server, either because the client is configured to do so, or because the proxy server has requested it. the client then sends an ldap bind request to directory proxy server to establish the client ' s identity on that connection. if the request is a simple bind, directory proxy server uses the bind dn and password provided by the client. if the request is a sasl external bind, directory proxy server does one of two things : considers the subject of the certificate as the bind dn of the client. maps the certificate by searching the backend server for an entry that matches the received certificate. if the verify - certs property is set, directory proxy server verifies that the received certificate is the one stored in the entry that is found. the following configuration properties determine how directory proxy server performs that search : cert - data - view - routing - policy cert - data - view - routing - custom - list cert - search - bind - dn cert - search - bind - pwd - file cert - search - base - dn cert - search - attr - mappings when the proxy server has the bind dn, it can verify the validity of the client. for more information about ssl for directory proxy server, see secure sockets layer for directory proxy server. for certificate - based authentication to occur, directory proxy server must be configured to accept client certificates and the client


it can verify the validity of the client. for more information about ssl for directory proxy server, see secure sockets layer for directory proxy server. for certificate - based authentication to occur, directory proxy server must be configured to accept client certificates and the client must be configured to use sasl external bind. when you create a directory proxy server instance, the certificate database is automatically populated with the ca certificates of certain trusted cas. you can add trusted ca certificates to the certificate database if necessary, by using the directory service control center ( dscc ) or by using the dpadm command. for more information, see to install a ca - signed server certificate for directory proxy server in oracle fusion middleware administration guide for oracle directory server enterprise edition. when a client provides a certificate to directory proxy server, the server verifies that certificate against the list of trusted ca certificates in its certificate database. the verification is successful if the server ' s certificate database contains the client certificate itself, or the ca certificate with which the client certificate was generated. the server certificate can be one of the following : self - signed certificate. a public and private key pair, where the public key is signed by directory proxy server. trusted ca certificate. a single certificate that is automatically generated by the company ’ s internal certificate server or by a known certificate authority ( ca ). directory proxy server also supports the use of a server certificate chain. a server certificate chain is a collection of certificates that are automatically generated by the company ’ s internal certificate server or by a known ca. the certificates in a chain trace back to the original ca, providing proof of identity. this proof is required each time you obtain or install a new server certificate. when an instance of directory proxy server is created, a default self - signed certificate is created. by default, directory proxy server manages the ssl certificate database password internally. you can install any number of certificates on a server. when you configure ssl for an instance of directory proxy server, you must install at least one server certificate and one trusted ca certificate. for an explanation of how certificate - based authentication works, see certificate - based authentication. for information about how to configure certificate - based authentication for directory proxy server, see to configure certificate - based authentication in oracle fusion middleware administration guide for oracle directory server enterprise edition. when a client binds to directory proxy server with the simple authentication and security layer ( sasl ) external bind, directory proxy server obtains the credentials of the client from the certificate, rather


the energy information administration has released “ world shale gas resources, ” an important commissioned report providing an assessment of how much natural gas is locked in shale deposits in 14 regions around the world. ( here ’ s its overview of shale gas in the united states. ) here ’ s a map of the surveyed regions : the report includes some pretty remarkable numbers from countries that currently have limited domestic gas options, including china and quite a few western european nations that have been held somewhat hostage by russia. its publication comes in sync with a disturbing article in the times noting how much crop production, including tropical staples such as cassava, is being diverted to making biofuels. i sent the following query to a batch of people immersed in assessing and / or developing the world ’ s energy menu but it ’ s a query for you, as well, of course ( i ’ ve tweaked it to remove some e - mail shorthand ) : i would greatly appreciate some reflection from you on the new shale gas assessment from eia ( global estimates for areas that have been surveyed ) against the trends for food crops, including cassava, going to make fuels, as reported today by elisabeth rosenthal in the times. i ’ ve seen some fresh analysis saying this new shale report completely ices the case that gas is now ( more than was already clear ) a fundamental game changer. the figures for china help explain why a team of chinese gas experts, as i was told not long ago by folks at oklahoma state university, has been there studying extraction technologies. there are strong new hints that gas can play a much bigger role in energy for transport ( for example lng for big trucks ) and that it will ( and should? ) outcompete nuclear, coal and renewables for electricity ( at least in the us ). can it compete with the political influence of big agriculture here, and, any time soon, with coal in china? jesse ausubel long ago also noted that natural gas is a far better bet to link with carbon capture ( through “ zero emission power plant ” technology ), if you think carbon capture and sequestration is a serious prospect down the line. so is this it? one thing i note in that e. i. a. report is the big blank spots in assessed regions, many of which ( like much of sub - saharan africa, of course ) are also regions locked in deep energy poverty. how does this gas push relate to ending energy poverty in such places? the first reply came from ausubel, a


as we check our coding page in. net application we found that at the top after the namespaces there is a call that is partially defined in every web page. the question arrives in our mind that what is this partial and why we use the class with partial access specifier. why we not use the class as publicly or privately? here we are to answer all these question. first we will get the partial class definition and its need. the normalisation is a data analysis technique to design a database system. the normalisation allows the database designer to understand the current data structure within an organisation. the end result of a normalisation is a set of entity. we remove the unnecessary redudency by normalising the database table. read the rest of this entry » the alias name is the name that is referred to any column name or table name that is given by user. the alias name also used to represent some column or table without using its real name. as we will proceed in this article we will see that how we can use both the alias column name and alias table name in sql server. using the querystring is the another method to pass information between pages in your asp. net application. as we know that querystring is the portion of the url after a question mark (? ). the information is always retrieved as a string that can be converted with any type. here we get the code to pass multiple values at a single time in querystring. the cast ( ) function is used to change the data type of a column. we can use the cast ( ) function for various purpose. cast ( original _ expression as desired _ datatype ) read the rest of this entry » the convert ( ) function is used to convert an expression of one specific data type to another type. also this function can be used to represent the value of date / time type variable in different different format. as we will discuss later in this post we will see how we accomplish this task. reference type are important features of the c # language. they enable us to write complex and powerful application and effectively use the run - time framework. if we define the reference type variables in c # then the reference type variables contain a reference to the data not the value. the value is stored in a separate memory area. for example in c # we used several reference type variables such as classes, structures, array, enumeration etc.


even before the recent flurry of children ’ s toy recalls, i questioned the effectiveness of the consumer product safety commission ( cpsc ) when they failed to act on the presence of lead in children ’ s lunchboxes. the news has only gotten worse, since i wrote about it last february. almost everyday, i receive a new email from the cpsc listing more toy recalls, mostly for lead content. how can this be? who is protecting our youngest consumers? in the past two months, there have been millions of toys recalled for dangerous levels of lead content, and other products that contain smaller levels of lead, such as lunchboxes, have not been recalled. in fact, doctors warn that lead levels considered safe by the cpsc still put children at risk. according to webmd, lead poisoning interferes with neural development in children and developing fetuses. high levels of lead in children can cause learning and behavior problems. the cdc considers lead levels in the blood above 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to be a concern in children. but some studies have shown harmful effects in children with lead levels measured at or near the current standard. the cpsc was created in 1974 to protect consumers from the expanding globalization of products. since its creation, imports to the us have increased 338 percent, yet the cpsc ’ s budget is less than half of what it was in 1974! while we buy more overseas products, the us government has been cutting staffing for this agency, limiting its ability to regulate imports and protect consumers. the agency began with 800 employees in the seventies, and now the cpsc has only 420 staff members. currently, there is a bill written to empower the agency : the safety assurance for every consumer product act ( safe ), yet cpsc chairperson nancy nord opposes this bill. - require children ’ s products to undergo independent third - party testing ; - expand civil and criminal penalties ; ban lead in children ’ s products ; - enhance cpsc recall and inspection authority ; - expedite recall disclosure to the public ; and - provide additional resources to the cpsc. why would nancy nord oppose these changes, especially when the cpsc has only one full - time toy tester? in an interview on pbs, nord says, but the change that we ’ ve got to have is change that is going to be constructive, workable, and is going to help the agency do its job. my concerns with the senate bill is that it includes a number of requirements for undertaking activities that are really


that we ’ ve got to have is change that is going to be constructive, workable, and is going to help the agency do its job. my concerns with the senate bill is that it includes a number of requirements for undertaking activities that are really outside our core mission. for example, it has us mediating employer and employee disputes in whistleblower cases. it has us implementing or enforcing intellectual property rights violations in some instances. it has us certifying laboratories. so this is nasty stuff, and it appears that the chemical is actually converting into it in the body. ” of course, aqua dots was manufactured in china, where most of the recently recalled toys have originated from. representative diana degette ( d - colorado ) co - introduced the safe act to revamp the cpsc. according to degette, you ’ ve got more products coming in from overseas. you ’ ve got a huge spike in recalls, which is very concerning, because, of course, only a fraction of those people who bought the products will return them. and you have the head of the agency saying, “ oh, well, this is no big deal, and we don ’ t want the money. ” over two - thirds of the recent recalls involve products from china, and the problem of dangerous toys is growing. with the holiday season approaching, many parents are very concerned. the toy industry association has launched a new site to inform parents about toy safety. of course, this site is designed to assure parents that the toy industry is using rigorous standards of toy safety, and there is a lot of useful information on the site ; however, you do have to consider the source. for example, the toy industry association answers the question, “ should i avoid toys made in china? ” by stating : all toys sold in america regardless of where they are made must conform to tough u. s. safety standards – standards that have served as models for other industries and countries around the world. since it is companies, not countries, that make toys, it is companies that are responsible for adhering to rigorous safety standards and conducting inspections throughout the process. random on - site and off - site testing occurs in all manufacturing plants, in china and elsewhere. toys are also randomly inspected before export to the us. in light of the recent recalls, there has been additional testing and vigilance by toy manufacturers, retailers and importers. somehow, these assurances don ’ t make me feel better in light of recent events. i will stick to researching reputable companies