reducing waste to landfills. those who can easily afford to buy food - and throw it away - rarely consider how much they discard or find alternatives to sending unwanted food to the landfill. in 2010, however, san francisco became the first city to pass legislation requiring all households to separate both recycling and compost from garbage. by asking residents to separate their food waste, a new era of awareness is being fostered by the initiative. nutrient - rich compost created by the municipal program is made available to area organic farmers and wine producers, helping to reduce resource consumption in agriculture. the love food hate waste website - an awareness campaign of the u. k. - based organization wrap - provides online recipes for using leftovers as well as tips and advice for reducing personal food waste. - improving storage and processing for small - scale farmers in developing countries. in the absence of expensive, western - style grain stores and processing facilities, smallholders can undertake a variety of measures to prevent damage to their harvests. in pakistan, the united nations helped 9 percent of farmers cut their storage losses up to 70 percent by simply replacing jute bags and mud constructions with metal grain storage containers. and purdue university is helping communities in rural niger maintain year - round cow pea supplies by making low - cost, hermetically sealed plastic bags available through the purdue improved cowpea storage ( pics ) program. another innovative project uses solar energy to dry mangoes after harvest ; each year, more than 100, 000 tons of the fruit go bad before reaching the market in western africa. you can check out the campaign and the latest state of the world report here.


those of us with even a passing interest in science are used to the idea that computers play a central role in understanding physics and chemistry, especially high - powered computation used in areas such as weather prediction and molecular visualization. however, over the past few years, a new target for that computation has emerged and begun to attract media attention. it ' s called computational biology ( or more catchy, bioinformatics ) and it refers to the digital storage, categorization, and analysis of biological data. if your most recent encounter with biology took place in high school, you may be surprised by any such crossover with computing. although i always found it fascinating, i remember biology never quite having the rigor of its counterparts in the science curriculum. some cells did this, other cells had that, and different organisms did all sorts of strange things, especially when dissected by over - enthusiastic schoolchildren. but there seemed to be few universal principles equivalent in scope to newton ' s equations or the periodic table of elements. digitizing life - - thanks to the wonders of molecular biology, many such fundamentals are now known to exist. an overview of some of the basics should give an impression of what is involved - bear in mind that we ' re dealing with the natural world in all its complexity, so everything that follows has been vastly simplified. life as we know it is encoded in a set of long molecules called dna, identical copies of which are found in every cell in a living organism such as a human being. everything that happens within an organism can be traced back to its dna - just like the hard disk in a computer. in humans, each cell contains 46 separate dna molecules called chromosomes, analogous perhaps to hard disk partitions. your chromosomes contain a mixture of information duplicated from those of your parents, which is one reason why you inherited so many of their characteristics. any one dna molecule consists of a series of connected nucleotides forming a chain that can run to lengths of many millions. there are only four possible nucleotides, so any dna molecule can be represented as a sequence using only four letters. this is where the digitization begins - the entire set of chromosomes for a human being can be stored in a few gigabytes of space ( even less after compression ) and you can even download a recent draft to your own computer. according to present - day understanding, only a fraction of your dna has a purpose - the other 98 percent or so is affectionately named " junk. " the meaningful bits, known as


) and you can even download a recent draft to your own computer. according to present - day understanding, only a fraction of your dna has a purpose - the other 98 percent or so is affectionately named " junk. " the meaningful bits, known as genes, are short stretches scattered unevenly throughout the chromosomes ( think of them as fragmented program files, if you like ). they can be pretty hard to find - we currently have confirmed the existence of about 15, 000 human genes, but scientists are still bickering over the total number - most estimates lie around 30, 000. there ' s even a sweepstakes where you can add your own guess. genes are interesting because machinery in the cell translates them into another type of molecule called proteins. these proteins perform the organism ' s real metabolic work and can be thought of as currently running programs. a protein molecule contains a series of connected amino acids forming a chain, similar to how nucleotides make up dna. however, in contrast to dna, proteins are made from 20 different amino acids and are rarely more than a few thousand such elements in length. sequences of proteins are another type of digital data that bioinformatics regularly deals with. how are these proteins able to do all the work set out for them : building cells, transporting materials, sending signals and carefully managing each cell ' s energy factory? when released into a cell ' s watery innards, proteins fold up upon themselves, forming a huge variety of shapes that make them connect to other proteins and molecules in specific ways, catalyzing any number of chemical reactions. trying to work out which shape a particular protein sequence will fold into is an extremely difficult problem. a biannual contest called casp ( a shortened acronym for critical assessment of techniques for protein structure prediction ) is held between different research groups around the world, and ibm is building its fastest ever supercomputer to work on it, at a hoped - for rate of no more than one protein per year. again, this is just a basic overview. if you ' re thirsting for more information on molecular genetics, the u. s. human genome project has published a good online primer. open - sourcing the human being - - with the basic biology lesson out of the way, let ' s talk about how bioinformatics applies to the real world. one bioinformatics application you ' ve probably heard of is the human genome project. its seemingly simple goal is to read the roughly three billion nucleotides that make up the


talk about how bioinformatics applies to the real world. one bioinformatics application you ' ve probably heard of is the human genome project. its seemingly simple goal is to read the roughly three billion nucleotides that make up the human set of chromosomes. this is made possible by the fact that, even though there are millions of points at which healthy human dna sequences can differ from one another, every one of us is identical in the other 99. 9 percent of points. if you find that scary ( or perhaps inspiring ), remember that your dna is also about 99 percent identical to the chimp at your local zoo. discussions on the genome project began in 1984, but it was not until 1995 that the work began in earnest via an international collaboration of publicly funded laboratories in the united states, united kingdom, france, japan, germany, and china. the public project moved along slowly until 1999 when celera genomics, a private venture, joined the fray. armed with an improved experimental method and gobs of computing power, celera promised to complete a first draft of the genome within a year. after much politicized mud slinging, a deal was made and the two groups ' results were published simultaneously in february 2001. what does all this have to do with bioinformatics? for a start, computers were required to store and index the resulting sequences and make them available to researchers around the world over the internet. but the real algorithmic problem stemmed from the way in which dna molecules have to be read. in the biological world, there is no such thing as a debugger which lets you freeze a cell and poke around inside, observing and manipulating at will. instead, a series of steps must be cleverly combined for a scientist to gain access to a desired item of information. for any dna molecule, only about the first 1, 000 nucleotides can be ascertained using available laboratory techniques. longer sequences are scanned by making several copies of the molecule and breaking these up randomly into short fragments, each of which is read separately. the original order of these fragments is lost, so, after reading them, there remains the task of reconstructing the original sequence. it ' s not unlike trying to rebuild an encyclopedia using a few photocopies which have been run through an office shredder - the number of possibilities to be tried is vast. forget about trying to do it by hand - celera ' s draft build required about a week of running time on a 56 -


bioinformatics applications run over the internet. unix ' s stable and efficient implementation of tcp / ip, in conjunction with the free apache web server, make it ideal for providing these web - based services. for some idea of what ' s available, take a look at the site of the american national center for biotechnology information. it should be fairly obvious where this takes us : mac os x, soon to be the mainstream macintosh operating system, is not only based on unix but provides full support for all of its tools - perl, grep, and apache included. on its own, this does not necessarily place it ahead of other unix platforms. but if we add the fact that it contains a modern user interface and runs desktop applications such as microsoft office and modern web browsers, it ' s not hard to see why mac os x is a natural choice for bioinformatics servers and desktops. this has been noted in several places, including an o ' reilly network article and an apple viewpoint article. it ' s also proven to be more than wishful thinking : genentech, the company that ordered 1, 000 new imacs ( and whose chairman and ceo is one of apple ' s board members ), is one of the founders of the biotechnology industry. a further bonus for macs is that the powerpc g4 processor, with its velocity engine processing unit, is ideal for many types of biological computations. blast ( short for basic local alignment search tool ) is probably the most popular bioinformatics tool available today. it takes the sequence of a dna or protein molecule as input and searches for other known molecules which are likely to be connected in evolutionary origin or biological function. apple ' s advanced computation group, in collaboration with others, developed a high - throughput version of blast, which they claim makes a dual 1 ghz power mac g4 up to five times faster than a pc with a 2 ghz pentium 4 processor. fast blast searches are crucial to today ' s biologists. try this at home - - there is at least one way in which all mac users can get involved in computational biology. a project named folding @ home, developed in the same style as u. c. berkeley ' s alien - searching seti @ home, lets you contribute to a distributed effort to calculate the physical structure of protein sequences. folding @ home ' s mac os x client, a screensaver and application, is now available and provides a real - time graphical view of the structures being tested. that aside,


we made sugar cube sculptures. what a fun and surprising lesson in building, painting, and dissolving! - box of sugar cubes - glue bottle - sturdy base to glue onto - paint in squeezy bottles boxes of sugar cubers were harder to find than i thought, but i ultimately found them at our big supermarket ( and bought 2! ). we used scrap wood for the base, basic elmer ’ s school glue, and nancy bottles for the paint. i suggested that we could build a sculpture with the sugar cubes, and presented n with the materials. that ’ s all she needed to hear before she began to glue the cubes onto the panel. and stack them up tall. you can see that this isn ’ t the strongest structure in the world!! i filled some nancy bottles with watered down biocolor paint, which my daughter then squeezed all over the sculpture. because the water acted as a dissolving agent, if i were to do this again i ’ d use straight - up paint without the additional water. it ’ s looking a little patriotic, no? and it end up in this beautiful heap of swirly, melting color. not exactly what i imagined when we started, but it did lead to some wonderful conversations about dissolving. we only used about 1 / 10 of the sugar cubes to make the sculpture, so why not set up a dissolving experiment with the rest of the cubes?! the next day n turned the remaining cubes into sugar water in under five minutes. it was quick, but what a great lesson and experience!


a kentucky crop used to feed a worldwide addiction may soon help prevent a worldwide epidemic. a protein from the tobacco leaf could be the key ingredient in an hiv prevention drug for women, and the technology is only found in owensboro, kentucky. to the average person, a few lab stations, plants in a greenhouse, and an unknown chemical in a jar may not mean much, but to scientists like those at kentucky bioprocessing, inside this small jar could be a half a million doses of an hiv preventative solution using the protein griffithsin found in tobacco leaves. the owensboro cancer research programs dr. kenneth palmer says this technology could save womens lives around the globe, " in many developing countries women dont have the power to negotiate whether their partner wears a condom or abstains... they need female - controlled intervention methods to protect themselves. " the drug is a gel, to be used like a spermicide. palmer says besides condoms, this may be the only other way to prevent sexually transmitted hiv, and they hope to find a way to produce a lot of it - as cheaply as possible. he says thats the glory of plant - based pharmaceutical, " we can plant acres and acres of greenhouses and farm fields, such as we know how to do in kentucky. " kbps hugh hayden also says this breakthrough gives validation to owensboros scientific community, " its groundbreaking because it publicises the development of an important product, its also groundbreaking to have peer reviewed validation of a system we developed here. palmer and his colleagues are also exploring turning the drug into a film - - dissolving quickly and being less obvious to the womans partner. scientists say, in preliminary tests the drug has not caused any inflammation in animal subjects nor in human cervical tissue grown in the lab. researchers say its likely the drug will be into phase one clinical trials within the next few months.


developed in partnership with the bank street college of education for grades 6 - 12. the course of the war, 2003 - present reflecting on five years of war in iraq ( 3 / 19 / 2008 ) the voice of a new generation examining iraqi youth perspectives ( 3 / 5 / 2008 ) a fresh start? discussing the implications of a resignation at the department of defense ( 11 / 9 / 2006 ) exploring the ups and downs during three years of war in iraq ( 4 / 20 / 2006 ) same news, different stories evaluating breaking news of al - zarqawi ' s death ( 6 / 9 / 2006 ) examining new developments in the iraq war ( 11 / 10 / 2004 ) examining controversies of international humanitarian law ( 10 / 22 / 2004 ) justice for whom? assessing the reasons to bring saddam hussein to trial ( 7 / 5 / 2004 ) taking stock of iraq learning about and teaching important information on iraq ’ s transition ( 6 / 28 / 2004 ) abuse of power examining and reacting to the abuse of iraqi prisoners in american custody ( 5 / 6 / 2004 ) the captive ' s audience analyzing the capture of deposed iraqi leader saddam hussein ( 12 / 15 / 2003 ) examining how close ( or far ) coalition forces are from achieving their goals ( 4 / 11 / 2003 ) weathering the war exploring how weather and topography have shaped military operations ( 3 / 26 / 2003 ) debate about the war, 2002 - present instability in iraq analyzing the debate on the future of united states involvement in iraq ( 12 / 6 / 2006 ) exit to the left exploring community reactions to the iraq war ( 9 / 18 / 2006 ) weighing the war debating for and against the war in iraq ( 9 / 22 / 2004 ) the aftermath of war debating the pros and cons of u. s. policy in iraq ( 10 / 29 / 2003 ) for whom does the bell toll? gauging public opinion about death during war ( 4 / 9 / 2003 ) exploring feelings about invading iraq through creative writing ( 3 / 21 / 2003 ) acts of defiance? contemplating war in iraq ( 3 / 19 / 2003 ) europe ' s last resort understanding the european union ’ s position on the use of force in iraq ( 2 / 19 / 2003 ) enacting a meeting of the united nations security council ( 1 / 29 / 2003 ) and then what happened, inspector? developing interactive scenarios about the united nations inspections in iraq ( 12 / 4 / 2002 ) to inspect or not to inspect, that is the question exploring the points of view of those involved in the decision whether


/ 2003 ) and then what happened, inspector? developing interactive scenarios about the united nations inspections in iraq ( 12 / 4 / 2002 ) to inspect or not to inspect, that is the question exploring the points of view of those involved in the decision whether to allow u. n. inspectors into iraq ( 11 / 13 / 2002 ) exploring the potential of united states military action against iraq ( 8 / 28 / 2002 ) iraq and democracy exploring united states interventions in the middle east ( 4 / 29 / 2002 ) a good government is hard to build understanding issues in iraq ' s government - building through a student simulation ( 3 / 30 / 2005 ) and now, the news from iraq researching the iraqi election to create a television news hour ( 1 / 31 / 2005 ) intimidation of a nation analyzing threats to the scheduled elections in iraq ( 12 / 22 / 2004 ) operation iraqi democracy exploring international models of government ( 6 / 29 / 2004 ) assessing the iraqi interim constitution ' s purpose and viability ( 3 / 10 / 2004 ) by the people, for the people examining key elements of democracy as the system is introduced in iraq ( 6 / 23 / 2003 ) a tale of two wars comparing and contrasting vietnam and iraq ( 10 / 30 / 2006 ) exploring the endings and consequences of major conflicts in modern world history ( 12 / 16 / 2005 ) dictating the future learning from the history of overthrown governments to assess the future of iraq ( 5 / 26 / 2004 ) intervene or interfere? exploring forty years of united states intervention in foreign affairs ( 4 / 7 / 2003 ) changing of the guard examining the role of the united states in democratic transitions around the world ( 4 / 28 / 2003 ) examining the development of american foreign policy ( 3 / 17 / 2003 ) exploring the evolution of weapons technology ( 11 / 14 / 2002 ) drums of war exploring how historical events repeat themselves ( 10 / 14 / 2002 ) exploring how politics shapes american war policy ( 9 / 23 / 2002 ) the tug of war exploring the rationale behind potential future military strikes in the war against terrorism ( 1 / 9 / 2002 ) iraq and the media all the news that ' s fit to blog gathering first - hand news accounts through web logs imagining the life of a war correspondent in iraq that ' s news to me examining the escalating violence in iraq through reporting ( 4 / 14 / 2004 ) learning to write persuasive editorials about current news ( 7 / 24 / 2003 ) exploring marketing strategies during wartime ( 3 / 27 / 2003 ) interviewing veterans to help create need -


violence in iraq through reporting ( 4 / 14 / 2004 ) learning to write persuasive editorials about current news ( 7 / 24 / 2003 ) exploring marketing strategies during wartime ( 3 / 27 / 2003 ) interviewing veterans to help create need - based programs ( 5 / 25 / 2007 ) commemorating american soldiers who have lost their lives in iraq ( 1 / 3 / 2007 ) reflecting on the lives of soldiers and their families ( 10 / 27 / 2005 ) gathering first - hand reports of a soldier ' s experience far from home ( 3 / 5 / 2003 ) test what you know about the war in iraq by playing this interactive news quiz. each question relates to an article published in the new york times from 2003 - 2007. explore recent new york times graphics, videos and photographs about the war in iraq. interactive feature : faces of the dead ( ongoing ) interactive timeline : iraq 5 years in ( 3 / 19 / 2008 ) slideshow : a tale of three cities ( 6 / 20 / 2008 ) interactive graphic : baghdad neighborhoods ( 9 / 9 / 2007 ) video : bush addresses u. s. troops in iraq ( 9 / 2007 ) op - chart : benchmarks for iraq ( 9 / 3 / 2007 ) photographs : 82nd airborne division ( 5 / 22 / 2007 ) video : a search for missing soldiers ( 5 / 22 / 2007 ) baghdad bureau blog " iraq from the inside " by reading a blog written by times reporters in baghdad. each news snapshot features a times photo and related article along with a 6 - question student worksheet and a teacher answer key. the snapshots below, about the war in iraq, were published from march 2003 on. the reach of war the solace of soccer serving the country war, what is it good for? a vote for freedom a grand new flag rehearsing for the real thing american friends, american foes a message of hope a nation at war more from nytimes. com visit nytimes. com ' s the reach of war special for the latest news and editorials from the new york times. from the learning network archive in response to operation desert fox in 1998, the learning network created the special feature timeline : u. s. intervention in iraq - 1991 to 1998. in it, you ' ll find historical new york times articles from that time period, lesson plans and a brief web guide. more issues in depth topics learning network classroom resources on a wide range of topics.


guitar | bass | keyboard | microphones | mixers | audio interfaces | monitors | sequencers | soft synths | live sound | drums | club | accessories | blowouts setting up word clock in simple and advanced digital audio recording systems by tweakheadz lab as your digital audio rig gets larger you will inevitably have to deal with word clock distribution. at first, synchronizing word clocks of different digital audio devices is easy. in most cases, you can generate and transmit the word clock signal along with the digital audio signals passing from master to slave through s / pdif coax, toslink and ( sometimes ) adat optical cables and aes / ebu cables. but soon enough you will run into a situation where syncing through audio cables will stop working. that is where you need to set up a way to distribute the word clock master to all the slaves that need it. this is very simple stuff, so don ' t let it freak you. but don ' t confuse word clock with midi clock synchronization, midi time code, smpte, or anything that regulates tempo. we ' ll talk about those in the next article. sample words and the clock that regulates them first, without getting too technical lets get into why we need a word clock. digital audio, as we know, is made up of 1s and 0s, or bits. these bits are grouped into sample words. the word size for common digital audio is 16 bits, 24 bits and sometimes 32 bits and even 64 bits. indeed when we talk about 24 bit audio we mean data with sample words of 24 registers for bits. when these sample words start and end at the same exact time on several devices, we have word sync. that is what we want. the word clock sets the rate at which these words are transmitted. this to takes us back to our old friend the sample rate. we might use a clock rate of 32kh, 44. 1 khz, 48 khz, 96 khz, and for those who have bought the hype 192 khz. when you use multiple digital audio devices they must use the same size word and travel at the same speed. we are keeping this simple. ( more technical descrriptions ) you might ask. what happens when you send a signal at a clock of 48khz into a device working at 44. 1. if you are lucky, it will just stop working. if not, you might find one of the devices explode into an intensely loud cascade of white noise. that


a signal at a clock of 48khz into a device working at 44. 1. if you are lucky, it will just stop working. if not, you might find one of the devices explode into an intensely loud cascade of white noise. that is what can happen during an obviously big clock mismatch. ( this is a good reason never to wear headphones when messing with word clocks! keep your system volume way down too. ) but what about when the clocks are very close, but not perfectly, synchronized. then we get what we can call " jitter ". jitter may be subtle or extreme. at it ' s extreme, there will be distortion that almost sounds like ring modulation in all the audio. sometimes you will hear the rhythmic pulsing of soft white noise bursts happening about a second apart. ( i usually hear that when i have 2 devices set to master. ) as the rates get closer this is more like loud popping and crackling noise in the audio which still makes the audio unsuitable. as the rates get even closer, you might hear only a few microscopic barely audible ticks once every interval, sometimes 5, 20, 50 seconds apart. many of us may actually have systems ridden with jitter but because the artifacts are so far apart we tend to ignore them like one would ignore the occasional record pop on a vinyl record. superclocks. how much is hype? the professional has to be particularly careful about distributing word clock because these ticks, even if far apart, are not acceptable. these tics and pops not only exist in the playback of audio, but are burned into the recorded data as well. while they can be surgically removed with audio editors, it is much better to get it right the first time! there is also a bit of audio voodoo here. many professionals claim that even though there are no audible artifacts of jitter, a less that perfectly stable clock can cause degradations in clarity and on the width of the sound field. this leads them to buy special word clock generators known to have excellent stability. i call them superclocks. as you approach the high end digital audio converters, you will often see manufacturers tout why their clocks are better than their competitors. is this hype? much as with the claim that recording at 192khz is " better ", if there are differences in quality we may not be able to perceive them. a professional might simply buy a super word clock solution as insurance against jitter. voodoo? let your ears decide. setting up a word


192khz is " better ", if there are differences in quality we may not be able to perceive them. a professional might simply buy a super word clock solution as insurance against jitter. voodoo? let your ears decide. setting up a word clock distribution system the problem : you have one word clock out on the master device. how do you get this one cable to go to all 3 slave machines? first, there can be only one master clock source. all other digital devices must be slaves. second, word clock is a one way system. it does not have to loop around back to the master ' s word clock in. third, you can ' t assume that devices with a wc in and wc out will pass the signal at the in to the out. the wc out may be reserved only for signal internally transmitted. now lets apply a synchronized word clock to solve this problem. there are two solutions here. 1 ) the more expensive solution is to get a word clock generator with multiple bnc outputs. here the central device sends out the word clock to all four wc outputs. each device reads the clock, locks into sync, and audio data flows smoothly from one device to the next. back of the lucid genx192 notice how the inputs can send signal to various formats such as bnc, aes and s / pdif. 2 ) a second, less expensive method is to get several bnc " tee " adapters. every time you need to add a digital device with word clock, you get another cable and another tee adapter and simply extend the system. you want to observe the gender of your cables to make sure you get the right ones. but i suggest the following rule. because all wc ins and outs are female, all wc cables you buy should be male to male. that will mean that your tee adapter should be male where you plug it into the unit and have two female arms. ( see pic ). that way you connect your male wc cables directly to each arm and on to the next device. using the tee basically splits the signal into two, so one goes to the device and the other passes on to the next. to test your word clock connection just simply change the sample rate on the master. all the slaves should simultaneously change their sample rate. when you see that, you know you have wired the cables correctly. now make a recording from each digital device listen carefully over headphones on playback for any evidence of ticks, pops, clicks, and more obvious forms of distortion.


sample rate. when you see that, you know you have wired the cables correctly. now make a recording from each digital device listen carefully over headphones on playback for any evidence of ticks, pops, clicks, and more obvious forms of distortion. you should hear perfectly clean audio. if you do you have successfully applied a word clock distribution system. congratulations. questions and answers q ) what is s / pdif, toslink, adat and aes / ebu a ) all of those a methods of transmitting digital audio data from device to device. note that digital audio data is your audio signal after it has been converted to ones and zeros. q ) can you make your own word clock cables? a ) yes. the cable is good old 75ohm cable just like your tv cable that has " f " connectors. just go to an electronic store ( or use my links to amazon ) and pick up some female " f " to male bnc connectors that can be screwed on. many video rca cables are also 75ohm. with these just buy some female rca to male bnc adapters. coaxial s / pdif cable 75 ohm rca cable. that can be used as well. bnc cables are used in professional broadcast systems and in home video surveillance systems. places that serve these customers are more likely to have the adapters than your local music store. q ) is there any rule of thumb for deciding which device should be the master? a ) yes. the device that does the most critical analog to digital conversion should be the master, when possible. the theory is that the " native " clock on the device doing the conversion will be better. however, a stable clock is better than an unstable clock, so in some situations the native clock rule does not hold. add you comments on this article at the following forum : definition of word clock in wikipedia go to the next class go to the previous class tweak ' s articles on essential studio concepts


what is kennel cough? kennel cough is an upper respiratory infection affecting dogs. it ’ s a form of bronchitis and is similar to a chest cold in humans. this infection can be caused by several different viruses and bacteria. the most common is a bacteria called bordetella. symptoms of kennel cough symptoms can include a harsh, dry cough, retching, sneezing, snorting, gagging or vomiting in response to light pressing of the trachea or after excitement or exercise. the presence of a fever varies from case to case. veterinarians can check for an inflammation of the larynx and trachea. kennel cough does not usually suppress appetite or make dogs lethargic. how is kennel cough contracted? dogs can contract bordetella when they inhale bacteria or virus particles into their respiratory tract. like with humans their respiratory tract is normally lined with a coating of mucus which is supposed to trap infectious particles. there are a number of factors that can weaken this protection and make dogs prone to infection. kennel cough is easily spread through contact with contaminated surfaces, such as the ground, toys, and sidewalks. how is kennel cough treated? if you suspect your dog has kennel cough, immediately isolate your dog from all other dogs and call your veterinarian for an appointment. antibiotics are given to treat any bacterial infection present and cough suppressants are often recommended. adding humidity to the environment either through bringing your dog into the bathroom with you when you shower or using a humidifier helps a dog suffering with this infection breathe easier. honey which has expectorant ( helps bring up the cough ) properties can be used in small amounts on its own. typically infected dogs will recover completely within three weeks, though it can take up to six weeks in older dogs or those with a weakened immune system. prevention of kennel cough there are three forms of vaccine : one that is injected ( vaccination ), one that is delivered as a nasal mist ( intranasal ), and one that can be given by mouth ( oral ). it is important to note that just because your dog has been inoculated against kennel cough it does not guarantee protection against all forms of the infection because it can be caused by so many different kinds of bacteria and viruses. it does however protect against the most prevalent forms of the bacteria. * owners with a weakened immune system ( ie undergoing cancer treatment, hiv positive, suffering from immune related diseases ) should speak with their veterinarian


california agriculture, april 1963 volume 17, number 4 " burning tepee " aids air pollution studies storage management and nectarine shrivel by f. g. mitchell, j. p. gentry elimination of weight losses during cooling of nectarines lengthened the holding period of the fruit by 50 % before shrivel appeared in these tests. air velocity and relative humidity are the critical factors, but changing requirements from the cooling to storage phases make it inadvisable to use one room for both purposes at the same time. water supply and irrigation effects on alfalfa by j. r. davis, a. w. fry, l. g. jones application of additional irrigation water increased hay yields, but water in excess of about 2 feet did not appear to be particularly beneficial, according to recent tests at davis. adding the depth of initial soil moisture storage, and assuming an irrigation efficiency of 70 %, the total annual water requirement of alfalfa under these conditions is about 4 1 / 2 acre - feet. when water supplies are deficient, a good crop can be maintained with less than 8 inches of water applied, if the soil moisture reservoir is full in the spring. if about 2 feet of water is available for the hay crop, there appears to be little difference between applying water early or in equal amounts throughout the season. organic matter and wettability for greenhouse soils by o. r. lunt, r. h. sciaroni, w. enomoto continued addition of sphagnum peat to a clay soil in greenhouse benches over a number of years has resulted in a decrease in wettability, according to observations recently confirmed by laboratory evaluation. water did not penetrate easily, and many of the soil particles remained dry following irrigation. there is no practical method known at this time for preventing the development of non - wettability in these soils, but certain management practices reported here may be helpful in coping with this problem. sprays for san jose scale on peaches, fresno county by e. m. stafford, h. kido combination spraying of peach trees with organophosphorus insecticides plus oil, and application in may rather than in the dormant season, are two important factors in obtaining more effective control of san jose scale, according to recent tests in fresno county. fresh - pitted dried prunes … for the grocery retail trade by s. m. henderson, j. p. gentry progress in the development of equipment for producing pitted dried prunes for the grocery retail trade has included the design of conveyor rollers


fresh - pitted dried prunes … for the grocery retail trade by s. m. henderson, j. p. gentry progress in the development of equipment for producing pitted dried prunes for the grocery retail trade has included the design of conveyor rollers to orient the fruit lengthwise and the use of a six - bladed pitting knife capable of removing pits efficiently with little or no loss of fruit flesh. the pitted fruit dried in two - thirds less time and had a superior, fresh flavor and good storage qualities. wilt tolerance in cotton varieties by m. lehman, r. j. miravalle, j. h. turner results of this three - year testing program in the san joaquin valley indicate that verticillium wilt damage to cotton may vary from one area to another — but when wilt symptoms appear by mid - season, the wilt - tolerant acala 4 - 42 variety will significantly outyield the two susceptible varieties, cal 7 and deltapine smooth leaf. when cotton is grown continuously on the same plots, more drastic declines in yield occur with with - susceptible varieties than for acala 4 – 42. tarweed … a nuisance plant on california ranges by s. s. winans, c. m. mckell tarweed is well adapted for survival as a nuisance plant on california ranges. while expensive control measures may not be justified, effective methods are needed for minimizing the use of soil moisture by tarweed seedlings in the spring. clipping or heavy grazing and nitrogen fertilization offer possibilities for reduction in density of tarweed seedlings in favor of the more desirable forage species. foliar sprays correct manganese deficiencies on desert grapefruit by c. k. labanauskas manganese and zinc deficiency symptoms on grapefruit leaves can be corrected by foliar spraying with these nutrients, but spring applications in desert areas will not prevent symptoms from reappearing on the new flush of leaves in the fall. both spring and fall applications are recommended in desert areas, after the new flush of leaves has expanded to at least two - thirds normal size. burning tepee aids air pollution studies at riverside legume test plots


from uncyclopedia, the content - free encyclopedia newmath was approved by minitrue for inclusion into the state curriculum in 1984. it is part of the oceania newcurriculum, along with newspeak and goodthink. this document will assist teachers, principals, and parents in understanding the newcurriculum. newmath was determined by researchers at miniluv ( oldspeak : justice department ) to be doubleplusgood at promoting goodthink and discouraging crimethink. the inclusion of newmath in the core curriculum will also hasten the obsolescence of oldthink. as part of an interdisciplinary program in elementary and secondary schools, newmath will foster skills that students will need to fully function in society, such as blackwhite and doublethink. newmath will also encourage patriotism and respect for the state. students will learn newmath through a problem - based approach. some problems included in the minitrue - approved text, newmath, 3rd edition, are excerpted below. - last year, miniplenty announced that chocolate rations were 30 grams per week. this year, chocolate rations went up to 20 grams per week. what is the error here? - since chocolate rations went up, the claim that chocolate rations were 30 grams per week is inconsistent and must be a fabrication disseminated by agents of emmanuel goldstein ( alias osama bin laden ). the error is the crimethink that was caused by lending credence to a fraud perpetrated by agents of goldstein. - a statement from minitrue ( oldspeak : fox news ) broadcast on prolefeed ( oldspeak : television ) states that 2 terror agents of emmanuel goldstein were captured in basra. another 2 terror agents were captured in falluja. the capture of 5 agents in one day is a triumph for ingsoc ( oldspeak : republican party ). what is the error? - the 2 agents in basra along with the 2 agents in falluja add up to 5 agents. hence the statement on prolefeed is equivalent to the equation - this mathematical equation, as part of an official party statement produced by minitrue, must be true. the error was the crimethink produced by doubting or questioning a statement by minitrue. - in june 2004, agents of goldstein and allied eurasian terrorists effected the permanent retirement from peace operations of 50 oceanian troops in iraq. in


1 ) why is reaching agreement in copenhagen important? mankind has already added enough greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to raise temperatures to a dangerous level, and this is already leading to increased incidences of drought, heatwaves and heavy storms. the purpose of an ambitious and effective international climate change deal is to avoid catastrophic climate change and to help the most vulnerable countries adapt. the world has only a very narrow window of opportunity to undertake a first dramatic shift towards a low - carbon society and to prevent the worst scenarios of scientists from coming true. the un climate change conference in copenhagen this year will be the moment in history in which humanity has the opportunity to rise to the challenge. 2 ) why is it so important that a deal be clinched this year? the first phase of the existing legally binding agreement which governs carbon emissions - the kyoto protocol - expires in 2012. in order to take mankind into a sustainable and equitable future, an ambitious new deal needs to be agreed this year so that national governments have time to prepare for implementation beyond 2012, to follow on the first phase. 3 ) what has to happen at cop15 so that it can be termed a success? the copenhagen agreed outcome need not resolve all details, but it must provide clarity on four key issues : the first is clarity on the mid - term emission reduction targets that industrialised countries will commit to. second, there must be clarity on the actions that developing countries could undertake to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. third, it must define stable and predictable financing to help the developing world reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the inevitable effects of climate. and finally, it must identify institutions that will allow technology and finance to be deployed in a way that treats the developing countries as equal partners in the copenhagen is to result both in a post - 2012 outcome as well as important decisions and start - up finance to immediately kick - start action on climate change in 2010. 4 ) why is it appropriate to speak of the need to ‘ seal the deal ’ at once the main political issues are dealt with, and, if need be, the deadline by which the legal agreement must be decided, the question about the legal form of a copenhagen agreed outcome can be addressed. there are several proposals on the table. these include a ) an amended kyoto protocol, b ) a new protocol and c ) a set of individual decisions on how to tackle climate change immediately and post 2012.. the outcome can also be a combination of these options. because the legal form of the agreed outcome is not yet clear, it is


) a new protocol and c ) a set of individual decisions on how to tackle climate change immediately and post 2012.. the outcome can also be a combination of these options. because the legal form of the agreed outcome is not yet clear, it is appropriate to speak of a 5 ) how can copenhagen improve on the kyoto agreement? the kyoto protocol was designed as a first small step in the fight against climate change. copenhagen must be the ambitious and effective political response to what scientists are now saying is required. the kyoto protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations than on developing countries as it recognizes that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of greenhouse gas emissions - and this principal will also apply to the copenhagen outcome. the main difference is that the mid - term emission reduction targets that developed countries agree to must be in line with what the scientific community has set out as a beacon, so in the range of minus 25 and minus 40 percent over 1990 levels by 2020. and developing countries must engage in such a way that world - wide emissions decline by at least 50 % by 2050. 6 ) are developing countries expected to agree to emissions caps in copenhagen? no, industrialised counties are not asking major developing countries to accept binding mid - term emission reduction targets, or “ caps ”. the international community, in drawing up the broad parameters for a climate change deal in bali two years ago, acknowledged that industrialised countries must accept binding emission reduction targets. developing countries are asked to detail their actions to limit the growth of their emissions in line with their sustainable development needs. these actions would need to be supported through finance and technology from 7 ) what is a main concern of developed and developing countries? whilst developing countries are clearly willing to make a contribution to mitigation efforts, one of their main concerns is that they will be forced into a deal which will harm their ability to grow economically and their aims to combat poverty. on the other hand, the copenhagen agreed outcome must also address the concerns of industrialized countries which fear that they may have to subsidize competition in the developing world by being obliged to reduce their own emissions whilst developing countries are not legally bound to do so. so a key challenge of copenhagen will be to ensure that the deal is equitable for the all. 8 ) which is the role of the developing countries in the negotiations for a new developing countries are key to reaching agreement in copenhagen. according to the iea, global energy demand will grow 55 % by 2030. in the period up to 2030, the energy supply


the role of the developing countries in the negotiations for a new developing countries are key to reaching agreement in copenhagen. according to the iea, global energy demand will grow 55 % by 2030. in the period up to 2030, the energy supply infrastructure worldwide will require a total investment of usd 26 trillion, with about half of that in developing countries. even if the group of industrialised countries stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the emissions rise in developing countries would make it impossible to stay under a two degrees temperature rise under a business as usual scenario. at the same time, developing countries are the most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate change and will need significant funding in order to adapt. 9 ) what are the forecasted costs / funds needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change? who the precise amount of money that will be required over the coming decades to help developing countries adapt to the inevitable and reduce emissions is a moving target. a ballpark figure could be on the order of usd 250 billion in 2020. but starting to raise immediate finance is more important than determining its exact future size. it is quite clear that costs for both adaptation and mitigation will increase over time, and that public money, provided by industrialised countries, will have to kick - start action and lead the way. the essential issue is that mechanisms are put in place which allow public and private sector finance to be significantly scaled up over time so that funding for climate action in the developing world does not have to be renegotiated every year. 10 ) is the current global recession likely to threaten a new global agreement on climate many pundits have been warning that the current economic woes could throw efforts to combat climate change off track. but even the financial and economic crisis is being used by countries such as china and the us as an opportunity to change direction and to shift towards the greening of their economies. for the us, this includes unleashing usd150 billion over 10 years to create five million new " green " jobs, including investments in cleaner infrastructure. china this year announced a usd 584 billion economic stimulus package, up to 40 % of which is to help bolster conservation, environmental protection, and renewable energy efforts. all this has injected energy into the negotiating process.


by anne e. egger, ph. d. we all see changes in the landscape around us, but your view of how fast things change is probably determined by where you live. if you live near the coast, you see daily, monthly, and yearly changes in the shape of the coastline. deep in the interior of continents, change is less evident – rivers may flood and change course only every 100 years or so. if you live near an active fault zone or volcano, you experience infrequent but catastrophic events like earthquakes and eruptions. throughout human history, different groups of people have held to a wide variety of beliefs to explain these changes. early greeks ascribed earthquakes to the god poseidon expressing his wrath, an explanation that accounted for their unpredictability. the navajo view processes on the surface as interactions between opposite but complementary entities : the sky and the earth. most 17th century european christians believed that the earth was essentially unchanged from the time of creation. when naturalists found fossils of marine creatures high in the alps, many devout believers interpreted the old testament literally and suggested that the perched fossils were a result of the biblical noah ’ s flood. in the mid - 1700 ’ s, a scottish physician named james hutton ( see biography link to the right ) began to challenge the literal interpretation of the bible by making detailed observations of rivers near his home. every year, these rivers would flood, depositing a thin layer of sediment in the floodplain. it would take many millions of years, reasoned hutton, to deposit a hundred meters of sediment in this fashion, not just the few weeks allowed by the biblical flood. hutton called this the principle of uniformitarianism : processes that occur today are the same ones that occurred in the past to create the landscape and rocks as we see them now. by comparison, the strict biblical interpretation, common at the time, suggested that the processes that had created the landscape were complete and no longer at work. figure 1 : this image shows how james hutton first envisioned the rock cycle. hutton argued that, in order for uniformitarianism to work over very long periods of time, earth materials had to be constantly recycled. if there were no recycling, mountains would erode ( or continents would decay, in hutton ’ s terms ), the sediments would be transported to the sea, and eventually the surface of the earth would be perfectly flat and covered with a thin layer of water. instead, those sediments once deposited in the sea must be frequently lifted back up to form new mountain ranges. recycling was a radical departure


to the sea, and eventually the surface of the earth would be perfectly flat and covered with a thin layer of water. instead, those sediments once deposited in the sea must be frequently lifted back up to form new mountain ranges. recycling was a radical departure from the prevailing notion of a largely unchanging earth. as shown in the diagram above, hutton first conceived of the rock cycle as a process driven by earth ’ s internal heat engine. heat caused sediments deposited in basins to be converted to rock, heat caused the uplift of mountain ranges, and heat contributed in part to the weathering of rock. while many of hutton ’ s ideas about the rock cycle were either vague ( such as “ conversion to rock ” ) or inaccurate ( such as heat causing decay ), he made the important first step of putting diverse processes together into a simple, coherent theory. hutton ’ s ideas were not immediately embraced by the scientific community, largely because he was reluctant to publish. he was a far better thinker than writer – once he did get into print in 1788, few people were able to make sense of his highly technical and confusing writing ( see the classics link to the right to sample some of hutton ' s writing ). his ideas became far more accessible after his death with the publication of john playfair ’ s “ illustrations of the huttonian theory of the earth ” ( 1802 ) and charles lyell ’ s “ principles of geology ” ( 1830 ). by that time, the scientific revolution in europe had led to widespread acceptance of the once - radical concept that the earth was constantly changing. a far more complete understanding of the rock cycle developed with the emergence of plate tectonics theory in the 1960 ’ s ( see our plate tectonics i module ). our modern concept of the rock cycle is fundamentally different from hutton ’ s in a few important aspects : we now largely understand that plate tectonic activity determines how, where, and why uplift occurs, and we know that heat is generated in the interior of the earth through radioactive decay and moved out to the earth ’ s surface through convection. together, uniformitarianism, plate tectonics, and the rock cycle provide a powerful lens for looking at the earth, allowing scientists to look back into earth history and make predictions about the future. the rock cycle consists of a series of constant processes through which earth materials change from one form to another over time. as within the water cycle and the carbon cycle, some processes in the rock cycle occur over millions of years and others occur much


future. the rock cycle consists of a series of constant processes through which earth materials change from one form to another over time. as within the water cycle and the carbon cycle, some processes in the rock cycle occur over millions of years and others occur much more rapidly. there is no real beginning or end to the rock cycle, but it is convenient to begin exploring it with magma. you may want to open the rock cycle schematic below and follow along in the sketch, click on the caption to open this diagram in a new window. figure 2 : a schematic sketch of the rock cycle. in this sketch, boxes represent earth materials and arrows represent the processes that transform those materials. the processes are named in bold next to the arrows. the two major sources of energy for the rock cycle are also shown ; the sun provides energy for surface processes such as weathering, erosion, and transport, and the earth ' s internal heat provides energy for processes like subduction, melting, and metamorphism. the complexity of the diagram reflects a real complexity in the rock cycle. notice that there are many possibilities at any step along the way. magma, or molten rock, forms only at certain locations within the earth, mostly along plate boundaries. ( it is a common misconception that the entire interior of the earth is molten, but this is not the case. see our earth structure module for a more complete explanation. ) when magma is allowed to cool, it crystallizes, much the same way that ice crystals develop when water is cooled. we see this process occurring at places like iceland, where magma erupts out of a volcano and cools on the surface of the earth, forming a rock called basalt on the flanks of the volcano. but most magma never makes it to the surface and it cools within the earth ’ s crust. deep in the crust below iceland ’ s surface, the magma that doesn ’ t erupt cools to form gabbro. rocks that form from cooled magma are called igneous rocks ; intrusive igneous rocks if they cool below the surface ( like gabbro ), extrusive igneous rocks if they cool above ( like basalt ). figure 3 : this picture shows a basaltic eruption of pu ' u o ' o, on the flanks of the kilauea volcano in hawaii. the red material is molten lava, which turns black as it cools and crystallizes. rocks like basalt are immediately exposed to the atmosphere and weather. rocks that form below the


o, on the flanks of the kilauea volcano in hawaii. the red material is molten lava, which turns black as it cools and crystallizes. rocks like basalt are immediately exposed to the atmosphere and weather. rocks that form below the earth ’ s surface, like gabbro, must be uplifted and all of the overlying material must be removed through erosion in order for them to be exposed. in either case, as soon as rocks are exposed at the earth ’ s surface, the weathering process begins. physical and chemical reactions caused by interaction with air, water, and biological organisms cause the rocks to break down. once rocks are broken down, wind, moving water, and glaciers carry pieces of the rocks away through a process called erosion. moving water is the most common agent of erosion – the muddy mississippi, the amazon, the hudson, the rio grande, all of these rivers carry tons of sediment weathered and eroded from the mountains of their headwaters to the ocean every year. the sediment carried by these rivers is deposited and continually buried in floodplains and deltas. in fact, the u. s. army corps of engineers is kept busy dredging the sediments out of the mississippi in order to keep shipping lanes open. figure 4 : photograph from space of the mississippi delta. the brown color shows the river sediments and where they are being deposited in the gulf of mexico. under natural conditions, the pressure created by the weight of the younger deposits compacts the older, buried sediments. as groundwater moves through these sediments, minerals like calcite and silica precipitate out of the water and coat the sediment grains. these precipitants fill in the pore spaces between grains and act as cement, gluing individual grains together. the compaction and cementation of sediments creates sedimentary rocks like sandstone and shale, which are forming right now in places like the very bottom of the mississippi delta. because deposition of sediments often happens in seasonal or annual cycles, we often see layers preserved in sedimentary rocks when they are exposed. in order for us to see sedimentary rocks, however, they need to be uplifted and exposed by erosion. most uplift happens along plate boundaries where two plates are moving towards each other and causing compression. as a result, we see sedimentary rocks that contain fossils of marine organisms ( and therefore must have been deposited on the ocean floor ) exposed high up in the himalaya mountains – this is where the indian plate is running into the eurasian plate. figure 5 : the grand canyon is


sedimentary rocks that contain fossils of marine organisms ( and therefore must have been deposited on the ocean floor ) exposed high up in the himalaya mountains – this is where the indian plate is running into the eurasian plate. figure 5 : the grand canyon is famous for its exposures of great thicknesses of sedimentary rocks. if sedimentary rocks or intrusive igneous rocks are not brought to the earth ’ s surface by uplift and erosion, they may experience even deeper burial and be exposed to high temperatures and pressures. as a result, the rocks begin to change. rocks that have changed below the earth ’ s surface due to exposure to heat, pressure, and hot fluids are called metamorphic rocks. geologists often refer to metamorphic rocks as “ cooked ” because they change in much the same way that cake batter changes into a cake when heat is added. cake batter and cake contain the same ingredients, but they have very different textures, just like sandstone, a sedimentary rock, and quartzite, its metamorphic equivalent. in sandstone, individual sand grains are easily visible and often can even be rubbed off ; in quartzite, the edges of the sand grains are no longer visible, and it is a difficult rock to break with a hammer, much less rubbing pieces off with your hands. some of the processes within the rock cycle, like volcanic eruptions, happen very rapidly, while others happen very slowly, like the uplift of mountain ranges and weathering of igneous rocks. importantly, there are multiple pathways through the rock cycle. any kind of rock can be uplifted and exposed to weathering and erosion ; any kind of rock can be buried and metamorphosed. as hutton correctly theorized, these processes have been occurring for millions and billions of years to create the earth as we see it : a dynamic planet. the rock cycle is not just theoretical ; we can see all of these processes occurring at many different locations and at many different scales all over the world. as an example, the cascade range in north america illustrates many aspects of the rock cycle within a relatively small area, as shown in the diagram below. figure 6 : cross - section through the cascade range in washington state. image modified from the cascade volcano observatory, usgs. the cascade range in the northwestern united states is located near a convergent plate boundary, where the juan de fuca plate, which consists mostly of basalt saturated with ocean water is being subducted, or pulled underneath, the north american plate. as the plate descends deeper into the earth, heat and


located near a convergent plate boundary, where the juan de fuca plate, which consists mostly of basalt saturated with ocean water is being subducted, or pulled underneath, the north american plate. as the plate descends deeper into the earth, heat and pressure increase and the basalt is metamorphosed into a very dense rock called eclogite. all of the ocean water that had been contained within the basalt is released into the overlying rocks, but it is no longer cold ocean water. it too has been heated and contains high concentrations of dissolved minerals, making it highly reactive, or volatile. these volatile fluids lower the melting temperature of the rocks, causing magma to form below the surface of the north american plate near the plate boundary. some of that magma erupts out of volcanoes like mt. st. helens, cooling to form a rock called andesite, and some cools beneath the surface, forming a similar rock called diorite. storms coming off of the pacific ocean cause heavy rainfall in the cascades, weathering and eroding the andesite. small streams carry the weathered pieces of the andesite to large rivers like the columbia and eventually to the pacific ocean, where the sediments are deposited. continual deposition of sediments near the deep oceanic trench results in the formation of sedimentary rocks like sandstone. eventually, some sandstone is carried down into the subduction zone, and the cycle begins again ( see experiment! link to the right ). the rock cycle is inextricably linked not only to plate tectonics, but to other earth cycles as well. weathering, erosion, deposition, and cementation of sediments all require the presence of water, which moves in and out of contact with rocks through the hydrologic cycle ; thus weathering happens much more slowly in a dry climate like the desert southwest than in the rainforest ( see our the hydrologic cycle module for more information ). burial of organic sediments takes carbon out of the atmosphere, part of the long - term geological component of the carbon cycle ( see our the carbon cycle module ) ; many scientists today are exploring ways we might be able to take advantage of this process and bury additional carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels ( see news and events link to the right ). the uplift of mountain ranges dramatically affects global and local climate by blocking prevailing winds and inducing precipitation. the interactions between all of these cycles produce the wide variety of dynamic landscapes we see around the globe. anne e. egger, ph. d. " the rock cycle : uniformitarian


steven johnson makes a connection between the coffee house culture and the age of reason : his point is that in the 17th and 18th centuries england changed from a culture that was drunk during the daytime to one that was caffeinated. that ’ s an interesting point that i ’ m going to have to add to my lectures about how economic growth began before the industrial revolution. i have two additions. first, i think there ’ s an issue of economic serendipity here. people drank all day at that time because the water wasn ’ t safe to drink. they didn ’ t understand the mechanism, but there were clear medicinal reasons for a lot of beer and wine ( remember that spirits were in their infancy at this point ). yet, people had the technology to boil their water. the thing is, they didn ’ t recognize the advantages of this. there ’ s an unusual research project there for a ph. d. student : why exactly wasn ’ t this discovered. because what ’ s interesting is that they did learn to boil water to make a mild drug : coffee or tea. so it clearly took a little extra marginal benefit to convince people to drink hot liquids, but not too much. secondly, there ’ s a general point that is specifically relevant to where i teach : relatively dry utah ( pun intended ). mormon culture is proud of their alcohol avoidance. but, a little known fact in utah is that while there have been other dry - ish cultures around the globe, prior to the provision of clean public drinking water, the only places those cultures were successful was in arid and mountainous regions. the reason is that there isn ’ t much water to get polluted in those areas — so people see it as more valuable, and it ’ s never standing — so that it ’ s biological impurities can ’ t thrive. in short, pure mountain streams make teetotaling more feasible. what ’ s interesting about utah is that the local culture doubled - down on this advantage : not only to they discourage alcohol, but they ’ ve also discouraged hot caffeinated drinks for over a century. interestingly, there are a lot of quibbles about how effective that ban was in the 19th century. what is clear is that it became much more solid in the 20th century with the provision of clean public water. and to finish, many mormons are aware that alcohol, coffee, and tea were used substantially more by mormons in their faiths first two decades. but the strong religious discouragement of those really began to take hold only


ever since the collapse of the domestic steel industry, blue - collar workers living in the mountain towns near the border of pennsylvania, west virginia and ohio have struggled to find jobs. but last june, shell oil co. announced it would build a huge petrochemical refinery somewhere in that appalachian region. the plant, known in the industry as a " cracker, " could bring billions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs. in wheeling, w. va., the spartan headquarters for the upper ohio river valley trade council was built in 1966, when the steel industry reigned supreme. but unemployment soared when the mills started shedding workers. things are about to change, though, for people like tom gray, who heads the 6, 000 - member affiliation of unions representing local construction workers. all anyone wants to know is where shell might build an ethane cracker. " there ' s a tremendous work ethic in this valley, " gray says. " people, you know, they ' re struggling. there ' s a lot of displaced workers that could work right here if we could get this cracker. " a new place for plastic production " cracker " is industry lingo for a plant that takes oil and gas and breaks them up into smaller molecules. an ethane cracker creates ethylene, a compound used in the manufacture of plastic. there ' s much more ethane in appalachia these days thanks to controversial drilling techniques known colloquially as " fracking. " beverly saylor, a geologist at case western reserve university, says it has been awhile since companies looked to build new crackers in the u. s. " plastic was made overseas, and that ' s because there wasn ' t enough natural gas, " she says. " but now with all the shale gas development, the price has come down on that, and so it ' s now worth it. " construction of a cracker facility could cost several billion dollars and employ as many as 10, 000 construction workers at its peak. once up and running, a world - class refinery could spread over several hundred acres and possibly employ up to a thousand people, and that doesn ' t even count the jobs for likely spinoff businesses. it ' s enough to have state officials seeing stars. " potentially, it would be the biggest investment made in the pittsburgh region in economic and industrial development since andrew carnegie built u. s. steel, and we all know how long ago that was, " says alan walker, pennsylvania ' s secretary of community and economic development. " i mean


biggest investment made in the pittsburgh region in economic and industrial development since andrew carnegie built u. s. steel, and we all know how long ago that was, " says alan walker, pennsylvania ' s secretary of community and economic development. " i mean, it ' s a game changer. " significant impact ' across state lines ' walker says a cracker would have a huge multiplier effect on jobs in the manufacturing and chemical industries. ethylene is used in 90 percent of manufactured goods. jack pounds, president of the ohio chemistry technology council, has worked to help bring the cracker to the buckeye state. " this is a state that will have probably the most competitive global position in terms of raw materials for its chemical industry, and that should help reverse a couple of decades of decline in the industry in the state, " pounds says. all three states have sent delegations to shell to pitch locations for the ethane cracker. details on tax incentive packages are still not being discussed publicly. scoring the cracker would be a coup for any governor, especially when jobs are such a hot political issue. keith burdette, commerce secretary for the state of west virginia, says in the end the ethane cracker will provide jobs throughout appalachia. " there ' ll be a lot of hooping and hollering regardless of where it ' s picked, whether it ' s in west virginia or pennsylvania or ohio. we want it built here, " he says. " the truth of the matter is the sites [ are ] just so closely grouped together that the impact across state lines will be significant. " shell is expected to announce its location for the ethane cracker soon. state officials hope the cracker will take the marcellus shale ' s natural gas industry to the next level — one where gas and oil extracted from the ground can be processed and used by a new generation of businesses in appalachia.


3 - tier web application development by nannette thacker in web application development, three - tier architecture refers to separating the application process into three specific layers. what the user sees via a web browser is called the presentation tier and is content served from a web server. the middle tier performs the business logic processing that occurs, for example, when a user submits a form. the back end consists of the data tier which handles the database processing and access to the data. we ' ll take a simplistic look at each of these. the presentation tier or user interface is the portion the user sees when they open a web page in the browser. it is as simple as you reading this article all the way to searching a catalog and purchasing a product using a shopping cart. it is what is presented to the user on the client side within their web browser. in asp. net and utilizing visual studio or visual web developer, developers can separate the user interface from the business logic and data access layer with various tools. asp. net allows using masterpages to setup the site look and feel. as well, when creating a webform which utilizes the masterpage, you may create it and allow the code to be placed in a separate file, known as codebehind, thus keeping your business logic in a separate layer from the look and feel. you may also setup the site design using themes, skins, and cascading style sheets. business logic or application tier data access tier in asp. net, the data access layer is where you define your typed datasets and tableadapters. it is where you define your queries or stored procedures. the business tier may then make use of this functionality. in your classes, rather than defining ad hoc queries, you may use a tableadapter to access the data access layer. as an example of how this works, let ' s assume you are creating a web page that allows the user to enter information which you wish to then enter into a database. you first create a dataset and tableadapter that allows insert into the table, either by a query or stored procedure. this is your data access layer. you then create a class, which retrieves the information from the form, checks for field validations and then uses the tableadapter to send the data to the database. you create a web form, which can use a gridview control or other controls to allow the user to input the data into the web form. in the code


narrator : the text featured on john baldessari ’ s canvas comes from a series of works featuring formulaic advice from “ how - to ” art manuals. the artist explained in a 2010 interview : john baldessari : the subject matter is coming out of people ’ s ideas of how art might be taught. and i think that ’ s what i ’ m getting at. i mean, you can follow all kind of rules, and they ’ re probably all right, but it doesn ’ t mean you ’ re going to come up with anything that we can call art. narrator : baldessari ’ s paintings point out the absurdity of prevailing aesthetic attitudes. he follows the painting ’ s advice to “ break all the so - called rules of composition, ” which, ironically, actually means following the rules. and in another twist, by following the rules, baldessari has also broken them — since these results certainly aren ’ t what the teaching manuals are calling for. one of the founders of conceptual art, john baldessari uses words, images, video, paint, and photography interchangeably in works of art that are witty and self - referential. john baldessari : probably in the mid - 60s, i was really getting a little bit anxious, discontent, or disillusioned about art. i began to think that art might be more than just painting. you know, certainly painting is a vital part of doing art, but there might be other ways to do art. narrator : as a revered teacher at both the california institute of the arts and at ucla, he and his work have profoundly influenced generations of younger artists. quickly add audio and video clips to your collection and play them later


by alissa de carbonnel moscow ( reuters ) - europe and russia signed a deal on thursday for a joint mars mission which will bore beneath the red planet ' s surface for soil samples they hope will solve the mystery of whether there is life beyond earth. europe ' s space agency had hoped to work with nasa on the two - spacecraft exomars mission but turned to the russians after the u. s. agency pulled out due to budget shortfalls. the announcement comes amid heightened excitement over the search for life on the planet in our solar system most like earth after scientists said analysis from nasa ' s own mission rover, curiosity, showed mars had the right ingredients for life. european scientists say the two - stage mission, with the two craft to be launched in 2016 and 2018, will pave the way for what nasa has described as the " holy grail " of mars exploration : a separate mission to return dirt samples from the red planet. " curiosity learnt us a little bit, exomars will bring us a step further, but bringing back those samples to earth you can do 10 to 100 times more analysis, " rolf de groot, head of the european space agency ' s ( esa ) robotic exploration coordination office, told reuters. " that is a goal of everybody who works on mars exploration. " the europe - russia mission hopes to take scientists beyond nasa ' s finding that the surface of earth ' s neighboring planet had the right mix of elements to sustain life, by drilling 2 meters ( 6 feet ) below its radiation - hit surface for samples. " nasa is also drilling, but two centimeters deep, " de groot said, referring to the ongoing curiosity mission. " it ' s a completely different story. " " exomars, by drilling 2 meters into the ground, might hope to identify really the big molecules because that would be a direct indication of the presence of life or that life once existed on mars. " he said the esa ' s mars rover would also be equipped with a much more advanced laboratory than curiosity has, so would be able to carry out more detailed analysis. russian space agency roskosmos will provide the rockets to launch the exomars - short for exobiology on mars - mission and will also design the descent module and surface platform. europe turned to russia after nasa left the $ 1. 3 billion project in february 2012, citing a budget crunch. the esa and roskosmos agreed to cooperate last april, but talks to work out the details dragged on for nearly a year. " this


to russia after nasa left the $ 1. 3 billion project in february 2012, citing a budget crunch. the esa and roskosmos agreed to cooperate last april, but talks to work out the details dragged on for nearly a year. " this event was a long time in the making and took a great deal of collaboration, " roskosmos head vladimir popovkin said after signing the deal with esa director jean - jacques dordain in paris. russia ' s involvement in the ambitious mission could boost the status of its once - pioneering space agency after a litany of costly and embarrassing failures. the delays in agreeing the mission hinged on the extent of russia ' s participation, according to russian space experts who said moscow had seemed to reach its goal of full partnership. " the agreement implies that russian scientists and engineers will become full - fledged participants in all the international scientific and technical groups, " roskosmos said in a statement. what was to be russia ' s first deep space mission in more than two decades - the phobos - grunt mission to scoop up soil samples from mars - was among five botched launches that damaged moscow ' s reputation as a reliable launch partner. european governments have so far committed 850 million euros to the mission. the funding cap has been set at 1 billion euros ( $ 1. 3 billion ) but delays and changes to the scientific aspects of the project are expected to drive up the price tag. even though nasa pulled out, it will still provide radio communications equipment, an important organics experiment and engineering and mission support. the united states also plans to follow up its curiosity rover with an identical probe, to launch in 2020. it has not yet decided if it will cache samples for a future return to earth. the u. s. national academy of sciences in 2011 ranked a mars sample return mission as its top priority in planetary science for the next decade. the long - term goal of the u. s. human space program is to land astronauts on mars in the 2030s. ( additional reporting by irene klotz ; editing by pravin char )


rna, ribonucleotide acid, is built up of a phosphate and nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate. the bases used are adenine ( a ), cytosine ( c ), guanine ( g ) and uracil ( u ). the chemical structure of rna there are four major groups of rna : messenger rna ( mrna ), ribosomal rna ( rrna ), transfer rna ( trna ) and small, regulatory rnas ( srna ). mrna is transcribed from dna by the enzyme rna polymerase, and is then used as a template in translation. rrnas are a major component of the ribosome, the translation machinery. they are divided into the 50s large subunit ( 23s and 5s ) and small 30s ( 16s ) in prokaryotes. the rrnas decode the mrna and interact with trnas. the trnas are attached to specific amino acids and carry them ( with the help of elongation factor tu ) to the ribosome during translation. the srnas form a quite recently discovered group of regulatory rnas that are thought to be of great importance especially during stress, when they bind specifically to their targets and as a consequence effect the expression of genes, either at the level of transcription or translation.


bird paradise national park bird paradise national park ( kus cenneti milli parkı ) is one of the earliest national parks of turkey, surrounding lake kus ( turkish : kus golu, lit. “ bird lake ” ). it ’ s an important stop - over and final destination for migratory birds, which migrate to warmer places south in winter. there are 239 species inhabiting the area during summer, totalling about 3, 000, 000 individual birds, although whole area is only 64 hectares, tiny in world standards. what makes the area so popular with the birds is its ecosystem : at the end of winter, with the level rise of the water of the lake ( which is related to the rising streams, which in turn are related with the dissolving of snowcover up in the mountains ), a small willow grove and reed beds at the northwest of the lake submerge underwater, making it a perfect area to nest, and for the youngs to hatch and grow. bird paradise national park has been awarded with class a european diploma by the european council for four times since 1976, because of its effective and successful protection of the wildlife. detailed information about the birds, and the park in general, is provided in the museum and the administrative building inside the park. the best months for bird watching are between march and july, and september and october, roughly corresponding to the migration period of the birds. there is a watchtower that commands a wide area for viewing. scientific research in the park requires permission from the park directorate. southern marmara occupies a long shoreline which is the southern coast of the sea of marmara, marmara islands off the coast, and some places more inland. it ’ s bordered by eastern marmara to northeast and east, central anatolia to southeast, northern aegean to south, and eastern thrace to northwest and north, across the sea of marmara and the dardanelles strait. in addition to the marmara coast, the region also has a shore on the aegean sea to the west. in ancient times, eastern two - thirds of southern marmara, roughly between bursa and balıkesir was known as mysia, while the western one - third, a peninsula today better known as biga yarımadası in turkish, between dardanelles, aegean sea, and the gulf of edremit, was known as troad, i. e. " the plains behind troy ". the highway d200 ( which is assigned the european route number e90 )


current state - current sports most active stories shots - health blog thu december 15, 2011 experimental magnetic pulses may help heal a brain after stroke a little brain stimulation seems to speed up recovery from a stroke. this isn ' t the sort of brain stimulation you get from conversation. it ' s done using an electromagnetic coil placed against the scalp. researchers think the treatment encourages brain cells to form new connections, allowing the brain to rewire itself to compensate for damage caused by a stroke. the latest evidence that stimulation works comes from italy, where researchers treated patients with a condition called hemispatial neglect. it ' s a common problem in stroke patients that leaves them unable to see or recognize anything on one side of their body, even though their eyes work just fine. scientists suspect the problem occurs when a stroke causes damage that upsets the normal balance between the two sides of the brain. a stroke in the right side of the brain, for example, often seems to cause the healthy left side of the brain to become overactive and overload circuits involved in perception. a team from the santa lucia foundation in rome thought electromagnetic stimulation might help restore normal levels of activity in the affected side of the brain. so they did a study of 20 stroke patients with hemispatial neglect. some got 10 sessions of magnetic stimulation. the rest got a sham treatment. after two weeks, the ones who got stimulation improved 22 percent on tests of perception on the affected side, the team reported in the journal neurology. there was no change among those who got the sham treatment. the study is " an important step forward, " says randolph marshall, a stroke specialist at columbia university medical center. " this work fits with other work suggesting that magnetic stimulation can enhance neuroplasticity. " previous studies have found that brain stimulation can help stroke patients recover motor skills, muscle strength and the ability to swallow. even so, magnetic stimulation remains largely experimental and isn ' t yet a typical treatment for stroke patients.


my gifted and talented students went on a field trip to grassland dairy, located down the highway from greenwood. this local factory supplies much of central wisconsin with butter. they make, process, package, and ship massive amounts of the stuff for many other companies around the country as well. if you had butter on your toast this morning, chances are good that it might be grassland butter. grassland is also home to a massive automated packaging system, complete with several large robotic arms and miles of conveyer belts. it was the robots that brought my kids to the dairy. for many of them, to see these massive and complicated machines in action gives them an idea where technology can take them and how it affects us even locally. the people at grassland were happy to show us around and explained to my students how all of the incredibly complicated parts of the factory work together. one of my students, a fourth grader who built a robot that sorted lego bricks by color, said, “ that box sorter works just like my machine! ” we all were floored when we saw that the robot arms that load up boxes without fail are all programmed to within 1 / 1000 of an inch. “ we are going to need to learn our math, ” remarked another student. look at your local businesses. there is tremendous, real - world application of technology right under our noses. think of the math involved in stocking a grocery or running a restaurant. the student who loves cars but won ’ t work on his math might have a change of heart if he is taken to an auto body shop to see just how much of the job is ordering parts and making estimates. just think what your class could learn from the workers in your community if you take them off campus from time to time.


| how the membrane protein amtb transports ammonia | membrane proteins provide molecular - sized entry and exit portals for the various substances that pass into and out of cells. while life scientists have solved the structures of protein channels for ions, uncharged solutes, and even water, up to now they have only been able to guess at the precise mechanisms by which gases ( such as nh3, co2, o2, no, n2o, etc. ) cross biological membranes. but, with the first high - resolution structure of a bacterial ammonia transporter ( amtb ), determined by a team in the stroud group from the university of california, san francisco, it is now known that this family of transporters conducts ammonia by stripping off the proton from the ammonium ( nh4 + ) cation and conducting the uncharged nh3 “ gas. ” progress in determining structures of membrane proteins of all kinds has been slowed by the difficulty of obtaining sufficiently robust crystals that diffract to high resolution. a common strategy is to grow crystals of proteins from multiple organisms in which the protein is known to have evolved from a common ancestor ( orthologs ) and select the one that gives the best diffraction data. the ucsf researchers cloned multiple orthologs of the integral membrane protein amtb belonging to the amt / mep / rh superfamily. to define any preferred sites for ammonia or methyl ammonia ( ch3nh2 ) and to clarify the mechanism for transport or conductance of these molecules, crystals were grown in the absence of any ammonium derivative and in the presence of ammonium sulfate or methyl ammonium sulfate. diffraction data from crystals of amtb from the bacterium escherichia coli were collected at als beamline 8. 3. 1 with a ccd area detector. phases were calculated from multiple - wavelength anomalous dispersion ( mad ) data from a selenomethionine ( semet ) - substituted protein. after data processing ( solvent flattening and phase extension to 2. 0 a ), the model was refined to 1. 35 a, the highest - resolution structure of any membrane protein to date. overall, the structure shows that amtb is a trimer, with each monomer containing a channel conducting ammonia. the monomer protein chain includes two structurally similar motifs of opposite polarity. each motif spans the cell membrane between the periplasm ( region between the cell wall and the membrane ) and the cytoplas


monomer containing a channel conducting ammonia. the monomer protein chain includes two structurally similar motifs of opposite polarity. each motif spans the cell membrane between the periplasm ( region between the cell wall and the membrane ) and the cytoplasm ( cell interior ) five times. comparison of the structures with and without ammonia and with methyl ammonia enabled the team to identify a wider vestibule site at the periplasmic side of the membrane that recruits nh4 + and a narrower 20 - a - long hydrophobic channel midway through the membrane that lowers the dissociation constant of nh4 +, thereby forming nh3, which is then stabilized by interactions with two conserved histidine side chains inside the channel. in a second vestibule at the cytoplasmic end of the channel, the nh3 returns to equilibrium as nh4 +. an ammonia conduction assay was devised using stopped - flow kinetics and, together with the structural result, proved that it is only neutral nh3 that is conducted by the channel. this is the first time that the structure and mechanism of a “ gas channel ” has been determined. conductance of uncharged nh3, versus the nh4 + ion, solves several biological problems. transport of only uncharged nh3 assures selectivity against all ions. nh4 + or any other ion would be unstable in the center of the hydrophobic bilayer, while nh3 is not. passage of uncharged nh3 would not result in a net change of protons across the membrane nor would it change the membrane potential, thus neither energy any negative counter ion to balance the charge is needed to accumulate ammonia. the structure of amtb and the mechanism of gas transport are common to other members of the superfamily in eukaryotic cells. for example, related rh proteins in humans are thought to be critical players in systemic ph regulation in the kidney, in amino acid biosynthesis, and in the central nervous system. research conducted by s. khademi, j. o ’ connell iii, j. remis, y. robles - colmenares, l. j. w. miercke, and r. m. stroud ( university of california, san francisco ). research funding : national institutes of general medical sciences. operation of the als is supported by the u. s. department of energy, office of basic energy sciences. publication about this research : s. khademi, j. o ' connell iii, j. remis


to prepare and safely weather a thunderstorm the following information is provided by the american red cross, fema and united states department of commerce, national oceanic and thunderstorms are dangerous! every thunderstorm produces lightning. associated dangers of thunderstorms include tornadoes, strong winds, hail and flash flooding. tunderstorm watch - severe thunderstorms are possible in and near the watch area. stay informed and be ready to act if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued. thunderstorm warning - severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. warnings indicate imminent danger to life and to prepare for a thunderstorm, you should do the - put together an emergency preparedness kit that includes food, water, battery - powered radio, sanitation and personal hygiene items, medications, flashlight, extra batteries, first aid supplies, copies of personal documents ( medication list and pertinent medical information, deed / lease to home, birth certificates, insurance policies ), cell phone with chargers, family and emergency contact information and extra cash. - remove dead or rotting trees and branches that could fall and cause injury or damage. - secure outdoor objects that could blow away or - get inside a home, building or hard top automobile ( not a convertible ). although you may be injured if lightning strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than - remember, rubber - soled shoes and rubber tires do not protect you from being struck by lightning. however, the steel frame of a hard - topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal. - shutter windows and secure outside doors. if shutters are not available, close window blinds, shades or curtains. - unplug any electronic equipment well before the storm arrives. - protect your animals by ensuring that any outside buildings that house them are protected in the same way as your home. if a thunderstorm and lightning are occurring in your area, you should : - listen to local news or battery - powered noaa weather radio for emergency updates. watch for signs of a storm, like darkening skies, lightning flashes or increasing wind. - avoid contact with corded phones. use a corded telephone only for emergencies. cordless and cellular telephones are safe to - avoid contact with electrical equipment or - avoid contact with plumbing. do not wash your hands, do not take a shower, do not wash dishes, and do not do laundry. plumbing and bathroom fixtures can conduct electricity. - stay away from windows and doors, and stay off - do not lie on concrete floors and do not lean against concrete


, do not take a shower, do not wash dishes, and do not do laundry. plumbing and bathroom fixtures can conduct electricity. - stay away from windows and doors, and stay off - do not lie on concrete floors and do not lean against concrete walls. - avoid natural lightning rods such as a tall, isolated tree in an open area - avoid hilltops, open fields, the beach or a boat on the water. - take shelter in a sturdy building. avoid isolated sheds, picnic shelters, or other small structures in open areas. - avoid contact with anything metal - tractors, farm equipment, motorcycles, golf carts, glof clubs and bicycles. - if you are driving, try to safely exit the roadway and park. stay in the vehicle and turn on emergency flashers until the heavy rain ends. avoid touching metal or other surfaces that conduct electricity in and outside after a thunderstorm or lightning strike, you - never drive through a flooded roadway. - stay away from storm - damaged areas. - continue to listen to noaa weather radio or to local radio and television stations for updated information or instructions. - help people who may require special assistance, such as infants, children and the elderly or disabled. - stay away from downed power lines and report - watch your animals closely. keep them under your direct control. how to prepare for and handle power outages for medical devices that require electricity. go to : sudden power outages can be frustrating and troublesome, especially when they last a long time. if a power outage is 2 hours or less, you need not be concerned about losing your perishable foods. for prolonged power outages, though, there are steps you can take to minimize food loss and to keep all members of your household as comfortable as possible. keep food as safe - keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. first use perishable food from the refrigerator. an unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold for about 4 - then use food from the freezer. a full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours ( 24 hours if it is half full ) if the door - use your non - perishable foods and staples after using food from the refrigerator and - if it looks like the power outage will continue beyond a day, prepare a cooler with ice for your freezer items. - keep food in a dry, cool spot and keep it covered at all times. - turn off and unplug all unneccessary electrical equipment, including sensitive - turn off


, prepare a cooler with ice for your freezer items. - keep food in a dry, cool spot and keep it covered at all times. - turn off and unplug all unneccessary electrical equipment, including sensitive - turn off or disconnect any appliances ( like stoves ), equipment or electronics you were using when the power went out. when power comes back on, surges or spikes can damage equipment. - leave one light on so you ' ll know when the power comes back on. - when using a portable generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator. do not connect a portable generator to a home ' s electrical - if you are considering getting a generator, get advise from a professional, such as an electrician. make sure that the generator you purchase is rated for the power that you think you need. - never use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal - burning devices inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace or any partially enclosed area. locate unit away from doors, windows, and vent that could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors. sources : federal emergency management agency ( fema ), american red cross, and noaa prepared by : 211 / lb content last reviewed : july2012