what is proper action regarding partial matches or potential associations? - if a state or jurisdiction desires to implement familial searching, what are the best practices to apply? with regard to the last question, software is needed that effectively searches databases based on the best - performing parameters. the proposed practices for identifying associations with their false - positive and false - negative rates should be understood ( 12 ). when possible, y str typing should be performed ( for male relatives ) ( 11 ) in conclusion, there is unequivocal evidence that familial searching will increase the cold hit rate and help solve more cases. most states legislatively authorized codis to be utilized for " criminal identification " purposes. the means used to achieve that purpose are seldom specifically described in the empowering statutes. california and colorado each implemented familial dna searching without legislative assistance ( 3 ). the " grim sleeper " case shows that familial dna searching can be used solely for " criminal identification " purposes ( see reference 20 for an extended discussion of this topic ( 14 ) ). the prediction is that as more successes such as the grim sleeper case are reported, more laboratories will seek to use familial searching. if familial searching is to be implemented it should be performed in a well - thought - out, robust manner. there are some models to follow, and the laboratory should work closely with its legal counterparts to develop an effective plan. editor ' s note : learn more about familial searches to solve crimes at the 21st international symposium on human identification, which is being held october 11 – 14, 2010, in san antonio, texas. a panel discussion on october 14 will explore the details of familial searching and focus on the controversy behind the policy. panelists will include bruce budowle, institute of investigative genetics ; rockne harmon, alameda county district attorney ’ s office ( retired ) ; jennifer luttman, federal bureau of investigation ; chris maguire, forensic science service ; and sonia suter, george washington law school.


for some women, genes may influence pressure to be thin genetics may make some women more vulnerable to the pressure of being thin, a study led by michigan state university researchers has found. from size - zero models to airbrushed film stars, thinness is portrayed as equaling beauty across western culture, and it ’ s an ideal often cited as a cause of eating disorder symptoms in young women. the researchers focused on the potential psychological impact of women buying into this perceived ideal of thinness, which they call thin - ideal internalization. changes in self - perception and behavior, caused by this idealization, can lead to body dissatisfaction, a preoccupation with weight and other symptoms of eating disorders. “ we ’ re all bombarded daily with messages extoling the virtues of being thin, yet intriguingly only some women develop what we term thin - ideal internalization, ” said jessica suisman, lead author on the study and a researcher in msu ’ s department of psychology. “ this suggests that genetic factors may make some women more susceptible to this pressure than others. ” to explore the role of genetic factors in whether women “ buy in ” to the pressure to be thin, the idealization of thinness was studied in sets of twins. more than 300 female twins from the msu twin registry, ages 12 - 22, took part in the study. suisman and colleagues measured how much participants wanted to look like people from movies, tv and magazines. once the levels of thin idealization were assessed, identical twins who share 100 percent of their genes were compared with fraternal twins who share 50 percent. the results show that identical twins have closer levels of thin idealization than fraternal twins, which suggests a significant role for genetics. further analysis shows that the heritability of thin idealization is 43 percent, meaning that almost half of the reason women differ in their idealization of thinness can be explained by differences in their genetic makeup. in addition to the role of genes, findings showed that influences of the environment are also important. the results showed that differences between twins ’ environments have a greater role in the development of thin ideal internalization than wider cultural attitudes, which women throughout western societies are exposed to. “ we were surprised to find that shared environmental factors, such as exposure to the same media, did not have as big an impact as expected, ” suisman said. “ instead, non - shared factors that make co - twins different from each other had the greatest impact. ” although the study did not look at


exposure to the same media, did not have as big an impact as expected, ” suisman said. “ instead, non - shared factors that make co - twins different from each other had the greatest impact. ” although the study did not look at specific environmental triggers, non - shared environmental influences typically include experiences that twins do not share with one another. this could include involvement by one twin in a weight - focused sport like dance, one twin being exposed to more media that promotes thinness than the other, or one of the twins having a friendship group that places importance on weight. “ the take - home message, ” suisman said, “ is that the broad cultural risk factors that we thought were most influential in the development of thin - ideal internalization are not as important as genetic risk and environmental risk factors that are specific and unique to each twin. ” kelly klump, msu professor of psychology and co - author on the study, said it is well established that a broad range of factors can contribute to the development of eating disorders. “ this study reveals the need to take a similar approach to the ways in which women buy in to pressure to be thin, by considering how both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of thin - ideal internalization, ” klump said.


published december 9th 2004 by routledge – 96 pages series : routledge a level english guides routledge a level english guides equip as and a2 level students with the skills they need to explore, evaluate, and enjoy english. books in the series are built around the various skills specified in the assessment objectives ( aos ) for all as and a2 level english courses. focusing on the aos most relevant to their topic, the books help students to develop their knowledge and abilities through analysis of lively texts and contemporary data. each book in the series covers a different area of language and literary study, and offers accessible explanations, examples, exercises, summaries, suggested answers and a glossary of key terms. preface 1. genre text conventions case study : the recipe genre. conclusion. summary. 2. theme bridging the gap between texts. case study : single parents and their children. bleak house in context. choosing your own theme. conclusion summary. 3. linked and labelled texts labelling texts. the ' great tradition ' and cultural capital. problems with the labelling process. case study : the romantic movement. the romantic background and the age of revolution. the byronic hero. romantic texts in context. key contextual questions. extension exercise : the rime of the ancient mariner conclusion. summary. 4. sources and adaptations parody case study : pride and prejudice and bridget jones ' s diary. comparing form, structure and language. interpretations of texts. the writer ' s context. the text ' s context. the reader ' s context. the readings context. conclusion. summary. 5. comparing texts in examinations case study 1 : comparing literary texts. case study 2 : comparing non - literary texts. conclusion : comparing texts in examinations - methods and approaches. summary. suggestions for answers. glossary nicola onyett is an experienced a level examiner, moderator and coursework advisor. previously head of english at queen margaret ' s school in york she now teaches in the department of educational studies at the university of york.


excerpted from an eighth of august by dawn turner trice. copyright © 2002 by dawn turner trice. excerpted by permission of anchor, a division of random house, inc. all rights reserved. no part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. 1 ) for discussion of an eighth of august : an eight of august presents the same events from several different points of view. which narrator most closely represents, if any, the voice of the author? did your opinions of the characters change as you saw them through different eyes? did you trust their own words and perceptions more than the portraits others painted of them? 2 ) sweet alma is a central character in the book, despite the fact that she isn ' t present in 1986. drawing on the impressions the other characters offer, how would you describe her? do you feel sympathy for her or do you think she is acting selfishly by not returning to halley ' s landing? 3 ) what motivated flossie ' s decision to send simon and sweet alma to st. louis? was she merely protecting the family from scandal? in what ways did it reflect her dissatisfaction with her own life? what would have happened to sweet alma had she remained in halley ' s landing? 4 ) why did flossie decide to raise el herself? to what extent was she influenced by the close - knit community of halley ' s landing and the attitudes of her friends and family? would she have made the same decisions about both her daughter and her grandson in chicago, where she, simon, and sweet alma lived before coming to halley ' s landing? 5 ) the people of halley ' s landing are very involved with each other ' s lives. do you think this is an accurate portrait of small - town life? are the characters more tolerant of each other because of their shared histories? are they more accepting of eccentricities and idiosyncrasies than members of your own community? 6 ) trice portrays the relationships between several couples : flossie and simon, herbert and thelma, pepper and june, and may ruth and john. discuss how each of these relationships represents a different concept of love and marriage. what makes herbert and thelma ' s marriage so successful? why do flossie and simon continue to meet years after their divorce, and why do they keep it a secret from the others? do your sympathies for june and pepper change when you learn more about june ' s background? do you think they will be


perversion. what keeps the negative events at the heart of the novels from overshadowing the stories trice tells? 3 ) why does trice use more than one narrator? how do the changes in voice shape the stories she tells? did you identify more closely with specific narrators, and if so, why? 4 ) tempestt tells her story from the vantage point of twenty years, and the recollections in an eighth of august switch back and forth from 1973 to 1986. how do the changing time frames and perspectives strengthen the power of the novels? 5 ) in only twice, all the characters are african - american. in her second novel, trice included a white woman, may ruth, as part of the community she creates. what do you think she was trying to accomplish by doing this? does may ruth ' s background and race influence the way the other characters relate to her? 6 ) both tempestt and pepper witness the death of their best friends, and both feel a sense of responsibility for the tragedy. how do their reactions differ? how do the reactions of the adults around them affect their abilities to cope with their guilt? we know that tempestt ended up living a rich, fulfilling life. what do you think will happen to pepper in the future?


the cooking hacks team is happy to announce at last the new development board we have been doing to use with raspberry! the idea behind the raspberry pi to arduino shields connection bridge is to allow to use any of the shields, boards and modules designed for arduino in raspberry pi. it includes also the possibility of connecting digital and analog sensors, using the same pinout of arduino but with the power and capabilities of raspberry. in order to make complete the compatibility we have created the ardupi library which allows to use raspberry with the same code used in arduino. to do so, we have implemented conversion functions so that you can control in the same way as in arduino all the i / o interfaces : i2c, spi, uart, analog, digital, in raspberry pi. let ' s summarize what we can do using this shield along with the ardupi library : - - connect any arduino wireless module in raspberry. some examples : xbee 802. 15. 4 / xbee zigbee, rfid, nfc, bluetooth, bluetooth pro, wifi, gprs, 3g - - connect any sensor ( analog 0 - 5v, digital ) to raspberry pi with a precession of 16b using the adc integrated. connect also complex sensors through i2c and uart buses - - connect any arduino specific shield such as : radiation sensor shield, canbus, relay shield,... - - connect any electronic module or actuator which works over i2c, spi, uart all the information can be found in this tutorial : raspberry pi to arduino shields connection bridge for further information or any question which may arise we will be pleased to help you. cooking hacks team


by michael mann and gavin schmidt on this site we emphasize conclusions that are supported by “ peer - reviewed ” climate research. that is, research that has been published by one or more scientists in a scholarly scientific journal after review by one or more experts in the scientists ’ same field ( ‘ peers ’ ) for accuracy and validity. what is so important about “ peer review ”? as chris mooney has lucidly put it : [ peer review ] is an undisputed cornerstone of modern science. central to the competitive clash of ideas that moves knowledge forward, peer review enjoys so much renown in the scientific community that studies lacking its imprimatur meet with automatic skepticism. academic reputations hinge on an ability to get work through peer review and into leading journals ; university presses employ peer review to decide which books they ’ re willing to publish ; and federal agencies like the national institutes of health use peer review to weigh the merits of applications for federal research grants. put simply, peer review is supposed to weed out poor science. however, it is not foolproof — a deeply flawed paper can end up being published under a number of different potential circumstances : ( i ) the work is submitted to a journal outside the relevant field ( e. g. a paper on paleoclimate submitted to a social science journal ) where the reviewers are likely to be chosen from a pool of individuals lacking the expertise to properly review the paper, ( ii ) too few or too unqualified a set of reviewers are chosen by the editor, ( iii ) the reviewers or editor ( or both ) have agendas, and overlook flaws that invalidate the paper ’ s conclusions, and ( iv ) the journal may process and publish so many papers that individual manuscripts occasionally do not get the editorial attention they deserve. thus, while un - peer - reviewed claims should not be given much credence, just because a particular paper has passed through peer review does not absolutely insure that the conclusions are correct or scientifically valid. the “ leaks ” in the system outlined above unfortunately allow some less - than - ideal work to be published in peer - reviewed journals. this should therefore be a concern when the results of any one particular study are promoted over the conclusions of a larger body of past published work ( especially if it is a new study that has not been fully absorbed or assessed by the community ). indeed, this is why scientific assessments such as the arctic climate impact assessment ( acia ), or the intergovernmental panel on climate change ( ipcc ) reports


a new study that has not been fully absorbed or assessed by the community ). indeed, this is why scientific assessments such as the arctic climate impact assessment ( acia ), or the intergovernmental panel on climate change ( ipcc ) reports, and the independent reports by the national academy of sciences, are so important in giving a balanced overview of the state of knowledge in the scientific research community. there have been several recent cases of putatively peer - reviewed studies in the scientific literature that produced unjustified or invalid conclusions. curiously, many of these publications have been accompanied by heavy publicity campaigns, often declaring that this one paper completely refutes the scientific consensus. an excellent account of some of these examples is provided here by dr. stephen schneider ( stanford university ). perhaps the most publicized recent example was the publication of a study by astronomer willie soon of the harvard university - affiliated harvard - smithsonian center for astrophysics and co - authors, claiming to demonstrate that 20th century global warmth was not unusual in comparison with conditions during medieval times. indeed, this study serves as a prime example of one of the “ myths ” that we have debunked elsewhere on this site. the study was summarily discredited in articles by teams of climate scientists ( including several of the scientists here at realclimate ), in the american geophysical union ( agu ) journal eos and in science. however, it took some time the rebuttals to work their way through the slow process of the scientific peer review. in the meantime the study was quickly seized upon by those seeking to sow doubt in the validity behind the scientific consensus concerning the evidence for human - induced climate change ( see news articles in the new york times, and wall street journal ). the publication of the study had wider reverberations throughout the academic and scientific institutions connected with it. the association of the study with the “ harvard ” name caused some notable unease among members of the harvard university community ( see here and here ) and the reputation of the journal publishing the study was seriously tarnished in the process. the editor at climate research that handled the soon et al paper, dr. chris de frietas, has a controversial record of past editorial practices ( see this ‘ sidebar ’ to an article in scientific american by science journalist david appell ). in an unprecedented ( to our knowledge ) act of protest, chief editor hans von storch and 3 additional editors subsequently resigned from climate research in response to the fundamental documented failures of the editorial process


in scientific american by science journalist david appell ). in an unprecedented ( to our knowledge ) act of protest, chief editor hans von storch and 3 additional editors subsequently resigned from climate research in response to the fundamental documented failures of the editorial process at the journal. a detailed account of these events are provided by chris mooney in the skeptical inquirer and the american prospect, by david appell in scientific american, and in a news brief in nature. the journal ’ s publisher himself ( otto kline ) eventually stated that “ [ the conclusions drawn ] cannot be concluded convincingly from the evidence provided in the paper ”. another journal which ( quite oddly ) also published the soon et al study, “ energy and environment ”, is not actually a scientific journal at all but a social science journal. the editor, sonja boehmer - christensen, in defending the publication of the soon et al study, was quoted by science journalist richard monastersky in the chronicle of higher education somewhat remarkably confessing “ i ’ m following my political agenda — a bit, anyway. but isn ’ t that the right of the editor? ”. shaviv and veizer ( 2003 ) published a paper in the journal gsa today, where the authors claimed to establish a correlation between cosmic ray flux ( crf ) and temperature evolution over hundreds of millions of years, concluding that climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide was much smaller than currently accepted. the paper was accompanied by a press release entitled “ global warming not a man - made phenomenon ”, in which shaviv was quoted as stating, “ the operative significance of our research is that a significant reduction of the release of greenhouse gases will not significantly lower the global temperature, since only about a third of the warming over the past century should be attributed to man ”. however, in the paper the authors actually stated that “ our conclusion about the dominance of the crf over climate variability is valid only on multimillion - year time scales ”. unsurprisingly, there was a public relations offensive using the seriously flawed conclusions expressed in the press release to once again try to cast doubt on the scientific consensus that humans are influencing climate. these claims were subsequently disputed in an article in eos ( rahmstorf et al, 2004 ) by an international team of scientists and geologists ( including some of us here at realclimate ), who suggested that shaviv and veizer ’ s analyses were based on unreliable and poorly replicated estimates, selective adjustments of the data ( shifting the data


international team of scientists and geologists ( including some of us here at realclimate ), who suggested that shaviv and veizer ’ s analyses were based on unreliable and poorly replicated estimates, selective adjustments of the data ( shifting the data, in one case by 40 million years ) and drew untenable conclusions, particularly with regard to the influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations on recent warming ( see for example the exchange between the two sets of authors ). however, by the time this came out the misleading conclusions had already been publicized widely. next, we discuss the first of three so - called “ bombshell ” papers that supposedly “ knock the stuffing out of ” the findings of the ipcc. patrick michaels and associates billed his own paper ( mckitrick and michaels, 2004 ) ( co - authored by ross mckitrick ), this way : after four years of one of the most rigorous peer reviews ever, canadian ross mckitrick and another of us ( michaels ) published a paper searching for “ economic ” signals in the temperature record. … the research showed that somewhere around one - half of the warming in the u. n. surface record was explained by economic factors, which can be changes in land use, quality of instrumentation, or upkeep of records. it strikes us as odd, to say the least, that, after one of the “ most rigorous peer reviews ever ”, nobody involved ( neither editor, nor reviewers, nor authors ) seems to have caught the egregious basic error that the authors mistakenly used degrees rather than the required radians in calculating the cosine functions used to spatially weight their estimates * *. this mistake rendered every calculation in the paper incorrect, and the conclusions invalid — to our knowledge, however, the paper has not yet been retracted. remarkably, there were still other independent and equally fundamental errors in the paper that would have rendered it entirely invalid anyway. to the journals credit, they published a criticism of the paper by benestad ( 2004 ) to this effect. it may come as no surprise that mckitrick and michaels ( 2004 ) was published in climate research and was handled by none other than chris de frietas. the other two “ bombshell ” papers were published in the agu journal geophysical research letters ( grl ) which publishes over 1500 papers per year. it can be conservatively estimated that they publish no more than 70 % of the papers received, and thus probably process over 2000 papers per year. that gives each of


journal geophysical research letters ( grl ) which publishes over 1500 papers per year. it can be conservatively estimated that they publish no more than 70 % of the papers received, and thus probably process over 2000 papers per year. that gives each of the typically 8 or so editors of the journal almost a paper per day to evaluate. while grl publishes many excellent papers and provides an important forum to the research community for rapid publication of important results, occasionally, poor papers slip through the net. these two papers were authored by douglass and collaborators ( douglass et al, 2004a ; 2004b ) the first with fred singer as a co - author and the second with both singer and michaels. both papers * * * argue that recent atmospheric temperatures have been cooling, rather than warming, based on the analysis of data over a selective ( 1979 - 1996 ) time interval that eliminates periods of significant warming both before and after, and using a controversial satellite - derived temperature record whose robustness has been called into question by other teams analysing the data. an excellent discussion of both papers is provided by tim lambert. another relevant grl paper was the article by legates and davis ( 1997 ) which criticized the use of “ centered correlations ” common to numerous “ detection and attribution ” studies supporting the detection of human influence on recent climate change. they argued that correlations could increase while observed and simulated global means diverge. however, as pointed out in the chapter on detection and attribution in ipcc ( 2001 ) *, centered correlations were introduced for precisely this reason : to provide an indicator that was statistically independent of global mean temperature changes. as noted by the ipcc, “ if both global mean changes and centered pattern correlations point towards the same explanation of observed temperature changes, it provides more compelling evidence than either of these indicators in isolation ”. again, a basic logical flaw in the authors ’ criticism of past work was not caught in peer review. next, we consider the paper by soon et al ( 2004 ) published in grl which criticized the way temperature data series had been smoothed in the ipcc report and elsewhere. true to form, contrarians immediately sold the results as ‘ invalidating ’ the conclusions of the ipcc, with the lead author willie soon himself writing an opinion piece to this effect. once again, a few short months later, a followup article was published by one of us ( mann, 2004 ) that invalidated the soon et al ( 2004 ) conclusions, demonstrating ( with links to supporting matlab


opinion piece to this effect. once again, a few short months later, a followup article was published by one of us ( mann, 2004 ) that invalidated the soon et al ( 2004 ) conclusions, demonstrating ( with links to supporting matlab source codes and data ) how ( a ) the authors had, in an undisclosed manner, inappropriately compared trends calculated over differing time intervals and ( b ) had not used standard, objective statistical criteria to determine how data series should be treated near the beginning and end of the data. it is unfortunate that a followup paper even had to be published, as the flaws in the original study were so severe as to have rendered the study of essentially no scientific value. there are other examples of studies that have even been published in high quality venues that were heavily publicized at the time, but in retrospect were flawed ( though not as egregiously as the examples above ). for instance, fan et al ( 1998 ), on the size of the carbon sink in the continental us, rebutted by schimel et al. ( 2000 ). or the solar - cycle length / climate correlation described by friis - christensen and lassen ( 1991 ) whose seeemingly impressive correlation for the latter half of the 20th century disappears if you don ’ t change the averaging scheme half way along ( laut, 2003 ; damon and laut, 2004 ). the current thinking of scientists on climate change is based on thousands of studies ( google scholar gives 19, 000 scientific articles for the full search phrase “ global climate change ” ). any new study will be one small grain of evidence that adds to this big pile, and it will shift the thinking of scientists slightly. science proceeds like this in a slow, incremental way. it is extremely unlikely that any new study will immediately overthrow all the past knowledge. so even if the conclusions of the shaviv and veizer ( 2003 ) study discussed earlier, for instance, had been correct, this would be one small piece of evidence pitted against hundreds of others which contradict it. scientists would find the apparent contradiction interesting and worthy of further investigation, and would devote further study to isolating the source of the contradiction. they would not suddenly throw out all previous results. yet, one often gets the impression that scientific progress consists of a series of revolutions where scientists discard all their past thinking each time a new result gets published. this is often because only a small handful of high - profile studies in a given field are known by the


often gets the impression that scientific progress consists of a series of revolutions where scientists discard all their past thinking each time a new result gets published. this is often because only a small handful of high - profile studies in a given field are known by the wider public and media, and thus unrealistic weight is attached to those studies. new results are often over - emphasised ( sometimes by the authors, sometimes by lobby groups ) to make them sound important enough to have news value. thus “ bombshells ” usually end up being duds. however, as demonstrated above, even when it initially breaks down, the process of peer - review does usually work in the end. but sometimes it can take a while. observers would thus be well advised to be extremely skeptical of any claims in the media or elsewhere of some new “ bombshell ” or “ revolution ” that has not yet been fully vetted by the scientific community. * note added 1 / 21 / 05 : it has come to our attention that legates and davis ( 1997 ) were similarly rebutted in a separate publication by wigley et al ( 2000 ). * * note added 1 / 21 / 05 : mckitrick and michaels have published an errata correcting the degrees / radians error in cr 27, 265 - 268 which now shows that latitude correlates much better with temperature trends than any economic statisitic. * * * note added 1. 25. 05 : chip knappenberger correctly points out that the the second douglass et al paper doesn ’ t actually make the claim that the atmosphere is cooling. we therefore withdraw that specific comment, but note that the comment concerning the selective use of data series and time periods stands. benestad, r. e., are temperature trends affected by economic activity? comment on mckitrick & michaels., climate research, 27, 171 - 173, 2004. damon, p. e. and p. laut, pattern of strange errors plagues solar activity and terrestrial climate data, eos, 85, p. 370. 2004 douglass, d. h., pearson, b. d., and s. f. singer, altitude dependence of atmospheric temperature trends : climate models versus observation, geophys. res. lett., 31, l13208, doi : 10. 1029 / 2004gl020103, 2004. douglass, d. h., pearson, b. d., and s. f. singer, knappenberg, p.


31, l13208, doi : 10. 1029 / 2004gl020103, 2004. douglass, d. h., pearson, b. d., and s. f. singer, knappenberg, p. c., and p. j. michaels, disparity of tropospheric and surface temperature trends : new evidence, geophys. res. lett., 31, l13207, doi : 10. 1029 / 2004gl020212, 2004, 2004. fan, s., gloor, m., mahlman, j., pacala, s., sarmiento, j., takahashi, t., tans, p. a large terrestrial carbon sink in north america implied by atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide data and models, science 282 : 442 - 446, 1998. friis - christensen, e., and k. lassen, length of the solar cycle : an indicator of solar activity closely associated with climate, science 254, 698 - 700, ( 1991 ). legates, d. r. and r. e. davis, the continuing search for an anthropogenic climate change signal : limitations of correlation based approaches, geophys. res. lett., 24, 2319 - 2322, 1997. laut, p., solar activity and terrestrial climate : an analysis of some purported correlations, j. atmos. solar - terr. phys., 65, 801 - 812. 2003 mann, m. e., on smoothing potentially non - stationary climate time series, geophys. res. lett., 31, 2319 - 2322, l07214, doi : 10. 1029 / 2004gl019569, 2004. mckitrick, r., and michaels, p. j., a test of corrections for extraneous signals in gridded surface temperature data., climate research, 26, 159 - 173, 2004. rahmstorf, s., d. archer, d. s. ebel, o. eugster, j. jouzel, d. maraun, g. a. schmidt, j. severinghaus, a. j. weaver, and j. zachos, cosmic rays, carbon dioxide, and climate, eos, 85,, 38, 41, 2004. schimel, d., mel


schmidt, j. severinghaus, a. j. weaver, and j. zachos, cosmic rays, carbon dioxide, and climate, eos, 85,, 38, 41, 2004. schimel, d., melillo, j., tian, h., mcguire, a. d., kicklighter, d., kittel, t., rosenbloom, n., running, s., thornton, p., ojima, d., parton, w., kelly, r., sykes, m., neilson, r. and rizzo, b., contribution of increasing co2 and climate to carbon storage by ecosystems in the united states, science 287 : 2004 - 2006, 2000 shaviv, n, and j. veizer, celestial driver of phanerozoic climate?, gsa today, 13,, 4 - 10, 2004. soon, w., d. r. legates, and s. l. baliunas, estimation and representation of long - term ( > 40 year ) trends of northern - hemisphere gridded surface temperature : a note of caution, geophys. res. lett., 31,, l03209, doi : 10. 1029 / 2003gl019141, 2004. soon, w., and s. baliunas, proxy climatic and environmental changes over the past 1000 years, climate research, 23, 89 - 110, 2003. soon, w., s. baliunas, c, idso, s. idso and d. r. legates, reconstructing climatic and environmental changes of the past 1000 years, energy and environment, 14, 233 - 296, 2003. wigley, t. m. l, santer, b. d and k. e. taylor, k. e., correlation approaches to detection, geophys. res. lett.,, 27, 2973 - 2976, 2000.


keba keba is japanese for gaudy tawdry and it is the title of artist takashi murakami ' s first picture book for children, with a story written by pop musician yujin kitagawa. this bright, colorful book, appropriate for readers of all ages, features both japanese and english texts and emerges at a pivotal time for america ' s scrutiny of japan ' s self - expression. murakami is both an artist and an intellectual ; he has written on and created works employing the concept he calls " superflat, " which is to say, " completely westernized. " murakami has speculated that " the world of the future might be like japan is today - - super flat. " murakami ' s art is inspired both by animation and children ' s culture. but while he has created stuffed animals and monstrously sized inflatable characters, keba keba is his first work intended for children. as the book begins, we meet keba keba - - a round, colorful, exeedingly generous, though friendless creature. keba keba gives his yellow to a baby chicken who has been bullied, his favorite color red to the sad sun, his blue to the crying sky, and the rest of his colors to some frail, unhappy flowers. while keba keba is giving his colors away to the colorless strangers, he becomes thinner and more faint - - but at the same time incredibly happy. in fact, kitagawa ' s story continuously emphasizes keba keba ' s wonderful feelings. yet murakami uses a climactic, wordless illustration encompassing two full pages to show keba keba in shades of grey. his eyes are closed, he is thin, exhausted - - super - flat. fashion designer marc jacobs, whose comments are featured on keba keba ' s book jacket, says that this story is a lesson about the need to give generously and selflessly in order to receive true joy. certainly this is one message children can absorb. but it ' s also possible to see the book as offering a more cautionary tale for contemporary youth. the story ends with a colorful world, but kebakeba is not in this world anymore. and he never does make any friends. sources : brehm, margrit. " takashi murakami : a lesson in strategy ( morphed double - loop. " the japanese experience inevitable. ed. margrit brehm. germany, hatje cantz verlag


rajeev srinivasan looks at the reasons behind the debacle. the currency exchange rate is a representation of the market sentiment about the strength of a nation ' s economy. as such, it is often ruthless in indicating what the rest of the world thinks about a country ' s economic stewardship. thus, when the rupee plummets, it is a clear indication that the world thinks india ' s [ images ] economy is in bad shape, and that its prospects for the future is cloudy. the proximate cause is the budget, with its black - swan event of a 50 - year rollback and retroactive taxation of deals. this strengthens the notion that india is still a banana republic. there is also the spectre of a balance - of - payments crisis as in 1991, which also followed a spending binge. india has a healthy foreign exchange reserve of some $ 330 billion, but this is not as much of a cushion as one might think : it may only pay for some months worth of imports. what is also striking are the following numbers from shankar acharya in business standard ( ' the exchange rate : economics bites back ) : after being at around 1 per cent since 1991, the current account deficit is ballooning to about 4 per cent of gdp now ; the fiscal deficit is stubbornly high at over 8 per cent. according to the economist, inflation was at 9. 5 per cent in march, exceeded only by turkey, pakistan and venezuela! and yet, here is the government of india acting as though its finances were in the pink of health, proposing more entitlement programmes! tellingly, the interest rates on 10 - year government bonds, at 8. 51 per cent, are also among the highest in the world, exceeded only by turkey, pakistan, and everybody ' s favorite, greece. nice company. from a personal point of view, a collapse in the rupee ' s purchasing power is a rude shock when an indian travels outside the country. for instance, i remember traveling once to thailand about twenty years ago. the thai baht and the indian rupee were roughly equivalent, and if i remember right, at about 20 to 25 to the dollar. so it was easy to compare prices - - including those of bangkok ' s infamous and dodgy delights - - because you could just use relevant indian prices. unfortunately, things have diverged a long way : the thai baht ( despite the punishment of the asian financial crisis a while ago ) is still around 31. 1


infamous and dodgy delights - - because you could just use relevant indian prices. unfortunately, things have diverged a long way : the thai baht ( despite the punishment of the asian financial crisis a while ago ) is still around 31. 1 to the us dollar, whereas the rupee has plunged to ( as of this writing ) 56 to the us dollar ( 56. 38 this morning ). that is, it has depreciated by about 80 per cent compared to the thai baht. what that suggests is that thailand ' s economic fundamentals are considerably worse than those of thailand. thailand is a small country, with not much by way of natural resources or human resources, yet they are so much more economically worthy than india! the saga of the rupee is starkly visible in this chart from the economist ( the tale that wags the elephant, may 12, 2012 ) - - the rupee has continuously depreciated against the dollar. the sharp fall happened in 1991 as part of liberalisation, but the general trend has been downwards, except for two brief periods : one in the 2000 - 2007 era when the fruits of liberalisation were beginning to appear ; and two in the 2008 - 2011 era when the financial meltdown hit the west. in fact, that latter point is one of the two reasons why india is at risk now. there is an empirical observation that those countries that escape a particular financial crisis ( and pat themselves on the back ) are quite likely to fall prey to the next financial crisis. there was an orgy of self - congratulation and complacency about the wisdom of the indian ' third way ' when the west self - destructed and india did not. that chicken may now be coming home to roost. the second reason is structural : the congress is happy with a certain economic climate ; and if presented with any other, they will quickly convert it into what they like. some commentators have anointed the congress ' the natural party of governance ', and their ' natural form of governance ' is : the nehruvian growth rate of 2 to 3 per cent, high inflation, industrial stagnation, the license - permit raj, hyper - keynesian tax - and - spend, crony capitalism, deficit financing, mushrooming public spending on entitlements. i proposed a ' goat theory of everything ' to explain this phenomenon ( see my earlier rediff column ). much as goats will convert any lush grassland into their natural habitat of semi - arid, hardsc


cr - 39 is transparent in visible spectrum and is almost completely opaque in the ultraviolet range. it has high abrasion resistance, in fact the highest abrasion / scratch resistance of any uncoated optical plastic. cr - 39 is about half the weight of glass and index of refraction only slightly lower than that of crown glass, making it an advantageous material for eyeglasses and sunglasses lenses. a wide range of colors can be achieved by dyeing of the surface or the bulk of the material. cr - 39 is also resistant to most of solvents and other chemicals, to gamma radiation, to aging, and to material fatigue. it can withstand the small hot sparks from welding. it can be used continuously in temperatures up to 100 °c and up to one hour in 130 °c. in the radiation detection application, raw cr - 39 material is exposed to proton recoils caused by incident neutrons. the proton recoils cause tracks, which are enlarged by an etching process in a caustic solution of sodium hydroxide. the enlarged tracks are counted under a microscope ( commonly 200x ), and the number of tracks is proportional to the amount of incident neutron radiation. effect of alpha - particle energies on cr - 39 line - shape parameters using positron annihilation technique. ( polyally diglycol carbonate ) jul 01, 2006 ; polyally diglycol carbonate " cr - 39 " is widely used as etched track type particle detector. doppler broadening positron...


if and only if - " material equivalence " redirects here, in logic and fields that rely on it such as mathematics, is a logical connective between statements which means that the truth of either one of the statements requires the truth of the other. thus, either both statements are true, or both are false. to put it another way, the first statement will always be true when the second statement is, and will only be true under those conditions. in writing, common alternative phrases to " if and only if " include iff, q is necessary and sufficient for p, p is equivalent to q, p precisely if q, p precisely ( or exactly ) when q, p exactly in case q, and p just in case q. many authors regard " iff " as unsuitable in formal writing ; others use it freely. the statement " ( p iff q ) " is equivalent to the statement " not ( p xor q ) " or " p = = q " in computer science. in logic formulas, logical symbols are used instead of these phrases ; see the discussion of notation. the truth table of p iff q ( also written as p ↔ q ) is as follows : p ↔ q | | t | | | f | | | f | | | t | the corresponding logical symbols are " ↔ ", " " and " ≡ ", and sometimes " iff ". these are usually treated as equivalent. however, some texts of mathematical logic ( particularly those on first - order logic, rather than propositional logic ) make a distinction between these, in which the first, ↔, is used as a symbol in logic formulas, while is used in reasoning about those logic formulas ( e. g., in metalogic another term for this logical connective is exclusive nor. in most logical systems, one proves a statement of the form " p iff q " by proving " if p, then q " and " if q, then p " ( or the inverse of " if p, then q ", i. e. " if not p, then not q " ). proving this pair of statements sometimes leads to a more natural proof, since there are not obvious conditions in which one would infer a biconditional directly. an alternative is to prove the disjunction " ( p and q ) or ( not - p and not - q ) ", which itself can be inferred directly from either of its disjuncts — that is, because " if


alternative is to prove the disjunction " ( p and q ) or ( not - p and not - q ) ", which itself can be inferred directly from either of its disjuncts — that is, because " iff " is truth - functional, " p iff q " follows if p and q have both been shown true, or both false. origin of the abbreviation usage of the abbreviation " iff " first appeared in print in john l. kelley book general topology its invention is often credited to the mathematician paul halmos the difference between if, only if, and iff - madison will eat pudding if the pudding is a custard. ( equivalently : if the pudding is a custard, then madison will eat it ) - madison will eat pudding only if the pudding is a custard. ( equivalently : if madison is eating pudding, then it must be a custard ) - madison will eat pudding if and only if ( iff ) the pudding is a custard. ( equivalently : if the pudding is a custard, then madison will eat it. and if madison is eating pudding, then it must be a custard. ) sentence ( 1 ) states only that madison will eat custard pudding. it does not, however, preclude the possibility that madison might also have occasion to eat bread pudding. maybe she will, maybe she will not - the sentence does not tell us. all we know for certain is that she will eat custard pudding. sentence ( 2 ) states that the only pudding madison will eat is a custard. it does not, however, preclude the possibility that madison will refuse a custard if it is made available, in contrast with sentence ( 1 ), which requires madison to eat any available custard. sentence ( 3 ), however, makes it quite clear that madison will eat custard pudding and custard pudding only. she will eat all such puddings, and she will not eat any other type of pudding. a further difference is that " if " is used in definitions ( except in formal logic ) ; see more below. a sentence that is composed of two other sentences joined by " iff " is called a biconditional. " iff " joins two sentences to form a new sentence. it should not be confused with logical equivalence which is a description of a relation between two sentences. the biconditional " a iff the sentences a,


called a biconditional. " iff " joins two sentences to form a new sentence. it should not be confused with logical equivalence which is a description of a relation between two sentences. the biconditional " a iff the sentences a, describing a relation between the states of affairs a describe. by contrast " a is logically equivalent to b " mentions both sentences : it describes a relation between those two sentences, and not between whatever matters they describe. the distinction is a very confusing one, and has led many a philosopher astray. certainly it is the case that when a is logically equivalent to b, " a iff b " is true. but the converse does not hold. reconsidering the sentence : - madison will eat pudding if and only if it is custard. there is clearly no logical equivalence between the two halves of this particular biconditional. for more on the distinction, see w. v. quine ' s mathematical logic, section 5. one way of looking at " a if and only if b " is that it means " a if b " ( b implies a ) and " a only when b " ( not b implies not a ). " not b implies not a " means a implies b, so then we get two way implication. in philosophy and logic, " iff " is used to indicate definitions, since definitions are supposed to be universally quantified biconditionals. in mathematics and elsewhere, however, the word " if " is normally used in definitions, rather than " iff ". this is due to the observation that " if " in the english language has a definitional meaning, separate from its meaning as a propositional conjunction. this separate meaning can be explained by noting that a definition ( for instance : a group is " abelian " if it satisfies the commutative law ; or : a grape is a " raisin " if it is well dried ) is not an equivalence to be proved, but a rule for interpreting the term defined. ( some authors, nevertheless, explicitly indicate that the " if " of a definition means " iff "! ) here are some examples of true statements that use " iff " - true biconditionals ( the first is an example of a definition, so it should normally have been written with " if " ) : - a person is a bachelor iff that person is a marriageable man who has never married. - " snow is white " ( in english ) is true if


of a definition, so it should normally have been written with " if " ) : - a person is a bachelor iff that person is a marriageable man who has never married. - " snow is white " ( in english ) is true iff " schnee ist weiß " ( in german ) is true. - for any p, q, and r : ( p & q ) & r iff p & ( q & r ). ( since this is written using variables and " & ", the statement would usually be written using " ↔ ", or one of the other symbols used to write biconditionals, in place of " iff " ). - for any real numbers x and y, x = y + 1 iff y = x−1. other words are also sometimes emphasized in the same way by repeating the last letter ; for example orr for " or and only or " ( the exclusive disjunction the statement " ( a iff b ) " is equivalent to the statement " ( not a or b ) and ( not b or a ), " and is also equivalent to the statement " ( not a and not b ) or ( a and b ) ". it is also equivalent to : not [ ( a or b ) and ( not a or not b ) ], or more simply : which converts into : which were given in verbal interpretations above. more general usage is used outside the field of logic, wherever logic is applied, especially in mathematical discussions. it has the same meaning as above : it is an abbreviation for if and only if, indicating that one statement is both necessary and sufficient for the other. this is an example of mathematical jargon. ( however, as noted above, if, rather than iff, is more often used in statements of definition. ) the elements of x are all and only the elements of y is used to mean : " for any z in the domain of discourse, z is in x if and only if z is in y. "


artificial " skin " materials can sense pressure chicago ( reuters ) - new artificial " skin " fashioned out of flexible semiconductor materials can sense touch, making it possible to create robots with a grip delicate enough to hold an egg, yet strong enough to grasp the frying pan, u. s. researchers said on sunday. scientists have long struggled with a way to make robotic devices capable of adjusting the amount of force needed to hold and use different objects. the pressure - sensitive materials are designed to overcome that challenge. " humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it, " said ali javey, an electrical engineer at the university of california berkeley, who led one of two teams reporting on artificial skin discoveries in the journal nature materials. " if we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we ' d want to make sure it doesn ' t break the wine glasses in the process. but we ' d also want the robot to be able to grip a stock pot without dropping it, " javey said in a statement. javey ' s team found a way to make ultra tiny " nanowires " from an alloy of silicon and germanium. wires of this material were formed on the outside of a cylindrical drum, which was then rolled onto a sticky film, depositing the wires in a uniform pattern. sheets of this semiconductor film were then coated with a layer of pressure - sensitive rubber. tests of the material showed it was able to detect a range of force, from typing on a keyboard to holding an object. a second team led by zhenan bao, a chemical engineer at stanford university in california, used a different approach, making a material so sensitive it can detect the weight of a butterfly resting on it. bao ' s sensors were made by sandwiching a precisely molded, highly elastic rubber layer between two electrodes in a regular grid of tiny pyramids. " we molded it into some kind of microstructure to incorporate some air pockets, " bao said in a telephone interview. " if we introduce air pockets, then these rubber pieces can bounce back. " when this material is stretched, the artificial skin measures the change in electrical activity. " the change in the thickness of the material is converted into an electrical signal, " she said. eventually, the teams hope artificial skin could be used to restore the sense of touch in people with prosthetic limbs, but scientists will first need a better understanding of how to integrate the system ' s sensors with the human nervous system. javey ' s


“ act as if what you do makes a difference. it does. ” – william james there are fewer than 50 javan rhinos left in the world and you can help protect them by supporting operation javan rhino, a global partnership led by international rhino foundation and save the rhino international. javan rhinos at risk with the recent extinction of the javan rhino in vietnam, there is only one population of javan rhinos left on earth. all of them live in ujung kulon national park on the island of java, indonesia. the javan rhino is at significant risk of extinction – one natural disaster or an introduced disease could be the end of this species forever. but you can help prevent the extinction of javan rhinos! operation javan rhino operation javan rhino is creating 4, 000 hectares of expanded habitat for javan rhinos in ujung kulon, to encourage population growth and establish a second “ insurance ” population of javan rhinos at a separate site. here ’ s what operation javan rhino is doing to make the new habitat suitable and safe for javan rhinos : - clearing the site for an electric fence and adjacent patrol road - constructing a fence and small bridges - planting rhino food plants and removing invasive species - creating a water supply and salt - lick - constructing new guard posts - hiring and training more guards and other staff from local villages - launching an education program for nearby communities this immense project costs $ 650, 000 – and $ 350, 000 has already been raised. international rhino foundation and save the rhino international are asking for your help in raising the additional funds needed to prevent the extinction of the javan rhino. please visit the international rhino foundation ’ s operation javan rhino page to make your donation and learn more.


termites ' enzyme anomaly 26 march 2007 japanese researchers have discovered a previously unknown method used by termites to digest cellulose. the discovery offers a novel source of enzymes to assist in the production of biofuels, they suggest. primitive groups of termites break down the normally indigestible cellulose with the aid of cellulase enzymes secreted by single - celled protozoans in the termite gut. higher termites secrete their own cellulases directly from cells in their midgut. but gaku tokuda and hirofumi watanabe from the university of the ryukyus, okinawa predicted that these endogenous cellulases produced by higher termites are not sufficient to meet the insect ' s energy needs. termites digest the cellulose in wood, causing extensive damage. © william rafti of the william rafti institute. tokuda believes these findings will be of interest to the us department of energy, which is funding genomic analysis of different termite species in its search for more efficient methods of converting agricultural and forestry waste into usable energy. he points out that the termites could be a valuable source of industrial enzymes because they have adapted to live on diets involving a wide range of plant material as well as wood. ' the termite gut is the smallest bioreactor in the world, ' said tokuda. ' we have a lot of fundamental knowledge to learn from these micro bioreactors to establish efficient biomass conversion systems. ' but termite expert david bignell from queen mary college, university of london, uk, is sceptical about claims of industrial applications of termite - based products. ' this argument has been used for the last 30 years to justify all kinds of termite research but i don ' t know of any commercial applications, ' said bignell. ' we have an extensive knowledge of microbial cellulases, and most interest from biotechnologists is focused there. ' where the japanese study is interesting, he said, is in highlighting an evolutionary paradox : why should the termites go to the trouble of developing their own cellulases when they can be supplied more efficiently by symbiotic bacteria? bignell suspects that cellulases in the hindgut are there to supply the energy needs of symbiotic bacteria, not the host. ' in wood feeders the limiting factor for growth is nitrogen, not carbon, because wood contains very little nitrogen. so the bacterial community of the termite hindgut contains bacteria


save 10 % on your orders of $ 100 or more ask the naturalist do you have a natural history question? ask us! | world of roger tory peterson | born in jamestown, new york, to working - class immigrant parents, roger was a self - made man who made a successful livelihood by single - mindedly following his guiding passion for birds. in books, articles, lectures, films, and, above all, in his revolutionary field guides, he showed countless readers and listeners how to see and observe nature. his impact lives on in the modern - day proliferation of field guides, nature books, and nature education programs. it lives on in the popularity of bird watching as a recreational pastime. it lives on, too, in the environmental protection laws that stem in part from his advocacy and education work. for roger, passion, joy, and commitment all flowed from the same source, from the world of wings he first discovered in the woods and fields of jamestown. roger well knew the value of education — he always remembered how his seventh - grade teacher, blanche hornbeck, helped introduce him to the wider world of nature through the junior audubon club she founded. as an adult, roger lectured ceaselessly for the national audubon society and other organizations, produced educational pamphlets that reached millions of schoolchildren, and wrote articles and books that inspired countless readers. but his greatest contribution to a more widespread public understanding of the natural world lies in his development of practical, user - friendly guidebooks. his a field guide to the birds, published in 1934, introduced simple, reliable identification techniques that can be used by anyone. that first, wildly successful guide led to others. roger wrote and illustrated some, and edited many more. the peterson field guide series now numbers over fifty titles that describe practically all readily observable facets of nature, from fishes to mushrooms to clouds and the stars above. “ in this century, ” wrote the ecologist paul ehrlich, “ no one has done more to promote an interest in living creatures than roger tory peterson, the inventor of the modern field guide. ”


as an environmental health professional, i have enjoyed a successful career in hands - on food protection from farm to table. my success in this wide array of conditions has come through the effective application of environmental health principles. nowhere in food safety today is environmental health needed more than down on the farm, where the environmental health risks factors are becoming better understood. as a sanitarian and independent food safety auditor, there are some key areas of environmental health in my work on the farm ; water quality, animal control, and worker hygienic standards. private food safety auditors have started calling these the " three w ’ s " for workers - water - and wildlife. typical tomato wash water used to rinse picking buckets downstream effects of the environmental health problems originating on produce farms are huge. the problems reverberate through the the rest of the controls we have in place. because the risks are not well controlled, we need more and more robust surveillance, traceability and product recall ability, testing ; and of course, redress for victims in court. these unfortunate individuals and their families hold the bag at the end of the system without much control. the cost burden on the food industry due to outbreaks is remarkable. the listeria problem in cantaloupe may cost industry $ 150 million in legal fees, alone. all of this has happened because we have not effectively established in the produce industry a relatively few environmental health protections that should have been there years ago. thinking optimistically, we can fix most of the produce contamination problem during growing and harvesting of produce by effective controls over workers ; water supplies and usage in all its forms ; and wildlife. we can ease the pressure on the supply chain, and minimize the downstream effects on consumers and society at large. agriculture has been side by side with animal husbandry and wild animal populations forever, so we cannot expect to remove the zoonotic reservoirs for pathogens completely in farm environments. therefore, there will always be some risk in fresh produce ; but the residual risks passed on in the supply chain will be better managed during packing, processing and handling downstream, if the microbial burden is low. vaccination maybe an option to protect against e coli infection in cattle, since we have one with efficacy ; but granted, this protection has had poor discussion and vaccines have not been applied. if we had an effective vaccine and farmers would use it, one would start there. ideally, we would reduce the incidence of pathogenic e coli in cattle ( the reservoir ) through vaccination, and then move on


vaccines have not been applied. if we had an effective vaccine and farmers would use it, one would start there. ideally, we would reduce the incidence of pathogenic e coli in cattle ( the reservoir ) through vaccination, and then move on to exclude the wild animal populations and clean up water sources. it is likely that adequate fences and other animal barriers, adequate setbacks ( still don ’ t know what this means in every case ), water treatment ( when needed ), strict adherence to personal hygiene, self - inspection and maintenance will solve most of the e. coli and salmonella problem in growing areas. we can do this, but a coordinated national efforts is not so simple, and everything has a cost. somebody must pay, then somebody must make sure it gets done, and financial resources are not necessarily there. the farms i see would need about $ 10, 000 to $ 50, 000 ( could be higher for some ) of initial investment, and probably at least 10 % of that for yearly maintenance, to implement effective wild animal exclusion measures. the cost would be borne by the farmer in addition to the many other costs of good agricultural practices ( gap ), like personal hygiene, training, use of antimicrobials and water treatment, liquid and solid waste controls, that he currently pays for. not all farms need the same intensity of controls ; i see irrigation water coming out of deep wells as clean as tap water ( total coliform < 1 cfu ), and often the crops see no foliar applications. i see other situations where the foliar application of water is sourced from the surface, and must be treated. animal intrusion risks vary widely also ; there are some farms in the southeast where i see only isolated dogs, cats, or bird exposures with an occasional rodent or ground animal. on some other occasions, i see systematic deer, pig and other wildlife intrusion and extensive droppings. sometimes we find feces to the extent where harvesting must be halted, and / or production stopped. in the western us, i see the cattle operations butted right up to produce production ; the salinas valley in california has much different space requirements, resource needs, and land use issues then immokalee in the florida everglades. as an aside, during our private investigation of the 2006 spinach e coli matter, i sampled one cow patty from a salinas area hillside pasture and recovered an e. coli : o157 : h7 isolate ( but not the outbreak strain ). one lucky random


last update : thursday, may 16, 2013 | lifelong health - coffee research continues to stir debate | | written by dr. david lipschitz creative syndicate | | thursday, 09 august 2012 01 : 45 | many of us can ' t wait for that first cup of coffee in morning. many need the caffeine to wake up and get going. as a nation, the daily average for all americans is 1. 9 cups for men and 1. 4 cups for women. an average 8 - ounce cup of coffee contains anywhere from 90 to 200 milligrams of caffeine. but these days, who even knows what an 8 - ounce cup looks like. order a 24 - ounce cup of your favorite blend, drink three or more of these daily and you will have enough caffeine to keep you wide awake and wired for most of the day and much of the night. caffeine stimulates and acts as a diuretic. drinking coffee in the late afternoon can interfere with sleep, lead to nighttime urination, cause fatigue the following day and the need, therefore, for that extra boost of caffeine to stay awake and concentrate. there are other adverse effects of coffee. caffeine can stimulate the heart rate and lead to an irregular heartbeat. while caffeine may not lead to heart disease, medications to treat irregular heartbeat are frequently prescribed. the most common are a class of drugs called beta blockers that can cause fatigue, insomnia, decreased libido and an inability to concentrate : all symptoms that may increase the need for another coffee jolt. there is evidence that coffee can impair the absorption of some vitamins and minerals and can cause panic attacks. some research suggests that it can cause an interference with sperm motility that can contribute to infertility. but like wine and alcohol, there is accumulating evidence that coffee can be beneficial to your health. epidemiologic studies largely conducted at the harvard school of public health have shown that compared to nondrinkers, those consuming coffee are less likely to have diabetes, strokes, certain forms of cancer and even alzheimer ' s disease. and the evidence indicates that the more you drink, the better. for example, a study conducted in 2005 showed that those who drank more than six cups of coffee daily had a 35 percent reduction in the risk of diabetes. published recently in the prestigious new england journal of medicine, a joint study by the national institutes of health and aarp reported on the effects of coffee on the risk of disease and mortality


of coffee daily had a 35 percent reduction in the risk of diabetes. published recently in the prestigious new england journal of medicine, a joint study by the national institutes of health and aarp reported on the effects of coffee on the risk of disease and mortality in 400, 000 people ranging from 51 to 70. they examined risk and causes of death in those consuming one, two to three, four to five, or more than six cups of coffee daily. using sophisticated statistical analysis that excluded the risks of cigarette smoking, sedentary lifestyle and dietary indiscretion, the study found that the more coffee consumed, the lower the overall risk of death. in addition, the more coffee, the lower the incidence of heart disease, strokes, peripheral vascular disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and alzheimer ' s. is it the caffeine in coffee that is causing the health benefits? the answer is almost certainly no, as most evidence suggests that decaffeinated coffee has similar health benefits. coffee has been shown to have the highest concentration of antioxidants of any beverage. these antioxidants neutralize highly toxic substances in cells that contribute to cell damage. over time the continued negative effects of oxidants can cause the cell to undergo malignant transformation. and in the case of cells coating the wall of blood vessels, damage by oxidants promotes the deposition of cholesterol and heart disease. coffee also contains high concentrations of magnesium and chromium that may reduce the risk of diabetes. because coffee is derived from a nutritious bean, it is not surprising that it contains compounds that promote health. but always consider the downside when considering the benefits of any beverage. just like alcohol, too much caffeinated coffe e, particularly late in the day, is bad for you. in moderation and particularly without caffeine, coffee can promote health and be an ideal way to quench thirst without consuming empty calories. dr. david lipschitz is the author of the book " breaking the rules of aging. " to find out more about dr. david lipschitz visit www. drdavidhealth. com.


nile crocodile, mamba, garwe, ngwenya > crocodylus is derived from the greek krokodeilos which means literally " pebble worm " ( kroko = pebble ; deilos = worm, or man ) referring to the appearance of a crocodile. > niloticus means " of the nile " ( nile river, africa ) given the wide distribution range, a number of population differences have been observed, and several subspecies proposed. these are rarely differentiated in the literature, however, and they are not officially recognised. suggested subspecies : c. n. africanus ( east african nile crocodile ), c. n. chamses ( west african nile crocodile ), c. n. corviei ( south african nile crocodile ), c. n. madagascariensis ( malagasy nile crocodile, malagasy alligator, croco mada ), c. n. niloticus ( ethiopian nile crocodile ), c. n. pauciscutatus ( kenyan nile crocodile, kenya alligator, kenya caiman ), c. n. suchus ( central african nile crocodile ) the nile crocodile is a member of the reptile class and is a survivor of the archosaria, a group that included dinosaurs. they have not changed much over millions of years. they are more advanced than other modern day reptiles in that they have a four - chambered heart like mammals and can adapt their behavior to survive. they have a lifespan of 70 to 100 years. wide habitat preferences, reflecting their success and distribution - e. g. lakes, rivers, freshwater swamps, brackish water. sub - adults disperse into different habitats, away from breeding areas, when they reach a length of approximately 1. 2 m. nile crocodiles modify their habitat by digging dens ( usually with their snouts and feet ) into which they retreat from adverse conditions such as temperature extremes. considerable variation exists throughout the range of the nile crocodile. generally, it is a large crocodilian, averaging 5 m in length but reportedly reaching 6 m in rare instances. there are dubious reports of 7 m animals having existed, but these are hard to verify. there is some evidence that nile crocodiles in cooler countries ( eg. south africa ) reach slightly smaller adult sizes ( 4 m ). there are two known population of dwarf nile crocodiles living on the extreme limits of the species ' range, in mali and even the sahara desert! due to suboptimal conditions, adults average between 2 and 3 metres. juveniles


4 m ). there are two known population of dwarf nile crocodiles living on the extreme limits of the species ' range, in mali and even the sahara desert! due to suboptimal conditions, adults average between 2 and 3 metres. juveniles are dark olive brown with black cross - banding on the tail and body. this banding becomes fainter in adults. the snout is long and broad and ends in nostrils which can close underwater. the eyes have a third eyelid which protect them while underwater. the eyes, ears, and nostrils are found on the same plane on the top of the head, allowing the crocodile to be completely submerged underwater while still being able to see, smell, and hear. the teeth are long and conical. the teeth on the top jaw are in line with the bottom jaw, a feature which distinguishes all crocodiles from alligators. the fourth lower tooth is larger than the others and can be seen when the mouth is closed. nile crocodiles have 66 teeth. although the juveniles are generally restricted to eating small aquatic invertebrates and insects, they soon move onto larger vertebrates ( fish, amphibians and reptiles ). adults, however, can potentially take a wide range of large vertebrates, including antelope, buffalo, young hippos, and large cats. fish and smaller vertebrates often form the greatest part of their diet, however. as with c. porosus, they have a reputation as being man - eaters, although probably kill more people than all other crocodilian species combined. along with hippos and lions, crocodiles account for perhaps a few hundred deaths and disappearances each year, although exact figures are very hard to verify. nile crocodiles will also often scavenge from carcasses, together with a number of other animals, all of which seem to tolerate each others ' presence. they have a rather well - known relationship with several species of birds ( e. g. spur - wing plover, called " trochilus " by herodotus ) which are reputed to pick pieces of meat from between the teeth of the crocodiles as they gape - the birds gain a meal, the crocodiles have their teeth cleaned of scraps they could not eat themselves. whether such a mutual relationship actually exists is hard to determine from the literature and anecdotal reports, but seems more likely to be opportunistic rather than symbiotic. several prey animals have been found wedged under submerged branches and stones,


a mutual relationship actually exists is hard to determine from the literature and anecdotal reports, but seems more likely to be opportunistic rather than symbiotic. several prey animals have been found wedged under submerged branches and stones, leading to reports that the crocodiles store unwanted prey here until a later date. some claim that it is necessary for the prey to decompose before the crocodiles are able to tear portions of flesh off, but this is unlikely to be true. the flesh may become softer if the prey remains in water after death, but crocodiles will certainly avoid rotting meat. when feeding, a number of individuals will hold onto a carcass with their powerful jaws whilst twisting their bodies. the anchorage provided by the other individuals allows large chunks to be torn off for easier swallowing. a few lone individuals have been reported to wedge prey between branches in order to provide the anchorage necessary for such actions to be effective, which could even be claimed to be a form of primitive tool use. other cooperative feeding behaviour has been reported, such as the action of many animals to cordon off an area of water to concentrate fish within. a hierarchy of feeding order is often observed in such situations, with more dominant animals feeding first. groups of crocodiles will often move onto land to scavenge from kills made up to several hundred metres from the water. adults have also been observed fishing using their bodies and tails to corral the fish towards the bank where they are concentrated and picked up with a sideways snatch of the jaws. social behaviour in nile crocodiles is often underestimated, although there are many aspects still poorly understood. it has been observed that social status may influence an individual ' s feeding success, with less dominant animals tending to eat less in situations where they come into frequent social contact with other, more dominant individuals. males become sexually mature at 10 ft ( 3 m - 10 years of age ) and females at 6. 5 ft ( 2 m - 10 years of age ). the breeding season is july, where they mate in shallow water. the female lays 30 - 80 eggs in a nest of rotting vegetation near the water ' s edge. the eggs hatch after an incubation of 2 - 3 months. if the nest was below 85a ‚ a° f during this period, then all the hatchlings are female. above 95a ‚ a° f - male. between 85a ‚ a° f and 95a ‚ a° f - both male and female. when it is time to hatch, either


during this period, then all the hatchlings are female. above 95a ‚ a° f - male. between 85a ‚ a° f and 95a ‚ a° f - both male and female. when it is time to hatch, either parent helps to open the eggs by cracking them in its mouth. they are then carried to the water. they remain in the water for several weeks. hatchlings are 12 in ( 30 cm ) long and are dark olive green with darker crossbandings on the body and tail. this species digs hole nests up to 50 cm deep in sandy banks, several metres from the water. these may be in close proximity to other nests. timing of nesting behaviour varies with geographic location - it takes place during the dry season in the north, but at the start of the rainy season further south, usually from november through to the end of december. females reach sexual maturity around 2. 6 m, males at around 3. 1 m. females lay around 40 to 60 eggs in the nest, although this number is quite variable between different populations. females remain near the nest at all times. incubation time averages 80 to 90 days ( ranges from 70 to 100 days ), after which females open the nest and carry the juveniles to the water. both males and females have been reported to assist hatching by gently cracking open eggs between their tongue and upper palate. hatchlings remain close to the juveniles for up to two years after hatching, often forming a creche with other females. as with many crocodilians, older juveniles tend to stay away from older, more territorial animals. despite the vigilance of the female during the incubation period, a high percentage of nests are raided by a variety of animals, from hyaenas and monitor lizards to humans. this predation usually occurs when the female is forced to leave the nest temporarily in order to thermoregulate by cooling off in the water. crocodiles are not solitary predators as often imagined, but social creatures. cows of some species protect not only their hatchling young but offspring from the previous year. nile crocodile bulls also respond to distress calls of their young., crocodiles convey social messages with motions, odors, postures, by touch and with sounds. nile crocodiles produce at least six different vocal signals. both cow and bull nile crocodiles maintain territories, especially during breeding season. few animals are willing to prey on the nile crocodile except for other nile crocodiles and humans. they have been overhun


nile crocodiles produce at least six different vocal signals. both cow and bull nile crocodiles maintain territories, especially during breeding season. few animals are willing to prey on the nile crocodile except for other nile crocodiles and humans. they have been overhunted by humans for their skin, which is good for tanning, and their meat. habitat destruction also dwindles their numbers. the young are preyed upon by nile monitor lizards, marabou storks, herons, ibises, turtles, and catfish. nile crocodiles are not endangered. the trade of the nile crocodile has become an environmental concern especially in the republic of tanzania. crocodile skins are being exported from tanzania in large quantities due to the high demand for leather goods. the nile crocodile skins are being exported for the luxury leather goods market including shoes, handbags and belts, especially to japan, italy and france. however, this trade has caused the nile crocodile to be classified as an endangered species. as a result, the united states along with 120 other countries throughout the world have joined in signing the convention on international trade and endangered species of world fauna and flora ( cites ) treaty in 1973 to ban skins from endangered or potentially endangered species, such as the nile crocodile, from being traded. in april 1994, the classification of the nile crocodile was changed from endangered to threatened as a result of various acts and treaties protecting this species.


a condition that temporarily causes heart failure in people who experience severe stress might actually protect the heart from very high levels of adrenaline, according to a new study published in the journal circulation. the research provides the first physiological explanation for takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called " broken heart syndrome " because it affects people who suffer severe emotional stress after bereavement, and suggests guidance for treatment. around 1 - 2 % of people who are initially suspected of having a heart attack are finally discovered to have this increasingly recognised syndrome. the imperial college london study, which simulated the condition in an animal model, suggests that the body changes its response to adrenaline by switching from its usual role in stimulating the heart to reducing its pumping power. although this results in acute heart failure, most patients make a full recovery within days or weeks. the researchers propose that the switch in the heart ' s response to adrenaline might have evolved to protect the heart from being overstimulated by the particularly high doses of adrenaline that the body releases during stress. patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, most often older women, experience symptoms that resemble a heart attack, but heart tests reveal no blockage in the coronary arteries ; instead the heart has a balloon - like appearance caused by the bottom of the heart not contracting properly. the same condition is sometimes seen in people who are injected with adrenaline to treat severe allergic reactions. in this new research, the authors simulated the condition by injecting high doses of adrenaline in anaesthetised rats. in these rats, as in takotsubo patients, heart muscle contraction was suppressed towards the bottom of the heart. the researchers found that these rats were protected from an otherwise fatal overstimulation of the heart, indicating that adrenaline acts through a different pathway from usual, and that this switch protects the heart from toxic levels of adrenaline. the study also examined drugs that might be useful for treating takotsubo cardiomyopathy. some beta blockers, used to treat high blood pressure, angina and heart failure, reproduced or enhanced the features of takotsubo, giving new insights into the protective effects of these drugs. levosimendan, a different type of drug given in heart failure to stimulate the heart without going through the adrenaline receptor pathways, had a beneficial effect. " adrenaline ' s stimulatory effect on the heart is important for helping us get more oxygen around the body in stressful situations, but it can be damaging if it goes on for too long, " said professor si


had a beneficial effect. " adrenaline ' s stimulatory effect on the heart is important for helping us get more oxygen around the body in stressful situations, but it can be damaging if it goes on for too long, " said professor sian harding, from the national heart and lung institute ( nhli ) at imperial college london, who led the study. " in patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, adrenaline works in a different way and shuts down the heart instead. this seems to protect the heart from being overstimulated. " study co - author dr alexander lyon, also from the nhli at imperial, and consultant cardiologist at royal brompton hospital, set up one of the first specialist services in the uk to look after people who have experienced takotsubo cardiomyopathy. " currently it is not fully known how to treat these patients, " he said. " insights from this work show that the illness may be protecting them from more serious harm. we ' ve identified a drug treatment that might be helpful, but the most important thing is to recognise the condition, and not to make it worse by giving patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy more adrenaline or adrenaline - like medications. " " at the royal brompton hospital and imperial college london we are leading a european initiative to bring together experts to understand this recently recognised cardiac syndrome, and we hope the findings from this work will lead to new treatment strategies for these patients during the acute phase of their illness, and to prevent recurrence ". the study was funded by the british heart foundation ( bhf ), the wellcome trust, the biotechnology and biological sciences research council ( bbsrc ) and the academy of medical sciences. dr shannon amoils, research advisor at the bhf, said : " this is a fascinating study which presents a possible explanation for the signs of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a rare condition that ' s usually preceded by intense emotional or physical stress. patients usually have symptoms that resemble those of a heart attack but nearly all fully recover after a short time. " the study also provides new insights into how the heart may protect itself from stress, which opens up exciting avenues of exploration for research. we must remember though that this is a study in rats, and the findings need to be confirmed in people before we can be sure of their relevance to patients. "


may 19, 2008 a vaccine created by university of rochester medical center scientists prevents the development of alzheimer ' s disease - like pathology in mice without causing inflammation or significant side effects. vaccinated mice generated an immune response to the protein known as amyloid - beta peptide, which accumulates in what are called " amyloid plaques " in brains of people with alzheimer ' s. the vaccinated mice demonstrated normal learning skills and functioning memory in spite of being genetically designed to develop an aggressive form of the disease. the rochester scientists reported the findings in an article in the may issue of molecular therapy, the journal of the american society of gene therapy. " our study demonstrates that we can create a potent but safe version of a vaccine that utilizes the strategy of immune response shaping to prevent alzheimer ' s - related pathologies and memory deficits, " said william bowers, associate professor of neurology and of microbiology and immunology at the medical center and lead author of the article. " the vaccinated mice not only performed better, we found no evidence of signature amyloid plaque in their brains. " alzheimer ' s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with dementia and a decline in performance of normal activities. hallmarks of the disease include the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients and the loss of normal functioning tau, a protein that stabilizes the transport networks in neurons. abnormal tau function eventually leads to another classic hallmark of alzheimer ' s, neurofibrillary tangle in nerve cells. after several decades of exposure to these insults, neurons ultimately succumb and die, leading to progressively damaged learning and memory centers in the brain. the mice that received the vaccines were genetically engineered to express large amounts of amyloid beta protein. they also harbored a mutation that causes the tau - related tangle pathology. prior to the start of the vaccine study, the mice were trained to navigate a maze using spatial clues. they were then tested periodically during the 10 - month study on the amount of time and distance traveled to an escape pod and the number of errors made along the way. " what we found exciting was that by targeting one pathology of alzheimer ' s - - amyloid beta - - we were able to also prevent the transition of tau from its normal form to a form found in the disease state, " bowers said. the goal of the vaccine is to prompt the immune system to recognize amyloid beta protein and remove it. to create the vaccine, bowers and the research group use a herpes virus that


form found in the disease state, " bowers said. the goal of the vaccine is to prompt the immune system to recognize amyloid beta protein and remove it. to create the vaccine, bowers and the research group use a herpes virus that is stripped of the viral genes that can cause disease or harm. they then load the virus container with the genetic code for amyloid beta and interleukin - 4, a protein that stimulates immune responses involving type 2 t helper cells, which are lymphocytes that play an important role in the immune system. the research group tested several versions of a vaccine. mice were given three injections of empty virus alone, a vaccine carrying only the amyloid beta genetic code, or a vaccine encoding both amyloid beta and interlueikin - 4, which was found to be the most effective. " we have learned a great deal from this ongoing project, " bowers said. " importantly, it has demonstrated the combined strengths of the gene delivery platform and the immune shaping concept for the creation of customized vaccines for alzheimer ' s disease, as well as a number of other diseases. we are currently working on strategies we believe can make the vaccine even safer. " bowers expects the vaccine eventually to be tested in people, but due to the number of studies required to satisfy regulatory requirements, it could be three or more years before human trials testing this type of alzheimer ' s vaccine occur. grants from the national institutes of health supported the study. in addition to bowers, authors of the molecular therapy article include maria e. frazer, jennifer e. hughes, michael a. mastrangelo and jennifer tibbens of the medical center and howard j. federoff of georgetown university medical center. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


apr. 14, 2011 scientists at queen ’ s university belfast have pioneered a new needle - free test to take the sting out of medicine testing in premature babies. the research will not only lead to greater accuracy in prescribing, but will also significantly reduce the trauma of such tests for newborn infants and their families. in the first published research project worldwide on this new approach to testing medicines in children, the findings were announced in the us medical journal pediatrics. the study, which involves the use of blood spots obtained from a simple heel - prick, took place in the belfast hospital for sick children and the school of pharmacy at queen ’ s. the research was carried out by a team from the university ’ s school of pharmacy in partnership with the regional neonatal unit in the royal maternity hospital. it was funded by the health and social care research and development office ( hsc r & d ) and action medical research. principal investigator, queen ’ s professor of pharmacy practice james mcelnay said : “ this type of testing will obviously reduce the discomfort of medicine testing in these vulnerable patients. what is even more important, however, is that it will ensure maximum accuracy in calculating the most appropriate dose of a medicine for a sick child. “ some 80 per cent of infants in intensive care in hospitals receive medicines which have not been appropriately tested or licensed for use in such young patients, and the dosage is usually calculated based on licensed doses for adults or older children. sizable blood samples are then required to measure the concentrations of the drug in the infant ’ s bloodstream. “ our work opens up opportunities for using the same approach to study other medicines which are used in this manner in children, and we are currently studying a number of these. ” the queen ’ s study involved the antibiotic metronidazole. the research team used single drops of blood collected on blotting paper from premature infants who were receiving the medicine as part of their routine care. the ‘ spots ’ were dried, analysed in the university ’ s school of pharmacy, and the results used to develop dosage guidance for doctors. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. - m. suyagh, p. s. collier, j. s. millership, g. iheagwaram, m. millar, h. l. halliday, j. c. mcelnay. metronidazole population ph


aug. 9, 2012 the sought - after equanimity of " living in the moment " may be impossible, according to neuroscientists who ' ve pinpointed a brain area responsible for using past decisions and outcomes to guide future behavior. the study, based on research conducted at the university of pittsburgh and published august 9 in the professional journal neuron, is the first of its kind to analyze signals associated with metacognition - - a person ' s ability to monitor and control cognition ( a term cleverly described by researchers as " thinking about thinking. " ) " the brain has to keep track of decisions and the outcomes they produce, " said marc sommer, who did his research for the study as a university of pittsburgh neuroscience faculty member and is now on the faculty at duke university. " you need that continuity of thought, " sommer continued. " we are constantly keeping decisions in mind as we move through life, thinking about other things. we guessed it was analogous to working memory, which would point toward the prefrontal cortex. " sommer predicted that neuronal correlates of metacognition resided in the same brain areas responsible for cognition, including the frontal cortex - - a part of the brain linked with personality expression, decision making, and social behavior. sommer worked with paul g. middlebrooks, who did his research for the study at pitt before he received his pitt phd in neuroscience in 2011 ; middlebrooks is now a postdoctoral fellow at vanderbilt university. the research team studied single neurons in vivo in three frontal cortical regions of the brain : the frontal eye field ( associated with visual attention and eye movements ), the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ( responsible for motor planning, organization, and regulation ), and the supplementary eye field ( sef ) involved in the planning and control of saccadic eye movements, which are the extremely fast movements of the eye that allow it to continually refocus on an object. to learn where metacognition occurs in the brain, subjects performed a visual decision - making task that involved random flashing lights and a dominant light on a cardboard square. participants were asked to remember and pinpoint where the dominant light appeared, guessing whether they were correct. the researchers found that while neural activity correlated with decisions and guesses in all three brain areas, the putative metacognitive activity that linked decisions to bets resided exclusively in the sef. " the sef is a complex area [ of the brain ] linked with motivation


neural activity correlated with decisions and guesses in all three brain areas, the putative metacognitive activity that linked decisions to bets resided exclusively in the sef. " the sef is a complex area [ of the brain ] linked with motivational aspects of behavior, " said sommer. " if we think we ' re going to receive something good, neuronal activity tends to be high in sef. people want good things in life, and to keep getting those good things, they have to compare what ' s going on now versus the decisions made in the past. " sommer noted that defining such concepts related to metacognition, like consciousness, has been difficult for decades. he sees his research and future work related to studying metacognition as one step in a systematic process of working toward a better understanding of consciousness. by studying metacognition, he says, he reduces the big problem of studying a " train of thought " into a simpler component : examining how one cognitive process influences another. " why aren ' t our thoughts independent of each other? why don ' t we just live in the moment? for a healthy person, it ' s impossible to live in the moment. it ' s a nice thing to say in terms of seizing the day and enjoying life, but our inner lives and experiences are much richer than that. " so far, patients with mental disorders have not been tested on these tasks, but sommer is interested to see how sef and other brain areas might be disrupted in these disorders. " with schizophrenia and alzheimer ' s disease, there is a fracturing of the thought process. it is constantly disrupted, and despite trying to keep a thought going, one is distracted very easily, " sommers said. " patients with these disorders have trouble sustaining a memory of past decisions to guide later behavior, suggesting a problem with metacognition. " funding for this research was provided by the university of pittsburgh, the joint university of pittsburgh - carnegie mellon university center for the neural basis of cognition, the national institute of mental health, and the alfred p. sloan foundation. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. - paul g. middlebrooks, marc a. sommer. neuronal correlates of metacognition in primate frontal cortex. neuron, 2012 ; 75 ( 3 ) : 517 doi : 10. 1016 / j. neuron