solid tumors early work on the hematopoietic system ( mainly through the clear characterization of surface markers ) allowed tracing of populations with high accuracy. in the case of solid tumors much less is known about the differentiation process, and even less is known about surface markers that characterize each stage. furthermore, facs analysis is much more complicated due to the disaggregation step that must be performed ( which can alter the surface markers ). despite the lack of clear ways to trace populations, characterization of cscs has been done for several types of solid tumors including breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, brain tumors and colon cancer [ 5 - 8 ]. usually the approach used in most of these studies is based on the usage of known csc markers from some type of tumor, to separate populations in another one. this rationale has proven useful in some cases, however it cannot be generalized : - cd44 was known to be a marker of leukemic stem cells and it has been recently shown to be also a marker for breast cancer stem cells. - cd133 was known to be a marker of glioblastoma stem cells, yet in colon cancer it has been shown to be a marker of a broader population, thus biasing the results. in general, more knowledge about the dynamics of tissue hierarchy in both normal and pathological conditions will give rise to better tools for understanding potential populations of cancer stem cells in solid tumors. 3. unresolved issues several authors claim that the term “ cancer stem cell ” is inaccurate since not only stem cells can give rise to cancer. this statement is incorrect. the cancer stem cell denomination is given only on a functional basis, which means that these tumor initiating cells have stem - cell properties ( self - renewal and the ability to generate all lineages within the tumor ), not that they exclusively arise from stem cells. a recent work by the clevers group shows that only intestinal stem cells bearing the lgr5 surface marker are capable of initiating adenomas, the earliest stage of colorectal cancer. the most interesting observation was that differentiated lgr5 - cells were unable to initiate tumors. whether lgr5 + cells within the tumor are maintained up until late - stage cancer remains unknown, but this study shows that for this model of tumor the substrate of cancer initiation is indeed an adult stem cell. on the other hand, work done in leukemia has suggested that progenitor cells ( which give rise to only a subset of cells within the tissue ) are also capable of tumor initiation


of tumor the substrate of cancer initiation is indeed an adult stem cell. on the other hand, work done in leukemia has suggested that progenitor cells ( which give rise to only a subset of cells within the tissue ) are also capable of tumor initiation, particularly in chronic myeloid leukemia, where although the hematopoietic stem cell carries a mutation in wnt signaling, only the myeloid progenitors effectively give rise to tumors. 3. 2 experimental caveats so far the assessment of stemness remains a highly complex issue that lacks a straightforward answer ( i. e. how do you quantify stemness? i welcome any ideas ). csc quantification is done by the capability of these cells to initiate a tumor in immunocompromised mice, although this may reflect only the ability of certain cells to adapt to a foreign environment. in fact, the morrison group showed that depending on the murine model utilized, the frequency of alleged cscs within melanomas derived from patients varies. this suggests that the microenvironment is the limiting step and partially disproves that cscs are a rare population within certain tumor types. this was also seen by the strasser group utilizing murine leukemias in immunocompetent mice. although this may suggest that cscs are not as rare as previously reported, this does not contradict in any sense the csc hypothesis, since the idea of a rare population came from the experimental models used and may vary considerably between tumors. in order to properly assess which subpopulation ( if any ) contains cscs, the tumor initiation experiments must be done in immunocompetent animals that share the same genetic background than that of the host ( the immune system plays a major role in tumor appearance and progression, so this should be integrated into the experimental framework ), and serial transplantations must be done to show that this ability is retained in time by the same population of cells ( serial transplantation assays are a robust method to follow the tumor initiating capacity of a population of cells in extended periods of time ). furthermore, it has to be shown that these putative cscs are the only ones able to generate all other lineages within the tumor. ( of course these concepts would only apply to murine tumors, but is the proof of principle from where the field can resolve most of the current issues ). 3. 3 therapeutic relevance whether the direct targeting of cscs by new treatments will effectively give rise to better therapies


only apply to murine tumors, but is the proof of principle from where the field can resolve most of the current issues ). 3. 3 therapeutic relevance whether the direct targeting of cscs by new treatments will effectively give rise to better therapies still remains to be proven, and so it is essential to realize that, at present, this would only be an adjuvant therapy to conventional methods. the reason for this is quite clear : although the cscs putatively maintain the growth of the tumor, it is still the bulk of the tumor which is responsible for the disease ( assuming that cscs are a minor population of course ). nevertheless, some groups have shown that targeting the cscs could be sufficient to stop the growth of the tumor. work done in the frank lab showed that by targeting the melanoma stem cell marker abcb5, they could effectively treat the progression of this disease. the same was shown for cd44 in acute myeloid leukemia by the dick lab. moreover, in a very recent paper, the group of michael clarke showed that the csc population in breast cancer is more resistant to radiation, and that this is due to reduced reactive oxygen species within these cells. this could partly explain why current therapies are inefficient, as treatment - resistant cscs would lead to relapse. taken together, it is evident that further studies on the nature and function of cscs for the development of new approaches against cancer, are needed. 4. concluding remarks i hope that with this brief summary of the csc hypothesis, some light has been shed in the understanding of this concept and how it may influence both basic and clinical oncology in the future. my impression is that further work is required to understand the dynamics of tumor initiation and growth through the csc hypothesis, but the overall evidence seems to point towards the validation of this model. hopefully the elucidation of how cscs regulate tumor properties will lead to better therapeutic approaches and a deeper knowledge of the basic mechanisms that control cancer origin and development. 1. jordan, c. ( 2009 ). cancer stem cells : controversial or just misunderstood? cell stem cell, 4 ( 3 ), 203 - 205 doi : 10. 1016 / j. stem. 2009. 02. 003 2. rosen, j., & jordan, c. ( 2009 ). the increasing complexity of the cancer stem cell paradigm science, 324 ( 5935 ), 1670 - 1673 doi : 10. 1126 / science. 1171837 3


2. rosen, j., & jordan, c. ( 2009 ). the increasing complexity of the cancer stem cell paradigm science, 324 ( 5935 ), 1670 - 1673 doi : 10. 1126 / science. 1171837 3. visvader, j., & lindeman, g. ( 2008 ). cancer stem cells in solid tumours : accumulating evidence and unresolved questions nature reviews cancer, 8 ( 10 ), 755 - 768 doi : 10. 1038 / nrc2499 4. bonnet, d. and j. e. dick, human acute myeloid leukemia is organized as a hierarchy that originates from a primitive hematopoietic cell. nat med, 1997. 3 ( 7 ) : p. 730 - 7. 5. al - hajj, m., et al., prospective identification of tumorigenic breast cancer cells. proc natl acad sci u s a, 2003. 100 ( 7 ) : p. 3983 - 8. 6. dalerba, p., et al., phenotypic characterization of human colorectal cancer stem cells. proc natl acad sci u s a, 2007. 104 ( 24 ) : p. 10158 - 63. 7. li, c., et al., identification of pancreatic cancer stem cells. cancer res, 2007. 67 ( 3 ) : p. 1030 - 7. 8. singh, s. k., et al., identification of human brain tumour initiating cells. nature, 2004. 432 ( 7015 ) : p. 396 - 401. 9. barker, n., et al., crypt stem cells as the cells - of - origin of intestinal cancer. nature, 2009. 457 ( 7229 ) : p. 608 - 11. 10. quintana, e., et al., efficient tumour formation by single human melanoma cells. nature, 2008. 456 ( 7222 ) : p. 593 - 8. 11. kelly, p. n., et al., tumor growth need not be driven by rare cancer stem cells. science, 2007. 317 ( 5836 ) : p. 337. 12. schatton, t., et al., identification of cells initiating human melanomas. nature, 2008. 451 ( 7176 ) : p. 345 - 9. 13. jin,


number of animals killed to produce one million calories in eight food categories october 12, 2009 in a 2003 article in the journal of agricultural and environmental ethics, steven davis advanced the argument that fewer animals would be harmed if we consumed a diet containing large herbivores ( namely cattle ) fed on pasture than if we consumed a vegan diet, based on his calculation that more wild animals would be killed in crop harvesting than in producing food from a ruminant - pasture - forage system *. gaverick matheny identified a crucial error in davis ' s calculation : it assumed that equal amounts of land will produce equal amounts of food from crops or from animals on pasture *. in fact, an amount of land will produce much more food when used to grow crops for direct human consumption than when used to raise cattle, provided it is suitable for growing crops. once matheny corrected the calculation, davis ' s argument made the case for, rather than against, a vegan diet, given an objective to cause the least amount of animal death. davis ' s argument was also criticized by andy lamey, who pointed out that the case that davis makes for the numbers of animals being killed by harvesting activity is weak, as his numbers included animals who were killed by predators, and that the argument overlooks ways that humans can be harmed or killed by beef production but not vegetable production *. the idea that a vegan diet kills as many or more animals than a meat - based diet is sometimes used as a rationalization for consuming meat, and this idea serves to add uncertainty to the ethical case for a plant - based diet. in an attempt to help clear up this uncertainty, i have made estimates of the number of animals killed directly by slaughter as well as through crop harvesting in order to produce one million food calories from eight different categories of food, shown in figure 1. one million calories is an annual calorie intake for someone consuming 2740 calories / day, so the numbers would reflect an annual number of animals killed if all one million calories came from the same category. of course, no one eats this way, but what is important is the number of animals killed per calorie. if you could determine what percentage of calories in a complete diet came from each category, you could determine a number of animals killed for that diet. to do this, you would probably need a more complete list of food categories than the eight presented here. figure 1 shows that more animals may be killed for beef than for pork when animals killed


you could determine a number of animals killed for that diet. to do this, you would probably need a more complete list of food categories than the eight presented here. figure 1 shows that more animals may be killed for beef than for pork when animals killed in harvest are taken into account. however, compared to beef, more of the animals killed for pork are raised on factory farms, and most of the animals killed for beef are free wild animals who we can assume had natural lives and were killed relatively quickly by farm machinery. pigs raised on factory farms suffer castration, tail removal, and having their teeth cut with no painkillers. they also suffer intensive confinement in barren crates, physical abuse, and transport without food and water through all weather conditions. undercover investigations have exposed that pigs suffer astonishing cruelties *. figure 1 also shows that the number of animals killed for dairy products may be relatively small compared to other animal - derived foods, but animals forced to give milk for dairy products suffer a great deal, and this suffering is not something that can be quantified in a chart. dairy cows are repeatedly artificially inseminated to keep them producing milk, and their calves are taken away from them within 48 hours of birth. this is traumatic for both the mother and the calf. many dairy cows also suffer tail docking mutilations, and mastitis infections of their udders. undercover investigations have shown sick dairy cows living in miserable conditions *. based on this estimation, someone with a desire to modify their diet to reduce the number of animals killed for their food, or someone who is interested in gradually moving towards a plant - based diet for ethical reasons should start by removing chicken and eggs from their diet, but the most animal suffering and death can be prevented by following a vegan diet. two categories of animal deaths were examined : animals slaughtered directly for food, and animals killed in the harvesting of crops. there are other possible sources of animal death associated with our diets, such as predators killed in defense of livestock, animals prevented from existing by the destruction of their habitat, and human deaths from food poisoning, disease, or accidents on farms or in slaughterhouses. it is likely that these other sources of animal death would increase the numbers of animals killed for animal - derived foods more than they would increase the numbers of animals killed for plant - derived foods, and would not significantly affect the conclusions presented here. to determine the number of animals directly killed to obtain one million human - edible calories from animal carcasses, the following formula was used : where


numbers of animals killed for plant - derived foods, and would not significantly affect the conclusions presented here. to determine the number of animals directly killed to obtain one million human - edible calories from animal carcasses, the following formula was used : where na is the number of animals killed, ct is the target number of food calories, ca is the number of calories per kilogram of each food, y is the yield of live weight to edible weight, and w is the average live weight of the animal. calories per kilogram for each food were obtained from the usda national nutrient database for standard reference, accessed through www. wolframalpha. com. carcass yields were obtained from wulf * and kokoszynski * average live weights were obtained from usda statistics * *. to determine the number of animals directly killed to obtain one million human - edible calories for eggs, the following formula was used : where na is the number of animals, ct is the target number of food calories, ca is the calories per egg, ny is the number of years each bird lays eggs for, and ne is the number of eggs laid per year per animal *. so, na is the number of chickens it takes to lay ct food calories of eggs. once these chickens have reached the end of their economic usefulness ( after ny years ), they are killed. this number is then multiplied by two, as hatcheries that breed chickens for egg - laying ability kill the males at birth because they have no economic use. if it is assumed that half of the chicks are born male, then this doubles the number of animal deaths associated with egg production, because for every egg - laying hen, there will be two deaths. in the united states in 2008, 467, 242, 000 egg - type chicks were hatched *. if half of these were male, then 233, 621, 000 male chicks were killed in hatcheries at birth. egg - laying hens are not bred for meat, so those who are slaughtered have low carcass yields, and yield low - quality meat that may go into soups or other processed foods for human consumption. they may also be buried on site, or ground up and added to livestock feed. if the meat from the spent layers were counted as " egg calories, " and if the contribution to human - edible foods from the flesh of spent layer hens could be estimated, then this could account for a proportion of the one million calorie total


meat from the spent layers were counted as " egg calories, " and if the contribution to human - edible foods from the flesh of spent layer hens could be estimated, then this could account for a proportion of the one million calorie total and reduce the number of animals killed to get one million calories. for the purposes of this project, i have only included the number of animals killed to get one million calories directly from eggs, and estimated chicken meat separately. a similar formula was used to determine the number of animals killed to produce one million calories of milk, taking into account the number of years a dairy cow is typically used for milk, average kilograms of milk given per year per cow, and the number of calories per kilogram of milk. dairy cows are impregnated three times in their 4 - year life so that they keep giving milk, and their calves must be taken away so that we can collect the milk for ourselves. the female calves become more dairy cows, and the males, having no economic value as a dairy breed, are raised for veal. the deaths of veal calves ( if we assume half of the calves are male, this would add 1. 5 deaths per dairy cow ) are not included in this total. if their deaths were counted, then their human - edible calories would also have to be counted as " milk calories. " for the purposes of this project, i have only counted calories directly from milk. it would be possible to estimate veal as a separate category, but i have not done so for the purposes of this project. to produce fruits, vegetables, and grains, it is not necessary to kill any animals directly. however, there probably are some wild animals killed in the process of planting and harvesting plant - based foods on a large scale. some possible causes of these deaths are farm machinery such as harvesters, ploughs, or tractors, chemical pesticides, or direct poisoning or trapping of animals who pose a threat to the crops. as davis puts it, " although accurate estimates of the total number of animals killed by different agronomic practices from plowing to harvesting are not available, some studies show that the numbers are quite large. " davis draws his estimates from a study done on field mice in england *, and from a study done on sugarcane fields in hawaii. in the english study, 33 field mice were fitted with radio collars and tracked before and after harvest. the researchers found that only 3 percent of them were actually killed by the


in england *, and from a study done on sugarcane fields in hawaii. in the english study, 33 field mice were fitted with radio collars and tracked before and after harvest. the researchers found that only 3 percent of them were actually killed by the combine harvester ( amounting to one mouse ). an additional 52 percent of them ( 17 mice ) were killed following harvest by predators such as owls and weasels, possibly due to their loss of the crop cover. it is unknown how many of these mice would have been eaten by owls or weasels anyway. i was able to find two additional studies on the effect of harvest on wild animal populations. one study done in argentina measured small mammal densities in a corn and a wheat field, and in surrounding border areas before and after harvest. the researchers found that there were lower densities of small mammals in the crops after harvest, and comparable higher densities in the surrounding areas, which may indicate a level of escape from the harvested fields *. another study that measured small mammal densities in south dakota corn fields and neighboring areas did not find a significant difference in the density of small mammals before and after harvest *. this study also did not have a large sample size ( 88 animals ). i am not aware of any data that exists that would support a national average of number of animals killed per area land due to crop harvesting activity. even if no data exists on the number of animals killed due to harvesting crops, we can still draw meaningful comparisons between different food categories by using a constant estimate of number of animals killed per acre for different types of land, and then determining how many acres of each type of land it takes to produce the same amount of food in each category. davis estimates that 15 wild animals per hectare per year are killed as a result of harvesting annual crops, and guesses that maybe half that, or 7. 5 animals per hectare per year, are killed on grazed land with managed perennial forage. he does this by averaging a mortality rate from the english mouse study ( including animals killed by predators in the week following harvest ), and a mortality rate from a study of a number of rats killed in sugarcane harvesting. even though these numbers may be inaccurate, i think that until better data is available, it is reasonable to use davis ' s estimates for the sake of comparing different categories of food. a 2006 cornell university study on the land requirements of complete diets in new york state determined the average amount of land required to produce one human edible calorie of various categories of food *


s estimates for the sake of comparing different categories of food. a 2006 cornell university study on the land requirements of complete diets in new york state determined the average amount of land required to produce one human edible calorie of various categories of food *. it is important to point out that this study is for food produced within new york state only, and while it might be useful to apply the results to regions with similar climates, soil quality, and other characteristics as new york state, the results would differ for other climates and for a national average. another 2006 study conducted in the netherlands estimated land required to produce one kilogram of beef, chicken, and pork based on world average crop yields and on the world ' s highest crop yields *. the amount of land required to produce a given quantity of food can vary greatly depending on many factors, including region, climate, seeds, growing methods, and soil quality. the data in the cornell study and the netherlands study concurred that it takes about 30 percent as much land to produce the same number of calories from chicken as it does from beef. on pork, the studies differed. the cornell study calculated that it takes about 23 percent of the land to get the same number of calories from pork as it does from beef, and the netherlands study came up with 44 percent for the world average, and 40 percent if the highest worldwide crop yields are used. for the sake of determining the number of animals killed in harvesting activities, figure 1 uses the land requirements determined in the cornell study, because even though they are only for new york state, they give an indication of the relative land requirements of different food categories. one conclusion of the cornell study was that meat generally increases land requirements of a diet, but diets including a small amount of meat could result in less land required per capita than some high - fat vegetarian diets ( that include milk and eggs ) because of cattle converting forage on land unsuitable for crops into human - edible calories. it is probably true that raising ruminant animals on pasture unsuitable for crops would increase the total amount of human - edible calories in the food supply, but it is critical to point out that chicken, pork, and at least 85 percent of beef is fattened in a feedlot on corn grown on land that could be divided between growing food for direct human consumption and wildlife habitats *. the gain of human edible calories achieved by grazing cattle is not much of a benefit considering that there is enough suitable cropland to grow enough calories to feed


on land that could be divided between growing food for direct human consumption and wildlife habitats *. the gain of human edible calories achieved by grazing cattle is not much of a benefit considering that there is enough suitable cropland to grow enough calories to feed everyone without the additional calories gained from raising cattle on pasture, and that cattle grazing has an environmental cost. cattle are a non - native species to the united states, and cattle grazing is destructive to the environment in numerous ways, including soil loss to erosion, reduced survival of seedling trees, and loss of species diversity *. the results of this estimation show that a diet that includes animal products will result in more animal deaths than a plant - based diet with the same number of calories. the production of chicken meat results in vastly more animal deaths than any other category of food. based on this estimation, someone wanting to modify their eating habits in order to reduce animal suffering and death should start by removing chicken from their diet, then eggs. although beef may cause more animal deaths than pork, pork probably causes more suffering, because most of the beef - related deaths are wild animals, and in comparison, a greater number of the pork - related deaths are factory farmed animals. the most animal suffering and death can be prevented by following a vegan diet. - davis, steven l. " the least harm principle may require that humans consume a diet containing large herbivores, not a vegan diet, " journal of agricultural and environmental ethics 16, no. 4 ( 2003 ) : 387 - 394. - matheny, gaverick. " least harm : a defense of vegetarianism from steven davis ' s omnivorous proposal, " journal of agricultural and environmental ethics 16 ( 2003 ) : 505 - 511. - lamey, andy. " food fight! davis versus regan on the ethics of eating beef, " journal of social philosophy 38, no. 2 ( 2007 ) : 331 - 348. - people for the ethical treatment of animals. " mother pigs and piglets abused by hormel supplier, " retrieved october 17, 2009 from https : / / secure. peta. org / site / advocacy? cmd = display & page = useraction & id = 1131 - people for the ethical treatment of animals. " undercover investigation reveals cows suffer for land o ' lakes, " retrieved october 17, 2009 from https : / / secure. peta. org / site / advocacy? cmd = display & page = useraction & id = 251


animals. " undercover investigation reveals cows suffer for land o ' lakes, " retrieved october 17, 2009 from https : / / secure. peta. org / site / advocacy? cmd = display & page = useraction & id = 2515 - wulf, duane m. " did the locker plant steal some of my meat? " south dakota state university department of animal and range sciences meat science extension and research. retrieved october 7, 2009 from http : / / ars. sdstate. edu / meatsci / may99 - 1. htm. - kokoszynski, dariusz and berkacki, zenon. " comparison of slaughter yield and carcass tissue composition in broiler chickens of various origin. " journal of central european agriculture vol. 9, ( 2008 ). - usda national agriculture statistics service. ( 2009 ). poultry slaughter 2008 annual summary. retrieved october 7, 2009 from http : / / usda. mannlib. cornell. edu / usda / current / poulslausu / poulslausu - 02 - 25 - 2009. pdf. - usda national agriculture statistics service. ( 2009 ). livestock slaughter 2008 annual summary. retrieved october 7, 2009 from http : / / usda. mannlib. cornell. edu / usda / current / liveslausu / liveslausu - 03 - 06 - 2009. pdf. - calories per egg was obtained from the usda national nutrient database for standard reference, accessed through www. wolframalpha. com. egg - laying hens spend about 19 months laying eggs before slaughter : usda / animal and plant health inspection service, veterinary services. national animal health monitoring system. ( 2000 ). layers ' 99. part ii : reference of 1999 table egg layer management in the u. s. retrieved december 16, 2008. page 23 : the average age of laying hens entering battery cages is 17. 5 weeks. page 29 : the average age of laying hens at slaughter is 101. 5 weeks. 101. 5 - 17. 5 = 84 weeks, or about 19 months. number of eggs laid per year per animal obtained from usda chickens and eggs 2008 summary. - usda national agriculture statistics service. ( 2009 ). chickens and eggs 2008 summary. retrieved october 7, 2009 from http : / / usda. mannlib. cornell. edu / usda / current / chickegg / chickegg - 02 - 26 - 2009. pdf


2009 ). chickens and eggs 2008 summary. retrieved october 7, 2009 from http : / / usda. mannlib. cornell. edu / usda / current / chickegg / chickegg - 02 - 26 - 2009. pdf. - tew, e. and macdonald, d. w. " the effects of harvest on arable wood mice apodemus sylvaticus, " biological conservation 65 ( 1993 ) : 279 - 83. - cavia, regino, gomez villafane, isabel e., cittadino, alejandro, bilenca david n., mino, mariela h., busch, maria. " effects of cereal harvest on abundance and spatial distribution of the rodent akodon azarae in central argentina, " agriculture, ecosystems, and environment 107 ( 2005 ) : 95 - 99. - pinkert, melissa k., meerbeek, jonathan r., scholten, george d., and jenks, jonathan a., " impact of crop harvest on small mammal populations in brookings county, south dakota, " proceedings of the south dakota academy of science, vol. 81 ( 2002 ) : 39 - 45. - peters, christian j., wilkins, jennifer l., fick, gary w., " testing a complete - diet model for estimating the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity : the new york state example, " renewable agriculture and food systems : 22 ( 2 ) ( 2006 ) : 145 - 153. - elferink, e. v., nonhebel, s., " variations in land requirements for meat production, " journal of cleaner production 15 ( 2007 ) : 1778 - 1786. - calculated from usda nass quickstats. in 2008, total non - dairy beef cattle slaughter totaled 31, 213, 900. total feedlot marketings totaled 26, 449, 000, or 85 % of total beef cattle slaughter. - jones, allison, " effects of cattle grazing on north american arid ecosystems : a quantitative review, " western north american naturalist 60 ( 2 ), ( 2000 ) : 155 - 164.


people vary in their reactions to mosquito bites. most people develop itchy, raised bumps on the skin that last several days. no treatment is necessary, but calamine lotion or over - the - counter hydrocortisone cream can reduce itching. a few people have a significant allergy to mosquito bites. the bites can result in what ’ s called a large local reaction : swelling, blistering, itching, and pain affecting a wide area of the body ( such as an entire arm or leg ). oral antihistamines like cetirizine ( zyrtec ), diphenhydramine ( benadryl ), or hydroxyzine ( atarax, vistaril ) can help ease itching. topical hydrocortisone may also help. rarely, people with a severe allergy to mosquito bites develop anaphylaxis, a whole - body life - threatening allergic reaction. symptoms of anaphylaxis include : • itching or rash, especially hives, in areas of skin away from the bite. • hoarseness or shortness of breath. anaphylaxis requires emergency medical attention. people who have had anaphylaxis - like symptoms previously should always have injectable epinephrine ( an epi - pen ) nearby. this answer should not be considered medical advice... this answer should not be considered medical advice and should not take the place of a doctor ’ s visit. please see the bottom of the page for more information or visit our terms and conditions. thanks for your feedback. 37 of 42 found this helpful


posts tagged virp table another basic circuit type is the parallel circuit, in which there is more than one current path. to analyze resistors in a series circuit, we found an equivalent resistance. we ’ ll follow the same strategy in analyzing resistors in parallel. resistors in parallel let ’ s look at a circuit made of the same components we used in our exploration of series circuits, but now we ’ ll connect our components so as to provide multiple current paths, creating a parallel circuit. notice that in this circuit, electricity can follow one of three different paths through each of the resistors. in many ways, this is similar to a river branching into three different smaller rivers. each resistor, then, causes a potential drop ( analogous to a waterfall ), then the three rivers recombine before heading back to the battery, which we can think of like a pump, raising the river to a higher potential before sending it back on its looping path. we can find the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel using the formula : take care in using this equation, as it ’ s easy to make errors in performing your calculations. let ’ s see if we can find the equivalent resistance for our sample circuit. developing an understanding of circuits is the first step in learning about the modern - day electronic devices that dominate what is becoming known as the " information age. " a basic circuit type, the series circuit, is a circuit in which there is only a single current path. kirchhoff ’ s laws provide us the tools in order to analyze any type of circuit. kirchhoff ’ s current law ( kcl ), named after german physicist gustav kirchhoff, states that the sum of all current entering any point in a circuit has to equal the sum of all current leaving any point in a circuit. more simply, this is another way of looking at the law of conservation of charge. kirchhoff ’ s voltage law ( kvl ) states that the sum of all the potential drops in any closed loop of a circuit has to equal zero. more simply, kvl is a method of applying the law of conservation of energy to a circuit. question : a 3. 0 - ohm resistor and a 6. 0 - ohm resistor are connected in series in an operating electric circuit. if the current through the 3. 0 - ohm resistor is 4. 0 amperes, what is the potential difference across the 6. 0 - ohm resistor? answer : first, let ’ s draw a picture


operating electric circuit. if the current through the 3. 0 - ohm resistor is 4. 0 amperes, what is the potential difference across the 6. 0 - ohm resistor? answer : first, let ’ s draw a picture of the situation. if 4 amps of current is flowing through the 3 - ohm resistor, then 4 amps of current must be flowing through the 6 - ohm resistor according to kirchhoff ’ s current law. if we know the current and the resistance, we can calculate the voltage drop across the 6 - ohm resistor using ohm ’ s law : resistors in series let ’ s take a look at a sample circuit, consisting of three 2000 - ohm ( 2k ) resistors : there is only a single current path in the circuit, which travels through all three resistors. instead of using three separate 2k resistors, we could replace the three resistors with one single resistor having an equivalent resistance. to find the equivalent resistance of any number of series resistors, we just add up their individual resistances : note that because there is only a single current path, the same current must flow through each of the resistors. a simple and straightforward method for analyzing circuits involves creating a virp table for each circuit you encounter. combining your knowledge of ohm ’ s law, kirchoff ’ s current law, kirchoff ’ s voltage law, and equivalent resistance, you can use this table to solve for the details of any circuit. a virp table describes the potential drop ( v - voltage ), current flow ( i - current ), resistance ( r ) and power dissipated ( p - power ) for each element in your circuit, as well as for the circuit as a whole. let ’ s use our circuit with the three 2000 - ohm resistors as an example to demonstrate how a virp table is used. to create the virp table, we first list our circuit elements, and total, in the rows of the table, then make columns for v, i, r, and p : next, we fill in the information in the table that we know. for example, we know the total voltage in the circuit ( 12v ) provided by the battery, and we know the values for resistance for each of the individual resistors : once we have our initial information filled in, we can also calculate the total resistance, or equivalent resistance, of the entire circuit. in our case, this is 6000 ohms


and we know the values for resistance for each of the individual resistors : once we have our initial information filled in, we can also calculate the total resistance, or equivalent resistance, of the entire circuit. in our case, this is 6000 ohms : if i look at the bottom ( total ) row of my table, i know both the voltage drop ( v ) and the resistance ( r ). knowing these two items, i can calculate the total current flow in the circuit using ohm ’ s law, and i can also calculate the total power dissipated in the circuit using my formulas for electrical power : i can now fill in more information in the virp table : because this is a series circuit, the total current has to be the same as the current through each individual element, so i can fill in the current through each of the individual resistors : finally, for each element in the circuit i now know the current flow and the resistance. using this knowledge, i can apply ohm ’ s law to obtain the voltage drop ( v = ir ), and a formula for power ( p = i2r ) to complete the table. so what does this table really tell us now that it ’ s completely filled out? we know the potential drop across each resistor ( 4v ), the current through each resistor ( 2 ma ), and the power dissipated by each resistor ( 8 mw ). in addition, we know the total potential drop for the entire circuit is 12v, and the entire circuit dissipated 24 mw of power. note that for a series circuit, the sum of the individual voltage drops across each element equal the total potential difference in the circuit, the current is the same throughout the circuit, and the resistances and power dissipated values also add up to the total resistance and total power dissipated. these are summarized for you on your reference table as follows :


after arizona became a u. s. territory in 1863, four counties were created — mojave, pima, yuma and yavapai. a fifth county, pah - ute, was claimed — and taxed — by both arizona and nevada, with nevada emerging as the winner. maricopa county was created in 1871, and others came along over time when need arose. it took robert john miley more than a decade to turn guns into art. the result is a sculpture that rises above a small park at the corner of roosevelt street and central avenue in downtown phoenix. miley spent 11 years acquiring the land, material and manpower needed to create the work. the statue, which resembles a man lifting his arms skyward, is made of steel and weighs 17, 000 pounds. four tons of the material came from guns that were once used in the commission of violent acts. early day settlers corydon e. cooley and marion clark had been neighbors for a short time, living among the lush, green ponderosa forestland along arizona ’ s mogollon rim. the two became concerned about one encroaching on the other ’ s privacy. perhaps on a clear day one could see a wisp of smoke rising from other ’ s country. whatever the reason cooley and clark agreed it was getting too crowded and one of the two parties had to move. up around chloride, the painted rocks are known simply as “ the mural. ” roy purcell, the artist, called the work “ the journey ” and says it was the result of a deep personal introspection. either way, the decorated boulders have withstood the elements, bureaucracy and the multitude of tourists who travel a crooked mile to view them, photograph them, comment on them and attempt to decipher their hidden meaning. rocks on the roof? who to call but the estimable max underwood, professor of architecture at arizona state university, a specialist in valley architecture, and hail - fellow - well - met. underwood says your native friend is correct. rocks on the roof can be traced to the native americans who lived here long before anyone dreamed of professional hockey and were adopted by homesteaders.


it may not be the most charismatic species, but the endangered california condor, a bird with an incredible wingspan of nearly 10 feet, has received a lot of attention over the years. after dropping to a population of just 22 individuals in the early 1980s, captive breeding programs have boosted their numbers to around 400, with some 200 living in the wild. even that small population is extremely high - maintenance, however. all the birds are tracked by radio or gps tags, and are frequently caught for medical examination and treatment. as is the case with most birds that eat carrion, lead poisoning has long been a concern for the condors. when large animals are killed by a hunter ’ s lead bullet but not harvested, they can become a dangerous meal. when the birds eat the meat, they can ingest lead particles along with it. when the condors get their medical checkup, a blood sample is analyzed for lead. if the levels are dangerously high, the birds are given treatment. the impact of lead poisoning on the condor population has long been debated, but a study published this week in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences provides some clarity. it shows that many condors are suffering the effects of lead poisoning, suggesting the population will continue to struggle as long as lead ammunition remains in use. researchers compiled the results of over 1, 100 blood samples taken from 150 california condors between 1997 and 2010. the us centers for disease control and prevention recommends that children with blood lead levels above 450 ng / ml undergo treatment, and this is roughly the level at which the condors are taken in for treatment as well. about 20 percent of the birds sampled each year exceeded this level, and 48 percent of individuals living in the wild exceeded it at some point during the 14 - year period. blood lead levels as high as 6, 100 ng / ml were seen. because blood samples only provide a snapshot of lead levels, the group also analyzed feathers from 18 condors. the concentration of lead in each segment of the feather depends on the concentration in the body at the time that segment formed. that means that each feather records a few months of exposure history. from comparisons of the most recent segment to blood levels, they were able to estimate blood lead levels over the duration of the feather. the feathers showed that after ingesting lead, the birds ’ blood concentrations exceeded 450 ng / ml for about a month. unsurprisingly, blood samples often miss the peak lead concentrations, which were 1. 4x to 14. 4x higher. about


after ingesting lead, the birds ’ blood concentrations exceeded 450 ng / ml for about a month. unsurprisingly, blood samples often miss the peak lead concentrations, which were 1. 4x to 14. 4x higher. about 34 percent of the average feather history was higher than the level at which the condors are treated. lead poisoning has consequences at concentrations lower than those that are lethal, but they are difficult to determine in wild populations. to get a handle on how sensitive california condors were to lead poisoning, the researchers measured a biomarker ( δ - aminolevulinic acid dehydratase, or alad, enzyme activity ) in 60 blood samples from 34 birds. that enzyme is important in a number of biochemical pathways, and its activity is strongly inhibited by lead, making it a great indicator of the effect of lead in the body. at blood lead levels of 450 ng / ml, the activity of alad was suppressed by 90 percent. even at 200 ng / ml ( a level exceeded by about 30 percent of blood samples each year, and for more than half of the duration of the feather records ), activity was down 60 percent. but how can we be sure the lead in those condors came from ammunition in carcasses and not some natural source? to see, the researchers measured the lead - 207 / lead - 206 isotopic signature in 132 blood samples. of those samples, 79 percent were consistent with lead ammunition and 27 percent were within the range of “ background ” ratios in captive birds ( there ’ s some overlap ). several birds had isotopic signatures similar to lead - based paint, and had been observed roosting in an old fire tower with peeling lead paint. if lead ammunition is a real problem for california condors, where does that leave the effort to restore the population? to answer that question, the group used population models and several scenarios. if present conditions continue, with the same lead exposure and active care of the birds, the wild population would just barely grow. the authors write, “ without future releases of captive - reared birds, the population would take, 800 [ years ] to meet the recovery goal of a noncaptive population of 150 individuals within california. ” if, instead, we gave up on the expensive work of capturing birds and treating those with high blood lead levels, the population would decline back to 22 in one to six decades. finally, if lead exposure was eliminated, the wild population would grow at a rate of about 2


gave up on the expensive work of capturing birds and treating those with high blood lead levels, the population would decline back to 22 in one to six decades. finally, if lead exposure was eliminated, the wild population would grow at a rate of about 2 percent per year. and that ’ s a conservative estimate, the researchers say, because their “ estimated rate of lead - caused mortality is based on the actual deaths that occurred despite intensive management interventions to mitigate lead poisonings ; if lead was truly removed as an environmental hazard, the increase in condor health and survival should be substantially greater than modeled here. ” that is likely the outcome that california authorities were hoping for when, in 2008, they instituted a ban on lead ammunition for hunting many species within the condor ’ s range in southern california. but when the researchers compared blood lead levels in condors before the ban ( 2006 - 2007 ) and after ( 2009 - 2010 ), they found no improvement. the researchers are currently evaluating the ineffectiveness of the ban so far, including a look at whether hunters are fully complying with the new rule. myra finkelstein, a university of california - santa cruz researcher involved in the project, told ars that “ even if only a few people are still using lead ammunition, there will be enough contaminated carcasses to cause lead poisoning in a significant number of condors. we found that over the course of ten years, if just one half of one percent of carcasses have lead in them, the probability that each free - flying condor will encounter a contaminated carcass is 85 to 98 percent, and one exposure event could kill a condor. ” on the national stage, 100 conservation groups recently filed a lawsuit against the us environmental protection agency for denying petitions asking it to regulate lead ammunition used for hunting. the agency says it has no authority to do so, a fact the groups are challenging in court.


if you have bursitis hip problems, you feel pain when the tendon moves over the bone, which means you feel pain often since the tendon sees a lot of action in you may be wondering what the causes of bursitis hip pain. bursitis of hip problems may be caused by lying on one side of the body for an extended period or from sustained pressure on the hips that is caused by standing too long. arthritis strategy pack is a safe and effective bursitis of hip treatment that quickly relieves bursitis hip pain without the side effects associated with nsaids. while arthritin addresses the immediate pain and inflammation reduction needs, buffer ph works to address the root cause of symptoms. arthritin contains complete glucosamine structures and chondroitin sulfate, combined with anti - inflammatory phytomedicinals, amino acids, nutrients and herbal remedies for bursitis. arthritin supports the body ’ s own natural pain killers, endorphins and enkephalins, while also reducing inflammation ph, which balances ph levels in the body, is the key to this bursitis treatment. an imbalanced ph effects all cellular activity, which can lead to a whole host of degenerative diseases and symptoms. other common causes of symptoms include a traumatic incident such as a fall, leg - length inequalities, multiple minor traumatic injuries, lumbar spine disease or repetitive athletes who participate in sports that involve running are prone to hip bursitis, a common runner ’ s injury. hip bursitis occurs when a bursa sac becomes inflamed. the bursa is a fluid - filled sac that allows smooth motion between the bony prominence over the outside of the hip and the firm tendon that passes over the bone. you can take three critical moves to prevent hip bursitis : ease into new exercise programs, avoid repetitive movements that involve the hip muscles and strengthen and stretch the muscles in your hips. hip bursitis, which can strike anyone at any age, symptoms and signs include pain at night leading to insomnia. the pain will tend to increase as the patient, typically a middle - aged woman or senior citizen, lies down or rolls over on the affected side. she may also feel pain that radiates down the outside of the thigh as far as the knee when she climbs stairs, stands or sits too long. pain is often centralized on the outside of the upper thigh, just over the point of the hip. the best


feel pain that radiates down the outside of the thigh as far as the knee when she climbs stairs, stands or sits too long. pain is often centralized on the outside of the upper thigh, just over the point of the hip. the best treatment for bursitis of hip, or any form of bursitis, is to rest the affected area. this usually means a period of time not participating in sports or activities that aggravate your symptoms. as a general rule of thumb, any activity that causes bursitis hip pain should be avoided. these activities only contribute to inflammation of the bursa. if you have bursitis of hip that has been caused by straining and overusing your hip muscles, your doctor will recommend rest as the first line of treatment. by giving your hip a chance to heal, you may be able to avoid more invasive treatments. if having leg - length differences causes your bursitis of hip, use a lift in your shoe or order special shoes from a podiatrist. some other treatments for bursitis hip pain include ice applications. apply ice in an ice bag for 20 minutes three times a day. also, make sure you stretch, performing exercises for bursitis of hip that help the lower back and hip muscles. in addition to recommending exercise to strengthen muscles, physical therapy and over - the - counter pain medication, your doctor may advise you to lose weight to reduce pressure on the hips. also, some people benefit from using a cane to reduce pressure on the hip. eliminate bursitis pain once and for all - - with proven natural supplements for bursitis


anchorage, alaska — the tide is rising again in the debate over beluga whales, as a national marine fisheries service report showing an increase in the cook inlet beluga population from 321 to 340 this year was released friday. some, including state rep. charisse millett, say the report proves that belugas shouldn ’ t be considered for a critical habitat designation later this month. but experts and others say this year ’ s higher numbers are not the whole story. cook inlet ’ s belugas can affect a lot of the construction taking place at the port of anchorage. port director bill sheffield says five spotters are employed to watch for belugas whenever there ' s work going on near the water. “ we have a contract with those people to man those towers at all times we ' re under construction, ” sheffield said. if the spotters see a whale, under federal endangered - species rules, the work must stop. the port estimates it spends $ 5 million a year to follow the federal regulations. “ that ' s a lot of money, and when you add in the inefficiencies of construction, maybe it ’ s $ 15 million a year here for that purpose, ” sheffield said. sheffield says he ' s pleased with the nmfs announcement that the number of belugas in cook inlet have increased from last year to this year. “ it ’ s encouraging that everything that ' s being done, for some reason, might help increase the population of the beluga whale, ” sheffield said. he hopes the numbers will help the port avoid a critical habitat designation for belugas. “ i think if we ' re not in critical habitat, i think the national marine fisheries service won ' t put any more restrictions on us than we have now, ” sheffield said. but when it comes to beluga numbers in cook inlet, others say not so fast. “ the two measurements are not significantly different - - there ' s some variability year - to - year in the estimates, ” said rod hobbs with the national marine mammal lab. hobbs acknowledges that beluga numbers are up this year, but says that ' s not the big picture. “ it ’ s more important to look at the long - term trend over the last 10 years, and the trend has shown a slow decline in the population, ” hobbs said. it ’ s a trend experts began to notice in the 1990s. “ the fisheries service went through the process of declaring the population endangered because there are only 350 animals or fewer, and it ' s a


berkeley — a new, indigenous opposition is emerging in guatemala that could determine the fate of president ramiro de leon carpio ' s anti - corrup tion constitutional reforms, ap proved last sunday in a referendum that attracted fewer than 20 % of the country ' s eligible voters. more significant, this coalition of mayan popular groups could dictate the terms for the next round of peace talks, set later this month in mexico city, between the guatemalan government and the leftist guerrillas of the guatemalan national revolutionary union. previous negotiations broke down over the issue of accountability for human - rights violations against the mayan communities. last june, delegates from four indigenous organizations met in the offices of the national committee of guatemalan widows to elect the leaders of the new coalition. the three organizations, in addition to the widows, were the communities of population in resistance, the runujel junam council of ethnic communities and the permanent commission for refugees, which oversees the repatriation of 45, 000 guatemalans who have lived in camps along the mexican border for more than a decade. a fifth member of the coalition, which did not send a delegate, is the group of mutual support, composed of families of guatemalans disappeared by the military. the emerging mayan coalition represents an interesting historical convergence ; each of these organizations, headed by indigenous mayan militants, has been associated with the guatemalan national revolutionary union. the alliance entered into by these groups thus amounts to a joint declaration of independence from their guerrilla mentors. of the five groups, the communities of population in resistance is the largest and most disciplined. its origins date from the military ' s counterinsurgency campaign of the late 1970s and early ' 80s. the scorched - earth practices introduced by president romeo lucas garcia and expanded under evangelical president efrain rios montt destroyed more than 440 villages and killed an estimated 60, 000 highland mayas. another million and a half were forced to leave their homes, with as many as two - thirds fleeing into mexico. most continued north. the other half - million guatemalans who fled became internal refugees, or \ o7 desplazados \ f7. the majority drifted to guatemala city and smaller towns, where they scratch out menial livings. about 50, 000 mayas from the northern and western highlands fled to a lowland zone of northern quiche department known as ixcan, where they survived on a bare - subsistence diet. these \ o7 desplazados \ f7 joined together to form the communities of population in


the northern and western highlands fled to a lowland zone of northern quiche department known as ixcan, where they survived on a bare - subsistence diet. these \ o7 desplazados \ f7 joined together to form the communities of population in resistance. in the early years, they maintained their solidarity with the leftist guerrillas who had been active in their home villages. early visitors to the ixcan were often greeted by raised fists and shouted marxist slogans, mixed with a humbling and open - handed mayan hospitality. a chinese - guatemalan investigator, myrna mack chang, was among the first to bring the communities to the attention of the outside world. her report was careful not to blame the military directly for the plight of these displaced mayas ; nevertheless, her implicit denunciation cost myrna mack her life. the evolution of the communities of population into a close - knit, disciplined organization is one of the intriguing stories of contemporary guatemala. today, the army continues to harass the group with bombing raids and public - relations jibes depicting them as handmaidens of armed subversion. representatives of international organizations, including a human - rights special envoy from the united nations, have visited these communities. they have been astounded by their high morale and tight discipline. the communities of population ' s chief objective, apart from survival, is to call the world ' s attention to the atrocities committed by the army against highland mayan communities, in its pursuit of victory over the leftist guerrillas who used the mayan villages as their bases of popular support. each of the organizations is working to expand the political space, or \ o7 apertura \ f7, by attacking the most repressive institutions of the guatemalan army. the runujel junam council of ethnic communities, focuses on dismantling the army ' s unconstitutional civil - defense patrols, which enlist hundreds of thousands of highland mayas to carry out the military ' s dirty work of counterinsurgency.


an icy interior for ceres? observations indicate the largest main - belt asteroid may have an icy mantle beneath its surface. september 12, 2005 the largest asteroid, texas - size ceres, may be a mini - planet with a water - rich mantle. the hubble space telescope imaged ceres in december 2003 and january 2004, revelaing never - before - seen detail. top : this contrast - enhanced false - color composite of ceres is made from hubble space telescope visible and ultraviolet images. bottom : surface features change position as ceres rotates in this sequence of visible image. hubble tracked ceres through multiple 9 - hour rotations. photo by nasa / esa / stsci / j. parker, p. thomas, and l. mcfadden ; composite : francis reddy september 12, 2005 located near the middle of the main asteroid belt between mars and jupiter, ceres is the largest such body at about 592 miles ( 952 kilometers ) across. despite its size, this asteroid has a rather bland reputation among astronomers : its low density, low reflectivity ( albedo ), and relatively featureless spectrum have led scientists to conclude the asteroid ' s interior is uniform in composition, with little structure. however, a paper published in the journal nature provides strong evidence that ceres may be far more complex. these animations show ceres through one full rotation as seen by the hubble space telescope in mid - and near - ultraviolet ( top and center ) and visible wavelengths ( bottom ). j. parker, swri a team of astronomers led by peter thomas of cornell university used the hubble space telescope to obtain images of ceres in december 2003 and january 2004. measurements of the asteroid ' s shape revealed ceres is rotationally symmetric — the distance from the asteroid ' s surface to its center is the same regardless of longitude. this indicates ceres ' shape is determined by hydrostatic equilibrium, in which the weight of the overlying material determines the pressure at any point within the body. stars like the sun, as well as planets — both gas giants like jupiter and rocky bodies like earth — are in global hydrostatic equilibrium. otherwise, their sizes would not remain constant. " this is the first time we have seen ceres in such detail and can even say something about its interior, " says team member joel parker of the southwest research institute in san antonio, texas. " you can watch it rotate in our observations, and you get the feeling of it being a whole new world, not just a bit of


something about its interior, " says team member joel parker of the southwest research institute in san antonio, texas. " you can watch it rotate in our observations, and you get the feeling of it being a whole new world, not just a bit of rocky debris. " some astronomers, notably team member alan stern, also of swri, think a shape determined by global hydrostatic equilibrium is part of what distinguishes planets from asteroids. if we accept this argument, ceres is a planet. measurements of the asteroid ' s shape also provide information about its interior. the equatorial region of any body that spins fast enough bulges outwards. instead of looking like a perfect sphere, the star or planet ( or asteroid, in the case of ceres ) looks " flattened. " by measuring the distances from the body ' s center to its equator and poles, scientists can determine the amount of flattening, which constrains the interior ' s possible structure. ceres has a mean density of about 2. 077 grams per cubic centimeter ( roughly twice that of water ), and a uniform body of this density should have a polar radius about 23. 8 miles ( 39. 7 km ) smaller than the equatorial radius. ceres ' polar radius is only 19. 6 miles ( 32. 6 km ) smaller. this is strong evidence its interior consists of different layers. in fact, the smaller amount of flattening indicates the presence of a mantle and a core. the team developed computer models of ceres ' interior using available data on the asteroid. their findings : ceres has a rocky core and could have an icy mantle as thick as 77 miles ( 124 km ), amounting to about one quarter of its mass. the lack of a water signature in the asteroid ' s spectrum does not present a problem, as any water ice on ceres ' surface would be unstable and soon lost to space. the astronomers make a bold prediction in their nature paper : they assert nasa ' s dawn spacecraft, upon its arrival at ceres, will find a " globally relaxed and differentiated object, but which should retain a visible cratering record, and possible tectonic features. " we will have to wait until 2015 to find out if they are right. | bill cooke is an astronomer with nasa ' s marshall space flight center in huntsville, alabama. |


last week, scientists netted a 4 - pound, 1. 5 - foot - long goldfish in lake tahoe. the scientists also found 15 other goldfish, indicating they ’ re probably reproducing in the lake. the goldfish were probably aquarium raised, and then dumped by their owners. but hold on – can the tiny goldfish you win at a church carnival or buy for a dime at the pet store really grow up to become such a behemoth? turns out, yes! the guinness book of world records documented an 18. 7 - inch - long goldfish belonging to a dutch man named joris gjisbers. another gargantuan goldfish named goldie made headlines in britain. goldie ’ s owner, an 83 - year - old widow, said she bought the fish at a local pet store when he was just an inch long. in 2008, goldie was 15. 7 inches long and weighed more than two pounds. in january, fisherman mike martin pulled a 15 - inch goldfish out of the waters of lake st. clair near detroit, mich. the fancier name for the common domesticated goldfish is carassius auratus. this fish is a member of the carp family and is native to china. that family resemblance between the carp and the goldfish means that sometimes people mistake the former for the latter – as seen when one french fisherman caught a 30 - pound carp that some newspapers mistook for a goldfish. while your goldfish is very unlikely to reach 30 pounds, it does seem that there ’ s some truth to the truism that goldfish can grow to fit their environment. wild goldfish are quite versatile, able to live in rivers, streams, ditches, lakes, and ponds, and tolerate a broad range of temperatures. while most wild goldfish are a drab gray in color, red - gold colors do occur naturally, and have been propagated through breeding and housing techniques. if you have the space for a big goldfish, your best bets for raising a giant one are to supply lots of high - protein food and warmth. “ goldfish kept in outdoor ornamental ponds generally grow quickly in summer and little, if at all, over winter, ” national geographic scribe carrie arnold writes. “ keeping goldfish in a heated aquarium allows them to maintain their summer growth spurt year - round. ” but if you do decide on nurturing a giant goldfish, don ’ t dump it in the lake when it outgrows your


what does it mean when an input or output is balanced? this topic is commonly misunderstood, and joel ' s answer isn ' t quite correct. transmitting " both the signal and its opposite along two wires " is called differential signaling. this is used to minimize emissions from a cable into other circuitry, because the equal and opposite electric and magnetic fields cancel out at a distance from the wire. a " balanced line ", on the other hand, means that the sender and receiver both have the same impedances connected to each of two wires ( the source impedance for both lines is the same and the load impedance for both lines is the same ). this way, any interference into the cable produces the same voltage on each line, and can therefore be canceled by a differential amplifier in the receiver. usually these are both used at the same time, but they don ' t have to be. the so - called " impedance balanced " outputs on some mixers are an example of a circuit that is balanced but not differential. it ' s really the cable that ' s balanced. imagine a long cable transmitting a weak signal ( for example, a very low voltage signal from a microphone ). as the signal travels down the cable, ambient noise might distort the signal. in a balanced cable, instead of just transmitting the signal by itself, you transmit both the signal and its opposite along two wires, usually twisted together. if there is any interference, the interference will apply equally to both wires. that allows it to be cancelled out at the receiving end automatically. imagine that the signal is + 5 and the noise is + 1. an unbalanced cable would transmit + 5, but the noise would cause a + 6 to arrive. a balanced cable would transmit - 5 and + 5 ; the noise would cause a - 4 and + 6 to arrive. now the receiving apparatus can figure out that the original signal must have been + 5. in practice, you ' ll recognize balanced cables because they use three conductors instead of two, for example, a trs 1 / 4 " jack : or an xlr jack : | show 6 more comments | it ' s an interconnect method that lets you transmit signals over very long lengths of wire without having large amounts of extraneous noise injected in to the signal. the signal is duplicated on to two wires and the input impedance at the received is the carefully matched for both signals. this insures that noise injected during the journey is done so in equal amounts on both signals


usda scientists are working on a solution for controlling barn flies. usda scientists are developing strategies to help livestock producers control stable flies, the most damaging arthropod pests of cattle in the u. s. an economic impact assessment by scientists at the agriculture research service ( ars ) agroecosystem management research unit ( amru ) in lincoln, ne, looked at four sectors of cattle production : dairy, cow - calf, pastured and range stocker, and animals on feed. they found that stable flies cost the u. s. cattle industry more than $ 2. 4 billion each year, due to reduced milk production in dairy cows, decreased weight gain in beef cattle, and lowered feed efficiency. stable flies are not only a problem in barnyards and stables, for which they are named, but in pastures as well. amru entomologist david taylor and his colleagues showed that this is partly due to the use of large bales of hay placed in fields as supplemental feed for cattle during winter. these feeding sites where wasted hay, manure and urine accumulate produce an ideal habit for stable flies. to find an easy, inexpensive, quick way to control stable flies, taylor tested cyromazine, an insect growth regulator that interferes with molting and proper development of an insect ' s external skeleton. a single application of cyromazine sprinkled on a hay - feeding site reduced the number of emerging adult stable flies by 97 %. the treatment took 10 minutes, cost $ 10 / site and was effective for 10 - 20 weeks. other potential methods for controlling stable flies include what amru entomologist jerry zhu calls a " push and pull " strategy. the " push " requires using a repellent to drive flies away from livestock. treatments contain effective plant - based repellent chemicals like catnip that are low in toxicity. the " pull " involves developing natural attractants or substances associated with the flies ' environment to lure and trap them. so far, zhu and his team have developed several catnip oil formulations to reduce stable fly field populations. in collaboration with microtek laboratories, inc., of dayton, oh, the researchers are testing a new granular catnip product that prevents stable flies from laying eggs. read more about this research in the january 2013 issue of agricultural research magazine.


according to some sources, cleopatra committed suicide on this day in 30 bc [ on this day : august 30 ]. other sources say it was august 12th and still others claim that it was on the last day in august. the situation was serious. the armies of mark antony and cleopatra has just deserted to octavian and antony had committed suicide. cleopatra was a prisoner in alexandria. she had no hope of escaping octavian. legend has it that she died after being bitten by an asp but it wasn ' t the modern asp, vipera aspis, since that snake is only found in europe. it ' s likely that the romans used the word " asp " to describe all poisonous snakes. if it ' s true that cleopatra used a snake to commit suicide then it was most likely the egyptian cobra naja haje that did the deed [ cleopatra ’ s asp ]. corba venom contains a number of toxins and enzymes. for the biochemist, it ' s most famous for the presence of phospholipase a2, an enzyme that cleaves glycerophospholipids, the main components of cell membranes. this leads to disruption and death of cells, especially red blood cells and lymphocytes in the blood stream. a picture of cobra venom phospholipase a2 bound to a lipid molecule ( left ) can be found in most biochemistry textbooks. hyaluronidase is an enzyme found in many snake venoms. it degrades hyaluronic acid, a complex carbohydrate of the sort found in many glycoproteins. hyaluronic acid is an important component of cartilage where it forms a central strand for attachment of proteoglycan molecules. the breakdown of cartilage lining the blood vessels leads to massive hemorhaging. the combination of phospholipase a2 and hyaluronidase could eventually lead to death but it probably wasn ' t the immediate cause of death for cleopatra. as it turns out, there are other things in the cobra venom that are even more lethal. these other components of cobra venom include various cobra venom factors that interfere with the complement pathway leading to an extreme over - stimulation similar to that seen in septic shock. the venom also includes a number of neurotoxins that gain access to the central nervous system when blood vessels break down. the combination of all these proteins can cause death within minutes of receiving a cobra bite. however, many


septic shock. the venom also includes a number of neurotoxins that gain access to the central nervous system when blood vessels break down. the combination of all these proteins can cause death within minutes of receiving a cobra bite. however, many people survive cobra bites suggesting that the cleopatra story may not be true. i am looking at a marble bust of an ancient woman. her profile looks like the “ before ” picture at a plastic surgeon ’ s office prior to a nose job, lip fillers and chin implant. nothing strikingly attractive about her, yet this is cleopatra, oft assumed to be the most beautiful woman the world has ever known. her beauty is a historical, if not accurate, theme. shakespeare wrote of her in “ antony and cleopatra, ” “ for her own person / it beggar ’ d all description : she did lie in her pavilion - cloth of gold, of tissue - o ’ er / picturing that venus where we see / the fancy outwork of nature. ” paintings of her likeness created in the 18th century depict her as a luscious blond with a curling mane and blue eyes ( rather impossible given her macedonian genes ). elizabeth taylor played her and angelina jolie is slated to in an upcoming film as well. the queen of egypt represents beauty du jour. there is nothing specifically documented about her physical allure in roman writings and artistic depictions of her are rather masculine and homely. plutarch, the greek historian, wrote that cleopatra ’ s beauty was not “ the sort that would astound those that saw her. ” how did we, then, even come to assume she was this gorgeous creature floating the nile on nothing but her golden looks? i understand canning jolie and throwing a wig on john cleese would leave a weird taste in moviegoer ’ s popcorn coated mouths, but does cleopatra need to be “ beautiful ” for us to believe she was not only a powerful ruler but also captivated the hearts of the powerful julius caesar and mark antony? while poets who knew her did not mention her physical beauty ( or lack thereof ), they did give high accolades for her wit, intelligence and melodic voice. it was her character, her actual beauty, that captivated her kingdom. she didn ’ t need to rely on her physical appearance because she had so much more to offer. are you seeing the lesson here, ladies? here is a woman who was a troll and had enough je ne sais quoi to seduce the world for over 2, 000 years. she


her physical appearance because she had so much more to offer. are you seeing the lesson here, ladies? here is a woman who was a troll and had enough je ne sais quoi to seduce the world for over 2, 000 years. she captivates us not because of her face, there are plenty of forgotten pretty faces, but because even in the first century she was a modern woman. she was powerful, brilliant, charming, charismatic, witty and by all accounts, not shy about her sexuality. yet for all of her competence as a ruler, cleopatra identified herself most with isis, the goddess of life and magic — a goddess revered for her utter femininity. no matter your generation or how much you spend on perfecting your facade, you need to reconnect with your inner cleopatra. it is cliche, but looks do fade ( or at least become buried under a maze of wrinkles and sun damage ). it is cruel, but it is nature. who are you going to be when you are age x? the person that says, “ i used to look so good in a bikini before i had three kids … i used to … i used to … hey, where did everyone go? ” or are you the cleopatra of your circle, the one at the top of every party invite list, the one people fight to sit next to at dinner, the one people come to for advice because you are so wise — not because you have smooth thighs and pouty lips? we all know stunning women that become as vapid and unappealing as stale chinese food because all of their focus is on the external. on the contrary, haven ’ t you ever fallen in love with someone who wasn ’ t “ your type ” but once you got to know them became the person you couldn ’ t imagine a breath without? make your goal for the rest of the summer to boost up your cleopatrian beauty. put less focus on what you see in the mirror. don ’ t cement over the inner radiance that comes from being delightful, clever and confident. i have been ( trying! ) to wean myself off of slathering on make - up before leaving the house, which makes me feel incredibly vulnerable and insecure ; i have yet to take off my sunglasses when i don ’ t have mascara on. but it ’ s a step. instead of watching whatever crap is stored on your dvr, do something relevant. buy a book featured on the nyt best - seller list, go


the layout of nuclear facilities in iran nuclear iran : a glossary of terms april 2013 update international diplomacy concerning iranis nuclear program continues to center on the countryis compliance with agreements designed to ensure that peaceful nuclear work is not used as a cover for the develop = ment of nuclear weapons. the challenge of discovering what may be going on in iran is difficult not only because of tehranis obstructionism, but also because the same technologies, particularly uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, can be used for both civilian and military purposes. this policy focus is intended to improve comprehension of the main issues and important technical details surrounding the program. the core of the document explains the terms used by the international atomic energy agency ( iaea ), the worldis watchdog in ensuring that nuclear science and technology are used for peaceful purposes only. separate sections offer explanations of basic nuclear terms and the use of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. in addition, because some of iranis technology came from nuclear - armed pakistan, another section is devoted to explaining the main portions of islamabadis program. and since media coverage often compares sus = pected iranian nuclear work to initial u. s. development of atomic weapons in the mid - 1940s, the basic terms often used in describing this history are defined separately. in addition, this online report includes an interactive index that provides quick, hyperlinked access to all of the terms discussed in the various glossaries. by clicking on a term in this index, users can instantly jump to the page on which it appears, then click another link to return to the index. simon henderson is the baker fellow and director of the gulf and energy policy program at the washington institute. he has lived in both pakistan and iran and has written extensively on nuclear proliferation. olli heinonen, a senior fellow at harvard kennedy school ' s belfer center for science and international affairs, previously served as deputy director - general and head of the department of safeguards at the international atomic energy agency in vienna, inspecting facilities in iran and other countries. watch online as institute proliferation expert simon henderson and former iaea deputy director - general olli heinonen share a new study on the iranian nuclear program and international responses and discuss the latest developments ahead of a key iaea report on tehran ' s atomic activities. - nuclear iran glossary. pdf ( 3. 3 mb pdf ) for more information about this publication please contact the belfer center communications office at 617 - 495 - 9858. full text of this publication is available at : for


eced 170 basics of childcare • 2 cr. meets the key learning outcomes mandated by state legislation and outlined by the washington state training and registry system ( stars ) for all childcare and school age providers. after completing this class, students should be able to : - identify age behaviors of the typically developing child birth through age 12. - identify age and culturally relevant activities for the typically developing child birth through age 12 and implement. - demonstrate ways to incorporate culture of individual children into the curriculum and respond to issues of inclusion and diversity. - demonstrate understanding that children learn through play and active involvement in their environment. - ability to plan and implement activities based on the needs of the group and the needs of the individual children in the group. - demonstrate an understanding of at least six factors that influence a behavior. - demonstrate an understanding of positive guidance techniques, matching the appropriate techniques to the developmental and special needs of a child. - explain basic child abuse indicators and mandatory reporting procedures and implement when necessary. - explain and demonstrate an understanding of his / her role in safety procedures and accident prevention both indoor and in outdoor play areas. - be knowledgeable of and demonstrate proper hand washing, appropriate diapering / toileting and toilet assistance procedures and routine disinfecting of toys / equipment that can help prevent the spread of communicable desease. - demonstrate an understanding of proper food handling procedures. - show an understanding by explaining the d. s. h. s regulations related to medication management. - identify community resources with addresses and phone numbers related to children with special needs, taking into consideration cultural relevance.


those that plan and manage their careers, will increasingly be able to define their jobs around their own interests and passions and build careers that enable, rather than limit their lifestyles. the great recession marked the end of an era. a college degree, long viewed as the passport to a good career and comfortable lifestyle, will no longer guarantee a job. it certainly won ’ t ensure a job in the field for which you have prepared, much less a predictable and secure career that allows you to pursue your passions and live a lifestyle of your own choosing. the grim reality after more than four years of decline and slow growth, unemployment among recent college grads is still almost 15 percent. another 40 %, according to northeastern university ’ s center for labor market studies, are underemployed or are unable to find full - time jobs or those that make use of their skills. these patterns are echoed in a 2011 study by rutgers university ’ s john j. heldrich center for workforce development. it found that 44 % of 2010 college graduates had not held a single job over the 12 months since graduation ( compared with 10 % from the classes of 2006 and 2007 ). among those 2010 grads lucky enough to find jobs, only half landed jobs that required four - year degrees, 30 % claimed that their jobs were below their skill levels and only 22 % saw their positions as steps along a long - term career path. worse still, a study of previous recessions by yale school of management economist lisa kahn, found that those graduates unlucky enough to enter the job market during a recession not only begin at lower wages, they also find it difficult to compete with younger, more recent graduates when normal hiring patterns resume and are likely to continue to earn lower wages though much of their careers. all this bad news is taking a terrible toll on morale. according to the previously mentioned center for workforce development survey, 56 % of recent college graduates now believe they will to do less well than their parents — only 17 % think they will do better! a brighter future? although it may be comforting to think that this situation will return to normal once we pull out of the slump and the recovery begins generating jobs at a more traditional pace, this is worse than wishful thinking — it is self - delusion. the recession, as severe as it has been, has merely unmasked a number of fundamental job market - altering trends that have been in place for more than a last decade, but were disguised by the financial and homebuilding bubbles. these trends fall into four primary


as severe as it has been, has merely unmasked a number of fundamental job market - altering trends that have been in place for more than a last decade, but were disguised by the financial and homebuilding bubbles. these trends fall into four primary categories : - automation, in which not only factory and administrative workers, but also knowledge workers ( as in routine accounting, programming, legal and even some medical jobs ) are being automated ; - globalization, where increasingly educated engineers, financial analysts and lawyers and other professionals, from a growing number of developing countries, perform jobs for as little as one - tenth the cost of a comparably educated domestic white - collar worker ; - flexible hiring, with companies looking to reduce fixed costs by increasingly looking to part - time or contract workers as alternatives to full - time employees ; and - unpredictable volatility, where political, economic, social, technology and market forces change so suddenly and profoundly as to make it all but impossible to anticipate, much less prepare for major dislocations or their often unanticipated consequences. the bad news is that those who are not prepared for these trends face a lifetime of uncertainly, disrupted career plans and low earnings. their careers, their financial security and, to an extent, their lifestyles, will be subject to the whims of the market place and the good graces of others. the good news is that those who understand and are prepared for the job market of the future — and who plan and manage their careers effectively — have the opportunity to not only minimize these risks, but to turn them into opportunities. they will increasingly be able to define their jobs around their own interests and passions and build careers that enable, rather than limit their lifestyles. although most college graduates have the potential of taking charge of their own careers, those who are still in high school or those who are about to enter or are still in college, have, by far, the greatest potential. it will, however, take planning, work and commitment. the sooner you accept these responsibilities, the greater your chance of ensuring that you will be the master, rather than the victim of your own career.


back when i was six or seven, my personal computer was a cassette - tape driven trs - 80, and my favorite game was pyramid. pyramid was an endearingly primitive choose - your - own adventure game, in which you gave the program commands it rarely understood, hoping to randomly stumble on something useful, like throw bird. i made it pretty far into the game, only to discover at the heart of the infamous maze of twisty passages, a coin - operated vending machine! i felt totally ripped off : everyone knows there were no vending machines in ancient egypt! the game lost some of its luster from this cheap anachronism, and eventually i gave up, moving on to the more fast - paced centipede clone, slay the nereis ( ok, i just paused in the middle of writing this post to waste thirty minutes playing atari ’ s online version of centipede. i still get a thrill from the sound of those falling fleas, but how i miss the arcade version ’ s rollerball ). anyway, it turns out that egyptian vending machine wasn ’ t such a stretch after all. ancient machines that were derided as toys or flights of fancy are now taken seriously by archaeologists and engineers. the antikythera mechanism is the best example of this ( there was an excellent article about it in the may 15 new yorker ). and cabinet of wonders just posted a wonderful essay and collection of links on ancient automata. it ’ s incredibly interesting reading. apparently there was a coin - operated vending machine ( for holy water! ) two thousand years ago – designed by the greek engineer hero of alexandria ( or heron ). that was long after the pyramids were built, but who knows? maybe hero wasn ’ t the first to figure it out. the antikythera mechanism survived, albeit in terrible condition, but how many gadgets, including proto - computers and primitive robots, have been lost? it ’ s a dizzying question – but also an important reminder that biologically, we are neither more intelligent nor more creative now than our ancestors were a few thousand years ago. we ’ re just starting at a much higher technological baseline.


on 26 december an aba code - 3 la sagra ' s flycatcher ( myiarchus sagrae ) was found in a restricted area ( no public access ) of bill baggs cape florida state park ( fee ). luckily the original finder, robin diaz, was able to relocate the bird outside the restricted area as it gave its “ wheet ” calls along the park ' s nature trail before returning briefly to what has been dubbed the “ la sagra tree ” ( intersection of the nature trail and a restroom trail with the “ tree ”, ~ 100 yards south of the white gate. robin says a ( the ) la sagra ’ s flycatcher has been in the same vicinity for three consecutive winters showing signs of territorial behavior. la sagra ' s flycatcher was first reported in the aba area in 1963 in orrville, central alabama, a bird thought to be of the cuban race, m. s. sagrae. since the first report of this species in the aba area, at least 12 records and numerous reports have been recorded, all from south florida. the florida records are of birds thought to be of bahamian origin, m. s. lucaysiensis ( aba checklist, fifth edition, debenetictus et al. ). la sagra ' s flycatcher has been considered at times to be conspecific with stolid flycatcher ( m. stolidus ) but vocal differences showed the two taxa to be separate species, although the dawn song of the nominate race, m. s. stolidus, is similar to the dawn songs of the two races of la sagra ' s flycatcher ( handbook of the birds of the world, volume 9 ). la sagra flycatcher is often separated from its congeners by its distinctive forward - leaning posture and flat - headed appearance. although not considered threatened, the entire range of la sagra ' s flycatcher is the bahamas, cuba, and cayman islands ( birds of the west indies, raffaele et al. ). an excellent treatment with tips on identification of la sagra ’ s flycatcher by smith and evered can be found in a 1992 issue of birding 24 : 294−296.


the gulf of mexico is like a giant washing machine, the christian science monitor says. will the gulf ’ s washing - machine - like nature be enough to counteract the bp leak? the gulf is warm, filled with salty water and oil - eating bacteria and is being sloshed around by tides and winds. so, it basically cleans itself. but just how fast it ’ ll be able to get rid of all the oil and dispersants from bp ’ s spill and restore order to the gulf remains to be seen. in localized places such as marshes and beaches, they could stretch the ability of the gulf ’ s natural restorative powers to correct what one gulf biologist calls man ’ s “ insult ” to the ecosystem. researchers, for example, have spotted fluorescent clouds in the deep gulf, likely a byproduct of benzene in the water — a new phenomenon. “ it ’ s very possible that five years from now this will just be a nightmare memory that we have, but we also don ’ t know yet if we ’ ve exceeded the resilience of the system with this spill, ” says richard snyder, director of the center for environmental diagnostics and bioremediation at the university of west florida in pensacola. a report produced in 1981 by the coordinated program of ecological studies said that natural conditions broke down much of the oil from the ixtoc spill in 1979. two years after the spill, shrimp stock in the gulf of mexico was back to pre - spill levels, the cs monitor said. but the bp spill is a different story. plumes of oil have penetrated the deeper parts of the ocean and oil - eating bacteria is out - eating phytoplankton, which is essential to the gulf food chain. “ it shifts the whole food web, ” says snyder. “ what a lot of us are concerned about is about the impact of a spill of this magnitude where things may recover or seem to recover, but we get this subtle degradation of the environment that ’ s hard to quanity from repeated impacts, ” says snyder. “ there is a point of no return where we exceed the resilience of the environment. have we done that [ with the gulf oil spill ]? we don ’ t know. ”


if we needed any more proof that childhood obesity is a plague that will haunt this country for years to come, a study published in the new england journal of medicine offers more ammunition for quick and dramatic action to address this tide of adiposity. if you don ’ t have time to read it, here it is in a nutshell : a study of 276, 835 danish children ages 7 to 13 years old found that those who were overweight had a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease in adulthood than those who were a normal weight, with the association being stronger in boys than in girls. the conclusion? that not only can the roots of coronary heart disease start as early as 7 years old, but that even small increases in a child ’ s bmi can elevate the risk. in the study, the authors noted that an overweight 13 year - old boy has a greater than 33 percent risk of developing coronary heart disease in adulthood than a boy of normal size. another study in the same issue, this one on overweight teens, projected that the increasing prevalence of obesity would result in rates of coronary heart disease increasing 5 to 16 percent by 2035, creating 100, 000 more cases of a disease which is already the no. 1 killer of men and women in the united states. the cdc estimates that more than 9 million children in this country are overweight — triple the number from 30 years ago. studies have shown that overweight children are already at an elevated risk for developing type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension — now we can add another disease to that lethal list. — paula hunt


when we got to the gorgeous university of california james reserve in the san jacinto mountains, the sun was high and the sky was a clear, deep blue. we lucked out. it was the perfect day to take our facebook winner, jeff williams, with us into the field to take part in our mountain yellow - legged frog project. it was also apparent by the conversation we had in the two - hour car ride up to the mountains that jeff was the perfect candidate to take with us. an avid outdoorsman, jeff ’ s passion for nature and the wildlife therein was palpable. it turned out that jeff used to breed blue dart frogs, a hobby catalyzed by an encounter he had with wild frogs in costa rica. “ i thought it was amazing to come across these fluorescent spots of light in the forest all around you, ” he said. a love of wildlife also runs in jeff ’ s family. after learning that meat came from animals at the age of four, his daughter chose to be vegetarian. “ it ’ s kind of a good thing because it forces us to eat healthier, ” jeff said. jeff was also very interested in the project, and asked frank santana, our lead field technician, a million questions about mountain yellow - legged frogs ( mylf ) and their plight. we learned that the chytrid fungus is the main reason for the frog ’ s alarmingly rapid decline. the fungus affects the keratin layer of skin and impairs the frogs ’ ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide through their skin, resulting in a slow suffocation. the species also faces threats from pollution and introduced predators like brown and rainbow trout. i also learned that historically there were 160 populations of mylf in the region, now there are just 9. in fact, 33 % of all amphibian species worldwide are threatened by extinction, with threats from habitat loss, pollution, introduced species, and chytrid. this knowledge gave our work renewed gravity and purpose in my mind. when we broke off the beaten path toward the wild stream where we had released about 500 critically endangered mountain yellow - legged frog tadpoles earlier this year, it was clear that we were in for an adventure. soon we were climbing over fallen logs, thrashing through dense foliage, and wading in knee - deep water. our goal was to hike upstream in search of tadpoles that may have dispersed from their original release pools. jeff didn ’ t get off easy. we put him to work searching for tadpoles


, and wading in knee - deep water. our goal was to hike upstream in search of tadpoles that may have dispersed from their original release pools. jeff didn ’ t get off easy. we put him to work searching for tadpoles and measuring the length, width, and depth of certain pools, and he gladly indulged us. he was an important part of the team for a day. he even brought some useful equipment with him, like a super - small, super - bright led flashlight that really came in handy for searching dark pockets of water. in fact, many of the pictures we captured of tadpoles wouldn ’ t have come out without jeff shining his flashlight in the water. after a few hours of searching the stream we had yet to find tadpoles, even with the help of uc james reserve director rebecca fenwick. it wasn ’ t until we got to the most upstream release pool that we saw about five tadpoles, which believe it or not is a good sign, since tadpoles face threats from many predators in the wild. it was an incredible feeling to finally spot the little guys. “ after all that work it ’ s good to see that they ’ re still there and hopefully they ’ ll start to see some success, ” jeff said. i think we can all agree. it was an absolute pleasure having jeff along with us. we appreciated his help and had an awesome time “ doing science ” with him. like our facebook page for a chance to fill jeff ’ s shoes and ride along with us into the field for our cactus wren project. matt steele is the social media planner for san diego zoo global. read his previous post, summer scvngr safari.


the nonpartisan congressional budget office reports that the american recovery and reinvestment act of 2009, better known as the stimulus bill, has created millions of jobs and in fact has had an even bigger economic impact than expected. “ cbo estimates that in the first quarter of calendar year 2010, arra ’ s policies : - raised the level of real ( inflation - adjusted ) gross domestic product ( gdp ) by between 1. 7 percent and 4. 2 percent, - lowered the unemployment rate by between 0. 7 percentage points and 1. 5 percentage points. - – increased the number of people employed by between 1. 2 million and 2. 8 million, and – increased the number of full - time - equivalent jobs by 1. 8 million to 4. 1 million compared with what those amounts would have been otherwise. in march 2009, the cbo predicted that as a result of the stimulus, employment today might be as much as 2. 3 million than it would have been without the law. the updated report puts that number as high as 2. 8 million. in other words, the stimulus that according to some hasn ’ t created one single job has been and continues to be an important success. times are still hard, but without arra, millions of americans working today to support their families would instead be on the unemployment line, collecting ui benefits.