nics. as a result, the hypervisor has to be involved in each i / o to understand what vm the i / o is intended for. this consumes host resources and limits the potential of getting full bandwidth from the nic. with iov, the inspection process can be offloaded from the hypervisor. it allows the cards to be virtualized and present themselves to the hypervisor as individual nics that can be hard - assigned to specific vms, minimizing hypervisor interaction and maximizing resources. iov will also give the it administrator the ability to add and remove i / o resources to servers as needed, a term we call infrastructure bursting. with per - host virtual machine densities reaching the twenties and thirties, planning the i / o needs for those systems becomes more challenging. predicting peak load times may be impossible. iov lets you dynamically add i / o resources to physical hosts and vms within them when peak times occur, and then re - assign them elsewhere when the need passes, basically bursting the infrastructure for a short time. all it takes is a spare card in the gateway to be assigned when i / o becomes an issue in a particular server. the ability to offload the virtualization task from the host and to dynamically add temporary bandwidth to a host makes iov a compelling technology, and something that will likely become prevalent in larger data centers. the inhibitors to iov are the connection styles and the amount of disruption, like any other infrastructure, that it may cause. we ' ll cover those inhibitors in a future entry. for more on iov, see this entry.


the human brain is as fascinating as it is complex. when the brain experiences trauma and disease, the results can be devastating. now, scientists from cambridge university in england say they have discovered new treatments for debilitating neurological diseases that could possibly open the door to a cure for alzheimer ’ s, epilepsy, stroke and autism. the researchers say they have, for the first time, created cerebral cortex cells, which are part of the brain ’ s grey matter, from a small sample of human skin. the cerebral cortex makes up 75 percent of the brain and is a major area where disease can develop. the newly created cells will help re - create brain diseases such as alzheimer ’ s in the lab, while providing what scientists call " previously impossible insight " to allow them to develop and test new drugs to stop these devastating diseases from progressing. the findings will also enable scientists to study how the human cerebral cortex develops, how it " wires up " and how learning disabilities occur. according to britain ’ s sunday telegraph, before this new development, it has only been possible to generate tissue from the cerebral cortex by using controversial embryonic stem cells. however, since embryonic research has drawn ethical concerns scientists say it has led to limited availability of funding and materials. dr. rick livesey of the gurdon institute and department of biochemistry at the university of cambridge, principal investigator of the research, said : ' ' we have been able to take reprogrammed skin cells so they develop into brain stem cells and then essentially replay brain development in the laboratory. this approach gives us the ability to study human brain development and disease in ways that were unimaginable even five years ago. ” the scientists took skin biopsies from patients and then reprogrammed the cells from the skin samples back into stem cells. the stem cells as well as human embryonic stem cells were then used to generate cerebral cortex cells. dr. livesey added, ' ' we can study brain development and what goes wrong when it is affected by disease in a way we haven ' t been able to before. we see it as a major breakthrough in what will now be possible. ' ' the findings, which were funded by alzheimer ’ s research uk and the welcome trust, were published in nature neuroscience.


drug shows promise in busting hepatitis c virus washington, feb 19 : hepatitis c virus ( hcv ) infection affects about 4. 1 million people in the united states alone and is the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. current therapy against the infection is not particularly effective. daclatasvir, a direct acting antiviral ( daa ) agent, targets one of the hcv proteins ns5a and causes the fastest viral decline, within 12 hours of treatment ever seen with anti - hcv drugs. an interdisciplinary effort by mathematical modellers, clinicians and molecular virologists has revealed that daclatasvir has two main modes of action against hcv and also yields a new, more accurate estimate of the hcv half - life, the journal proceedings of the national academy of sciences reports. " ultimately, our study will help design better daa drug cocktails to treat hcv, " said loyola university health system ( luhs ) and stritch school of medicine ( ssom ) mathematical modeller harel dahari, who co - led the study. dahari is one of five members of the division of hepatology at loyola headed by scott cotler, who authored the study with thomas layden, hcv virologist susan l. uprichard and her doctoral graduate student natasha sansone, according to a loyola statement. " daclatasvir not only blocks the synthesis of the viral rna within infected cells but also secretion of infectious virus from the cells, " said dahari. this prediction was confirmed in uprichard ' s lab using cultured liver cells that support the entire life cycle of hcv infection.


april 24th marks the hubble space telescope ' s 21st anniversary in space. to celebrate, nasa has released this new image of two interacting galaxies. it contains clues about a past rendez - vous, and hints of a third, hidden object. the disc of the upper, spiral galaxy, called ugc1810, has been distorted by the gravitational pull of the smaller galaxy below. the position of its long outer arm is likely to have come about when the smaller galaxy dived deep, and slightly off - centre, through ugc1810. meanwhile, the nucleus of the smaller galaxy, ugc1813 shows intense star formation, also a result of its encounter with the larger galaxy. now look closer and a possible third galaxy can be spotted in the top right of the image, nestled between the ends of the two outermost arms of ugc1810. the give - aways are a mini - spiral and several clusters of young, blue stars. the image is just one of the thousands released by hubble over its working life. " after all this time, new hubble images still inspire awe and are a testament to the extraordinary work of the many people behind the world ' s most famous observatory, " said charles bolden, who piloted the discovery space shuttle as it deployed hubble in 1990, and is now nasa administrator.


may 29, 2012 " naturally, the common people don ' t want war... but after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. that is easy. all you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. it works the same in every country. " - - hermann goering - leading member of the nazi party there are only two holidays a year that bring me to tears. the first is decoration day ( now memorial day ) and the second is independence day, july 4th. last july i wrote an article entitled real americans. i told of the loss and heartbreak i felt when i saw the flags waving and heard the firecrackers. the loss of what we once had and what we have become is overwhelming. the same feeling is present with decoration day. decoration day started with a commemoration to the fallen union soldiers of the civil war. in the south, southern ladies ' groups commemorated the fallen on different days than the holiday of the north. however, by the 20th century, all american soldiers who had fallen in war were remembered on the last monday in may, although originally may 30th. decoration day meant placing flowers on the graves of the fallen, but soon became a memorial for all family members who had passed. today, those who know the real meaning of the holiday visit the cemeteries not only to decorate the graves of fallen american soldiers, as well as those who served our country, but also to remember our deceased ancestors. decoration day was officially changed to memorial day by federal law in 1967. on june 28, 1968, the congress passed the uniform holidays bill, which moved four holidays, including memorial day, from their traditional dates to a specified monday in order to create a convenient three - day weekend. the change moved memorial day from its traditional may 30th date to the last monday in may. the law took effect at the federal level in 1971. this has no doubt changed the tenor of the remembrance day into one of a spring - into - summer three - day weekend holiday, which has caused the solemn honor of the original commemoration to be lost. japanese nisei, daniel inouye, hawaii ' s senator, and a wwii veteran has tried every


into one of a spring - into - summer three - day weekend holiday, which has caused the solemn honor of the original commemoration to be lost. japanese nisei, daniel inouye, hawaii ' s senator, and a wwii veteran has tried every year to return the holiday to may 30th. the memorial day flag is to be raised briskly to the top of the pole at dawn and then lowered to half mast until noon. this is done in remembrance. at noon, the flag is again raised to the top of the pole for the remainder of the day. today, this holiday of commemoration has become one of barbeques, picnics, baseball and swimming. it no longer is a day of solemn remembrance of our nation ' s loss. when i think of all those who have served, i remember those in my own dear family. my maternal grandfather served in the army as a cook in wwi. his two sons, my mother ' s older and younger brothers and my uncles, both served in wwii in europe and in germany respectively. i remember my uncle bob telling me about how he hitchhiked across czechoslovakia to see his cousin, norm, who was also in the army. my paternal grandfather graduated from the presidio ( officer ' s training ) in 1917 with the army cavalry. i still have the humorously written program for his graduation dinner. his degrees were in international law and french. he married my grandmother that same year and went off to war. his older brother was also a soldier in wwi. in a nine page typewritten letter my baptist preacher and physician great - grandfather wrote to his former church in bozeman, montana, he mentioned how his wife worried and prayed for her two sons in france. my grandfather remained in the military for many years. i have obtained all his military records through my congressman. he was retired prior to wwii, but at the start of wwii and at the age of 50, he re - enlisted. he was in charge of a german prisoner - of - war camp for a year or so. the photos of this camp and the inmates look as though it was a great holiday for the germans. these original photos are at the mazal holocaust library in san antonio, texas. at the close of wwii, my grandfather, colonel morse, was in charge of the mps at nuremburg. his army cavalry uniform and his boots are also at the mazal holocaust library along with documents and photos. after the war, my grandparents were very concerned about the second generation japanese americans who fought on


was in charge of the mps at nuremburg. his army cavalry uniform and his boots are also at the mazal holocaust library along with documents and photos. after the war, my grandparents were very concerned about the second generation japanese americans who fought on our side during wwii, the nisei. my grandmother was the inspiration for a veterans hall for them and the nisei veterans ' memorial hall was born. my grandfather brought it to fruition and his picture still hangs prominently in their veteran organization. the 100th / 442nd regimental combat team, composed of approximately 14, 000 japanese american soldiers, became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in american history. among their many awards, they earned eight presidential citations, over 9000 purple hearts, and 21 medals of honor. the 100th / 442nd fought many battles. one of the most historic was the rescue of the lost battalion in october 1944, when the unit led a heroic drive through german lines in the vosges mountains to rescue 211 surviving soldiers of the 36th texas division. for this the governor of texas named the nisei soldiers \ " honorary texans. \ " in 1945, the courageous actions of the 100th / 442nd were critical in breaking the german gothic line. they fought the germans through intense combat and liberated towns such as bruyeres, biffontaine, and belvedere. they also helped free holocaust victims from a dachau concentration camp. approximately 6, 000 japanese americans served in the pacific theater in the military intelligence service ( mis ) of the us army. these soldiers utilized their knowledge of the japanese language and culture to defeat the japanese military in the pacific. general douglas macarthur ' s intelligence chief, major general charles a. willoughby, estimated that these contributions shortened the war by at least two years and saved countless lives in the process. for this, the mis was awarded a presidential unit citation. when my retired, aging, california grandparents needed assistance, the japanese were there to help them in every way. at their funeral masses, the priests were both japanese. the eulogies from these brave nisei are simply beautiful and showed what great love these japanese american war heroes had for my paternal grandparents. today is a different story the presidio today is nothing like what my grandfather would envision. congress voted in 1989 to end the presidio ' s status as an active military installation and on october 1, 1994, it was transferred to the national park service, ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public


congress voted in 1989 to end the presidio ' s status as an active military installation and on october 1, 1994, it was transferred to the national park service, ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public use. sadly that use is now part and parcel of the un agenda 21 program of destroying national sovereignty and our liberties. in 1996, the united states congress created the presidio trust to oversee and manage the interior 80 % of the park ' s lands, with the national park service managing the coastal 20 %. in 1993, the gorbachev foundation usa was invited to sink roots at the presidio as part of the post ' s conversion from the headquarters of the 6th u. s. army to a national park. from the website, mikhail gorbachev, creatively marketing global communism, comes this statement regarding gorbachev ' s state of the world forum, " former soviet communist party boss mikhail gorbachev, founder of the state of the world forum six years ago, used a $ 5, 000 per person gathering of the world ' s political and business elite to plea for the united nations to adopt a soviet - style " central authority " to manage the world ' s business and environmental concerns. " " the collapse of the soviet union as presented in the western media was a fraud. the soviet union didn ' t collapse and communism didn ' t die. they just reorganized. this is gorby ' s goal for the united states... and that ' s what the un program of regionalization is about. the movement is to dissolve the united states as a nation and then to break it up into areas of regional governance under an unelected continental government similar to the european union. " if my grandparents on both sides, who fought in wwi and wwii for american freedoms knew of gorbachev ' s group in the presidio, they would roll over in their graves. they would never have believed it would happen, nor would they ever have believed we ' d be fighting undeclared wars and passing unconstitutional laws. think about obamacare, ndaa, ndrp, homeland security, tsa, the patriot act, to name just a few of the hundreds of thousands of illegal and unconstitutional laws, acts, and executive orders. my mother would never have believed it, much less my grandparents. in fact, my grandparents never even heard of a " trillion dollar debt. " how many undeclared wars are we going to allow our young


, acts, and executive orders. my mother would never have believed it, much less my grandparents. in fact, my grandparents never even heard of a " trillion dollar debt. " how many undeclared wars are we going to allow our young men and women to fight? how many of our young people are we going to allow to be maimed and die at the hands of politicians who have no concern for human life or constitutional law? these wars are not wwi or wwii. to say it more succinctly, here is a letter my dear friend ruth wrote in comment of the article, the price of freedom, " this memorial day, i mourn the lives of the tens of thousands of our troops, who are maimed and disfigured. i mourn the lives of the troops still stuck in the hell holes of afghanistan and iraq and those engaged all around the world in illegal interventions and wars of aggression, greed and empire building. i grieve for the returning veterans, whose minds are so broken, upon contemplating the horrors they have witnessed and the true nature of these wars, they are committing suicide in shocking numbers. those, who gave all, may be the lucky ones. unfortunately, these brave young men and women are not fighting for our freedom ; they know it, and you know it. they are fighting to stay alive. they are mere pawns of the military industrial complex. it is time to bring them all home now. " subscribe to the newswithviews daily news alerts! so i grieve. i grieve for what we ' ve lost, what we were, what we once had, and what we ' ve now become. i grieve for my nation, for her soul, and for her people who are too busy watching dancing with the stars and american idol to see what has happened to our beloved country. i grieve because we ' ve thrown god out of every facet of american society. i grieve because we think nothing of murdering 50 million babies in the wombs. i grieve because i see the losses. i grieve because i know too much, and i grieve because so few are fighting to save her... our once great america and her god - given freedoms. i grieve, i mourn, and i weep and i ' m still fighting to save her. unless more americans stand up for truth, righteousness, liberty and freedom, i ' m afraid all is lost. dear


if you are a city - dweller, you might be forgiven for thinking britain is sparse in wildlife. but you ’ d be mistaken – britain is teeming with wildlife, and in fact, many species flourish in an urban setting. did you know peregrine falcons can be found in london and that britain is home to 50 per cent of the world ’ s bluebells? how much do you really know about the wildlife on your doorstep? explore our content and fill in the gaps. find out about uk biodiversity and how you can help to preserve it by identifying local species, taking part in wildlife surveys, and much more. are bluebells flowering earlier than they used to? help us find out by taking part in the museum ' s bluebell survey. discover what past surveys have revealed about the spread of non - native bluebells. the british isles have a wide range of habitats, from low - lying fens to open heathlands and hundreds of miles of hedgerow. find out about their history and the threats they face. identify a tree today. help us learn what species are growing where in the uk by telling us about the trees in your streets, parks and especially in your gardens. join museum botanist fred rumsey as he takes a walk along the south coast of britain and introduces you to a host of plants surviving in extreme conditions. take a walk along the coast and help us monitor the effects of climate change and invasive species on the uk ' s seaweeds. the open air laboratories network ( opal ) has been created to inspire people to become more involved with the natural world around them. join in the new tree health survey. find out about fossils, minerals and rocks discovered in your local area with the earth lab database. find out why it makes sense for gardeners to plant native plants and which species are right for your garden. ask questions and share identification tips about all types of british bugs, from bees to beetles and wasps to woodlice. museum insect - experts are on hand to answer your questions. found a new plant in your garden, an odd creature in your house, or a strange fossil on the beach? bring it in to us and one of our identification and advisory staff will help identify it. centre for uk biodiversity


glacier bay crabs the life and times of dungeness crabs in glacier bay national park and preserve life history of dungeness crabs ; distribution of dungeness crabs throughout glacier bay ; animal ecology ; the effectiveness of a marine preserve for protecting species, such as dungeness crab ; special adaptations to a marine environment dungeness crabs are an important benthic species of glacier bay. glacier bay was closed in 1999 to all commercial fishing of dungeness crabs because of the possibility of a collapse of alaska ' s dungeness fisheries. preliminary studies indicate that this closure will increase the size and abundance of this important species, as well as improve its genetic biodiversity. what factors are important to maintaining a strong population of dungeness crab in southeast alaska? students will know... - the life history of dungeness crabs - the place of the dungeness crab in the food web of glacier bay ' s marine environment - the physiological adaptations that allow crabs to thrive in the extreme conditions of glacier bay - the relationship between a thriving fishery and marine preserves students will be able to... - compare and contrast the life histories of human beings and dungeness crabs. - create displays to share information on dungeness crabs. - build models to compare and contrast members, both terrestrial and marine, of the arthropoda phylum. - research and illustrate the place of the dungeness crab in the food web of its marine environment. - analyze data from a study on the distribution of dungeness crabs in glacier bay to draw conclusions about the animal and its ability to adapt to the extreme conditions of the environment. - examine a brief history of the commercial dungeness crab fishery in southeast alaska and its effect on the population of dungeness crabs. - assess the effectiveness of a marine preserve on the continued health of a commercially important population of animals. - crabs in glacier bay - unit outline - instructional resources - activity # 1 - activity # 2 dungeness crabs at home in glacier bay - activity # 3 the economic significance of a crab refuge - national standards science, english / language arts, geography, mathematics, social studies - grade levels : - fifth grade - eighth grade - biology : animals, conservation, marine biology, oceanography, wildlife management - national / state standards : - science as inquiry, life science, science in personal & social perspectives, history & nature of science, data analysis and probability, environment & society, the uses of geography


mineralogical society distinguished lecture at nui galway wednesday, 21 november 2007 ' minerals, metals, molecules and microbes ' the mineralogical society distinguished lecturers programme comes to the environmental change institute, nui galway, on thursday 29 november, with a lecture by professor david vaughan of the university of manchester. professor vaughan will deliver a lecture on " minerals, metals, molecules and microbes : environmental mineralogy and sustainability ", at 8pm, with refreshments from 7. 30pm, in the orbsen building seminar room. environmental mineralogy is the study of minerals with the purpose of understanding and assessing their influence in the movement and fixing of organic and inorganic contaminants at and near the earth ' s surface. according to professor david vaughan, of the university of manchester, " metals are critically important both as resources and potential pollutants. understanding how they can be concentrated or dispersed at the earth ' s surface depends on new knowledge, at the molecular scale, of processes involving mineral surfaces, ultrafine particles and mineral - microbe interactions. " the lecture will address the following questions : how do we use minerals to contain waste? can minerals offer green solutions to the problems of waste management? how do minerals assist in the remediation of contaminated soils and waters? how do flora and fauna interact with minerals in rocks and how do they work to break down stone buildings and walls? what are some of the state - of - the - art techniques used to study metal cycling in the environment? dr. martin feely, of the geofluids research group in the department of earth and ocean sciences at nui galway, says that, " on a local level, one of the most visual examples of the importance of mineral - microbe interactions is the manner in which lichen work to degrade ireland ' s old stone walls. understanding how this process occurs is relevant for geologists, archaeologists, environmental consultants, botanists and microbiologists. " this lecture is free and open to the public and is hosted by nui galway ' s environmental change institute ( eci ) and department of earth and ocean sciences. for more information please contact firstname. lastname @ example. org or phone 091 495061.


a new chinese study has found that calcium protects against cancer of the colon and rectum ( colorectal ). the shanghai women ’ s health study, from 1997 through 2000, enrolled 73, 314 chinese women aged 40 to 70, average age 55. 5, who were living in urban shanghai. researchers followed up for an average of 5. 7 years and, excluding the first two years of follow up, found that those with the highest amounts of calcium in the diet were 40 % less likely to develop colorectal cancer than were those with the lowest dietary calcium. by the end of the follow up period, there were 129 reported cases of colon cancer and 91 reported cases of rectal cancer. the study is significant because of the large number of participants and because the chinese diet typically includes less calcium than does the western diet. previous large u. s. studies : the 1991 women ’ s health initiative with 161, 808 women, the 1976 nurse ’ s health study i with 122, 000 women, and the 1989 nurse ’ s health study ii with 125, 000 women, did not report any link between calcium and colorectal cancer. as in those studies, doctors in the shanghai survey asked participants to fill out a food frequency questionnaire covering 77 foods representing 90 % of the typical diet. researchers also calculated the amounts in the diet of vitamins a, b1, b2, b3, c and e, as well as carotene and fiber, and found no link to risk for colorectal cancer. the scientists concluded that calcium appears to protect against colorectal cancer even at the relatively low levels in the chinese diet compared to the western diet. colorectal cancer is one of the most curable cancer types, and doctors can diagnose the disease easily and early using a colonoscopy exam.


iron tears : america ’ s battle for freedom, britain ’ s quagmire : 1775 – 1783 by stanley weintraub free press, 375 pp., $ 28. 00 picture the following situation. the greatest power in the world is confronted with an insurgency thousands of miles away, which it expects to put down quickly and easily. it sends a large army to deal with the insurgents, but counts on many loyal supporters to flock to its standard. recruiting soldiers, however, is difficult, and since the great power cannot enlist enough of its own troops to deal with the situation, it has to hire thousands of mercenaries. it occupies the remote land, sends increasing numbers of soldiers, spends enormous amounts of money, and suffers more and more casualties, all of which arouses a good deal of criticism at home. the hawkish cabinet minister in charge of the war remains confident and vainly tries to micromanage the war an ocean away. but finally the great power is unable to put an end to the insurgency. it carries on for many long years until its political will is sapped, and it is forced to abandon the distant country it invaded. this could be the united states in vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, or it could be what might happen with america ’ s intervention in iraq. but it is neither of these. instead, it is the story of great britain ’ s attempt in the 1770s and 1780s to put down the rebellion of its colonists in north america. of course, there are enormous differences between britain ’ s experience with suppressing rebellion in its empire in the eighteenth century and america ’ s recent experiences abroad. nevertheless, the parallels between the british experience in north america over two centuries ago with recent american interventions abroad, especially in vietnam, are eerie. in its efforts to suppress the rebellion in north america, britain, like the united states in vietnam or in iraq, could not realistically envisage a simple military victory. even if it won a military victory, that could be only the first step in the restoration of peaceful relations and stability. britain ’ s ultimate goal had to be political, which is why the british shed, in edmund burke ’ s phrase, “ iron tears ” in their efforts to hold on to their colonies with bullets. since britain had to win the allegiance of the colonists in order to bring them back into the empire, the commanders in chief, general william howe and his brother admiral richard, lord howe, believed they could not wage a simple war of conquest and terror. they could not bomb


equity park was the 250th playground built in new york city under the direction of parks commissioner robert moses ( 1888 - 1981 ). throughout his tenure in office, moses opened as many as 15 playgrounds in a day, increasing the number of such spaces in the city from 119 to 777. this prolific expansion began with 71 new playgrounds opening in 1935, with 72 more constructed in 1936 and 52 in 1937. of the 119 playgrounds in existence before moses became parks commissioner in 1932, only four were in the lower east side of manhattan, two in harlem, and thirty - two in the entire borough of brooklyn, an average of one playground for every 14, 000 children living in new york city. in addition to building new playgrounds, moses increased the quality of many of the existing sites, since many in existence before his administration were poorly equipped and not surfaced. equipment was so scarce that some children had to wait in line to play in many of the city ’ s sandboxes. by 1934 moses had resurfaced every playground in the city and found land for 60 new ones. due to the financial constraints caused by the great depression of the 1930s, the city did not have money to purchase new parkland. moses solved the problem by finding tracts of city - owned land, often in the overcrowded sections most in need of parks, not in use by any city agency. these areas were then converted into playgrounds, frequently with money that moses found through nontraditional means. before president franklin d. roosevelt ’ s works progress administration ( wpa ) allowed moses to use workers paid by the federal government, the commissioner found money to pay parks employees and renovate playgrounds through funds that had been overlooked by other departments. this site was acquired by condemnation on may 5, 1926 and was named by local law in 1939. parks obtained jurisdiction over the area on march 6, 1941 and an additional section, formerly owned by brooklyn and queens transit company, was obtained on june 27, 1961. this playground, located next to p. s. 60 in the woodhaven section of queens, contains a comfort station, swings, and a tree - lined seating area. the park underwent a $ 93, 000 renovation in 1997, sponsored by mayor giuliani, which repaired paved surfaces and added new safety surfacing and play equipment.


buy a paper copy or browse online access for subscribers to oecd ilibrary access for olis users competitive neutrality means that state - owned and private businesses compete on a level playing field. this is essential to use resources effectively within the economy and thus achieve growth and development. therefore the principle of competitive neutrality is gaining wide support around the world. but how to obtain it in practice, is a much more difficult question. the purpose of this report is to help respond to this question. the report identifies the most important issues that governments need to address in order to achieve competitive neutrality. it is framed around eight building blocks, including choosing the best corporate form, achieving a commercial rate of return, accounting for public service obligations, improving debt neutrality, and making public procurement open and transparent. it provides country examples of how to implement competitive neutrality policies in practice. the report is not about privatisation. rather, it aims to provide guidance to policy makers who want to make sure that the presence of the state owned enterprises in the market place does not thwart private entrepreneurs, skew competition or lead to other inefficiencies. understanding how to avoid unintended economic consequences that may follow from state ownership is particularly important for policy makers that face the challenge to balance the commercial objectives of state owned enterprises with other important policy objectives : a challenge that permeates all levels of government. the book may be read in conjunction with two publicly available stocktaking papers : overview of oecd work on competitive neutrality


athens, ohio ( march 6, 2007 ) - - participants in ohio university ' s two - day commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the end of the slave trade were given a thorough history lesson. emory university professor david eltis began his keynote address on thursday evening by asking, " what is the significance of the abolishment of the slave trade? " eltis said history shows us the u. s. abolishment of the slave trade in 1807 in reality didn ' t end the slave trade and he used his new online database to show that more than three million slaves were transported from africa after congress abolished the slave trade in 1807. the numbers reveal that the u. s. was a minor player in the slave trading business, well behind spain, uraguay, portugal, brazil and france. " the united states wasn ' t responsible for a large part of the slave trade, " eltis said. " the dutch transported more than two times the amount of the u. s., the spanish four times as many and the english and french about 10 times more. " eltis said more than 12. 5 million slaves were exported from africa during the approximately 360 years of the slave trade, with about 3. 1 million transported between 1807 and 1867. " the idea that people changed their attitudes toward african slaves is fascinating, " eltis said. " one must wonder how people who once condoned slavery, eventually decided it was immoral. " eltis ' database, which he debuted off campus for the first time, has records from more than 35, 000 slave voyages across the atlantic ocean and will be made available to the public in the near future. on friday, the commemoration included a morning workshop hosted by eltis that allowed participants to search his database. it was followed by two sets of presentations based on the slave trade and slavery. the first panel discussion included faculty research presentations on thomas jefferson, and the effect slavery had on u. s. western expansion, africa and brazil. department of history professor brian schoen told the audience that thomas jefferson is sometimes viewed as a hypocrite because of his contradictory nature. " thomas jefferson believed slavery was unjust, but moved slowly to abolish it, " said schoen. " he failed to imagine a pluralistic multiracial society where blacks and whites live together. " department of african studies professor robin jenkins talked about the impact the slave trade had on western expansion in north america. she described how vagrancy and poverty laws often hindered the


a pluralistic multiracial society where blacks and whites live together. " department of african studies professor robin jenkins talked about the impact the slave trade had on western expansion in north america. she described how vagrancy and poverty laws often hindered the migration of non - whites to the new territories. department of history professor mariana dantas shared the details of the brazilian slave trade. " slaves were vital to the economic development of brazil because they worked in the sugar and gold industries, " dantas said. dantas said that according to the numbers in eltis ' database, brazil was involved in about 45 percent of the total african slave trade. department of history professor nicholas creary spoke about the slave trade ' s effect in africa. he said at one point in history, about 30 to 50 percent of the population in the sudan in west africa was slaves. he also presented liberia as a destination point for freed slaves involved with the american colonization society. " liberia was a tremendous example of colonization, " he said. during the second set of presentations, ohio university administrator charles fox shared his family ' s story centered on a slave - breeding plantation in jefferson county, w. va., called the bower. he said his great - great - grandmother mary was a brood woman at the plantation who was beaten to death because she hid her children from the plantation ' s master so that they wouldn ' t be sold into slavery. fox has been tracing his family ' s history through books, documents and stories provided by outside sources, and stories from his family and the dandridge family, owners of the bower. deanda johnson, coordinator of ohio university ' s african american research and service institute, provided a glimpse into her large - scale research project titled " the african - american presence in the ohio river valley. " she showed interviews from area black family reunions of people talking about the history of slavery in their family. " i hope this research project gives a voice to the nameless, faceless black people in the area, " johnson said. african american studies chair vibert cambridge ended the commemoration by saying, " we have only just begun taking a closer look at the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade. " cambridge said the commemoration runs through august 2008. [ 30 ] media contact : media specialist george mauzy, 740 - 597 - 1794 or firstname. lastname @ example. org


from open circuits some notes on microcontroller rs232 communications this is based on one person ' s experience with microcontroller rs232 serial communications on a pic16f877a, i hope others will add to this and correct any mistakes i may have made. these notes cover some issues that are not commonly discussed, at least in the sources i have seen, or all in one place. this is one of a series of articles on microcontroller serial communications, rooted at this site here : microcontroller serial communications articles what hardware : uart or not? a uart is a peripheral that can send and receive serial data and signal the processor when a full character has been sent or received. ( there are similar peripherals with similar names, they support asynchronous communications, many pic ' s have them or variations, so do many other microcontrollers ) having a uart means that microcontroller can ignore the data for a period of one character ( or more if the uart has a character buffer ). if the microcontroller does not have a uart then the processor must time in each bit, normally checking several times a bit to see if the bit is high or low. this is known a “ bit banging ” because timing is so critical it is normally done in assembler with careful counting of each instruction to make sure the timing is correct. high level languages sometimes have built in facilities that can manage bit - banging. changing the timing is non - trivial. doing much else during the communications process is also difficult. a uart can send and receive at the same time, not so simple with bit banging. in my, russ _ hensel ' s, opinion, the uart is so inexpensive that it is not worth the trouble for a hobbyist to do with out the uart. what language? again, in my russ _ hensel ' s opinion, assembler is just too tedious for the non - professional or non - hard - core. i like c, but other high level languages are good too. some have libraries or built in functions that handle all the low level details for you. some will do it in what is essentially bit - banging, still hiding the details. what handshaking? one of the traditional problems with rs232 is dropping of bytes. this happens when the sender is too fast for the receiver. how you manage this is called handshaking. there are various methods to make sure all


what handshaking? one of the traditional problems with rs232 is dropping of bytes. this happens when the sender is too fast for the receiver. how you manage this is called handshaking. there are various methods to make sure all the information gets through : - just take it slow and hope it is slow enough – this may work, do some calculations. works best if a small number of bytes are exchanged only occasionally. this is often the case. - use extra wires to signal when ready ( hardware handshaking ). too complicated for me. - use “ x on x off ” protocol ( software handshaking ). too complicated for me. - send data to the microcontroller as a short enough “ command ” so that the pic can buffer the whole thing, then wait for the microcontroller to respond with a signal ( i use a single character cr = ascii 13 ) before sending the next command. usually i have see a carriage return, or a line feed, or both for that response. if you are using a terminal emulation program the cr lf pair can be nice. remember shorter is faster. in general the microcontroller should responds with responses that are short enough so that the pc can manage them ( but it can manage a lot normally, i believe it has fairly fancy hardware / software to buffer a lot of characters ) or at a data rate that is fairly low. more important is that for fast microcontroller activity the less communications time there is the more time there is for other stuff. - the pic waits until it is completely finished executing the command and is ready to accept the next command before it responds, indicating " ready for the next command ". this is the method that i russ _ hensel normally use, it is pretty simple and has been pretty reliable for me. - the pic immediately responds as soon as it receives a complete, valid command, indicating " i got the message ". the microcontroller then executes the command - - which may involve sending further information back to the pc. if the pc doesn ' t get a " i got the message " response back in a reasonable amount of time it assumes the pic happened to be busy, wasn ' t ready for a command at that time, and tries re - sending the command later. what data to send? typically the pc sends a command and the microcontroller executes it. it makes things vastly easier to debug if a human can type those commands and


that time, and tries re - sending the command later. what data to send? typically the pc sends a command and the microcontroller executes it. it makes things vastly easier to debug if a human can type those commands and read the response ( with a terminal emulator ). this requires ( a ) using printable ascii characters for everything in both directions ( avoiding unprintable " control characters " ), and ( b ) the microcontroller waits until the command has been finished typing ( even if the human types extremely slowly ) before sending back the response. i like 1 character commands because they are so easy to interpret on the microcontroller. usually i make them case insensitive. there are a variety of ways to send numbers : - decimal numbers ( easiest for humans to read and write ) - base 16 " hex numbers " ( easiest for microcontrollers to read and write, and still be human - readable ) - binary numbers 01101110 can be useful for the human operator if, for example, a port set up command is being issued. if more than one number is sent or recieved, we typically use some other " separator character " between each value. in sending or recieving multiple parameters you should adopt a special character different from the end of response character. common choices are the space character, the tab character, or the comma. if recording data to a file and importing to a spreadsheet, think about what the spreadsheet parses best. out of a misguided quest for " efficiency ", lots of people have spent a lot of time figuring out ways to sent the same amount of information in fewer transmitted bytes. because many people do this ( even though it the system harder to debug ), i will mention some of those techniques here : - data compression techniques can be used to further reduce the number of bytes required to transmit numbers. but data compression makes latency much worse ( longer ) and requires more code and ram space, so it is not suitable for small embedded systems. - remove the separator character between values. ( after this step, the following ideas * at best * reduce the number of bytes transmitted to 1 / 2 ). - higher bases than base 16, but still using printable ascii characters : base 32 ( numbers plus most upper case alpha ), base64, base91, and other binary - to - text encoding. takes more code on the


. - higher bases than base 16, but still using printable ascii characters : base 32 ( numbers plus most upper case alpha ), base64, base91, and other binary - to - text encoding. takes more code on the pic, makes latency worse. - base 256, also called " a binary protocol " : all possible characters, without regard to whether they are printable or not. ( if you ever get off by 1 character, how do you re - sync to the beginning of the next message? ) ( makes debugging far more difficult ). in deciding on the encoding think about the pc side of the system. if you are planning to mainly use a terminal enulator then speed in sending to the microcontroller probably matters not at all, and friendliness to the human operator matters a lot. if you have an application specially written for the microcontroller then a more complicated interface optimized for speed and robustness is an option. all too many times i ( davidcary ) have 2 systems, and i can ' t remember which one ( if either ) has been updated to the latest version of the software. it is convenient if there is some command ( typically "? " or " ver ", perhaps followed by a newline ) that tells the pic to send back a year - month - day - hour : minute timestamp. some programmers make this " version " command send back the name of the software, the name of the people involved in the project, and perhaps a couple of lines summarizing the most useful commands. if you are talking to the microcontroller with a dedicated application ( as i tend to do ) then i issue the version command right after the connection is made and display it. if the microcontroller does not respond at all or with the wrong version then i and the software knows that there is a connection problem. i am planning to implement this in a connection routine that scans all ports to look for the one with the correct version response. interrupt driven? you can make your communications interrupt driven either by letting the uart generate interrupts, or by using a timer to generate interrupts where you poll the uart. normally this is most useful on the receive end where if you are too slow you loose data. on the transmit end the worst that normally happens is that you send to slowly. how do you decide if the receive should be interrupt driven? this really depends upon your program. what is the most time critical


if you are too slow you loose data. on the transmit end the worst that normally happens is that you send to slowly. how do you decide if the receive should be interrupt driven? this really depends upon your program. what is the most time critical part of the program? normally i would give that part of the program the use of the interrupt. an example : i was writing a rc servo program and wanted to time a 1 to 2 ms pulse to an accuracy of a few micro - seconds. so i timed the pulses using one of the timers, this gave me an accuracy of about 1 micro - second. in the main loop i would check the uart reception each time around the loop. i know i am ok if the time around the loop plus the time for interrupts that may have happened is less than the time to receive a character. all this is fairly easy to calculate, and it is not too hard to make it around the loop in one character time. at 9600 baud you have about 1 ms per character. you can also check more than once in the main loop. if you need more time, you may want to lower your baud rate. normally i have found that the character receiving is not the critical task so i have not used the interrupts for communications. your mileage may vary. what speed? faster is better, but only if it works. check the manual for your chip to see how close you can get to the exact baud rate with the crystal you have chosen. try to stay within a few percent. you may want to change your crystal to get a better match. i have used 19. 2 k with 4 and 20 meg hz crystals with good results, i have not tried much with other speeds, could we get reports from other people. if you run too fast for your receive software you may want to drop the baud rate to make reception easier on the microcontroller, also low rates are generally more reliable, how fast do you need to go? : another issue is the length of the wire you use. you can probably google to find advice on the longest wire for each baud rate, but in general use lower speeds for longer wires. if you want to go a real long way consider using rs485 voltage levels ( you will need a converter on the pc as well as the pic ) to go the distance. how many wires? rs232 can run on as few 3 wires, transmit, receive and ground ( maybe even 2 if receive and


voltage levels ( you will need a converter on the pc as well as the pic ) to go the distance. how many wires? rs232 can run on as few 3 wires, transmit, receive and ground ( maybe even 2 if receive and transmit are shared on one wire ) other wires may be used for additional functions. i have always used just three and think that this is most common. three wires is what i recommend. what voltages? if you take the signals directly from the pic the voltages will be the same as the pic 0 to 5 volts typically, even lower if the supply to the pic is less than 5 volts. these voltages are too close to 0 to be “ standard ” for rs232 although a few pcs will work with them. normally people will use a conversion circuit. you can put this in each project or build it into the cable ( cables for with this built in can be purchased or you can build them ). the cable approach makes the circuit simpler and you can reuse the cable between projects. the voltage level at the pic uart tx and rx pins ( 0 to 5 v ) is often called " ttl level ". the voltage level at the ft232 uart tx and rx pins is also " ttl level ". the voltage level at a pc 9 - pin " serial port " tx and rx pins ( - 12 to + 12 v ) is often called " standard rs232 level ". level shifters we use " level shifters " to convert between these different ways of expressing uart " 1 " and " 0 " bits. any one of the following ways will work : - actually this way may work, just ignore the levels an hook it up to your pc, i have found several references that claim that many pc port will accept the wildly off signals. we are not responsible if anything goes wrong. - some people strongly believe in building these from basic components, google will help you find some circuits for this. - hook a ttl to rs232 level converter chip, such as the max232, between the pic and a standard rs232 level. then either connect the rs232 level side directly to a pc 9 - pin " serial port ", or use a off - the - shelf " usb to serial adapter cable " ( which typically includes * another * rs232 to ttl level converter chip, and a ft232 chip to convert between usb and ttl level ). - build a tt


- the - shelf " usb to serial adapter cable " ( which typically includes * another * rs232 to ttl level converter chip, and a ft232 chip to convert between usb and ttl level ). - build a ttl to rs232 level converter out of 2 cheap mosfets and 2 resistors using the dale n0xas configuration, between the pic and a pc 9 - pin " serial port ". - directly connect a ft232 between the pic and a pc ' s usb port. - hook a ttl to rs485 level converter chip ( ) to the pic. then use an off - the - shelf " usb to rs485 adapter cable " ( which typically includes * another * rs485 to ttl level converter chip, and a ft232 chip to convert between usb and ttl level ). - hook a ttl to rs485 level converter chip to the pic. then use an off - the - shelf " rs232 to rs485 adapter box " ( which typically includes * another * ttl to rs485 level convert chip, and a ttl to rs232 level converter chip ). more on level shifters another consideration on level shifters is where to " build " them. they can be in your project on its circuit board, but putting the level shifter on a seperate board lets you shift it around between projects. you can consider the level shifter to be part of the cable, or in some cases the are actually built into the cable. there are quite a few around, and often at prices near $ 10. serial adapter looks like it may be the same as assembling a rs232 to ttl serial adapter an instructable using this : p4 rs232 to ttl serial adapter kits also a good price. usb - ttl serial cable usb at the pc end looks like ttl rs232 at the other, great if your pc does not have a serial port. rs232 to ttl serial adapters a great range rs232 to ttl adapters from a uk source. usb to ttl adapters using a silabs ic or a ftdi ft232r ic from a uk source. ( ftdi usb to ttl + 5v & ftdi usb to ttl + 3. 3 ( i / o ) cables ) - microcontroller serial communications articles a root linking to other microcontroller


from a uk source. ( ftdi usb to ttl + 5v & ftdi usb to ttl + 3. 3 ( i / o ) cables ) - microcontroller serial communications articles a root linking to other microcontroller serial communications articles. - pc - microcontroller _ communications good info on pc terminal program, often ( always? ) to be preferred over hyperterminal. - serial communications library - - boostc and 16f877a is an example pic program and communications library that uses the techniques discussed here. - universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - wikibooks : serial communication with the atmel avr - microchip an774 : " asynchronous communications with the picmicro® usart " - wikibooks : serial programmming - wikibooks : rs - 485 technical manual - firmata firmata is a generic protocol for communicating with microcontrollers from software on a host computer. it is intended to work with any host computer software package. right now there is a matching object in a number of languages. it is easy to add objects for other software to use this protocol. more complicated than what is described here. - tronisoft : ascii serial port crib sheets handy basic ascii, serial / rs232 port information and decimal / hexadecimal conversion chart your comments : - edit the text - use the discussion page - contact russ _ hensel


father pat ' s pastoral ponderings the sunday after the ascension may 16, 2010 iin biblical historiography few subjects are more ambivalent than israel ' s adoption of monarchy toward the end of the eleventh century. notwithstanding a growing impulse for this form of polity at the time, resistance against it ran deep in the culture and tribal loyalties of the people. the chief spokesman for the resistance was none other than the last of israel ' s " judges, " samuel, to whom it ironically fell to anoint the people ' s first kings : saul and david. two reasons supported samuel ' s opposition to the monarchy : first, its proposed adoption was difficult to reconcile with the theological principle that the lord himself was israel ' s king ( 1 samuel 8 : 7 ; 10 : 19 ; 12 : 12 ). the true kingship was theocracy. second, royal government would oppress the people with capricious and onerous demands ( 8 : 11 - 18 ). it was a social evil. samuel was divinely directed, nonetheless, to accede to israel ' s demand for a king ( 8 : 22 ), and the lord himself made the choice ( 9 : 16 ; 10 : 24 ; 11 : 6 ; 12 : 13 ). it is significant that israel ' s first two kings arose from benjamin ( saul ) and judah ( david ), the central and southern tribes, because opposition to the monarchy was strongest in the north. even three centuries later hosea, a northern prophet, bemoaned that decision to have a king. referring to the city where the israelites elected saul ( 1 samuel 11 : 15 ), hosea proclaimed the lord ' s judgment : " all their wickedness was in gilgal, for there i hated them " ( 9 : 15 ). the whole business of the throne was rotten at the core : " they set up kings, but not by me ; they made princes, but i gave no consent " ( 8 : 4 ). hosea ' s lament testifies that early doubts about the monarchy were settled by neither its adoption nor its subsequent history. samuel ' s initial objections, far from being dispelled by actual experience, proved to be prophetic of future evils ; the oppressions he foretold came to be understood as veritable depictions of solomon ' s policies, taxation, public works, and governmental organization. again, how does one reconcile the bible ’ s contradictory assessments of what happened at jabesh gilead? in 1 samuel 11,


to be understood as veritable depictions of solomon ' s policies, taxation, public works, and governmental organization. again, how does one reconcile the bible ’ s contradictory assessments of what happened at jabesh gilead? in 1 samuel 11, saul ' s deliverance of the besieged city — an event leading to his acclamation as king — is ascribed to " the spirit of god " ( 11 : 6 ), while in the following chapter the entire incident is treated as yet another occasion of israel ' s infidelity ( 12 : 12 ). all in all, however, this voice of dissent is heard in the bible ' s historical books only as a subterranean rumble, running deep beneath the prevailing acclamation of the kingship as one of the lord ' s choicest blessings. indeed, starting with the prophetic selection of judah near the end of genesis ( 49 : 8 - 12 ), the bible ' s preponderant historical voice — bolstered by the poetry of isaiah and the psalms — finds its dominant chords on the theme of the divine covenant with the davidic throne. it is a fact of incalculable irony that the bible ' s historical voice comes to us through those exilic and post - exilic editors who put the old testament history into its final and canonical form. it is no easy task of the biblical historian to understand how those writers reconciled in their minds a sustained sympathy — no, enthusiasm! — for the royal house of david with an undeniable historical fact, which they openly acknowledged : the fall of jerusalem and the babylonian exile came about by reason of the bad rule of the davidic kings. even the chronicler, slightly later — notwithstanding his ardor for the person of david — could count the good kings of judah on the fingers of one hand. during the centuries immediately prior to the incarnation, of course, theological reflection on israel ' s royal heritage gave rise to the messianism prevalent at the time of jesus. everyone acknowledges the debt of the gospel to that messianism. it is no slight to the gospel or the messiah, nonetheless, to remark that the biblical kingship, considered solely as a datum of israel ' s political history, remains a great enigma. holy scripture summons little effort to reconcile its own contradictory opinions on the subject. in spite of the theological significance of the covenant with david, hosea ' s negative judgment of the royal houses was allowed to stand. so, in the end, did the decision for a monarchy represent moral in


photo gallery : wwii cartoonsother photo galleries many people have described their wartime experiences in letters home. but very few have chronicled war for the people doing the fighting. bill mauldin, world war ii ' s most famous cartoonist, is one of them. in 1943, when he was 21, mauldin ' s division shipped overseas to north africa. mauldin had been drawing cartoons since he was a boy, and he was quickly assigned to cover the war for the 45th division news, and then for stars and stripes. his cartoons, featuring a scruffy pair of foot soldiers named willie and joe, scored an instant hit with the soldiers who saw them. within two years, mauldin won fame - - and a pulitzer prize - - for capturing foot soldiers ' everyday experiences. as mauldin described his famous gis, " they matured overseas during the stresses of shot, shell, and k - rations, and grew whiskers because shaving water was scarce in mountain foxholes. " enjoy this sampling of mauldin ' s work, courtesy of his publisher, presidio press. " i wuz just kiddin ', joe - you got three letters. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 02. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 02 _ t. jpg | " now that ya mention it, it does sound like the patter of rain on a tin roof. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 03. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 03 _ t. jpg | " my son. five days old. good - lookin ' kid, ain ' t he? " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs.


_ gallery _ 03 _ t. jpg | " my son. five days old. good - lookin ' kid, ain ' t he? " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 04. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 04 _ t. jpg | ( no original caption ) | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 05. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 05 _ t. jpg | " why ya lookin ' so sad? i got out of it okay. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 06. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 06 _ t. jpg | ( no original caption ) | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 07. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 07 _ t. jpg | " it will comfort my ol ' woman to know i have gave up rye whiskey and ten - cent seegars. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www -


_ gallery _ 07 _ t. jpg | " it will comfort my ol ' woman to know i have gave up rye whiskey and ten - cent seegars. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 08. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 08 _ t. jpg | " it ' s a habit joe picked up in rome. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 09. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 09 _ t. jpg | " i guess it ' s okay. the replacement center says he comes from a long line of infantrymen. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 10. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 10 _ t. jpg | " hell! just when i git me practice built up they transfer me to another regiment. " | bill mauldin ' s army ; http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 11. jpg | http : / / www - tc. pbs. org / wgbh / americanexperience / media / uploads / special _ features / photo _ gallery / warletters _ gallery _ 11 _ t. jpg | " he thinks the food over there was swell


china ' s newest supercomputer uses homegrown chips - — 31 october, 2011 15 : 19 china has built its first supercomputer based entirely on homegrown microprocessors, a major step in breaking the country ' s reliance on western technology for high - performance computing. china ' s national supercomputer center in jinan unveiled the computer last thursday, according to a report from the country ' s state - run press. the supercomputer uses 8, 704 " shenwei 1600 " microprocessors, which were developed by a design center in shanghai, called the national high performance integrated circuit design center. details of the microprocessors and the design center were not immediately available. the supercomputer has a theoretical peak speed of 1. 07 petaflops ( quadrillion floating - point calculations per second ), and a sustained performance of 0. 79 petaflops when measured with the linpack benchmark. this could place it at number 13 in the world ' s top 500 supercomputing list. photos of the chips used and the supercomputer ' s data center can be found here. china ' s shandong academy of sciences built the computer. officials of the academy could not be immediately reached for comment on monday. a report from the new york times said the supercomputer ' s name in english was the sunway bluelight mpp. china is increasingly investing in supercomputing technology. last november, its tianhe - 1a supercomputer briefly grabbed the spot as the world ' s most powerful, but the computer used chips from intel and nvidia. the tianhe - 1a has a theoretical peak speed of 4. 7 petaflops and a sustained performance of 2. 5 petaflops. china currently has 61 supercomputers on the top 500 list. in comparison, the u. s. has 255 on the list. japan ' s " k computer " is currently ranked first in the top 500 list, after bumping tianhe - 1a to the second place. experts have been anticipating that china would build its own supercomputer, using domestically developed chips. chinese state - run press hailed the new supercomputer as a symbol of china ' s strength.


by dr. neal halsey, department of international health, johns hopkins school of medicine, and dr. noel rose, autoimmune disease research center, johns hopkins university 1. what is the risk of developing smallpox? smallpox does not exist as a naturally occurring disease anywhere in the world. the only risk of smallpox would come from the use of smallpox as a weapon of bioterrorism. government security experts believe that bioterrorists in several countries may have smallpox. no one knows for certain whether or not they have smallpox or if smallpox will be used as a weapon. most infectious disease experts believe that the risk of any individual being exposed to smallpox is extremely low. 2. how good is this vaccine? no vaccine is perfect. the smallpox vaccine provides approximately 95 percent protection against smallpox. this is about as effective as most other live viral vaccines. 3. what kinds of adverse reactions can occur? the smallpox vaccine causes a local infection on the arm. a small group of blisters or vesicles develop associated with inflammation, swelling and tenderness that lasts for one to two weeks. sur 10 percent of people develop an exaggerated reaction with more marked swelling, redness and tenderness and decreased use of the arm for a few days. some people develop red streaks going around the arm, which resolve spontaneously, but this reaction is sometimes mistakenly assumed to be a secondary bacterial infection. headache, fever, and feeling poorly for a few days occur frequently. about one - third of healthy young adults who were vaccinated reported missing at least one day of work, school, or participating in usual activities. more serious reactions occur much less commonly. the vaccine virus can be transmitted from the vaccination site to some other part of the body or to people who have direct contact with a vaccinated person. the virus is transmitted on hands after touching the vaccine site. there is no evidence that the virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets or that there is any risk from being in the same room as a vaccinated person. if the vaccine virus is put on an area where the skin is broken or on a mucous membrane such as the mouth, eye, vagina, or rectum, then sores develop that are similar to the sore at the vaccination site. this can create serious problems if the viruses are placed in or around the eye or the genital area. the vaccine is not recommended for anybody with acute or chronic skin conditions that could predispose to this problem. people with eczema are at particularly high risk of developing severe


the viruses are placed in or around the eye or the genital area. the vaccine is not recommended for anybody with acute or chronic skin conditions that could predispose to this problem. people with eczema are at particularly high risk of developing severe reactions. any person with eczema, atopic dermatitis, or any household member who has these conditions should not be vaccinated. when the smallpox vaccine was given to pregnant women, the vaccine virus was sometimes transmitted to their unborn babies and caused serious infections and sometimes premature birth. when the vaccine was given to children under a year of age, they had a higher risk of developing encephalitis than older children and adults. the risk in adults is about one to two per million and this complication can lead to long - term brain damage or death. 4. are there special risks for patients with immune disorders? yes, patients with immune deficiency disorders and their household contacts should not be vaccinated. persons with defects in lymphocyte function, including people with leukemia and other forms of cancer, are at high risk of developing a serious and frequently fatal complication called progressive vaccinia. although patients with mild defects in the immune system that do not affect lymphocyte function may not be at increased risk, there is no reason for these people to be vaccinated at this time. if there were to be outbreaks of smallpox associated with bioterrorism, these people should check with their doctors before considering smallpox vaccination. 5. i am being treated with prednisone. should i take the vaccine? any person with a condition that requires the use of prednisone or other immunosuppressive agents should not receive the smallpox vaccine at this time. although low doses of prednisone do not usually cause any problems with live viral vaccines, these persons might require higher doses of prednisone if their underlying condition became more severe. we do not have any data on what doses of prednisone might be safe for people who receive the smallpox vaccine. 6. if i have an autoimmune disease, should members of my family take the vaccine? if you have an autoimmune disease that might require the use of steroids or other therapy that could affect the immune system, no one in your family who lives in the same household should receive smallpox vaccine because you might acquire the smallpox vaccine virus from your family member. 7. if i have an autoimmune disease, should i


therapy that could affect the immune system, no one in your family who lives in the same household should receive smallpox vaccine because you might acquire the smallpox vaccine virus from your family member. 7. if i have an autoimmune disease, should i stay away from my place of employment if there are people there who have been vaccinated? if so, how long should i stay away? you do not need to stay away from your place of work where people have received the smallpox vaccine. we do not have the same physical contact with people in the workplace that we have with family members. vaccinated individuals in the workplace should have their smallpox vaccine site covered with special bandages that will markedly reduce, if not eliminate, the risk of their transmitting the virus to you. if vaccinated people take appropriate precautions with regard to care of the vaccine site, then they can continue to shake hands and have other minimal contact with other persons. 8. are there any special precautions that i as an autoimmune disease patient should take if there is a national vaccination program? if your disorder puts you at increased risk, you should take care to minimize direct touching contact with people who may have received the smallpox vaccine and who have an open sore that could contain the virus. if your job requires direct physical contact with people, such as people who do massage therapy, then you might consider asking clients who have been vaccinated not to come for therapy during the time when they have an open sore from the vaccine. 9. if i have an autoimmune disease that affects the skin, should i take the vaccine? if you have active lesions from psoriasis, cutaneous vasculitis, bullous pemphigoid, behcet ' s disease, discoid lupus, mooren ' s ulcer, or any other skin disorder, you should not receive the vaccine. if your skin disorder is under control, you do not have any open lesions, and the vaccine is highly recommended for you because of your occupation, then you might consider receiving the vaccine after consultation with your physician. if it is not essential for you to be immunized, then we would advise against it. 10. is there any way of treating the adverse reactions if they occur? some adverse reactions can be treated with a special immune globulin preparation that appears to help patients with eczema vaccinatum, severe inoculation around the eye or other sites, and possibly for progressive vaccinia. there is one anti


reactions can be treated with a special immune globulin preparation that appears to help patients with eczema vaccinatum, severe inoculation around the eye or other sites, and possibly for progressive vaccinia. there is one antiviral drug that is available for investigational purposes, but it has a high rate of serious side effects. these drugs are available through the centers for disease control and prevention. 11. is there a safer vaccine available for patients with autoimmune disease? a new smallpox vaccine is currently being tested and should become available sometime during 2003. this vaccine is made from the same virus that is in the current smallpox vaccine. the new vaccine will be grown in cell culture rather than on the calf skin. since the viruses are the same, the new vaccine will probably have the same risk of adverse reactions as the current vaccine. scientists are working on developing safer vaccines against smallpox, but it will take at least five to ten years before these vaccines might become available. 12. is the situation likely to change with regard to the risk of exposure to smallpox? almost all infectious disease experts recommend against routine vaccination of the civilian population because the risks of exposure to smallpox are very small and probably close to zero. experts are constantly reevaluating the potential for exposure from bioterrorism. as the united nations investigations in iraq continue, we should learn whether or not this country has produced smallpox for possible use as a weapon. if there was one small event in a single location, this may not change the equation with regard to balancing the risks and benefits from this vaccine for the general population. experts would contact everyone who had been exposed to be sure that they were immunized, but it would not require immunization of the general population. smallpox vaccine can protect against smallpox even when it ' s administered up to four days after exposure. if someone has a known exposure to smallpox, then there are very few contraindications to using the vaccine and people with skin disorders and mild immune deficiency disorders would be immunized. if there was a confirmed large outbreak in your local community, then many experts believe that almost everyone in that community should receive the vaccine. we must always weigh the potential benefits of vaccines against the potential risks. at this time smallpox vaccination is not warranted for the general public. american autoimmune related diseases association 22100 gratiot avenue eastpointe, mi 48021


this text is part of : table of contents : the boundary of the paphlagonians to the east is the river halys, which flows from the south between the syrians and the paphlagonians ; and according to herodotus, 1 ( who means cappadocians, when he is speaking of syrians, ) discharges itself into the euxine sea. even at present they are called leuco - syrians, ( or white syrians, ) while those without the taurus are called syrians. in comparison with the people within the taurus, the latter have a burnt complexion ; but the former, not having it, received the appellation of leuco - syrians ( or white syrians ). pindar says that “ ‘ the amazons commanded a syrian band, armed with spears with broad iron heads ; ’ ” thus designating the people that lived at themiscyra. 2 themiscyra belongs to the amiseni, 3 and the district of the amiseni to the leuco - syrians settled beyond the halys. the river halys forms the boundary of the paphlagonians to the east ; phrygians and the galatians settled among that people, on the south ; and on the west bithynians and mariandyni ( for the race of the caucones has everywhere entirely disappeared ) ; on the north the euxine. this country is divided into two parts, the inland, and the maritime, extending from the halys as far as bithynia. mithridates eupator possessed the maritime part as far as heracleia, and of the inland country he had the district nearest to heracleia, some parts of which extended even beyond the halys. these are also the limits of the roman province of pontus. the remainder was subject to chiefs, even after the overthrow of mithridates. we shall afterwards speak of those paphlagonians in the inland parts, who were not subject to mithridates ; we propose at present to describe the country which he governed, called pontus. this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution - sharealike 3. 0 united states license. an xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.


peripheral edema in dogs edema is characterized by swelling due to an excessive accumulation of tissue fluid within the interstitium, which is a small space, or gap, in the substance of the body ’ s tissues or organs. this can be localized ( focal ) or generalized ( diffuse ) in location. peripheral edema can occur in both dogs and cats, with some dog breeds believed to be more susceptible, including the poodle, bulldog, old english sheepdog, and labrador retriever. if you would like to learn more about how this disease affects cats, please visit this page in the petmd health library. symptoms and types dogs that develop peripheral edema will often have a history of allergies, or other immune, cardiac, or organic diseases. exposure to toxic or infectious agents, such as poisonous spiders or ticks, and traumatic incidents such as car accidents, are also frequent in the histories of animals that have developed peripheral edema. overall, visible symptoms are almost impossible to detect early on in the development of this condition. a physical examination may reveal unexplained weight gain. the areas in which excess fluid may become first apparent are generally the throat or abdomen. there is a wide range of conditions that can lead to peripheral edema. localized or single - limb edema may result from injury, such as from a car accident, burns, obstruction in an artery ( due to a blood clot ), contact with toxic agents, such as a snake bite or bee sting, abnormal tissue growth ( known as neoplasia ) in the lymphatic tissues of the body, or high pressure in the capillary fluids. regional or generalized edema, which is not focused in a single area or limb, may result from infections, such as a severe bacterial infection, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, the tourniquet effect of a bandage bound too tight, or hypernatremia, a disease in which the kidneys retain excessive amounts of sodium. diagnosis of peripheral edema is often determined by fine - needle aspiration of an affected area, by which a fluid - sample is removed via needle for microscopic evaluation. an examination of the affected tissue samples taken by biopsy may also help determine an underlying cause for the edema. additional diagnostic procedures may include urine analysis, chest and lung x - rays, and an electrocardiogram to measure the heart ’ s functionality. treatment will depend on the originating cause of the edema. for dogs that have developed edema secondary to a bodily infection,


include urine analysis, chest and lung x - rays, and an electrocardiogram to measure the heart ’ s functionality. treatment will depend on the originating cause of the edema. for dogs that have developed edema secondary to a bodily infection, the application of warm compresses is advised. in some cases, surgery or drainage may be necessary for treating the underlying cause. severely edematous ( swollen ) limbs may require amputation if the condition cannot be resolved. medication to treat the symptoms also depends on the underlying cause for the edema. living and management monitoring after initial treatment on the dog will include complete blood counts, urine tests to check for protein concentrations in urine, and a series of biopsies of affected tissues, such as kidney tissues. lifestyle changes may be necessary depending on the cause of the edema. for example, a dog that has suffered from congestive heart failure should have its activity restricted during the recovery period. the prognosis for dogs with peripheral edema depends on the underlying cause of the condition. some causes of localized edema may be prevented with general safety measures, such as protecting your pet from hazardous areas like roads, where injury may occur, and preventing access to toxic substances and poisonous animals, such as snakes and spiders. anything pertaining to the blood vessel system in the body the prediction of a disease ’ s outcome in advance a type of band that is used to assist in the drawing of blood or to stop bleeding high levels of sodium in the blood the collection of fluid in the tissue a large blood vessel that transports blood out of the heart. the process of removing tissue to examine it, usually for medical reasons. the process of removing all or part of a body part ; usually refers to a limb ( arm or leg ) and is done for medical reasons. a record of the activity of the myocardium


two cars in 2 - dimensional collision collisions between objects are governed by laws of momentum and energy. when a collision occurs in an isolated system, the total momentum of the system of objects is conserved. provided that there are no net external forces acting upon the objects, the momentum of all objects before the collision equals the momentum of all objects after the collision. if there are only two objects involved in the collision, then the momentum change of the individual objects are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. certain collisions are referred to as elastic collisions. elastic collisions are collisions in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. the total system kinetic energy before the collision equals the total system kinetic energy after the collision. if total kinetic energy is not conserved, then the collision is referred to as an inelastic collision. the animation below portrays the inelastic collision between two 1000 - kg cars. the before - and after - collision velocities and momentum are shown in the data tables. in the collision between the two cars, total system momentum is conserved. yet this might not be apparent without an understanding of the vector nature of momentum. momentum, like all vector quantities, has both a magnitude ( size ) and a direction. when considering the total momentum of the system before the collision, the individual momentum of the two cars must be added as vectors. that is, 20 000 kg * m / s, east must be added to 10 000 kg * m / s, north. the sum of these two vectors is not 30 000 kg * m / s ; this would only be the case if the two momentum vectors had the same direction. instead, the sum of 20 000 kg * m / s, east and 10 000 kg * m / s, north is 22 361 kg * m / s at an angle of 26. 6 north of east. since the two momentum vectors are at right angles, their sum can be found using the pythagorean theorem ; the direction can be found using soh cah toa ( specifically, the tangent function ). the value 22 361 kg * m / s is the total momentum of the system before the collision ; and since momentum is conserved, it is also the total momentum of the system after the collision. since the cars have equal mass, the total system momentum is shared equally by each individual car. in order to determine the momentum of either individual car, this total system momentum must be divided by two ( approx. 11 200 kg * m / s ). once the momentum of the individual


this website introduces a range of power tools – “ how - to ” ideas that marginalised people and their allies can use to have a greater positive influence on natural resources policy. this website presents : - 26 power tools based on experience from around the world - start on the guide to the tools page - discussion of power tools in theory and practice - see the what is a power tool? and the strengths and limits of tools in practice pages, plus individual tools - related research on policy tools in action - look at related research pages - a directory of the many other websites that contain policy tool resources - consult directory of tools links page rationale and aims many people ’ s lives involve the day - to - day management of natural resources. such intimate interaction creates awareness of the technical, social and political obstacles to good management. yet many of these people never have the opportunity to contribute to the definition of policies and institutions that govern their use of natural resources. the policy gap between the powerful and marginalised does not just involve the lack of available channels for participatory dialogue. even when such channels exist, communication may fail due to fundamental differences in perception, expression and power between groups. the power tools initiative set out to develop, test and circulate existing and new tools to bridge some of the key gaps in policy processes and content. these policy tools – tips, tactics and approaches – are designed to provide some practical help to people working to improve the policies and institutions that govern access to and use of natural resources. the international institute for environment and development together with many partner organisations around the world developed the power tools series from experience in working on policies and institutions in natural resource management. the netherlands ministry of foreign affairs ( dgis ) and the german federal ministry for economic cooperation ( bmz ) have provided support for the work.


wikimedia commons / sewilco the collapse galvanized national interest in the state of u. s. infrastructure and inspired a swift and remarkably innovative project to replace the fallen roadway. the i - 35w saint anthony falls bridge ( subject of the may 2008 pm cover story ) was open to traffic 13 months after its predecessors collapse, three months ahead of schedule. the new bridge was a role model for efficient project management ; rather than having builders wait months for tweaks, the design allowed them to adapt on the fly to problems encountered during the construction process. and it was a high - tech glimpse of civil engineerings future, lit by durable, energy - efficient leds and embedded with sensors that relay its condition to researchers at the university of minnesota. and nationwide, the collapse of i - 35w inspired a genuine, bipartisan populist outcry and became a major factor in the political discourse. americans demanded shovel - ready projects and, specifically, progress toward repairing the thousands of structurally deficient bridges around the country. but five years later, the crisis has reverted to a nagging sense of dread, and infrastructure is back where it was, where it inevitably seems to wind upon the back burner. thats not a condemnation. when the american society of civil engineers estimates that it could cost some $ 2. 2 trillion over the next five years to repair critical infrastructure, is it any wonder that the public treats the issue as too big and too depressing to face? yet there is cause for hope. and that hope appears to rest with local initiative rather than huge national programs. yesterday, for example, a website called saveourbridges. com went live. it is the brainchild of barry lepatner, who just released the book too big to fall : americas failing infrastructure and the way forward to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the minnesota bridge collapse. on the site lepatner published an interactive map of the nations ailing bridges. it pinpoints some 72, 000 structurally deficient bridgeswhere total traffic must be reduced to avoid further damageas well 18, 000 fracture - critical structures, which are in danger of collapse if a single element fails ( based not on damage or decay, but on their design ). most alarming is where these ratings overlapwhere you have a bridge that is both structurally deficient and fracture - critical. the original i - 35w bridge had this classification. there are 7980 such bridges in the united states. daunting as these numbers are, le


overlapwhere you have a bridge that is both structurally deficient and fracture - critical. the original i - 35w bridge had this classification. there are 7980 such bridges in the united states. daunting as these numbers are, lepatners map puts the crisis into local perspective, allowing users to identify nearby structures in need of repairs. " until this map came along, they were only words on a piece of paper, " lepatner says. " now for the first time you can decide : do you want your family to use that structurally deficient bridge? businesses can decide whether they want their trucks crossing it. politicians will have to confront a community that says, according to that map, which is based on government - issued ratings, this bridge could fall down. why arent we getting the funding to deal with it? " lepatners is the kind of tool that pm hinted at in our 2008 feature but had yet to surface until now. and even if national apathy continues to confront our infrastructure woes, the local impact could be substantial. state -, county -, and city - level political platforms could live or die based on a single data point. it offers the potential for infrastructure accountability. and failing any measurable improvements, it might, at the very least, limit the death toll when the next bridge falls. as lepatner points out, the absence of a serious collapse since the i - 35w is misleading. " over the past 23 years we have had almost 600 bridge failures in this nation alone, " he says. " that doesnt mean collapses, but a bridge failure where all of a sudden components fail and it might drop down 8 inches or a foot, and you have to close it. " those are the near misses. eventually disaster will find its mark. there are other glimmers of hope, some of them directly related to the i - 35w collapse. the minnesota department of transportation, which has become a model of nimble, adaptive management since the 2007 tragedy, has committed to replace or rehabilitate 120 of the states 172 structurally deficient and / or fracture - critical bridges by 2018. figg engineering group, which designed the new i - 35w saint anthony falls bridge, is involved in another innovative bridge - replacement project. when a structurally deficient, 80 - year - old lift bridge that linked chesapeake and portsmouth, va., became unsafe to cross, local authorities couldnt scrape together the public funds to replace it. so figg came in to


when it became apparent that the dry spell many ohio growers experienced last year would become the worst drought in 50 years, david brandt wasn ’ t worried about how well corn and soybeans on his 1, 150 - acre farm would fare. the carroll, ohio farmer instead relied upon a natural form of insurance that left the soils in his fields protected against the devastating effects of the record heat and drought that decimated many farmers nationwide in 2012. using conservation tillage methods such as no - till and planting cover crops, including radishes and austrian winter peas in 15 - inch alternating rows and an eight - species cover crop blend, allowed the ground temperatures on his farm to remain in a healthy range of 80 to 90 degrees while bare ground temperatures in tilled fields reached as high as 130 degrees, brandt said. the cover crops also helped retain higher soil moisture levels to help brandt produce 168 bushels of corn per acre, compared to around 100 bushels per acre many growers using conventional tillage produced as a result of drought, he said. “ we were impressed with what we saw and i ’ m sure that our cover crops helped to create a healthier soil that helped us grow healthy crops during the drought, ” brandt said. “ whereas growers who used conventional tillage had stressed corn and lower yields, conservation tillage prevented the same from happening to our fields. “ cover crops allow us to try to mimic mother nature by keeping the soil covered as long as possible. and adding more species in your cover crops results in more diversity in the soil with deeper root systems, which helped our crops grow better. ” brandt is just one of some 900 participants who are expected to attend the conservation tillage and technology conference march 5 - 6 offered by ohio state university extension and the ohio agricultural research and development center. the annual conference will offer the latest research, insight, tips and techniques on conservation tillage, including cover crops, no - till, soil quality, seeding technology, water quality and nutrient management, said randall reeder, a retired osu extension agricultural engineer and a conference organizer. growers ’ interest in conservation tillage has increased significantly in recent years as they become more focused on maintaining and building their soils. “ too many farmers have taken what goes on below the surface for granted, ” reeder said. “ they have fertilizer and other inputs to help crops grow, but in the last few years have begun to pay more attention to soil quality, which includes chemical and physical properties and the biology of soil.


the health benefits of acai in our previous article, the nutritional makeup of acai, we learned about what is in the acai berry. in this article, we will look at how the nutritious acai berry can help keep us in excellent health. what will eating acai do for me? the nutrients in acai can help : - maintain the healthy function of bodily systems and organs - increase energy, libido and stamina - promote healthy, glowing skin and hair - promotes healthy sleep - support immune system - act as a powerful anti - inflammatory - help reduce pain and soreness - help rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit how can acai help with all these health issues? if you read our article - the nutritional makeup of acai - you know that acai is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. while there are many nutrients in the acai berry, clearly the antioxidants are the major reason for the health benefits of acai. the us department of agriculture ( usda ) has initiated studies to look at the link between antioxidant rich food and aging. here are some direct quotes from the usda website - " studies at the jean mayer usda human nutrition research center on aging at tufts university in boston suggest that consuming fruits and vegetables with a high - orac value may help slow the aging process in both body and brain. " ronald l. prior, the researcher for the usda study went on to suggest that " the orac measure may help define the dietary conditions needed to prevent tissue damage. " " science has long held that damage by oxygen free radicals is behind many of the maladies that come with aging, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. there ' s firm evidence that a high intake of fruits and vegetables reduces risk of cancer and that a low intake raises risk. and recent evidence suggests that diminished brain function associated with aging and disorders such as alzheimer ' s and parkinson ' s diseases may be due to increased vulnerability to free radicals, says joseph, a neuroscientist. " - " can foods forestall aging? ", published in the february 1999 issue of agricultural research magazine. it is clear that the potential health benefits of eating high orac value foods should not be underestimated. doesn ' t acai cure every ailment known to man? okay, we admit this question is a little tongue - in - cheek - but if you read through some of the websites it sure seems like acai is a miracle food. while other