as the temperature rises, so do your opportunities to commune with nature. do not let poison ivy ruin your plans! one beautiful summer day, joanna recruited her two young children to help her work in the backyard. after working in the vegetable garden, she and her kids turned their attention to the patch of weeds growing at the back of the yard and along one side of the house. the next morning, johanna awoke to find a slightly uncomfortable rash erupting on her arms and lower legs. so did her daughters. over the course of the day, their rashes grew progressively worse. by monday morning the three were scratching furiously. by mid - afternoon, they were in the doctor ' s office. the diagnosis? poison ivy. poison ivy, as well as poison oak and poison sumac, grows almost anywhere — deep in the woods, at the local park, or in your yard. the culprit behind the extremely uncomfortable allergic skin rash of poison ivy, oak, and sumac is urushiol ( pronounced " you - roo - shee - ol " ), an oily substance found in every part of the plant except the pollen. upon contact with the skin, urushiol is almost immediately absorbed. if not removed quickly — within about 10 minutes — an allergic reaction ( in most people ) begins with redness and swelling followed by extreme itchiness, and then by blisters ( filled with a yellowish fluid ) that can break open, causing crusting and scaling. the full - blown rash usually develops within 12 - 72 hours, but people who have never been exposed to poison ivy may not see a full - blown rash for 7 - 10 days. although the itching and swelling can be treated and controlled, there is no cure per se for the rash itself, which usually takes 1 - 3 weeks to run its course. " catching " the rash most people do not develop a rash upon first exposure, but rather after repeated exposures. in addition, sensitivity to urushiol often decreases with age, so children tend to be much more susceptible to urushiol - caused rashes than adults. despite what you may have heard, you cannot " catch " the rash from someone who has it, nor can you " spread " the rash from one part of your body to another by scratching. you must have direct contact with urushiol yourself. however, you can come into contact with urushiol in a number of ways : - touching the sap — contact with the sap of a poison ivy, oak, or


to another by scratching. you must have direct contact with urushiol yourself. however, you can come into contact with urushiol in a number of ways : - touching the sap — contact with the sap of a poison ivy, oak, or sumac plant exposes you to urushiol. and since urushiol remains active for months, this includes coming into contact with dead plants. - carriers of the poison — anything that comes into contact with the oily urushiol will be a conduit, including skin, clothing, backpacks, tools, and carpeting. it is even possible to become infected by handling firewood that has lingering traces of poison ivy, oak, or sumac. - furry friends — pets are an especially good conduit for urushiol. while their fur protects them from getting the rash, the urushiol readily sticks to their fur, and then spreads to anything that touches it, including you! - air transport — when poison ivy, oak, or sumac is burned, airborne urushiol particles can come in contact with the skin and cause a rash. if inhaled, these particles can cause a rash in the lungs, a very serious condition. accordingly, you should never try to remove or dispose of these poisonous plants by burning them. treatment at home it takes about 10 minutes for urushiol to be fully absorbed into the skin. so if you know you have come in contact with it, the best treatment is to wash the contaminated skin in cold water as soon as possible. once the rash has developed, there are a number of treatments that will lessen its severity, including : - cold or lukewarm showers - baths mixed with oatmeal compounds - anti - itch creams and lotions - topical corticosteroids if you cover the rash or blisters after applying cream or lotion, do so with a gauze pad, and cover them very loosely since contact with the air helps heal the rash. avoid scratching the rash and do not break open the blisters caused by the rash. though the liquid within the blisters will not spread the rash, bacteria on the fingers and under the fingernails can cause the rash and / or blisters to become infected. wash anything you wore ( including your shoes ) during the time you came in contact with poison ivy, oak, or sumac. use hot, sudsy water. also wash anything else that might have come in contact ( eg, garden tools, sports equipment, etc


( including your shoes ) during the time you came in contact with poison ivy, oak, or sumac. use hot, sudsy water. also wash anything else that might have come in contact ( eg, garden tools, sports equipment, etc. ). you can use rubbing alcohol or a mix of water and bleach. when to see a doctor although poison ivy, oak, and sumac usually can be treated without medical attention, see a doctor if : - the rash covers a large part of your body - you have large blisters - you cannot sleep - the rash becomes severe - the itch cannot be controlled - the rash affects the eyes or mouth ( especially if either area begins to swell shut or if previous bouts with poison ivy, oak, or sumac have been extremely severe ) in such cases, your physician or dermatologist will generally prescribe prescription - strength cortisone creams, or in extremely severe cases, oral steroids, to control itching and swelling. in addition, since airborne urushiol particles pose an extreme health danger, seek immediate medical attention if you think you or your child has inhaled such particles, even if symptoms have not yet occurred. the best way to avoid getting a poison ivy, oak, or sumac rash is to avoid contact with urushiol. - cover up skin — when walking or working in areas where these poisonous plants may lurk, wear long - sleeved shirts and pants and tuck your pant bottoms into your socks. next, become familiar with what these plants look like, and avoid them. since they can grow in somewhat different configurations, the old adage of " leaves of three, beware of me " tends to be of only limited help. you can find pictures of poison ivy, oak, and sumac on the american academy of dermatology website. - clean up — if any of your clothing, tools, furniture, or carpeting comes in contact with urushiol, wash them thoroughly, being careful not to transfer the urushiol to your skin. do the same with a pet that has been exposed to urushiol. - hire help — it is best to hire a professional to remove poisonous plants from around your house or garden. however, if you decide to do it yourself, be sure to pull the entire plant ( including the roots ) and wear clothing protecting as much of your skin as possible. never burn the plants. - skin care — you can apply a skin care product that prevents skin from absorbing urushiol


detection of protandry and protogyny from infructescences | sycamore index page | | invasive woody plants | | as described in the sex expression section sycamore trees may be protandrous when their inflorescences start with a sequence of male flowers followed by a sequence of female flowers, or protogynous when the reverse sequence occurs. protogynous individuals will produce inflorescences of mode b and very rarely a few of mode g. protandrous individuals are far more variable as they have inflorescences of mode c, d, or e, or a mixture of these. male flowering trees are described as protandrous because in some years some or even all their inflorescences have female flowers. similarly protandrous individuals will exhibit large annual variation in the proportion of inflorescences of mode c, d and / or e. the existence of female flowering individuals has been reported. there is no evidence that trees will change their modes of sex expression with age. in sycamore certain characters such as fruit production, fruit dry weight, percentage of fertilized fruits and the number of carpels per fruit, may vary between morphs ( see fruit set ). in order to explain such variation it is then essential to know the sexual morph of the trees studied. because sexing the flowers of trees in spring is rather time consuming and / or impractical on tall specimens, a method using the morphological characters of the infructescence was developed. reliability of method the method for the identification of the sex expression of the inflorescences using infructescences was developed in 1983, and was tested with 95 % success when comparing the flowering data of 240 trees obtained in spring and the determination of the sex expression using infructescences in the autumn. the test was repeated in 1984 with 100 % success. using fruiting material only, one can differentiate between protandrous and protogynous individuals and also between infructescences of mode b and mode g of the latter group using the characters listed in table 1 and as shown diagrammatically in fig. 1. in mode g the structure and position of the fruits of the first part of the stalk is similar to the normal protogynous infructescence ( mode b ), but it is longer and it bears a few small parthenocarpic fruits at its end ( fig. 1c ). it is however impossible to


stalk is similar to the normal protogynous infructescence ( mode b ), but it is longer and it bears a few small parthenocarpic fruits at its end ( fig. 1c ). it is however impossible to distinguish between infructescences from mode c and d. the very few male flowering individuals ( mode e ; less than 1 % in ireland ) will not be recognised with this method and only the shoot morphology will provide indications of their existence. in these, soon after flowering, the inflorescences will fall and the two growing terminal buds will be closely appressed ( fig. 1g ). on the other hand in other modes of flowering, female flowers, even if unfertilized, will produce fruits, because of a high parthenocarpic tendency in maples. such infructescences will remain on the trees most of the summer leading to two well separated terminal buds ( fig. 1h ). it should be noted that some small flowering side shoots may not produce any buds. only practice allows one to determine the sex expression of the individual with accuracy from infructescence material, and whilst the majority of the individuals examined fit easily into one or other of the two morphs, nevertheless some trees have features which do not always fit entirely the description given in table 1 and fig. 1. for instance, some infructescences of mode b do have a terminal fruit, but this is never the case for protandrous modes of flowering. the size of fruits and infructescences, and the number of fruits per infructescence given in table 1 are applicable to sycamores encountered in most of the british isles and the alps. however in areas with a very favourable climate ( e. g. some parts of lowland switzerland ) measurements of fruit and infructescence size and the number of fruits per infructescence may be higher, and therefore the values listed in table 1 may be misleading. table 1. morphological data from infructescences differentiating between protandrous and protogynous individuals, and also between mode b and mode g of the latter group. | copyright © 2000 pierre binggeli. all rights reserved. |


3, 950, 000 first language speakers ( 1980 ), out of 6, 500, 000 in the ethnic group in turkey ( 1993 johnstone ) ; 938, 000 in syria ( 1993 ) ; 480, 000 in germany, 51, 000 in armenia ( 1979 ), 25, 000 in kazakhstan ; 14, 000 in kyrghyzstan ( 1993 ), 2, 933 in turkmenistan, 20, 000 in azerbaijan ( 1989 census ), 33, 000 in georgia ( 1993 ) ; 4, 000 in jordan ; 173, 000 in lebanon ; 200, 000 in iran ; 22, 000 in belgium ; 40, 000 in netherlands ; 3, 000 in norway ; 10, 000 in sweden ; 53, 000 in switzerland ; 6, 000 in united kingdom ; 7, 000, 000 to 8, 000, 000 in all countries ( 1987 estimate ) ; 12, 000, 000 to 15, 000, 000 total ethnic kurds including kurdi speakers. the majority are in the provinces of hakkari, siirt, mardin, agri, diyarbakir, bitlis, bingol, van, adiyaman, and mus. also many in urfa, elazig, kars, tunceli, malatya, erzurum, kahraman maras, sivas, ankara, and other provinces. also in iraq, bahrain, kuwait, france, austria, usa. indo - european, indo - iranian, iranian, western, northwestern, kurdish. dialects : guwii, hakkari, jezire ( botan, bohtani, buhtani ), urfi, bayazidi, surchi, qochani, birjandi, alburz, sanjari, judikani. differences in speaking among dialects, but all use the same written form. distinct from kurdi ( southern kurdish ). ethnic names also include doudjik, kizibakh. not many are very bilingual in turkish. roman script is used in turkey ; arabic script in syria, iraq, and iran ; cyrillic script in former ussr. armenian script is not used now. 28 % literacy rate. language of wider communication. mountain slope. traditionally pastoralists, now agriculturalists. muslim ( sunni and alevi ), some yezidi, secular.


is a known type i and type iii allergen that can sometimes cause infections in the human skin, nails, and eyes. a common saprobe frequently isolated from soil, plant surfaces, seeds, grains, fruits and other food, human skin and nails. common indoors in humid areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, poorly maintained hvac systems and window frames. allergies to aureobasidium are common, but infections are rarely reported. common outdoor, soil - dwelling fungus. when found indoors, ita ' s a marker for moisture accumulation. when a patient talks about a “ black molda ” growing on shower curtains, tile grout, windowsills and fabrics, expect to find aureo and cladosporium sp. found in soil, forest soils, fresh water, aerial portion of plants, fruit, marine estuary sediments, wood. allergen, type i allergies ( hay fever, asthma ). type iii hypersensitivity pneumonitis : “ humidifier fever ”, “ sauna taker ' s lung ”. growth indoors is widespread where moisture accumulates - especially bathrooms and kitchens - on shower curtains, tile grout, windowsills, textiles, liquid waste materials. potential toxic production is not known. rare reports of : isolates from skin lesions, keratitis, spleen abscess in a lymphoma patient, blood isolate from a leukemic patient. ( are - ee - oh - buh - syd ' - ee - um ) - contaminant / opportunistic pathogen, found worldwide in soil, food, and wood, rarely associated with human disease but reported to be allergenic.


when i was a kid my parents took my sister and i to autoworld in flint, michigan. it was supposed to be an amusement park dedicated to educating the world on the importance and innovation of the auto industry. one of the first things visitors saw upon entering the complex was a robot that welcomed you to the “ wonderful world of automated assembly, ” which was transforming the way we built cars in america. i vividly remember my dad leaning down to whisper in my ear, “ yeah, and i wonder how the guys that ’ s putting out of work feel about it? ” in this hyper - connected technology age it ’ s hard to imagine a time when people were afraid of robots, but they were. we were. maybe not afraid like we ’ re afraid of nuclear armageddon, but there was certainly anxiety there and uncertainty in regard to who would be in control if and when the robots got as smart as their human masters. that ’ s the theme of this short film created for the bell system by jim henson in 1963 and unearthed by the at & t archives. while lacking in subtlety ( spoiler alert : the robots need us! ), it ’ s an early look at henson ’ s ability to humanize objects and inject them with personality. it ’ s also a fascinating look at how the early tension between man and machine played into our cultural psyche. now please excuse me as i tweet this from my iphone …


fighting the gypsy mothby bob kelleher, minnesota public radio officials are planning their attack on an expected gypsy moth infestation in northeast minnesota. last year, researchers trapped more moths in cook county than they ' ve ever trapped in the entire state. with treatment, they think they can keep the forest pests at bay for at least a couple more years. duluth, minn. — gypsy moths have been slowly advancing on minnesota for more than a century, since arriving from europe on america ' s east coast. when in caterpillar form, the bugs are voracious eaters - - stripping trees of their leaves, and making a mess with their droppings. some trees can die. over time, repeated moth attacks can change the mix of trees in a forest. minnesota ' s department of agriculture traps relatively small numbers of the moths every year. but the number of moths they found last year near lake superior ' s north shore is ominous. the department trapped more than 1, 000 in cook county alone - - that ' s more than had ever been found in the entire state. the moths already infest parts of wisconsin and michigan ' s upper peninsula. geir friisoe with the minnesota department of agriculture says that may be where they ' re coming from. " there is one theory that it ' s the result of blow, which means that it ' s actually blowing, from wisconsin, across the lake, " says friisoe. " the other theory is that they are hitchhiking in on campers, belongings, or firewood coming from infested areas. and then a third theory is possibly coming in from the north, from canada. " to the untrained eye, a forest eaten bare by gypsy moths looks a lot like one hit by forest tent caterpillars - - a native pest that springs up every few years. but friisoe says there are important differences. " gypsy moth is kind of like a mean, big brother of forest tent caterpillar, " friisoe says. " it ' s a much larger caterpillar. it can eat as much as a square foot of foliage a day. and, unlike forest tent, it will also attack conifers, so even white pine would be at risk from gypsy moth. " no one knows how a forest might respond to both pests, if they ' re hitting the same trees year after year. but a big tree die - off could hurt tourism and increase the fuel available for wildfires.


risk from gypsy moth. " no one knows how a forest might respond to both pests, if they ' re hitting the same trees year after year. but a big tree die - off could hurt tourism and increase the fuel available for wildfires. gypsy moths are fond of aspen and paper birch - - both common along the north shore, and both important to the region ' s pulp and paper industry. if established, the bugs can put those species at risk, and drive up costs for loggers, sawmills and paper companies. " there is an economic cost, and that ' s why we want to keep this out of minnesota as long as humanly possible, " friisoe says. " you can still move things, but it just simply becomes more cumbersome and more costly for business. " infested counties are subject to quarantine. tim o ' hara, with minnesota forest industries and the minnesota timber producers, says quarantine makes it more difficult to move timber. " logs that would be transported would have to go through an inspection, and be certified as clean by the department of ag, " says o ' hara. " and once they ' re eventually shipped to the mill, at the landing yards there, those companies would have to keep that wood separate, would have to keep the bark separate, and dispose of the bark in a proper fashion. " there ' s little experience so far with the gypsy moths in a pine - based boreal forest, like that inland from the north shore. steve katovich with the u. s. department of agriculture says the bugs might not thrive through the region ' s cold winters. and, he says, cook county has little of the gypsy moth ' s favorite food. " this is an insect that really focuses most of its activity on oak - dominated forests, " katovich says. " the north shore doesn ' t have a lot of oak. however, it does have a lot of aspen and it has a lot paper birch. and those are two species that gypsy moth will feed on heavily and do well in. " the real risk, katovich says, isn ' t so much to the north shore, but to oak dominated forests further inland, north of the twin cities to brainerd and grand rapids. there ' s enough aspen and birch along the north shore to give the moths a chance to get established. " once it does that, especially with all the visitation we get in the summertime there, it ' s much more likely to get on somebody


there ' s enough aspen and birch along the north shore to give the moths a chance to get established. " once it does that, especially with all the visitation we get in the summertime there, it ' s much more likely to get on somebody ' s campers, in somebody ' s firewood, on somebody ' s boat, and then be moved down into other parts of minnesota, " katovich says. " so we ' re very concerned about the potential for rapid spread out of the north shore area to other parts of minnesota. " officials plan to attack the gypsy moth this summer. several of the cook county outbreaks are targeted for treatment with a chemical pheromone. geir friisoe of the state agriculture department says the chemical is completely harmless, even to the moths. but it can keep male moths from finding females. " it ' s a chemical that is imbedded on a little tiny piece of plastic, about the size of confetti, " friisoe says. " and during the summer that little piece of plastic emits the chemical, or the pheromone, and what that does is it overloads the male gypsy moth ability to detect females, or to navigate. " but there is a downside to pheromone treatment. friisoe says it also makes it difficult to gauge how successful the treatment has been. " the pheromone that ' s contained in these flakes is the same compound that ' s used in our traps, " says friisoe. " and, because of that, it blinds us, so we can ' t use our traps for at least a year and a half, and possibly two years. and that is one of the disadvantages. " even if the treatment knocks back the number of moths, experts only consider it a holding action. the gypsy moth ' s progress has been slow but relentless. eventually, friisoe says, gypsy moths will infest minnesota. " we think with these treatments that we ' re applying, that we can delay quarantining of minnesota counties - probably be about five to 10 years out, is our estimate, " friisoe says. open houses and public meetings are scheduled this week to explain this summer ' s treatment plans for four of the moth outbreaks in cook county. the first is in grand marais tuesday, followed by meetings in hovland and schroeder wednesday and thursday. pheromone application is expected in late july


kypriaki dhimokratia ( greek ) kıbrıs cumhuriyeti ( turkish ) coat of arms | anthem : ymnos pros tin eleutherian 1 | | nicosia ( pop. 200, 686 ) 4 ) 35°08 ′ n 33°28 ′ e | | greek and turkish tassos papadopoulos 2 | from the uk 16 august 1960 16 august 1960 3 9, 250 4 km² ( 161st ) 780, 133 5 ( 155th ) $ 16, 745 ( n / a ) $ 20, 669 ( n / a ) | 1. " ymnos pros tin eleutherian " is also used as the national anthem of greece. 2. the north has a separate president of the trnc 3. not recognised by turkey, which instead recognises trnc. trnc is only recognised by turkey 4. of which 5, 895 kma² is in the south and 3, 355 kma² in the north 5. number does not include 323, 657 inhabitants in the north 6. number does not include any trnc inhabitants 7. + 90 - 392 ( a turkish access number ) is used in the north the republic of cyprus ( greek : κυπρος, kypros ; turkish : kıbrıs ) is an island nation in the eastern mediterranean sea, 113 kilometres ( 70 miles ) south of turkey and around 120 km west of the syrian coast. name and position the name cyprus comes from the greek word " κυπρος ( kypros ) " meaning " land of cypress trees ". the word for the metal " copper " in the english language ( and many other languages ) stems from the latin phrase aes cyprium, " metal of cyprus ", later shortened to cuprum, " copper ". large deposits of copper are found on the island. cyprus is geographically in western asia ( or the near east ), though politically and culturally it is considered as being in europe. historically, cyprus has always been a bridgehead between europe and asia, with interchanging periods of levantine, anatolian, turkish and greek influences. cyprus gained independence from the united kingdom in 1960, with the uk, greece and turkey retaining limited rights to intervene in internal affairs. the republic of cyprus is the internationally recognised government of the island, and it controls the southern two - thirds of the island. almost all foreign governments and the united nations recognise the sovereignty of the republic of


turkey retaining limited rights to intervene in internal affairs. the republic of cyprus is the internationally recognised government of the island, and it controls the southern two - thirds of the island. almost all foreign governments and the united nations recognise the sovereignty of the republic of cyprus over the whole island of cyprus. turkish cypriots, together with turkey, do not accept the republic ' s rule over the whole island and call it the " greek authority of southern cyprus ". they control the northern third of the island, following a military invasion by turkey in 1974. this happened following a coup sponsored by the military regime of greece, see : the 1974 crisis between greece and turkey. the turkish cypriot area proclaimed its independence in 1975, and the self - styled turkish republic of northern cyprus was established in 1983. this state was recognised only by turkey. the organization of the islamic conference granted it observer member status under the name of " turkish cypriot state ". the other power with territory on cyprus is the united kingdom. under the independence agreement, the uk retained title to two areas on the southern coast of the island, around akrotiri and dhekelia, known collectively as the uk sovereign base areas. they are used as military bases. map of cyprus showing political divisions and districts un buffer zone on cyprus negotiations have been ongoing for years to reunite the island, but have not as yet seen substantial success. a united nations plan, announced on 31 march 2004 following talks in switzerland, was put to both sides in separate referenda on 24 april 2004. on the referendum, the proposed reunification was favoured by the turkish cypriots by a majority of 2 to 1, but was overwhelmingly rejected by the greek cypriots by a 3 to 1 margin. as a result, while officially the whole of cyprus entered the european union on 1 may 2004, the de facto eu border runs along the green line, dividing the country between the greek and turkish cypriot parts. eu law is currently not applied in the turkish controlled north. the union has promised to send aid in the form of money and work towards lifting the trade sanctions imposed by the european court, but they have ruled out diplomatic recognition of northern cyprus. to date, the self declared turkish republic of northern cyprus, recognized by turkey and to a degree by azerbaijan, has yet not received aid or seen an easing of trade sanctions. the international community, to this day, does not recognise the 30 year old turkish republic of northern cyprus ( trnc ). main article : history of cyprus there are but scanty traces of the stone age, but the bronze


easing of trade sanctions. the international community, to this day, does not recognise the 30 year old turkish republic of northern cyprus ( trnc ). main article : history of cyprus there are but scanty traces of the stone age, but the bronze age is characterized by a well - developed and clearly marked civilization. the people early learned to work the rich copper mines of the island. the mycenæan civilization of the west seems to have reached the island around 1600 b. c. the greek and phœnician settlements belong to the iron age. the island was invaded by thothmes iii of egypt about 1500 b. c., and was forced to pay tribute. around 1200 b. c. we observe the massive arrival of the mycenaean greeks as permanent settlers to cyprus, a process that started and lasted for more than a century. this migration is remembered in many sagas rehearsing how some of the greek heroes that participated in the trojan war came to settle in cyprus. the newcomers brought with them their language, their advanced technology and introduced a new outlook for visual arts. thus from 1220 b. c. cyprus has remained predominantly greek in culture, language and population despite various influences resulting from successive conquests. in ancient times cyprus supplied the rest of the greeks with timber for their fleets. in the sixth century b. c., amasis of egypt conquered cyprus, which soon fell under the rule of the persians when cambyses conquered egypt. in the persian empire, cyprus formed part of the fifth satrapy and in addition to tribute it had to supply the persians with ships and crews. in their new fate the greeks of cyprus had as companions the greeks of ionia ( west coast of asia minor - now turkey ) with whom they forged closer ties. when the ionian greeks revolted against persia ( 499 bc ) the cypriots except for amathus, joined in at the instigation of onesilos, brother of the king of salamis, whom he dethroned for not wanting to fight for independence. the persians reacted quickly sending a considerable force against onesilos. they won despite ionian help. after the persian defeat, the greeks mounted various expeditions against cyprus in order to liberate it from the persian yoke, but all their efforts bore only temporary results. alexander the great ( 356 - 323 b. c. ) finally liberated the island from the persians. later, the greek rulers of egypt controlled it, then rome annexed it in 58 - 57 bc. no


but all their efforts bore only temporary results. alexander the great ( 356 - 323 b. c. ) finally liberated the island from the persians. later, the greek rulers of egypt controlled it, then rome annexed it in 58 - 57 bc. no doubt the most important event that occurred in roman cyprus is the visit by apostles paul and barnabas having with them st mark who came to the island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 ad. after their arrival at salamis they proceeded to paphos where they converted the roman governor sergius paulus to christianity. in this way cyprus became the first country in the world to be governed by a christian ruler. cyprus became part of the byzantine empire after the partitioning of the roman empire in 395 and remained so for almost nine centuries. the arabs pillaged the island in 646. in 654 the second arab invasion took place that devastated the island again. cyprus was finally liberated by byzantine emperor nicephorus phokas in 965. in 1191 king richard i of england captured the island on his way to the holy land. guy of lusignan took possession of the island in 1192. the republic of venice took control in 1489, after which the ottomans took control in 1570. cyprus was placed under british control on june 4, 1878 as a result of the cyprus convention. famagusta harbor was completed in june, 1906. cyprus was ceded to united kingdom in 1913. it gained independent status in 1960. main article : geography of cyprus the central plain ( mesaoria ) with the kyrenia / girne and pentadactylos / besparmak mountains to the north and the troodos mountain range to the south and west. there are also scattered but significant plains along the southern coast. the climate is temperate, mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, variably rainy winters. list of cities in cyprus, greek and turkish names modis satellite image of cyprus [ source ] after independence cyprus became a founding member of the non - aligned movement despite all three guarantor powers ( greece, turkey and the uk ) being nato members. cyprus left the non - aligned movement in 2004 to join the eu. following the independence of cyprus from the uk, the greek cypriots held three referendums on the issue of whether they wanted to be annexed by greece. on all three occasions there was a nine to one vote in favour of annexation but greece has agreed not to merge with cyrpus under the terms of the independence treaty


held three referendums on the issue of whether they wanted to be annexed by greece. on all three occasions there was a nine to one vote in favour of annexation but greece has agreed not to merge with cyrpus under the terms of the independence treaty and greek prime minister kostantinos karamanlis did not seek to do so in reponse to the referendum results. the 1960 cypriot constitution provided for a presidential system of government with independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as a complex system of checks and balances, including a weighted power - sharing ratio designed to protect the interests of the turkish cypriots. the executive, for example, was headed by a greek cypriot president, archbishop makarios, and a turkish cypriot vice president, kukuk, elected by their respective communities for 5 - year terms and each possessing a right of veto over certain types of legislation and executive decisions. the house of representatives was elected on the basis of separate voters ' rolls. since 1964, following clashes between the two communities the turkish seats in the house have been vacant after their unilateral withdrawal from the government and the greek cypriot communal chamber was abolished. the responsibilities of the chamber were transferred to the newfounded ministry of education. in 1967 a military junta took over the greek government and enosis went out of favour - even the most fervent greece - lovers didn ' t want union with such a repressive regime. on 15 july 1974 the greek military junta organised a coup which overthrew makarios and replaced him with a puppet leader. turkey responded by invading cyprus. instead of claiming its authority as one of the three international guarantor powers of the republic cyprus and reinstating the status quo before the coup, turkey took the northern third of the island forcing 180, 000 greek cypriots to flee their homes and 55, 000 turkish cypriots to move from the south to the north. subseqently the turkish cypriots established their own institutions with a popularly elected president and a prime minister responsible to the national assembly exercising joint executive powers. in 1983, the turkish cypriots declared an independent " turkish republic of northern cyprus " ( trnc, ) contrary to numerous un sc resolutions calling such an act as illegal and a by - product of a foreign and illegal ( turkish ) intervention. in 1985, they adopted a constitution and held elections – an arrangement recognised only by turkey. since 1974, cyprus has been divided de facto into the greek - cypriot controlled southern two - thirds of the island and the turkish - cypriot


( turkish ) intervention. in 1985, they adopted a constitution and held elections – an arrangement recognised only by turkey. since 1974, cyprus has been divided de facto into the greek - cypriot controlled southern two - thirds of the island and the turkish - cypriot northern one - third. the government of the republic of cyprus has continued as the internationally recognised authority ; in practice, its power extends only to the greek cypriot - controlled areas. - turkish republic of northern cyprus - foreign relations of cyprus - list of political parties in cyprus - military of cyprus main article : economy of cyprus economic affairs in cyprus are dominated by the division of the country into the southern ( greek ) area controlled by the cyprus government and the northern turkish cypriot - administered area. the greek cypriot economy is prosperous but highly susceptible to external shocks. erratic growth rates in the 1990s reflect the economy ' s vulnerability to swings in tourist arrivals, caused by political instability on the island and fluctuations in economic conditions in western europe. economic policy in the south in the years leading up to 2005 focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the european union. as in the turkish sector, water shortage is a growing problem, and several desalination plants are planned. the turkish cypriot economy has about one - fifth the population and one - third the per capita gdp of the south. because it is recognised only by turkey, it has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. the economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture and government service, which together employ about half of the work force. moreover, the small, vulnerable economy has suffered because the turkish lira is legal tender. to compensate for the economy ' s weakness, turkey provides direct and indirect aid to tourism, education, industry, etc. main article : demographics of cyprus greek and turkish cypriots share many customs but maintain their ethnicity based on religion, language, and close ties with their respective motherlands. greek language is predominantly spoken in the south, turkish language in the north. this delineation of languages is true only in the present period, due to the post - 1974 division of the island, which involved an expulsion of greek cypriots from the north and the analoguous move of turkish cypriots from the south. historically however, greek ( its cypriot dialect ) was spoken by nearly 82 % of the population, which was evenly distributed along the entire area of cyprus, north and south. similarly, turkish speakers were evenly distributed. english is widely understood. cyprus has a well - developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private


% of the population, which was evenly distributed along the entire area of cyprus, north and south. similarly, turkish speakers were evenly distributed. english is widely understood. cyprus has a well - developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education with the option of attending either catholic or traditional orthodox private schools. the majority of cypriots receive their higher education at greek, british, turkish or us universities, while there are also sizeable emigrant communities in the united kingdom and australia. private colleges and state - supported universities have been developed by both the turkish and greek communities. the cypriot system follows the greek system in the south and the turkish system in the north. a large number of students ( after a levels ) study abroad, mainly in english speaking countries such as the us, uk, and australia, but also in other european destinations such as france and germany. with the opening of eastern europe the students also have the opportunity to go to universities in romania, hungary etc. - university of cyprus - technical university of cyprus - cyprus college ( taught in english ) situated in nicosia - intercollege ( taught in english ) situated in nicosia and larnaca - the frederick institute ( taught in english ) situated in nicosia and limassol - philips college ( taught in english / greek ) situated in nicosia - americanos college ( taught in english / greek ) situated in nicosia also on the turkish side : - eastern mediterranean university ( taught in english ) in famagusta - girne american university ( taught in english ) in kyrenia - near east university ( taught in english ) in nicosia - international cyprus university ( taught in english ) in nicosia - european university of lefke ( taught in english ) in lefka - middle east technical university northern cyprus campus ( taught in english ) in kalkanli - hitchens, christopher ( 1997 ). hostage to history : cyprus from the ottomans to kissinger. verso. isbn 1 - 85984 - 189 - 9. - brewin, christopher ( 2000 ). european union and cyprus. eothen press. isbn 0 - 906719 - 24 - 0. - dods, clement ( ed. ) ( 1999 ). cyprus : the need for new perspectives. the eothen press. isbn 0 - 906719 - 23 - 2. - gibbons, harry scott ( 1997 ). the genocide files. charles bravos publishers. isbn 0 - 9514464 - 2 - 8. - hannay


eothen press. isbn 0 - 906719 - 23 - 2. - gibbons, harry scott ( 1997 ). the genocide files. charles bravos publishers. isbn 0 - 9514464 - 2 - 8. - hannay, david ( 2005 ). cyprus : the search for a solution. i. b. tauris. isbn 1 - 85043 - 665 - 7. - ker - lindsay, james ( 2005 ). eu accession and un peacemaking in cyprus. palgrave macmillan. isbn 1 - 4039 - 9690 - 3. - mirbagheri, farid ( 1989 ). cyprus and international peacemaking. hurst. isbn 1 - 85065 - 354 - 2. - nicolet, claude ( 2001 ). united states policy towards cyprus, 1954 - 1974. bibliopolis. isbn 3 - 933925 - 20 - 7. - oberling, pierre ( 1982 ). the road to bellapais. columbia university press. isbn 0 - 88033 - 000 - 7. - o ' malley, brendan and ian craig ( 1999 ). the cyprus conspiracy. i. b. tauris. isbn 1 - 86064 - 737 - 5. - palley, claire ( 2005 ). an international relations debacle : the un secretary - general ' s mission of good offices in cyprus, 1999 - 2004. hart publishing. isbn 1 - 84113 - 578 - x. - papadakis, yiannis ( 2005 ). echoes from the dead zone : across the cyprus divide. i. b. tauris. isbn 1 - 85043 - 428 - x. - plumer, aytug ( 2003 id = isbn 975 - 6912 - 18 - 9 ). cyprus, 1963 - 64 : the fateful years. cyrep ( lefkosa ). - richmond, oliver ( 1998 ). mediating in cyprus. frank cass. isbn 0 - 7146 - 4431 - 5. - richmond, oliver and james ker - lindsay ( eds. ) ( 2001 ). the work of the un in cyprus : promoting peace and development. palgrave macmillan. isbn 0 - 333 - 91271 - 3. - tocci, nathalie ( 2004 ). eu accession dynamics and conflict resolution : catalysing peace or consolidating partition in cyprus?. ashgate. isbn 0 - 7546 - 4310 - 7. - anastasiou, harry ( 2006 ). broken olive


jason was the son of king aeson, whose throne was usurped by his brother. to savejason, he sent him for fostering to another king. he was to return when he was old enough to be able to retrieve a special sword and sandals from under a heavy rock. when he did return to claim his inheritance from his uncle,, the uncle agreed to hand over the kingdom, but only if he could successfully retrieve a golden fleece that was guarded by a fire - breathing dragon in colchis ( modern georgia, at the eastern end of the black sea ). jason accepted the challenge. he built a large boat called the argo, and collected a crew of about 50, among whom theseus is sometimes mentioned, as are some of the greek heroes of the trojan war including nestor. after many adventures, the argonauts arrived at colchis. one of the en route adventures is particularly interesting, as we shall discuss later. in the dardanelles, there were two floating islands called the blue rocks, which clashed together when a ship tried to pass between them. jason was advised to send a dove between them. when they clashed together, catching the dove ' s tail feathers, jason steered the argo through on the rebound, just making it between the two islands before they crashed together again. when they reached colchis, jason asked the king for the golden fleece. the king did not refuse, but imposed some conditions. jason had to yoke a pair of fire - breathing bulls with brass feet, and use them to plough a field which he would then sow with dragon ' s teeth. everyone knew that these teeth would immediately grow into warriors that would turn on whoever seeded them. so there was a dual challenge, a triple one if one includes the guardian dragon. jason had attracted the attention of medea, the daughter of king aeetes of colchis. she helped him by magic, having made him promise to marry her and take her to greece. with the help of her magic, he was able to tame the bulls and plough the field. when the dragon ' s teeth grew into hostile warriors, he threw a magic stone among them, so that they turned against each other and fought until they were all dead. then medea fed the dragon a sleeping potion so that jason could retrieve the fleece. when the argonauts fled from colchis, medea took along her young brother, but murdered him to slow the pursuit by throwing his body parts


then medea fed the dragon a sleeping potion so that jason could retrieve the fleece. when the argonauts fled from colchis, medea took along her young brother, but murdered him to slow the pursuit by throwing his body parts into the sea for her father to find. this evil deed caused the gods to send the argonauts on a geographically confusing trip around italy and various other places. one of the adventures happened off crete, where they were prevented from landing by talos, a robot created by hephaestus - - the god of fire and the forge. talos went around the island and threw enormous rocks at approaching ships, but medea was able magically to kill him, allowing the argonauts to disembark for the night. but after setting sail the next day, they were enveloped by a thick cloud. appollo heard jason ' s prayer and sent a flash of lightning, which revealed a small island on which they could beach the ship, after which the argonauts were allowed to sail home to iolkos. they called the island anafi ( meaning revelation ). anafi is about 20 kilometers east of thera. much of this legend is explicable if we assume the usual transformations of natural phenomena into the acts of gods or other magical figures. there is a problem, however, in the crew of the ship. if theseus was an athenian leader around the time of the theran explosion. he could not have crewed along with a young nestor, who fought in the trojan war perhaps 400 years later. several elements of the story seem to be linked with the theran explosion, so it seems natural to link the tale to that time, rather than to the tempting later time of a generation or so before the trojan war. perhaps the legend is a conflation of stories from different time, as other legends of classical greece seem to be, including the iliad and the odyssey. | minoan and byblos trading areas. the red star indicates the location of thera. mycenae is approximately at the top - left corner of this map. | before the theran explosion of 1650 bc, most of the trade in the aegean and the eastern mediterranean was dominated by the two great trading powers of byblos and minoan crete. but their area of dominance extended only to the southern coast of anatolia and the southern aegean. in the northern aegean and the black sea, recent evidence suggests that there was mycenean trade


great trading powers of byblos and minoan crete. but their area of dominance extended only to the southern coast of anatolia and the southern aegean. in the northern aegean and the black sea, recent evidence suggests that there was mycenean trade ( toronto star, 28 july 2001 ). mycenean sea trade, however, developed largely after the abrupt end of the minoan empire. i do not know whether there is evidence of minoan trade to the black sea while the minoans were active the nature of the legend suggests that the trip to colchis was something special, not one expedition among many to that area.. here is a map of the black sea and the eastern mediterranean. the trading distance from even northern greeece to colchis at the east end of the black sea is considerably longer than from even byblos to athens. it would have taken well practied seamen to plan and execute such a voyage. could the myceneans before 1650 bc have done it? other seafaring nations certainly could, so perhaps they could as well. the argo is described as being a particularly large ship, with a crew of 50. by minoan standards, this was not a large ship. the so - called " marine festival " fresco from akrotiri shows several ships with 50 and 60 oars, which look as if they were going from thera to knossos. the argo may have been unusually big for a mycenean ship, the myceneans not being great sea traders in the minoan - dominated area, but at 50 oars, it was a match for the smaller of the big minoan ships. but it was a long voyage, longer than any of the normal minoan trading routes, and perhaps it was a voyage to get gold from a region not normally visited by mycenean ships, and known to them only by runour. | the relation of thera, crete, and anafi. anafi would not have been a good place to be during the ashfall, which went largely east to northeast from thera. | if we suggest that this legend has some basis in fact, part of that fact must be the theran explosion. the description of huge rocks being thrown at the ship when it was near crete, followed the next day by a thick cloud, in which a lightning flash allowed them to see the island of anafi, is too precise to correspond to any other event in aegean history. that is exactly


thrown at the ship when it was near crete, followed the next day by a thick cloud, in which a lightning flash allowed them to see the island of anafi, is too precise to correspond to any other event in aegean history. that is exactly what mariners near thera might have seen, though if they had done so, it is unlikely that they would have landed in crete after the end of the rock shower and the very next day have been in the ash cloud at anafi without having been swamped by the tsunami while the ship was beached. what is more likely is that the volcano erupted with a rock shower that ceased some time before the final cataclysm, and that the argonauts had been at sea for a couple of days when the lightning - filled ash cloud filled the air, at the same time as the tsunami passed on its way to devastate the cretan palaces. a ship at sea is hardly affected by a even a very large tsunami, which only builds its height as it approaches shallow water, although one would guess that it would not have been very pleasant to be on a ship near the edge of the kilometer deep hole in the sea when the caldera collapsed! the floating islands also suggest a volcanic explosion, though it does not seem reasonable that pumice from thera would be floating in the mouth of the dardanelles, so far to the north. also, that adventure is said to have occurred near the start of the voyage, whereas the near encounter with the theran explosion occurred at the end of the trip. there is, however, a possible explanation that does not require much forcing. archaeological evidence suggests that there was a series of eruptions of the theran volcano before the final explosion, over a period of several years, and that these were sufficiently violent to cause most of the population to leave permanently before their island actually disappeared. at least one of these precursor eruptions involved a substantial ashfall, and such an explosion may well have created pumice islands that could have impeded shipping. such islands would be unlikely to have been in the dardanelles, but they could have drifted into the path of shipping between mycenean ports and the dardanelles. this seems to me to be a natural phenomenon that is reasonably likely to have happened, as well as being reasonably likely to have been incorporated into the legend - - if we take the legend to be derived from any real events. volcanos may be relevant to the colchis part of the story, as well. the


have happened, as well as being reasonably likely to have been incorporated into the legend - - if we take the legend to be derived from any real events. volcanos may be relevant to the colchis part of the story, as well. the translation of a fire - spewing volcano into a fire - breathing animal is very common as a story - telling device. if the " golden fleece " was indeed a representation of the way gold was panned from the rivers in northern anatolia and colchis, the area has many volcanoes, some of which may have been active at the time. it could have been dangerous to go too high up the slopes, tempting the " sleeping dragon " to wake. jason ' s harnessing of the fire - breathing bulls could be a representation of his having been able to acquire gold between eruptions. there is nowhere near as much circumstantial detail in the jason legend pointing to specific times and places as there is for some of the other legends. there are, however, elements in the story that are clearly factual, notably the accurate description of the state of affairs around the exploding theran volcano. the legend suggests that there were some days of volcanism in which large rocks were ejected to considerable heights and distances, followed by some days of calm before the final cataclysmic explosion. this is a normal sequence for an exploding volcano. the fact that they landed on anafi in the middle of the ash cloud also jibes with the basically easterly drift of the cloud from thera. the clashing floating islands also suggest a factual basis for the story, becaues such islands are most unusual, but do occur after a volcano explodes in the sea. if the legend has two probably factual elements, should we give credence to the other components of the story? it may well be that some other elements are factual, but that the story, like so many others based on oral tradition over a thousand year span, is formed of an amalgam of several disparate events. the sailors who were close to the exploding thera might not be the ones that made the trip to colchis for the golden fleece. if theseus was on the boat, and was the theseus who " slew the minotaur " then nestor who fought in the trojan war could not have been there. could we guess that theseus was on the ship that was perilously close to thera, but that nestor was on a voyage with jason to colchis about


##ur " then nestor who fought in the trojan war could not have been there. could we guess that theseus was on the ship that was perilously close to thera, but that nestor was on a voyage with jason to colchis about 400 years later? whether the legend deals with one voyage or many confabulated by the storytellers is immaterial. we can treat the events in colchis the same in either case. if the " golden fleece " represented the method of getting gold from the rivers, then it might represent not an actual fleece, but gold that the argonauts were able to drag using fleeces from the rivers near one or more active volcanos that were streaming lava both before and after their extraction of the gold. the sowing of the dragon ' s teeth cannot be literal, but if the " dragon " was a volcano from which jason " ploughed " gold, the hostile warriors might well represent local bandits or even official troops who attempted to take the gold for themselves, but who quarrelled among themselves, allowing the argonauts to escape wiht the loot. i do not have an explanation for the medea part of the story, including her muder of her brother so that she could scatter his body parts on the sea to delay her father ' s pursuit. back to the legends home page


my 6 year old is having the hardest time getting those letters right! does anyone have some good ideas to help with this?? by electraspyseptember 26, 2011 at 5 : 05 pm i was dyslexic & a specialist created a little story about each commonly reversed letter. i was 6 & still remembered them! i made these little poster helpers for my kids. when we write the lower case " b " we must 1st remember to swat the mad bee with a stick, line down then circle b around, see how the stick hits that bee in the butt? lol when we write the lower case " d ", we must remember our dog comes 1st & he is carrying his favorite stick. " p " was about drawing the long hair of the princess 1st. hope this helps!! by aneelamay 28, 2012 at 5 : 36 pm my 5 year old son mixes them up sometimes as well... i just try to correct it and carry on by ncstressmay 29, 2012 at 1 : 38 pm take a look at www. readingkey. com for kindergarten they have a little chart that the kids can practice with and a fun slap game. it has helped my 8 yo son immensely! november 28, 2012 at 1 : 31 am my son did the same thing. he was having that same challenge. i ' m currently doing a spelling program that uses sound cards and tiles to spell. it starts out with the sound of the letter first but make sure he says it correctly. then go with tiles. he spells out words with the first few lettters he knows that maybe start out with the sound / b /. when he spells it out have him ( you could use pennies ) segment the word so sound out each letter. you could concentrate on the / b / sound the first day then the second day do the / d / sound and the third day do the / p / sound. on the 4th and 5th day you could bring it together by doing it all what he has learned the first 3 days. then have him write the word out with those particular letters he ' s been having a challenge with. i hope that helps. by tinastribenovember 28, 2012 at 9 : 28 am it is normal. if it never changes then its something to look into but at his age it happens. just review the steps of the letters with him. like when you are writing a b what comes first the line or the half circle, and with a d


2012 - 2013 service learning courses hispanic literature in translation — " defiant acts : spanish and latin american theatre " isabel de sena this course will explore the full spectrum of theatre from the early modern period in spain and colonial spanish america to contemporary theatre on both sides of the atlantic, including u. s. latino playwrights. we will read across periods to identify preoccupations and generic characteristics as theatre evolves and moves between the street and the salon, the college yard and the court, enclosed theatres and theatre for the enclosed. in the process we will address a wide swath of ideas, on gender, class, freedom and totalitarianism, the boundaries of identity. students will be introduced to some basic concepts and figures ranging from lope de vega ’ s brilliant articulation of “ comedia ” to augusto boal ’ s concept of an engaged theatre, and investigate the work of fomma ( fortaleza de la mujer maya ) and similar contemporary collectives. and we will read plays as plays, as literature and as texts intended for performance on a stage. at the same time students will have the opportunity to explore creative practices, through engagement with different community organizations : schools, retirement homes, local theatre organizations, etc. students are encouraged to apply concepts learned in class to their internships, and to bring their ideas and reflections on their weekly practices for discussion in class. each other week one hour will be devoted to discussing their work in the community. no spanish required, but students who are sufficiently fluent in the language may opt to work in a community where spanish is the primary language of communication. no expertise in theatre required though theatre students are very welcome. open to any interested student. fall & spring first year studies umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu [ isizulu : a person is only a person through other persons ] how do the contexts in which we live influence our development? and how do these contexts influence the questions we ask about development, and the ways in which we interpret our observations? how do local, national and international policies impact the contexts in which children live? should we play a role in changing some of these contexts? what are the complications of doing this? in this course, we will discuss these and other key questions about child and adolescent development in varying cultural contexts, with a specific focus on the united states and sub - saharan africa. as we do so, we will discuss factors contributing to both opportunities and inequalities within and between these contexts. in particular, we will discuss


development in varying cultural contexts, with a specific focus on the united states and sub - saharan africa. as we do so, we will discuss factors contributing to both opportunities and inequalities within and between these contexts. in particular, we will discuss how physical and psychosocial environments differ for poor and non - poor children and their families in rural upstate new york, urban yonkers, and rural and urban malawi, zimbabwe, south africa, kenya and tanzania. we will also discuss individual and environmental protective factors that buffer some children from the adverse effects of poverty, as well as the impacts of public policy on poor children and their families. topics will include health and educational disparities ; environmental inequalities linked to race, class, ethnicity, gender, language and nationality ; environmental chaos ; children ’ s play and access to green space ; cumulative risk and its relationship to chronic stress ; and the hiv / aids pandemic and the growing orphan problem in sub - saharan africa. readings will be drawn from both classic and contemporary research in psychology, human development, anthropology, sociology, and public health ; memoirs and other first - hand accounts ; and classic and contemporary african literature and film. this course will also serve as an introduction to the methodologies of community based and participatory action research within the context of a service - learning course. as a class, we will collaborate with local high school students in developing, implementing and evaluating effective community based work in partnership with organizations in urban yonkers and rural tanzania. as part of this work, all students will spend an afternoon a week working in a local after - school program. in addition, we will have monthly seminars with local high school students during our regular class time. environment, race and the psychology of place this service learning course will focus on the experience of humans living within physical, social and psychological spaces. we will use a constructivist, multidisciplinary, multilevel lens to examine the interrelationship between humans and the natural and built environment, to explore the impact of racial / ethnic group membership on person / environment interactions, and to provide for a critical analysis of social dynamics in the environmental movement. the community partnership / service learning component is an important part of this class - we will work with local agencies to promote adaptive person - environment interactions within our community. children ’ s health in a multicultural context this course offers, within a cultural context, an overview of theoretical and research issues in the psychological study of health and illness in children. we will examine theoretical


as with prototype trains, gauge is the measure of the distance between the rails. standard gauge has two different meanings with model trains : 1. on prototype railroads in most of the world, the majority of tracks are laid in a common, or " standard " gauge. this gauge of 4 feet 8. 5 inches began evolving as the standard as early as the 1840s. by sharing a common gauge, connecting railroad companies can interchange, or exchange cars. most model train scales are also built to confirm to a common gauge that at least approximates standard gauge. most o scale trains are built to an even 5 foot gauge. g gauge trains share a common gauge but are actually sized differently to make that gauge appear either standard or narrow. trains running on tracks wider or more narrow than 56. 5 " are said to be broad or narrow gauge respectively. narrow gauge trains are far more common. these too are modeled in almost every scale. for model trains, a narrow gauge is indicated by the letter " n " after the scale, followed by a number which indicates the gauge. " on3 " would be 3 ' narrow gauge in o scale for example. 2. with model trains, standard gauge can also refer to a size of model trains produced by joshua lionel cowen ( lionel ) from 1906 to 1939. these trains were slightly larger than the o scale trains which superseded them with an actual track gauge of 2 1 / 8 ". lionel began producing o scale trains, with a gauge of 1 1 / 4 ", in 1915. today, these original standard gauge trains are highly collectible and can bring big money in good condition. reproductions have also been made by several companies.


the summer is upon us and it is typically the time when we are most active with outdoor activities. but studies still show that less than 25 % of the population exercise on a regular basis. according to the u. s. public health service, many of us still have misconceptions about exercising. here are some of the most common myths followed by the real facts : myth 1 - “ exercising will tire me out. ” the fact is that regular exercise will give you more energy. myth 2 - “ exercising will cause me to have a heart attack. ” the fact is that regular exercising will strengthen your heart muscle. myth 3 - “ exercising will raise my blood pressure and make me lose my breath. ” the fact is that exercise has been shown time and again to lower blood pressure and actually strengthen your lungs so that they operate more efficiently. myth 4 - “ exercise will make my back pain worse and aggravate my arthritis. ” the fact is that exercise will improve your strength, posture, and range of motion in joints. it will also help to relieve stress that may cause back pain. myth 5 - “ i ’ m too old to start exercising. ” the fact is that you are never too old to do some form of exercise. we have geriatric patients who perform simple chair stretches and arm exercises every day - so if they can do it, so can you. myth 6 - “ i don ’ t have time to exercise. ” this is by far the most common excuse for not exercising, but the fact is that exercise can be done anywhere - in the car, on your coffee break, even while you ’ re waiting for your kids to get off the bus. exercising for 5 - 10 minutes a day is better than doing nothing at all! you may be wondering why you should start exercising now, especially when you have been relatively inactive for most of your life. the reasons are endless - like helping you to be more flexible, developing more muscle so that movements won ’ t require as much effort, and helping to build endurance so you won ’ t tire as easily. it is important however, to start exercising gradually, especially if you have never exercised on a regular basis before. all exercise routines should include a stretching session, as well as a strengthening and aerobic session, followed by a cool down period. make sure to call our office or speak to your doctor before starting any routine in order to get the help you need to exercise safely and effectively. so don ’ t let another summer pass you by - get out there


harmful algal blooms, once considered mainly a problem in salt water, have been appearing with increasing severity in the madison lakes, and a team of university of wisconsin - madison researchers has geared up to understand the when, where and why of these dangerous " blooms. " no longer just a smelly, unsightly nuisance, the masses of blue - green algae can also exude toxins that attack the liver or nervous system. one day, it may be possible to issue " algae forecasts " modeled on predictions of severe storms, says katherina mcmahon, a professor of civil engineering and bacteriology on campus. eventually, she says, the results of research at uw - madison could lead to a forecast : " given the conditions today, we estimate an 85 percent chance of toxic blue - green algae tomorrow. " toxic blue - green algae are also becoming more problematic in many inland waters, including the great lakes. currently, health authorities monitor several beaches on the madison lakes and issue warnings when they detect the characteristic blue - green color. but algae are constantly changing, mcmahon says : under favorable conditions, their population can explode. soon, however, tiny animals called zooplankton " graze down " the algae, and the population plunges. " once you recognize that not all blue - green algae produce toxins - and even the toxic ones don ' ' t produce toxin all the time - and you have a recipe for confusion, " mcmahon says. to make a good forecast, " you need to understand how these blooms originate and develop. " research questions abound. what, exactly, constitutes a " bloom? " which strains of blue - green algae - technically called cyanobacteria - are toxic, and under what conditions do they produce toxins? various cyanobacteria have lived in the madison lakes for at least a century, and probably thousands of years. " they are naturally present in lakes that get a lot of nutrients, " says mcmahon, " and are not an invasive species. but we think an increase in phosphorus from the agricultural and urban landscapes is contributing to more severe blooms. " at uw - madison, experts in satellite remote sensing, bacteriology and limnology - the study of lakes - are engaged in a multi - pronged effort, in collaboration with city, county and state authorities. richard lathrop, of the center for limnology, is testing whether floating screens attached to booms like those now catching oil in the gulf of mexico can trap algal scum


february 06, 2012 examining the insect ' s seven centimeter long fossil wings under microscope, researchers were able to see how the prehistoric male katydid employed stridulation, i. e. rubbing body parts together, to produce a song to attract a female. given the insect ' s morphology, biomechanical experts were then able to decipher that the insect sang at a low pitch of 6. 4 khz with each note lasting about 16 milliseconds, producing a single, decisive note. [ to listen to sound click here ] " this discovery indicates that pure tone communication was already exploited by animals in the middle jurassic, some 165 million years ago. for archaboilus, as for living [ katydid ] species, singing constitutes a key component of mate attraction, " explains daniel robert, biomechanical expert at bristol ' s school of biological sciences, in a press release. " singing loud and clear advertises the presence, location and quality of the singer, a message that females choose to respond to — or not. " this is the first insect fossil to betray the secrets of its mating calls, and researchers say its likely the most ancient music ever heard. the katydid ' s song was adapted to travel long - distance in a sparse environment of conifers and giant ferns. however, by singing the katydid would have also attracted unwanted attention : hungry predators. " today, all species of katydids that use musical calls are nocturnal so musical calls in the jurassic were also most likely an adaptation to nocturnal life. being nocturnal, archaboilus musicus probably escaped from diurnal predators like archaeopterix, but it cannot be ruled out that jurassic insectivorous mammals like morganucodon and dryolestes also listened to the calls of archaboilus and preyed on them, " explains fernando montealegre - zapata, also a biomechanical expert. how species adapt is often informed by such difficult choices : archaboilus musicus ' s loud musical tone allowed mates to hear it far - and - wide perhaps giving it an edge in breeding, however the trade - off may have meant higher chance of being eaten. the katydid family that archaboilus musicus belongs to first arose in the late triassic before vanishing entirely prior to the early cretaceous, however its propensity for song would survive to modern katydids. citation. gu, j. j., montealegre - z, f., robert


to first arose in the late triassic before vanishing entirely prior to the early cretaceous, however its propensity for song would survive to modern katydids. citation. gu, j. j., montealegre - z, f., robert, d., engel, m. s., qiao, g. x. and ren, d. wing stridulation in a jurassic katydid ( insecta, orthoptera ) produced low - pitched musical calls to attract females. proc. natl. acad. sci. usa doi : 10. 1073 / pnas. 111837210 scientists discover giant species of crocodile ; luckily it is extinct ( 09 / 15 / 2011 ) researchers excavating a coal mine in colombia have discovered a previously unknown species of prehistoric crocodile. the beast is described in the september 15 issue of the journal palaeontology. king of dinosaurs was a hunter, not a scavenger ( 01 / 26 / 2011 ) ecologists say they have used a computer model to put to rest a nearly century - old debate. did tyrannosaurus rex, one of the world ' s most well - known dinosaurs, hunt down its prey like a lion on the plains, or, instead, did it scavenge meals from other hunters like a vulture? according to scientists with the zoological society of london ( zsl ) the tyrannosaurus had only one choice in order to survive : hunt. picture : scientists identify first known single - fingered dinosaur ( 01 / 25 / 2011 ) paleontologists working in china have discovered a first for dinosaurs : a species with only one finger. named linhenykus monodactylus, the extinct species stood only about two feet high and weighed about as much as a large parrot. although small, the new dinosaur was a member of the carnivorous therapod dinosaurs, which include the infamous tyrannosaurus rex. the find was announced in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences.


biodiversity does not reduce transmission of disease from animals to humans, stanford researchers find new analysis pokes holes in widely accepted theory that connects biodiversity abundance with a reduced disease risk for humans. more than three quarters of new, emerging or re - emerging human diseases are caused by pathogens from animals, according to the world health organization. but a widely accepted theory of risk reduction for these pathogens – one of the most important ideas in disease ecology – is likely wrong, according to a new study co - authored by stanford woods institute for the environment senior fellow james holland jones and former woods - affiliated ecologist dan salkeld. the dilution effect theorizes that disease risk for humans decreases as the variety of species in an area increases. for example, it postulates that a tick has a higher chance of infecting a human with lyme disease if the tick has previously had few animal host options beyond white - footed mice, which are carriers of lyme disease - causing bacteria. if many other animal hosts had been available to the tick, the tick ' s likelihood of being infected and spreading that infection to a human host would go down, according to the theory. if true, the dilution effect would mean that conservation and public health agendas could be united in a common purpose : to protect biodiversity and guard against disease risk. " however, its importance to the field or the beauty of the idea do not guarantee that it is actually scientifically correct, " jones said. in the first study to formally assess the dilution effect, jones, salkeld and california department of public health researcher kerry padgett tested the hypothesis through a meta - analysis of studies that evaluate links between host biodiversity and disease risk for disease agents that infect humans. the analysis, published in the journal ecology letters, allowed the researchers to pool estimates from studies and test for any bias against publishing studies with " negative results " that contradict the dilution effect. the analysis found " very weak support, at best " for the dilution effect. instead, the researchers found that the links between biodiversity and disease prevalence are variable and dependent on the disease system, local ecology and probably human social context. the role of individual host species and their interactions with other hosts, vectors and pathogens are more influential in determining local disease risk, the analysis found. " lyme disease biology in the northeast is obviously going to differ in its ecology from lyme disease in california, " salkeld said. " in the northeast, they have longer winters and abundant tick hosts. in california


, the analysis found. " lyme disease biology in the northeast is obviously going to differ in its ecology from lyme disease in california, " salkeld said. " in the northeast, they have longer winters and abundant tick hosts. in california, we have milder weather and lots of western fence lizards ( a favored tick host ) that harbor ticks but do not transmit the lyme disease bacterium. " so, these lizards should be considered unique in any study of disease risk within their habitat. or, as salked put it, " all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. " broadly advocating for the preservation of biodiversity and natural ecosystems to reduce disease risk is " an oversimplification of disease ecology and epidemiology, " the study ' s authors write, adding that more effective control of " zoonotic diseases " ( those transmitted from animals to humans ) may require more detailed understanding of how pathogens are transmitted. specifically, jones, salkeld and padgett recommend that researchers focus more on how disease risk relates to species characteristics and ecological mechanisms. they also urge scientists to report data on both prevalence and density of infection in host animals, and to better establish specific causal links between measures of disease risk ( such as infection rates in host animals ) and rates of infection in local human populations. for their meta - analysis, the researchers were able to find only 13 published studies and three unpublished data sets examining relationships between biodiversity and animal - to - human disease risk. this kind of investigation is " still in its infancy, " the authors note. " given the limited data available, conclusions regarding the biodiversity - disease relationship should be regarded with caution. " still, jones said, " i am very confident in saying that real progress in this field will come from understanding ecological mechanisms. we need to turn to elucidating these rather than wasting time arguing that simple species richness will always save the day for zoonotic disease risk. " rob jordan is the communications writer for the stanford woods institute for the environment. james holland jones, stanford woods institute for the environment : cell ( 650 ) 799 - 7178, office ( 650 ) 723 - 4824, firstname. lastname @ example. org rob jordan, communications writer, stanford woods institute for the environment : ( 650 ) 721 - 1881 ( office ), ( 415 ) 760 - 8058 ( mobile ), email @ example. com


download video ( 25 mb ) kids should think twice before picking on early maturing girls or late maturing boys in their class. a new study links violent conduct in schools to some students ’ timing in puberty. according to university of florida researchers, children who go through puberty at different times then most of their peers, can react more violently to stressful events. previous studies have already shown that those early or late maturing kids often have more emotional issues than their peers, but they can also react more aggressively to peer pressure and stress in general. julia graber / uf psychology researcher : “ the early maturing girls who also had high rates of peer stress were the ones who were more aggressive ; both in terms of indirect methods like spreading rumors about other children, or things like that, and also threats and physical aggression, as well as late maturing boys. so those off - time boys who were sort of slow to get started on puberty when they experience peer stress they really, really didn ’ t deal with it well. ” experts say parents with kids who get picked on, should help their sons and daughters learn better ways of dealing with these experiences, rather then getting worked up or aggressive and acting out just like their own kids. julia graber / uf psychology researcher : “ simple emotion kind of regulation activities, learning how to take a deep breath and calm down and think about the situation a little bit more clearly are often really helpful. if there seems to be a persistent problem certainly working with local schools is very important to find out what teachers and principals are doing within your school to deal with problems where kids may be harassed. ” uf psychologists say often time kids are not having more stress, it ’ s the way they respond that is more aggressive. early maturing girls often have poor coping skills, while late maturing boys build extra defense mechanisms.


varanasi, india — a couple years ago, one of india ’ s leading industrial houses announced a revolutionary new household filter that would for the first time bring affordable, safe drinking water to millions of homes. the tata swach combines the inexpensive carbon of burnt rice husks with silver nano - particles to kill and remove deadly microbes including cholera, e coli, and the rotavirus. the swach doesn ’ t need electricity or running water. unlike some filters sold in the united states, the swatch ’ s filter bulb cuts off the flow of water when it ’ s exhausted, meaning it ’ s impossible to drink unclean water that ’ s passed through a spent filter. ( there ’ s no risk in drinking unfiltered water in new york or denver, but it ’ s a different story in india, where waterborne diseases kill as many as half a million children each year. ) and it ’ s hugely affordable : the unit costs less than $ 20 and monthly filter replacements are just $ 7. more than a million of these filters have been sold, and it ’ s not hard to imagine the public health benefits that will follow. more indian companies are jumping into the low - cost filter business, which could push prices even lower. this indian success story, however, can also be seen as a thin bit of cover for the country ’ s scandalously poor public services. in the west, there is often a suspicion of municipal water. in my hometown of new york city, families spend good money to filter water that ’ s already been rigorously tested. even worse, they pay for bottled water that often comes from the same city mains as the local tap water. indians don ’ t have that luxury. they need to filter or boil their water because the stuff their government sends them is often dangerous. this was driven home last month when, during a seven - day boat journey down the ganges, i passed a sewage pipe pouring waste into the river just upstream of a pumping station that in turn sent the dirty water right back into people ’ s homes. with no one else looking out for their health, individual households take on the burden and financial cost of one of the basic jobs of government. william nanda bissell, in his 2010 bestseller making india work, describes the economic activity generated by these gaps in governance as “ forced consumption. ” the money tata and other companies earn from innovations like the swach is money that indian families could have saved or spent on education, housing, health care, or culture and


describes the economic activity generated by these gaps in governance as “ forced consumption. ” the money tata and other companies earn from innovations like the swach is money that indian families could have saved or spent on education, housing, health care, or culture and entertainment. the massive investment required to deliver clean water to indian households is still less than the total amount being spent by hundreds of millions of families to do the job at home – - and of the work and school hours and health expenses lost to waterborne diseases. according to a new report by the delhi - based center for science and the environment, india ’ s cities are drowning in their own waste due to poor planning and administration. “ every city was the same old story, ” souparno banerjee, lead researcher on the 71 - city, 3½ - year effort, told the wall street journal. “ it had devastated its surface water, it was depleting its ground water and it had no plan for managing its water or wastewater. ” speaking with the journal, the center ’ s director, sunita narain, asks some disturbing questions : “ is it a reflection of the caste system of indian society, where removing waste was someone else ’ s business? the business was untouchable. certainly it was unspeakable. or is it a reflection of the current governance systems, where water and waste are government business and, within that, it is the sole business of a lowly water and sanitation bureaucracy? ” “ or is it simply a reflection of indian society ’ s extreme arrogance — our belief we can fix it all as and when we get rich? ”


the researchers can route quantum bits, or entangled particles of light, at very high speeds along a shared network of fiber - optic cable without losing the entanglement information embedded in the quantum bits. the switch could be used toward achieving two goals of the information technology world : a quantum internet, where encrypted information would be completely secure, and networking superfast quantum computers. the device would enable a common transport mechanism, such as the ubiquitous fiber - optic infrastructure, to be shared among many users of quantum information. such a system could route a quantum bit, such as a photon, to its final destination just like an e - mail is routed across the internet today. this is a follow up of this article about ultrafast 10 - 200 picosecond switching of quantum photonic entanglement the bits we all know through standard, or classical, communications only exist in one of two states, either “ 1 ” or “ 0. ” all classical information is encoded using these ones and zeros. what makes a quantum bit, or qubit, so attractive is it can be both one and zero simultaneously as well as being one or zero. additionally, two or more qubits at different locations can be entangled - - a mysterious connection that is not possible with ordinary bits. researchers need to build an infrastructure that can transport this “ superposition and entanglement ” ( being one and zero simultaneously ) for quantum communications and computing to succeed. the qubit kumar works with is the photon, a particle of light. a photonic quantum network will require switches that don ’ t disturb the physical characteristics ( superposition and entanglement properties ) of the photons being transmitted, kumar says. he and his team built an all - optical, fiber - based switch that does just that while operating at very high speeds. to demonstrate their switch, the researchers first produced pairs of entangled photons using another device developed by kumar, called an entangled photon source. “ entangled ” means that some physical characteristic ( such as polarization as used in 3 - d tv ) of each pair of photons emitted by this device are inextricably linked. if one photon assumes one state, its mate assumes a corresponding state ; this holds even if the two photons are hundreds of kilometers apart. the researchers used pairs of polarization - entangled photons emitted into standard telecom - grade fiber. one photon of the pair was transmitted through the all - optical switch. using single - photon detectors, the researchers found that the quantum state of


apart. the researchers used pairs of polarization - entangled photons emitted into standard telecom - grade fiber. one photon of the pair was transmitted through the all - optical switch. using single - photon detectors, the researchers found that the quantum state of the pair of photons was not disturbed ; the encoded entanglement information was intact. “ quantum communication can achieve things that are not possible with classical communication, ” said kumar, director of northwestern ’ s center for photonic communication and computing. “ this switch opens new doors for many applications, including distributed quantum processing where nodes of small - scale quantum processors are connected via quantum communication links. ” mit technology review - a quantum communcations switch prem kumar, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at northwestern university, has developed a quantum routing switch that can shuttle entangled photons along various paths while keeping the quantum information intact. the device could be particularly useful for quantum computing, says james franson, professor of physics at the university of maryland, baltimore county. " to build a quantum computer using photons, we need the ability to switch [ entangled ] photons, " says franson. a quantum switch could also someday allow entangled photons from different quantum computers to be shared over long distances — like cloud computing, but with quantum information. kumar says the switch will also make ultra - secure quantum networks a reality. today ' s information is typically secured using what ' s called public key encryption, which relies on the practical impossibility of performing certain mathematical tasks, like factoring extremely large numbers. quantum networks would offer an even more secure alternative to public key encryption. using entangled photons to communicate ensures security because any attempt to intercept a message would disturb the particles ' quantum state. to build the new quantum switch, the researchers used commercial fiber - optic cable and other standard optical components, says kumar. " my goal is to do things in the quantum information space that are very compatible with existing fiber infrastructures, " he says. the first step is to prepare the photons. entangled photons have properties, such as polarization, that are fundamentally linked. if two photons are entangled, then the measured polarization of one reveals the corresponding state of the other. the researchers used a technique in which they mixed together multiple wavelengths of light within a standard fiber to create entangled photon pairs. the next step is to send one photon down the optical fiber to the switch, which changes the photon ' s course. the researchers ' switch is made of only optical components


to be or not to be is a question that has been asked many times before. we were curious what happens if we visualize this passage of shakespeare ’ s classics as a text network ( using the polysingularity method ) and then read the text through the network. what are the other possibilities contained within the passage? here is the text network visualization ( click to enlarge ) : shakespeare ' s hamlet text network visualization here ’ s the original text : to be, or not to be : that is the question : whether ’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? to die : to sleep ; no more ; and by a sleep to say we end the heart - ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, ’ tis a consummation devoutly to be wish ’ d. to die, to sleep ; to sleep : perchance to dream : ay, there ’ s the rub ; for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause : there ’ s the respect that makes calamity of so long life ; for who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor ’ s wrong, the proud man ’ s contumely, the pangs of despised love, the law ’ s delay, the insolence of office and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscover ’ d country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of? thus conscience does make cowards of us all ; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o ’ er with the pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. – soft you now! the fair ophelia! nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remember ’ d. during our reading we tried to follow the nodes in a more or less random way to ensure that the resulting trajectory would only be subject to the possibilities exercised within the text ’ s network


, in thy orisons be all my sins remember ’ d. during our reading we tried to follow the nodes in a more or less random way to ensure that the resulting trajectory would only be subject to the possibilities exercised within the text ’ s network structure, not influenced by our own idea of how the words are semantically linked. the result was as following : make coward native resolution. sickly pale thinks the enterprise of the moment. regard the awry current. turn, regard, turn moment. awry soft fear horizon. be sleep death dread and life to bear. scorn time whip time oppressor proud of wrong man contumely the pang and love despise the law delay insolence, spurn the patient unworthy merit takes the quiet. make life dread death sleep death dread life make coward native resolution hue native coward make life dread death sleep be remember the sins to be devoutly consummation flesh heir flesh shock a thousand heartache thousand shocks flesh and thousand shock and flesh and consummation devoutly sleep oppose the trouble arm the fortune the arrow sling the fortune arrow the outrageous sling suffers nobler mind suffer mind nobler mind to suffer sling the fortune the arm and trouble oppose the sleep death, dread life, make life bear time oppressor wrong and proud we leave it up to you to judge our efforts in re - reading shakespeare ’ s poetry – it would be actually interesting to hear what you think about it and whether you find it somewhat related to the original text. a brief visual analysis of the resulting network image for the text above shows that structurally it ’ s not too far away from the original passage. the most central concepts are similar and structurally they are connected to the similar clusters of meaning circulation. however, some concepts within these clusters. are much more emphasized than in the original text : especially the ones on the periphery, such as “ orizon ”, “ sickly ”, “ fortune ”, “ flesh ”, and “ patient ”. hamlet read randomly through a text network brief data analysis also shows that the quantitive parameters of the resulting graph are similar, the only difference is that we used a smaller vocabulary during the reading and that resulted in shorter diameter and average path length ( as less words are needed to connect one morpheme to another ). however, the average degree and modularity are somewhat similar and both graph have very similar degree distribution charts and overall graph structure. nodes : 65 vs 107 in the original edges : 157 vs 209 av degree : 4. 8 vs 3


a short history of the use of lime as a building material beyond europe and north america carran, dorn ; hughes, john ; leslie, alick ; kennedy, craig. 2012 a short history of the use of lime as a building material beyond europe and north america. journal of architectural heritage, 6 ( 2 ). 117 - 146. 10. 1080 / 15583058. 2010. 511694full text not available from this repository. ( request a copy ) the use of lime in building construction began at least 10, 000 years ago, with debated evidence of earlier uses. the focus of academic research to date has been on historical and archaeological use of lime in europe and the near east. this work is an attempt to provide a summary of the history of lime as a building material in china, india, africa, and central and south america, based on available literature resources. patterns of functional evolution suggest beginnings in small - scale, domestic surface coating evolving later to more widespread use linked to societal development in the regions considered. commonalities exist in material characteristics and usage between different societies, linked to technological progress rather than absolute chronology. | programmes : | | bgs programmes 2010 > geology and landscape ( scotland ) | | date made live : | | 17 may 2012 10 : 40 | actions ( login required )


ivory ( french ivoire ; italian avorio ; latin ebur ), dentine, the tusks of the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, and other animals : a tough and elastic substance, of a creamy white, taking a high and lasting polish, largely employed in the arts since pre - historic times, and used extensively in making or adorning ecclesiastical objects by the primitive and medieval christians. in the museums of europe there are examples of pre - historic incised and carved ivories, and also many specimens of egyptian, assyrian, greek, and roman bas - reliefs, statues, diptychs, plaques, and caskets. the classical authors frequently allude to ivory, and the old testament terms with references to its employment, even using its attributes as poetic qualifications, in the same way as the church does today in the litany of loretto ( " tower of ivory " ). as soon as the christians were free to display the symbols of their faith and illustrate its history pictorially, they adopted the art then in vogue for this purpose, and among their first æsthetic expressions, carved ivory diptychs were the most important ; they followed closely the designs used in consular diptychs, excepting that symbolism and poetic imagery took the place of representations of mythological subjects. they consisted of two plates of ivory, hinged so as to fold together like a book ; the inside of each leaf was slightly counter - sunk, with a narrow raised margin, so as to hold the wax that received the writing, while the outside of the leaves was profusely adorned with carvings. they were used for various purposes, such as listing the names of the baptized, bishops, martyrs, saints, and benefactors, and of the living and the dead who were to be prayed for. that these diptychs suggested ivory plaques for book covers, reliquary doors and triptych shrines, is obvious ; hundreds of plaques are in existence, dating from the time of constantine to the sixteenth century, and many of them are exquisite works of art ; in the british museum there is one, six inches by four, divided into thirty panels, less than an inch square, and each compartment contains a scene from the life of the blessed virgin, all being beautiful examples of ivory sculpture. another use the early christians found for ivory was the making of cylindrical pyxes from a cross section of the elephant tusk ; upon the covers, they carved figures of our lord, st. peter, and st. paul,