about genes that cause ipah is still growing, so it is possible that other genes may contribute and will be discovered in the future. what is a gene? genes are units of genetic information that are passed from parents to children. each gene contains the directions to make one or more proteins that the body needs. genes control everything about us, including the way that our body grows and functions. all of us receive a full set of about 30, 000 genes from each of our parents. therefore, we have a pair of genes, one from each parent, to make each protein, including the bmpr2 protein. how is familial pah inherited? each normal person has a pair of bmpr2 genes in each cell in our bodies. one copy is inherited from our father and the other is inherited from our mother. the copy of the bmpr2 gene which we inherit from each parent occurs by random chance, like flipping a coin. a mutation in only one copy ( from mother or father ) of the pair of bmpr2 genes is enough to cause fpah in a child. by simple observation it can be seen that any person in the bloodline of a family with fpah has an overall risk of about 1 in 10, or 10 %, of developing fpah during their lifetime. when a parent has a bmpr2 gene mutation, each child has a 50 % chance to inherit the abnormal gene, and a 50 % chance to inherit the normal gene. if a child inherits the normal gene, then that child ’ s risk is similar to that of the general population, which is about one in a million for developing pah. if a child inherits the abnormal disease gene, that does not necessarily mean they will develop fpah. the likelihood for a person with a bmpr2 mutation to develop fpah is estimated to be about 20 %, though the actual risk may be different in each family. in other words, 80 out of 100 people who inherit a bmpr2 mutation will never develop ipah. identification of a genetic mutation in a patient who already has pah does not affect their medical care, so this result has importance only to their family. the gene for bmpr2 is very large, and many different mutations ( > 100 ) have been found in it. in each fpah family, one specific mutation in bmpr2 is the cause of fpah in every patient in that family, and every patient within that


large, and many different mutations ( > 100 ) have been found in it. in each fpah family, one specific mutation in bmpr2 is the cause of fpah in every patient in that family, and every patient within that family has that same specific mutation. different families have different bmpr2 mutations. knowing which specific mutation is present in a family is important because it makes it much easier to perform genetic testing for any person in that family. testing one part of the large bmpr2 gene for a known mutation is far easier than testing for changes in the entire gene. in other words, searching for a mistake in an entire phone book would take a very long time and the mistake could be missed, but looking up the spelling of a specific name ( testing for a known mutation ) is accurate and easy to do. what is the cause of sporadic ipah? the cause of most sporadic ipah is not known, but bmpr2 mutations have been found to cause sporadic ipah in 10 % to 40 % of ipah patients. children of ipah patients with bmpr2 mutations have the same risks as the children of individuals with familial pah. so far, most people with sporadic ipah do not have a detectable bmpr2 mutation. what testing is available for people at risk for familial pah? medical testing shows whether a person has signs of pah at the time of testing. one simple test, an echocardiogram, is a noninvasive and painless sound wave test of the heart that is often used to screen for pah. however, it may be expensive, is not always accurate, and does not predict whether a person will develop ipah in the future. genetic testing is laboratory testing of dna, usually from a blood specimen. it searches for a mutation in a gene. the results of genetic testing can better define the actual risk for another family member to develop fpah, especially when a bmpr2 mutation has been identified in a pah patient in the same family. genetic testing does not tell whether a person has any signs of pah. at present, bmpr2 mutations have been identified in about 80 % of the families with fpah. information about which specific mutation is present in each family may be available from the research team. if information is not available about which particular bmpr2 mutation causes disease in a specific family, then dna from a patient with fpah in that


. information about which specific mutation is present in each family may be available from the research team. if information is not available about which particular bmpr2 mutation causes disease in a specific family, then dna from a patient with fpah in that family is needed to try to identify a specific mutation for their family. my family is involved in a research project on familial pah. can i get my genetic test result from the research laboratory? by law, diagnostic testing for genetic mutations can be provided only by specially licensed clinical laboratories ( clia approval ). these regulations assure rigorous quality control at all stages of sample analysis and ensure that the test is performed by fully trained personnel. at present, most university institutional review boards ( irb ) prohibit disclosure of results obtained in a research lab to unaffected family members. thus, most research laboratories cannot reveal genetic test results for specific individuals, but the labs may provide information which they discovered about the location and type of bmpr2 mutation in a specific family. how can i get genetic testing for familial pah? because there can be unexpected risks, counseling by experts ( genetics counselors ) is necessary to be fully informed. counselors will discuss all of the benefits, drawbacks, and limitations before a person makes a decision about genetic testing. if a family has participated in a research study, they may want to contact the coordinator or the director of the research study to determine whether a bmpr2 mutation has been identified in their family. if a bmpr2 gene mutation has been identified, the research study coordinator can help to arrange genetic counseling. the genetics counselor can help contact a clinical laboratory that provides genetic testing for bmpr2 mutations. the cost of testing will vary. a blood sample from a relative with ipah or fpah may be needed. the accuracy of testing will usually be greater than 99 %. if a bmpr2 gene mutation has not been identified, the laboratory can examine the entire gene and try to find a mutation. if a mutation is found, then this information can be used to test any family member. if a bmpr2 gene mutation cannot be found in a specific family, then genetic testing will not provide any information for unaffected family members. another gene that has not yet been found could be responsible for pah in that family. if a family is not involved with a research group, they may wish to contact their primary care provider or a genetics counselor ( see list below or the national society of genetic counselors website


yet been found could be responsible for pah in that family. if a family is not involved with a research group, they may wish to contact their primary care provider or a genetics counselor ( see list below or the national society of genetic counselors website ). information about ipah and laboratories which provide testing can be found online. who should have genetic testing? this decision is very personal. after counseling, each person should decide what is in their own best interest. some people may find it helpful to read over the “ pros and cons ” of testing that are listed below. these will be explained further and discussed in detail during genetic counseling. some possible benefits of genetic testing for familial pah - the risk for a person to develop fpah is more accurate, which may decrease uncertainty about their health. their children ’ s risk estimates are also more accurate. - if a person is found to not have the bmpr2 mutation which is known to cause fpah in their family, they may feel relieved and can safely stop medical screening for fpah. - knowing the result may help with planning a person ’ s family or financial decisions. some possible drawbacks or limitations of genetic testing for familial pah - if a person has the bmpr2 mutation which causes fpah in their family, they still do not know whether or when they will develop fpah. recommendations for medical screening are the same as before they had genetic testing. - if a person has the familial bmpr2 mutation, they may feel anxious, depressed or upset. - a person might have trouble buying life or health insurance if their health record showed that they inherited the familial bmpr2 mutation. - a person might feel guilty because they did not inherit the familial bmpr2 mutation and escaped the disease, while their relatives suffered from fpah. - in some cases, genetic test results can cause anger, resentment, or other problems which can affect family relationships. can children have genetic testing for fpah or ipah? genetic testing in children who are under 18 presents serious ethical issues because legally they are not able to make an informed decision. yet genetic testing can have a profound effect on their future. for example, the results of genetic testing can alter the child ’ s self - image and future aspirations. it can also affect the relationship between child and parents. for these reasons, many experts strongly recommend that genetic testing in childhood be avoided except when


. for example, the results of genetic testing can alter the child ’ s self - image and future aspirations. it can also affect the relationship between child and parents. for these reasons, many experts strongly recommend that genetic testing in childhood be avoided except when results will provide significant medical benefits. both the american academy of pediatrics and the american society of human genetics have published statements regarding the ethical issues involved. in ipah, there is no proof so far that genetic testing in childhood improves the long term medical outcome. if a person feels strongly that testing would be beneficial for their child, they may wish to discuss their concerns with a genetic counselor and a pediatric pulmonary hypertension physician or other expert. genetic testing has many important effects upon medical, social, and emotional aspects of a person ’ s life. for this reason, professional counseling before and after testing is very important, and is required by testing centers. at present only a few centers offer genetic testing and professional counseling for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and their families. at this time, these centers include : - columbia university - lds hospital and the university of utah - vanderbilt university to learn more about genetic testing and pah you may contact : wendy chung, md, phd, director lds hospital / university of utah janet williams, m. s. vickie hannig, m. s. counseling is strongly recommended and often required prior to testing. testing is available at the following clinical laboratories : columbia university molecular biology laboratory new york, ny mahesh m mansukhani, md, director salt lake city, utah john carlquist, phd, director vanderbilt university molecular genetics laboratory cindy vnencak - jones, phd, director ambry genetics corp alisa viejo, ca james thompson, md, phd, director find a genetic counselor in your area gina - genetic information non - discrimination act signed into law may 21, 2008 and forbids employers and insurance companies to deny employment, promotions, and / or health coverage based on genetic information. h. r. 493 details can be found at the library of congress website. click on thomas and enter the bill number. ashg / acmg policy statement. ethical, legal, and psychosocial implications of genetic testing in children and adolescents. am j hum genet 1995 ; 57 : 1233 - 1241. american academy of pediatrics committee on bioethics. policy statement : ethical issues with genetic testing in pediatrics. pediatrics 2001 ; 107 : 1451 - 1455. references and resources : genetests web site : this site


bold and beautiful, the mesmerizing arctotis hirsuta is one of the most captivating species in an annual spring display. this robust annual species grows to 450 mm in height and diameter. it is slightly fleshy with a branched stem. the thinly hairy, lyrate ( lyre - shaped ) to pinnatifid ( divided feather - like ) leaves are up to 200 mm long and often auriculate ( with ear - like lobes at the base ). there are various flowerheads of about 40 mm in diameter, borne on leafy stalks. the rayflorets are orange, yellow or cream - coloured, sometimes with purplish markings at the base. the disc florets are often black. the involucral bracts surrounding the flower heads are finely woolly and arranged in three rows. the innermost bracts have a transparent tip. flowering is from july to october. arctotis hirsuta is not threatened and has a status of least concern ( lc ) ( raimondo et al. 2009 ). distribution and habitat the gousblom is found on sandy slopes and flats, often along the coast, in the western cape from elandsbaai to the agulhas plain. derivation of name and historical aspects the genus name arctotis is derived from greek arktos, which means a bear, and otos an ear. this implies that the scales of the pappus ( appendages of the fruit ) look like the ears of a bear. the specificepithet, hirsuta, means hairy in latin. this refers to the hairs present on the leaves and stem. arctotis species are often referred to as african daisies. some species were previously placed under venidium. there are currently more than fifty species known from southern africa to angola. as a spring annual species, the gousblom completes its entire lifecycle in a single season. this ranges from germination, flowering, the production of seed and until it eventually dies off. the process starts in autumn with the first cool air and the season ' s first rain. these are favourable conditions and significant growth will take place. from the middle of winter to the middle of spring, blooming occurs and the game is on to attract possible pollinators. thus the large, colourful flower heads come into play. bees and beetles have been noticed to regularly visit the flowers of artotis hirsuta. it is not certain, though, which ones are


game is on to attract possible pollinators. thus the large, colourful flower heads come into play. bees and beetles have been noticed to regularly visit the flowers of artotis hirsuta. it is not certain, though, which ones are responsible for doing the pollination. seeds are light in weight which aids wind - dispersal and thus ensures that seeds get scattered over a larger area. this entire process is normally completed by the time summer arrives. this adaptation allows this species to cope with the harsh summer conditions. the next generation — the seed — slightly buried in the soil, like its predecessors, is ready to germinate, but only under favourable conditions that will ensure the survival of the species. uses and cultural aspects no medicinal or cultural uses of the gousblom have been recorded. this species is an ornamental winner with it its bright display of colour and somewhat robust habit during late winter and early spring. the large yellow, orange or cream - coloured flower heads are simply bold and beautiful and it rightfully demands inclusion in the spring annual garden. growing arctotis hirsuta the gousblom grows easily. sow seed during march in seed beds or seed trays using a light, well - draining medium which is placed in a sunny position. the medium could be a light, sandy soil or a mixture of bark, compost or river sand. there is no restriction on what materials to use for a perfect medium. the most important requirement is good drainage. the medium needs levelling and a good watering beforehand. if the medium has been used before, it is advisable to dig the soil over first. sow the light seeds evenly on a windless day, water gently and cover with a thin layer of sand or bark. the seed will germinate within the first two weeks. prick seedlings out from the beds or trays as soon as they are large enough to be handled. seed can also be sown directly into garden beds, but germination could be irregular. fast growing weeds could also provide fierce competition. the transplanting stage is vital and care needs to be taken that the young seedlings are regularly watered. plant this sun - loving species close together. preparing flowering beds often requires the loosening up and aeration of the compacted soil. add organic fertilizer and well - rotted compost and use the rotovator to work it into the soil. level the soil out by using an iron rake. to help suppress the development and growth of weeds or other unwanted plants


soil. add organic fertilizer and well - rotted compost and use the rotovator to work it into the soil. level the soil out by using an iron rake. to help suppress the development and growth of weeds or other unwanted plants, it could be beneficial to apply an additional mulch - layer of compost. if using summer annuals in an area not receiving summer rainfall, this could also have the advantage of retaining soil moisture. the lack of compost for a season or two need not deter one from planting, as good well - drained soil will suffice. in time though, it would be advisable to add compost. the transplanting stage is vital and care needs to be taken that the young seedlings are regularly watered. plant plants of this sun - loving species close together. flowering normally starts sometime during july right through towards the end of september / october. seed will be ready for harvesting from september onwards. arctotis hirsuta is equally suitable for en masse mixed plantings of its various colour - forms or for mixed plantings with other annual species in small or larger flower beds. there are various other annuals which either occur with this species in its natural habitat or which have been found to complement it rather well. these include : ursinia anthemoides ( marigold ), u. speciosa ( namaqua - ursinia ) and u. cakilefolia, heliophila coronopifolia ( blue flax ), senecio elegans ( wild cineraria ), dorotheanthus bellidiformis ( livingstone daisy ), dimorphotheca sinuata ( namaqualand daisy ), d. pluvialis ( white namaqualand daisy ), felicia dubia ( dwarf felicia ) and blue f. heterophylla. references and further reading - cowling, r. & pierce, s. 1999. namaqualand : a succulent desert. fernwood press, cape town. - goldblatt, p. & manning, j. 2000. cape plants. a conspectus of the cape flora of south africa. strelitzia 9. national botanical institute, pretoria & missouri botanical garden, missouri. - le roux, a. 2005. namaqualand : south african wild flower guide 1. botanical society of south africa, cape town. - manning, j. & goldblatt, p. 1996. west coast : south african wild flower guide


fleshing out the genome february 04, 2005 pacific northwest - led team devises powerful new system for tying genes to vital functions in cells and for comparing molecular makeup of organisms richland, wash. – genomics, the study of all the genetic sequences in living organisms, has leaned heavily on the blueprint metaphor. a large part of the blueprint, unfortunately, has been unintelligible, with no good way to distinguish a bathroom from a boardroom, to link genomic features to cell function. a national consortium of scientists led by biatech, a seattle - area non - profit research center, and pacific northwest national laboratory, a department of energy research institution in richland, wash., now suggests a way to put this house in order. they offer a powerful new method that integrates experimental and computational analyses to ascribe function to genes that had been termed " hypothetical " – sequences that appear in the genome but whose biological purposes were previously unknown. the method not only portends a way to fill in the blanks in any organism ' s genome but also to compare the genomes of different organisms and their evolutionary relation to one another. the new tools and approaches offer the most - comprehensive - to - date " functional annotation, " a way of assigning the mystery sequences biological function and ranking them based on their similarity to genes known to encode proteins. proteins are the workhorses of the cell, playing a role in everything from energy transport and metabolism to cellular communication. this new ability to rank hypothetical sequences according to their likelihood to encode proteins " will be vital for any further experimentation and, eventually, for predicting biological function, " said eugene kolker, president and director of biatech, an affiliate scientist at pnnl and lead author of a study in the feb. 8 proceedings of the national academy of sciences that applies the new annotation method to a strain of the metal - detoxifying bacterium shewanella oneidensis. " in a lot of cases, " said james k. fredrickson, a co - author and pnnl chief scientist, " it was not known from the gene sequence if a protein was even expressed. now that we have high confidence that many of these hypothetical genes are expressing proteins, we can look for what role these proteins play. " before this study, nearly 40 percent of the genetic sequences in shewanella oneidensis — of key interest to doe for its potential in nuclear and heavy metal waste remediation — were considered as hypothetical


look for what role these proteins play. " before this study, nearly 40 percent of the genetic sequences in shewanella oneidensis — of key interest to doe for its potential in nuclear and heavy metal waste remediation — were considered as hypothetical. this work identified 538 of these genes that expressed functional proteins and messenger rna, accounting for a third of the hypothetical genes. they enlisted analytic software to scour public databases and applied expression data to improve gene annotation, identifying similarities to known proteins for 97 percent of these hypothetical proteins. all told, computational and experimental evidence provided functional information for 256 more genes, or 48 percent, but they could confidently assign exact biochemical functions for only 16 proteins, or 3 percent. finally, they introduced a seven - category system for annotating genomic proteins, ranked according to a functional assignment ' s precision and confidence. kolker said that " a big part of this was the proteomics " – a systematic screening and identification of proteins, in this case those which were expressed in the microbe when subjected to stress. the proteomic analyses were done by four teams led by kolker ; carol s. giometti, argonne national laboratory ; john r. yates iii, the scripps research institute ; and richard d. smith, w. r. wiley environmental molecular sciences laboratory, based at pnnl. biatech ' s analysis of this data included dealing with more than 2 million files. fredrickson coordinates a consortium known as the shewanella federation. in addition to biatech, pnnl and anl, the federation also includes teams led by study co - authors james m. tiedje, michigan state university ; kenneth h. nealson, university of southern california ; and monica riley, marine biology laboratory. the federation is supported by the genomics : gtl program of the doe ' s offices of biological and environmental research and advanced scientific computer research. other collaborators included the national center for biotechnology information of the national library of medicine, national institutes of health, oak ridge national laboratory and the wadsworth center. biatech is an independent nonprofit biomedical research center located in bothell, wash. its mission is to discover and model the molecular mechanisms of biological processes using cutting edge high - throughput technologies and computational analyses that will both improve human health and the environment. its research focuses on applying integrative interdisciplinary approaches to the study of model microorganisms, and advancing our knowledge of their cellular behavior. tags : energy,


mewlana jalaluddin rumi ( 1207 - 1273 / balkh / afghanistan ) biography of mewlana jalaluddin rumi jalal al - din rumi was born on september 30, 1207 in balkh ( afghanistan ). his father baha ' walad was descended from the first caliph abu bakr and was influenced by the ideas of ahmad ghazali, brother of the famous philosopher. baha ' walad ' s sermons were published and still exist as divine sciences ( ma ' arif ). he fled the mongols with his son in 1219, and it was reported that at nishapur young rumi met ' attar, who gave him a copy of his book of mysteries ( asrar - nama ). after a pilgrimage to mecca and other travels, the family went to rum ( anatolia ). baha ' walad was given an important teaching position in the capital at konya ( iconium ) in 1228 by seljuk king ' ala ' al - din kayqubad ( r. 1219 - 1236 ) and his vizier mu ' in al - din. rumi married and had a son, who later wrote his biography. in 1231 rumi succeeded his late father as a religious teacher. his father ' s friend burhan al - din arrived and for nine years taught rumi sufism. rumi probably met the philosopher ibn al - arabi at damascus. in 1244 rumi ' s life changed dramatically when he met the dervish shams al - din of tabriz. rumi spent so much time with him that his disciples became jealous until shams was murdered in 1247. to the music of flute and drums rumi invented the circling movements of the whirling dervishes and began writing mystical love poetry. his disciples formed the dervish order called the mevlevis. after 1249 the seljuk governors paid tribute to the mongol empire. as vassal of the mongol baiju, mu ' in al - din governed rum for twenty years starting in 1256, and he patronized the mystical poet. his disciple husam al - din hasan urged rumi to write mystical poetry and tales called masnavi in the style of sana ' i and ' attar. rumi completed six books of these before he died on december 17, 1273. many of his talks were written down in the book fihi ma fihi, which means " in it what is in it " and is often referred


covers crops ( also known as " green manure " ) are used extensively by organic farmers as a relatively inexpensive way to enhance soil tilth, enrich soil with nutrients and organic matter, and protect soil in winter from torrential winter rains. cover crops can include grains, grasses, and legumes that grow during fall and winter and are plowed, spaded, or tilled under in spring. while growing during the winter, cover crops help reduce soil compaction and prevent erosion. their roots penetrate and loosen heavy - textured soils, allowing better air and water penetration. deeply - rooted cover crop plants can even break up heavily - compacted soil, helping break up layers of soil that and greatly improving soil tilth, particularly when planted for several successive years. inoculated legume cover crops can add nitrogen to the soil. and when turned under, they add organic matter to the soil — building better soil structure and fertility. so make like a farmer and try cover crops in your home garden this fall. it ' s easy to plant cover crops, fun to watch them grow and the only " nit - picky " part comes in spring, when you must chop them down and leave them to rot at the right time in spring. here ' s how to do it : - first, select your cover crop. osu recommends the following but there are other options, too : - austrian winter pea – plant in september or early october ; - cereal rye – plant in september or early october ; - winter wheat – plant in september or october ; - common vetch – plant in september or early october ; - crimson clover – plant in september or early october ; - fava bean – can be planted as late as early november west of the cascades. - dig your soil to a depth of about 6 inches. - plant according to instructions for that particularl species at the correct time. ( general time frame listed above. ) - keep seeded area watered until the autumn rains take over. - in late spring ( usually in june ), watch for plants to begin flowering. ten days too early and you may not achieve maximum soil improvement ; ten days too late and the stems turn woody and their nutritional value is diminished. when the time comes, either spade the whole plant - tops and roots - under, or chop off tops and compost elsewhere, spading over roots to decompose for about three weeks prior to planting. be sure to chop and turn plants right before or when they flower - before they go to seed - to


the modification of data that is already in the database is referred to as updating. you can update individual rows, all the rows in a table, or a subset of all rows. each column can be updated separately ; the other columns are not affected. to perform an update, you need three pieces of information : the name of the table and column to update, the new value of the column, which row ( s ) to update. recall from chapter 5 that sql does not, in general, provide a unique identifier for rows. therefore it is not necessarily possible to directly specify which row to update. instead, you specify which conditions a row must meet in order to be updated. only if you have a primary key in the table ( no matter whether you declared it or not ) can you reliably address individual rows, by choosing a condition that matches the primary key. graphical database access tools rely on this fact to allow you to update rows individually. for example, this command updates all products that have a price of 5 to have a price of 10 : update products set price = 10 where price = 5 ; this may cause zero, one, or many rows to be updated. it is not an error to attempt an update that does not match any rows. let ' s look at that command in detail. first is the key word update followed by the table name. as usual, the table name may be schema - qualified, otherwise it is looked up in the path. next is the key word set followed by the column name, an equals sign and the new column value. the new column value can be any scalar expression, not just a constant. for example, if you want to raise the price of all products by 10 % you could use : update products set price = price * 1. 10 ; as you see, the expression for the new value can refer to the existing value ( s ) in the row. we also left out the where clause. if it is omitted, it means that all rows in the table are updated. if it is present, only those rows that match the where condition are updated. note that the equals sign in the set clause is an assignment while the one in the where clause is a comparison, but this does not create any ambiguity. of course, the where condition does not have to be an equality test. many other operators are available ( see chapter 9 ). but the expression needs to evaluate to a boolean result. you can update more than one column in an update command by


| postgresql 8. 2. 23 documentation | | prev | | fast backward | | chapter 42. overview of postgresql internals | | fast forward | | next | here we give a short overview of the stages a query has to pass in order to obtain a result. a connection from an application program to the postgresql server has to be established. the application program transmits a query to the server and waits to receive the results sent back by the server. the parser stage checks the query transmitted by the application program for correct syntax and creates a query tree. the rewrite system takes the query tree created by the parser stage and looks for any rules ( stored in the system catalogs ) to apply to the query tree. it performs the transformations given in the rule bodies. one application of the rewrite system is in the realization of views. whenever a query against a view ( i. e. a virtual table ) is made, the rewrite system rewrites the user ' s query to a query that accesses the base tables given in the view definition instead. the planner / optimizer takes the ( rewritten ) query tree and creates a query plan that will be the input to the executor. it does so by first creating all possible paths leading to the same result. for example if there is an index on a relation to be scanned, there are two paths for the scan. one possibility is a simple sequential scan and the other possibility is to use the index. next the cost for the execution of each path is estimated and the cheapest path is chosen. the cheapest path is expanded into a complete plan that the executor can use. the executor recursively steps through the plan tree and retrieves rows in the way represented by the plan. the executor makes use of the storage system while scanning relations, performs sorts and joins, evaluates qualifications and finally hands back the rows derived. in the following sections we will cover each of the above listed items in more detail to give a better understanding of postgresql ' s internal control and data structures.


many students participate in science fairs or are assigned to do science projects or experiments for class. this guide will help you find the information you will need to complete a science project. what is a science project? where do i start? what steps do i need to follow? what is the scientific method? if you are just beginning your research and need basic, general information about science projects here are some web sites that can help you. science buddies science fair project guide step by step information on how to do a science project from beginning to end. dragonfly tv science fair success twelve steps to a winning science fair project from the show on pbs kids. ipl kidspace : science fair project resource guide the internet public library ’ s science fair project resource guide will help you through the whole project by guiding you to a variety of excellent web resources. what makes a good science fair project? a guide written by the judges of the california state science fair. the science fair handbook, anthony d. fredericks. ed. d. publisher houghton mifflin provides this handbook as part of their textbook support materials for students and teachers. do you need to find the perfect project? would you like to find instructions for a project or subject you have in mind? these resources include lists of projects and instructions for performing them. databases ( accessible from any computer with your pratt library card ) curriculum resource center go to the " science experiments " section on the main page. click on " experiments " under " browse science resources. " science reference center in the advanced search, limit document type to " science experiment. " then search for the kind of experiment that interests you. science buddies science fair project ideas, answers and tools this site provides many science projects and allows you to narrow by general area of science or take a quiz to determine what experiments will interest you. newton ’ s apple : science fair links to “ try - its ” and lesson activities related to topics presented on the show produced by twin cities public television. dragonfly tv science fair use the “ super science spinner ” to determine your topic or browse a list of projects divided by area of science. ipl kidspace science fair project resource guide – choosing a topic if you need to decide what type of project you want to do, the internet public library ’ s science fair project resource guide provides resources that will help you. you may need more information to use as background for your project, to create a hypothesis, or to write your report. these resources provide science information that may be useful in researching your project.


supreme court nominee elena kagan reportedly “ considers abortion rights to be settled law ” ( usa today, may 21, p. 5a ). and we can expect during her confirmation process to hear a number of senators echo that assertion. yet america ’ s courts and legislatures have a proud history of changing “ settled law. ” america has, on various occasions, recovered the recognition of the equal dignity of those who were deprived of their rights and suffered violence which was given legal cover under a different name. this legal cover was often mistakenly recognized by the supreme court for a while, but then such decisions were overturned. dred scott v. sandford ( 1856 ) is the most commonly cited instance. the slaveholder ' s right to property eclipsed and subsumed the slave ' s right to freedom. but the constitution was eventually amended to correct the error. decisions like lochner v. new york ( 1905 ) show us another error : employers ' right to contract eclipsed and subsumed the workers ' rights to humane conditions and hours. these abuses were corrected by subsequent supreme court decisions like muller v. oregon and bunting v. oregon. the " separate but equal " doctrine of plessy v. ferguson ( 1896 ) sanctioning segregation was overturned by brown v. board of education some 58 years later. erroneous decisions like hammer v. dagenhart ( 1918 ) institutionalized child labor. but this was overturned 23 years later by united states v. darby. a new development - - a " pedagogical moment " - - occurred here in constitutional law. the question was whether constitutional rights applied to children too. the answer was yes. many reversals of supreme court cases came about when new evidence was brought forward that made it clear that someone ' s rights, not previously recognized, were being violated. thus, louis brandeis brought forward the facts about how workers were being harmed. we are now witnessing the same trend regarding the children in the womb. evidence that has been around for quite some time demonstrating their humanity is finding its way into legislatures and courts. one of the most striking instances comes out of south dakota. federal courts have upheld south dakota ’ s law requiring that abortion providers tell women that the procedure destroys a “ whole, separate, unique, living human being. ” this came about because of the evidence presented to the court regarding the humanity of the unborn child. with hundreds of embryological sciences, and massive evidence of the harm abortion does to women, such evidence, combined with new legal concepts, can challenge


celebrate princeton invention : craig arnold posted december 21, 2009 ; 01 : 08 p. m. able to adjust its focus more than 100, 000 times faster than the human eye, the tag lens invented by mechanical and aerospace engineering professor craig arnold and his colleagues has applications in materials processing and imaging. ( photo : brian wilson ) name : craig arnold, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering invention : tunable acoustic gradient index of refraction lens ( tag lens ) what it does : the tag lens features a cylinder made of a special material that vibrates when electricity is passed through it, enclosed inside a fluid - filled chamber. controlling the flow of electricity changes the vibrations that propagate through the fluid, changing the lens ' focus more than 100, 000 times faster than the human eye can refocus. inspiration : after developing a low - cost lens to shape laser beam output into different patterns, arnold and his colleagues focused their attention on understanding how the device worked and its potential applications. finding that the lens had the unique ability to focus rapidly at a wide range of focal lengths, they realized its potential went far beyond the original intended purpose, with numerous applications in materials processing and imaging. collaborators : euan mcleod, a 2009 ph. d. recipient, and alexander mermillod - blondin, a former postdoctoral researcher in the arnold lab back to main story


what are public charter schools? charter schools are independent public schools allowed freedom to be more innovative, while being held accountable for improved student achievement. they foster a partnership between parents, teachers and students to create an environment in which parents can be more involved, teachers are given the freedom to innovate and students are provided the structure they need to learn, with all three held accountable for improved student achievement. what makes charter schools public schools? public charter schools are intended to improve our nation ’ s public school system. charter schools are public schools because, while they operate independently of the school district, they are : - tuition - free and open to every student who wishes to enroll - non - sectarian, and do not discriminate on any basis - publicly funded by local, state and federal tax dollars based on enrollment, like other public schools - held accountable to state and federal academic standards how do charter schools work? charter schools are free to innovate in ways that improve student achievement. here are some specific examples of how charter schools do it : - offer longer school days. charter schools are designed to be free to set their own operating hours. if the school strives to boost student achievement by giving students more time in the classroom, the school can offer classes into the evening, on weekends and into the summer months. - adjust curriculum to meet student needs. a charter school can breakup the day to provide students with more time on the core subjects they need most. charter school teachers have a say in the curriculum they teach and frequently change materials mid - year if they need to in order to meet students ' needs. - create a unique school culture. charter schools build upon the core academic subjects by creating a culture or adopting a theme. for example, there are charter schools focused on stem education, performing arts, project - based learning, college preparation, career readiness, language immersion, civic engagement, classical education, global awareness or meeting the needs of autistic students – just to name a few. - develop next generation learning models. charter schools are completely rethinking the meaning of the word “ classroom. ” in hawaii, students learn biology with the sky as their ceiling and the ocean as the classroom. virtual schools, which exist completely online, use technology to change the dynamics of the classroom. others combine virtual classroom time with classroom time in a physical school building. in either case, students can learn from experts located anywhere in the world. excellent charter school management companies like kipp and uncommon schools are codifying how to build an excellent teacher.


british historian and journalist holland ( fortress malta ) vividly recalls the final year of world war ii in italy in this masterful narrative. the controversial decision to invade sicily and italy following the north african campaign was " " purely opportunistic " " and intended to draw german resources away from the main action in normandy. as critics had feared, italy, with its rugged mountains, was " " a truly terrible place to fight, " " and the campaign became a bloody war of attrition. the final toll on combatants, civilians, and the italian landscape was staggering ; total casualties exceeded a million and entire cities were leveled. cassino, the site of a decisive battle, was " " utterly - 100 per cent - destroyed " " and benevento resembled " " a post - apocalyptic ruin. " " holland ' s balanced account of the savage fighting and wholesale destruction draws on the eyewitness testimony of allied and german combatants, italian partisans and fascist loyalists. he concludes - echoing historian rick atkinson ' s excellent recent account of the campaign, the day of battle - that despite its terrible cost, the fight in italy played a decisive role in defeating germany. a complementary volume to atkinson ' s account focusing on the earlier stages of the campaign, this is popular history at its very best : exhaustively researched, compellingly written and authoritative.


summary / annotation - > from his very first day of life, when he rises from his bath to pray to god, it is clear that nicholas is a miraculous child with a spiritual destiny. as he grows he is deeply saddened by the sickness, suffering, and death that he witnesses every day. looking to use his special gifts to affect change in the often desperate world around him, nicholas dedicates his life to worshiping the lord and helping those in need. through his good works, nicholas becomes the youngest man to ever become a bishop and the patron saint of seafarers, children, and prisoners. he performs more than twenty miracles, including bringing those wrongly killed back to life and going to people in need as an apparition, providing solace and inspiration. inthe legend of saint nicholas, demi describes pivotal events in the history and life of the saint, weaving a rich tapestry of luminous imagery into the story of his connection with christmas and our modern - day santa claus. demi ' s gilded artwork brings nicholas to life in a way sure to mesmerize readers new to the story of this fascinating and important historical figure. 01059cam a2200325ia 4500 020603s2003 nyua j 000 0beng $ a 0689846819 ( hbk ) $ c $ 19. 95 $ y 200806231944 $ z load $ a dlc $ c dlc $ d dlc $ a pcc $ a lcac $ a br1720. n46 $ b d46 2003 $ a 270. 2 / 092 $ a b $ 2 21 $ a 270. 2 d $ a the legend of saint nicholas / $ c demi. $ a 1st ed. $ a new york : $ b margaret k. mcelderry books, $ c 2003. ( baj11 - 03 / 04 ) $ a p. : $ b col. ill. ; $ c 27 cm. $ a recounts pivotal events in the history and life of saint nicholas, including how he came to be associated with christmas and santa claus. $ a nicholas, $ c saint, bp. of myra $ v juvenile literature. $ a santa claus. $ a 11 / 03 / 2003 $ b 11 / 16 / 2006


roman london was built on the north bank of the thames, the site of the modern city. the river, roughly in its present position by the time of the roman conquest, was probably tidal at london, although tides may not have reached as far as westminster ( milne 1985, 79 - 86 ). at high tide the river may have been as much as 1 km across and most of the south bank would have been submerged, although there were important islands of dry land at westminster and southwark. at low tide the channel would have shrunk to about 275 m, still considerably wider than the river of today which is about 200 m across. on its north side the thames had cut against a pair of low hills, and it was here that the town was built. the western hill, ludgate hill, is now occupied by st paul ’ s cathedral whilst that to the east ( hereinafter referred to as cornhill ) is presently surmounted by leadenhall market. these hills were separated by the valley of the walbrook, the upper parts of which remained marshland until reclaimed in the roman period. to the west of ludgate hill was the fleet river, and on both hills there were springs which fed small streams. despite intense search no trace has been found of any immediately pre - roman occupation in the city, although several sites have produced remains of earlier prehistoric activity, especially in the area of bishopsgate. the skeleton of a young man found at the tower of london might have been buried in the late iron age but this is far from certain ( parnell 1985, 5 - 7 ). the distribution of certain pre - roman coin types seems to indicate that some form of centre had been established in the lower thames valley, west of london, in the early first century bc ( kent 1978, 53 - 8 ; haselgrove 1988 ). there is no evidence, however, that this hypothetical site had continued beyond c. 60 bc and it is of little evident relevance to the later history of the area. we can be reasonably certain that there were no major settlements in or around london at the time of the conquest. limited pre - roman occupation has been noted at both westminster and southwark, where the islands of dry ground next to the river had attracted settlement ( merriman 1987, 324 ). the most interesting evidence questia, a part of gale, cengage learning. www. questia. com publication information : book title : roman london. contributors : dominic perring - author. publisher : seaby.


what is a triac - tutorial - this overview or tutorial details basic triac - triode for alternating current - operation, structure, circuit symbol, and all the required relevant details. triac tutorial includes : • triac tutorial / introduction • structure • theory & operation see also : diac thyristor the triac is a three terminal semiconductor device for controlling current. it gains its name from the term triode for alternating current. it is effectively a development of the scr or thyristor, but unlike the thyristor which is only able to conduct in one direction, the triac is a bidirectional device. triac / thyristor comparison the triac is an ideal device to use for ac switching applications because it can control the current flow over both halves of an alternating cycle. a thyristor is only able to control them over one half of a cycle. during the remaining half no conduction occurs and accordingly only half the waveform can be utilised. typical / idealised triac & thyristor switching waveforms the fact that the triac can be used to control current switching on both halves of an alternating waveform allows much better power utilisation. however the triac is not always as convenient for some high power applications where its switching is more difficult. the circuit symbol recognises the way in which the triac operates. seen from the outside it may be viewed as two back to back thyristors and this is what the circuit symbol indicates. on the triac symbol there are three terminals. these are the gate and two other terminals are often referred to as an " anode " or " main terminal ". as the triac has two of these they are labelled either anode 1 and anode 2 or main terminal, mt1 and mt2. the triac is a component that is effectively based on the thyristor. it provides ac switching for electrical systems. like the thyristor, the triacs are used in many electrical switching applications. they find particular use for circuits in light dimmers, etc., where they enable both halves of the ac cycle to be used. this makes them more efficient in terms of the usage of the power available. while it is possible to use two thyristors back to back, this is not always cost effective for low cost and relatively low power applications. it is possible to view the operation of a triac in terms of two thyristors placed back to back. one of the drawbacks of


a is for atom suppose you took a cookie and cut it into little pieces, and then you cut those pieces into crumbs and those crumbs into littler and littler crumbs, and so on. would you ever get to a point where it became impossible - - no matter how good your knife, your hand, or your eyes - - to cut any further? would you ever reach the smallest possible piece of cookie? or could you keep dividing it into smaller and smaller cookie bits... forever? the ancient greek philosophers wondered about things like this. one fellow, democritus, said that all matter ( that ' s what scientists call the " stuff " of the world ) was made of tiny bits. he called these bits atoms, from the greek word for " not cuttable. " he believed the bits were put together in different ways to make different kinds of matter. another philosopher, aristotle, didn ' t think matter came in bits. he thought it all flowed together, like water running through your fingers. well, it turns out that democritus was right. but it took many more centuries for scientists to prove the existence of atoms. they have since identified about 90 different kinds of atoms that occur naturally. atoms are the building blocks of all matter. matter can be made up of just one kind of atom, or different kinds of atoms joined together. atoms are tiny. a million atoms stacked on top of one another wouldn ' t be quite as thick as a hair on your head. about 100 billion of them would cover the period at the end of this sentence. an atom is so small that a single drop of water contains more than a million million billion atoms. that ' s 1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000! of course their exact size depends on the atom. some are smaller, some bigger. the smallest kind of atom is hydrogen, which also happens to be the most abundant atom in the universe. uranium is the largest kind of atom, except for a few really big ones that scientists have made in laboratories. most of the time, atoms really are " not cuttable, " as democritus said. but scientists have special ways of breaking them apart in order to study them. ( please don ' t try this at home. ) they have found that atoms themselves are made up of smaller parts. most of the space in an atom is a " cloud " of incredibly tiny electrons. electrons whiz around at millions of miles per hour


don ' t try this at home. ) they have found that atoms themselves are made up of smaller parts. most of the space in an atom is a " cloud " of incredibly tiny electrons. electrons whiz around at millions of miles per hour ( and yet never get stopped for speeding ). because the electrons are going so fast, they ' re practically everywhere at once, and so scientists think of them as a cloud. somewhere deep inside the electron cloud is a nucleus. if the electron cloud were the size of a baseball stadium, the nucleus - - floating somewhere in the middle of the stadium - - would be smaller than the baseball. the nucleus of an atom is made from two types of particles - - protons. they give the atom almost all of its mass ( that ' s a measure of how much matter is in something - - see g is for gravity aside from mass, there ' s another big difference between an atom ' s electron cloud and its nucleus. the electrons have a negative electric charge, and the nucleus has a positive charge. actually, it ' s the protons in the nucleus that are positively charged. as their name suggests, the neutrons are neutral ( they have no charge ). these positive and negative charges hold the atom together. this is because things with unlike charges are attracted to each other, while things with the same charge repel each other. ( if you ' ve ever played with magnets, you know that the negative and positive poles of two magnets are eager to know each other and you can tell because they stick together when they get close, but you can ' t force the two negative poles or the two positive poles to get personal. ) an atom has an equal number of positive and negative charges, so it must have the same number of protons in its nucleus as electrons outside the nucleus. the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called the atomic number, and since we know an atom is neutral, the atomic number also tells us the number of electrons outside its nucleus. a hydrogen atom has one proton and one electron, so its atomic number is 1. an oxygen atom has eight protons and eight electrons, for an atomic number of 8. with 47 protons and 47 electrons, silver has an atomic number of... you figure it out! scientists organize atoms according to their atomic number ( see e is for element ). depending on how many protons and electrons they have, atoms behave in different ways, just like people - - except atoms are easier to


.. you figure it out! scientists organize atoms according to their atomic number ( see e is for element ). depending on how many protons and electrons they have, atoms behave in different ways, just like people - - except atoms are easier to predict than people! though it appears that the electrons of an atom form a cloud around the nucleus, it turns out that there are actually " mini - clouds " within the big cloud. the mini - clouds are called shells. each shell holds a different number of electrons. the first shell ( which is closest to the nucleus ) can hold 2, the second can hold 8, the third can hold 18, and the fourth can hold 32. these numbers turn out to be really important because atoms " want " to have their outer shells completely full or completely empty, and they are always trying to fill or empty them. ( of course electrons aren ' t human and they don ' t have feelings or desires, but they are definitely strong - willed when it comes to filling or emptying their shells. ) atoms fill or empty their shells by finding other atoms to give electrons to, or accept electrons from, or share electrons with. when two or more atoms get together to share electrons, the result is a molecule and the process is called a chemical reaction. an entire branch of science, chemistry, is devoted to studying what happens when atoms get to know each other. since the nucleus of an atom is like a ball inside a stadium, and since practically all the matter of an atom is in its nucleus, an atom is mostly empty space. and since you ' re made of atoms and the chair you ' re sitting on is made of atoms and the floor the chair is resting on is made of atoms and the earth supporting the floor is made of atoms and so forth... you might be wondering this : why don ' t you ( mostly empty space ) just fall right through the chair ( mostly empty space ) and continue falling through the floor ( mostly empty space ) and the earth ( mostly empty space )? if you weren ' t wondering, please start wondering now! the answer is electrons. though an atom is mostly empty space, that space has negatively charged electrons whizzing through it all the time. the electrons of the chair are negatively charged and the electrons of your bottom are also negatively charged. remember what we said about opposite charges attracting and like charges repelling? because the negative charges of your bottom are in contact with the negative charges of the chair, they push against each other. so,


budgets for scientific research in the united states could be scaled back with the return of a republican - majority in congress as conservatives aim to slash spending to reduce the ballooning deficit. the republican electoral platform, the “ pledge to america, ” details the party ’ s ideals of smaller government, lower taxes and robust national defense, and vows to “ stop out - of - control spending. ” “ there is a risk that we may have a significant reduction in the science budget, ” said patrick clemins, director of the research and development policy program at the american association for the advancement of science. even before republicans made sweeping gains in the house of representatives in last week ’ s mid - term elections, republicans and democrats agreed to scale back federal spending in order to try and get the deficit, which amounts to almost 14 trillion dollars in national debt, under control. president barack obama has also ordered all federal agencies that are not linked to national security to reduce by five percent their budget requests for 2012 compared to the 2011 budget year beginning october 1, 2010. but if republicans hold to their pledge, non - defense related federal research spending could dip more than 12 percent to around 58 billion dollars compared to 66 billion requested by the white house for 2011. according to an analysis by clemins which shows what could occur if republicans are able to make across - the - board cuts, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration ( noaa ) could see its budget slashed by 34 percent or 324 million dollars. the national institutes of health ( nih ) could lose nine percent of its budget or 2. 9 billion dollars, and the national science foundation ( nsf ) could see a 19 percent cut, or one billion dollars gone from its coffers. the us space agency nasa ’ s spending could shrink by 15 percent or 1. 6 billion dollars. according to john logsdon, former director of the space policy institute at the george washington university, the recent elections have brought “ increased uncertainty for the future of us space program. ” “ the new republican leaders in the house are talking about overall budget reduction and almost certainly nasa cannot avoid some of that, ” he told afp. in clemins ’ view, the situation may not be quite so dire for those who depend on federal funds for research, given that conservatives have made more moderate declarations since the election has passed. republicans have “ talked more about oversight ” and “ looking hard ” at programs which might need cuts, clemins said. and in a press conference on november 3, the day after the election


aconitase and iron regulatory protein 1may 2007 molecule of the month by david goodsell doi : 10. 2210 / rcsb _ pdb / mom _ 2007 _ 5 ( pdf version, epub version ) aconitase is an essential enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and iron regulatory protein 1 interacts with messenger rna to control the levels of iron inside cells. you might ask : what do these two proteins have in common? they were discovered and studied by different researchers, who gave them names that described their two very different functions. but surprisingly, when they looked at the amino acid sequence of these proteins, they turned out to be identical. the same protein is performing two very different jobs. the enzyme aconitase is a key player in the central pathway of energy production. as part of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, it converts citrate into isocitrate. there is one form of aconitase in our mitochondria, which performs most of the conversion for the citric acid cycle, and a similar form in the cytoplasm that creates isocitrate for other synthetic tasks. the cytosolic form is shown here at the top, from pdb entry 2b3y. it is composed of a single protein chain that folds into several domains ( the domains are colored slightly different shades of blue here ). the domains close like a nutcracker around the active site, which contains an iron - sulfur cluster that assists with the reaction.... or iron regulatory protein 1 the cytosolic form of aconitase also acts as iron regulatory protein 1. the lower structure, from pdb entry 2ipy, shows how it performs this entirely different function. the iron - sulfur cluster in aconitase is unstable and must be replaced occasionally when it falls out. when iron levels in the cell get low, there isn ' t enough iron to regenerate the cluster, and the protein shifts to its second function. the protein opens up and grips hairpin loops in a few specific messenger rna molecules. these include a hairpin at the start of the messenger rna for ferritin, and five similar hairpins at the end of messenger rna for the transferrin receptor. when the iron regulatory protein 1 binds, it inhibits the formation of ferritin, so that less iron is locked up in storage, and it enhances construction of the transferrin receptor, so the cell can pick up more transferrin out of the blood, and with it, more


it inhibits the formation of ferritin, so that less iron is locked up in storage, and it enhances construction of the transferrin receptor, so the cell can pick up more transferrin out of the blood, and with it, more iron. many other proteins lead double lives, performing two entirely different functions. three examples are shown here. the enzyme retinal dehydrogenase, which converts light - sensing retinal into the regulatory molecule retinoic acid, is shown on the left ( pdb entry 1o9j ), with the cofactor nadh in green. its second job is to modify the consistency and absorbance of eye lenses, where it is called eta - crystallin. cytochrome c ( pdb entry 3cyt ) is shown at upper right in red. it performs a familiar role in energy production, ferrying electrons in the mitochondria. but when the cell is damaged, cytochrome c spills out into the cytoplasm and performs its second job : it starts a cascade of responses that ultimately lead to programmed cell death ( apoptosis ). the third moonlighting protein shown here is phosphoglucose isomerase ( pdb entry 2pgi ), one of the ten enzymes that perform glycolysis. it is also secreted outside cells, where it acts as a cellular messenger with several names : neuroleukin, autocrine mobility factor, and differentiation and maturation mediator. the names give you an idea of the specific messages it carries from cell to cell. exploring the structure aconitase performs a classic stereospecific reaction that is often used as an example in biochemistry textbooks. it extracts a hydroxyl group and a specific hydrogen atom from citrate, and replaces them in a geometrically precise way to form isocitrate. this process is revealed in two crystal structures, but you need to use a little imagination when you look at them, since the crystal structures do not contain the hydrogen atom positions. pdb entry 1c96, shown on the left, has citrate bound in the active site. in the normal form of the enzyme, the oxygen atom shown in pink will be extracted by the iron sulfur cluster and a hydrogen atom will be extracted by a serine at the top ( both of these reactions are shown with green arrows ). this structure, however, has mutated the serine to alanine, so the oxygen atom in the serine


cluster and a hydrogen atom will be extracted by a serine at the top ( both of these reactions are shown with green arrows ). this structure, however, has mutated the serine to alanine, so the oxygen atom in the serine is missing. in the second step of the reaction, shown on the right from pdb entry 7acn, the molecule flips upside down ( notice the different location of the labels a - b - c ) and the hydrogen and hydroxyl are added back in different places to these illustrations were created with rasmol. you can create similar illustrations by clicking on the accession codes here and picking one of the options under images and visualization. additional reading about aconitase and iron regulatory proteins p. j. artymiuk and j. green ( 2006 ) the double life of aconitase. structure 14, 2 - 4. t. a. rouault ( 2006 ) the role of iron regulatory proteins in mammalian iron homeostasis and disease. nature chemical biology 2, 406 - 414. c. j. jeffery ( 2004 ) molecular mechanisms of multitasking : recent crystal structures of moonlighting proteins. current opinion in structural biology 14, 663 - 668. s. d. copley ( 2003 ) enzymes with extra talents : moonlighting functions and catalytic promiscuity. current opinion in chemical biology 7, 265 - 272. © 2013 david goodsell & rcsb protein data bank


by marcela jenney - reyes how does personal branding “ translate ” around the globe in other cultures? cross - cultural public speaking mastering the art of public speaking can be a difficult task for many. how is it that some people seem to capture and hold an audience so well, sometimes for even the most boring of subjects? while imagining that your listeners are all naked might work for you, there are much better tricks to remember when you want to give a captivating presentation. keeping these tips in the forefront of your mind will help your speech every time, especially in the special situation where your audience is one of many backgrounds and, as a result, has varying expectations. things to remember when speaking publicly. the ultimate goal of your presentation is to share your information in a manner that your audience will understand and remember. to achieve this, it is important to keep your listeners interested in what you are saying so they will be totally absorbed in your words. - make your presentation a story. everyone loves stories, which are by nature easy to remember. incorporating a plot with characters and personalities will spice up your speech, especially if it´s related to your place of origin or upbringing in a different culture. - involve your audience. when speaking in front of a room of many cultures, or an audience whose background is different from your own, your words may be interpreted in ways other than you intended. by allowing room for feedback and incorporating the listener, you can measure how your message is being received and thus make appropriate adjustments. - stay genuine. honesty is one of the most important virtues around the globe. it is a value that consistently cuts through cultural barriers. people are keen on dishonesty and, if they sense even the slightest bit of insincerity, you will lose all credibility and listener interest. - don ’ t impress. while this may seem counter - intuitive, the fact of the matter is that most people don ’ t care about your awards and certifications. carefully choose your words and actions so that you aren ’ t implying that you are better than your audience in any way. your listeners will only absorb your words if they feel that they are being respected, not contested. there isn ’ t one perfect way to give a good presentation. ultimately, what will define the success of your presentation is not necessarily how well you gave it. more important is how your audience interprets your message and what they choose to do with it. when all is said and done, the ultimate success of your presentation lies in your audience and the impact that your message


what is lupus? this autoimmune disease is not contagious, but it is chronic, with symptoms ranging from mild to life - threatening. lupus occurs when the immune system becomes overactive and produces a type of protein called autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. this attack causes inflammation, pain and damage to various parts of the body. there are several types of lupus. the most common is called systemic lupus erythematosus ( sle ). the more severe forms affect major organ systems, such as the kidneys, lungs, nervous system, the brain and the heart. another type is cutaneous lupus erythematosus ; it causes skin rashes and lesions. drug - induced lupus is a lupus - like condition caused by prescription drugs such as hydralazine ( used to treat high blood pressure or hypertension ), procainamide ( used to treat irregular heart rhythms ) and isoniazid ( used to treat tuberculosis ). it ' s more common among men because they are prescribed these drugs more often. finally, there is neonatal lupus, a rare form that appears in the infants of women with lupus ; specifically, the mother ' s antibodies affect the baby while in the womb. these children may develop skin rashes, liver problems or low blood cell counts. but after several months, these symptoms completely disappear, leaving no trace. who gets lupus? lupus often runs in families, but the condition can also develop in people who have no family history of the illness. the condition affects mostly women, ages 15 to 44, but men, teens and young children can also get lupus. among population groups, the chances of getting lupus are higher for african americans. black women are three times more likely than caucasian women to have lupus. in addition, african - american women develop more severe symptoms of the condition. asian - american and latina women are two times more likely to develop the illness than caucasian women. women of pacific island descent as well as native - american and native - hawaiian women are also disproportionately affected. what are the symptoms of lupus? lupus symptoms wax and wane, and different signs can appear as the disease progresses. the most common symptoms of lupus are the same for females and males. they include : it ' s difficult to diagnose lupus because many of these symptoms occur with other illnesses, such rheumatoid arthritis, blood disorders, fibromy


common symptoms of lupus are the same for females and males. they include : it ' s difficult to diagnose lupus because many of these symptoms occur with other illnesses, such rheumatoid arthritis, blood disorders, fibromyalgia, diabetes, thyroid problems, lyme disease and a variety of heart, lung, muscle and bone diseases. - extreme fatigue ( tiredness ) - painful or swollen joints - anemia ( low numbers of red blood cells or hemoglobin, or low total blood volume ) - swelling ( edema ) in feet, legs, hands and / or around eyes - pain in chest during deep breathing ( pleurisy ) - a butterfly - shaped rash across cheeks and nose - sun - or light - sensitivity ( photosensitivity ) - hair loss - abnormal blood clotting - fingers turning white and / or blue when cold ( a. k. a. raynaud ' s phenomenon ) - mouth or nose ulcers what are the risk factors for lupus? main risk factors include being female, black, between ages 15 and 44 and having a family history of lupus. taking certain medicines is another risk factor ; this include ethotoin ( brand name peganone ) and phenytoin ( brand names dilantin, phenytek, phenytoin sodium and prompt ), used to prevent and control seizures ; chlorpromazine ( thorazine ), used to treat dementia - related behavioral problems ; d - penicillamine ( artamin, artin and cilamin ), used to treat severe rheumatoid arthritis ; oral hydralazine ( apresoline ), used to treat high blood pressure ; interferon alfa ( alferon, intron and roferon ), a cancer medication ; isoniazid ( niazid ), used to treat tuberculosis infections ; methyldopa ( aldomet ), a high blood pressure med ; minocycline ( dynacin and minocin ), an antibiotic used to treat a variety of infections, including acne ; and procainamide ( procanbid and pronestyl ), used to treat serious cases of abnormally fast heartbeat ; and drugs to inhibit chemical substances ( called tumor necrosis factor - alpha ) that trigger inflammation in autoimmune disease and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. ethnic differences for lupus a famous multi - ethnic, multi


inhibit chemical substances ( called tumor necrosis factor - alpha ) that trigger inflammation in autoimmune disease and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. ethnic differences for lupus a famous multi - ethnic, multi - regional and multi - institutional study about lupus, called the lumina study ( started in 1993 ), found that genetic and ethnic factors influenced the disease ' s activity more than socioeconomic factors did. the study also showed that certain population groups tended to have different lupus experiences : what are the tests for lupus? - african americans and latinas with lupus often developed the disease earlier in life, experienced greater disease activity, such as kidney problems, and, in general, had more complications than caucasian patients. - latinas with lupus had the worst prospects for recovery overall. - african americans with lupus showed a higher frequency of neurological problems such as seizures, hemorrhage and stroke. - latinas with lupus experienced a higher level of cardiac disease. current lupus testing includes routine blood tests, urine tests, antibody ( a protein found in blood or body fluid ) tests, blood clotting time tests and tissue biopsies involving the removal of a small bit of body tissue that the doctor examines under a microscope. what are the treatment options for lupus? although there is currently no cure for lupus, doctors can tailor treatments, including medications, to individual patients. depending on whether a patient ' s lupus is mild or severe, meds can range from acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti - inflammatories ( nsaids ) - or corticosteroids if nsaids don ' t work well - for fever and mild joint or muscle pains ; antimalarial medicines for skin rashes, fatigue and joint or muscle pains ; and immune system meds ( for more severe lupus cases ). in addition, lifestyle changes can help treat lupus. regular exercise ; lupus education and self - care ; smoking cessation ; a healthy, balanced diet ; and a support system of family, friends and health professionals are key to controlling the frequency and severity of lupus symptom flare - ups. other lifestyle modifications target stress reduction - for example, relaxation therapies such as massage, yoga and meditation.


spider that builds its own spider decoys discovered 2012 12 21 by nadia drake | wired. com a spider that builds elaborate, fake spiders and hangs them in its web has been discovered in the peruvian amazon. believed to be a new species in the genus cyclosa, the arachnid crafts the larger spider from leaves, debris and dead insects. though cyclosa includes other sculpting arachnids, this is the first one observed to build a replica with multiple, spidery legs. scientists suspect the fake spiders serve as decoys, part of a defense mechanism meant to confuse or distract predators. “ it seems like a really well evolved and very specialized behavior, ” said phil torres, who described the find in a blog entry written for rainforest expeditions. torres, a biologist and science educator, divides his time between southern california and peru, where he ’ s involved in research and education projects. “ considering that spiders can already make really impressive geometric designs with their webs, it ’ s no surprise that they can take that leap to make an impressive design with debris and other things, ” he said. in september, torres was leading visitors into a floodplain surrounding peru ’ s tambopata research center, located near the western edge of the amazon. from a distance, they saw what resembled a smallish, dead spider in a web. it looked kind of flaky, like the fungus - covered corpse of an arthropod. but then the flaky spider started moving. a closer looked revealed the illusion. above the 1 - inch - long decoy sat a much smaller spider. striped, and less than a quarter - inch long, the spider was shaking the web. it was unlike anything torres had ever seen. “ it blew my mind, ” he said. so torres got in touch with arachnologist linda rayor of cornell university who confirmed the find was unusual. “ the odds are that this [ species ] is unidentified, ” she said, “ and even if it has been named, that this behavior hasn ’ t previously been reported. ” rayor notes that while more observations are necessary to confirm a new species, decoys with legs — and the web - shaking behavior — aren ’ t common in known cyclosa. “ that ’ s really kind of cool, ” she said. read the full article at : wired. com dutch use decoy jews to stop crime and anti - semitic attacks in amsterdam russia´s inflatable decoy weapons and military hardware in pictures


“ that ’ s really kind of cool, ” she said. read the full article at : wired. com dutch use decoy jews to stop crime and anti - semitic attacks in amsterdam russia´s inflatable decoy weapons and military hardware in pictures latest news from our front page no bank deposits will be spared from confiscation 2013 05 18 as alert zero hedge readers are aware, this week the euro politburo is busy debating the dodgy subject of deposit " bail - ins. " the following article very succinctly explains this odious mode of fractal fractional reserve end - game chicanery. the author encourages all of you to share it with others. no bank deposits will be spared from confiscation by matthias chang esq, futurefastforward. com ( with author ’ s permission ) i challenge... military says no presidential authorization needed to quell “ civil disturbances ” 2013 05 17 a recent department of defense instruction alters the us code applying to the military ’ s involvement in domestic law enforcement by allowing us troops to quell “ civil disturbances ” domestically without any presidential authorization, greasing the skids for a de facto military coup in america along with the wholesale abolition of posse comitatus. the instruction ( embedded at the end of this article ), which... ancient maya pyramid destroyed in belize 2013 05 17 an archaeological group says it plans to take legal action. despite its small size, the caribbean country of belize is known for a few outstanding characteristics : a spectacular barrier reef, a teeming rain forest, and extensive maya ruins. it now has one fewer of those ruins. a construction company in belize has been scooping stone out of the major pyramid at the site... ginger : a warming herb 2013 05 17 ginger is an asian herb that is particularly well known to us in the west. over time, and with trial and error, its stimulating properties and piquant flavor have been integrated into both our herbal “ materia medica ” and cuisine. brewed as an herbal tea, ginger root is particularly helpful for those people who have underactive stomachs and difficulty producing adequate amounts... australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new cpr machine 2013 05 17 in an australian first, doctors have used a new resuscitation technique to revive three patients who were clinically dead for up to an hour. one of the lucky survivors was colin fiedler, 49, who was pronounced dead at the alfred hospital in melbourne, victoria, after suffering


abortion has a long history and has been induced by various methods including herbal abortifacients, the use of sharpened tools, physical trauma and other traditional methods. modern medicine utilizes medications and surgical procedures to induce abortion. the legality, prevalence, and cultural views on abortion vary substantially around the world. in many parts of the world there is intense public debate over the ethical and legal aspects of abortion. the approximate number of induced abortions performed worldwide in 2003 was 42 million, which declined from nearly 46 million in 1995. spontaneous abortion ( also known as miscarriage ) is the expulsion of an embryo or fetus due to accidental trauma or natural causes. most miscarriages are due to incorrect replication of chromosomes ; they can also be caused by environmental factors. spontaneous abortions, generally referred to as miscarriages, occur when an embryo or fetus is lost due to natural causes before the 20th week of gestation. a pregnancy that ends between 20 and 37 weeks of gestation, if it results in a live - born infant, is known as a " premature birth ". when a fetus dies in utero after about 20 weeks, or during delivery, it is termed " stillborn ". premature births and stillbirths are generally not considered to be miscarriages although usage of these terms can sometimes overlap. most miscarriages occur very early in pregnancy. between 10 % and 50 % of pregnancies end in clinically apparent miscarriage, depending upon the age and health of the pregnant woman. in most cases, they occur so early in the pregnancy that the woman is not even aware that she was pregnant. one study testing hormones for ovulation and pregnancy showed a rate of pregnancy in exposed ovulatory cycles of 59. 6 % ; with 61. 9 % of conceptuses lost prior to 12 weeks of which 91. 7 % occuried subclinically, without the knowledge of the mother. the risk of spontaneous abortion decreases sharply after the 10th week from the last menstrual period ( lmp ), with a loss rate between 8. 5 weeks lmp and birth of about two percent ; pregnancy loss is “ virtually complete by the end of the embryonic period. this risk of spontaneous abortion is greater in those with a known history of several spontaneous abortions or an induced abortion, those with systemic diseases, and those over the age 35. other causes can be infection ( of either the woman or fetus ), immune response, or serious systemic disease. a spontaneous abortion can also be


several spontaneous abortions or an induced abortion, those with systemic diseases, and those over the age 35. other causes can be infection ( of either the woman or fetus ), immune response, or serious systemic disease. a spontaneous abortion can also be caused by accidental trauma ; intentional trauma or stress to cause miscarriage is considered induced abortion or feticide. any abortion that is not therapeutic is by definition elective. in the first 12 weeks, suction - aspiration or vacuum abortion is the most common method. manual vacuum aspiration ( mva ) abortion consists of removing the fetus or embryo by suction using a manual syringe, while electric vacuum aspiration ( eva ) abortion uses an electric pump. these techniques are comparable, and differ in the mechanism used to apply suction, how early in pregnancy they can be used, and whether cervical dilation is necessary. mva, also known as " mini - suction " and " menstrual extraction ", can be used in very early pregnancy, and does not require cervical dilation. surgical techniques are sometimes referred to as ' suction ( or surgical ) termination of pregnancy ' ( stop ). from the 15th week until approximately the 26th, dilation and evacuation ( d & e ) is used. d & e consists of opening the cervix of the uterus and emptying it using surgical instruments and suction. dilation and curettage ( d & c ), the second most common method of abortion, is a standard gynecological procedure performed for a variety of reasons, including examination of the uterine lining for possible malignancy, investigation of abnormal bleeding, and abortion. curettage refers to cleaning the walls of the uterus with a curette. the world health organization recommends this procedure, also called sharp curettage, only when mva is unavailable. the term d and c, or sometimes suction curette, is used as a euphemism for the first trimester abortion procedure, whichever the method used. other techniques must be used to induce abortion in the second trimester. premature delivery can be induced with prostaglandin ; this can be coupled with injecting the amniotic fluid with caustic solutions containing saline or urea. after the 16th week of gestation, abortions can be induced by intact dilation and extraction ( idx ) ( also called intrauterine cranial decompression ), which requires surgical decompression of the fetus '


. after the 16th week of gestation, abortions can be induced by intact dilation and extraction ( idx ) ( also called intrauterine cranial decompression ), which requires surgical decompression of the fetus ' head before evacuation. idx is sometimes called " partial - birth abortion, " which has been federally banned in the united states. a hysterotomy abortion is a procedure similar to a caesarean section, and is performed under general anesthesia because it is considered major abdominal surgery. it requires a smaller incision than a caesarean section and is used during later stages of pregnancy. effective in the first trimester of pregnancy, non - surgical abortions ( referred to as ' medical abortions ' ) comprise 10 % of all abortions in the united states and europe. combined regimens include methotrexate or mifepristone, followed by a prostaglandin ( either misoprostol or gemeprost : misoprostol is used in the u. s. ; gemeprost is used in the uk and sweden. ) when used within 49 days gestation, approximately 92 % of women undergoing medical abortion with a combined regimen completed it without surgical intervention. misoprostol can be used alone, but has a lower efficacy rate than combined regimens. in cases of failure of medical abortion, vacuum or manual aspiration is used to complete the abortion surgically. abortion is sometimes attempted by causing trauma to the abdomen. the degree of force, if severe, can cause serious internal injuries without necessarily succeeding in inducing miscarriage. both accidental and deliberate abortions of this kind can be subject to criminal liability in many countries. in burma, indonesia, malaysia, the philippines, and thailand, there is an ancient tradition of attempting abortion through forceful abdominal massage. reported methods of unsafe, self - induced abortion include misuse of misoprostol, and insertion of non - surgical implements such as knitting needles and clothes hangers into the uterus. these methods are rarely seen in developed countries where surgical abortion is legal and available. women typically experience minor pain during first - trimester abortion procedures. in a 1979 study of 2, 299 patients, 97 % reported experiencing some degree of pain. patients rated the pain as being less than earache or toothache, but more than headache or backache. local and general anesthetics are used during the procedure in a 1990 review, the american psychological association ( apa ) found


pain. patients rated the pain as being less than earache or toothache, but more than headache or backache. local and general anesthetics are used during the procedure in a 1990 review, the american psychological association ( apa ) found that " severe negative reactions [ after abortion ] are rare and are in line with those following other normal life stresses. the apa revised and updated its findings in august 2008 to account for the accumulation of new evidence, and again concluded that induced abortion did not lead to increased mental health problems. as of august 2008, the united kingdom royal college of psychiatrists is also performing a systematic review of the medical literature to update their position statement on the subject. some proposed negative psychological effects of abortion have been referred to by pro - life advocates as a separate condition called " post - abortion syndrome. " however, the existence of " post - abortion syndrome " is not recognized by any medical or psychological organization, and some physicians and pro - choice advocates have argued that the effort to popularize the idea of a " post - abortion syndrome " is a tactic used by pro - life advocates for political purposes. abortion rates also vary depending on the stage of pregnancy and the method practiced. in 2003, from data collected in those areas of the united states that sufficiently reported gestational age, it was found that 88. 2 % of abortions were conducted at or prior to 12 weeks, 10. 4 % from 13 to 20 weeks, and 1. 4 % at or after 21 weeks. 90. 9 % of these were classified as having been done by " curettage " ( suction - aspiration, dilation and curettage, dilation and evacuation ), 7. 7 % by " medical " means ( mifepristone ), 0. 4 % by " intrauterine instillation " ( saline or prostaglandin ), and 1. 0 % by " other " ( including hysterotomy and hysterectomy ). the guttmacher institute estimated there were 2, 200 intact dilation and extraction procedures in the u. s. during 2000 ; this accounts for 0. 17 % of the total number of abortions performed that year. similarly, in england and wales in 2006, 89 % of terminations occurred at or under 12 weeks, 9 % between 13 to 19 weeks, and 1. 5 % at or over 20 weeks. 64 % of those reported were by vacuum aspiration, 6 % by d & e, and 30 %


of terminations occurred at or under 12 weeks, 9 % between 13 to 19 weeks, and 1. 5 % at or over 20 weeks. 64 % of those reported were by vacuum aspiration, 6 % by d & e, and 30 % were medical. a 1998 aggregated study, from 27 countries, on the reasons women seek to terminate their pregnancies concluded that common factors cited to have influenced the abortion decision were : desire to delay or end childbearing, concern over the interruption of work or education, issues of financial or relationship stability, and perceived immaturity. a 2004 study in which american women at clinics answered a questionnaire yielded similar results. in finland and the united states, concern for the health risks posed by pregnancy in individual cases was not a factor commonly given ; however, in bangladesh, india, and kenya health concerns were cited by women more frequently as reasons for having an abortion. 1 % of women in the 2004 survey - based u. s. study became pregnant as a result of rape and 0. 5 % as a result of incest. another american study in 2002 concluded that 54 % of women who had an abortion were using a form of contraception at the time of becoming pregnant while 46 % were not. inconsistent use was reported by 49 % of those using condoms and 76 % of those using the combined oral contraceptive pill ; 42 % of those using condoms reported failure through slipping or breakage. the guttmacher institute estimated that " most abortions in the united states are obtained by minority women " because minority women " have much higher rates of unintended pregnancy. some abortions are undergone as the result of societal pressures. these might include the stigmatization of disabled persons, preference for children of a specific sex, disapproval of single motherhood, insufficient economic support for families, lack of access to or rejection of contraceptive methods, or efforts toward population control ( such as china ' s one - child policy ). these factors can sometimes result in compulsory abortion or sex - selective abortion. induced abortion can be traced to ancient times. there is evidence to suggest that, historically, pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the administration of abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. the hippocratic oath, the chief statement of medical ethics for hippocratic physicians in ancient greece, forbade doctors from helping to procure an abortion by pessary. soranus, a second - century greek physician,


and other techniques. the hippocratic oath, the chief statement of medical ethics for hippocratic physicians in ancient greece, forbade doctors from helping to procure an abortion by pessary. soranus, a second - century greek physician, suggested in his work gynaecology that women wishing to abort their pregnancies should engage in energetic exercise, energetic jumping, carrying heavy objects, and riding animals. he also prescribed a number of recipes for herbal baths, pessaries, and bloodletting, but advised against the use of sharp instruments to induce miscarriage due to the risk of organ perforation. it is also believed that, in addition to using it as a contraceptive, the ancient greeks relied upon silphium as an abortifacient. such folk remedies, however, varied in effectiveness and were not without risk. tansy and pennyroyal, for example, are two poisonous herbs with serious side effects that have at times been used to terminate pregnancy. abortion in the 19th century continued, despite bans in both the united kingdom and the united states, as the disguised, but nonetheless open, advertisement of services in the victorian era suggests. in the 20th century the soviet union ( 1919 ), iceland ( 1935 ) and sweden ( 1938 ) were among the first countries to legalize certain or all forms of abortion. in 1935 nazi germany, a law was passed permitting abortions for those deemed " hereditarily ill ", while women considered of german stock were specifically prohibited from having abortions. the advent of both sonography and amniocentesis has allowed parents to determine sex before birth. this has led to the occurrence of sex - selective abortion or the targeted termination of a fetus based upon its sex. it is suggested that sex - selective abortion might be partially responsible for the noticeable disparities between the birth rates of male and female children in some places. the preference for male children is reported in many areas of asia, and abortion used to limit female births has been reported in mainland china, taiwan, south korea, and india. in india, the economic role of men, the costs associated with dowries, and a hindu tradition which dictates that funeral rites must be performed by a male relative have led to a cultural preference for sons. the widespread availability of diagnostic testing, during the 1970s and ' 80s, led to advertisements for services which read, " invest 500 rupees [ for a sex test ] now, save 50, 000 rupees [ for


cultural preference for sons. the widespread availability of diagnostic testing, during the 1970s and ' 80s, led to advertisements for services which read, " invest 500 rupees [ for a sex test ] now, save 50, 000 rupees [ for a dowry ] later. in 1991, the male - to - female sex ratio in india was skewed from its biological norm of 105 to 100, to an average of 108 to 100. researchers have asserted that between 1985 and 2005 as many as 10 million female fetuses may have been selectively aborted. the indian government passed an official ban of pre - natal sex screening in 1994 and moved to pass a complete ban of sex - selective abortion in 2002. in the people ' s republic of china, there is also a historic son preference. the implementation of the one - child policy in 1979, in response to population concerns, led to an increased disparity in the sex ratio as parents attempted to circumvent the law through sex - selective abortion or the abandonment of unwanted daughters. sex - selective abortion might be an influence on the shift from the baseline male - to - female birth rate to an elevated national rate of 117 : 100 reported in 2002. the trend was more pronounced in rural regions : as high as 130 : 100 in guangdong and 135 : 100 in hainan. a ban upon the practice of sex - selective abortion was enacted in 2003. where and when access to safe abortion has been barred, due to explicit sanctions or general unavailability, women seeking to terminate their pregnancies have sometimes resorted to unsafe methods. the world health organization ( who ) defines an unsafe abortion as being " a procedure... carried out by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. " unsafe abortions are known colloquially as " back - alley abortions. this can include a person without medical training, a professional health provider operating in sub - standard conditions, or the woman herself. unsafe abortion remains a public health concern today due to the higher incidence and severity of its associated complications, such as incomplete abortion, sepsis, hemorrhage, and damage to internal organs. who estimates that 19 million unsafe abortions occur around the world annually and that 68, 000 of these result in the woman ' s death. complications of unsafe abortion are said to account, globally, for approximately 13 % of all maternal mortalities, with regional estimates including 12 % in asia, 25 % in latin america, and 13 %