defense expenditures are a significant cost for most large countries around the world. in 2011, the u. s. defense budget is estimated to be a whopping $ 895 billion. some nations have spent much less on defense than other industrialized countries, relatively speaking. japan, for instance, spent $ 51. 81 billion in 2009. this low defense spending has historically served them well, as more money was available to fund productive projects enabling the japanese to prosper since world war ii. however, the risk of decreased defense spending cannot be overstated. freedom, liberty, democracy and human rights are protected by military might. defense spending is not productive economically. money spent on fighter jets and bullets is not available for housing and food for the needy. so, aside from the diplomatic and moral issues surrounding an act of war, leaders should consider how much they could afford to spend in an actual military operation before jumping into it. during the past 10 years, u. s. defense expenditures coupled with separate appropriations for two wars have contributed greatly to the national deficit, as well as to cutbacks in social programs and infrastructure projects. while the generals spend our tax dollars, people are starving and our bridges crumble from neglect. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are petrified about being labeled “ weak on defense ” and continue to vote for new defense appropriations. unfortunately, the oversight of these expenditures is such that overruns and padded invoices have become a serious drain. defense, without a doubt, is an area of the budget that needs to be carefully reassessed. eliminating waste, not important weapons systems, could contribute greatly to reducing deficits down the road. the u. s. is at a crossroads. our government must decide whether it will continue to intervene with human and monetary assets in every new conflict even if it stretches our financial capabilities. other large military nations know that america always responds, and so it is not necessary for them to contribute to military actions. ironically, these same countries often make it very difficult for us to obtain global support as we try to keep the peace. to make matters worse, intervention too often morphs into a nation building that can easily span a decade or longer and involve vastly greater resources. and yet, should americans turn a blind eye towards genocide and human rights violations as we did during ww ii, in the balkans and in a number of places in asia and africa over the years? it is a gargantuan moral dilemma. apparently, other members of the global community have a much higher tolerance for e


as we did during ww ii, in the balkans and in a number of places in asia and africa over the years? it is a gargantuan moral dilemma. apparently, other members of the global community have a much higher tolerance for egregious social behavior than america. how should the u. s. move forward in iraq and afghanistan? these situations are very much alike in some regards and different in other ways. in both situations, the u. s. is mistakenly committed to building de novo democracies. it does not take a foreign relations expert to see that neither country will ever become a true democracy. neither country has an electorate or an electoral system that is capable of selecting leaders fairly. both countries are plagued by age - old internal strife, be it religious and / or tribal in nature. former iraqi dictator saddam hussein ruled iraq for many years and maintained order and a semblance of peace with an iron hand and by brutalizing his adversaries. it is doubtful that order will prevail in this country without the emergence of another strong despotic leader. afghanistan consists of numerous tribes and the fanatically religious taliban ; both are major impediments to centralized democratic rule. the main reason why neither of these countries has fallen into total civil chaos to this point is the presence of u. s. forces. if we stay and spend more money and lives, the violence can be controlled. however, the moment we withdraw, anarchy will prevail. two presidents have been sucked into these lose - lose imbroglios. they are follies that will be derided by historians for decades to come. the lives and money spent have reached criminal proportions. president barack obama should immediately cease all hostilities and bring our brave soldiers home. it is unacceptable that one more american dies in the region. our presence is a ruse and the expectations foisted upon us are fraudulent. there will be no peace in these violent places, ever. national security excuses for continued occupation no longer have any basis. the two million soldiers and reservists who are sacrificing for the rest of america are all volunteers, generally from poor backgrounds. being in combat for so long is ruining their lives while the rest of us go about our daily routines. additionally, we continue to treat veterans just as horribly as we always have in this country. unemployment and suicide are rampant among veterans. please, mr. president, end these terrible conflicts now. photo credit : mrmonkee88


a dog can accurately detect the early presence of lung cancer by sniffing patients ’ breath, doctors in germany say. while researchers have known for some time that dogs can sniff out the telltale signs of other forms of cancer, this is the first study that proves dogs can reliably smell this particular kind. this is a breakthrough for lung cancer researchers who have been trying to figure out if there are specific volatile organic compounds associated with the presence of the disease. the dog study suggests that there are. researchers at schillerhoehe hospital in germany worked with specially trained dogs who were asked to smell the breath of 220 volunteers. the group included healthy patients, as well as people with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. the dogs correctly identified 71 positive lung cancer samples out of a possible 100, the researchers write in the european respiratory journal. they also correctly identified 372 non - cancerous samples out of a possible 400. what ’ s interesting about this is that the dogs were able to detect cancer even in the presence of other factors, like tobacco smoke and copd. current lab tests for lung cancer can ' t do this. this suggests that there is indeed a voc associated directly with lung cancer, which can be detected — at least by a dog — even in the presence of other compounds. vocs are emitted from the surface of cells as they undergo tumor - induced gene and protein changes. identifying the vocs that certain cells make can go a long way toward early diagnosis, when a scan might not be able to detect anything. other researchers have been working on lab chips that can make the same diagnosis, without using dogs. israeli researchers reported last year that their gold nanoparticle e - nose could differentiate among lung, breast, prostate and colon cancer — by differentiating among the vocs. but as we ’ ve seen before, sometimes dogs are simply the best sniffing technology out there. the defense department figured this out after spending billions of dollars on research. this new study suggests that doctors may be learning the same thing. five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month ' s energy - focused issue. also : how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world ' s smallest arcade, and much more.


the impregnation resulted in seven identical piglets born in the summer of 2007. three months later, an autopsy on one piglet showed that the alzheimer ’ s gene was indeed active in its brain. the researchers will now watch the remaining pigs age, with the hope that the disease will progress in the same way it does in humans. the heritable form of the disease, also known as early - onset alzheimer ’ s, is the result of a genetic mutation passed down in families. it is the cause of between 5 and 10 percent of cases. late - onset alzheimer ’ s, which appears after age 60 in people who usually don ’ t have a family history of the disease, accounts for the rest. both forms lead to the destruction of nerve cells and neural connections in the cerebral cortex of the brain. the condition destroys memory and causes confusion, disorientation and, eventually, death. despite intensive research, alzheimer ’ s disease is poorly understood, and doctors still lack medical treatments to prevent the brain damage it causes. the process of neurodegeneration begins when enzymes snip a component of nerve cells into small pieces. the resulting protein, called beta - amyloid, accumulates in clumps between the cells. some of these clumps eventually become large plaques. according to samuel gandy, a professor of alzheimer ’ s - disease research at the mount sinai school of medicine in new york city, amyloid protein outside the nerve cells causes the formation of what are called neurofibrillary tangles inside neurons. here, a normal component called tau protein accumulates in the twisted fiber proteins. as the disease progresses, brain cells die and the brain itself shrinks, although it ’ s unknown exactly how the two proteins influence cell death. the disease starts in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in learning and memory, and later spreads to the rest of the brain. although these major steps have been mapped through brain scans and autopsies, scientists need to study how the disease progresses. that ’ s where the pigs come into play. if all goes as planned, the pigs should show signs of brain pathology at age two, which in pig years corresponds to the age when people with early - onset alzheimer ’ s begin to exhibit symptoms. single page


bald open prairie john j. lynch was a story - teller who loved a good joke, including one at his own expense. he also is a folk - hero on the northern plains, at least among wildlife biologists. he was the guy who, in 1951, said, in plain words, just how important the northern plains are to waterfowl populations. his ideas are directly related to things that are important to owners of browning shotguns and labrador retrievers across the land : the seasons and bag limits for waterfowl hunting. beginning in the 1930s, but especially in the years following the second world war, when there were a lot of pilots, such as johnny lynch, available for hire, the fish and wildlife services of the united states and canada refined their techniques for estimating waterfowl populations through aerial surveys. most of the pioneering work along these lines took place on the canadian prairies. this led federal officials to believe they could calibrate bag limits in order to harvest just the right numbers of just the right species so as not to deplete the breeding population. some of you, like me, remember the complicated point systems of years past. how you could shoot 100 points worth of ducks, and greenheads counted 20 points, except on tuesdays with a full moon, when they counted 40 points, or on the saturday when und played ndsu, when nobody went hunting anyway. ok, i ’ m exaggerating a little bit, but the arrogant positivism of federal wildlife officials was exasperating, and the limits were hard to memorize, and game wardens felt bad about issuing citations to guys who maybe just weren ’ t very good at math.


by understanding how they learn september 21, 2011. milwaukie, oregon. smart, intelligent, intuitive, creative, brainy? absolutely. due to the reality of school budget cuts today, it has become increasingly important for parents to continue the learning process at home. with that, parents have become more challenged to understand how their children learn and how to best help them learn. develop brain cells with a homegrown tag program who doesn ’ t want to think of their child as a tag ( talented and gifted ) candidate? yet these programs are not available to every child. “ when teachers teach to groups instead of the individual, parents must take on the responsibility of becoming a tag educator. for children not as gifted, self - pacing allows them to learn at a highly accelerated rate. if a parent is to inspire a child with accelerated learning, it has to be done at home, ” says marilynne eichinger, educator, former museum president and current president of informal education products ( d / b / a museum tour catalog ). enrichment and accelerated learning every parent knows what garrison keillor says is true … ” nothing you do for children is ever wasted. they seem not to notice us …. and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted. individual attention from parents gives meaning to learning and teaches a child to think outside the box. this provides children with the understanding that there are different ways of thinking, making life much more interesting. museum tour offers parental assistance identifying learning styles is museum tour ’ s objective. museum tour ’ s role is to provide enrichment and accelerated learning tools to parents who are dedicated to continuing the educational experience at home. the company ’ s educators guide them through the selection of enrichment items, educational toys, developmental books, and learning games that are appropriate for the different ages and learning styles of their child ( ren ). the company ’ s philosophy is great toys teach, entertain, surprise, inspire and invite inquiry. the just released 15th annual issue of museum tour catalog is based on howard gardner ’ s theory of multiple intelligences and piaget ’ s ideas about developmental learning. all of the products in the catalog are categorized by theme and attributes of each product are identified. learning style assistance is also available on the museum tour website, museumtour. com twenty two museums nationwide joined museum tour in its endeavor to extend the museum experience into homes and provide educational aids for parents. museum members also share in the company ’ s year - end profits. to date, museum tour has donated $ 300


rna ligation - ( dec / 03 / 2001 ) i ' m not sure if you can do single stranded rna ligation, but i have another idea. what if you did first strand synthesis on the rna. then, do a second strand synthesis ( protocol in maniatis or current protocols ). next, blunt the ends of the double stranded cdna you produced ( just to be sure ). next, make double stranded linker dna that has a specific primer site in it and do a ligation with your double stranded dna. finally, do a pcr reaction with this ligation as a template and the primer you designed into the linker dna, and a specific primer you choose from sequence you already know. you will probably get several bands, but hopefully you can estimate the size of the band you want. gel purify that band and sequence it directly or subclone it. there are protocols in maniatis and current protocols on how to do each of these steps. in theory, i think this should work - any thoughts from anyone else? is there such thing as rna ligation? i have a rna virus genome to sequence but being not circular, i have problem getting the ends of the genome. i was thinking if there is a possible way of circularizing the rna genome then i will be able to do rt using random primers followed by outward pcr using the primers from the known region. thanks for your suggestion. looks very feasible. just to clarify something. do i do 1st strand synthesis using random primer or oligodt primer? btw the genome size of the viral rna is about 7kb, is it possible to stretch rt to that length? i think optimally, oligo dt could go that far, but i would stick with random primers. whenever i am cloning things from rtpcr, i consistently have had more success with random primed cdna compared to oligodt. good luck!


nevers ( nəver´ ), city ( 1991 pop. 43, 889 ), capital of nievre dept., central france, on the loire and nievre rivers. it is noted for its pottery and china industries. other manufactures include metal products, mechanical and electrical equipment, chemicals, textiles, and printed matter. nevers became the seat of a bishopric in the 6th cent. and was long the capital of the duchy and province of nivernais. among the points of interest are the ducal palace ( 15th – 16th cent. ), now a courthouse ; the church of st. etienne ( 11th cent. ), a gem of romanesque architecture ; the cathedral ( 13th – 16th cent. ) ; and the church of st. bernadette - du - banlay ( 1966 ). in the convent of st. gildard are the remains of st. bernadette, who lived there from 1860 to 1879. questia, a part of gale, cengage learning. www. questia. com publication information : article title : nevers. encyclopedia title : the columbia encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 the columbia electronic encyclopedia © 2012, columbia university press. licensed from columbia university press. used with the permission of columbia university press. all rights reserved. publisher : the columbia university press. place of publication : not available. publication year : 2013. this material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.


can successful entrepreneurship be learned? dr. markus perkmann is a senior research fellow at imperial college business school, where he researches innovation management, technology development and organisation theory. we recently sat down to talk to him about his views on how entrepreneurship is developed. how would you define entrepreneurship? entrepreneurship involves some kind of high impact activity that does something new – not just a sole trader. it often is unsuccessful, but has the potential to lead to success and strong growth. that ’ s what makes entrepreneurship really valuable : doing something new and taking a risk. the risk is an interesting thing – it ’ s about who takes the risk. the question is really what kind of risks entrepreneurs are taking. good entrepreneurs are good at taking risks with other people ’ s money because that allows them to scale others ’ resources. the other people trust them with their money because they think they ’ re more likely to be successful than the average person. there are very few entrepreneurs who will have the money to do it by themselves. it necessarily involves pooling resources from different resource providers, and those resources are at risk. it ’ s not just about personal risk ; it ’ s about constituting a good risk for a potential resource provider. can entrepreneurs be created? can entrepreneurship be learned in terms of students going through entrepreneurial societies? – i ’ m going to do a research project asking that very question. with entrepreneurial societies at universities, for example, does going through such a socialisation process make entrepreneurs? from a sociological standpoint, it ’ s a question of identity and role models. if in your social context there are people who will provide an entrepreneurial role model, i would think that people looking at these role models would be more inclined to consider entrepreneurship as a legitimate identity to adopt. you can see a similar phenomenon in the dot com boom. there were groups like first tuesday, bringing in people and trying to convey that entrepreneurship is an option, that it ’ s something that ’ s there to be learned and studied in a certain way. think of retail nowadays : no one would think of having one shop or restaurant – everyone thinks of having a chain. but that had to be learned, built. in this sense being an entrepreneur is a constructed model that people take on. the other thing you could say here is that a lot of entrepreneurship actually comes out of existing organisations. you talk about university spin - outs, but the more likely case is company spin - outs. a lot of silicon valley foundings essentially came out of other companies, like intel which came


lawrence livermore national laboratory researchers have discovered a new method to independently control ionic and electronic conductivities in certain solids. the method, which uses tailored acceptor - donor co - doping to bind charged native vacancies and selectively modulate ionic but not electronic conductivity, was developed by using first - principles materials simulations. conventional face capturing is well established and widely utilized in the entertainment industry to capture a 3d model of an actor ' s face. however, up to now, no method was capable of reconstructing facial hair or even handling it appropriately. a new method developed at disney research in switzerland captures individual strands of facial hair and stores them separately from the actual human face until added. or “ shaved ” away. scientists have yet to fully unravel the mysteries of rainbows, but an international team of scientists have used simulations of these natural wonders to unlock the secret to a rare optical phenomenon known as the twinned rainbow. unlike the more common double - rainbow, which consists of two separate and concentric rainbow arcs, the elusive twinned rainbow appears as two rainbows arcs that split from a single base rainbow. using just an upgraded desktop computer equipped with a relatively inexpensive graphics processing card, a team of computer scientists and biochemists at the university of california, san diego has developed advanced gpu accelerated software and demonstrated, for the first time, that this approach can sample biological events that occur on the millisecond timescale. while bipeds and quadrupeds have reigned supreme in cg animation, attempts to create and control their skeleton - free cousins using similar techniques has proved time - consuming and laborious. georgia institute of technology researchers have found a possible solution to this challenge by developing a way to simulate and control movement of computer - generated characters without a skeletal structure, anything from starfish and earthworms to an elephant ’ s trunk or the human tongue. for decades it has been thought that a shock wave from a supernova explosion triggered the formation of our solar system. material from the exploding star generated cloud of dust and gas, which collapsed to form the sun and its surrounding planets. new work from the carnegie institution provides the first fully 3d models for how this process could have happened. scientists in europe have recently completed a study of global pollution levels by simulating the atmosphere using the chemical atmospheric model emac. the research is the first include all five major air pollutants known to negatively impact human health : nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter smaller than


the atmosphere using the chemical atmospheric model emac. the research is the first include all five major air pollutants known to negatively impact human health : nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter smaller than 2. 5 -? m. china, india, and the middle east are shown to be especially at risk. researchers trying to herd tiny particles into useful ordered formations have found an unlikely ally : entropy, a tendency generally described as " disorder. " computer simulations by university of michigan scientists and engineers show that the property can nudge particles to form organized structures. by analyzing the shapes of the particles beforehand, they can even predict what kinds of structures will form. a research team at the georgia tech research institute has developed a software tool that enables users to perform in - depth analysis of modeling and simulation data, then visualize the results on screen. the new data analysis and visualization tool offers improved ease of use compared to similar tools, the researchers say, and could be readily adapted for use with existing data sets in a variety of disciplines. university of melbourne researchers are now simulating in 3d the motion of the complete human rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, on australia ' s fastest supercomputer, paving the way for new drug development. computer simulations are indispensable, but standard finite element technology requires designers to carry out a time - consuming and often error - prone mesh generation step that transfers the computer - aided design ( cad ) model into the simulation model. a student in germany has just accelerated this process by directly integrating the cad geometry into the finite element analysis, circumventing any mesh generation. using computer simulations, researchers from the california institute of technology have determined that if the interior of a dying star is spinning rapidly just before it explodes in a magnificent supernova, two different types of signals emanating from that stellar core will oscillate together at the same frequency. this could be a piece of " smoking - gun evidence " that would lead to a better understanding of supernovae. scientists at princeton university are composing the complex codes designed to instruct a new class of powerful computers that will allow researchers to tackle problems that were previously too difficult to solve. these supercomputers, operating at a speed called the " exascale, " will produce realistic simulations of complex phenomena in nature such as fusion reactions, earthquakes, and climate change. an oak ridge national laboratory and university of tennessee team has used the jaguar supercomputer to


a speed called the " exascale, " will produce realistic simulations of complex phenomena in nature such as fusion reactions, earthquakes, and climate change. an oak ridge national laboratory and university of tennessee team has used the jaguar supercomputer to calculate the number of isotopes allowed by the laws of physics. the team used a quantum approach known as density functional theory, applying it independently to six models of the nuclear interaction to determine that there are about 7, 000 possible combinations of protons and neutrons allowed in bound nuclei with up to 120 protons. researchers at slac national accelerator laboratory have captured the most detailed images to date of airborne soot particles, a key contributor to global warming and a health hazard. the discovery reveals the particles ' surprisingly complex nanostructures and could ultimately aid the understanding of atmospheric processes important to climate change, as well as the design of cleaner combustion sources, from car engines to power plants. an international team led by stony brook university has established the structure of a new form of carbon. the team used a novel computational method to demonstrate that the properties of what had previously been thought to be only a hypothetical structure of a superhard form of carbon called " m - carbon " matched perfectly the experimental data on " superhard graphite. " a new computational model developed by a team of virginia tech researchers provides a framework to better understand responses of macrophage cells of the human immune system. the virginia tech team used the metropolis algorithm, a computer simulation technique widely used in physics and chemistry, to enumerate possible molecular mechanisms giving rise to priming and tolerance. a multidisciplinary team of researchers at massachusetts institute of technology and in spain has found a new mathematical approach to simulating the electronic behavior of noncrystalline materials, which may eventually play an important part in new devices including solar cells ; organic led lights ; and printable, flexible electronic circuits. complex systems inhabit a " gray world " of partial failures, massachusetts institute of technology ' s olivier de weck says : while a system may continue to operate as a whole, bits and pieces inevitably degrade. over time, these small failures can add up to a single catastrophic failure, incapacitating the system. however, de weck and his colleagues have created a design approach that tailors planes to fly in the face of likely failures. life would be a lot easier if the surfaces of window panes, corrosion coatings or microfluidic systems in medical labs could keep themselves free of water and other liquids. a


that tailors planes to fly in the face of likely failures. life would be a lot easier if the surfaces of window panes, corrosion coatings or microfluidic systems in medical labs could keep themselves free of water and other liquids. a new simulation program developed by researchers in germany can now work out just how such surfaces have to look for a variety of applications. lawrence livermore national laboratory researchers have for the first time identified a precise measurement of the amount of radiation damage that will occur in any given material. with a full understanding of the early stages of the radiation damage process, researchers are provided with better knowledge and tools to manipulate materials to our advantage. u. s. researchers are perfecting simulations that show a nuclear weapon ' s performance in precise molecular detail. because international treaties forbid the detonation of nuclear test weapons, tools that can accurately depict an explosion are becoming critical for national defense. quantum computers are still years away, but a trio of theorists has already figured out at least one talent they may have. according to the theorists, physicists might one day use quantum computers to study the inner workings of the universe in ways that are far beyond the reach of even the most powerful conventional supercomputers. ion bombardment of metal surfaces is an important, but poorly understood, nanomanufacturing technique. new research using sophisticated supercomputer simulations has shown what goes on in trillionths of a second. the advance could lead to better ways to predict the phenomenon and more uses of the technique to make new nanoscale products. multiphysics, comsol ’ s software environment for modeling and simulating any physics - based system, recently received a major update. new capabilities in version 4. 3 include three new discipline - specific add - on modules, fast and powerful meshing, a new " double dogleg " solver for mechanical contact and highly nonlinear simulations, and numerous user - inspired enhancements.


verizon thinkfinity offers thousands of free k - 12 educational resources across seven disciplines for use in and out of school. our lesson plans are written and reviewed by educators using current research and the best instructional practices and are aligned to state and national standards. choose from hundreds of topics and strategies. find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. teacher resources by grade | 1st - 2nd | | 3rd - 4th | | 5th - 6th | | 7th - 8th | | 9th - 10th | | 11th - 12th | | grades | | k – 12 | san diego, california | strategy guide series | | teaching writing | young and / or poor writers need to observe experienced writers at work in ways that will actually help them to write more effectively themselves. write - aloud lessons, known as modeled writing, will help you to provide authentic explanations for your students, demonstrating how writers actually go about constructing various kinds of texts. readers use metacognitive processes to comprehend text : adjusting reading to purpose, self - monitoring and questioning, and reflecting on an author ' s purpose. think - aloud, in which a teacher verbalizes his thinking for students while reading a text, improves students ' understanding of these processes. writing is also a complex cognitive activity. research has demonstrated that students improve their writing ability when cognitive strategies are demonstrated for them in clear and explicit ways. students learn the forms and functions of writing as they observe and participate in writing events directed by knowledgeable writers, particularly when these events are followed by opportunities for independent writing. instruction that makes writing processes visible to students is key to improving their writing skills. several excellent instructional frameworks for writing, including modeled, shared, interactive, guided or independent writing, can provide strong support for students ' successful writing based on the level and type of teacher support that is provided for students. during write - aloud, like think - aloud, teachers verbalize the internal dialog they use as they write a particular type of text, explicitly demonstrating metacognitive processes. strategy in practice write - aloud is taught to small groups or a whole class in briskly paced, 10 - to 15 - minute lessons. model your own writing of a short text, generally choosing one particular aspect of a genre to write - aloud ( such as an opening or closing paragraph of a longer essay or a dialogue between characters ). plan write - aloud lessons for types of writing that present particular challenges to your students. prepare for the lesson by writing your own short texts


to write - aloud ( such as an opening or closing paragraph of a longer essay or a dialogue between characters ). plan write - aloud lessons for types of writing that present particular challenges to your students. prepare for the lesson by writing your own short texts and developing awareness of your own decision - making while you write. tell students that you will be verbalizing your own thinking for them as you write. ask students to pay attention to the decisions you make as you write, and remind them that they will be producing this same type of text themselves. explain to students what kind of text you will be writing and what you want to accomplish as you write this text. if you are writing a persuasive essay, for example, remind students very briefly that you will need to convince readers of your own point of view. for narrative dialogue, point out that characters ' talk should explain the main problem of the story. as you write ( using chart paper or document viewer ), make verbal statements that describe your own decision - making processes : now i need to summarize my main points. i think i should look back at my outline of points that i made in the rest of the essay. hmm, what can i have this character say now in order to show how upset she is? how can i spell this word? it will help if i say the word slowly to myself first. after you have completed the write - aloud for a short text, ask students to comment on what they noticed about your thinking during the activity. you may want to ask students to talk about what seemed to be most important to accomplish as you were writing. you might also ask students to describe what you were thinking about as you wrote a challenging part of the writing. it may also be useful to ask students to talk about their own thinking and decision - making used while they are writing this same kind of text or to work with a partner to write their own example. | lesson plans | | student interactives | | calendar activities | | printouts | | other strategy guides | | professional library | | games & tools | grades 3 – 5 | lesson plan | standard lesson it ’ s not easy surviving fourth grade ( or third or fifth )! in this lesson, students brainstorm survival tips for future fourth graders and incorporate those tips into an essay. grades 3 – 5 | lesson plan | standard lesson students will walk a mile in the shoes of solomon singer as they learn how to use flashbacks, flash - aheads, and internal dialogue to develop realistic characters. grades 3 –


new world record efficiency for thin film silicon solar cells a 10. 7 percent conversion rate has been achieved using less than 2 micrometers of raw material the photovoltaics - laboratory ( pv - lab ) of epfl ’ s insitute of microengineering ( imt ), founded in 1984 by prof. arvind shah and now headed by prof. christophe ballif, is well known as a pioneer in the development of thin - film silicon solar cells, and as a precursor in the use of microcrystalline silicon as a photoactive material in thin - film silicon photovoltaic ( tf - si pv ) devices. a remarkable step was achieved by the team led by dr. fanny meillaud and dr. matthieu despeisse with a new world record efficiency of 10. 7 % for a single - junction microcrystalline silicon solar cell, independently confirmed at fraunhofer institute for solar energy systems ( ise callab pv cells ) in freiburg ( germany ). “ deep understanding has been gained these last years in material quality, efficient light - trapping and cell design, which in combination with careful process optimization led to this remarkable world - record efficiency ” says simon hanni, phd student at imt neuchatel. importantly, the employed processes can be up - scaled to the module level. while standard wafer - based crystalline silicon pv technology implements absorber layers with a thickness of about 180 micrometers for module conversion efficiency of 15 to 20 %, 10. 7 % efficiency was reached here with only 1. 8 micrometers of silicon material, i. e. 100 times less material than for conventional technologies, and with cell fabrication temperature never exceeding 200°c. thin - film silicon technology indeed offers the advantages of saving up on raw material and offering low energy payback time, thus allowing module production prices as low as 35 € / m2, reaching the price level of standard roof tiles. the reported progress is of paramount importance for increasing further tf - si pv devices efficiency and potential, as at least one microcrystalline silicon junction is systematically used in combination with an amorphous silicon junction to form multiple junction devices for a broader use of the solar spectrum. the reported record efficiency clearly indicates that the potential of tf - si multi - junction devices can be extended to > 13. 5 % conversion efficiency with a minimum usage of abundant and non - toxic raw material at low costs ( tf - si pv modules implementing in their simplest form


the reptiles of nauru1 by buden, donald w abstract : eleven species of reptiles are reported from nauru in the first systematic treatment of the herpetofauna. four of the species are marine ; the seven others include six lizards ( four geckos, two skinks ) and one snake. gehyra mutilata ( wiegman ), g. oceanica ( lesson ), pelamis platura ( linnaeus ), and ramphotyphlops braminus ( daudin ) are recorded on nauru for the first time. with the exception of emoia arnoensis brown & marshall, which is endemic to eastern micronesia, the herpetofauna consists of species that range widely among the west - central pacific ocean islands. the only known record of e. arnoensis from chuuk possibly is based on a misassigned locality, in which case the range of the species would be limited to the marshall islands, nauru, and kosrae. there is no evidence to suggest that habitat modification on nauru stemming largely from more than a century of phosphate mining has reduced the number of reptile species. little is known of the fauna of the island republic of nauru. the island ’ s small size, remote location, and ecological impoverishment all doubtlessly have contributed to the paucity of zoological investigations, leaving a gap in our knowledge of the biodiversity of this area of the pacific. information on the reptiles is especially scanty ; the herpetofauna has never been reviewed systematically. waite ’ s ( 1903 ) list of reptiles from nauru included only two species ( both skinks ) : lygosoma cyanurum [ = emoia cyanura ( lesson ) ] and l. atrocostatum ( = e. arnoensis brown & marshall ). much later, brown ( 1991 ) described e. arnoensis nauru based largely on material collected by h. cogger in 1983. in addition, bauer and henle ( 1994 ) included nauru in a list of locality records for the geckos hemidactylus frenatus dumeril & bibron and lepidodactylus lugubris ( dumeril & bibron ), and webb ( 1994 ) reported on the unusual occurrence of a crocodile. reports on sea turtles from nauru consist only of a few passing remarks largely lacking in substantive detail. in this study i include an annotated list of all the species of reptiles recorded


webb ( 1994 ) reported on the unusual occurrence of a crocodile. reports on sea turtles from nauru consist only of a few passing remarks largely lacking in substantive detail. in this study i include an annotated list of all the species of reptiles recorded on nauru, and it is based on personal observations, specimens i recently collected, data from museum specimens and catalogs, gleanings from the literature, and information provided by local residents. nauru ( 0 [ degrees ] 30 ′ s, 166 [ degrees ] 56 ′ e ) is a small ( 21 km ^ sup 2 ^ ) raised atoll island in the west - central pacific ocean ( figure 1 ). it is approximately 2, 100 km northeast of new guinea ; the nearest island is banaba ( = ocean island ) 300 km to the east. the climate is equatorial ; the average monthly temperature ranges from 27 to 29 [ degrees ] c, and the average annual rainfall is 2, 098 mm, with the wettest months being december to april. a narrow, coastal belt roughly 100 to 300 m wide abuts a scarp that rises to approximately 30 - 40 m in most areas to form the edge of a central plateau ; the maximum elevation is 72 m at command ridge. approximately 10, 000 islanders reside mainly along the coast and in a small settlement centered about a brackish lake ( buada lagoon ) in a low area of the plateau in the southwestern part of the island. the coastal vegetation consists largely of strand, scrub, scattered coconut trees, and a variety of ornamentals and fruit trees. much of the original vegetation of the central plateau was stripped away during a century of phosphate mining, leaving behind a skeletal landscape of limestone pinnacles about 4 - 8 m high from around which the topsoil and phosphate deposits were removed. many areas have since regenerated to a karstic scrubland with small pockets of residual forest dominated by tomano trees, calophyllum inophyllum l., and strangler fig, ficus prolixa g. forst. the most extensive remnant forest areas are on the gentler slopes of the scarp and at its base. in describing the impact of human activities on the environment of nauru, thaman ( 1992 : 153 ) stated ” long habitation ; almost a century of open - cast phosphate mining ; continuous bombing, destruction, and displacement of the people during world war ii ; rapid urbanization ; and the abandonment of agriculture and subsistence activities on nauru have arguably produced one of the most severely modified


; almost a century of open - cast phosphate mining ; continuous bombing, destruction, and displacement of the people during world war ii ; rapid urbanization ; and the abandonment of agriculture and subsistence activities on nauru have arguably produced one of the most severely modified natural and cultural floras on earth. ” further descriptions of the physiognomy and vegetation of nauru are provided by manner et al. ( 1984 ), thaman et al. ( 1994 ), and morrison and manner ( 2005 ). materials and methods i visited nauru during 12 - 25 december 2006 and 29 march - 5 april 2007 to conduct surveys of birds, reptiles, butterflies, and dragonflies ; the 81 specimens of reptiles collected ( by hand ) were fixed in 10 % formalin, washed, transferred to 35 % isopropanol, and deposited in the bishop museum, honolulu ( bpbm ) ; the museum of comparative zoology, harvard university ( mcz ) ; the national museum of natural history, smithsonian institution ( usnm ) ; and the natural history museum, london ( nhm ). terms of abundance used to appraise overall status are based largely on my visual surveys : common ( at least 30, but often many more, sightings per day under optimum conditions ), fairly common ( approximately 10 - 30 encounters per day ), uncommon ( up to 10 per day, and unrecorded on some days ), scarce ( usually no more than five per day and may be unrecorded on many days ), vagrant ( unexpected on geographic grounds and known only from one or two records ). surveys were conducted during different times of the day under a variety of sunny and cloudy conditions but not during rain. snout - vent length in emoia arnoensis was measured with a millimeter rule to the nearest whole millimeter. values in table 1 are rounded to the nearest tenth resulting in some totals greater than 100 %. crocodylus cf. porosus schneider a ” small ” and presumably young crocodile first observed by swimmers at a beach on nauru on 18 september 1994 was captured and brought to the local police station where it was observed by many people ( webb 1994 : 13 ) ; the specimen was not saved. webb ( 1994 ) indicated that the animal was photographed, but no photograph was examined by him nor by any other members of the crocodile specialist group in australia ( c. manolis, pers. comm. ). the nearest population of crocodiles, and the most likely source of the nauru record,


no photograph was examined by him nor by any other members of the crocodile specialist group in australia ( c. manolis, pers. comm. ). the nearest population of crocodiles, and the most likely source of the nauru record, is c. porosus in the solomon islands, over 1, 000 km to the southwest. chelonia mydas linnaeus and eretmochelys imbricata linnaeus there are no well - documented specimen records of turtles on nauru. several reports that mention turtles in passing lack substantive detail, but some refer to at least two species, the green turtle, chelonia mydas, and the hawksbill turtle, eretmochelys imbricata. hambruch ( 1915 : 197 ), for example, included ” gru en schildkro te ” ( green turtle ) and ” echte schildkro te ” ( true turtle? = hawksbill? ) in a list of animals recorded on nauru ; his accompanying illustrations ( hambruch 1915 : figs. 281 and 282 ) are unidentifiable as to species. ernest stephen was marooned on nauru sometime during the 1870s at the age of 14 and spent most of his life on the island. in his recollections of naruan customs and beliefs ( written around 1902 or 1903 : wedgwood in stephen 1936 ), he remarked that ” turtles rarely visit the island ; [ and that ] at first the natives would not eat them, for they thought that they were spirits of their departed ” ( stephen 1936 : 57 ). thaman and hassall ( 1998 : 24 ) stated that ” both the hawksbill and green turtles... are occasionally present... [ and that ] some beaches were reportedly once nesting areas although this is no longer the case. ” in addition, fiji customs reported the importation of a small amount of worked tortoiseshell [ presumably from e. imbricata ] from nauru in 1978 ( groombridge and luxmoore 1989 ). i saw no turtles on nauru, but several residents told me that turtles occasionally visited the island, and that one had been captured not too long before as it was crossing the circumferential road ; the species was unidentified. gehyra mutilata ( weigmann ) the stump - toed or mutilating gecko occurs naturally from india and sri lanka through southeast asia to china, papua new guinea, and the indo -


road ; the species was unidentified. gehyra mutilata ( weigmann ) the stump - toed or mutilating gecko occurs naturally from india and sri lanka through southeast asia to china, papua new guinea, and the indo - australian archipelago ( lever 2003 ). it is widespread in the pacific ( mccoy 1980, zug 1991 ). the absence of allozyme protein variation between the pacific basin populations and those in the ancestral home of the species in southern asia supports a hypothesis of a relatively recent and probable human - assisted dispersal into oceania ( fisher 1997 ). gehyra mutilata is scarce on nauru ; one collected under flaking bark of a calophyllum tree in a small patch of forest on 17 december and another on a tree trunk at night in the buada lagoon settlement on 18 december 2006 are the only records. it was the only gecko not encountered in edificarian habitats, including buildings, walls, and other such structures constructed by humans ( table 1 ), but is usually found in such habits elsewhere in micronesia ( pers. obs. ). gehyra oceanica ( lesson ) the oceanic gecko is widespread in the pacific and is common on nauru. it was observed in edificarian and ruderal habitats as well as in remnant forest and often in small colonies occupying a building or a single tree. seven were collected from the outside walls of a house and adjacent buildings in nibok district, all within a 15 - min span shortly after sunset on 13 december. hemidactylus frenatus dumeril & bibron native to asia, the house gecko has colonized much of oceania since world war ii, often outcompeting or otherwise displacing other species ( hunsaker 1966, petren et al. 1993, case et al. 1994 ). it is common on nauru, especially on the cement walls of buildings, where it was regularly observed feeding on insects drawn to lights. it was frequently encountered also on tree trunks in the settlements as well as in more remote areas of the island. the time of its introduction to nauru is unknown. the earliest specimen record i found is usnm 200470, collected by r. v. wood on 18 april 1976 and accompanied by the annotation that the species was ” common everywhere in forest, ” which indicates that it was already well established. the record mentioned in bauer and henle ( 1994 ) is based on this specimen ( a. bauer, pers. com


by the annotation that the species was ” common everywhere in forest, ” which indicates that it was already well established. the record mentioned in bauer and henle ( 1994 ) is based on this specimen ( a. bauer, pers. comm. ). lepidodactylus lugubris ( dumeril & bibron ) the mourning gecko is widespread in the pacific ( gibbons 1985 ). it is common on nauru, being especially numerous in edificarian habitats and less frequently encountered in forest patches on tree trunks at night and under flaking bark during the day. bauer and henle ( 1994 ) and bauer ( pers. comm. ) recorded it first on nauru based on a specimen in the australian museum ( ams r - 7109 ). the collector and collection date are unknown, but the specimen was presented by a. h. s. lucas and registered into the ams collection in 1919 and could have been collected any time before that date ( r. sadlier, pers. comm. ). emoia arnoensis brown & marshall the arno atoll skink is endemic to eastern micronesia : the nominate form in the marshall islands and eastern caroline islands, and e. a. nauru on nauru. cogger ( in brown 1991 ) found e. a. nauru only in a small forest of ficus trees and in the dense surrounding shrub growth, and mainly on the aerial roots of trees. i saw no more than 20 during a total of 3 weeks on nauru and no more than six in one day. they were most frequently encountered on cement and stone walls that were bordered by dense thickets of shrubs, vines, and weeds alongside a road in a semiresidential area on the southwestern rim of the plateau. others were seen among limestone pinnacles, on aerial roots of ficus trees, and on the trunks of fallen trees throughout the island. the majority of those i encountered were extremely wary and typically sought refuge in abundantly available holes in the ground, or rock faces, which were always close by. in contrast, n. and b. vander velde ( pers. comm. ) stated that examples of the nominate subspecies they encountered in the marshall islands were readily approached and could be easily captured by hand. in snout - vent length, the 23 adults of the nominate subspecies from the caroline and marshall islands that brown ( 1991 ) examined ranged from 73. 0 to 85. 5 mm, and the 13 e. a. na


be easily captured by hand. in snout - vent length, the 23 adults of the nominate subspecies from the caroline and marshall islands that brown ( 1991 ) examined ranged from 73. 0 to 85. 5 mm, and the 13 e. a. nauru ranged from 69. 8 to 91. 0 mm. the six specimens i collected on nauru are larger than any reported by brown ( 1991 ) and ranged from 92 to 101 mm ( ave. 95. 2 mm ). most of the others i saw were of similar size, with only two or three that might have been considered juveniles. emoia cyanura ( lesson ) this is the most common lizard on nauru, being especially numerous in the coastal belt, along stone walls, and in leaf litter under shady forest trees. on two separate occasions, individuals i observed foraging along the waterline at the beach ran into tide pools at my approach and swam several meters to the opposite side. pelamis platura ( linnaeus ) the yellow - bellied sea snake is the most widely distributed of all sea snakes, ranging from the east coast of africa through the indian and pacific oceans to the west coast of the americas ( pickwell and culotta 1980, heatwole 1999 ). it is pelagic and seldom encountered along shorelines. collection data for the only two ( and previously unreported ) records for nauru are incomplete. one fluid - preserved specimen in the nauru hospital laboratory was said by current hospital staff to have been found in driftwood that was washing ashore sometime during the early to mid - 1990s. several islanders, including hospital staff, told me of another sea snake ( presumably another p. platura ) that was found on or near the shore approximately 2 - 3 yr before but was not saved. ramphotyphlops braminus ( daudin ) the brahminy blind snake, native to southeast asia, is considered ” the most successful disperser in the snake world... [ and ] the most probable [ dispersal ] mechanism is in the root balls of ornamental ( more recently ) or food ( historically ) plants transported by humans ” ( crombie and pregill 1999 : 66 ). it is established in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, including various pacific islands ( gibbons 1985 ). the flattened, mummified remains of a brahminy blind snake i found approximately 150 m east of the odn aiwo hotel, on the road to buada lagoon, 31 march 2007, is the only record for nauru


). the flattened, mummified remains of a brahminy blind snake i found approximately 150 m east of the odn aiwo hotel, on the road to buada lagoon, 31 march 2007, is the only record for nauru. the specimen ( mcz r - 185647 ) is in very poor condition but identifiable on the basis of size, coloration, and scutellation ( 20 scale rows and shape of rostral, with ca. 330 middorsal scales ) ; identification was confirmed by van wallach ( museum of comparative zoology, harvard university ). two resident islanders told me of seeing what are almost certainly ( based on their descriptions ) additional examples of this species, referring to small, shiny black, wormlike animals, with a pointed or spine - tipped tail. with the exception of the occasional yellowbellied sea snake ( pelamis platura ), at least two species of sea turtles, and a vagrant crocodile ( crocodylus cf. porosus ), all of which are marine, the herpetofauna of nauru consists of six species of lizards ( four geckos, two skinks ) and one blind snake, ramphotyphlops braminus ( table 2 ). the crocodile represents an unusual extralimital record. the only other extralimital records, and presumed examples of long - distance dispersal of salt water crocodiles in micronesia, include one c. porosus adult captured in pohnpei on 21 march 1971 ( allen 1974 ) and another near ailinglaplap atoll in the marshall islands in october 2004 ( manolis 2005 ; n. vander velde, pers. comm. ). the nearest population of crocodiles is roughly 1, 500 km and 2, 000 km to the south and southwest ( in the papua new guinea / solomon islands region ) of pohnpei and the marshall islands, respectively. amphibians do not occur on nauru, although the hospital laboratory has two fluidpreserved cane toads, bufo marinus ( linnaeus ). these are without accompanying data but were said by hospital staff to have been found at the airport in cargo arriving on a flight from saipan or kosrae sometime around the mid - 1990s. the blind snake is known definitely from only one salvaged road - killed specimen but is probably more numerous than the single record indicates ; its cryptic habits make assessment difficult. five of the six species of lizards on nauru are widespread in oceania. the four ge


blind snake is known definitely from only one salvaged road - killed specimen but is probably more numerous than the single record indicates ; its cryptic habits make assessment difficult. five of the six species of lizards on nauru are widespread in oceania. the four geckos live to different degrees commensally with humans, and all may have reached nauru with human assistance. fisher ( 1997 ) presented molecular evidence supporting a hypothesis of natural dispersal of gehyra oceanica in the southern pacific but not to the exclusion of human - assisted transport. three of the geckos are common, but gehyra mutilata is scarce ; its low numbers are possibly due to a negative impact of the presence of hemidactylus frenatus ( see, for example, buden and references cited therein ). of the two species of skinks on nauru, emoia cyanura has a very broad distribution in the pacific and has been recorded on more different island groups in the pacific basin than any other skink ( adler et al. 1995 ). emoia arnoensis, on the other hand, is the only reptile on nauru that has a relatively limited distribution, being endemic to eastern micronesia and with an endemic subspecies on nauru. both e. cyanura and e. arnoensis are the only species mentioned in the first report of reptiles on nauru ( waite 1903 ). emoia arnoensis has a limited distribution in eastern micronesia, where it is possibly confined to the marshall islands, nauru, and kosrae ; i consider the single record from chuuk as questionable. brown ( 1991 ) recorded the nominate subspecies in the marshall islands only on arno atoll, whence he examined 16 specimens collected mainly by ross kiester, who recorded it on 15 of the 33 islands that he surveyed in 1968 ( kiester 1983 ). elsewhere in the marshalls, gressitt ( 1961 ) recorded it on jaluit atoll, and a specimen that brown reported as from lae atoll in the caroline islands ( usnm 132258 ) was collected on lae islet, lae atoll, in the marshall islands by r. fosberg in 1952 ( g. zug, pers. comm. ). in addition, a juvenile e. cf. arnoensis collected on maloelap atoll by nancy vander velde on 11 april 2006 is in the bishop museum ( bpbm 23974 ). emoia arnoensis has been recorded in


addition, a juvenile e. cf. arnoensis collected on maloelap atoll by nancy vander velde on 11 april 2006 is in the bishop museum ( bpbm 23974 ). emoia arnoensis has been recorded in the caroline islands only on kosrae and rug island ( brown 1991 ). i saw it on kosrae occasionally, usually on the forest floor and in rocky areas near streams, during june and july 2002. the rug island record is based on one specimen ( cas - su 7541 ) collected by a. p. lundin, undated but cataloged ( in stanford university collections ) in 1938. rug [ = also ruc or ruk ] is an old and disused name for chuuk islands ( formerly truk ) and, in some usage, may refer specifically to fefan ( = fefen ) island. kiester ( 1983 ) remarked that he did not encounter e. arnoensis in chuuk, and i did not observe it during several hours on fefan in june 2003 and for about an hour in july 2007 nor on any of the other chuuk lagoon islands that i visited occasionally over the past several years. inasmuch as the specimen was examined by brown, it is unlikely to be a misidentified dark ( melanistic ) form of lamprolepis smaragdina. black or nearly black l. smaragdina have been recorded on several of the low coralline islands of chuuk ( kepler 1994 ), and i have observed several also on fefan and other high islands in the lagoon. the cas herpetological collection contains no other specimens collected by lundin, but the cas fish collection has specimens that lundin collected from both chuuk ( rug i. ) and kosrae ( d. catania, pers. comm. ). possibly lundin ’ s specimen of e. arnoensis may be mislabeled as to locality and may have originated from kosrae, not rug. emoia arnoensis ranges from the marshall islands and nauru westward to kosrae, then apparently skips pohnpei, and is known from chuuk only from the lundin record. a search of stanford university archives produced no additional information on the specimen or on a. p. lundin ( p. white, pers. comm. ). the status of e. arnoensis on chuuk is somewhat equivocal, and the record is in need of confirmation. to


specimen or on a. p. lundin ( p. white, pers. comm. ). the status of e. arnoensis on chuuk is somewhat equivocal, and the record is in need of confirmation. to what extent the more than 100 yr of continuing habitat degradation, largely by mining operations, has affected the number of reptile species present on nauru is uncertain because adequate baseline studies are lacking. however, there is no evidence to indicate that the herpetofauna was any richer in premining times than it is now. the earliest report on the reptiles, which dates back to the very early stages of mining, includes only two species of skinks ( waite 1903 ). however, among the species of lizards that are widely distributed in micronesia ( including small, low - lying atolls of the caroline islands and marshall islands ) and that are unknown from nauru are lepidodactylus moestus ( peters ), nactus pelagicus ( girard ), perochirus ateles ( dumeril ), emoia boettgeri ( sternfeld ), e. caeruleocauda ( de vis ), e. impar ( werner ), e. jakati ( kopstein ), eugongylus albofasciolatus ( gu nther ), lamprolepis smaragdina ( lesson ), and lipinia noctua ( lesson ). most, if not all, of these can be found in habitats considerably altered by human activity ( pers. obs. ). additional surveys may reveal the presence of some of these species on nauru. alternatively, their absence may be real and the especially meager herpetofauna likely a combined attribute of small island size and distance from potential source areas. for providing information on nauru specimens in their respective institutions, i thank carla kishinami and fred kraus ( bishop museum ), jens vindum ( california academy of sciences ), traci hartsell, ken tighe, and george zug ( national museum of natural history ), and ross sadlier ( australian museum ). for additional pertinent information relating to nauru, including assistance with the literature, i thank george balazs, aaron bauer, lui bell, dave catania, charlie manolis, mike mccoy, randy thaman, nancy and brian vander velde, and pam white. i thank van wallach for confirming identi - fi


balazs, aaron bauer, lui bell, dave catania, charlie manolis, mike mccoy, randy thaman, nancy and brian vander velde, and pam white. i thank van wallach for confirming identi - fication of ramphotyphlops braminus and for reviewing a preliminary draft of the manuscript. i am especially grateful to alamanda lauti, director of the nauru campus of the university of the south pacific, who greatly assisted in overcoming many of the obstacles associated with issues of transportation, entry documents, and collecting permits. i also thank dale deireragea for accompanying me in the field on numerous occasions and for sharing his knowledge of the island. 1 manuscript accepted 30 october 2007. adler, g. h., c. c. austin, and r. dudley. 1995. dispersal and speciation of skinks among archipelagos in the tropical pacific ocean. evol. ecol. 9 : 529 - 541. allen, g. r. 1974. the marine crocodile, crocodylus porosus, from ponape, eastern caroline islands, with notes on food habits of crocodiles from the palau archipelago. copeia 1974 : 553. bauer, a. m., and k. henle. 1994. family gekkonidae ( reptilia, sauria ). i. australia and oceania. das tierreich, teilband 109. walter de gruyter, berlin and new york. brown, w. c. 1991. lizards of the genus emoia ( scincidae ) with observations on their evolution and biogeography. calif. acad. sci. mem. 15 : 1 - 94. buden, d. w. 2007. reptiles of satawan atoll and the mortlock islands, chuuk state, federated states of micronesia. pac. sci. 61 : 415 - 428. case, t. j., d. t. bolger, and k. petren. 1994. invasions and competitive displacement among house geckos in the tropical pacific. ecology 75 : 464 - 477. crombie, r. i., and g. k. pregill. 1999. a checklist of the herpetofauna of the palau islands ( republic of belau ), oceania. herpetol. monogr. 13 : 29 - 80. fisher, r. n. 1997. dispersal and evolution of the pacific basin gekkonid


364 in a. g. j. rhodin and k. myiata, eds. advances in herpetology and evolutionary biology : essays in honor of ernest e. williams. museum of comparative zoology, harvard university, cambridge, massachusetts. lever, c. 2003. naturalized reptiles and amphibians of the world. oxford university press, oxford. mccoy, m. 1980. reptiles of the solomon islands. wau ecology institute handbook 7. wau, papua new guinea. manner, h. i., r. r. thaman, and d. c. hassall. 1984. phosphate mining induced vegetation changes on nauru island. ecology 65 : 1454 - 1465. manolis, c. 2005. long - distance movement by a saltwater crocodile. crocodile specialist group newsletter 24 ( 4 ) : 18. morrison, r. j., and h. i. manner. 2005. premining pattern of soils on nauru, central pacific. pac. sci. 59 : 523 - 540. petren, k., d. t. bolger, and t. j. case. 1993. mechanisms in the competitive success of an invading sexual gecko over an asexual native. science ( washington, d. c. ) 259 : 354 - 358. pickwell, g. v., and w. a. culotta. 1980. pelamis, p. platurus. cat. am. amphib. reptiles 255 : 1 - 4. stephen, e. 1936. notes on nauru. oceania 7 : 34 - 63. thaman, r. r. 1992. vegetation of nauru and gilbert islands : case studies in poverty, degradation, disturbance, and displacement. pac. sci. 46 : 128 - 158. thaman, r. r., f. r. fosberg, h. i. manner, and d. c. hassall. 1994. the flora of nauru. atoll res. bull. 392 : 1 - 232. thaman, r. r., and d. c. hassall. 1998. republic of nauru : national environmental management strategy and national environmental action plan. south pacific regional environment program ( sprep ), apia, samoa. waite, e. r. 1903. the reptiles. page 2 in a. j. north, e. r. waite, c. hedley, w. j. rainbow, t. whiteleg


| religious freedom ranking : 3. 5 out of 5 stars : needs improvement ghana was the first african country to gain independence. the country suffered from instability and corruption until 1981 when flight lieutenant jerry rawlings staged a coup and led the nation to economic stability and democracy. the 1992 constitution established the nation as a democracy and ghana is now a model for political and economic reform in africa. furthermore, in 2007 oil was discovered off shore, adding to the country ’ s prosperity. there are approximately 24 million citizens in ghana. christians account for 69 percent of the population, 15. 6 percent is muslim, 8. 5 percent practice indigenous beliefs, and 6. 9 percent follow other religions including people that have no specific religious beliefs. among the christians, roman catholics, methodists, anglicans, mennonites, evangelical presbyterians, african methodist episcopal zion church members, evangelical lutherans, f ’ edens, mormons, seventh - day adventists, pentecostals, baptists, african independent churches, and quakers are present. there are also several islamic traditions present including orthodox sunni, ahmadi, the tijani and qadiriyya orders of sufi, and shi ’ a. among the indigenous beliefs, most practice afrikania. other religious groups present are baha ’ is, buddhists, jews, hindus, shintoists, ninchiren shoshu buddhists, sai baba followers, eckankar, the divine light mission, hare krishna, rastafarians and unificationists. the constitution provides for freedom of religion and the government generally respects this right. the government does require all public school students to attend religious assemblies. some muslims and members of traditional religions have objected to this. furthermore, there have been some clashes between religious groups and the government has not always prosecuted those responsible. foreign missionary groups have generally operated throughout the country with a minimum of formal restrictions. there is no government body that regulates religious affairs, but religious groups are required to register with the government to receive formal recognition. while the government does not discriminate based on religion and it supports organizations that promote religious tolerance, there are reports that citizens in rural areas banished women accused of practicing witchcraft. there are also reports of human rights violations that have occurred at prayer camps, typically pentecostal, where people, often with mental illnesses, were chained for weeks, physically assaulted, and denied food and water to remove evil spirits. 2010 u. s. state department international religious freedom report on ghana ghana - new world encyclopedia ghana country profile - bbc news


provides readers with an overview of literary works that explore the theme of the american dream. analyzes poetry, plays, short stories, novels, and works of nonfiction that address this theme in some capacity, and how that theme has been treated in literature at different times in history and across diverse cultures. in 262 entries, this 3 - vol. set examines landmark pieces of legislation, explaining the historical factors that led to the proposal of each act, looking at the adoption process and assessing each act ' s impact on american life. all aspects of legislation are covered, including the national prohibition act, the civil rights act, the family and medical leave act, the americans with disabilities act, the fair housing act, the freedom of information act and much more. a focus on leading social issues of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. each title contains approximately 175 full or excerpted documents - - - speeches, legislation, magazine and newspaper articles, essays, memoirs, letters, interviews, novels, songs, and works of art - - - as well as overview information that places each document in context. explores the many different types of prejudice, their history, what causes these prejudices in people and societies, and their consequences. presents profiles of diverse and unique men and women who played key roles in the history of prejudice. excerpted documents tell various stories in the words of the people who fought prejudice, acted out prejudices, and those who were the victims of prejudice. includes more than 2, 700 signed essays ranging from 500 to 2, 500 words, written by subject experts and edited to form a consistent, readable, and straightforward reference. entries include subject - specific bibliographies and, where appropriate, photographs and textual cross - references to related essays. profiles major u. s. supreme court decisions that have made a significant impact on american society. each volume is organized by broad legal principles such as individual liberties, criminal justice, equal protection, and business and government law. within this framework, case entries are arranged under the more specific legal issue to which they relate, such as affirmative action, capital punishment, freedom of speech, and monopolies. focused on a popular topic, this exciting collection gives students and teachers substantial material for discussion and research. the three - volume set shows how television has reflected and influenced american society and culture throughout its history, covering both positive and negative effects. written by : kuhnke, elizabeth published by : wiley, 2007 this is the premier full - text resource for coverage of the research and development spectrum of the applied


ponder this ‘ strange telescope ’ buried deep at the south polefindings from extraordinary scientific research in the heart of antarctica - - the icecube neutrino observatory - - that includes a uw - river falls connection will be presented on campus and at a main street cafe the week of nov. 26 - dec. 1. by : phil pfuehler, river falls journal findings from extraordinary scientific research in the heart of antarctica - - the icecube neutrino observatory - - that includes a uw - river falls connection will be presented on campus and at a main street cafe the week of nov. 26 - dec. 1. “ the icecube is the biggest and strangest telescope in the word, and the largest science project ever funded in wisconsin, ” says jim madsen, uwrf physics department chairman and professor who ’ s been to the south pole to help set up the icecube observatory. “ it involves more than 250 scientists around the world in 38 institutions. despite trying technological challenges associated with new ideas that need to work in the extreme antarctic environment, construction of the project was completed in six years - - on time, under budget, and exceeding specifications. ” as described in a february 2007 journal story, the icecube telescope, with its network of cylindrical light - detecting cables, was being assembled and gradually submerged into borings more than a mile deep under crystal - clear ice. the intent was to chart ghostly subatomic particles called neutrinos that come from decaying radioactive elements. neutrinos are born by spatial disruptions, like the collision of two stars. billions pass unseen through the earth. “ the neutrinos are produced far out in space but collide near the south pole with atoms, ” madsen said. “ before they collide, they are invisible. ” madsen said scientists are already translating early icecube data. “ the big things we have seen are, we confirmed that neutrinos don ' t travel faster than the speed of light, ” he said. “ we also have shown that at higher energies, neutrinos continue to change from one type to another as they travel. “ it is like you buy a buick, but as you drive, it continually changes to a ford then to a honda then back to a buick. only when you stop does it stop changing. “ so your neighbor only sees one type of car in the driveway when you get home. each day though it could be either a buick, a


the history of polk county submitted by 3 - 25 - 2004 the standard, cedartown, ga july 10, 1924 by rev. wm. j. debardeleben, of atlanta polk county, one of the richest and most beautiful sections of north georgia, was formerly a part of paulding with headquarters at van wert. its birth dates back to april 1, 1852, at which time cedartown was made the county site, with stephen a. borders as first ordinary. the population of this county, now given at 20, 050, is in no danger of suffering a decrease from the simple fact that this section boasts the lowest death rate in the state. high altitude, abundance of substantial food and pure water are some of the reasons given for longevity of the < inhabitants. as an evidence of this, cedartown, 900 feet above the sea level, has a water supply from a natural spring that furnishes a volume of 8, 000, 000 gallons every 24 hours. the soil of polk county is specially adapted to apples, peaches, plums and other fruit. besides favorable conditions for the growing of cotton, corn, potatoes and other farm products, it is especially suited to dairying, stock raising and poultry. an additional advantage is the fact that no farm in the county is over six miles from the railroad. ten thousand bales of cotton are marketed annually through the county seat. morgan valley, which is noted for its beautiful scenery, is one of the most fertile spots in the state of georgia. the mines of cedartown produce 4, 100 tons per month. its industries have over 1, 000 employes, with an annual pay roll of approximately $ 1, 000, 000. there is located here a branch of the united state finishing company, a new england plant, valued at $ 6, 000, 000. the management of this concern is so well pleased with its success in this locality that it is now doubling its capacity, and will soon be turning out a million yards of cloth each month. the parent plant of this branch last year dyed and finished enough yard - wide cloth to go six times around the earth. in addition to the numerous mines and manufacturing enterprises of cedartown, there are several others in different parts of the county. the most important of these are the aragon cotton mills, the southern states portland cement company, georgia. stone & cement company, and the rockmart brick & slate company. more than 1, 200 men are given employment by these organizations, the pay roll amounting to more than $ 1


aragon cotton mills, the southern states portland cement company, georgia. stone & cement company, and the rockmart brick & slate company. more than 1, 200 men are given employment by these organizations, the pay roll amounting to more than $ 1, 000, 000 per annum. the brick manufactured in rockmart, make of crushed shale, are used especially for paving and high - class building projects. the plant has 11 large kilns with a capacity of 30, 000 paving bricks or 45, 000 building brick per day. this concern has advance orders for more than twelve months ahead. an evidence of the farsightedness and efficiency of polk county captains of industry is furnished by the manner in which they are blasting these mountains of rock and making of them the greatest commodity in the world for the building of highways and skyscrapers. the output of one of the cement plants is approximately 400, 000 barrels of cement yearly ; 50, 000 tons of coal and 160, 000 tons of raw material are required in making cement. a trip through one of these cement plants, witnessing the process from the time the rock is blasted out of the mountain till it is sacked and ready for shipment, is a most thrilling experience. its manufacture is described by one of the officials in the following manner : " portland cement, a name given it by an englishman on account of its resemblance to stone quarried on the island of portland, england, is made of lime, silica and alumina. these ingredients are secured from different combinations of materials, such as limestone, clay, shale, marl and blast furnace slag. from quarry to pit these materials are transported to the mill, where they are reduced to fine powder with much heavy grinding machinery. in the process they must be correctly proportioned and thoroughly mixed so that the mixture is chemically exact. the powdered raw material then goes to the kilns for burning. these kilns are huge steel cylinders lined with fire brick. " coming from the kilns in the shape of white - hot clinkers consisting of glass - hard balls ranging in size from a small marble to a walnut, this material is sent to coolers and storage piles. later it is ground with a small amount of gypsum, added to regulate the rate hardening. in this final grinding the hard clinker is reduced to a powder finer than flour. standard specifications demand that it be fine enough to shake through a sieve having 40, 000 holes to a square inch, a sieve finer than


hardening. in this final grinding the hard clinker is reduced to a powder finer than flour. standard specifications demand that it be fine enough to shake through a sieve having 40, 000 holes to a square inch, a sieve finer than silk. " there are 39 schools in the county, 13 of which are colored. over 5, 000 children have been enrolled, while preparations are now being made to accommodate more. besides the high schools of cedartown, which are valued at more than $ 200, 000, there is one near the city limits known as the benedict school. this plant is valued at $ 6, 000. there is also a $ 4, 000 school at aragon, which is doing a wonderful work in the interest of the employes of the cotton mills. this, in addition to the splendid plant at rockmart and other sections, is prophetic of the great intellectual advantages that are promised to the future citizens of the county. an item worthy of mention, and which should be of interest to every citizen and school board in the state, is the fact that william janes, the superintendent of education, has a complete alphabetical roll of every scholar, white and colored, in his jurisdiction. in this manner he is enabled to keep tabs both on the individual and also the work of the various institutions throughout the bounds of the county. more valuable to the citizens of georgia and of the south than all the various industries of polk county are her institutions of learning. among these, none have contributed more effectively than old piedmont institute. of this institution, col. r. w. everett, formerly representative from the seventh district of georgia in the united states congress, said : " in 1890 there was erected, principally by the citizens of rockmart and adjacent country, but under the auspices of the m. e. church, south, an imposing and substantial school building, known as piedmont institute, that has done more for the moral, social, intellectual uplift of rockmart than all other influence combined - - the churches not excepted, for piedmont has been both church and school. " from this school have gone some of georgia ' s useful citizens. among these are to be found such men as judge fred branson, of oklahoma ; col. w. w. mundy, of cedartown, one of our state senators ; prof. walter jones, of macon, and dr. c. e. waits, one of atlanta ' s leading specialists. among the ministers of the north georgia conference that have gone from piedmont institute


, of cedartown, one of our state senators ; prof. walter jones, of macon, and dr. c. e. waits, one of atlanta ' s leading specialists. among the ministers of the north georgia conference that have gone from piedmont institute are revs. lee allgood and irby henderson, pastors of prominent atlanta churches ; rev. thos. a. branson of washington, and rev. g. g. venable of monroe, the latter having at one time served as president. these and hundreds of others are products of this institution, who are carrying out the injunction of the master in their ministry of preaching, teaching and healing. old van wert, the original county site, contains many points of historic interest. it is said to have received its name from one of the three men who captured benedict arnold. mr. e. c. kingsbery, a citizen of rockmart, has in his possession the original plat and map of the town of van wert. he has also a paper showing the advertisement of the sale of town lots, which took place sept. 5 and 6, 1837. there were 91 original lots, ranging in price from $ 212 to $ 299. the first lot was sold to john a. jones for $ 80. van wert has the credit of establishing waterworks long before the people of atlanta had ceased to draw from wells or visit the nearby springs. it is also of interest to know that these works were installed without the use of a single iron pipe. huge logs, bored out in the center, fastened together on the outside, and coupled to smaller ones for installation in the houses, furnished the necessary conduits. it was here that the illustrious sam p. jones first served as pastor. the house in which his children were born is still standing. the parsonage he built, which served as the house for the methodist preacher of rockmart has since been replaced by a more modern and commodious dwelling near the methodist church. the old van wert church, in which this spiritual giant first began his labors, stands as a silent sentinel for those who sleep in the adjoining cemetery, where so many sacred memories thrill the soul no one can enter without removing his hat and feeding that he is treading on holy ground. such sanctuaries, scattered throughout georgia, call the tourist to check his roaring automobile and pause for an hour, while recollections fill the mind with the heroic lives and deeds of our forefathers - - the pioneers who at


basal cell nevus syndrome genetics and cancer - basal cell nevus syndrome ( gorlin syndrome ) the risk for ovarian cancer and skin cancer is increased with basal cell nevus syndrome ( also called gorlin syndrome and nevoid basal cell carcinoma ), a rare autosomal dominant cancer genetic syndrome. features associated with basal cell nevus syndrome may include the following : - development of more than two basal cell carcinomas ( cancer of the outer layer of the skin ) before the age of 20 - cysts in the jaw - characteristic facial appearance - calcification of the falx ( a variation in the appearance of the skull that is visible on x - rays ) - pits in the palms and soles of the feet - macrocephaly ( enlarged head size ) - rib or vertebral abnormalities - increased risk of medulloblastoma - increased risk of ovarian fibromas ( benign, or noncancerous, tumors ) basal cell nevus syndrome is caused by changes in a tumor suppressor gene, called ptch, located on chromosome 9. mutations in this gene may increase the risk of some cancers. tumor suppressor genes usually control cell growth and cell death. both copies of a tumor suppressor gene must be altered, or mutated, before a person may develop cancer. with basal cell nevus syndrome, the first mutation is inherited from either the mother or the father in 70 percent to 80 percent of cases. in 20 percent to 30 percent of cases, the first mutation is not inherited and arises de novo ( for the first time ) in the fertilized egg from which the person with symptoms was conceived. whether de novo or inherited, this first mutation is present in all of the cells of the body and, as such, is called a germline mutation. whether a person who has a germline mutation will develop cancer and where the cancer ( s ) will develop depends upon where ( which cell type ) the second mutation occurs. for example, if the second mutation is in the skin, then skin cancer may develop. if it is in the ovary, then ovarian cancer may develop. the process of tumor development actually requires mutations in multiple growth control genes. loss of both copies of ptch is just the first step in the process. what causes these additional mutations is unknown. possible causes include chemical, physical, or biological environmental exposures ( such as sunlight ) or chance errors in cell replication. some individuals who have inherited a germline tumor


you are here engineers are working hard to ensure that cars and car seats are designed to keep kids as safe as possible. but it ’ s up to every parent to take full advantage of these innovations by making sure car seats and booster seats are used and installed correctly. here ’ s what you need to know to ensure that your most precious cargo is safe in cars. road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the united states. correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent. - seventy - three percent of car seats are not used or installed correctly, so before you hit the road, check your car seat. here ’ s a quick car seat checklist to help you out. it takes only 15 minutes. if you are having even the slightest trouble, questions or concerns, certified child passenger safety technicians are able to help or even double check your work. - learn how to install your car seat for free. safe kids hosts car seat inspection events across the country where certified technicians can help make sure your car seat is properly installed. they will teach you so that you can always be sure your car seat is used correctly. find a safe kids car seat checkup event near you. - buy a used car seat only if you know its full crash history. that means you must buy it from someone you know, not from a thrift store or over the internet. once a car seat has been in a crash, it needs to be replaced. - we know that when adults wear seat belts, kids wear seat belts. so be a good example and buckle up for every ride. be sure everyone in the vehicle buckles up, too. - never leave your child alone in a car, not even for a minute. while it may be tempting to dash out for a quick errand, the temperature inside your car can rise 20 degrees and cause heatstroke in the time it takes for you to run in and out of the store. while it may seem like you need an engineering degree to figure out which child safety seat is best for your child, don ’ t worry. we ’ ve got you covered. read more tips and we ’ ll help you pick the right seat for your child ’ s age, weight, height and developmental stage.


interesting topic. it got derailed, but it ’ s still an interesting topic. the term “ universe from nothing ” is true. it is also misleading. the underlying cause ( s ) that gave rise to our universe were there before our universe came into existence, and they are still there ( otherwise our universe would cease to exist ). the thing is, the underlying causes are not our universe, at least not as we understand it. they are something so alien and tenuous as to still have the power to be referred to as “ mysterious ”. space itself is one mysterious aspect of our universe. the universe as we understand it could not exist without it, whatever it is. matter is bubbling into existence in space as space continues to expand. this too is wholly mysterious at the present time. where things get confusing is in the language. yes, there is something out there and all around us that has some causal relationship to our universe, but that something is something other. it is not of our universe. it ’ s all around us. it is connected to our universe. it is the underlying cause, of which we are the effect. but it is not us. it is other, with laws and properties that just plain don ’ t work the same as in our neck of the woods. let ’ s say that our universe is the foam you get from aerating water, and that aerated foam - water existed only here. that is the type of thing scientists are referring to when they say “ something from nothing ”. the sentient foam - water ( us ) doesn ’ t realise that it doesn ’ t really exist, that it is the temporary byproduct of turbulence. the foam - creatures living in the foam have their own little universe - within - a - universe, but that universe is not simply the air or the water. it is a made thing, from combining the two, and as it is neither air nor water, but the combination of the two under special circumstances, it is therefore a condition rather than a thing, and that condition, which is us, is something other in terms of water and air.


more than 5 million americans suffer from heart valve disease, a condition affecting the leaflets that keep blood flowing through the heart in the right direction. but many people are unaware they have the condition that, left untreated, can gradually put hearts — and lives — at risk. a heart murmur may be the only sign of a problem, say experts. in most cases, the disease develops so slowly that people barely notice its symptoms. to protect your heart, ask your doctor about testing for valve abnormalities if you experience any of the following : ▪ shortness of breath when performing normal daily activities, exercising, or lying flat. ▪ irregular heartbeats, a rapid heart rhythm, skipped beats or a “ flip - flop ” sensation in the chest. ▪ swelling of the ankles, feet, or abdomen ▪ fatigue, weakness, or dizziness ▪ pressure or weight in the chest with activity or going out in cold air that is unrelated to heart attack or coronary artery disease. treating valve problems with prescription drugs is often effective. those with more serious abnormalities, however, require surgical treatment to avoid heart damage and restore normal valve function. a scaffolding for the heart around the world, more than 200, 000 people have surgery to repair the aortic valve — the doorway through which oxygen - rich blood passes as it exits the heart. in addition, about 75, 000 americans have procedures to repair the heart ’ s mitral valve that opens into its main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, and keeps blood flowing normally through the heart. an innovative new patch called cormatrix ecm ( extracellular matrix ) allows doctors to expand an area of the heart to make room for the replacement valve, explains marc gerdisch, m. d., director of cardiothoracic surgery at the st. francis heart center in indianapolis. in other cases, the new material may be used for reconstructing a flap on a patient ’ s valve, adds the surgeon, who was the first in the world to use the ecm material to rebuild structures inside the heart. see how ecm technology helps repair damaged heart tissue.


there are over 16, 000 public libraries in the united states, and no two are exactly alike! thankfully, they do have a lot in common. refresh your memory of these fundamentals to help you guide your child. she ' ll walk away with both a stack of books and a positive attitude towards the library. getting a library card you don ' t need a library card to visit and browse the library, use its computers, or participate in programs such as summer reading clubs or story hours, but it is essential for borrowing materials. requirements vary, but generally you ' ll only need to bring proof of residency ( such as a driver ' s license ) to get a card. most libraries require a parent or guardian to sign any minor ' s application for a card. beyond that, your child may need to bring a report card or other id to indicate her grade level and will probably need to be able to print her own name. checkouts, renewals, and fines once your child has her card in hand, she can check out books, magazines, and audio and video recordings. loan periods vary from library to library and depend on the type of material. the standard time is usually from one week ( for new books, videos, and magazines ) to three weeks ( for most books ). it ' s important to return materials on time or your child will owe the library fees for each day that each item is overdue. fines for children ' s items are sometimes reduced, but daily fines of five cents to two dollars can really add up after a few weeks! the dewey decimal system one thing that hasn ' t changed in the last hundred years is the way books are classified in every library in the u. s. the dewey decimal system organizes materials into broad topics that are then broken down into smaller subtopics, which are then divided into even more specific subjects. these numbers are used to assign every book a " call number. " what has changed since your childhood trips to the library is that card catalogs have largely gone the way of the dinosaur. instead, most libraries rely on computers to store their ever - expanding catalogs. systems vary, of course, but there are four major types of searches that carry across all of them : - author : if you know the first, or better yet, last name of the author, illustrator, artist, or editor of the work you are looking for, you can use that to search. - title : if you know at least part of the title you are looking for, find it


or better yet, last name of the author, illustrator, artist, or editor of the work you are looking for, you can use that to search. - title : if you know at least part of the title you are looking for, find it by entering the part you remember in the correct order as the search term. - subject : when you ' re doing research on a subject or can ' t remember the title or author of a work but can remember what it was about, enter the general topic ( such as " mammals " ) and a list of fiction, nonfiction, and any other media related to that subject will pop up. - keyword : use this method when you know a book ' s title has certain words in it but not what order they ' re in, when the title is long but has a few unique words within it, or if you are looking for materials that cover more than one subject. once your child has gotten some search results, he may be able to sort the list by author, title, or call number, or narrow the results by searching for words within his results. the list may also indicate whether a book is available or checked out. then he can write or print out the call numbers of promising books and find them in the stacks. computers in the library may also allow access to encyclopedias and other online references, family history databases, and photo archives. some libraries also have workstations set up with software your child can use to learn and to complete school projects. the best way to find out what ' s available is, as always, to ask a librarian! recommended products for your child ages 8 - 10


* 1 / 4 cup of water * 1 / 4 cup of white craft glue ( like elmer ' s glue ) * 1 / 4 cup of liquid starch ( used for clothes ) * food coloring ( optional ) * mixing bowl * mixing spoon - pour all of the the glue into the mixing bowl. - pour all of the water to the mixing bowl with the glue. - stir the glue and water together. - add your food color now - about 6 drops should do it. - now add the liquid starch and stir it in. - it should be nice and blobby by now. as you play with your slimy concoction, it will become more stretchy and easier to hold. - explore your slimy creation and store it in a zip bag when you are not using it. the glue is a liquid polymer. this means that the tiny molecules in the glue are in strands like a chain. when you add the liquid starch, the strands of the polymer glue hold together, giving it its slimy feel. the starch acts as a cross - linker that links all the polymer strands together. the project above is a demonstration. to make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions : 1. does changing the amount of water or glue change the feel of the slime? 2. do different glues make better slime? 3. how does changing the amount of each ingredient change how the slime turns out? 4. what happens to slime if it is stored out of a bag compared to in a bag?