katharine, the shrew, was the eldest daughter of baptista, a rich gentleman of padua. she was a lady of such an ungovernable spirit and fiery temper, such a loud - tongued scold, that she was known in padua by no other name than katharine the shrew. it seemed very unlikely, indeed impossible, that any gentleman would ever be found who would venture to marry this lady, and therefore baptista was much blamed for deferring his consent to many excellent offers that were made to her gentle sister bianca, putting off all bianca ' s suitors with this excuse, that when the eldest sister was fairly off his bands they should have free leave to address young bianca. it happened, however, that a gentleman, named petruchio, came to padua purposely to look out for a wife, who, nothing discouraged by these reports of katharine ' s temper, and hearing she was rich and handsome, resolved upon marrying this famous termagant, and taming her into a meek and manageable wife. and truly none was so fit to set about this herculean labor as petruchio, whose spirit was as high as katharine ' s, and he was a witty and most happy - tempered humorist, and withal so wise, and of such a true judgment, that he well knew how to feign a passionate and furious deportment when his spirits were so calm that himself could have laughed merrily at his own angry feigning, for his natural temper was careless and easy ; the boisterous airs he assumed when he became the husband of katharine being but in sport, or, more properly speaking, affected by his excellent discernment, as the only means to overcome, in her own way, the passionate ways of the furious katharine. a - courting, then, petruchio went to katharine the shrew ; and first of all he applied to baptista, her father, for leave to woo his gentle daughter katharine, as petruchio called her, saying, archly, that, having heard of her bashful modesty and mild behavior, he had come from verona to solicit her love. her father, though he wished her married, was forced to confess katharine would ill answer this character, it being soon apparent of what manner of gentleness she was composed, for her music - master rushed into the room to complain that the gentle katharine, his pupil, had broken his head with her lute for presuming to find fault with her performance ; which


apparent of what manner of gentleness she was composed, for her music - master rushed into the room to complain that the gentle katharine, his pupil, had broken his head with her lute for presuming to find fault with her performance ; which, when petruchio heard, he said : “ it is a brave wench. i love her more than ever, and long to have some chat with her. ” and hurrying the old gentleman for a positive answer, he said : “ my business is in haste, signor baptista. i cannot come every day to woo. you knew my father. he is dead, and has left me heir to all his lands and goods. then tell me, if i get your daughter ' s love, what dowry you will give with her. ” baptista thought his manner was somewhat blunt for a lover ; but, being glad to get katharine married, he answered that he would give her twenty thousand crowns for her dowry, and half his estate at his death. so this odd match was quickly agreed on and baptista went to apprise his shrewish daughter of her lover ' s addresses, and sent her in to petruchio to listen to his suit. in the mean time petruchio was settling with himself the mode of courtship be should pursue ; and he said : “ i will woo her with some spirit when she comes. if she rails at me, why, then i will tell her she sings as sweetly as a nightingale ; and if she frowns, i will say she looks as clear as roses newly washed with dew. if she will not speak a word, i will praise the eloquence of her language ; and if she bids me leave her, i will give her thanks as if she bid me stay with her a week. ” now the stately katharine entered, and petruchio first addressed her with : “ good morrow, kate, for that is your name, i hear. ” katharine, not liking this plain salutation, said, disdainfully, “ they call me katharine who do speak to me. ” “ you lie, ” replied the lover ; “ for you are called plain kate, and bonny kate, and sometimes kate the shrew ; but, kate, you are the prettiest kate in christendom, and therefore, kate, hearing your mildness praised in every town, i am come to woo you for my wife. ” a strange courtship they made of it. she in loud and angry terms showing him how justly


kate in christendom, and therefore, kate, hearing your mildness praised in every town, i am come to woo you for my wife. ” a strange courtship they made of it. she in loud and angry terms showing him how justly she had gained the name of shrew, while he still praised her sweet and courteous words, till at length, hearing her father coming, he said ( intending to make as quick a wooing as possible ) : “ sweet katharine, let us set this idle chat aside, for your father has consented that you shall be my wife, your dowry is agreed on, and whether you will or no i will marry you. ” and now baptista entering, petruchio told him his daughter had received him kindly and that she had promised to be married the next sunday. this katharine denied, saying she would rather see him hanged on sunday, and reproached her father for wishing to wed her to such a madcap ruffian as petruchio. petruchio desired her father not to regard her angry words, for they had agreed she should seem reluctant before him, but that when they were alone he had found her very fond and loving ; and he said to her : “ give me your hand, kate. i will go to venice to buy you apparel against our wedding - day. provide the feast, father, bid the wedding guests. i will be sure to bring rings, fine array, and rich clothes, that my katharine may be fine. and kiss me, kate, for we will be married on sunday. ” on the sunday all the wedding guests were assembled, but they waited long before petruchio came, and katharine wept for vexation to think that petruchio had only been making a jest of her. at last, however, he appeared ; but he brought none of the bridal finery be had promised katharine, nor was he dressed himself like a bridegroom, but in strange, disordered attire, as if he meant to make a sport of the serious business he came about ; and his servant and the very horses on which they rode were in like manner in mean and fantastic fashion habited. petruchio could not be persuaded to change his dress. he said katharine was to be married to him, and not to his clothes. and, finding it was in vain to argue with him, to the church they went, he still behaving in the same mad way, for when the priest asked petruchio if katharine


be married to him, and not to his clothes. and, finding it was in vain to argue with him, to the church they went, he still behaving in the same mad way, for when the priest asked petruchio if katharine should be his wife, he swore so loud that she should, that, all amazed, the priest let fall his book, and as he stooped to take it up this mad - brained bridegroom gave him such a cuff that down fell the priest and his book again. and all the while they were being married he stamped and swore so that the high - spirited katharine trembled and shook with fear. after the ceremony was over, while they were yet in the church, he called for wine, and drank a loud health to the company, and threw a sop which was at the bottom of the glass full in the sexton ' s face, giving no other reason for this strange act than that the sexton ' s beard grew thin and hungerly, and seemed to ask the sop as he was drinking. never sure was there such a mad marriage ; but petruchio did but put this wildness on the better to succeed in the plot he had formed to tame his shrewish wife. baptista had provided a sumptuous marriage feast, but when they returned from church, petruchio, taking hold of katharine, declared his intention of carrying his wife home instantly, and no remonstrance of his father - in - law, or angry words of the enraged katharine, could make him change his purpose. he claimed a husband ' s right to dispose of his wife as he pleased, and away he hurried katharine off ; he seeming so daring and resolute that no one dared attempt to stop him. petruchio mounted his wife upon a miserable horse, lean and lank, which he had picked out for the purpose, and, himself and his servant no better mounted, they journeyed on through rough and miry ways, and ever when this horse of katharine ' s stumbled he would storm and swear at the poor jaded beast, who could scarce crawl under his burthen, as if he had been the most passionate man alive. at length, after a weary journey, during which katharine had heard nothing but the wild ravings of petruchio at the servant and the horses, they arrived at his house. petruchio welcomed her kindly to her home, but he resolved she should have neither rest nor food that night. the tables were spread


but the wild ravings of petruchio at the servant and the horses, they arrived at his house. petruchio welcomed her kindly to her home, but he resolved she should have neither rest nor food that night. the tables were spread, and supper soon served ; but petruchio, pretending to find fault with every dish, threw the meat about the floor, and ordered the servants to remove it away ; and all this he did, as he said, in love for his katharine, that she might not eat meat that was not well dressed. and when katharine, weary and supperless, retired to rest, he found the same fault with the bed, throwing the pillows and bedclothes about the room, so that she was forced to sit down in a chair, where, if, she chanced to drop asleep, she was presently awakened by the loud voice of her husband storming at the servants for the ill - making of his wife ' s bridal - bed. the next day petruchio pursued the same course, still speaking kind words to katharine, but, when she attempted to eat, finding fault with everything that was set before her, throwing the breakfast on the floor as he had done the supper ; and katharine, the haughty katharine, was fain to beg the servants would bring her secretly a morsel of food ; but they, being instructed by petruchio, replied they dared not give her anything unknown to their master. “ ah, ” said she, “ did he marry me to famish me? beggars that come to my father ' s door have food given them. but i, who never knew what it was to entreat for anything, am starved for want of food, giddy for want of sleep, with oaths kept waking, and with brawling fed ; and that which vexes me more than all, he does it under the name of perfect love, pretending that if i sleep or eat, it were present death to me. ” here the soliloquy was interrupted by the entrance of petruchio. he, not meaning she should be quite starved, had brought her a small portion of meat, and he said to her : “ how fares my sweet kate? here, love, you see how diligent i am. i have dressed your meat myself. i am sure this kindness merits thanks. what, not a word? nay, then you love not the meat, and all the pains i have taken is to no purpose.


see how diligent i am. i have dressed your meat myself. i am sure this kindness merits thanks. what, not a word? nay, then you love not the meat, and all the pains i have taken is to no purpose. ” he then ordered the servant to take the dish away. extreme hunger, which had abated the pride of katharine, made her say, though angered to the heart, “ i pray you let it stand. ” but this was not all petruchio intended to bring her to, and he replied, “ the poorest service is repaid with thanks, and so shall mine before you touch the meat. ” on this katharine brought out a reluctant “ i thank you, sir. ” and now he suffered her to make a slender meal, saying : “ much good may it do your gentle heart, kate. eat apace! and now, my honey love, we will return to your father ' s house and revel it as bravely as the best, with silken coats and caps and golden rings, with ruffs and scarfs and fans and double change of finery. ” and to make her believe be really intended to give her these gay things, he called in a tailor and a haberdasher, who brought some new clothes he had ordered for her, and then, giving her plate to the servant to take away, before she had half satisfied her hunger, he said : “ what, have you dined? ” the haberdasher presented a cap, saying, “ here is the cap your worship bespoke. ” on which petruchio began to storm afresh, saying the cap was molded in a porringer and that it was no bigger than a cockle or walnut shell, desiring the haberdasher to take it away and make it bigger. katharine said, “ i will have this ; all gentlewomen wear such caps as these. ” “ when you are gentle, ” replied petruchio, “ you shall have one, too, and not till then. ” the meat katharine had eaten had a little revived her fallen spirits, and she said : “ why, sir, i trust i may have leave to speak, and speak i will. i am no child, no babe. your betters have endured to hear me say my mind ; and if you cannot, you had better stop your ears. ” petruchio would not hear these angry words, for he had happily discovered a better way of managing his wife


no babe. your betters have endured to hear me say my mind ; and if you cannot, you had better stop your ears. ” petruchio would not hear these angry words, for he had happily discovered a better way of managing his wife than keeping up a jangling argument with her ; therefore his answer was : “ why, you say true ; it is a paltry cap, and i love you for not liking it. ” “ love me, or love me not, ” said katharine, “ i like the cap, and i will have this cap or none. ” “ you say you wish to see the gown, ” said petruchio, still affecting to misunderstand her. the tailor then came forward and showed her a fine gown he had made for her. petruchio, whose intent was that she should have neither cap nor gown, found as much fault with that. “ oh, mercy, heaven! ” said he, “ what stuff is here! what, do you call this a sleeve? it is like a demi - cannon, carved up and down like an apple tart. ” the tailor said, “ you bid me make it according to the fashion of the times ” ; and katharine said she never saw a better - fashioned gown. this was enough for petruchio, and privately desiring these people might be paid for their goods, and excuses made to them for the seemingly strange treatment he bestowed upon them, he with fierce words and furious gestures drove the tailor and the haberdasher out of the room ; and then, turning to katharine, he said : “ well, come, my kate, we will go to your father ' s even in these mean garments we now wear. ” and then he ordered his horses, affirming they should reach baptista ' s house by dinner - time, for that it was but seven o ' clock. now it was not early morning, but the very middle of the day, when he spoke this ; therefore katharine ventured to say, though modestly, being almost overcome by the vehemence of his manner : “ i dare assure you, sir, it is two o ' clock, and will be suppertime before we get there. ” but petruchio meant that she should be so completely subdued that she should assent to everything he said before he carried her to her father ; and therefore, as if he were lord even of the sun and could command the hours, he said it. should be what time he pleased to have it,


completely subdued that she should assent to everything he said before he carried her to her father ; and therefore, as if he were lord even of the sun and could command the hours, he said it. should be what time he pleased to have it, before beset forward. “ for, ” he said, “ whatever i say or do, you still are crossing it. i will not go to - day, and when i go, it shall be what o ' clock i say it is. ” another day katharine was forced to practise her newly found obedience, and not till he had brought her proud spirit to such a perfect subjection that she dared not remember there was such a word as contradiction would petruchio allow her to go to her father ' s house ; and even while they were upon their journey thither she was in danger of being turned back again, only because she happened to hint it was the sun when he affirmed the moon shone brightly at noonday. “ now, by my mother ' s son, ” said be, “ and that is myself, it shall be the moon, or stars, or what i list, before i journey to your father ' s house. ” he then made as if he were going back again. but katharine, no longer katharine the shrew, but the obedient wife, said, “ let us go forward, i pray, now we have come so far, and it shall be the sun, or moon, or what you please ; and if you please to call it a rush candle henceforth, i vow it shall be so for me. ” this he was resolved to prove, therefore he said again, “ i say it is the moon. ” “ i know it is the moon, ” replied katharine. “ you lie. it is the blessed sun, ” said petruchio. “ then it is the blessed sun, ” replied katharine ; “ but sun it is not when you say it is not. what you will have it named, even so it is, and so it ever shall be for katharine. ” now then he suffered her to proceed on her journey ; but further to try if this yielding humor would last, he addressed an old gentleman they met on the road as if he had been a young woman, saying to him, “ good morrow, gentle mistress ” ; and asked katharine if she had ever beheld a fairer gentlewoman, praising the red and white of the old man ' s cheeks, and comparing his eyes to two bright


young woman, saying to him, “ good morrow, gentle mistress ” ; and asked katharine if she had ever beheld a fairer gentlewoman, praising the red and white of the old man ' s cheeks, and comparing his eyes to two bright stars ; and again he addressed him, saying, “ fair, lovely maid, once more good day to you! ” and said to his wife, “ sweet kate, embrace her for her beauty ' s sake. ” the now completely vanquished katharine quickly adopted her husband ' s opinion, and made her speech in like sort to the old gentleman, saying to him : “ young budding virgin, you are fair and fresh and sweet. whither are you going, and where is your dwelling? happy are the parents of so fair a child. ” “ why, how now, kate, ” said petruchio. “ i hope you are not mad. this is a man, old and wrinkled, faded and withered, and not a maiden, as you say he is. ” on this katharine said, “ pardon me, old gentleman ; the sun has so dazzled my eyes that everything i look on seemeth green. now i perceive you are a reverend father. i hope you will pardon me for my sad mistake. ” “ do, good old grandsire, ” said petruchio, “ and tell us which way you are traveling. we shall be glad of your good company, if you are going our way. ” the old gentleman replied : “ fair sir, and you, my merry mistress, your strange encounter has much amazed me. my name is vincentio, and i am going to visit a son of mine who lives at padua. ” then petruchio knew the old gentleman to be the father of lucentio, a young gentleman who was to be married to baptista ' s younger daughter, bianca, and he made vincentio very happy by telling him the rich marriage his son was about to make ; and they all journeyed on pleasantly together till they came to baptista ' s house, where there was a large company assembled to celebrate the wedding of bianca and lucentio, baptista having willingly consented to the marriage of bianca when he had got katharine off his hands. when they entered, baptista welcomed them to the wedding feast, and there was present also another newly married pair. lucentio, bianca ' s husband, and hortensio, the other new - married man, could not forbear sly je


entered, baptista welcomed them to the wedding feast, and there was present also another newly married pair. lucentio, bianca ' s husband, and hortensio, the other new - married man, could not forbear sly jests, which seemed to hint at the shrewish disposition of petruchio ' s wife, and these fond bridegrooms seemed highly pleased with the mild tempers of the ladies they had chosen, laughing at petruchio for his less fortunate choice. petruchio took little notice of their jokes till the ladies were retired after dinner, and then he perceived baptista himself joined in the laugh against him, for when petruchio affirmed that his wife would prove more obedient than theirs, the father of katharine said, “ now, in good sadness, son petruchio, i fear you have got the veriest shrew of all. ” “ well, ” said petruchio, “ i say no, and therefore, for assurance that i speak the truth, let us each one send for his wife, and he whose wife is most obedient to come at first when she is sent for shall win a wager which we will propose. ” to this the other two husbands willingly consented, for they were confident that their gentle wives would prove more obedient than the headstrong katharine, and they proposed a wager of twenty crowns. but petruchio merrily said he would lay as much as that upon his hawk or hound, but twenty times as much upon his wife. lucentio and hortensio raised the wager to a hundred crowns, and lucentio first sent his servant to desire bianca would come to him. but the servant returned, and said : “ sir, my mistress sends you word she is busy and cannot come. ” “ how, ” said petruchio, “ does she say she is busy and cannot come? is that an answer for a wife? ” then they laughed at him, and said it would be well if katharine did not send him a worse answer. and now it was hortensio ' s turn to send for his wife ; and be said to his servant, “ go, and entreat my wife to come to me. ” “ oh ho! entreat her! ” said petruchio. “ nay, then, she needs must come. ” “ i am afraid, sir, ” said hortensio, “ your wife will not be en


me. ” “ oh ho! entreat her! ” said petruchio. “ nay, then, she needs must come. ” “ i am afraid, sir, ” said hortensio, “ your wife will not be entreated. ” but presently this civil husband looked a little blank when the servant returned without his mistress ; and he said to him : “ how now? where is my wife? ” “ sir, ” said the servant, “ my mistress says you have some goodly jest in hand, and therefore she will not come. she bids you come to her. ” “ worse and worse! ” said petruchio. and then he sent his servant, saying, “ sirrah, go to your mistress and tell her i command her to come to me. ” the company had scarcely time to think she would not obey this summons when baptista, all in amaze, exclaimed : “ now, by my holidame, here comes katharine! ” and she entered, saying meekly to petruchio, “ what is your will, sir, that you send for me? ” “ where is your sister and hortensio ' s wife? ” said he. katharine replied, “ they sit conferring by the parlor fire. ” “ go, fetch them hither! ” said petruchio. away went katharine without reply to perform her husband ' s command. “ here is a wonder, ” said lucentio, “ if you talk of a wonder. ” “ and so it is, ” said hortensio. “ i marvel what it bodes. ” “ marry, peace it bodes, ” said petruchio, “ and love, and quiet life, and right supremacy ; and, to be short, everything that is sweet and happy. ” katharine ' s father, overjoyed to see this reformation in his daughter, said : “ now, fair befall thee, son petruchio! you have won the wager, and i will add another twenty thousand crowns to her dowry, as if she were another daughter, for she is changed as if she had never been. ” “ nay, ” said petruchio, “ i will win the wager better yet, and show more signs of her new - built virtue and obedience. ” katharine now entering with the two ladies, he continued : “ see where she comes, and brings your froward wives as prisoners to her womanly persuasion. katharine, that cap of yours


more signs of her new - built virtue and obedience. ” katharine now entering with the two ladies, he continued : “ see where she comes, and brings your froward wives as prisoners to her womanly persuasion. katharine, that cap of yours does not become you ; off with that bauble, and throw it underfoot. ” katharine instantly took off her cap and threw it down. “ lord! ” said hortensio ' s wife, “ may i never have a cause to sigh till i am brought to such a silly pass! ” and bianca, she, too, said, “ fie! what foolish duty call you this? ” on this bianca ' s husband said to her, “ i wish your duty were as foolish, too! the wisdom of your duty, fair bianca, has cost me a hundred crowns since dinner - time. ” “ the more fool you, ” said bianca, “ for laying on my duty. ” “ katharine, ” said petruchio, “ i charge you tell these headstrong women what duty they owe their lords and husbands. ” and to the wonder of all present, the reformed shrewish lady spoke as eloquently in praise of the wifelike duty of obedience as she had practised it implicitly in a ready submission to petruchio ' s will. and katharine once more became famous in padua, not as heretofore as katharine the shrew, but as katharine the most obedient and duteous wife in padua.


get those emergency supplies ready. caltech scientists working with the united states geological survey have modeled the next big quake based on last week ’ s temblor in china. here ’ s their scenario for a 7. 8 magnitude event along the san andreas fault in southern california : _ 10 a. m. : the san andreas fault ruptures, sending shock waves racing at 2 miles per second. _ 30 seconds later : the agricultural coachella valley shakes first. older buildings crumble. fires start. sections of interstate 10, one of the nation ’ s major east - west corridors, break apart. _ 1 minute later : interstate 15, a key north - south route, is severed in places. rail lines break ; a train derails. tremors hit burgeoning riverside and san bernardino counties east of los angeles. _ 1 minute, 30 seconds later : shock waves advance toward the los angeles basin, shaking it violently for 55 seconds. _ 2 minutes later : the rupture stops near palmdale, but waves march north toward coastal santa barbara and into the central valley city of bakersfield. _ 30 minutes later : emergency responders begin to fan across the region. a magnitude - 7 aftershock hits, but sends its energy south into mexico. several more big aftershocks will hit in following days and months. major fires following the quake would cause the most damage, said keith porter, of the university of colorado. here ’ s the latest quake map depicting western china


for the past 7 years, this instructable will cover the technique of making masks using this method : from plastilin to plaster, as well as explain some of the artistic thinking behind the process. as well as providing a general approach for anyone wanting to do their own project using this method, we provide 2 examples ( our own work of halloween 2009 ) of masks made using this process, detailing the differences in approach that were taken. the masks we created this year : dainiusgb : the joker thug mask aurimasmb : the ogre mask so - get out your trusty vaseline, and get ready to create your own high - quality halloween mask! step 1 : preparation using a base mass for support, we created a mold from plastilin ( a high - end modeling dough ) for the shape of the mask. next, we applied wet plaster of paris gauze / bandage in strips over the mold. once dry, we removed this plaster shape, trimmed it, pierced eye, nose, and strap attachment holes, smoothed the surface and painted it. for some final touches, hair or other details are applied to the mask, as well as any padding for comfort. here are some materials that you ' ll be needing : base mass - this could be anything from a head - shaped rock to a bowl - its purpose is to provide the basic shape on which to apply plastiline and mold the face of your mask. instead of using wollops of plastiline to fill in empty skull space, use this to do the work for you. fortunately for us this year, we had access to life - sized, perfectly proportionately correct models of the human heads, complete with nice stands to work on ( a plaster head used for academic drawing ). previously i have used whatever i could find lying around the house - bowls, vases, even lobster buoys from the beach. the point is - it has to be about the size of your head. a plastic bag / wrap / sheet - this is very useful when dealing with getting your plastiline off your base mass and keeping your art teacher ' s plaster head clean. tape - use this to tape the plastic to your base mass. 2 or more kg of plastiline - this is one of the most precious artistic materials in existence. it does not need to cure, is infinitely reusable, and actually becomes more malleable when being used because of heat generated by your hands. plaster of paris bandages / gauze


this is one of the most precious artistic materials in existence. it does not need to cure, is infinitely reusable, and actually becomes more malleable when being used because of heat generated by your hands. plaster of paris bandages / gauze or ( not recommended ) newspapers and papier mache liquid ( flour, water. ) plaster bandages can be found at the trusty art store. paints or markers for painting and detailing your mask. its up to you how you want to paint or color your mask - we used acrylic paints. a bowl of water to dip the plaster bandages into when plastering. some tools to work the plastiline ( my personal favorite is a butter knife, knicked from the kitchen ) hair dryer - used to help the wet plaster dry. handtowel or cloth of some kind - used to soak up excess moisture during plaster process. clear laquer - for making a shiny smooth effect on the mask. the unsmoothed plaster surface can be very rough and bumpy, making it difficult to paint well. also, if you want a metallic effect, if you spray paint the smoothed mask silver or gold it can look almost like metal. hot glue gun - to attach softeners on the inside of the mask or for attaching the bicycle helmet strap.


| | | what your doctor is reading | | | update from the medical journals : december 2012 december 31, 2012 by mary pickett, m. d. harvard medical school what ' s the latest news in the medical journals this month? find out what your doctor is reading. longer tamoxifen use reduces breast cancer deaths breast cancer is divided into types based on whether the cells have receptors for the female hormone estrogen. receptors are proteins on the surface of cells. if the cancer has estrogen receptors, estrogen can stimulate the cells to grow and divide, resulting in more cancer. these cancers are known as er - positive. tamoxifen is a common breast - cancer drug that blocks estrogen receptors on cells. it prevents breast cancer from growing or spreading. women who take tamoxifen for 10 years instead of 5 years can further reduce their chance of dying from breast cancer, a new study says. researchers focused on a group of 6, 846 women with er - positive breast cancer. when the study began, they already had taken the drug tamoxifen for 5 years. this is the standard length of treatment. in the study, the women were randomly assigned to the standard treatment or to take tamoxifen for 5 more years. by the end of the study, cancer had returned in 25 % of women who took the drug for 5 years and 21 % of those who took it for 10 years. about 12 % of the women who took the drug for 10 years died of breast cancer, compared with 15 % of the women who stopped taking tamoxifen after 5 years. these were important differences. the journal lancet published the study online on december 6. another drug that is used for er - positive cancer is letrozole ( femara ). it is only effective after menopause. compared to tamoxifen, letrozole is more effective against breast cancer. taking both drugs is no better than taking letrozole alone. letrozole is commonly chosen over tamoxifen for women after menopause. this study did not look at whether longer treatment with letrozole lowered cancer deaths ; it only looked at tamoxifen. breast cancer treatment involves some complicated decisions. if you have er - positive cancer, you need to decide whether tamoxifen or letrozole is the appropriate drug to take. if you choose tamoxifen, then you have to decide for how long to take it. it is likely that 10


- positive cancer, you need to decide whether tamoxifen or letrozole is the appropriate drug to take. if you choose tamoxifen, then you have to decide for how long to take it. it is likely that 10 years will become the new standard treatment plan. but tamoxifen does cause serious side effects that women need to consider. for example, tamoxifen triples the risk of blood clots and doubles the risk for uterine cancer. tamoxifen also increases stroke risk by about 50 %. other side effects are hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal discharge. back to top weight may affect drug treatment for high blood pressure your weight may predict the best combination of drugs for treating your high blood pressure, according to a study published online in the lancet december 6. researchers looked at data from more than 11, 000 people who needed two drugs to treat their high blood pressure. they were randomly divided into 2 groups. both groups took benazepril ( lotensin ). this is a type of blood pressure drug known as an ace inhibitor. half of the people also took hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic. the other half took amlodipine ( norvasc ) in addition to the benazepril. amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker. people in the diuretic group whose weight was normal had worse health outcomes compared with overweight people in the same group. they were 68 % more likely to die or have a heart attack or stroke than obese people taking a diuretic. people with normal weight did just fine in the calcium channel blocker group. compared with similarly thin people in the diuretic group, those who took a calcium channel blocker had a 43 % lower rate of death, stroke and heart attack. for people who were obese, both drug combinations worked equally well. doctors are going to have to carefully think about this study. diuretics are trusted drugs for treating high blood pressure. they are often used alone. they are also the most commonly used medicine when a person needs more than one drug to treat high blood pressure. this study raises specific concerns about combining diuretics with ace inhibitors for people with normal body mass index ( " bmi, " calculated from weight and height ). based on this study, doctors should advise thin people that calcium channel blockers, like amlodipine, work better when combined with ace inhibitors, and are preferred. back to top


( " bmi, " calculated from weight and height ). based on this study, doctors should advise thin people that calcium channel blockers, like amlodipine, work better when combined with ace inhibitors, and are preferred. back to top patients with deep vein thrombosis may benefit from longer treatment it ' s common for blood clots to form in the deep veins of the legs. this is called a deep venous thrombosis or dvt. doctors treat dvt with blood - thinning drugs ( anticoagulants ). they make the clot stop growing. the most commonly used drug is warfarin ( coumadin ). normally, people take it for three to six months, sometimes longer. bleeding can be a frequent complication. a dvt can cause pain, leg swelling and complications. the most dangerous complication is a pulmonary embolus. this is a blockage of blood flow to one or more areas of your lungs. it occurs when a clot in the leg breaks off or dislodges, sending solid debris through your bloodstream and into the lung arteries. a new study suggests that people with a dvt might benefit from taking a blood - thinning drug for longer than usual. and we may soon have a new drug called apixaban ( eliquis ) to use. the new england journal of medicine published the study december 8. the study included nearly 2, 500 people who had completed standard treatment with warfarin after having a clot. there was no obvious reason for the clot, so doctors suspected they had a hereditary tendency to form clots. the people were randomly assigned to receive either apixaban or placebo pills twice a day. during the next year, 9 % of those taking the placebo had a new blood clot. but only 1. 7 % of those taking apixaban had one. people taking the drug also had lower rates of stroke and death. there was no increase of major bleeding for people who took apixaban. is it important to extend the treatment time for dvt? i would say, stay tuned. do not draw conclusions from this study. it suggests that new blood clots are quite common after treatment stops. but the study was designed to identify as many clots as possible even clots that had slight symptoms. patients were interviewed monthly, and they received ultrasound tests for even minor symptoms. we don ' t know what risk, if any, they carried relative to


the study was designed to identify as many clots as possible even clots that had slight symptoms. patients were interviewed monthly, and they received ultrasound tests for even minor symptoms. we don ' t know what risk, if any, they carried relative to large, symptomatic clots. if it turns out that longer treatment is beneficial, new drugs like apixaban may be a good choice. warfarin is a tricky drug to use. it requires close monitoring with blood tests at least every three weeks to make sure the dose is correct. certain drugs and foods can interact with it, which can hinder its effectiveness, or be dangerous. unlike warfarin, patients taking apixaban do not need frequent blood tests for monitoring. but it is not clear that it will be a better therapy. and doctors will need to consider drug costs before deciding whether long - term treatment with this drug is appropriate. apixaban is likely to be a very expensive drug about $ 10 per day judging from the cost of two similar drugs, rivaroxaban ( xarelto ) and dabigatran ( pradaxa ). also, we still need to make sure it ' s a safe drug. this current study was designed and funded by the makers of the drug. they were careful to include people in the study who had a low risk for complications. this could make the drug look more safe than is fair. a related drug, dabigatran, has recently been linked to higher heart attack rates. some patients who were at high risk for heart attack, including people who had daily full - dose aspirin on their medication list, were not allowed to participate in the apixaban study. more news in brief - common diabetes drug may help treat ovarian cancer. a small new study suggests that the common diabetes medication metformin ( glucophage ) might be useful to prevent or treat ovarian cancer. the study was published online december 3 by the journal cancer. it included 239 patients with ovarian cancer. it found that patients who took the drug tended to live longer than patients who did not take it. about one - fourth of the patients took metformin ; 67 % of those who took metformin were still living 5 years later, despite having ovarian cancer. by contrast, 47 % of those who did not take metformin were alive 5 years after the start of the study. after adjusting for cancer severity, researchers estimated that patients taking metformin were 3


later, despite having ovarian cancer. by contrast, 47 % of those who did not take metformin were alive 5 years after the start of the study. after adjusting for cancer severity, researchers estimated that patients taking metformin were 3. 7 times more likely to survive the next 5 years compared with those not taking it. it is not known why metformin might help cancer. - kids should limit milk to two cups a day. cow ' s milk can irritate an infant ' s intestines before age one year. after this age, it can prevent children from eating foods with more complete nutrition. what is the result? iron deficiency. but milk also has vitamin d, which is an important nutrient. a new study tried to find out how much milk should children drink. researchers surveyed parents about how many cups of milk their young children drank in an average day. then they did blood tests to measure vitamin d and iron levels. the study included more than 1, 300 healthy children between the ages of 2 years and 5 years. the study ' s conclusion was that 2 cups a day was the best amount of milk for a child to drink. the study results were published online in the journal pediatrics on december 17. kids who drank more than 2 cups were at risk for iron deficiency. for each additional cup of milk that a child drank in a typical day, iron levels were about 4 % lower than those of children who drank 2 cups. kids who drank less milk than this were at risk for vitamin d deficiency : if 1 cup was consumed in a typical day instead of 2, vitamin d levels were about 7 % lower. ) the exception was children with darker skin. in the winter, they needed to drink 3 to 4 cups of milk to get enough vitamin d. back to top mary pickett, m. d. is an associate professor at oregon health & science university where she is a primary care doctor for adults. she supervises and educates residents in the field of internal medicine, for outpatient and hospital care. she is a lecturer for harvard medical school and a senior medical editor for harvard health publications.


the weather in ireland has few extremes. overall, ireland has a mild but changeable oceanic climate. the warmest recorded temperature was 33. 3 celsius ( 91. 94 fahrenheit ) at kilkenny castle, county kilkenny on june 26, 1887. the lowest recorded temperature was −19. 1 celsius ( −2. 38 fahrenheit ) at markree castle, county sligo on january 16, 1881. ireland weather can be rainy. statistics show that the greatest recorded annual rainfall was 3, 964. 9 mm ( 156. 1 inches ) in the ballaghbeena gap in 1960. 1887 was the driest year on record, with only 356. 6 mm ( 14. 0 inches ) of rain recorded at glasnevin. the longest period of drought was in limerick, where there was no recorded rainfall over 38 days during april and may 1938. weather in ireland is typically insular, and as a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the southwestern atlantic, it is temperate, avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other areas in the world at similar latitudes. ireland weather does feature precipitation throughout the year, but it is light overall, particularly in the east. ireland weather in the west, however, tends to be wetter on average and more prone to atlantic storms, especially in the late autumn and winter months, which sometimes bring destructive winds and high rainfall totals to these areas. snow and hail can also result from these storms. weather in ireland can be dangerous. the regions of north galway and east mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually ( five to ten days per year ). in the southern regions, ireland weather is less likely to include snow. munster in the south records the least snow with ulster in the north more prone to snow. some areas along the south and southwest coasts have not had any snow since february 1991. weather in ireland has more extremes in inland areas, which are warmer in summer and colder in winter. they usually have around 40 days of below - freezing temperatures at inland weather stations, but only ten days at coastal stations. ireland weather occasionally includes heat waves, most recently in 1995, 2003 and 2006.


at first glance, the norman monastery in yangon ’ s mingalar taung nyunt township is a sight to behold. supported by more than a hundred teak pillars and made almost entirely of the coveted, carefully oil - treated lumber, the 124 - year - old structure sprawls along a plot of land nearly 200 feet ( 61 meters ) long and 100 feet wide. its facade is partly embellished with a traditional myanmar motif of entwined tendrils, while its tiered roof is decorated with pinnacles and its gables are adorned with exquisite wooden carvings. step inside, however, and this first impression of dignified solidity quickly vanishes. when it rains, the roof leaks. the floors creak under the slightest pressure, and through a louver window with a missing hinge, you can see a pinnacle dangling like a fractured lance. the early evening light penetrates broken panes of stained glass, painting abstract patterns on the rust - colored robes of the monks who move through the gloom inside. called the norman monastery after a school that originally occupied the land where it now stands, this stilted building became a pongyi kyaung, or place of learning for buddhist monks, in 1888, two years after britain established colonial rule over the whole of myanmar. although it remains a proud reminder of the enduring devotion of the people of this overwhelmingly buddhist nation to their native faith, it also attests to the buddha ’ s teaching of anicca, or impermanence. while there has been a growing movement in yangon to preserve the unique architectural legacy of the colonial era, so far precious little has been done to protect the monasteries that for centuries have served as repositories of traditional craftsmanship. all over the former capital, age - old monasteries housing hundreds of monks are left to face the elements and the depredations of time, defended only by the efforts of their inhabitants and the generosity of donors. this is not to say, however, that the need to do something for these noble structures has gone entirely unnoticed. “ old monasteries are also on our protection list, and we are currently making an inventory of them, ” said daw moe moe lwin, an acting director from yangon heritage trust, a newly founded ngo trying to preserve the best architectural remnants of myanmar ’ s past. but monasteries are not a top priority for the group — ironically, because they are already entrusted to the care of the communities that have long supported them. “ generally, religious buildings have trustees to take


preserve the best architectural remnants of myanmar ’ s past. but monasteries are not a top priority for the group — ironically, because they are already entrusted to the care of the communities that have long supported them. “ generally, religious buildings have trustees to take care of their maintenance, so they are somewhat safe from serious deterioration or demolition, unlike some other ancient buildings, ” said daw moe moe lwin. those who must manage the upkeep of monasteries know, however, that there are limits to what can be done with the resources their supporters provide. “ we ’ ve been struggling on our own to maintain the monastery little by little, ” said u tezita, the caretaker monk of the norman monastery. “ given to the huge size of the building, we don ’ t dare to think about an overall restoration. it would be a herculean task! ” for years, the 60 - year - old monk and u vicittasara, the abbot of the monastery, have managed to preserve their building with tiny cash donations from well - wishers. “ we can only do it once a year because we don ’ t have many donors to pay for repairs, ” said the 84 - year - old abbot. every year, they have to make a list of priorities. “ we have to decide what to repair and what to neglect, depending on the amount of money we receive, ” he said. “ if our budget is only enough to replace a sheet of corrugated tin, that ’ s what we do, ” the monk explained. yangon ’ s exceptionally wet climate makes the the job of maintenance much more difficult. the city receives on average of 103 inches ( 261. 6 cm ) of rain a year — far more than the roughly 40 inches ( 101. 6 cm ) that fall on more arid parts of the country. “ rain is a big problem for this building as the roof is now very ramshackle, ” said u tezita. “ the water streams down from the ridge pole, causing rafters and other parts of the building to fall into decay over time. ” maha mingalar bon kyaw monastery, located near the famous reclining buddha of the chauk htet gyi pagoda in bahan township, is another fine example of traditional monastery architecture, but sadly, it is also much diminished compared to its former glory. still popularly known as the “ hundred pillar monastery, ” the 124 - year - old structure no longer lives up to that name. “ i had no choice. i had to get


but sadly, it is also much diminished compared to its former glory. still popularly known as the “ hundred pillar monastery, ” the 124 - year - old structure no longer lives up to that name. “ i had no choice. i had to get government permission to have some of the pillars removed. the only alternative was to pull down the whole building, ” said u ottara, the abbot of the monastery, explaining why its southern wing and dozens of supporting pillars were removed for safety reasons. last year, the annex, which had begun to lean dangerously, was declared unfit for human habitation. in 1998, myanmar ’ s then ruling junta issued the protection and preservation of cultural heritage regions law, which makes it a serious crime — punishable by up to five years in prison — to structurally alter ancient monuments and other historically and culturally important edifices. so far, however, the government has done little in the way of actively preserving old monasteries. “ we have been entirely donor - reliant for ages, ” said the 76 - year - old u ottara, echoing a refrain heard at monasteries around the city. technically, at least, monasteries that are 100 or more years old are entitled to the same status and protection as other heritage sites. in practice, however, they are not usually given the recognition they deserve. “ yes, they should be listed, and as a matter of fact, we are collecting data on old monasteries. but even if we do recognize them, we ’ re not sure if we will be able to support the preservation of all of them, because we just don ’ t have the funds, ” said a senior official from the archeology department in yangon. “ the best we can do is educate people living nearby about the cultural value of these sites, and ask them to cooperate with conservation efforts, ” he added. while the situation in yangon is particularly severe, it is far from unique. most of the country ’ s monasteries built in the late 19th or early 20th century are falling into disrepair, often resulting in a decision to tear down old buildings and replace them with cheaper, easier to maintain structures. “ the abbots and donors say it ’ s just too expensive to pay for the upkeep of older monasteries. that ’ s why they feel it ’ s better to just build new ones, ” says hsu nget, a well - known writer who has called on myanmar ’ s media to highlight the need to reverse this growing trend. as a native of mandalay, myanmar ’ s


it ’ s better to just build new ones, ” says hsu nget, a well - known writer who has called on myanmar ’ s media to highlight the need to reverse this growing trend. as a native of mandalay, myanmar ’ s second - largest city and home to some of the handful of old monasteries that have been carefully preserved for posterity, hsu nget believes that much more can be done to ensure that these unique examples of traditional myanmar architecture aren ’ t lost forever. “ we need to let people know that these monasteries are in urgent need of conservation. we could learn a lot from countries like cambodia about how to preserve our national heritage. ” in the end, myanmar buddhists ’ reverence for their religion and traditions will not be enough to save their places of worship. indeed, in some ways, buddhist customs could even hasten the decline of monasteries from a bygone era. according to u silacara, a 33 - year - old monk from the norman monastery, many donors are reluctant to give money to maintain monasteries built by an earlier generation of merit - makers. “ most would rather build a new one that they can put their names on. it ’ s no wonder that our monastery is in a sorry state. ” but even monks who feel duty - bound to do everything possible to spare their monasteries from preventable deterioration feel that it ’ s best not to cling too much to vestiges of the past. “ i would feel bad if something happened to the monastery, ” said u vicittasara, the norman monastery abbot. “ but at the same, if it deteriorates beyond repair, i know i will have to let it go, because all things are impermanent. ” this story first appeared in the december 2012 print issue of the irrawaddy magazine.


explosion protection for optical radiation in hazardous locations three protection schemes are under consideration. industry uses optical equipment for surveying, communications, sensing, and measurement. often the installation is inside or close to potentially explosive atmospheres, and radiation from this equipment may pass through these atmospheres, exposing them to a potential ignition source. the explosive mixture may absorb the radiation, leading to a local temperature increase or photochemical process, and ignition or focused laser radiation may cause formation of plasma capable of causing ignition. in practice, the greatest danger is absorption of the radiation by a solid target ( surfaces or particles ), causing the heated surface to become an ignition source. the international electrotechnical commission ( iec ) has set up working group 8 to develop requirements for optical equipment used in hazardous atmospheres. continuous wave radiation several publications, including a european standard, deal with ignition of explosive fuel / air mixtures by optical radiation. the most likely ignition hazard is a local temperature rise caused by light falling on radiation - absorbing materials. in view of this mechanism, the european commission has sponsored a research project to determine limiting values for continuous - wave radiation sources intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. researchers investigated various radiation sources, target materials, and explosive mixtures to obtain minimum values for the radiant power and irradiance capable of causing ignition ; 50 milliwatts ( mw ) has been found to be the lowest igniting radiant power, including explosive mixtures with very low minimum ignition energies and autoignition temperatures. we consider radiation an ignition source if the radiated power is greater than 35 mw or the peak radiation flux is more than 5 mw per square millimeter ( mm2 ). we have completed additional research, including pulsed optical sources and a combustible target. the findings affirmed the results of the initial research, even when the targets were combustible. unfortunately, the results show no clear structure similar to the explosion group / temperature class system of iec / cenelec ( en50014 ) or cen standards ( pren 13 463 ). on the other hand, ignition of gases in explosion group iia in combination with temperature classes t1, t2, or t3a requires a minimum of 200 mw for flammable liquids. as this combination covers the majority of flammable gases and vapors, a power limit based on these findings would help considerably in practice. in the special case of methane, recent research has shown a linear relationship between fiber diameter and minimum igniting power for diameters greater than 100 micrometers ( µm )


where sensitive substances ( explosives, pyrotechnic, and unstable compositions, etc. ) are present one of the questions addressed by the second european research project was classification of gases and vapors. the results have shown there is no direct relationship between the established gas groups and temperature classes and the safe levels of optical power or irradiance. however, all gases and vapors belonging to group iia ( iec ), group d ( national electric code ), and temperature classes t1, t2, and t3 ( with autoignition temperatures above 200°c ) could not be ignited with an optical power below 200 mw, even with small fiber diameters. when deducing safe limit values from these results by applying a safety margin, engineers must consider the absorptivity and combustibility of the target material, as well as the mixture temperature. a power limit of 150 mw, representing a safety margin of about 2 compared with the lowest igniting power value, is appropriate for fiber - optic instrumentation used in mines, where explosive methane / air mixtures ( and coal dust / air mixtures ) may occur. meeting safety needs two cases have to be evaluated for the safety assessment of electrical / optical equipment : - the optical radiation source is part of a piece of electrical equipment for use in the hazardous ( classified ) location. examples are bar - code readers, scanners, data transmission links, and laser pointers to mark measuring points. the electrical equipment must comply with the relevant standards requirements for equipment used in explosive atmospheres. - the radiation source is located in the safe area. only the optical radiation, in a free beam or an optical fiber, enters the explosion hazardous location. examples are spectroscopic analysis of chemical substances and counting systems using optical fibers or level gauging. here, the source of optical radiation is assessed similarly to an " associated apparatus " in type of protection intrinsic safety " i. " researchers installed a test setup that allows computer - controlled measurement of the radiant power and pulsed energy of optical sources. specially designed programmable power sources control semiconductor laser diodes and infrared light - emitting diodes. further, researchers may vary the enclosure temperature of the diode. among the most important results is that semiconductor laser diodes are quite capable of emitting a higher radiant power than the maximum radiant power specified in the data sheets. the data sheet values refer to " kink - free " operation, a nonlinear path for the plot of the radiant power vs. the dc current above the maximum rated power. for


higher radiant power than the maximum radiant power specified in the data sheets. the data sheet values refer to " kink - free " operation, a nonlinear path for the plot of the radiant power vs. the dc current above the maximum rated power. for the safety assessment, however, engineers must consider a failure in the supply circuit. because the maximum emitted radiant power depends on the individual sample, the maximum value derived from 10 samples of the same laser diode type is used. engineers must perform a practical test if they can ' t directly observe the threshold values of radiant power or peak radiation flux. key parameters for the procedure are shape and volume of the test vessel, target materials, power measurement, test mixtures, mixture temperature and pressure, and ignition criteria. engineers must provide a safety factor, too, because ignition by a small hot surface contains considerable statistical deviations. the second concept, " inherently safe optical radiation, " covers a lot of optical - beam applications and relies on ignition of gases and vapors by particles or surfaces heated by irradiating beams. an explosion occurs only if all the following are present simultaneously : - flammable gas or vapor cloud - radiating source of the duration and intensity needed to cause ignition - appropriate target particle or surface complying with the threshold values for the radiated power or the peak radiation flux assumes that all other conditions for an ignition are optimal. when radiation is inside optical fibers or some other medium, however, and there is no possibility of mechanical damage or breakage, there will be no ignition. if a fiber run is in a zone 1 hazardous location with the protection required for electrical cables with nonintrinsically safe voltages / currents, then the installation is safe regardless of the irradiance values. the coupling devices and radiation source are located in the safe area in this case or are otherwise protected. another possibility is to keep the optical radiation inside an enclosure that is protected similarly to electrical equipment. a third way to prevent critical radiation from becoming an ignition source is the use of cutoff systems that switch off the radiation source at the transmitter if reception at the receiver is lost. the designers must consider the operating delay of interlocks and the reliability and period between inspections that would detect failed elements. the thermal time constant of the target must be compared with the operating delay of the cutoff system. if the latter is higher than the reaction time of the interlock, ignition risk is low. in case of fiber breakage or other failures, designers should assume at the first instant there is no target at the


easily distinguishable from other species of sea turtles because they have a single pair of prefrontal scales, ( scales in front of its eyes ), rather than the normal two pairs found on other sea turtles. the head is small and blunt with a serrated jaw. the carapace or shell is smooth without ridges and has large, non - overlapping bony scales or ` scutes ' - four lateral. the body is almost oval in shape and depressed whilst the flippers have a single visible claw. the shell colour varies from pale to very dark green, plain to very brilliant yellow with brown and green tones of radiating stripes. the plastron, ( under shell ) varies from white, dirty white or yellowish. hatchlings are easily recognised by their dark - brown or nearly black shell and white bellies with white flipper margins. adult green turtles grow to as much as four feet in length and are the largest of the cheloniidae, ( hawksbill turtle ), family. the largest recorded green turtle is six feet in length weighing nine hundred pounds. the diet of the green turtle changes during its life, it is the only sea turtle that is strictly herbivorous or plant feeding when adult. young turtles less than eight to ten inches in length will eat worms, young crustaceans, aquatic insects, grasses and algae. however, once they reach eight to ten inches they mostly eat sea grass and algae. their jaws are finely serrated which aids them in tearing vegetation. their habitat is mainly waters close to the coastline and around islands, they live in bays and protected shores, especially in areas with sea grass beds. the green turtle is rarely seen in the open ocean. green turtles nest two or three times a year or more, with wide year - to - year fluctuations in numbers of nesting females. the turtle lays an average of 115 eggs in each nest, with the eggs incubating for about 60 days. green turtles are found in all temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. | the leatherback turtle - dermochelys coriacea | | turtle data | | the olive ridley | | turtle conservation | | saving turtles | | hawksbill turtle - eretmochelys imbricata | | the loggerhead turtle : caretta caretta | | turtle hatchery |


i first became aware of the work of professor ted fujita in early 1970. likely, my first exposure to his work came from his summary in the january 1970 issue of monthly weather review of the 1965 palm sunday tornadoes ( pdf format ), ( i had an intimate association of one of the tornado families that day : those that struck crystal lake, illinois where my uncle and his family lived. the event would ultimately lead me to meeting my future wife. ) at around the same time i read that article by fujita, i studied his landmark report mesoanalysis that had been published in 1956 by the us weather bureau ( research paper number 39 ). the concepts put forward by fujita fascinated me, but by then i was leaning more toward the microscale aspects of weather than the synoptic or severe storm disciplines, and never scientifically pursued the topic further. of course, soon fujita would be a common name for anyone enthralled or affected by tornadoes. who was this man who would become one of the greatest minds in severe storm research? surely, someone born or raised in the american heartland, tornado alley. but that was not the case, for ted fujita was foreign born in a land where tornadoes are infrequent. tetsuya fujita was born in kitakyushu city, on the island of kyushu, the southwestern - most island in japan, on october 23, 1920. a practical youth, it is said that upon viewing the ao - no - domon tunnel at yabakei, he remarked that the monk who had dug the tunnel by hand over 30 years had wasted his time. fujita felt he should have thought about it more and invented a mechanical digger, thus giving the world the tunnel and a useful machine. fujita attended the meiji college of technology ( in 1949, this institution became the kyushu institute of technology ) and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1943. in september of 1943, fujita was appointed assistant professor of physics at meiji college, teaching basic physics and leading the laboratory courses. in his memoirs, fujita recalled that the last words of his father likely saved his life. tetsuya had wanted to attend hiroshima college, but his father insisted he attend meiji college. accepted at both schools, he chose meiji to honour his father ' s request. had he not heeded his father ' s words, tetsuya feels he likely would have perished in the atomic blast that levelled hiroshima. the second atomic detonation might also have taken fujita ' s life


his father ' s request. had he not heeded his father ' s words, tetsuya feels he likely would have perished in the atomic blast that levelled hiroshima. the second atomic detonation might also have taken fujita ' s life, but again fate stepped in. that bomb was initially targeted for kokura terminal, about three miles from where he was staying. fujita recalled seeking shelter in the bunker next to the physics building. but evidently, the weather over kokura did not meet the mission specifications, and the bomber changed course for their secondary target : nagasaki. in september 1945, the japanese government sent him to both hiroshima and nagasaki to determine the number of bombs dropped and the heights of their detonation. to determine the latter, he used the bombs ' unique starburst damage patterns to calculate the height. years later, fujita would see a form of this pattern again during severe thunderstorm research. his education was in physics and engineering, but fujita ' s interests were wide including maps and geology specifically volcanoes and caves and the weather. ( these interests were passed down. his son is currently professor of geology at michigan state university. ) he was an amateur spelunker. in early 1946, fujita applied for a department of education grant under the topic weather science proposing to instruct teachers about the weather. his research work in meteorology began in 1947 when he studied downflow winds in thunderstorms using data from seburiyama. by chance, fujita had been on a nearby mountain near the local weather station when the thunderstorm struck. using data from that station along with his observations, fujita concluded that thunderstorms produced a downward current of cooler air. he did not know at the time that similar conclusions had been drawn in the united states through the thunderstorm project which had measured such downdrafts. fujita ' s first survey of a tornado strike came on 26 september 1948 following the enoura tornado near saga on kyushu island. fascinated by the damage, he followed the entire six - mile ( 9. 6 km ) damage path over hillsides and rice fields. the tornado initially formed as a waterspout in ariake bay then moved onshore where it blew off roofs and flattening crops. around this time, someone gave fujita a copy of horace byers ' report on nonfrontal thunderstorms which had been found it the trash. with the realization that someone else was working on similar storm investigations, fujita began a correspondence with byers, sending


someone gave fujita a copy of horace byers ' report on nonfrontal thunderstorms which had been found it the trash. with the realization that someone else was working on similar storm investigations, fujita began a correspondence with byers, sending him a translated copy of his thunderstorm research. byers responded with a copy of the thunderstorm project book. fujita had now become focused on meteorology and began work on his doctoral degree at the university of tokyo. his thesis research investigated damage caused by typhoons that struck had kyushu over three consecutive years. his thesis analytical study of typhoons was approved in 1953. to the united states in 1953 dr byers invited fujita to come to the department of meteorology at the university of chicago for a two - year research appointment. there, the work of dr morris tepper at the us weather bureau caught fujita ' s interest. soon, he began applying his microanalysis techniques to the analysis of a tornado outbreak across kansas and oklahoma on 25 june 1953. in that study, mesoanalysis was born as fujita revealed features in the storm ' s structure he would call mesolows, mesohighs, wake depressions, and pressure jump lines. in 1955, byers suggested fujita could have a permanent position with the research group if he obtained the proper visas. fujita returned to japan to complete his contract obligations there and to apply for an immigrant visa. while in japan, fujita worked on the report mesoanalysis. in july 1956, fujita returned to illinois to take the position of research professor and senior meteorologist at the university of chicago where he established the severe local storms project ( slsp ). the event that would springboard fujita to the highest ranks of tornado researchers struck fargo, north dakota on 20 june 1957. the slow - moving tornado killed ten and injured 103 people while destroying or damaging over 1300 homes. because the storm ambled across fargo at 19 mph ( 30 km / h ) and was highly visible, the fargo tornado became a widely photographed tornado. damage from june 1957 fargo tornado courtesy noaa national weather service, grand forks, nd weather forecast office byers asked fujita if he would undertake a photogrammetric study of the tornado. fujita, through the assistance of the local media, collected 150 photographs of the storm from 53 different locations. analysing those photos over the next two years, fujita was able to plot the tornado ' s path and cloud features at one - minute intervals. his paper a detailed analysis


local media, collected 150 photographs of the storm from 53 different locations. analysing those photos over the next two years, fujita was able to plot the tornado ' s path and cloud features at one - minute intervals. his paper a detailed analysis of the fargo tornado of june 20, 1957 published in 1960 introduced such terms now common to storm watchers as wall cloud and tail cloud. damage from june 1957 fargo tornado courtesy noaa national weather service, grand forks, nd weather forecast office his analysis of the 1965 palm sunday tornadoes redefined how meteorologists looked at tornado outbreaks. from the thousands of aerial photographs, he mapped the entire outbreak in terms of tornado families and deduced the existence of multiple vortex tornadoes from the aerial views of damage patterns. twin funnels strike elkhart, indiana during april 1965 palm sunday tornado outbreak courtesy noaa historic nws collection, photographer : mr. paul huffman the severe local storms project was renamed mesometeorology research project ( mrp ) in 1961, and with the advent of satellite coverage mrp became the satellite and mesometeorology research project ( smrp ) in 1964. during this period fujita was appointed associate professor of meteorology at the university of chicago in 1962 and full professor in 1965. the project ' s research during the 1950s and 1960s focused on severe storms and then included the use of satellites to study storm developments, movements, and global circulation. in 1968, fujita became an american citizen and added " theodore " as his middle name, his colleagues knew him as " ted ". the scale and the downburst the 1970s would see fujita ' s research coin several concepts and terms that will live forever in severe storm meteorology. the first concept was his scale for rating tornado intensity and damage known as the f - scale or fujita scale which i have documented elsewhere in the website. another term is the downburst which later spawned the microburst. ( more on these storm aspects can be found here. ) fujita identified the downburst during his study of the crash of eastern airlines flight 66 on 24 june 1975. the aircraft was landing during severe weather when it suddenly " fell. " fujita postulated that the aircraft had been hit by a sudden, strong downrush of air that forced it to the ground. further investigations of weather - related aircraft accidents and a series of field studies that lasted into the 1980s confirmed the existence of the downburst and the microburst. damage caused by a downburst ( fujita,


forced it to the ground. further investigations of weather - related aircraft accidents and a series of field studies that lasted into the 1980s confirmed the existence of the downburst and the microburst. damage caused by a downburst ( fujita, 1978 ) in 1971, fujita also coined suction vortex / vortices to described the mechanism for creating unique tornadic damage patterns cycloidal marks first identified by john park finley in the nineteenth century. these circular patterns are produced by smaller tornadoes or suction vortices which rotated around the periphery of the larger circulation. aerial photograph of typical suction and drift marks. source : fujita et al, monthly weather review, 1970. the final term i will mention here ( there are numerous others ) is the bow echo which is a particular bow - shaped pattern seen on radar images of severe convective storms. the region of the storm exhibiting bow echoes had a propensity for forming downbursts, some of which occur over very long swaths. radar image of bow echo over southeast lower michigan 31 may 1998 courtesy us national weather service, noaa the smrp continued its groundbreaking work through the 1980s. in addition to analyses of tornadoes and their damage patterns, the group did pioneer research in cloud tracking using satellite imagery from polar orbiters and from geostationary satellites. it is ironic that many of america ' s tornado researchers never witnessed a tornado " live and in person " until later in their careers. fujita was one of these, and his first tornado sighting came near denver ' s stapleton airport on 12 june 1982 ; it was also the only one he would witness. in 1988, to better reflect the wider range of fujita ' s research, the smrp was renamed the wind research laboratory ( wrl ). the laboratory housed a tornado machine that was dismantled in the early 1990s. professor ted fujita and the tornado machine courtesy university of chicago ted fujita formally retired from his research work in september 1990, but he did not stop working until poor health took its final toll. in these last years, he surveyed hurricane damage including hurricane andrew. he also looked into the effect of el nino regimes on storm tracks. his memoirs, the mystery of severe storms was published in 1992. tetsuya " ted " fujita had rightly earned the nickname mr tornado ( bestowed on him in a 1972 national geographic article ) when he died in his sleep on 19 november 1998 at the age of 78. his work was a quantum leap in our knowledge of tornadoes and their


architecture - based security & trust traditional security research has focused on how to provide assurance of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. however, most security vulnerabilities result from poor software design and implementation : for a whole system to be secure, all relevant components must collaborate to ensure the security of the system. thus, approaches to designing secure software are needed, not just from a traditional cryptology viewpoint, but from a software engineering perspective. — jie ren most security vulnerabilities result from poor software design and implementation. a more disciplined approaches to utilizing existing technologies may significantly improve the security of a complex, componentized, and networked software systems. security is an emergent property, so it is insufficient for a component to be secure. for the whole system to be secure, all relevant components must collaborate to ensure the security of the system. decentralized systems have no central authority, parties ( or peers ) making up the system must make local, autonomous decisions based on their individual goals. this introduces a need for determining trust between peers in a system. trust in decentralized architectures are discussed further on our decentralized software architectures page. explicitly model security at the architectural level. modeling security of systems can be done explicitly, at the architectural level, using a secure architecture description language. connectors provide a suitable vehicle to model, capture, and enforce security policies. explicitly model security in the architecture. by incorporating access control model concepts into an architecture description, it is possible to determine whether access to a particular resource should be granted through analysis of the architecture topology and privileges of its constituent elements. use architecture styles to create trust enabled, decentralized applications. a trust - enabled architectural style for decentralized systems can identify and support common functionalities intrinsic to every peer : communication, information, trust, and application allowing decentralized applications to be built without reinventing the wheel. - secure xadl - an extension to xadl that describes security properties of software architectures using xacml. - pace - practical architectural approach for composing egocentric trust - an architectural style that provides comprehensive guidance on addressing many different decentralized security threats. it supports different trust models, which determine trust based on different categories of information. - architecture access control - an extension to archstudio 3. 0 that edits, checks, and executes architectures described with access control policies. - pace reference architecture - used to implement decentralized auctioning, file - sharing, and common - operational picture prototypes - our work on


esri international user conference 14 august 2012 | news story iucn ( international union for conservation of nature ) director - general julia marton - lefevre gave a keynote presentation at the esri user conference held in july 2012 in san diego, california. attended by 15, 000 people from 130 countries, this conference showcased innovative applications and the power of geographic information systems ( gis ). in her keynote speech, julia marton - lefevre discussed the importance of geographic science in understanding the world ’ s threatened species. cutting - edge gis technology provided by esri has already helped iucn capture distribution information for about 40, 000 species on the iucn red list of threatened species™. for example, we now know where to find all the known mammals, birds, amphibians, reef - building corals, sharks, tuna and a quarter of the world ’ s reptiles. gis also helps us locate areas of high biodiversity importance and thereby guide decisions about conservation action and policy. “ thanks to our collaboration with esri, iucn has built strong gis capacity, ” said iucn director - general julia marton - lefevre. “ eight thousand experts from the iucn species survival commission have access to gis software and training, for the iucn red list and for their field work. ” the new iucn red list map browser was also showcased during the keynote speech. built on arcgis 10. 1, the map browser accesses data for 30, 000 species - visualizing their location and habitat. these maps can be explored now at maps. iucnredlist. org. the keynote speech was illustrated with breathtaking images prepared with the help of esri. the speech can be viewed on esri ’ s site : http : / / www. esri. com / events / user - conference / agenda / plenary - videos. html afternoon session, which starts with the iucn video at 82 : 30 minutes. following the speech participants visited the iucn booth, which was located at the centre of a large exhibit hall and which attracted a large number of people interested in conservation and in working with iucn. iucn aims to integrate the spatial information in the iucn red list and the world database on protected areas with two new knowledge products currently being worked on : key biodiversity areas and the red list of ecosystems. this is but one area where iucn can provide important inputs to government, corporate, and ngo use of geodesign and help them make decisions to avoid further species and habitat loss and its consequences for human wellbeing. gis also allows businesses to access


i had a hard time painting the picture of what a server really is. it ' s so simple it ' s confusing. a server, low and behold, is a computer. your desktop pc or laptop can function as a server - what does that mean " function as a server ". it means that your computer of choice is connected to a network ( for example, the internet ) and that a program is run on that computer that listens for incoming connections ( like a java application you ' ve built ). that ' s it. it doesn ' t even have to be connected to a network, you can run a server locally and have programs on the same computer talk to each other. ( which is where 99 % of the debugging occurs during development. ). so what are " webservers "? what does a server that hosts a website look like?? simple. it ' s a computer that listens for incoming data, just like all servers. what makes it " different " from other servers is how it interprets the data it is being sent and how it responds. ie, the protocol. you might have heard of http before. it stands for hypertext transfer protocol. a protocol is just a fancy word for a set of agreed upon rules people came up with. these rules are vital, because everything you send is in bytes, ie, ones 1 and zeroes 0. the above bits can be interpreted in lots of ways. it can represent the character ' @ ' or the number ' 64 ' for instance, or perhaps a color. or perhaps the 2 first bits are supposed to represent the x coordinate, the following 2 bits the y coordinate, and the last 4 bits the player score. if we don ' t know what the bytes are supposed to represent ( what is agreed before - hand ), we have no chance of making sense of it. what happens when you open up your music player and you try to play an image file? most likely the music player would complain that it can ' t make sense of the bytes, or that it needs a codec ( ie, a set of rules of how bytes are supposed to be read in order to convert it into music ). this is why files are littered with " suffixes " like. mp3 or. gif etc. they ' re clues for the operating system to know which program should be opened to interpret the data. suffixes have nothing to do with the contents itself. the content in reality is just a bunch of 1 ' s and 0 '


222. 644. 01 nutritional biochemistry students learn biochemical processes, such as dna, rna and protein synthesis with particular emphasis on the function of essential nutrients in these processes. covers nutritionally important aspects of carbohydrate and fat metabolism, mineral and vitamin function, and introduces essential concepts of molecular biology, such as pcr reactions and nucleic acid restriction enzymes and their use in biochemistry and molecular biology. also includes concepts of gene knockin and knockout and their consequences. these are compared to the consequences of nutrient deficiency and excess to give the nutrition student a full appreciation of the relevance of nutritional biochemistry studies and approaches to those of molecular biology. emphasizes the importance of nutritional management and prevention of different diseases like cardiovascular, obesity, osteoporosis, etc. also teaches the important interplay between essential nutrients and the synthesis of various hormones. upon successfully completing this course, students will : ( 1 ) have a working knowledge of the most important biochemical processes, such as dna, rna and protein synthesis ; ( 2 ) appreciate the role that different essential nutrients play in these and other life processes in higher organism with special emphasis on the human organism ; ( 3 ) understand fundamental processes that permit the maintenance or nutrient homeostasis in higher organisms ; ( 4 ) know how essential nutrients govern the utilization of other nutrients and how they may control hormone synthesis and function ; ( 5 ) understand pathological observations in the field on the basis of our instructions on essential nutrient deficiency manifestations. - tuesday 1 : 30 - 2 : 50 - thursday 1 : 30 - 2 : 50


' world ' s most useful tree ' provides new low - cost water purification method for developing world sciencedaily ( mar. 3, 2010 ) — a low - cost water purification technique published in current protocols in microbiology could help drastically reduce the incidence of waterborne disease in the developing world. the procedure, which uses seeds from the moringa oleifera tree, can produce a 90. 00 % to 99. 99 % bacterial reduction in previously untreated water, and has been made free to download as part of access programs under john wiley & sons ' corporate citizenship initiative. a billion people across asia, africa, and latin america are estimated to rely on untreated surface water sources for their daily water needs. of these, some two million are thought to die from diseases caught from contaminated water every year, with the majority of these deaths occurring among children under five years of age. michael lea, a current protocols author, and a researcher at clearinghouse, a canadian organisation dedicated to investigating and implementing low - cost water purification technologies, believes the moringa oleifera tree could go a long way to providing a solution. " moringa oleifera is a vegetable tree which is grown in africa, central and south america, the indian subcontinent, and south east asia. it could be considered to be one of the world ' s most useful trees, " said lea. " not only is it drought resistant, it also yields cooking and lighting oil, soil fertilizer, as well as highly nutritious food in the form of its pods, leaves, seeds and flowers. perhaps most importantly, its seeds can be used to purify drinking water at virtually no cost. " moringa tree seeds, when crushed into powder, can be used as a water - soluble extract in suspension, resulting in an effective natural clarification agent for highly turbid and untreated pathogenic surface water. as well as improving drinkability, this technique reduces water turbidity ( cloudiness ) making the result aesthetically as well as microbiologically more acceptable for human consumption. despite its live - saving potential, the technique is still not widely known, even in areas where the moringa is routinely cultivated. it is therefore lea ' s hope that the publication of this technique in a freely available protocol format, a first, will make it easier to disseminate the procedure to the communities that need it. " this technique does not represent a total solution to the threat of waterborne disease, " concluded lea. " however,


august 01, 2011 when it comes to magnetic fields, jupiter is the ultimate muscle car. it ' s endowed with the biggest, brawniest magnetic field of any planet in the solar system, powered by a monster engine under the hood. figuring out how this mighty engine, or dynamo, works is one goal of nasa ' s juno mission, which is scheduled to begin its five - year, 400 - million - mile ( 643, 737, 600 - kilometer - mile ) voyage to jupiter this month. juno will orbit the planet for about a year, investigating its origin and evolution. juno has eight instruments to probe its internal structure and gravity field, measure water and ammonia in its atmosphere, map its powerful magnetic field and observe its intense auroras. the magnetic field studies will be the job of juno ' s twin magnetometers, designed and built at nasa ' s goddard space flight center in greenbelt, md. they will measure the field ' s magnitude and direction with greater accuracy than any previous instrument, revealing it for the first time in high - definition. read the full story at http : / / www. nasa. gov / mission _ pages / juno / news / juno20110801. html. dc agle 818 - 393 - 9011 jet propulsion laboratory, pasadena, calif.


chemotherapy is the use of drugs to treat cancer. the drugs often are called " anticancer " drugs. why is chemotherapy given to cancer patients? - to cure cancer - to keep the cancer from spreading - to slow the cancer ' s growth - to kill cancer cells which may have spread to other parts of the body from the original tumor - to relieve symptoms that may be caused by the cancer why are there side effects when someone receives chemotherapy? cancer cells grow and divide rapidly. chemotherapy drugs are made to kill fast - growing cells. certain healthy cells multiply quickly so the chemotherapy can affect these cells also. the fast - growing normal cells most likely to be affected are cells in the following areas : - bone marrow - digestive tract - hair follicles - reproductive system what are the most common side effects of chemotherapy? because normal cells are affected during chemotherapy, there are certain side effects that are more common than others. these include : - alopecia ( hair loss ) - anemia ( a decrease in the red blood cell count that can cause fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath ) - fatigue ( most commonly reported side effect ) - nausea, vomiting and / or decreased appetite - neutropenia ( a decrease in the white blood cell count that increases your risk for infection ) - thrombocytopenia ( a decrease in platelets that can cause bleeding and easy bruising ) if you will be receiving chemotherapy, here are few tips to review before you come in for treatment.


help us save thymelaea hirsuta - known in arabic as ' mitnan ' ' mitnan ' ( thymelaena hirsuta ) is a perennial evergreen shrub that grows in the mediterranean coastal plain, the sinai and various other saharo - arabian deserts. it has been used for centuries for rope - making. you can help kew safeguard this plant for our future by adopting a seed for yourself, or as a gift for £25. in ideal conditions the roots of ' mitnan ' ( thymelaea hirsuta ) can descend to a depth of about 3. 5 m, while the plant may grow to 2 m with an average height of 120 cm. ' mitnan ' produces clusters of yellow flowers at the ends of young twigs from march through july. its branches are used for making rope by braiding them into a kind of cable. conserving ' mitnan ' in jordon most examples of ' mitnan ' that we found during our collecting trip to jordon were growing in the vicinity of the international heritage site of petra. as ' mitnan ' is dioecious ( male and female flowers are borne on separate plants ), enough pollinators must be available to secure fruit set and seed formation. both sexes of these plants produce clusters of yellow flowers at the end of young twigs from march to july. one concern for the future of this species is that its habitat in jordon is constantly disturbed by the large number of tourists visiting the site. this could hinder the growth of newly formed seedlings needed to replenish the population. ' mitnan ' is suitable for cultivation in rock gardens and alpine glasshouses. it requires full sun, well - drained soil and protection from winter rain. this species is not currently grown at kew gardens, but specimens of wood and string made from it are held in kew ' s economic botany collection, located behind - the - scenes. collecting ' mitnan ' in jordan when you walk out of wadi moussa, the village built at the entrance to petra, there are some signs of the local marvels lying on the other side of the rocks. walking down a rocky canyon, or siq as it is called locally, there is the hint of what appears to be a head in the face of the cliffs. it is only when you reach the end of the siq that you can make out the facade of a building hewn out of the rocks. it looks like a beautiful lady wearing a chador. from this magnificent place you can


of the cliffs. it is only when you reach the end of the siq that you can make out the facade of a building hewn out of the rocks. it looks like a beautiful lady wearing a chador. from this magnificent place you can turn right and walk past more facades including a theatre and tombs on the higher rocks. an easy climb takes you up the hill to the high place of sacrifice, with open views across the region. going down into the valley, where it is impossible to hide from the sun, a sparse collection of desert vegetation offers another impressive aspect to the site. many plant species that are adapted to the harsh conditions of the very hot sandy desert flourish in the loessial wadi beds. making rope and other useful things with ' mitnan ' ' mitnan ' ( thymelaea hirsuta ) is primarily used for making rope, a craft that is practiced by local inhabitants, especially older people who still retain this skill. the most direct method is simply to braid branches into a kind of cable. this ' cable ' may been used to anchor tents during sandstorms. finished ' mitnan ' rope is strong enough to haul a man out of a well, secure a tent, hobble an animal, saddle a donkey, yoke a camel and carry water buckets or jugs on a camel ’ s back. the camel yoke represents an uncommon use of ' mitnan ' rope - row upon row of twisted and braided white inner bark is sewn onto a padded pillow. this rests on a ' mitnan ' support, made of an entire young shrub whose branches have been parted and bound into a wishbone shape by strips of rag. ' mitnan ' serves the bedouins in a variety of other ways as well, such as making a partridge trap. the moist roots of the plant are used for parts of the trap that must be both flexible and strong. when sowing summer crops they also affix a branch of ' mitnan ' to the back of a plough where it sweeps sand over the furrow to shield freshly - sown seeds from the sun ' s direct rays. women too, often use ' mitnan ' when watering their flocks, using fibres to make a bucket - rope with which they can draw water from the well. ibn - al bitar ( 12th century c. e. ) attributed medicinal properties to the leaves as an antidote to pinworms, as well as a ' powerful hydragogue, cathartic and expectorant '


from the well. ibn - al bitar ( 12th century c. e. ) attributed medicinal properties to the leaves as an antidote to pinworms, as well as a ' powerful hydragogue, cathartic and expectorant '. dried and powdered leaves were also used to treat inflammation of the skin and the bark for healing wounds. it was further reported that in order to remove flies from their tents, arabs would dip ' mitnan ' ( thymelaea hirsuta ) in sugared water and then hang it in the tent. the formation of the numerous, crowded small leaves and flowers on the branch provided a large landing area for flies attracted to the sweet sugar. at night, bedouin people would cover the plant with a dress or cloak and remove both the ' mitnan ' and the flies from the tent. ' mitnan ' is still used for medicinal purposes. as a method for removing rotten teeth for instance, which doesn ’ t seem to have been reported in much detail in the literature. to do this, the plant leaves are boiled in water and the resulting brew swished around the mouth and spat out along with the dead tooth. other medicinal uses include an eye curative and a treatment for paralysis. ' mitnan ' is also used to prevent abortion in camels. the leaves of the plant are pounded and mixed with a little salt, made into a poultice, and then applied to the camel ' s cervix after impregnation in the hope that the cervix will contract, preventing the camel from aborting its foetus ( bailey and danin 1981 : 153 ; also cited by schmidt and stavisky 1983 ). later, researchers managed to isolate stigmasterol from ' mitnan '. stigmasterol is a steroid used to synthesise progesterone, a hormone used in the treatment of recurrent abortion in humans ( schmidt and stavisky 1983 : 318 ). you can adopt this seed for yourself, or as a gift for £25. when you adopt a seed, you ' ll receive a personalised certificate, featuring your plant species, as a downloadable pdf document you can print off, and regular updates over the year from the millennium seed bank. for an additional £2, you can have an adoption pack posted ( either to you, or direct to a gift recipient ) featuring a certificate and a full colour picture of your species ( uk only ). keep up to date with events and news from kew


ask the doctor questions about kidney disease? risk factors? signs and symptoms? are you concerned about yourself, a friend or family member? ask dr. spry. the kidneys perform many functions that are vital to good health. it is not unusual, however, to have only one kidney to do the work that two kidneys ordinarily do. many people are born with a single kidney. this occurs in about one out of 750 people. being born with a single kidney is more common in males, and the left kidney is the one more often absent. the ureter ( the tube that takes urine from the kidney to the bladder ) on the affected side is usually abnormal or absent. an abnormality of the reproductive tract may also be seen on the same side. this occurs more often in females than in males. in other cases, one kidney may need to be surgically removed, leaving a single remaining kidney. a kidney may need to be removed because of an anatomic abnormality such as obstruction, or because of a tumor, or from a severe traumatic injury after an accident. one kidney may be donated to a loved one with kidney failure. the single normal kidney will grow faster and get larger than a normally paired kidney. for this reason, the single kidney is larger and heavier than normal, and it is, therefore, more vulnerable to injury. it is important to be aware of the increased risk for injury with certain heavy contact sports, so that careful decisions may be made regarding participation in various physical activities. the american academy of pediatrics, american academy of family physicians and the medical society of sports medicine have suggested that people with one kidney avoid sports that involve higher risks of heavy contact or collision. this includes boxing, field hockey, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, martial arts, rodeo, soccer and wrestling. anyone with a single kidney who decides to participate in these sports should be extra careful and wear protective padding. he or she should understand that the consequences of losing a single kidney are very serious. in general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems, particularly in the first few years. however, some longer - term problems have been recognized. most doctors believe that people with a single kidney, particularly from birth or during early childhood, should be followed more closely than people with two normal kidneys. children who have had a kidney surgically removed may have a slightly increased chance of developing abnormal amounts of protein in the urine and some abnormality in kidney function by 25 years later. similar abnormalities have been found