he was convicted for violating a law that prohibited the advocacy of violence and crime as means to achieve political reform. in a unanimous decision, the supreme court decided in favor of brandenburg ruling that speech cannot be illegal unless it " is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action. " hudson tells us the word " imminent " is key. as we detailed yesterday, the muhammad film was uploaded to youtube in early july. the violence it incited didn ' t happen until this past tuesday and it happened overseas, which hudson says adds another wrinkle. hudson says that it would also be hard to argue that at the moment the film was made, it was intended to incite this particular violence. taking all of this into account, the christian science monitor asks a provocative question : in a global world, where the american ideals of free speech are being broadcast through youtube and facebook, can they coexist with islam ' s reverence for muhammad? " a recent public religion research institute survey found that 47 percent of americans say the values of islam are at odds with american values, " the monitor reports. " yet among us muslims, 6 in 10 say they see no conflicts between being a devout muslim and living in modern society – precisely the same ratio as devout american christians answering the question in the same way, according to a 2011 gallup poll. " also, the monitor reports, most muslims don ' t support the kind of violent outburst that has emerged because of this video. " the vast majority of muslims would definitely be offended by the movie, but i don ' t think the vast majority of people support to any degree the notion that the us ambassador should be targeted, " mohamed younis, a senior analyst at the gallup center for muslim studies, told the monitor. " in egypt, there ' s an overwhelming majority of people who say you cannot target civilians, and similarly in libya, we don ' t see any overwhelming support for the idea that [ blaspheming the prophet should lead to ] targeting and killing civilians. "


hard shell purple bug at the coast of puerto rico thu, feb 26, 2009 at 7 : 12 pm i was staying at a hotel on the east coast of the island of puerto rico and went to the shore to look at the ocean at around midday. this thing was purple, had a hard shell, did not move at all, about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. it was withing the rocks. this was in summer 2006. east coast of puerto rico the creature in your photograph is a chiton. chitons are primitive marine molluscs that have shells composed of 8 plates. the shells provide protection against waves which enable chitons to survive on stormy rocky coasts. chitons are sometimes called sea cradles. sat, feb 28, 2009 at 5 : 58 am hi daniel, ah, another mollusk! this is acanthopleura granulata ( gmelin, 1791 ), the west indian fuzzy chiton. the shell plates of this chiton are actually brownish and are usually very eroded. the pink / purple color on this one is due to a layer of encrusting calcareous red algae. for more info see the wikipedia article ( which i put together. ) best wishes to you, susan j. hewitt sun, mar 1, 2009 at 4 : 43 am i wanted to add : 1. that these chitons do move around, but only at night, grazing on microscopic algae which grows on the rock surface. each one returns to its same spot on the rock at the end of the night. 2. that the maximum size of this species is about 3 inches in length. 3. there is a really excellent book on the chitons of p. r. called “ los quitones de puerto rico ” by cedar i. garcia rios.


speaking better french : more faux amis! paperback, 6x9 in, 156 pages wheatmark, april 2008 " i am amazed at how much fun to read, as well as how incredibly informative, the book is. it ’ s a wonderful tool that i ’ ll be happy to recommend to my colleagues and — brigitte humbert / chair, dept. of french, " i love the faux amis, especially the relaxed, conversational presentation. i ’ m going to suggest that we recommend it for students in our intermediate and advanced classes as a supplementary reference book ” — norman shapiro, professor, dept. of " it ’ s the kind of book that would be very useful for students that are making their first forays into writing in french. you signal just the kind of traps that students fall into all the — john f. moran, director of language programs, dept. of french, nyu it ’ s easy to assume that french words mean the same as english words, when they look and sound pretty much the same. most of the time you ’ d be correct. however, some of these word pairs may have completely different meanings. they are called false friends, or faux amis. these faux amis can cause misunderstandings, uncomfortable situations, and even embarrassment if you use them in conversation and they mean something entirely different than what you expected. this book is written to help you avoid these awkward this book isn ’ t a dry list of faux amis. it ’ s written in conversational language and is easy and fun to read. each faux ami word pair is explained so that you will understand the differences in how the french word is used compared to the english. you ’ ll also see examples of its usage in sentences and phrases. when you ’ ve finished reading this book, you will have learned most of these faux amis without ever having had to consciously memorize them, simply because they ’ re so


learn something new every day more info... by email pseudowire is a term given to a telecommunications and computer networking technique where a circuit is emulated via an existing network. in essence, it creates a new, virtual wire through an existing packet switched network ( psn ). in this way, older technology can be used to create a dedicated wire for a customer who is then unaware of any difference between the older circuit and the emulated one. the first pseudowire was devised by luca martini in order to figure out a way to transmit dedicated open systems interconnection ( osi ) model layer two services over a multi - protocol label switching ( mpls ) network. later, the internet engineering task force ( ietf ) formed a working group around the concept in order to figure out how to standardize the method for service providers and detail the techniques involved. they became known as the pseudowire emulation edge to edge ( pwe3 ) working group, and the papers submitted to the working group by martini and his team became known of as the martini drafts, with a few subsequently nicknamed the dry martini papers. the reason for the edge to edge distinction is in how the technique is implemented. from a service provider perspective, the pseudowire begins at the provider ' s edge of the network, the point where the customer ' s responsibilities end, through to the opposite provider edge, where the customer ' s responsibilities pick up again. this way, a service provider can create a new, dedicated circuit for the customer over the existing packet - switched network. this is possible for many of the most commonly used osi model data link layer, layer two, protocols such as ethernet, asynchronous transfer mode ( atm ), frame relay, or another time - division multiplexing ( tdm ) method. the underlying service provider ' s psn can be a version four or version six internet protocol ( ip ) network, an mpls network, or implemented by using the ietf ' s version three of the layer two tunneling protocol ( l2tpv3 ). as network traffic leaves the customer ' s network and encounters the provider edge, it is wrapped up for delivery across the emulated circuit. a few layers are added to the packet, the first of which contains the addresses for each of the provider ' s edge routers. an encapsulation layer is also tacked on, which contains information on which pseudowire the packets need to traverse, in case the provider has many emulated on the psn, and


whale of a discovery makes scientific splash spade - toothed beaked whale found ashore it is the world ' s rarest whale and one of its rarest mammals. almost a thing of legend, scientists have never seen a spade - toothed beaked whale alive and, until recently, only had limited skeletal evidence they existed. so rare is the species that when a pair of dead whales washed up on a new zealand beach in late 2010, scientists didn ' t even know what they had. but now they do... and they ' re a bit giddy. " it was a bit like finding the holy grail, " said anton van helden, the collection manager of marine mammals at the museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa. he ' s one of the co - author ' s of a paper published this week in the journal " current biology " documenting the discovery. another co - author, rochelle constantine with the school of biological sciences at the university of auckland, made the discovery in 2011 while testing tissue samples from the whales with colleague kirsten thompson. " when she showed me the result we were both a bit stunned, " constantine said. " we re - ran the sample again to make sure, even though the dna clearly showed it was a spade - toothed beaked whale. " the results were stunning because only three partial specimens of the species were known to exist - - two collected in new zealand in 1872 and in the 1950s and a third found on robinson crusoe island off the coast of chile in 1986. the spade - toothed beaked whale looks similar to a large black, white and gray dolphin with it ' s long pointed snout. scientists believe they grow to be about 17 feet long. adult males have large exposed teeth as the name suggests. mistaken for a gray ' s beaked whale after their discovery, the adult female and juvenile male were buried near where they were found on opape beach. scientists were anxious to recover the remains and did in early 2012. " we now have collected the only complete specimen in the world of this rarest of whales, " van helden said. " sadly the head of the adult female had washed away through beach erosion. " still, the recovery of the remains are a bonanza for scientists who study cetaceans. " yes, the discovery is indeed most exciting, " said geology professor ewan fordyce, who studies the evolution of whales and dolphins at university of otago, but who was not involved in the research. " now we have an idea


you have probably noticed that “ going green ” is all the rage right now with celebrities and major corporations. meanwhile, we regular joes and josephines have been doing our part in reducing, re - using, recycling, and composting without cameras following us around ( thank goodness ). think about what you are doing to help conserve mother earth. what do your kids know about being conservative with electricity and water? do they know about renewable and non - renewable resources? wind is one of the most promising sources of clean, renewable energy available today. so, how would one obtain power out of thin air? we have toys that can help parents explain the sun and sustainable living in the 21st century. power house provides an introduction to regenerative energy sources and sustainable living. children will learn about energy we get from the sun, wind, plants and electrochemical reactions. outside of these engaging experiments, parents need to take an active lead and discuss with their children the importance of being environmentally friendly. little changes in everyday life can help save the earth from becoming the garbage dump of the milky way. since everyone tries to stay healthy by drinking water from those handy plastic bottles, just think of how many you put in the garbage can – knowing it can be saved to recycle. i know that the recycling man comes around at least once a week where we live. i ’ m sure he gets bored with just driving his route and keeping a look - out for houses with recycling bins set at the end of the driveway. make sure you give him a reason to stop, get out of his truck and do his job! you don ’ t want your tax dollars going to someone who doesn ’ t have to work, do you? ( i ’ m sorry mr. recycling man, please don ’ t take this personally. ) alliant energy kids has a website that can help your children understand the importance of “ renewable ” and “ non - renewable ” energy sources. parents need to lead by setting an example by conserving water. also, explaining to kids why fresh water is important helps immensely. tell your kids that we need fresh water to drink, cook and bathe with, and water plants. ask your children serious questions about what they know about water conservation … ask them to tell you which ways they waste water. keep the questions going. what do they think would happen to the world if we ran out of fresh water? ask them open ended questions that will get them thinking about the earth and how naturally beautiful and important it really is.


ways they waste water. keep the questions going. what do they think would happen to the world if we ran out of fresh water? ask them open ended questions that will get them thinking about the earth and how naturally beautiful and important it really is. after having an open discussion, they will understand conservation better. this will help your kids stop wasting water and electricity – which will help lower everyone ’ s utility bills. so your older kids already know about power and water conservation? that ’ s awesome. try getting them to think outside the aspect of conservation and progress to alternative energy sources. we at wonderbrains have added new alternative energy and environmental science kits. power house introduces kids to regenerative energy sources and sustainable living, while teaching basic concepts in physical science. learn the physics of force and motion as it applies to wind power. your kids have now been briefed on alternative energy, renewable and non - renewable resources. the next step is fuel cells, solar cells and electrolysis. help you and your children learn how solar cells turn sunlight into energy with the fuel cell car. learn how fuel cells work, how to use alternative energies for automobiles, and about reversible fuel cells with fuel cell x7, a hydrogen powered car. you never know, you may end up with the next generation ’ s most influential green environmentalists!


century dictionary and cyclopedia - n. the character of being indefinite, undefined, unlimited, or not precise and certain. - n. the characteristic of being indefinite. gnu webster ' s 1913 - n. the quality of being indefinite. - n. the quality of being vague and poorly defined “ the only reply that it is possible is that the indefiniteness is the result of design. ” “ it is extremely difficult to distinguish in observation between vagueness of the illusion due to feebleness in the after - image depending on faint illumination, dark - colored discs or lack of the desirable difference in luminosity between the sectors ( cf. p. 171 ) and the indefiniteness which is due to broad transition - bands existing between the ( relatively ) pure - color bands. ” “ they illustrate that indefiniteness which is characteristic of greek mythology, a theology with no central authority, no link on historic time, liable from the first to an unobserved transformation. ” “ indefiniteness ' and ' general imbecility ' of what we had to offer - - all so unworthy a _ bostonian _ audience - - we commenced, and with many interruptions of applause, concluded. ” “ indefiniteness " of the tiger leave and after first claiming " the pga tour has not been significantly impacted in a negative way " provided this more realistic assessment. ” “ its euphony and indefiniteness were a charm tohim. ” “ its euphony and indefiniteness were a charm to him. ” “ he argues that " doctrinal indefiniteness can be a reasonable expression of epistemic modesty, and that even doctrinal entanglement can be justified when it is the only way of preserving, in the sociocultural environment available, a reflectively stable orientation. ” “ instead, he put it off with vagueness and indefiniteness and inquired after the family, particularly after mrs. morse and ruth. ” “ i find indefiniteness a bit harder to get my head around. ” ‘ indefiniteness ’ hasn ' t been added to any lists yet. looking for tweets for indefiniteness.


american heritage® dictionary of the english language, fourth edition - n. the formation, development, and maturation of an ovum. century dictionary and cyclopedia - n. the genesis or origin and development of the ovum. gnu webster ' s 1913 - n. ( physiol. ) the development, or mode of origin, of the ova. - n. development of ova - oo - + - genesis ( wiktionary ) “ this marine worm, first described in 1949 as an acoel flatworm and later claimed as either an early metazoan offshoot or a primitive deuterostome, has recently been affiliated with primitive bivalve molluscs, based upon a study of gamete development oogenesis and an analysis of sequence data from both 18s rrna and mitochondrial genes. ” “ since the shell is secreted by the follicle cells during oogenesis, we expected the defect to depend on the genotype of those cells. ” “ drosophila oogenesis to come to rival embrogenesis as a ideal system for studying patterning. ” “ the phenotypes suggested that the process of segmentation involves at least three levels of spatial organization : processes beginning during oogenesis define the large unique regions requiring the gap gene function, the gap genes in turn control ” “ except in the very earliest stages of oogenesis there is no real similarity between the development of a zoophyte, a mollusc, an articulate and a vertebrate, but each is stamped from the beginning with the characteristics of its type. ” “ during oogenesis, maps are believed to stabilize microtubules preferentially close to condensed chromosomes, favoring spindle assembly around dna. ” “ the network also highlighted a number of proteins and their complexes absent from the mitotic spindle proteome ( msp ), suggesting that some of them may have a specific microtubule - related role during oogenesis. ” “ kawakami k, sakamoto h, inoue k ( 2007 ) spatiotemporal localization of germ plasm rnas during zebrafish oogenesis. ” “ the failure of foxl2 - negative granulosa cells to sustain follicle formation is a primary cause of ovarian failure, leading to subsequent deregulated oogenesis by an unknown mechanism ” “ and we know a lot about spermogenesis and oogenesis. ” these user


survey of energy resources 2007 geothermal country notes poland has substantial resources of geothermal energy, but not at high temperatures. the available resource ranges from reservoir temperatures of 30°c to 130°c at depths of 1 to 4 km. although thermal water has been used for balneological purposes for many centuries, development of geothermal power for heating has only taken place during the past 15 years or so. both the strategy of renewable energy resources development which came into effect in 2000 and polish membership of the european union in 2004 have helped to encourage the growth of renewable energy use in general, but greater promotion of geothermal energy is needed. three heating plants were installed in the period 1992 - 1999 in the podhale region ( near zakopane ), in pyrzyce ( near szczecin ) and in mszczonow ( near skierniewice ). two further heating plants came into operation in 2001 ( uniejow ) and 2002 ( slomniki ). some of the geothermal units work in conjunction with heat pumps and / or fossil - fuelled boilers. geothermal water is mainly used for heating purposes. the bulk of the capacity installed for direct heating is utilised for district heating, with much smaller amounts for bathing and swimming, greenhouse heating, fish farming and wood drying. the number of ground - source heat pumps has grown steadily and capacity now stands at about 53 mwt. at the present time it is not foreseen that geothermal heat will be utilised for traditional electricity generation. however, there is an interest in studying binary plants which would be based on 90 + °c water.


sandra gjervaldsaeter ( 16 ) received the alvdalska bursary this year. her dad and grandmother always spoke the language together and, with the money from the bursary as a motivation, she went from understanding it, but not speaking, to using it fully. “ now that i have learnt more about the language, i understand better how unique it is and how important it is to preserve. i ’ m now pushing my siblings and my cousins to start speaking it too. ” sandra is moving away in the fall to study, but she said that she will always want to keep one foot in alvdalen. “ hopefully, i will find a job here after i graduate from veterinary school. i think boys are more prone to stay here. we girls, we have to go away to study and we might be more open to try out the bigger city lifestyle. ” sandra is interested in music. she sings, plays various instruments, and writes her own songs. the isolated valley of alvdalen ( ' river valley ' ), in dalarna, central sweden, is by no means stereotypically scandinavian. both landscape and lifestyle seem to have more in common with a nostalgic 1950s vision of the united states, where hillbilly meets rock - and - roll. this project focuses on the relationship between generations in a changing social climate. some 3, 000 people in alvdalen speak alvdalska ( elfdalian ) - an ancient language with strong links to old norse, the language once spoken by the vikings - but only about 45 of these are teenagers. the community is dealing with the threat of the extinction of alvdalska in an unusual way. knowing that the key to revitalization is to encourage a new generation of speakers, local authorities in alvdalen give grants of 6, 000 kronor ( about €730 ) to young school - leavers who sign a contract obliging them to ' actively try to use the language at all times possible '.


the water environment federation ( wef ) will join the united nations ( un ) on tuesday, march 22 in commemorating world water day 2005. commemoration of this event is an excellent opportunity to strive for improvements and highlight the inter - relatedness of water to human health and sustainable development. the theme for this year is " water for life : 2005 - 2015 " and marks the beginning of the un ’ s " international decade for action ". the decade of action, proclaimed by the un general assembly in december 2003, calls for an increased global focus on water - related issues and encourages greater participation and cooperation on all levels to achieve water - related goals including bringing clean water and sanitation to almost 1. 1 billion people still lacking access to the finite resource. this theme supports the primary goal of wef, a not - for - profit technical and educational organization, and the water quality community to protect public health and ensure good stewardship of the world ’ s most precious resource. " as leaders in the effort to protect public health and improve the global water environment, wef remains committed to meeting the water quality challenges of today to ensure the sustainability of water resources into the future, " said wef executive director bill bertera. world water day is officially recognized each year on march 22. the goal is to inspire worldwide political and community action and encourage greater global understanding of the need for more responsible water use and conservation. for more information about how you can celebrate world water day in your community, visit www. worldwaterday. org.


vitamin e is a fat soluble vitamin with anti - oxidant properties. vitamin e is a combination of 8 related tocopherols and tocotrienols. the main one of these is alpha - tocopherol. 1 iu of vitamin e is the biological equivalent of 1mg of dl - alpha - tocopherol acetate. the u. s recommended daily amount for a 25 - year old male for vitamin e is 15 mg / day. vitamin e is naturally found in almonds, asparagus, avocado, nuts, olives, seeds, spinach, wheat germ and vegetable oils such as canola, corn, sunflower, soybean, and cottonseed. vitamin e is used as a supplement for its benefit in many medical conditions. these include diabetes, cancer prevention, alzheimers ’ s disease, parkinson ’ s disease, premenstrual syndrome, cataracts and to lesson the harmful effects of dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation. it is also commonly used for preventing diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including high blood pressure. however, objective data on the latter benefit is lacking. over the last several decades, observational evidence has suggested that taking vitamin e prevents cardiovascular disease. the supporting logic was that vitamin e is an antioxidant and by preventing ldl oxidation, it may retard atherosclerosis. however, prospective clinical trials have not confirmed this benefit and have actually shown increased mortality in people taking this supplement. this information is important as 10 % - 20 % of the adult western population takes multivitamins as supplements on a regular basis. the most compelling evidence came from the women ’ s health study. this trial was conducted between 1992 and 2004 in 39, 876 healthy women aged 45 years and older. they were randomly assigned to receive 600 iu of vitamin e or placebo and low - dose aspirin or placebo on alternate days. after a mean follow up for 10. 1 years, data showed that vitamin e showed no benefit on the primary end point, major cardiovascular events, and no effect on secondary end points, including stroke and myocardial infarction. the results of this landmark trial were published in the july 6, 2005 issue of the journal of the american medical association. in another trial ( hope and hope - too trial ) published earlier in the same year ( journal of the american medical association, march 2005 ), vitamin e recipients did not have any reduction in heart attacks, stroke or cardiovascular death, when


medical association. in another trial ( hope and hope - too trial ) published earlier in the same year ( journal of the american medical association, march 2005 ), vitamin e recipients did not have any reduction in heart attacks, stroke or cardiovascular death, when followed for 7 years. there was however, a significantly higher risk of heart failure. in a study published in the new england journal of medicine in 2000, researchers again failed to find any beneficial effects for vitamin e on the incidence of cardiovascular events in 9541 subjects. these patients were aged 55 or older and had known vascular disease or diabetes. a recent meta - analysis has however significantly raised concern about the safety of vitamin e supplementation. miller and colleagues combined data from 19 clinical trials involving 135, 967 participants aged 47 to 84 years. these patients were at risk for chronic diseases, especially coronary heart disease. in 9 of the 11 trials testing vitamin e in doses of more than 400 iu / day, there was an increase in all - cause mortality. there also appeared to be a progressive increase in mortality if the dose of vitamin e was increased beyond 150 iu / day. this data was published in the annals of internal medicine in november 10, 2004. how about the benefits of vitamin e for other conditions? evidence based data on many common uses of vitamin e remains lacking. vitamin e has been found to delay the progression of age - related macular degeneration vitamin e supplementation have also found to have some beneficial effect in alzheimer ’ s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and in infants born of hiv positive mothers. what is the final word? forget about vitamin e supplementation for cardiovascular protection. although inexpensive and without side effects, it should not be used for this purpose. as a matter of fact, scientific data suggests that its use may be harmful to heart patients. there are other supplements like aspirin and fish oils that have a plethora of compelling scientific evidence supporting their heart protective benefits. save your vitamin e money and spend it on a healthy diet or other beneficial supplements. dr. shashi k. agarwal is a board certified internist and cardiologist with a private practice in new york city and new jersey. he is also a diplomate of the american board of holistic medicine and the american academy of anti - aging medicine.


› view larger tracking shuttle exhaust reveals more information about atmospheric winds after the space shuttle atlantis launched for the final time at 11 : 29 am ( edt ) on july 8, 2011, scientist tracked water vapor in its exhaust on its travels throughout the upper atmosphere. credit : nasa photo / houston chronicle, smiley n. pool on july 8, 2011 the space shuttle atlantis launched for the very last time. on that historic day, as the world watched its last ascent up into orbit and commentators discussed the program ' s contributions to space flight and scientific research over 20 years, the shuttle helped spawn one last experiment. as the shuttle reached a height of about 70 miles over the east coast of the u. s., it released – as it always did shortly after launch – 350 tons of water vapor exhaust. as the plume of vapor spread and floated on air currents high in earth ' s atmosphere, it crossed through the observation paths of seven separate sets of instruments. a group of scientists, reporting in online in the journal of geophysical research on august 27, 2012, tracked the plume to learn more about the airflow in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere ( mlt ) - - a region that is typically quite hard to study. the team found the water vapor spread much faster than expected and that within 21 hours much of it collected near the arctic where it formed unusually bright high altitude clouds of a kind known as polar mesospheric clouds ( pmcs ). such information will help improve global circulation models of air movement in the upper atmosphere, and also help with ongoing studies of pmcs. › view larger nasa ' s aeronomy in the mesosphere ( aim ) mission captures images like this of shining noctilucent clouds, also known as polar mesospheric clouds ( pmcs ), which hover over earth ' s poles in summertime. credit : nasa / aim " polar mesospheric clouds are the highest clouds on earth, " says space scientist michael stevens at the naval research laboratory, washington, who is first author on the paper. " they shine brightly when the sun is just below the horizon and typically occur over polar regions in the summer. there is some evidence that they are increasing in number and people want to know if this is indicative of climate change or something else that we don ' t understand. " since they shine at night, pmcs are also known as noctilucent clouds, and they can serve as an indicator not just of temperature changes, but also of how


of climate change or something else that we don ' t understand. " since they shine at night, pmcs are also known as noctilucent clouds, and they can serve as an indicator not just of temperature changes, but also of how currents and waves move high in earth ' s atmosphere. a visible cloud of water vapor from something like the shuttle also offers a serendipitous way to observe such motions in the upper winds. " the plume from the shuttle becomes a ready - made experiment to observe the movement in the atmosphere, " says charles jackman, a scientist at nasa ' s goddard space flight center in greenbelt, md. who is the project scientist for a nasa mission called aeronomy ice in the mesosphere ( aim ) that specifically observes pmcs. " what this team found is interesting since the plume moved so quickly to the pole, indicating that the winds appear much stronger at those latitudes than was thought. " to track the plume across the sky, the scientists collated seven sets of observations, including data from aim. the first two sets of instruments to see the plume were on a nasa spacecraft called timed ( thermosphere ionosphere mesosphere energetics and dynamics ). next the plume was viewed through the sub - millimeter radiometer on the swedish odin satellite. when the plume reached higher latitudes, it was picked up by the ground - based microwave spectrometer at the institute of atmospheric physics in kuhlungsborn, germany as well as an identical ground - based water vapor instrument called cwaspam1 at the arctic lidar observatory for middle atmospheric research ( alomar ) in andenes, norway. the plume collated into its final shape over the arctic, as a new, extremely bright pmc on july 9, 2011 and there, it could be observed from above by the aim satellite flying overhead, and from below by another instrument at alomar called the rmr lidar. over the course of the plume ' s travels, these observations showed it spreading horizontally over a distance of some 2000 to 2500 miles. those parts that drifted into the high latitudes near the north pole formed ice particles which settled into layers of pmcs down at about 55 miles above earth ’ s surface. the speed with which the plume arrived at the arctic was a surprise. " the speed of the movement in the upper atmosphere gives us new information for our models, " says stevens. " as you get higher up in the atmosphere, we just don ' t have as


which the plume arrived at the arctic was a surprise. " the speed of the movement in the upper atmosphere gives us new information for our models, " says stevens. " as you get higher up in the atmosphere, we just don ' t have as many measurements of wind speeds or temperatures. the take - away message here is that we need to improve the models of that region. " › view larger noctilucent clouds – also known as polar mesospheric clouds ( pmcs ) over wismar, germany on july 9, 2011. these clouds shine brightly even during the night. shuttle exhaust made of water vapor formed particularly bright pmc. credit : leibniz - institute of atmospheric physics since observations of pmcs may be connected to global climate, it ' s important to subtract out sporadic effects such as shuttle exhaust from other consistent, long - term effects. " one of aim ' s big goals is to find out how much of the cloud ' s behavior is naturally induced versus man - made, " says jackman. " this last shuttle launch will help researchers separate the shuttle exhaust from the rest of the observations. " indeed, the aim observations showed a clear difference between typical pmcs and this shuttle - made one. normally smaller particles exist at the top, with larger ones at the bottom. the shuttle plume pmc showed a reversed configuration, with larger particles at the top, and smaller at the bottom – offering a way to separate out such clouds in the historical record. for more information about nasa ’ s aim mission, visit : for more information about nasa ’ s timed mission, visit : karen c. fox nasa goddard space flight center, greenbelt, md.


date : october 30, 2012 department : smast / administration the proposed research will employ a combination of models and observations from ships and satellites to examine linkages between land and ocean and how these interactions affect the ocean ' s ability to take up co2 from the atmosphere. the project was one of 62 proposals considered by nasa as part of its carbon monitoring system science team, which includes members from across the country. smast dean dr. steven e. lohrenz will personally lead the research team, which includes partners from universities in alabama, georgia, mississippi and north carolina. " the oceans absorb about one third of all the fossil fuel co2 emitted into the atmosphere, but the contribution of coastal waters to this is still very uncertain. carbon dioxide in the atmosphere influences climate and can alter the chemistry of the oceans in ways that may negatively impact marine organisms, but we simply don ' t know enough about how co2 is being absorbed by the oceans and particularly by coastal waters, " said dr. lohrenz. " this project is about gathering the scientific data that will help us to fill that gap in our understanding. " smast is a leader in this kind of research. smast researcher dr. jefferson turner ' s 25 - year study of coastal waters in southeastern massachusetts has shown the temperature of buzzards bay rising by an average of five degrees - - an extraordinarily rapid change with strong potential effects on ocean acidification and co2 retention. the project ' s official name is " development of observational products and coupled models of land - ocean - atmospheric fluxes in the mississippi river watershed and gulf of mexico in support of carbon monitoring. " regionally, it will focus primarily on the mississippi river watershed and northern gulf of mexico, as well the southeastern us coast.


leave space when stopping behind parked cars at a light tim schewe, special to alberni valley timespublished : friday, february 08, 2013 i have noticed many drivers stopping at a red light several feet behind the car in front. having asked my daughters who had recently passed their driving exams about this and both told me that their instructor had told them, even when stopped, they must leave at least one car length distance behind the car in front. is it really true that our young drivers are taught to stop several feet behind the car, also stopped, in front? i wasn ' t taught to drive nearly so recently, but this is the practice that i had to follow as well. when i came to a stop, if i could not see pavement between the front edge of my hood and the bottoms of the tires of the vehicle in front of me, i received a black mark from my instructor. this space is a safety cushion and all drivers should make it a habit. the cushion serves three purposes. it allows you to pass the vehicle in front, you will not be pushed into the vehicle in front if you are hit from behind and you are not as likely to be hit if the vehicle in front of you rolls backward or the driver backs up without looking. when my daughter was learning to drive with a standard transmission, i had to exit the car and ask the driver behind to either back up and wait or drive around. she had stopped quite close to our back bumper at a stop sign and we were worried about rolling back. the " l " sign on the rear of the vehicle might be a clue that the driver needs even more space than usual. " tim schewe is a retired rcmp constable with many years of traffic enforcement experience. to comment or learn more, please visit www. drivesmartbc. ca.


an alkaline diet is based on principles of holistic and chinese medicine, which have been used for centuries. an alkaline diet is approximately 75 % alkaline foods and 25 % acid foods. if the body is toxic, it can steal energy and cause fatigue, have poor digestion, gain weight, have aches and pains, feel ill, and tired. an alkaline diet is a diet that emphasizes, to a varying degree, fresh fruit, vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, and legumes. grains, fish, meat, poultry, shellfish, cheese, milk, and salt all produce acid. these foods mean that the typical western diet is more acid - producing. an alkaline diet is a controversial dietary protocol based on the consumption of mainly fresh fruit, vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, and legumes and avoiding grains, dairy, meat and excess salt, in order to balance the acidity and alkalinity of one ’ s body. clinical studies show that alkaline water is the best way to obtain alkaline minerals and acid waters like colas quickly deplete them. our glands and organs function properly in exact proportion to the amount of alkaline and acid levels in our system. otto warburg, a two - time nobel prize winner, these acidic and toxic cells can then become cancerous ( he also stated that these anaerobic cancer cells are destroyed in the presence of oxygen ). noticed how kids can just go on and on running about and playing all day without tiring? you were that way too, once. but now that your energy diminishes way more quickly, and acid alkaline diet is just the thing that could bring back your body ’ s vitality. but what is an acid alkaline diet exactly? alkaline diet – alkaline foods – acid alkaline diet this kind of diet has been defined in so many ways that it ’ s hard to separate what ’ s fact and what ’ s made up. to put it simply, it ’ s an eating program that involves foods that leave an alkaline residue when they ’ re digested. it extensively promotes keeping a diet that is mostly dominated by fruits, veggies, legume, nuts, roots, and tubers. when i first heard about the day diet plan – day to day diet – 31 day fat loss cure by vic magary, my instinct told me that it was a gimmick. the name seemed h


, nuts, roots, and tubers. when i first heard about the day diet plan – day to day diet – 31 day fat loss cure by vic magary, my instinct told me that it was a gimmick. the name seemed hyped up. i got a copy of the program to review it and see whether it offered any value at all. my first reaction was one of surprise. by the name i thought that this would be some lame eating plan which promises an effort - free weight loss with little or no chance of delivering. it was quite clear that vic magary isn ’ t the sort of man who believes in getting anything without having to work for it. the workouts this program advocates are not for people who aren ’ t ready to make an effort. the every other day diet tries to provide a weight loss process which will allow regular people to lose weight in the most enjoyable way. unlike other diets which tend to deprive you of practically anything you like to eat, the every other day diet tries to do things differently, taking into account the psychology of weight loss and not just the physical aspect. diet that works – every other day – every other day diet you see, diets which are depriving by nature also tend to cause you to experience severe and harsh cravings. they not only put pressure on you physically but emotionally as well. one of the main reasons why people fail on diets is due to cravings. fats are what most people hate. aside from being unhealthy, it gets people ’ s body out of shape. that is why it is not anymore a question these days why a lot of them almost kill themselves and starve to death just to make these ugly fats out of the system. burn the fat – exercises to burn fat – burn fat feed muscle however, the disappointing part is, no matter how hard they seem to get this out, still, nothing seems to take effect. good thing that today, a new yet untiring and never strict approach to weight loss has been discovered. thanks to burn the fat feed the muscle program, weight loss goal is given a new hope and perspective. reducing weight especially losing abdominal fat seems to be everyone ’ s plan in recent times and the challenge many of us face when confronted with this situation is knowing what to do. finding the right method on how to lose belly fat quick can be overwhelming due to the many offers, diets and products out there that are promising you the success within just a few days of


face when confronted with this situation is knowing what to do. finding the right method on how to lose belly fat quick can be overwhelming due to the many offers, diets and products out there that are promising you the success within just a few days of using them. nonetheless losing abdominal fat should be a natural procedure if you need to stay strong and healthy. the diet solution review – diet solution plan - diet solution program numerous programs frequently placed you on catastrophe diets for quick weight loss at the cost of your well - being. if you really have planned to lose belly fat quick in a very pure and efficient way, the diet solution program is the choice of many reviews and expert in weight loss. the most alkaline foods are fruits and vegetables, and this is why a vegetarian and organic diet is effective against many diseases. a vegetarian and organic diet not only emphasizes foods that are alkaline, it also avoids the most acid - producing foods, animal proteins. this acid - alkaline balance is important because all bodily functions, including respiration, digestion and metabolism, work best at particular ph levels. the general recommendation for reducing acidity by dietary means includes avoiding white bread, white sugar, refined cereals, meat, fish, canned foods, tea, coffee and condiments, while at the same time increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables. citrus fruits actually have an alkaline effect on the body and should be consumed to help control acid reflux. one quart of alkaline water consumed 45 minutes before eating a meal is ideal to aid in digestion and avoid acid reflux or heartburn. apples, mangoes, bananas, citrus fruits and melons help maintain the body ph level at 7. alkaline foods are raw low - sugar vegetables, lemons and limes, sprouted legumes and vegetables, and germinated seeds and nuts. the american journal of clinical nutrition concluded that alkalizing diets improve bone density and serum growth hormone concentrations ; the acidosis resulting from acidic diets contributes to bone and muscle loss. the theory behind an alkaline diet is because our body ’ s ph level is slightly alkaline, with a normal range of 7. the nutrition and healthy eating community have begun to realize that what a person puts in to their body can have a real effect on how healthy they are overall. headaches, migraines, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, asthma, obesity, heart disease, cancer, add, autism, and alzheimer ’ s all carry a


question : what is the relationship between age and the risk of developing type 1 and type 2 diabetes? answer : we divide diabetes broadly into two types, one ' s called type 1 and one ' s called type 2. it ' s an arbitrary division, but type 1 is a disease in which your own body destroys your insulin - secreting cells, the islets ; this is an immune abnormality. and it used to be called ' juvenile onset ' diabetes because mostly children would get this. but then people became aware, as the years went on and research continued, that in fact you could get this same disease when you were 92. but what happens is, when you ' re 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, the process of destroying the islets seems to occur more slowly. so it was confusing for years, but now we know it ' s the same disease. so therefore, although it ' s most common in children, you can still get type 1 diabetes as you get older. on the other hand, the other type of disease we talk about is type 2 diabetes, and that ' s where your insulin - secreting cells are still there, but they ' re dying. and we don ' t actually know why they ' re dying, but something about them is making them die, perhaps because they have to secrete too much insulin. and as people get older, for a variety reasons - - and the most common is obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. therefore, each of us has a certain ability to secrete insulin, and generally the older we get, the more of a challenge that is. but there are some people who are 20 or 30, who are very overweight, or even 10 or 15 tragically, who are so overweight that their islets are already ' giving out. ' so they actually have type 2 because it ' s not an immune abnormality, it ' s not that their own immune system is killing them, it ' s the distress - - plus their genetic background - - is making these islets run out of gas.


canadian research suggested this week that the seasonal flu vaccination may increase the risk of catching the h1n1 pandemic strain, but government officials said such a pattern has not been found in the u. s., the centers for disease control and prevention said. the unpublished work appears to suggest that people who had been vaccinated against last year ' s seasonal flu were about twice as likely as others to catch the pandemic strain when it appeared this spring. but statistics from the cdc do not show a similar risk. " it is difficult to speak about a study that has yet to be published, " said cdc spokesman joe quimby, a senior press officer. but, he added, " it is important to note that scientists at the centers for disease control and prevention have not seen this effect in systems we have reviewed in the u. s. " " we continue to urge people to receive both the seasonal flu vaccine and the 2009 h1n1 vaccine, " quimby said. likewise, an official of the world health organization ( who ) said that investigators in countries other than canada had not found a similar risk increase when they looked at their own data. " we are in contact with other countries and are having them look at their own data to see if they could have similar observations, and none has been able to find anything like that, " said marie - paule kieny, director of the world health organization ' s vaccine research initiative. " the reason why this may be different in canada and in this particular study than in other places of the world is not yet identified, " she told reporters during a telephone press conference. kieny said experts are now trying to decide whether the effect is real or a result of " study bias. " the canadian research - - drawn from studies in three canadian provinces during the spring pandemic outbreak - - has been submitted for publication to a scholarly journal, and the lead authors were not immediately available for comment. but co - author dr. danuta skowronski, of the british columbia centre for disease control in vancouver, told the canadian press she wanted more scrutiny on the canadian research in question. " good scientists know that methods can influence results, " she said. " and if there are methodologic flaws, we need to be assured that every stone was turned over to make sure what we ' re reporting is valid. " skowronski said the findings could be real, due to chance, or arise from some sort of bias in the research


a lot of parents that are particularly conscious of their children ’ s oral health may worry about their consumption of candy around halloween time. should parents be worried? the key to kids and candy is moderation. sugar, although harmful to everyone ’ s teeth, is fine in moderation. the key to avoiding cavities is to pay attention to the frequency in which children consume candy. for example, on halloween and for a week or so thereafter, most kids have an abundance of candy to eat. it ’ s better for their teeth to allow them a few scheduled times throughout the day to consume candy, as opposed to eating it all day long. as i mentioned in my previous blog, does chewing sugar - free gum decrease your risk of cavities?, cavities are formed by demineralization of the teeth. after you eat, the ph in your mouth drops. this increase in acid is a by - product of the bacteria that reside within our mouths that feed on sugar and other carbohydrates we consume. the acid then causes demineralization of enamel, which turns into decay. after one eats, the low ph can remain for 20 - 60 minutes. therefore, if kids take 20 minutes to gorge on candy, after their last piece the ph can remain low for up to an hour. however if they were to snack on candy all day long, their ph can stay low all day, resulting in an enormous risk for greater decay. prior to writing this blog, i looked at numerous articles currently written about kids and their halloween candy. one of my favorites was an article on msnbc ’ s today ’ s health blog, “ let kids gorge on halloween candy, dentists say ”. this article suggests letting kids gorge on halloween candy once or twice a day, instead of allowing them to bathe their teeth in sugar all day long, producing a very acidic oral environmental where bacteria will surely thrive. the article also stated : ” candy is not necessarily the worst thing for your teeth, anyway. the factors that really lead to cavities are stickiness and acidity. potato chips and pretzels, for example, are worse offenders than chocolate, because these cooked carbohydrates cling to your teeth — giving mouth bacteria something to feast on longer and thus generating more acid. ” the one very detrimental mistake i found in most articles though, suggested that you have your children brush their teeth immediately after eating candy. the acid present in the mouth after one eats, in conjunction with the bristles moving


and thus generating more acid. ” the one very detrimental mistake i found in most articles though, suggested that you have your children brush their teeth immediately after eating candy. the acid present in the mouth after one eats, in conjunction with the bristles moving swiftly across one ’ s teeth, essentially rubs the acid into the teeth. this could causes severe erosion of the tooth structure if done repeatedly and often, and could actually increase one ’ s risk of decay. a better alternative to this, would be to chew sugar - free gum immediately after, which encourages an increase in ph within 20 minutes as opposed to an hour. after about 30 minutes, you can then have them brush their teeth. if you don ’ t want your kids chewing gum, then wait at least 1 hour before having them brush their teeth. at the end of an hour it is a good idea to have them brush, just not before then. here are some tips mentioned by delta dental ’ s website in their article, “ sugary, sticky halloween treats can play tricks on children ’ s teeth ” tips for limiting the effects of sugary treats - choose candy that can be eaten quickly and easily to limit the amount of time sugar is in contact with the teeth. - steer away from sticky candies like gummy fruit snacks, caramel, taffy, popcorn balls and other candies that expose the teeth to sugar for long periods of time. - limit consumption of sour candies that may contain acids ( such as citric acid ) to intensify the sour flavor. these acids can contribute to dental erosion and cavities. - encourage children to eat a small amount of candy in one sitting followed by a glass of water or a thorough tooth brushing. [ * * remember to wait for at least one hour before brushing! ] - encourage children to eat a good meal prior to trick - or - treating, so there will be less temptation to fill up on candy. - consider purchasing non - food treats for those who visit your home, such as coloring books or pens and pencils.


| lesson plan id : " bullies beware " reminds students of all the people who have died because of bullying and that this is not the way to handle being bullied. it focuses on what a bully is, what comprises violence, and how a victim can feel better about them self. a survey is given out that will later give a school profile on bullying. " reality matters " handouts are dispersed, discussed and compared to our local school. | cg ( k - 12 ) | | 78. ps : a1. 1 - develop positive attitudes toward self as a unique and worthy person | | cg ( k - 12 ) | | 82. ps : a1. 5 - identify and express feelings | | cg ( k - 12 ) | | 115. ps : c1. 6 - identify resource people in the school and community, and know how to seek their help | | cg ( k - 12 ) | | 118. ps : c1. 9 - learn how to cope with peer pressure | | cg ( k - 12 ) | | 119. ps : c1. 10 - learn techniques for managing stress and conflict | | cg ( k - 12 ) | | 120. ps : c1. 11 - learn coping skills for managing life events | | he1 ( 7 ) | | 7. demonstrate decision - making skills as they relate to situations involving health risks. | iste / nets for 2007 students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. students : a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology. b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship. | primary learning objective ( s ) : 1. describe the effects of bullying. 2. describe the ways a bullied student may develop a more positive attitude. 3. state and carry out basic dictionary skills. 4. gain experience in drawing conclusions and summarizing concepts. 5. participate in group / team activity to solve problems. | additional learning objective ( s ) : - describe what constitutes violent behavior. | approximate duration of the lesson : | | greater than 120 minutes | | materials and equipment : - handout - " the student survey on bullying and violence " - podcast - " bullies beware " ( available in alex gallery360 ) - handouts - " reality matters - cruel school facts " and " reality matters - continuum of violence


- handout - " the student survey on bullying and violence " - podcast - " bullies beware " ( available in alex gallery360 ) - handouts - " reality matters - cruel school facts " and " reality matters - continuum of violence " - " teen choices " is a worthwhile video. - " general information about bullying " is a good handout from thinkfinity. org. - book by paul langan - " bullying in school : what you need to know " - " reality matters ' handouts - discoveryschool. com part ii - help for groups with cyberbullying - videos on cyberbullying : - teen advice on cyberbullying - there ' s a good video on school violence. - bullying statistics - placing content online - " brittney ' s story " is a video found on thinkfinity. org. - being brave and standing up for others is also on thinkfinity. org in lesson plan entitled : " cyberbullying - be upstanding ". | technology resources needed : laptop, projector, document camera i - safe materials developed and used every year during october for internet safety month. share the letter from paul langan, the author of " the bully ". - as a class, talk about what it means to be a " bully ". - using a dictionary, look up the following words : bullying, victim, taunting, ridicule, intervention, influence, empathy, role, intimidate, ethics - discussion of definition of words. now students should have the understanding of what a bully is and how it feels to be bullied. - pass out to students the survey on " bullying and violence ". - show podcast " bullies beware " - set up five discussion groups at 5 different tables. give each discussion group one of the five ways listed by paul langan that aid victims in feeling better about themselves. - " reality matters " handouts - give out both handouts to students - with the facts handout, how does our school compare with these facts? do our students and teachers feel safe? how is bullying in our school? - since they took the survey, now they are go give the survey to five other people. do not have names on the surveys. - have one spreadsheet program that each student will compile their survey answers into so they can see how it works and they can review the results. - view podcast " beware bullies 2 ". this podcast gives tips on how to get


- have one spreadsheet program that each student will compile their survey answers into so they can see how it works and they can review the results. - view podcast " beware bullies 2 ". this podcast gives tips on how to get rid of bullies. - separate students into the same five cooperative groups as before. - give each group a " tip " to discuss as to how the victim could stop the bully. compile their ideas. have one person of the group prepared to give their group ' s ideas to the class. - share all the ideas from each group and get a consensus of how to protect yourself from a bully. separate in the same five cooperative groups. this time, what are the ways that witnesses can help the bully? have a leader get a consensus from the group to present to the class. while in the group, answer the following questions : if bullying has no audience, can it exist? can one person make a difference? how can you become a part of the solution to bullying at your school? - present the ideas to the class. - give your answers to the questions. time should be left over for individual students to share their ideas with the class. here are some other questions for discussion : - what does it mean to " put yourself at risk "? - whose responsibility is it to stop bullying at school? - if you see someone being bullied, what are some things you can do? - in what type of situations might adult involvement hurt solving bullying situations? a summary of the surveys will be created to make a profile of the school. | attachments : * * some files will display in a new window. others will prompt you to download. uploaded rubric in excel format. have one or more students look up and read the articles about the " 13 worst cases of bullying ", write what happened in each case, and present one or more to the other students. suggested readings from library : " the bully " by paul langan " joshua t. bates takes charge " by susan shreve " please stop laughing at me " by jodee blanco " the privilege of youth " by david pelzer " my life in dog years " by gary paulsen discussion questions to be written or typed by individual students : 1. how can we learn to better accept each other ' s differences? 2. what are some of the ways young people learn to socialize with each other? peers would help students that need help during group time. special attention would need to be focused on special students


let ' s talk about sex health class in high school wasn ' t the most pleasant of times. it included routinely embarrassing moments, like practicing mouth - to - mouth resuscitation, naming male and female anatomy and repeatedly going over detailed descriptions of sexually transmitted diseases ( stds ). this was in addition to the even more embarrassing talks with my mother about sex and responsible behavior. according to the dictionary on my shelf, embarrass means “ to cause someone to feel awkward or self - conscious. ” welcome to the motto of my adolescent life. but to my surprise, despite more initial embarrassment than i thought i could bear, after a few classes and talks, what once made me feel totally awkward and self - conscious started giving me a sense of acknowledgment and self - awareness. it is this self - awareness and understanding that plain talk ( or hablando claro ) — a new teen pregnancy prevention program in the south valley — is promoting. new mexico is one of two states in the country selected to participate in the $ 240, 000 three - year program. the numbers are staggering : approximately 45 percent of all pregnancies in new mexico are unintended, and about one half of women with unintended pregnancies weren ' t using contraception when they conceived. nearly 80 percent of unintended pregnancies occur among young women ages 15 - 17, and new mexico ' s teen birth rate currently ranks third in the nation, with one out of six pregnant new mexico women being a pregnant teen. recent national reports state that teen pregnancy rates have declined over the last decade. but across class and ethnic groups, they ' ve remained just as high as before. in fact, hispanic teens are three times more likely to get pregnant than caucasian teens. and even while, overall, pregnancy rates are dropping, std rates are steadily on the rise across the board. according to the new mexico department of health, current teen birth rates and sexually transmitted disease rates in the south valley zip codes of 87105, 87121 and 87102 are among the highest in bernalillo county. in those zip codes, one in 10 teen girls has a baby per year, which is a teen birth rate of 96. 1 per 1, 000 teens. this compares with the statewide rate of 62 per 1, 000, and the national rate of 52 per year. factors contributing to health disparities include : poverty associated with poor health because of less access to healthcare ; lower quality housing and environmental conditions


. this compares with the statewide rate of 62 per 1, 000, and the national rate of 52 per year. factors contributing to health disparities include : poverty associated with poor health because of less access to healthcare ; lower quality housing and environmental conditions ; and limited economic, educational and social opportunities. according to a plain talk planning presentation, 18. 9 percent of families that make less than $ 20, 000 a year are more likely to have poor health, compared to 10. 6 percent of families earning between $ 20, 000 and $ 34, 000 a year, and just over 6 percent earning $ 35, 000 and more. plain talk helps community members educate each other on ways to communicate with young people about sex, with the goal of delaying sexual activity. the program was launched in five racially diverse, low - income communities in atlanta, hartford, new orleans, san diego and seattle over four years. the results are impressive. the number of sexually experienced youth who reported pregnancy was reduced by 11 percent, and the proportion of sexually experienced youth who spoke with adults about topics related to sexuality ( compared with youth who did not talk to adults ) were half as likely to have an std, have had or created a pregnancy, or to have a child. according to program sponsor debra delgado of the annie e. casey foundation, in order to ease these social problems, we need to begin thinking about family context, and not just teen behavior. we know that families living in poverty try to find proactive family coping strategies such as connections between families, like creating social networks, and connections within families, such as parent / child communication. this is what made the difference between high and low rates of teen pregnancy within poor latino communities. delayed sexual activity is strongly correlated with connectedness — or positive relationships with adults — and parents ' ability to talk about their values. until recently, our teens ' health classes included an abstinence - only curriculum which completely omitted important information about sexual health and contraceptives, and reported incorrect facts and figures. fortunately, here in new mexico our doh has limited the abstinence - only programs to sixth grade and below, taking them out of middle and high schools. a balanced approach should include comprehensive sex education at school and innovative neighborhood - based programs that are proven to reduce teen pregnancy, such as the plain talk initiative. we should commend the doh for signing onto the collaboration and pay attention to the evaluation results after the three years is up. comprehensive sex education is necessary, even if it does cause the


| young children can be affected by toxic house dust. | dust, a common occurrence in indoor environments, can also carry exposure risks. that ’ s because a lot of pollutants can attach themselves to tiny dust particles, and when the dust is disturbed and becomes airborne, it too becomes a respiratory hazard. studies show that house dust can contain chemical pollutants such as flame retardants, metals like lead, mercury and poisons like pesticides. even bacteria and viruses can attach themselves to dust particles and pose exposure risks. people can track chemicals and dust in from the outside, but they can also be generated by activities that are going on inside, or from the wear - and - tear of common household products. children are most at risk because their bodies are still developing and they eat more, drink more and breathe more in proportion to their body size. young children are also closer to the floor and tend to crawl, touch, chew and explore things by putting them into their mouths. for these reasons, house dust should not be allowed to accumulate in a home with children or pets, and some experts say it should be treated as an environmental health risk. here are some pointers to minimize exposure : - clean regularly. you don ’ t have to overdo it, but setting up a regular cleaning schedule and keeping to it will help avoid the accumulation of dust and particles in the home. adjust the cleaning schedule for the number of people living under the roof, pets, weather conditions and other factors. - clean with moisture. the best way to avoid disturbing existing dust is to vacuum with a hepa vacuum cleaner and use a wet cloth and mop. you don ’ t need harsh chemicals in the water, a bit of white vinegar or a few drops of soap will be enough. - store toys in closed containers and avoid a lot of knickknacks and clutter in the house. - take your shoes off at the door and clean the door mats frequently – separately from your other laundry. more information : www. healthyenvironmentforkids. ca filter out airborne dust and particles | allerair ' s airmedic series : powerful | particle and dust controllers. the airmedic series and airmedic + series filter out particles with a 360 - degree air intake, the best in hepa filtration ( to remove 99. 97 % of particles at 0. 3 microns ) as well as prodense pre - filters that tackle larger particles and dust. these air purifiers also


problems with blood sugar and blood lipid control have become major health concerns in the united states. the modern american lifestyle, low in exercise and high in processed foods, has contributed greatly to these serious healthcare concerns and has prompted researchers to step up the pace in the search for safe substances that can support healthy sugar and blood lipid levels. cinnamon, a common culinary spice, has been studied and shown to have many health benefits, including blood sugar support and blood lipid control. unfortunately, when cinnamon is taken in the high amounts required to benefit these concerns, it could be toxic. because of these specific health benefits, researchers began seriously looking at cinnamon and out of this research, cinnulin pf ® was developed. cinnulin pf ® is a patented, water - soluble blend containing standardized amounts of bioactive polyphenol polymers. in research studies, these polymers have been shown to help the ability of cells to normally utilize insulin. in addition to supporting healthy glucose metabolism, polyphenol polymers found in cinnulin pf ® have been shown to support healthy levels of lipids such as triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low - density lipoprotein ( ldl ) that are already within normal range. cinnulin pf ® patented process eliminates the possibility of toxicity because it ’ s a water - soluble extract. cinnamon ’ s toxins are fat - soluble.


- about us as a teacher in lower saxony, germany, one of niehaus ' main goals when developing kalzium ( the german word for calcium ) was to write an application that was both a teaching and a learning tool. " i want to be able to demonstrate things and i also want my students to be able to learn things from kalzium and to use it as a reference, " he says. kalzium was a originally developed as a simple interactive table of the periodic elements but has evolved into a full - featured application, complete with an equation solver and modified molecular calculator. its database contains information on more than 100 chemical elements, and can be manipulated to show data in several ways, including mass, density, charge, and name origin. kalzium even includes a timeline that allows users to sort data according to year of discovery. niehaus uses the vim text editor to code kalzium. " i started using it on day one and can no longer use non - extreme editors like kate. i need all those crazy shortcuts, " he says. " [ however ], the day kdevelop supports vim as an editor i will use kdevelop. " to create the gui portion of kalzium, niehaus prefers trolltech ' s qt designer, which he says is especially useful for creating dialogs and widgets. niehaus and code developer benoit jacobs recently began working on a new way of displaying chemical information with kalzium : the 3 - d model. the team uses open babel 2. 1, a free software application used to convert chemical file formats. they tweaked the package to suit their specific needs. by using open babel, niehaus says kalzium will be able to display " pretty much every 3 - d file out there, including chemistry file formats such as. mol,. pdb, and. xyz. " when kalzium users reported a need to solve chemical equations within the application, niehaus responded by teaming up with the developer of eqchem, thomas nagy. as a result, the current release of kalzium now solves some of chemistry ' s most complicated equations. according to niehaus, however, distributions continue to ship kalzium without this feature. " i guess that is because they think kalzium needs [ programming language ] ocaml ( and a library called libfacile ) as a runtime dependency


##ehaus, however, distributions continue to ship kalzium without this feature. " i guess that is because they think kalzium needs [ programming language ] ocaml ( and a library called libfacile ) as a runtime dependency, " says niehaus. " but that is wrong. they only need it as a compiletime dependency when they package kalzium. it is statically linked and the user does not need to have ocaml installed. " niehaus says that he does not know of any distributions currently shipping the full - featured version of kalzium, but says he hopes to see that change as distributions develop a better understanding of how kalzium functions as part of a larger package. though an exact date has not been set for the release of the next version of kalzium, niehaus says it will contain many exciting new features, and updates to many existing ones, including a more polished user interface. in response to the need for greater mathematical capability, kalzium 4. 0 will also include a math library named eigen to compute eigenvectors and 4x4 matrix calculations. a much more subtle, but no less important, addition is the merging of kalzium ' s data with the xml - based data of the blue obelisk project. blue obelisk is a collaborative effort of chemists worldwide who contribute to a variety of open chemistry - based projects. " many applications are now using blue obelisk [ data ], " says niehaus. " the more it gets used, the more data is added, and the more errors are spotted and fixed. this ensures a higher overall quality. [ after all ], what is kalzium worth with unreliable data? " niehaus says the second reason he chose to merge his data with blue obelisk " is that ( i think ) all members of the project have studied chemistry and really want to keep the data at a high and well - documented level. so we use references [ and ] well formed - xml. " when asked to name his favorite feature in kalzium, niehaus says he is especially proud of the application ' s strong search feature that allows users to wade quickly through a tremendous amount of data. he says by using this application, " you don ' t have to look up all the data in a book. " or more like in 10 books, " he adds, jokingly.


intimate, and powerful too attempting a calculation of something as vast yet ethereal as the value of a network is as hopeless as wondering whether a million angels may fit upon a needle ' s point. yet the evolution of these calculations reveals something of the evolving understanding of networks. in the era before digital networks, david sarnoff, the founder of nbc, stated that the value of a broadcasting network was determined by the number of its viewers. by virtue of the media with which it dealt, sarnoff ' s law conformed to a limited, centripetal logic. it was a simple calculation of one - to - many broadcast reach and was rendered obsolete by computer networks. somewhat more apt was the idea of " network effects. " in 1908 theodore vail, at & t ' s president, had told shareholders that the value of a telephone network " increases with the number of connections " : 35 a telephone - without a connection at the other end of the line - is not even a toy or a scientific instrument. it is one of the most useless things in the world. its value depends on the connection with the other telephone - and increases with the number of connections. a network was not simply worth how many people it could reach from a single point of broadcast, but how many users of the network could be reached by other users on the same network. a more recent expression of this idea is metcalfe ' s law, coined by george gilder in 1993 after bob metcalfe, the founder of 3com and inventor of ethernet. gilder, defending the model of dumb, unreliable networks in the tcp / ip model versus a new generation of telecommunications - industry centralized, guaranteed reliable networks in the model of x. 25, spoke of the merits of the ethernet model. he used a graph that metcalfe had apparently used in the 1980s to persuade customers to build sufficiently large local area networks ( lan ) " large enough to exhibit network effects — networks larger than some ' critical mass. ' " metcalfe suggested that computer networks had a greater value than could be gauged by the standards of broadcast or telephone networks. while an individual might only ever contact perhaps a hundred or so different people on a network of thousands, the value of the network is measured by the potential to contact many more. metcalfe ' s law is a loose definition that states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of users of the system. metcalfe told prospective purchasers of his lan equipment that the number


many more. metcalfe ' s law is a loose definition that states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of users of the system. metcalfe told prospective purchasers of his lan equipment that the number of connections to a network could reach " a critical mass of creativity after which the benefits of a network grow larger than its costs. " this has broader implications when multiple networks are involved, as david reed, one of the early contributors to the tcp protocol, writes : because metcalfe ' s law implies value grows faster than does the ( linear ) number of a network ' s access points, merely interconnecting two independent networks creates value that substantially exceeds the original value of the unconnected networks. metcalfe ' s law referred to networks in the early years of internetworking, when simple functions such as e - mail and file transfer represented significant new capacities for organizations. however, in the years since metcalfe ' s law additional services have become common on the internet. discussion groups, social networking, chatrooms with many participants all represent an additional layer of service. thus there should be an additional law to describe these new services on the internet " because it facilitates the formation of groups in a way that sarnoff and metcalfe networks do not. " david reed spent much of his career working on networked group applications and has expanded metcalfe ' s law with the group forming law, also known as reed ' s 3rd law. from reed ' s perspective " group forming is... the technical feature that most distinguishes the internet ' s capabilities from all other communications media before it. " reed ' s 3rd law observes that the value of networks that allow their participants to form groups and collaborate on common goals scales in a far more dramatic way. group - forming networks such as online communities and discussion groups, argues reed, scale not linearly, as sarnoff ' s broadcast networks did, or by the square number of the total number of participants as metcalfe ' s law suggests, but exponentially. if you add up all the potential two - person groups, three - person groups, four - person groups, and so on that those members could form, the number of possible groups equals 2n. so the value of a gfn increases exponentially, in proportion to 2n. this is because " any system that lets users create and maintain groups creates a set of group - forming options that increase exponentially with the number of potential members. " thus


value of a gfn increases exponentially, in proportion to 2n. this is because " any system that lets users create and maintain groups creates a set of group - forming options that increase exponentially with the number of potential members. " thus where n equals the number of participants in the network the value of a network conforming to sarnoff ' s law is simply n ; yet the value of a network conforming to metcalfe ' s law is n ( n - 1 ) or n2 ; and the value of a network conforming to reed ' s 3rd law is 2n. furthermore, reed says, " the exponential, 2n, is a sneaky function. though it may be very small initially, it grows much faster than n2, n3 or any other power law. " in 1962 douglas engelbart, the inventor of the mouse and much else besides, had imagined a time when many people of different disciplines could work on a common problem using many computers and shared data. this became a reality from the mid 1980s onwards as pc owners with modems began to dial in to communities of common interest and give and seek advice from their peers. these were a new breed of " netizens " : there are people online who actively contribute towards the development of the net. these people understand the value of collective work and the communal aspects of public communications. these are the people who discuss and debate topics in a constructive manner, who e - mail answers to people and provide help to new - comers, who maintain faq files and other public information repositories, who maintain mailing lists, and so on. these are people who discuss the nature and role of this new communications medium. these are the people who as citizens of the net, i realized were netizens. the netizens ' forebears were the original six members of steve crocker ' s rfcs mailing list who worked together on the arpanet ' s protocols, and the hackers and homebrew community who freely shared information in the service of compulsive optimization of code and hardware. by 1994 a well regular, howard rheingold, described usenet newsgroups in terms that approximated engelbart ' s vision : newsgroups have constituted a worldwide, multimillion member, collective thinktank, available twenty - four hours a day to answer any question from the trivial to the scholarly. if you have a question about sports statistics, scientific knowledge, technical lore


mediation skillimportant as teaching aid " schools can prevent violence by teaching conflict resolution skills. " the maryland state department of education featured this hopeful message at a recent statewide conference for 550 educators and concerned citizens. misunderstandings and verbal abuse, like teasing, name - calling, put - downs, threats and hurtful rumors, upset children and hinder their ability to focus on school work. misunderstandings and verbal abuse sometimes escalate into violence. conference participants heard how some educators are teaching students to deal constructively with misunderstandings and verbal abuse. for example, staff from two schools explained how they are integrating conflict resolution skills throughout their schools. their administrators and teachers are learning to model and teach the skills ; they are starting peer mediation programs ; and they are giving informational packets to parents. another school teaches every sixth - grader 30 lessons on communication, anger management and other conflict resolution skills. another infuses conflict resolution concepts into reading, language arts and social studies classes. some teach conflict resolution skills in multicultural contexts. in a number of schools, student peer mediators help other students who are having difficulties dealing with misunderstandings, anger or verbal abuse. for example, student mediators at one large high school are on track this year to do 1, 000 mediations and help 2, 000 students resolve their disputes. these mediations are preventing the 1, 000 disputes from possibly escalating into physical violence and are enabling the 2, 000 students involved to return more quickly to their school work. schools are teaching, or are considering teaching, impulse control, anger management and other conflict - resolution skills to suspended students and to students who are disciplinary transfers. plans are afoot for a program to teach the skills to students on probation. but conflict resolution is not a quick fix. conflict resolution programs tend to be mediocre or tend to fail if schools do not fulfill two basic requirements for long - term success. one requirement is that administrators and teachers understand what programs cost in time, money and personnel, and then make appropriate commitments. for example, one maryland school ' s peer mediation program in its second year did over 500 mediations, and suspensions decreased 55 percent. yet there was no program the third year. its coordinator had promoted the program, arranged and monitored 500 mediations, debriefed disputants and mediators, provided ongoing training for the mediators and dealt with the paperwork. but she was still expected to do her previous full - time job in the school. she burned out. the other requirement for long -


##efed disputants and mediators, provided ongoing training for the mediators and dealt with the paperwork. but she was still expected to do her previous full - time job in the school. she burned out. the other requirement for long - term success is that school administrators and teachers learn conflict resolution skills themselves, so that they model and reinforce the behaviors that they are teaching the students. it does little good for teachers to teach students about put - downs while using put - downs themselves. according to the national association for mediation in education, which has observed programs around the country for 10 years, programs that lack this two - fold foundation have limited success and impact. creative conflict resolution involves thinking and behaving constructively. it is not a fad. it is a necessity in today ' s violent world. i am gratified that some schools are starting to teach these skills. i look forward to the day when all children and all their teachers have the opportunity to learn them. it can be done. next for pigtown in the evening sun jan. 2, the headline read " pigtown : the wounded neighborhood. " well, the city had a lot to do with the wounding of pigtown. first they restricted parking in this district for camden yards. then they cut three bus lines through pigtown to serve a light rail system that bypasses pigtown. then they took the bus stop shelter away at the corner of washington boulevard and barre streets. what ' s next? a lot of good people still live and work in pigtown. we are not all prisoners in our homes. we enjoy our evenings too. philip a. thayer the slaughter on our highways due to drunk driving will go on forever unless individuals and institutions share some of the responsibility. as it is now, only the driver and the courts have the power to keep drunk drivers off the roads, but it is not working. here is a suggestion : a second conviction for drunk driving should result in confiscation of the car as well as loss of the operator ' s license. if the car is not paid for, it would be returned to the holder of the title. however, just as gun dealers are expected to make background checks on customers, car dealers should also be required to check the driving records of car buyers before they finalize the sale.


london ( reuters ) - scientists have shown how and why the " sunshine " vitamin d can speed recovery in tuberculosis ( tb ) patients, helping explain why the so - called heliotherapy of a bygone, pre - antibiotic era may have done some good. from the late 1800s - well before the development of antibiotics in 1930s - tb patients were often sent to retreats where they were encouraged to soak up the sun ' s rays in what was known as heliotherapy or phototherapy. a study led by british researchers has found that high doses of vitamin d - which is made in the body when exposed to sunlight - given alongside antibiotic treatment, appears to help patients recover more quickly from the infectious lung disease. the findings suggest high doses of the vitamin dampen down the body ' s inflammatory response to infection, reducing damage to the lungs, said adrian martineau, a senior lecturer in respiratory infection and immunity at queen mary university of london, who led the study. " sometimes these inflammatory responses can cause tissue damage leading to... cavities in the lung, " he said. " if we can help these cavities to heal more quickly, then patients should be infectious for a shorter period of time, and they may also suffer less lung damage. " the researchers also said they think vitamin d ' s ability to dampen inflammatory responses without interfering with the action of antibiotics suggests supplements might be useful for patients taking antibiotics for diseases like pneumonia, sepsis and other lung infections. tb, which people in wealthier parts of the world often mistakenly believe to be a thing of the past, is proving a tough disease to beat. in 2010, it infected 8. 8 million people worldwide and killed 1. 4 million. the infection destroys lung tissue, causing patients to cough up the bacteria which then spreads through the air and can be inhaled by others. in recent years, rates of drug - resistant tb have been spreading fast across the world, causing alarm among public health officials and prompting calls for more research into new and more effective treatments. the researchers, whose study was published by the proceedings of the national academy of sciences on monday, split 95 tb patients who were on standard antibiotic treatment into two groups. for the first eight weeks of their treatment, 44 of them were also given high dose vitamin d, while the remaining 51 got placebos. anna coussens from britain ' s national institute for medical research measured signs of inflammation in blood samples to see what effect the vitamin d had on immune responses. " we found that a


researchers have identified a hormone naturally produced by the body that cut the amount of food volunteers consumed by up to 36 %, a finding that could eventually lead to new types of natural weight - loss drugs. the hormone " is what stops you from having a third helping, " said dr. stephen bloom of imperial college in london, who led the study. the hormone, called pyy3 - 36, was shown to reduce food intake in rats over a long period, the team reports in today ' s issue of the journal nature. new ways of controlling weight gain are desperately needed. some researchers estimate that as much as 60 % of the american population is overweight, and the obesity epidemic is extending to childhood. about 13 % of children and 16 % of adolescents are estimated to be overweight, and the proportion is growing rapidly, fueled by fast food and lack of exercise. new studies have shown that obesity is the second leading cause of preventable deaths, after smoking. weight - loss drugs and programs are a $ 40 - billion - per - year industry - - and growing. there are about 15 drugs for treating obesity that are in human clinical trials or about to begin them, according to a recent study by the market research firm marketdata enterprises inc. but many diet drugs produce only modest weight loss. the loss does not persist for long periods and most drugs have undesirable side effects, such as hyperactivity and extreme dry mouth. " if we are to combat the global obesity epidemic, such breakthroughs [ as this ] are urgently needed, " wrote dr. michael w. schwartz of the university of washington in an editorial in the same journal. experts agree that it will be years before a useful drug can be produced from the new finding - - if one can be at all. one stumbling block, for example, is that the hormone cannot be administered orally because acids in the stomach would destroy it. but this discovery certainly represents one of the most promising leads in recent years. many hormones that reduce appetite have been identified, " but this one has important features that distinguish it from the others, " said dr. david e. cummings of the veterans affairs puget health care system and the university of washington. its effects lasted longer than those of other hormones and repeated injections produced long - lasting appetite suppression and weight loss in rats, he said. " others don ' t do this, " he said. they change eating patterns but don ' t produce long - term weight loss. moreover, most of the other substances previously identified have


- lasting appetite suppression and weight loss in rats, he said. " others don ' t do this, " he said. they change eating patterns but don ' t produce long - term weight loss. moreover, most of the other substances previously identified have not been tested in humans, he said. cummings himself made a splash earlier this year with the discovery of another hormone, called ghrelin, that increases appetite. pyy3 - 36, he said, " is the anti - ghrelin. " the existence of pyy3 - 36 has been known about for some time, but the new study is the first to show what it does. bloom and colleagues from oregon and australia demonstrated that the hormone, a peptide containing 34 amino acids strung together, is produced in the intestines following a meal. its natural function is to make you stop eating because you feel full, said team member dr. caroline j. small of imperial university. the team gave injections of the drug under the skin to rats that were exposed continuously to food, as well as to rats that had been starved for 24 hours. both groups showed marked decreases in appetite. importantly, the drug did not lose its effectiveness after repeated administration, as has been observed with many other such hormones. the results were also significant, cummings said, because the team administered the drug at very low doses that were comparable to levels found naturally in the bloodstream. the british team then infused low levels of the hormone directly into the bloodstream of 12 human volunteers, while infusing a placebo into a control group of 12 other adults. two hours later, all the volunteers were allowed access to a buffet. those who received the hormone ate 36 % less food than those who received the placebo. they continued to eat less for at least 12 hours. because pyy3 - 36 must be given by infusion, it is unlikely to become a significant weight - loss drug itself, bloom conceded. " but it may be possible to identify foods which cause the release of more pyy3 - 36, helping to naturally limit appetite, or it may be possible to create a tablet with a similar effect, providing an excellent, natural and safe long - term treatment for obesity, " bloom said. researchers have many hurdles to overcome before then, noted dr. richard atkinson, president of the american obesity assn. rats exposed to many other appetite - limiting hormones have been shown to develop a tolerance, and some fear that humans would develop a similar tolerance to pyy3 -


the symptoms begin suddenly, without warning - - difficulty breathing, chest pains and palpitations. some people feel lightheaded and dizzy. some sweat and tremble and hyperventilate. a few even faint. these are the characteristics of a panic attack - - a usually brief period of acute anxiety often dominated by a feeling of losing control, losing one ` s mind or even dying. ` ` most panic attacks are spontaneous. nothing in particular triggers them, ` ` said dr. jeffrey brown, a neurologist and psychiatrist from palm beach gardens. ` ` people get a sense of impending doom, that something horrible is going to happen to them soon. ` ` panic attacks are not a rare condition, ` ` brown said. ` ` i see new cases many times each year. they don ` t seem to affect either sex more than the other. ` ` an individual attack typically lasts less than a half hour, but an acute episode can last a couple of hours. they can be extremely frightening and debilitating. a lot of patients end up in the emergency room. some people become afraid to leave home. ` ` brown and an associate, dr. michael tuchman, also a neurologist and psychiatrist, are helping to conduct a national clinical trial of a new drug, fluvoxamine, that may be successful in treating panic disorders. the drug, first marketed 10 years ago in switzerland, is available in 30 countries, including canada, according to a spokesman for the american division of the manufacturer, solvay pharmaceuticals of marietta, ga. fluvoxamine is approved in those countries for treating obsessive - compulsive disorder and depression, but many doctors have found it also combats panic attacks, said don fraser, a doctor of pharmacy at solvay. solvay has applied to the food and drug administration for approval of the drug, to be marketed under the name luvox, for obsessive - compulsive disorder and depression. the company also hopes to gain fda approval for use in panic attacks, although once approved for any use, it could be employed for so - called off - label purposes such as the panic syndrome. upjohn would market luvox if it gains approval. fluvoxamine received favorable comment in a study reported in the january issue of the archives of general psychiatry that compared the drug, a placebo and cognitive therapy. the research team, headed by dr. donald black, an associate professor of psychiatry at the university of iowa college of medicine


in a study reported in the january issue of the archives of general psychiatry that compared the drug, a placebo and cognitive therapy. the research team, headed by dr. donald black, an associate professor of psychiatry at the university of iowa college of medicine, found that the drug produced at least moderate improvement in 13 of 23 patients ( 57 percent ) who received the drug, compared to five of 23 ( 22 percent ) who received the placebo. the cognitive therapy, in which people were taught how to distract themselves from the panic attacks, as well as given reinforcement that particular physical responses would not end in catastrophe, helped in eight of 20 cases ( 40 percent ). in terms of actual panic attacks, 10 of 23 ( 43 percent ) of the drug recipients were free of such attacks, compared to five of 20 ( 25 percent ) receiving cognitive therapy and one of 23 ( 4 percent ) placebo recipients. to help the drug firms produce additional data to submit to the fda, brown and tuchman are recruiting volunteers for a 10 - week study, which will be double - blind. neither the patient nor the doctor will know if the patient is receiving the drug or a placebo. ` ` we ` ve actually had a problem finding patients who are relatively pure, ` ` brown said. ` ` a lot of the prospective participants are depressed because of marital problems and don ` t really suffer panic attacks. ` ` quite a number of people who do have the attacks have turned to illicit substances, mostly marijuana, to deal with the problem. we can ` t include them because we have to show whether the drug - - and the drug alone - - is effective and safe. ` ` to qualify for the study, brown said, a candidate must be between ages 18 and 60, in good health, free from other psychiatric diagnoses, not pregnant and suffer no fewer than three nor more than 20 panic attacks a week. ` ` when someone calls, they should ask for a research nurse, either sharon smith or kathleen mckim, and they will be screened initially on the phone, ` ` brown said. ` ` if they fulfill the initial criteria, they will come to meet the nurse, be asked more detailed questions, undergo a psychiatric screening and get a physical workup that includes an ekg, drug screening and appropriate blood work. ` ` if a person is taking sleeping pills or tranquilzers, he or she will have to be taken off those medications for the duration of the study. there is no charge to participate in the study, and patients may