organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization ’ s effectiveness. an organization is a collection of people who work together to achieve a wide variety of goals, both goals of the various individuals in the organization and goals of the organization as a whole. organizations exist to provide goods and services that people want. these goods and services are the products of the behaviors of workers. organizational behavior is the study of the many factors that have an impact on how individuals and groups respond to and act in organizations and how organizations manage their environments. although many people assume that understanding human behavior in organizations is intuitive, many commonly held beliefs about behavior in organizations, such as the idea that a “ happy worker is a productive worker, ” are either entirely false or true only in specific situations. the study of organizational behavior provides a set of tools — concepts and theories — that help people understand, analyze, and describe what goes on in organizations and why. how do the characteristics of individuals, groups, work situations, and the organization itself affect how members feel about their organization? the ability to use the tools of organizational behavior to understand behavior in organizations is one reason for studying this subject. a second reason is to learn how to apply these concepts, theories, and techniques to improve behavior in organizations so that individuals, groups, and organizations can achieve their goals. managers are challenged to find new ways to motivate and coordinate employees to ensure that their goals are aligned with organizational goals. organizational behavior addresses following points : - organizational behavior studies the factors that impact individual and group behavior in organizations and how organizations manage their environments. organizational behavior provides a set of tools — theories and concepts — to understand, analyze, describe, and manage attitudes and behavior in organizations. - the study of organizational behavior can improve and change individual, group, and organizational behavior to attain individual, group, and organizational goals. - organizational behavior can be analyzed at three levels : the individual, the group, and the organization as a whole. a full understanding must include an examination of behavioral factors at each level. - a manager ’ s job is to use the tools of organizational behavior to increase effectiveness, an organization ’ s ability to achieve its goal. management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization ’ s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness. part i : the individual • ability & learning • values, attitudes and job satisfaction • personality & emotions •


the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization ’ s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness. part i : the individual • ability & learning • values, attitudes and job satisfaction • personality & emotions • perception & individual decision making • basic motivation concepts • motivation and its applications part - ii the group • foundational of group behavior • group and team work • functions of communication • basic approaches to leadership • contemporary issues in leadership • power and politics • conflict and negotiation process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities. part - iii the organization system • organizational structure • work design and technology • hr policies and practices • organizational culture • organizational change • stress management macro - ob generally includes the study of organizations with a focus on structure, technology, organizational change, organizational learning, culture, decision - making, innovation and creativity, and so on. micro - ob on the other hand tends to focus more on inidividuals, groups / teams, and interpersonal issues such as motivation, personality, leadership, ethics, job design, power, politics, conflict, negotiations, etc. contributing disciplines to the ob field organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science that is built upon contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines. the predominant areas are psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals. it may be ; the mental and behavior characteristic of an individual or group ; relatonship with ob if one want to improve the behaviour of an individual on group we have to look into the psychlogical needs of an individual and group. so the knowledge of psychology can realy help in improving and modifying the behaviour of individual and group. if the psychological needs are fulfilled, it gives satisfiction to people and also give peace of mind, which can improve the ability of an organization sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles ; that is, sociology studies people in relation to their fellow human beings. also according to the waliam marrian dictionary sociolgy is " the science of society social instituton and social relationship. " this study really provide helping hand in the improvment and modificaton of ob. society provide the base for collective living and relationship. social institutes are provide the base for better form and shape for society among its differnt organs. social behaviour mould the behaviour and values of the society. so knowledge of social norms and


of ob. society provide the base for collective living and relationship. social institutes are provide the base for better form and shape for society among its differnt organs. social behaviour mould the behaviour and values of the society. so knowledge of social norms and valeus and customs realy shaping the society. an area within psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another. it deal with the fulfilment of social needs in a phycological sense of interpretations. it cause different socio psycho conditions and affair for the modification of ob. it deal with the inner self of an individual itself esteem must be preserved and hounourd social phycology is the main and principal organ of bringing together different organ in a better harmony and this improve the ob and modified it towards further improvement and achevement. the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. we also define anthrapology as " science of human beings especialy of their environment and social relations and there culture " environment play a pivotal role in the iimprovment and modification of ob. environment like teacher and preacher determines the direction of ob. in our society colourful people are living ie from diffrent raligon, creeds, cast and culture. so for ob modificationand improvment, one must have the very trate and attitudeof anthrapology. thenob will be a highest quality and result oriented. the study of the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment. it also means " the act or science of guiding or influencing governmental policy " ; the study of politics is helpful in the nourishment and development of the ob. among different groups and individuals, if loyalty is not found, then ob does not flourish and rather becomes the victim of deadlock. political science provides an insight for the improvement and modification of the ob. the ob involves the application of political science at all levels. it may be at the highest level, like country, and at the lowest level, like an institute or organization. it involves the study of behaviour in a political environment.


exploiting marine wildlife in queensland : the commercial dugong and marine turtle fisheries, 1847 - 1969 daley, ben, griggs, peter, and marsh, helene ( 2008 ) exploiting marine wildlife in queensland : the commercial dugong and marine turtle fisheries, 1847 - 1969. australian economic history review, 48 ( 3 ). pp. 227 - 265. | pdf ( published version ) - repository staff only - requires a pdf viewer such as gsview, xpdf or adobe acrobat reader | view at publisher website : http : / / dx. doi. org / 10. 1111 / j. 1467 - 8446. 20... the historical exploitation of marine resources in queensland has only been partially documented. in particular, the history of the commercial fishing of dugongs and marine turtles has received comparatively little scholarly attention. since european settlement in queensland, various human activities have exploited these resources. we present documentary and oral history evidence of the scale of those industries. based on extensive archival and oral history research, we argue that diverse fishing practices occurred and that the sustained exploitation of dugongs, green turtles, and hawksbill turtles led to observable declines in the numbers of these animals – now species of conservation concern. | item type : | | article ( refereed research - c1 ) | | keywords : | | commercial fisheries ; dugongs ; great barrier reef ; marine turtles ; australia ; hunting | | for codes : | | 05 environmental sciences > 0502 environmental science and management > 050206 environmental monitoring @ 100 % | | seo codes : | | 95 cultural understanding > 9505 understanding past societies > 950503 understanding australias past @ 100 % | | deposited on : | | 28 jan 2010 13 : 06 | | last modified : | | 17 may 2013 01 : 03 | last 12 months : 0 | citation counts with external providers : | | web of science : 5 | repository staff only : item control page


eso9527 — organisation release the coming of age of adaptive optics how ground - based astronomers beat the atmosphere 23 october 1995 adaptive optics ( ao ) is the new " wonder - weapon " in ground - based astronomy. by means of advanced electro - optical devices at their telescopes, astronomers are now able to ` ` neutralize ' ' the image - smearing turbulence of the terrestrial atmosphere ( seen by the unaided eye as the twinkling of stars ) so that much sharper images can be obtained than before. in practice, this is done with computer - controlled, flexible mirrors which refocus the blurred images up to 100 times per second, i. e. at a rate that is faster than the changes in the atmospheric turbulence. this means that finer details in astronomical objects can be studied and also - because of the improved concentration of light in the telescope ' s focal plane - that fainter objects can be observed. at the moment, adaptive optics work best in the infrared part of spectrum, but at some later time it may also significantly improve observations at the shorter wavelengths of visible light. the many - sided aspects of this new technology and its impact on astronomical instrumentation was the subject of a recent ao conference with over 150 participants from about 30 countries, presenting a total of more than 100 papers. the introduction of ao techniques into astronomy the scope of this meeting was the design, fabrication and testing of ao systems, characterisation of the sources of atmospheric disturbance, modelling of compensation systems, individual components, astronomical ao results, non - astronomical applications, laser guide star systems, non - linear optical phase conjugation, performance evaluation, and other areas of this wide and complex field, in which front - line science and high technology come together in a new and powerful symbiosis. one of the specific goals of the meeting was to develop contacts between ao scientists and engineers in the western world and their colleagues in russia and asia. for the first time at a conference of this type, nine russian scientists were invited to give presentations ; this was made possible by a grant from the european office of aerospace research and development ( eoard ) following the declassification of much ao technology and the introduction of ao into regular astronomical research several years ago, first at eso with the " come - on " system at la silla, the fundamental importance of ao to ground - based astronomy has now become widely recognised. since the last ao meeting that was held in garching in august 1993, many groups in different countries have been developing such systems and have begun


at la silla, the fundamental importance of ao to ground - based astronomy has now become widely recognised. since the last ao meeting that was held in garching in august 1993, many groups in different countries have been developing such systems and have begun to use them. as fritz merkle ( carl zeiss, jena ) emphasized during a review talk, there has also been an interesting opening of new commercial and industrial ao applications, such as for high power lasers and for laser communications systems. however, the chief field of ao development and application remains astronomy and the vast majority of papers presented at the conference were concerned, directly or indirectly, with this science. towards scientific and technological maturity according to martin cullum ( eso ), the organiser of this conference, it is apparent that a certain technological maturity has been reached during the past two years. however, it is also much more widely realised that it is not straightforward to produce good science, even with a high - performance ao system. a detailed characterization of the atmosphere, painstaking system calibrations and a lot of hard work during the astronomical observations and especially at the time of the reduction and interpretation of the voluminous datasets are necessary to obtain reliable results of high quality. many of the presentations reflected this fact. from the technical standpoint, highlights of the meeting included the significant progress that was reported in the development of adaptive secondary mirrors for the upgrade of the multi - mirror - telescope ( mmt ) in arizona, the initial tests of the laser guide - star ao system installed on the lick 3 - metre telescope in california, as well as the development of an advanced visible - light ao system for satellite reconnaissance and astronomy on mt. haleakala, hawaii. on the scientific side, an overview of the adaptive optics observations that have been carried out with eso ' s come - on - plus ao system at the 3. 6 - metre telescope on la silla during the first 4 years of operation was given by pierre lena ( paris observatory ) and forcefully illustrated the power of adaptive optics techniques in astronomy. impressive recent results were also presented by bernhard brandl and collaborators ( max - planck - institute for extraterrestrial physics, garching ) on the starburst cluster r136, that is located at the centre of the 30 doradus region in the large magellanic cloud. this was especially interesting, because the scientific results were obtained by combining high - resolution optical images from the hubble space telescope with diffraction - limited infrared images from the come - on


the 30 doradus region in the large magellanic cloud. this was especially interesting, because the scientific results were obtained by combining high - resolution optical images from the hubble space telescope with diffraction - limited infrared images from the come - on - plus system. without either one of these data sources, the exciting, final results could not have been obtained. they include a very thorough characterization of the stellar types in this extremely young cluster whose age is apparently only a few million years, as well as a detailed description of its dynamical state. this demonstrates once again that, far from being competitors, ground - based ao facilities and space instruments are highly complementary. this perhaps provides an insight into the direction modern astronomy is developing. adaptive optics at eso it is now more than five years since the first ao system, developed in collaboration with institutes in france, was installed at the 3. 6 - metre telescope at la silla. since then, much experience has been gained and the state - of the - art adonis / come - on - plus ao instrumental constellation is now regularly used by visiting astronomers. it employs a flexible silicon - mirror that is supported by 52 computer - controlled supports. the mirror changes its shape one hundred times per second, allowing to achieve very nearly the theoretical image sharpness in the mid - infrared wavelength region. closer to the visible spectral region, images have been obtained at wavelength 1. 5 microns which are only 0. 12 arcseconds wide. under the leadership of norbert hubin at the eso headquarters in garching, a team of astronomers and engineers is now in the process of designing the nasmyth adaptive optics system ( naos ) that will be used at the very large telescope ( vlt ). it will use a mirror with about 250 supports. following testing in the second half of 1998, it is expected that the first naos device will be mounted on the first 8. 2 - metre vlt unit telescope in early 1999. the topical meeting on adaptive optics sponsored by the optical society of america and the european southern observatory was held on the premises of the munich technical university in garching, on october 2 - - 6, 1995.


shingen was not born with the name shingen. his name at birth was katsuchiyo. when katsuchiyo was 13, he married his first wife, a girl from the uesugi clan. she died a year or so later, however ( shingen would go on to have several other wives and mistresses ). later, when he officially came of age ( c. 1535 ), he received permission from the shogun, ashikaga yoshiharu, to use haru in his adult name, and thus he became known as harunobu, using the haru from the shogun along with nobu from his father ` s name. it wasn ` t until 1551, when he also took the monk ` s vows, that he took the name shingen. in 1560 and 1565, shingen discovered two internal plots against him. the first was led by a cousin whom shingen promptly put to death. the second was led by shingen ` s only son at the time, yoshinobu and obu toramasa. toramasa had previously been shingen ` s guardian and had probably aided shingen in the rebellion against nobutora. after shingen thwarted this rebellion, toramasa was forced to commit suicide while yoshinobu was imprisoned at tokoji temple ; two years later yoshinobu died, and it is not entirely clear whether he died from illness or from forced suicide. either way, it left shingen temporarily heirless. in the mid 1560s, shingen focused on internal affairs in his province of kai, which includes present - day yamanashi prefecture and parts of nagano and shizuoka prefectures. his greatest achievement was the building of a dam on the fuji river. shingen began taking over the imagawa lands to the south of kai in 1568 or 69 ; at first he apparently had an agreement with ieyasu to split up the lands between them, but he seems to have violated this agreement in his push to eventually defeat ieyasu. after this takeover was complete, around 1571, shingen was the most powerful daimyo in eastern japan, and the only one who was in a position to stop oda nobunaga ` s push to defeat ieyasu. in 1570, shingen made peace with hojo ujimasa, a peace that some believe would have virtually ensured victory over ieyasu. alas, shingen died before he could finish what he


` s push to defeat ieyasu. in 1570, shingen made peace with hojo ujimasa, a peace that some believe would have virtually ensured victory over ieyasu. alas, shingen died before he could finish what he had started. shingen was an interesting ruler because he was among the first lords to do away with corporal punishment for most offenses and also to tax most of his subjects evenly and allow taxes to be paid in either gold or rice. on the other hand, he could be quite brutal and reportedly kept two cauldrons on hand in which he boiled certain criminals alive. ieyasu later destroyed the cauldrons but integrated many of shingen ` s policies into the policies of the tokugawa shogunate. there is no general agreement on how shingen died. some believe he died of a battle wound ; others believe he died of an illness ( possibly tuberculosis ). there is quite a lot of legend surrounding this, particularly because he kept his fading health a secret from his enemies ; after his death, his fourth son and heir, katsuyori, kept shingen ` s death a secret while he went out to finish his father ` s battles. incidentally, katsuyori was not particularly successful in this regard. modern day yamanashi prefecture and especially the city of kofu are practically monuments to shingen. shingen was legendary for discovering and using hot springs in his province, and many of these today advertise themselves as " shingen ` s hot springs ". there are festivals on his birthday ( april 14 ) and the anniversary of his death ( may 14 ) in and around kofu. there is a shrine to shingen in kofu at which you can purchase such items as takeda shingen bath salts. naturally, there are castle ruins, the temple where yoshinobu was imprisoned, and a big statue as well. sources : http : / / www. samurai - archives. com and takeda yoshihito, a descendant of shingen ( and also my ex - boyfriend )


the army security agency existed from 1945, when it absorbed the signal corps ' radio intelligence companies, until 1977, when it was consolidated with existing military intelligence units under the new intelligence & security command. in the beginning, the asa set up a chain of listening posts around the soviet union. these posts, which performed signals intelligence missions against the soviet union and its satrapies in the warsaw pact, were called field stations. ( later stations targeted other communist nations in asia. ) the primary chain of command for the asa ran outside the army ' s structure to the national security agency ; the asa units were part of the army only insofar as the army supplied trained personnel to the field stations and took care of their pay, supplies and ( occasional ) disciplinary actions. early in the cold war, the primary targets of the asa were morse code signals in the am band, but the tasking later shifted to voice communications in the fm band, non - voice signals such as teletype and radar, and multiplexed voice signals. radio direction finding was also a large part of the asa mission, literally so in the case of the an / flr - 9 " elephant cage " rdf system. this antenna array was 1400 feet in diameter and 120 feet high, and eight of them were erected. asa enlisted personnel were mostly draftees, although due to the stringent mental requirements many asa enlisted men were either college graduates or college - bound ; it was not unusual to have asa soldiers with more education than their platoon leaders. at first this posed no problem, since the training course for 05h morse code interceptors ( also known as " ditty - boppers " or " hogs " ) was only a few weeks long, but later as the mission focused more on voice intercepts, this became a serious problem since many of the target languages required a year - long course at the defense language institute, followed by four months of technical training at goodfellow afb and fort devens, and draftees were only in for two years. moreover, re - enlistment rates during the era of the draft were only 12 per cent. this obstacle was sometimes overcome by asking draftees whether they would prefer four years in germany with the asa or two years in vietnam with the infantry. until 1967, there was no separate military intelligence branch in the officer corps, and officers detailed to the asa mostly came from the signal corps. the direct control of asa units by the nsa became an irritant for the army during the vietnam war. asa units were required to


no separate military intelligence branch in the officer corps, and officers detailed to the asa mostly came from the signal corps. the direct control of asa units by the nsa became an irritant for the army during the vietnam war. asa units were required to pass all information up the reporting chain to the nsa at fort meade, and were forbidden to share any classified intelligence with the units they coexisted with. the nsa, which was primarily focused on strategic intelligence, often neglected valuable tactical intelligence or relayed it to field commanders too late for the intel to be of any use. frequently, the only intel firebase or garrison commanders got from asa units was the inference that an attack might be underway when the local asa - er, " radio research " - listening post began hurriedly tearing down its antennae and preparing for a move. this ongoing intel failure became known as the " green door syndrome ", and was part of the reason general charles denholm was tasked with the job of bringing the asa back into the army. tactical asa units had existed during vietnam, attached to various division headquarters, the 11th armored cavalry regiment, and to select special forces and special operations group teams, but the green door syndrome prevented them from rendering much help to the commanders they were ostensibly supporting. this changed after the war, when asa units became organic to corps, division, and regimental headquarters, and asa troops began being trained in the arcane ( and pointless ) art of " sanitizing " signal intelligence so as to conceal its origin and speed its delivery to supported commands. eventually, with the abolition of the asa, asa battalions at corps headquarters were combined with mi assets into a corps mi group ; similarly, the division support companies were folded into divisional combat electronic warfare & intelligence battalions, which also included a ground surveillance radar company and a lrrp company. asa companies in armored cavalry regiments became part of oversized mi ( cewi ) companies. this process continued into the 1990s as reserve component asa units were converted to the new cewi organization. asa mos codes : 05b - linguist ( not used after the vietnam war ) 05d - radio direction finding operators ( a / k / a " duffies " ) 05g - communications & signal security specialists ( a / k / a " buddyfuckers " ) o5h - morse code interceptors ( " ditty - boppers " or " hogs " ) 05k - non - morse / non - voice ( teletype & fax ) intercept operators 98b - cryptanalysis technician 98c - signal intelligence


- morse code interceptors ( " ditty - boppers " or " hogs " ) 05k - non - morse / non - voice ( teletype & fax ) intercept operators 98b - cryptanalysis technician 98c - signal intelligence analysts 98g - voice intercept operators 98j - non - communications ( radar / telemetry ) intercept & analysis techs 98k - signal collection / id analyst for most of the history of the asa, linguists were nicknamed " monterey marys " for the high number of homosexual men who seemed to find their way into the mos. allegedly, someone in the army got the bright idea that the dlpt, which tested for language learning aptitude, might also be ( somehow ) testing for homosexuality. they farmed this notion out to the university of michigan, and eventually the results came back : there was a high, if not 1 : 1, correlation between high scores on the dlpt and homosexual tendencies. a crash project began to develop a revised version of the dlpt, and at roughly the same time, the 98 cmf was opened to women. these days the 98g population is no more gay ( or lesbian ) than the average army unit. the james crumley novel one to count cadence is, i am told, a fairly accurate depiction of asa units in the early vietnam war period.


what is a breech birth? right before birth, most babies are in a head - down position in the mother ' s uterus, which is why most babies are born head first. sometimes the baby is in a bottom - first ( or feet - first ) position. when a baby is in that position before birth, it ' s called a breech birth or breech baby. many babies are breech early in pregnancy, but most of them turn to the headfirst position near the end of the pregnancy. babies who are born early are more likely to be breech. if more than one baby is in the uterus at a time, one or more of the babies may be breech. abnormal levels of amniotic fluid around the baby may result in a breech birth. as you get closer to your due date, your doctor will be able to tell ( by physical exam, ultrasound or both ) if your baby is breech. can a breech baby be delivered without a cesarean? although breech babies can be delivered vaginally, it ' s generally safer and easier to deliver babies head first from the vagina. some breech babies may be safely delivered from the vagina. more complications can occur if the baby is breech. a baby who is breech may be very small, or it may have birth defects that are caused by a breech delivery. when breech babies are delivered vaginally, they are more likely to be injured during or after delivery than babies who are delivered head first. breech babies who are delivered vaginally are also more likely to develop a birth defect where the baby ’ s hip socket and the thighbone become separated. complications with the umbilical cord are also more likely in breech babies who are delivered vaginally ( for example, the umbilical cord is more likely to be compressed during delivery, which can cause nerve and brain damage due to lack of oxygen ). doctors usually deliver breech babies by cesarean delivery ( also called a c - section ). risks are also involved with cesarean delivery ( such as bleeding, infection and longer hospital stays for both the mother and her baby ). can i do anything to help if my baby is breech? it ' s very important to see your doctor regularly throughout your pregnancy. your doctor can tell if your baby is breech and help plan what to do. some doctors will plan to deliver the baby by cesarean section. others may give their patients exercises to do at home that may


see your doctor regularly throughout your pregnancy. your doctor can tell if your baby is breech and help plan what to do. some doctors will plan to deliver the baby by cesarean section. others may give their patients exercises to do at home that may help turn the baby to the head - first position. some doctors try to turn the baby in the mother ' s uterus using a procedure called external cephalic version. if this procedure is successful and the baby stays head down, a normal vaginal delivery is more likely. what is external cephalic version? external cephalic version is a way to try to turn a baby from breech position to head - down position while it ' s still in the mother ' s uterus. in other words, external cephalic version means turning the baby from outside of the abdomen so that it ' s in the head - down position. your doctor will use his or her hands on the outside of your abdomen to try to turn the baby. when is external cephalic version done? external cephalic version is done at the end of pregnancy, after about 37 weeks of gestation. who can have external cephalic version? many women who have normal pregnancies may have external cephalic version. women who cannot have it are women who have one of the following : - vaginal bleeding - a placenta that is near or covering the opening of the uterus - a nonreactive nonstress test - an abnormally small baby - a low level of fluid in the sac that surrounds and protects the baby - an abnormal fetal heart rate - premature rupture of the membranes - twins or other multiple pregnancy what are the risks of external cephalic version? external cephalic version has some risks, including the following : - premature labor - premature rupture of the membranes - a small blood loss for either the baby or the mother - fetal distress leading to an emergency cesarean delivery - the baby might turn back to the breech position after the external cephalic version is done although the risk of having these complications is small, some doctors prefer not to try an external cephalic version. what can i expect if my doctor and i decide to try external cephalic version? external cephalic version is usually done in the hospital. before the procedure, you will have an ultrasound to confirm that the baby is breech. your doctor will also do a nonstress test to make sure that the baby ' s heart rate is normal. a tube


is usually done in the hospital. before the procedure, you will have an ultrasound to confirm that the baby is breech. your doctor will also do a nonstress test to make sure that the baby ' s heart rate is normal. a tube of blood will be drawn and an anesthesiologist will be notified ( just in case you need to have an emergency cesarean delivery ). you ' ll be given medicine through a vein in your arm to relax the muscles in your uterus. this medicine is very safe, with no risk to your baby. while you ' re lying down, the doctor will place his or her hands on the outside of your abdomen. after locating the baby ' s head, the doctor will gently try to turn the baby to the head - first position. what happens after the procedure? when the procedure is completed, your doctor will perform another nonstress test. if everything is normal, you won ' t have to stay in the hospital. if the procedure is not successful, your doctor will talk to you about the possibility of having a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section right away. your doctor may also suggest repeating the external cephalic version. what is the success rate of external cephalic version? the average success rate is about 65 %. even if the procedure works at first, there ' s still a chance that the baby will turn back around to the breech position. the success rate of external cephalic version depends on several factors, including the following : - how close you are to your due date - how much fluid is around the baby - how many pregnancies you ' ve had - how much your baby weighs - how the placenta is positioned - how your baby is positioned written by familydoctor. org editorial staff


... classes books before he has understood or read them ; that is his first crime. classification by chronology. books written before 1847, books written after it, books written before or after 1848. the novel in the reign of queen anne, the pre - novel, the ur - novel, the novel of the future. classification by subject matter - sillier still. the literature of inns, beginning with tom jones ; the literature of the women ' s movement, beginning with shirley ; the literature of desert islands, from robinson crusoe to the blue lagoon ; the literature of rogues - dreariest of all, though the open road runs it pretty close ; the literature of sussex... improper books... novels relating to industrialism, aviation, chiropody, the weather... it strikes me that this is the chief way that books are viewed and received now in our culture : it ' s how they are marketed, it ' s how they are frequently written about on the web or, in particular, in newspapers. it ' s how stories are often published in anthologies, and filtered in competitions, ie thematically. a novel or a story is seen through the walls of some pigeon hole or other, and no one looks at it - really reads it - for what it is in itself or on its own terms. as forster goes on to say, this is moving round books instead of through them... books have to be read ; it is the only way of discovering what they contain.... reading is the only method of assimilation... the reader must sit down alone and struggle with the writer, and this the pseudo - scholar will not do. he would rather relate a book to the history of its time, to events in the life of the author, to the events it describes, above all to some tendency.


be one in a million this american heart month posted on 2 / 1 / 2013 february is american heart month, and unfortunately, most of us know someone who has had heart disease or stroke. cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the united states. these conditions are also the leading causes of disability preventing people from working and enjoying family activities. however, we can fight back against heart disease and stroke. the cdc and other parts of the us government have launched million hearts, to prevent the nation ' s leading killers and empowering everyone to make heart - healthy choices. what is million hearts? launched in september 2011 by the department of health and human services, million hearts is a national initiative that aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the u. s. over the next five years. what million hearts means to you : heart disease and stroke affects all of our lives, but we can all play a role in ending it. prevention starts with everyone. protect yourself and your loved ones from heart disease and stroke by understanding the risks and taking these steps. - challenge your family and friends to take the million hearts pledge at www. millionhearts. hhs. gov - get up and get active by being physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week - know your abcs - ask your doctor if you should take an aspirin every day. - find out if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol, and if you do, get effective treatment. - if you smoke, get help to quit. - make your calories count by eating a heart - healthy diet that is high in fresh fruits and vegetables, and low in sodium and trans fat. - take control of your heart health by following your doctor ' s prescription instructions. together, we can all be one in a million this heart month and every month. learn more about million hearts. this information is from www. cdc. gov.


164 life and letters of francis galton hasty. his words are, " i have now made experiments of transfusion and cross ' circulation on a large scale in rabbits, and have arrived at definite results, negativing, in my opinion, beyond all doubt the truth of the doctrine of pangenesis. " if mr calton could have proved that the reproductive elements were contained in the blood of the higher animals, and were merely separated or collected by the reproductive glands, he would have made a most important physiological discovery. as it is, i think every one will admit that his experiments are extremely curious, and that he deserves the highest credit for his ingenuity and perseverance. but it does not appear to me that pangenesis has, as yet, received its death blow ; though, from presenting so many vulnerable points, its life is always in jeopardy ; and this is my excuse for having said a few words in its defence. charles darwin. letter of francis galton in nature, may 4th, 1971. " pangenesis. " it appears from mr darwin ' s letter to you in last week ' s nature, that the views contradicted by my experiments, published in the recent number of the " proceedings of the royal society, " differ from those he entertained. nevertheless, i think they are what his published account of pangenesis ( animals, etc., under domestication, ii, 374, 379 ) are most likely to convey to the mind of a reader. the ambiguity is due to an inappropriate use of three separate words in the only two sentences which imply ( for there are none which tell us anything definite about ) the habitat of the pangenetic genimules ; the words are " circulate, " " freely, " and " diffused. " the proper meaning of circulation is evident enough - it is a re - entering movement. nothing can justly be said to circulate which does not return, after a while, to a former position. in a circulating library, books return and are re - issued. coin is said to circulate, because it comes back into the same hands in the interchange of business. a story circulates, when a person hears it repeated over and over again in society. blood has an undoubted claim to be called a circulating fluid, and when that phrase is used, blood is always meant. i understood mr darwin to speak of blood when he used the phrases " circulating freely, " and " the steady circulation of fluids


has an undoubted claim to be called a circulating fluid, and when that phrase is used, blood is always meant. i understood mr darwin to speak of blood when he used the phrases " circulating freely, " and " the steady circulation of fluids, " especially as the other words " freely " and " diffusion " encouraged the idea. but it now seems that by circulation he meant " dispersion, " which is a totally different conception. probably he used the word with some allusion to the fact of the dispersion having been carried on by eddying, not necessarily circulating, currents. next, as to the word " freely. " mr darwin says in his letter that he supposes the gemmules to pass through the solid walls of the tissues and cells ; this is incompatible with the phrase " circulate freely. " freely means " without retardation " ; as we might say that small fish can swim freely through the larger meshes of a net ; now, it is impossible to suppose gemmules to pass through solid tissue without any retardation. " freely " would be strictly applicable to gemmules drifting along with the stream of the blood, and it was in that sense i interpreted it. lastly, i find fault with the use of the word " diffused " which applies to movement in or with fluids, and is inappropriate to the action i have just described of solid boring its way through solid. if mr darwin had given in his work an additional paragraph or two to a description of the whereabouts of the gemmules which, i must remark, is a cardinal point of his theory, my misapprehension of his meaning could hardly have occurred without more hesitancy than i experienced, but i certainly felt and endeavoured to express in my memoir some shade of doubt ; as in the phrase, p. 404, " that the doctrine of pangenesis, pure and simple, as i have interpreted it, is incorrect. " as i now understand mr darwin ' s meaning, the first passage ( ii, 374 ), which misled me, and which stands : " minute granules which circulate freely throughout the system " should be understood as " minute granules which are dispersed thoroughly and are in continual movement throughout the system " ; and the second passage ( ii, 379 ), which now stands : " the gemmules in each organism must be thoroughly diffused ; nor does this seem improbable, considering the steady circulation of fluids throughout the body,


curiosity finds first signs of mars ’ history by tiffanie reynolds | firstname. lastname @ example. org mars rover curiosity will be drilling into what may be the first signs of water in the next two weeks. during a news teleconference held tuesday, mars science laboratory project manager richard cook and the rest of the team announced their discovery of veins filled with hydrated calcium sulfate in the bedrock on yellowknife bay, a shallow depression toward the bottom of the gale crater, where curiosity is currently located. the team takes the presence of hydrated calcium sulfate in the rock as a sign that there once was water in the area, because calcium sulfate is produced when water evaporates from the mineral as it is being heated. other signs include the different types of rocks found in the area. from sandstone to very fine silkstone, the number and variety of rocks tells the team that each type was made under different conditions. even the grains in the rock have a rounded shape, which indicates that the rocks were once pushed by water, according to dr. r. alieen yingst of the mars curiosity rover team. “ you put that together with the vein fills that are made out of hydrated calcium sulfate, and basically these rocks were saturated with water. and it could be that there were several phases of this history of water, ” says john grotzinger, project scientist. the area, named john klein area in honor of the mars science laboratory deputy project manager who passed away in 2011, was first seen from orbit. what made the team really notice the area is the increase in temperature, compared to terrain only a few feet away. currently just a few meters away from the john klein area, curiosity will start on some sample drills as it is also the first time the mars rover will be drilling into the planet ’ s soil. the team will be using these test drills as a way to clean the drill of any earth contaminators before sending back samples to analyze. curiosity will start drilling for samples in the next two days, and will have samples sent back to the mars science laboratory team in the next few weeks. although these discoveries are a strong indication of water in the area, it is too early to tell what these signs of water indicate. the team hopes to find out about the conditions of the environment in studying these samples, in order to get a better picture of the area ’ s history.


by : rob burt have you ever heard the expression, “ a picture is worth a thousand words ”? that is definitely true for family history work. you can learn lots of valuable information from family and historical photographs... as long as you interpret them correctly. take the following picture as an example. it is a well - known photograph of henry mccarty, alias henry antrim and william h. bonney — better known as billy the kid. for years, historians, writers, and aficionados of the west used this image to argue that the infamous western outlaw was a minority in the gunfighter community — a left - hander. this idea was so common that a film titled the left - handed gun on the life of billy the kid and starring paul newman was released in 1958, and many history books note that he was a southpaw. in this picture, the rifle billy is holding is a winchester model 1873. if you look closely at the gun, the loading gate ( where bullets are put into the rifle ) appears on the left - hand side of the gun. ( see highlighted area below. ) however, an observant historian eventually noted a problem with the picture : the 1873 winchester didn ’ t have a loading gate on the left side — only on the right side. the picture was reversed! in the early days of photography, most negatives were produced backwards as a result of the technical process used in the first cameras. if the technicians were not careful when developing the film, they would produce a mirror image of the actual scene. this is what happened to the famous photo of billy the kid. the correct image, depicting billy as a right - hander, is shown below. this example illustrates how important family photographs can be. not only do they give us an image of our ancestors, but important clues about the past can be found in the details surrounding them. clothing, hairstyles, pins, military awards, automobiles, even rocks and plants can all help tell our ancestors ' stories, even if they have not left a lot of written information for us. some of these details are easily identified ; others are more difficult and may need a specialist ’ s eye in order to be fully understood. regardless, a picture may be worth a thousand words of an ancestor ’ s life story, so don ’ t delay! pull out those old pictures and see what they may tell you about the lives of your loved ones. have you found interesting facts from old photos? tell us about it, leave a comment.


a report on a joint cold spring harbor laboratory / wellcome trust conference on ' prion biology ', hinxton, uk, 7 - 11 september 2005. while most recent prion meetings have focused on either mammals or fungi, the conference on prion biology held near cambridge this september stood out as an attempt to represent research on mammalian and fungal prions equally, in order to provoke discussion on fundamental questions of prion structure, biogenesis, variability and biological role. prions of lower eukaryotes over the past decade several infective proteins, or prions, have been discovered in genetically tractable lower eukaryotes, where they act like cytoplasmically inherited genetic determinants. the opening talk of the meeting was delivered by reed wickner ( national institutes of health, bethesda, usa ), who was the first to suggest 11 years ago that the non - chromosomal genetic determinants known as [ ure3 ] and [ psi + ] in the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae were in fact prion proteins ( enclosure in square brackets is the conventional nomenclature for cytoplasmically inherited genetic determinants in fungi ). the proteins that correspond to [ ure3 ] and [ psi + ], regulator of nitrogen metabolism ure2 and translation termination factor sup35, respectively, have carboxy - terminal domains that carry out a cellular function and auxiliary amino - terminal prion domains, which can adopt an abnormal ' prion ' conformation. the prion domains of both these proteins are rich in glutamine ( q ) and asparagine ( n ), but only that of sup35 contains oligopeptide repeats, which are presumably required for [ psi + ] replication. previously, wickner ' s group had shown that random shuffling of amino acids in the ure2 prion domain, a procedure named scrambling, usually does not impair the prion - forming capacity of the protein. at this meeting, wickner described how randomization of the sup35 prion domain, including the repeat region, also does not block prion formation, and concluded that unusual amino - acid composition, rather than specific sequences, determines prion - forming ability. according to wickner, these experiments argue for an in - register parallel β - sheet structure for the prion fibrils, as scrambling would disrupt the correspondence of amino acids in any other β - strand structure. susan lind


forming ability. according to wickner, these experiments argue for an in - register parallel β - sheet structure for the prion fibrils, as scrambling would disrupt the correspondence of amino acids in any other β - strand structure. susan lindquist ( whitehead institute, cambridge, usa ) described elegant sup35 cross - linking experiments that revealed that sup35 monomers in amyloid fibrils are arranged in a ' head - to - head, tail - to - tail ' fashion. amyloid is the general name given to the fibrillar protein aggregate formed by prions and some other proteins. such amyloid structure also implies parallel in - register arrangement of β strands in the prion fibrils. lindquist proposed that these considerations, combined with the β - helical nanotube structure of the sup35 fibrils, suggested a new structural model for prions, which may have broad implications for amyloids. prions come in different variants or ' strains '. in mammals, whose prions are infectious agents causing a set of fatal neurodegenerative diseases, different prion strains are defined by specific incubation times, distribution of vacuolar lesions in the brain, and patterns of accumulation. for yeast [ psi + ], strain differences can be revealed by differences in phenotypic manifestation ( nonsense suppression caused by the aggregation - dependent inactivation of the translation termination factor sup35 ) and stability of maintenance. generally, ' weak ' [ psi + ] manifest less stable inheritance and worse phenotypic manifestation than ' strong ' [ psi + ]. from her results, lindquist suggested a structural basis for [ psi + ] variants : in ' weak ' [ psi + ] variants a longer sup35 fragment is incorporated into the amyloid core. the physical basis of prion strain differences was also considered by jonathan weissman ( university of california, san francisco, usa ). his group had previously shown that sup35 fibrils obtained in vitro at 4°c and 37°c transform yeast cells to strong [ psi + ] variants, and weak [ psi + ], respectively. atomic force microscopy revealed two distinctions between the 4°c ( sc4 ) and 37°c ( sc37 ) fibrils. sc4 fibrils polymerized more slowly than sc37, but were more fragile and therefore smaller and more numerous, which ensured their efficient polymerization. correlated with the strong phenotype of sc4 fibrils is the fact that


screen for the [ pin + ] protein. although relatively few investigators study the [ het - s ] prion of the filamentous fungus podospora anserina, their results make a significant contribution to the prion field. indeed, [ het - s ] is the only prion with a confirmed biological function : fusion of a [ het - s ] mycelium with one expressing the non - prionizable het - s allele triggers the heterokaryon incompatibility reaction, which leads to the death of the hybrid mycelium. recent progress in understanding the molecular basis of this incompatibility reaction was reported by sven saupe ( institute de biochemie et de genetique cellulaire, bordeaux, france ), who has shown that the carboxy - terminal domain of het - s is prionizable, but prion formation is blocked by the functional amino - terminal domain. presumably, het - s can co - polymerize with the het - s protein, and their oligomers trigger the incompatibility reaction. ronald riek ( the salk institute, la jolla, usa ), cristiane ritter ( the salk institute ) and ansgar siemer ( eth zurich, switzerland ) consecutively presented their excellent collaborative structural studies of [ het - s ], which have particularly broad significance. the normally flexible carboxy - terminal tail of the het - s protein can undergo a spontaneous conformational transition into amyloid fibrils. the fold of these fibrils comprises four β strands made up of two pseudo - repeat sequences, each forming a β - strand - turn - β - strand motif. structure - based mutagenesis revealed that this conformation is the functional and infectious entity of the het - s prion. several speakers focused on the mechanisms underlying the de novo appearance of yeast prions. it is known that the prion form of the rnq1 protein, [ pin + ], promotes the de novo appearance of [ psi + ] and [ ure3 ], apparently by directly seeding qn - rich prion aggregates. susan liebman ( university of illinois, chicago, usa ) presented further studies on the interaction between [ pin + ], [ psi + ] and an artificial prion, [ chi + ]. [ pin + ] efficiently seeded [ chi + ], while [ psi + ] stimulated the appearance of [ pin + ]. while it appears overall that all


pin + ], [ psi + ] and an artificial prion, [ chi + ]. [ pin + ] efficiently seeded [ chi + ], while [ psi + ] stimulated the appearance of [ pin + ]. while it appears overall that all qn - rich prions can stimulate each other ' s appearance, evidence suggesting that similar interactions may occur with non - qn - rich prions was also presented. mick tuite and colleagues ( university of kent, canterbury, uk ) have studied the appearance of [ psi + ] at natural sup35 levels. the appearances of [ psi + ] were not related to any alterations in the gene sup35, and they were not affected by chemical agents that cause protein misfolding. the study of proteins associated with sup35 revealed the presence in [ pin + ] [ psi - ] cells ( [ psi - ] denotes the absence of [ psi + ] ) of a small oligomeric complex insoluble in the detergent sds, and containing both sup35 and rnq1 proteins. this finding is important because hybrid particles may represent an intermediate step leading to the appearance of [ psi + ]. the biological importance of prions was discussed by kim allen ( columbia university, new york, usa ). earlier studies suggested that the prion - like behavior of the translational regulator protein cpeb may underlie memory formation in the mollusc aplysia. allen showed that several mouse cpeb homologs also form prion - like aggregates in yeast, and that aggregate size, number and distribution are affected by the expression of chaperones. aggregate formation by mouse full - length cpeb - 3 and cpeb - 4 proteins was also shown in neuroblastoma cells. the amino - terminal domain of mouse cpeb - 3 is rich in glutamine, similar to yeast prions, whereas the amino - terminal domain of cpeb - 4 is rich in proline and harbors sequence motifs similar to those implicated in amyloid formation by the mammalian prion protein prp. while this study does not directly prove the prion - related nature of memory in higher eukaryotes, it represents a significant step towards this. claudio soto ( university of texas, galveston, usa ) presented impressive results on in vitro amplification of prpsc, the infectious form of prp, in the protein misfolding cyclic amplification system ( pmca ). he demonstrated that pmca is capable of amplifying prion infectivity


results on in vitro amplification of prpsc, the infectious form of prp, in the protein misfolding cyclic amplification system ( pmca ). he demonstrated that pmca is capable of amplifying prion infectivity with indefinite dilutions of minuscule amounts of initial prpsc seeds. soto emphasized the potential application of pmca for detection of ultra - low levels of infectivity in blood. surachai supattapone ( dartmouth medical school, hanover, usa ) presented the results of experiments in which pmca was used to generate the protease - resistant conformer of the prion protein using prpsc purified from scrapie brains and prpc ( the normal conformer of prp ) purified from normal brains. ongoing bioassay experiments with these in vitro - generated prpsc produced in the presence of additional synthetic cofactors may eventually reveal all the molecular components required for the efficient replication of prions. while amplification of prpsc using components extracted from normal and scrapie brains seems completely successful, reconstitution of prion infectivity de novo from synthetic components still remains puzzling. in his presentation, bruce chesebro ( rocky mountain laboratories, hamilton, usa ) clearly demonstrated that prion toxicity could be separated from prion infectivity. he showed that the onset of typical clinical scrapie was substantially delayed in mice that expressed prp without a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. remarkably, these mice were able to replicate prion infectivity and produced the protease - resistant conformer of prp in the form of amyloid plaques, but failed to develop clinical symptoms of prion disease for a prolonged time. byron caughey ( rocky mountain laboratories, hamilton, usa ), on the other hand, took a biochemical approach to identifying the most infectious prion particles. fractionation of prp by size revealed that the highest level of infectivity per unit of mass belongs to particles with approximate molecular weights of only 300 - 600 kda. a question of great interest is whether these highly infectious prion particles originate from fibril fragmentation or from distinct non - fibrillar species. neil mabbott ( institute for animal health, edinburgh, uk ) discussed routes of prion migration between potential sites of exposure and the lymphoid tissues. he emphasized the possibility of acquiring infectious prions through the skin and the role of langerhans cells ( dendritic cells


health, edinburgh, uk ) discussed routes of prion migration between potential sites of exposure and the lymphoid tissues. he emphasized the possibility of acquiring infectious prions through the skin and the role of langerhans cells ( dendritic cells ) in transporting prions to the lymphoid tissues. adriano aguzzi ( university hospital, zurich, switzerland ) presented results that suggest a relatively high likelihood of prion transmission through urine, which could be one of the possible means of horizontal spread of prions in brain - wasting disease of elk and deer. roger morris ( wolfson centre for age - related disease, king ' s college london, london, uk ) described his work on identifying the neuronal transmembrane receptor that is involved in the rapid recycling of prpc and the cellular uptake of prpsc. he found that prpsc bound to the surface of primary neurons was rapidly endocytosed. internalization of prpsc was in direct competition with internalization of prpc, implying that the same receptor was involved in both processes. edward malaga - trillo ( university of konstanz, germany ) presented a new evolutionary perspective on the possible function of prp and the molecular mechanisms driving the diversification of prp domains from fish to mammals. he reported the establishment of a novel genetic model for prion research, the zebrafish. most notably, using the zebrafish model, malaga - trillo presented the first clear prp loss - of - function phenotypes, which might be used to delineate a conserved function of vertebrate prps during early development. in the closing lecture, christopher dobson ( university of cambridge, uk ) considered general questions of amyloid formation. he presented evidence in support of the concept that the ability of proteins to form amyloid is generic. many normally non - amyloidogenic proteins can form amyloid in vitro under conditions that destabilize their structure. the fact that very few proteins do form amyloid in vivo may be explained as a result of billions of years of protein evolution. this point of view predicts that, in general, proteins prone to convert to the prion state are not likely to carry a specific prion consensus sequence and are not likely to be identified by sequence analysis. probably, the most significant achievements reported at the conference related to prion structure, in both the sense of spatial structure and the role of the primary structure. important questions for the future relate to the mechanisms of prion propagation, including the


| http : / / ghr. nlm. nih. gov / a service of the u. s. national library of medicine® | erythromelalgia is a condition characterized by episodes of pain, redness, and swelling in various parts of the body, particularly the hands and feet. these episodes are usually triggered by increased body temperature, which may be caused by exercise or entering a warm room. ingesting alcohol or spicy foods may also trigger an episode. wearing warm socks, tight shoes, or gloves can cause a pain episode so debilitating that it can impede everyday activities such as wearing shoes and walking. pain episodes can prevent an affected person from going to school or work regularly. the signs and symptoms of erythromelalgia typically begin in childhood, although mildly affected individuals may have their first pain episode later in life. as individuals with erythromelalgia get older and the disease progresses, the hands and feet may be constantly red, and the affected areas can extend from the hands to the arms, shoulders, and face, and from the feet to the entire legs. erythromelalgia is often considered a form of peripheral neuropathy because it affects the peripheral nervous system, which connects the brain and spinal cord to muscles and to cells that detect sensations such as touch, smell, and pain. the prevalence of erythromelalgia is unknown. mutations in the scn9a gene can cause erythromelalgia. the scn9a gene provides instructions for making one part ( the alpha subunit ) of a sodium channel called nav1. 7. sodium channels transport positively charged sodium atoms ( sodium ions ) into cells and play a key role in a cell ' s ability to generate and transmit electrical signals. nav1. 7 sodium channels are found in nerve cells called nociceptors that transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain. the scn9a gene mutations that cause erythromelalgia result in nav1. 7 sodium channels that open more easily than usual and stays open longer than normal, increasing the flow of sodium ions into nociceptors. this increase in sodium ions enhances transmission of pain signals, leading to the signs and symptoms of erythromelalgia. it is unknown why the pain episodes associated with erythromelalgia mainly occur in the hands and feet. an estimated 15 percent of cases of erythromelalgia are caused by mutations in the scn9a


written for the general public. you may also be interested in these resources, which are designed for healthcare professionals and researchers. for more information about naming genetic conditions, see the genetics home reference condition naming guidelines ( http : / / ghr. nlm. nih. gov / conditionnameguide ) and how are genetic conditions and genes named? ( http : / / ghr. nlm. nih. gov / handbook / mutationsanddisorders / naming ) in the handbook. ask the genetic and rare diseases information center ( http : / / rarediseases. info. nih. gov / gard / ). autosomal ; autosomal dominant ; cell ; channel ; familial ; gene ; increased body temperature ; ions ; mutation ; nervous system ; neuropathy ; nociceptors ; peripheral ; peripheral nervous system ; peripheral neuropathy ; prevalence ; sodium ; sodium channel ; subunit you may find definitions for these and many other terms in the genetics home reference glossary ( http : / / ghr. nlm. nih. gov / glossary ). the resources on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. users seeking information about a personal genetic disease, syndrome, or condition should consult with a qualified healthcare professional. see how can i find a genetics professional in my area? ( http : / / ghr. nlm. nih. gov / handbook / consult / findingprofessional ) in the handbook.


as the fcc promotes the national broadband plan, it appears it ’ s convinced making 100 mbps internet access speed available to 100 million households within 10 years will bring transformative change to the u. s. one of the expected outcomes is a positive impact on economic development. but will it? more importantly, is there too much emphasis on the ability of speed to drive economic success? a recent survey of economic development professionals and others who deal with local economic issues by the international economic development council ( iedc ) reveals that not only do over 55 percent believe we need more than 100 mbps to impact economic outcomes, they feel we need these speeds within three years. survey respondents view the fcc 10 - year goal of 4 mbps download speed to rural areas less favorably : 41 percent believe it is “ too little speed over too much time, ” and another 31 percent feel this should only be a stepping stone to faster speeds. the data reveals a disconnect between what policymakers hope broadband ( as they define it ) can achieve in economic development, and what communities can realistically expect broadband to achieve. broadband champions in government rightly recognize that broadband can significantly impact a number of key economic outcomes, such as business growth, productivity and a well - trained workforce. however, dc agencies have made speed the tail that wags the dog. unless and until policymakers come to grips with the realities in the communities, we can expect to have broadband ’ s potential stifled by policies that lead to bad legislation, wasted money and countless frustrated constituents. bursting the bubble of exaggerated expectation in 2007, iedc and i teamed up to survey professionals who know best how to tackle the more intractable economic development problems. we consistently find that a few of the most ardently advocated broadband benefits are, in reality, low on the list of economic outcomes. we also find that broadband technologies are not equal in their ability to achieve certain economic outcomes. three of the most popular economic benefits of broadband cited frequently are - keeping businesses in town ; - making local businesses more competitive ; and - attracting new companies to an area. of the seven outcomes presented to survey participants, these three garnered the greatest amount of support in this year ’ s survey. however, digging deeper into the data reveals that the particular broadband technology you use makes a big difference in the outcomes communities should expect. about 55 percent of respondents believe fiber will directly impact communities ’ ability to lure businesses, 42 percent say it will directly help retain businesses, and 40 percent feel it will enable local companies to compete more effectively. wireless, on


the outcomes communities should expect. about 55 percent of respondents believe fiber will directly impact communities ’ ability to lure businesses, 42 percent say it will directly help retain businesses, and 40 percent feel it will enable local companies to compete more effectively. wireless, on the other hand, is only seen as directly impacting these outcomes by 37 percent, 24 percent and 29 percent of respondents respectively. although fewer overall believe broadband can directly impact outcomes such as revitalizing depressed business communities and implementing more effective worker training programs, more believe fiber networks will have an impact than wireless. the survey numbers for all seven categories of economic outcomes subsequently argue for wired broadband as most crucial for economic development. yet, messages from d. c. policymakers ( advocated loudly by telecom companies ) are proclaiming mobile ( wireless ) broadband to be the technology that leads us to the broadband promise land. it would be an error to use these figures to declare fiber to be the only solution or the best solution for every community. a whole slew of local factors, from budgets and political considerations to the ability of local businesses to do well with highspeed fixed wireless, can make wireless a logical course. but it ’ s important to point out the fallacy of declaring wireless or wired to be the only choice everywhere. what ’ s our true need for speed? fewer than 9 percent of respondents expect broadband speeds of 4mbps to be adequate by 2013 to achieve any of the outcomes listed in figure 3. even the fcc ’ s goal of 100 mbps looks weak when 55 - 60 percent of respondents believe communities will need more. thirty - four percent alone say communities need at least 1 - gigabit networks if they want broadband to be a sufficient inducement to draw in new business. it ’ s also interesting to see how much speed respondents believe is necessary to achieve personal economic development outcomes, such as improving low - income individuals ’ ability to create wealth, become entrepreneurs or run profitable home - based businesses. more than 60 percent expect individuals will need over 100 mbps, and need it seven years ahead of the fcc ’ s goal ( figure 4 ). policymakers paint a picture of various achievements for broadband in telemedicine, education and particularly, economic development. yet they saddle that picture with speed goals incompatible with the expectations created. imagine if president kennedy had said “ within 10 years we will send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth, but our goal is to fly at 200 miles an hour ” ( a speed already slower than commercial jets at that time ).


if president kennedy had said “ within 10 years we will send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth, but our goal is to fly at 200 miles an hour ” ( a speed already slower than commercial jets at that time ). blair levin, chief architect of the national broadband plan and advocate for the 4 mbps goal, states in a recent interview, “ i ’ ll be happy to debate this with anybody anytime anywhere if they answer three questions : what should the speed be? what will it cost? and how will we pay for it? ” the first is a trick question. the goal isn ’ t about speed, it ’ s about getting to the moon and back at whatever speed it takes to get the job done. with broadband technology, this benchmark is fluid among communities and constituent groups and their respective needs. the answer to the second question is : one hellava a lot, especially if you want to do the job right. the answer to the third question is, we can pay for these networks if fewer people had a backward worldview on this issue. chattanooga, tenn., santa monica, calif., and wilson, n. c. are three communities that have already found ways — without broadband stimulus dollars — to build gigabit networks. the greatest barrier to getting the broadband to impact economic outcomes are those who view the solution as coming from exclusively from dc facilitated primarily by incumbents. this subsequently leads to the fixation on speed. one survey respondent summed up the situation. “.. most people ( even the younger ones ) do not know the difference between a bit and a byte, so speed over the wire becomes something more like a shell game when vendors are promoting their particular network. encourage local development. ” fifty - one percent of those professionals surveyed believe that the business models best able to get the job done are ones in which communities are the driving force and they have ownership in part or in whole of the infrastructure. the biggest need businesses and individuals have is for government policy to facilitate community - focused solutions. craig settles is a broadband industry analyst, co - director of communities united for broadband and was named one of huffington post ’ s 16 tech titans on twitter ( @ cjsettles ).


the 10 / 40 window = a term used to describe those regions of the eastern hemisphere located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. this general area was named the 10 / 40 window in 1990 by luis bush, because it represented the highest level of socioeconomic challenges and least access to the gospel on the planet. this band of countries include northern africa as well as almost all of asia ( west asia, central asia, south asia, east asia and much of southeast asia ). roughly two - thirds of the world ’ s population lives in this window. the people in the 10 / 40 window are predominantly muslim, hindu, buddhist, animist, jewish or atheist and most governments are formally or informally opposed to christian work within their borders. this area is significant when we look at making disciples of all nations. following is a spotlight on one city in the 10 / 40 window : algiers is the capital and largest city in algeria. known for its picturesque views of the mediterranean and its whitewashed buildings, algiers is one of the most influential cities in all of north africa. over 4 million people live in metropolitan algiers and the cost of living is one of the highest in all of africa. within the city, is an interesting mixture of arabs and berbers, with arabic, berber, and french being the primary languages spoken. until 1962, algeria was under french rule. since their independence, there have been several civil wars throughout the country. the ethnic distribution of the city of algiers is 53 % from an arabic speaking background ( mostly arabized berbers ), 44 % from a berber speaking background, and 3 % foreign born. this diversity has resulted in some conflicts throughout the country. nonetheless, with a country population of over 35 million, algeria is a very strategic city within the 10 / 40 window and across north africa and the middle east. best estimates suggest that there are several hundred believers in the city of algiers between the arab and berber population. with that said, there are over 24 million algerian arabs and very few believers among them. algeria is over 97 % muslim. the church does exist among some of the berber people groups in the country, but among the algerian arabs, the church for the most part does not exist. in 2006, the government passed a law that forbids any christian evangelism efforts. as a result, there are few workers and few believers among the 24 million algerian arabs. pray for the millions of lost people in algiers and throughout algeria. christians are persecuted. the workers are few. the need is great. pray for


electrical, electric, and electronic share much common ground, and they are interchangeable in many uses, but it ’ s possible to sketch rough differences between them. - electrical means of or relating to electricity, and it ’ s used for things that generate or process electricity — for example, electrical generators and electrical outlets. it ’ s also simply a broad term for anything that uses electricity. - devices that run on electricity are electric — for example, electric lights, electric heaters, electric cars. - electronic describes devices that manipulate electrical current internally through switches. it ’ s also used for virtual forms of things that were traditionally in the physical world, such as electronic stores and electronic books. if these distinctions are accurate ( and if anyone reading this has expertise in these matters, we look forward to your corrections in the comments ), then all electric and electronic devices are electrical, and all electronic devices are electric, but not all electric devices are electronic. in any case, a few web searches reveal that these distinctions are not always borne out in real - world usage. in particular, electric is often used where we might expect to see electrical. in these examples, the words fit with the distinctions outlined above : the biggest is a recall of night lights that pose a risk of fire from a potential electrical short circuit in the light. [ washington post ] but new research in china shows that electric cars have an overall impact on pollution that could be more harmful to health than conventional vehicles. [ daily mail ] the case gave the court an occasion to examine just how far police can go when it comes to searching electronic gadgets. [ stuff. co. nz ] and in these examples, the words go against those neat distinctions : on april 4, a short in an electrical fan resulted in a flash fire in the home of dr. foot. [ west lorne chronicle ] the saws, which can grow more than a metre long in some species, have previously been identified as able to sense prey by their electric fields. [ bbc news ] the newest electronic vehicle charging station in central massachusetts is being installed in auburn. [ necn ]


julian huxley, one of darwin ’ s leading supporters, sought to place the latter ’ s biological argument onto a philosophical footing and constructed a new religion under the name of evolutionary humanism. the aim of this religion was to “ ensure that the evolutionary process on earth reached its maximum conclusion. ” this was not restricted to strong organisms living longer and trying to reproduce more offspring. in addition, “ it was foreseen that man would develop his own abilities to the highest level. ” to put it another way, efforts were to be made to enable mankind to proceed to stages more advanced than the one that human beings are in today. huxley offered a full definition of the term humanism : i use the word ‘ humanist ’ to mean someone who believes that man is just as much a natural phenomenon as an animal or a plant, that his body, his mind, and his soul were not supernaturally created but are all products of evolution, and that the is not under the control or guidance of any supernatural being or beings, but has to rely on himself and his own powers. 156 huxley ’ s suggestion that human beings ’ sacred aim was to accelerate their own evolution had a profound effect on the american philosopher john dewey. he developed this line and founded the movement known as religious humanism in 1933, publishing the famous humanist manifesto. the main idea he emphasized was that the time had come for the traditional theistic ( god - oriented ) religions to be done away with and replaced by a new system based on scientific progress and social cooperation. the deaths of 50 million people in world war ii as a result of “ scientific progress ” rocked the optimism exhibited in the humanist manifesto. in the wake of similar blows, dewey ’ s followers were forced to partially revise their views, and they published the second humanist manifesto in 1973. this one admitted that science may sometimes harm mankind, but preserved the basic idea : man should now direct his own evolution and could do so through science. as the manifesto said : using technology wisely, we can control our environment, conquer poverty, markedly reduce disease, extend our life - span, significantly modify our behavior, alter the course of human evolution and cultural development, unlock vast new powers, and provide humankind with unparalleled opportunity for achieving an abundant and meaningful life. 157 in fact these ideas, adopted consciously or subconsciously by all darwinists, make crystal clear the fundamental beliefs of the religion of evolution. an imaginary process of species evolution is first dreamed up, and it is then assumed that this process is the


posted at : 02 / 15 / 2013 5 : 28 pm updated at : 02 / 15 / 2013 5 : 52 pm by : adam camp, kob eyewitness news 4 a once in a lifetime experience is how one university of new mexico researcher described the astronomical events friday. a 150 - meter wide meteor went through earth ’ s atmosphere and landed in chelyabinsk, russia. just hours later, an asteroid passed just 17, 000 miles from earth and nasa tracked it. karen ziegler is a meteorite researcher for unm. “ it ' s something very, very special. i think this is a once in a lifetime experience to actually be able to observe and watch something like that happen, ” ziegler said. the power of the meteor going into the atmosphere is also something to behold. “ it ' s like a bomb going off. this particular meteorite, they estimated the energy that was released when the meteor entered the earth ' s atmosphere was the size of a nuclear bomb going off, ” ziegler said. the meteorite ’ s impact injured over 1, 000 people as the explosion shattered glass and sent debris flying. ziegler said that debris from the meteorite will send meteorite researchers flocking to russia. “ probably all the meteorite handlers in the world are buying their tickets right now to go out there and try to find some pieces so that they can analyze them, ” ziegler said. as far as tracking the meteor before it came into the earth ’ s atmosphere, ziegler said it was still too small for telescopes to pick it up until it started blazing a trail to the earth.


thursday, nov. 1 ( healthday news ) - - the cancer drug alemtuzumab ( campath ) reduces the risk of disease relapse in people with multiple sclerosis, two new trials show. about 85 percent of multiple sclerosis patients start with a form of the disease called relapsing - remitting ms, where symptoms appear sporadically ( a relapse ) and then either partially or completely fade away. there is no cure for ms, and existing drugs only aim to reduce the symptoms of the disease. ms occurs when the body ' s immune system starts to attack the coating of nerve fibers. alemtuzumab, which is used to treat leukemia and other cancers of the immune system, works by altering the number, proportions and functions of certain types of lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that play a major role in the functioning of the immune system. in these two clinical trials, british researchers led by alastair compston of the university of cambridge compared alemtuzumab with interferon beta 1a, the most common drug used to treat ms. the first trial included patients who had never received drug treatment for ms. the relapse rates after two years were 22 percent for those who were given alemtuzumab and 40 percent for those who were given interferon beta 1a. the second trial included patients who had already been treated with either interferon beta 1a or another ms drug called glatiramer, but had suffered at least one relapse since their initial treatment. the relapse rates were 35 percent for patients who were given alemtuzumab and 51 percent for those who received interferon beta 1a, the investigators found. the researchers also found that alemtuzumab appeared to reduce the risk of ms - related disability such as the loss of coordination or the ability to walk. disability rates were 13 percent among those in the alemtuzumab group and 20 percent of those in the interferon beta 1a group. the first trial found no significant difference in disability rates between the two groups of patients. in both trials, alemtuzumab appeared to increase the risk of certain autoimmune disorders, particularly those affecting the thyroid. these side effects are potentially serious but can be treated, the researchers noted. the findings were published oct. 31 in the lancet. the findings are " encouraging, " according to a journal editorial, which noted that alemtuzumab has been used off


it is rare for physicians in the united states to see the effects of polio and most will never encounter it in their career. there are reported to be about 450, 000 polio survivors in the u. s. who have some disability from prior polio infection. my patient ( now in her 70 ' s ) was kind enough to allow these photos of her left arm paralysis from polio she contracted at age 9. her story is amazing. she was kept bedridden in a " crippled childrens home " in new jersey for over a year. during that year every one of her children roommates died. she did not attend school and even though she could walk, she was kept in bed. her weight ballooned up to 250 lbs from eating and lack of activity. her parents finally took her home because they could see her health declining and her muscles wasting. post polio syndrome is a well recognized diagnosis that occurs years after polio recovery. polio survivors experience new muscle weakening and atrophy. general fatigue and weakness is common in post polio syndrome, as it is in my patient. when parents are afraid of vaccinating their children, they should look back at history and realize how far we have come from epidemics and killed and maimed.


i09 : a brief history of pneumatic tube systems while slate has a good short history of air conditioning : attempts to control indoor temperatures began in ancient rome, where wealthy citizens took advantage of the remarkable aqueduct system to circulate cool water through the walls of their homes. the emperor elagabalus took things a step further in the third century, building a mountain of snow — imported from the mountains via donkey trains — in the garden next to his villa to keep cool during the summer. marvelously inefficient, the effort presaged the spare - no - cost attitude behind our modern - day central air - conditioning systems. even back then some scoffed at the concept of fighting heat with newfangled technologies. seneca, the stoic philosopher, mocked the " skinny youths " who ate snow to keep cool rather than simply bearing the heat like a real roman ought to. such luxuries disappeared during the dark ages, and large - scale air - conditioning efforts didn ' t resurface in the west until the 1800s, when well - funded american engineers began to tackle the problem. in the intervening centuries, fans were the coolant of choice. hand fans were used in china as early as 3, 000 years ago, and a second - century chinese inventor has been credited with building the first room - sized rotary fan ( it was powered by hand ). architecture also played a major role in pre - modern temperature control. in traditional middle eastern construction, windows faced away from the sun, and larger buildings featured " wind towers " designed to catch and circulate the prevailing breezes. in late 19th - century america, engineers had the money and the ambition to pick up where the romans had left off. in 1881, a dying president james garfield got a respite from washington, d. c. ' s oppressive summer swelter thanks to an awkward device involving air blown through cotton sheets doused in ice water. like elagabalus before him, garfield ' s comfort required enormous energy consumption ; his caretakers reportedly went through half a million pounds of ice in two months. the big breakthrough, of course, was electricity. nikola tesla ' s development of alternating current motors made possible the invention of oscillating fans in the early 20th century. and in 1902, a 25 - year - old engineer from new york named willis carrier invented the first modern air - conditioning system. the mechanical unit, which sent air through water - cooled coils, was not aimed at human comfort, however ; it was


in 1902, a 25 - year - old engineer from new york named willis carrier invented the first modern air - conditioning system. the mechanical unit, which sent air through water - cooled coils, was not aimed at human comfort, however ; it was designed to control humidity in the printing plant where he worked. in 1922, he followed up with the invention of the centrifugal chiller, which added a central compressor to reduce the unit ' s size. it was introduced to the public on memorial day weekend, 1925, when it debuted at the rivoli theater in times square. for years afterward, people piled into air - conditioned movie theaters on hot summer days, giving rise to the summer blockbuster. it ' s not an exaggeration to say that carrier ' s innovation shaped 20th - century america. in the 1930s, air conditioning spread to department stores, rail cars, and offices, sending workers ' summer productivity soaring. until then, central courtyards and wide - open windows had offered the only relief. residential air conditioning was slower to take hold : as late as 1965, just 10 percent of u. s. homes had it, according to the carrier corporation. families in the south made do by sleeping on the porch or even putting their underwear in the icebox. by 2007, however, the number was 86 percent. as cool air spread across the country, sun belt cities that had been unbearable in the summer became more attractive places to live and work, facilitating a long - term shift in u. s. population. slate : a history of air conditioning


we all know the immense contribution ancient roman, medieval roman ( or byzantine ), and pre - modern hre cannon law has made to the modern world. these empires relied on a written constitution ( or code ) and trained magistrates, lawyers, and notaries [ cf. judith herrin, byzantium : the surprising life of a medieval empire ; peter h. wilson, europe ' s tragedy : a new history of the thirty years war ]. much of today ' s european civil law can trace its origin to those cannons and much of our current legal framework ( courts, judges, constitution, senate, and lawyers ) are a direct copy of their ideas. i know that during the mughal period, the administration was uniform and structured and that there existed courts ( known as kotwaalis ) and magistrates ( or kotwaals ) [ cf, john keay : india - - a history ]. i have four general questions : - was there a ( more or less ) uniform law? - was this law ( or these laws ) documented? - were there lawyers? - how effective were these courts? ( less being outright civil violence and highly being close to the standards observed in the 15th century hre )? and i ask these four general questions for each of the following three periods ( thus in total 12 questions - - let me know if you want to split them into different posts ). - india from 6th century ce - 11th century ce ( when it was divided amongst many smaller kingdoms for most times ). - india from 11th century ce - 15th century ce ( pre mughal islamic period in the north ; divided rule in the south ). - india from 16th century ce - 18th century ce ( post sher shah suri period - - when the reforms started to the beginnings of the company rule ).


common tetraka ( bernieria madagascariensis ) - hbw 10, p. 248 french : bulbul tetraka spanish : bulbul tetraka other common names : long - billed / madagascar greenbul taxonomy : muscicapa madagascariensis j. f. gmelin, 1789, madagascar. relationships with rest of family uncertain. previously thought close to species currently placed in xanthomixis but formerly included in present genus ; recent data derived from mitochondrial dna sequencing indicate, however, that the two groups are not monophyletic. two subspecies recognized. subspecies and distribution : - inceleber bangs & peters, 1926 - n & w madagascar ( montagne d ’ ambre and sambirano s to toliara ), including nosy be. - madagascariensis ( j. f. gmelin, 1789 ) - e madagascar ( andapa s to tolagnaro ), including sainte marie i. - least concern enlarge map secretive and quickly moving in dense vegetation. formerly known as long - billed greenbul locality zombitse - vohibasia national park, madagascar ( ssp inceleber ) patrick flore 28 november 2011 45 weeks ago 4. 1 adult male in the hand locality manombo special reserve, fianarantsoa province, madagascar ( ssp madagascariensis ) nlb. birder 12 november 2009 3 years ago 3. 8


ginkgo biloba - the maidenhair tree evening light on the ivy - covered trunk of a " living fossil " " in 1492, colombus discovered america. " we all know that ' s true, but we are also aware that this statement would have sounded pretty odd to anyone who happened to be already living in america at the time. the story of the discovery of the ginkgo tends to get told in the same, somewhat confusing, way, so i ' ll attempt to redress the balance by telling it from the japanese point of view. " it ' s a sunny day in nagasaki, and it ' s 1690. do we know what ichou is? we certainly do! it ' s a common enough tree, with at least one growing within the grounds of most ( buddhist ) temples and ( shinto ) shrines hereabouts. it ' s a big tree, and it can live a long time, perhaps for thousands of years, they say. do we know why it ' s called ichou, or where it came from? not quite so easy, but surely must have come from china. ( most things do. ) probably with buddhism, or something. we usually write the name with the chinese characters for silver ( gin as in ginkou, bank ), and apricot ( kyou or an, as in anzu jamu or apricot jam, if that ' s been invented yet ). hmm, that ' s a bit confusing, but we do call the nuts gin - nan. " anyway, apparently this dutch geezer, engelbert something, has just turned up in the port. must be dutch, because they ' re the only hairy barbarians allowed in. er, something began with ' k ', perhaps " kenpu... ", or was it " ken peru "? well, one of the lads happened to be there when he ( the dutchman, that is ) bumped into this ichou tree, and promptly got extremely excited about it. was saying something that everyone knew it wasn ' t there. seems odd, since we certainly knew. " engelbert kaempfer ( rendered as kenperu in japanese ) was the first of the three great plant - watchers, and lived in nagasaki from 1690 to 1692. he was german, and it may have been that no disguise was necessary, since he appeared in nagasaki before the rigid " dutch - only " rule came into force. seeds of the ginkgo that he collected were


in nagasaki from 1690 to 1692. he was german, and it may have been that no disguise was necessary, since he appeared in nagasaki before the rigid " dutch - only " rule came into force. seeds of the ginkgo that he collected were sent back to the netherlands, and this was one of the first oriental trees widely grown in the west as an ornamental shade tree. at some stage, it became known as a " living fossil ", because it ' s the only member of the ancient botanical division ginkgophyta which still survives. some accounts suggest that in kaempfer ' s time fossil members of the ginkgo family were already known, though whether kaempfer himself would have been familiar with this isn ' t clear. and despite the shorter oxford english dictionary ( soed ) describing it as a " japanese tree ", it seems that the ginkgo did originate from china. since it has been cultivated for centuries, there is some dispute whether any original wild trees might still exist somewhere in the mountains of eastern china. ( there may also, incidentally, be some confusion between the discovery by kaempfer that the ginkgo is not extinct, and the various reports of ginkgoes being found in the wild, none of which seem to have been confirmed. ) so where does it fit into the scheme of things? and what happens in the autumn? plant classification is a bit complex, but in evolutionary order, after the mosses and worts ( no proper roots or water transport ), and ferns, horsetails, and club mosses ( proper roots, bear spores ), we get the two big divisions, the gymnosperms ( ' naked seeds ' ) and angiosperms ( ' covered seeds ' ). angiosperms are all the boring plants that people put in gardens, like cabbages and dahlias. almost all surviving gymnosperms are conifers - christmas trees, and so on - but the group also includes cycads ( tropical plants rather like palm - trees ), and of course the ginkgoes. this plural is a bit odd, since there ' s only one species of ginkgo left now, but things were different in the days of the dinosaurs. there were many species then, with a range of leaf shapes. the biloba of this species name means that it is divided into two lobes, but in fact the depth of the division is quite variable. as you can see in the above backlit view


many species then, with a range of leaf shapes. the biloba of this species name means that it is divided into two lobes, but in fact the depth of the division is quite variable. as you can see in the above backlit view, the most characteristic feature is the parallel veins - this particular leaf is almost a pure fan shape. and the autumn? the trees adopt a very independent attitude to turning. some trees will be yellow, and semi - bare, while others are still green, and still others exhibit an odd patchwork, with some yellow areas, some green. and the show doesn ' t last for very long, because once an individual tree decides to drop, it ' s all over in a few days. around sano, this generally happens in late november or early december. with their neat parachute shape, the leaves tend not to fall in a tidy heap, but to catch on branches of surrounding bushes. the actual material of the leaf is still quite resilient when fallen, and if they land on still water do not lie flat, resembling not so much a dead leaf as a drunken drowning butterfly, or miniature capsizing yacht. can you eat the fruit? we have to be careful, here. in strict botanical terms they are not fruit ; they are seeds, with a fleshy coating. but there is a second reason for being careful : not only can you not eat the outer flesh, but it produces a foul smell ( butyric acid, as in rancid butter ), and can cause nasty skin rash. this is why gardening books in the west normally instruct you to plant a male tree, to avoid this problem. oh, i forgot to mention, the ginkgo is dioecious ( " two houses " in greek ), which means there are separate male and female trees. but inside this nasty orange thing is a kernel, the seed itself, which can be eaten. there are a variety of traditional methods for removing the outer coat, but i found a different one : i simply trod on it by accident. as you can see, this pops out the kernel, which looks something like a fattened pistachio. this is the shell surrounding the green edible part, or " nut ". these are usually grilled, and eaten with a little salt. quite delicious. digression - i ' ve always been impressed by the huge biological range covered by japanese cuisine. it ' s not at all fanciful to imagine a meal including : angiosperms (