consciousness of this country. it ’ s not about dollars, it ’ s not about whether the war was right or wrong, it ’ s about : does this nation actually share the burden of the killing? ” marlantes said. “ the whole nation builds the rifle — pays the taxes, puts it together, and decides through its representative body how that rifle will be used. the veteran is the person who pulls the trigger, ” he said. “ but what happens is that when the veteran comes home, it ’ s like the veteran was the only one that did the killing. we ’ ve got to change that attitude. they wonder why veterans feel alienated. if there ’ s an unconscious feeling on the part of the country that, ‘ well, you did it ’ — that ’ s going to go a long way to making that veteran ’ s healing way more difficult. ” the commission would have a few general goals : · first, it would hold meetings across the country to kick off a dialogue between post – september 11 veterans and their communities, where the vets would tell their stories and try to share their burden. · it would also push for a national day of remembrance when the war in afghanistan finally ends, for veterans of both that conflict and the war in iraq. “ we cannot end twelve years of war without marking it. it ’ s sort of like, well, is it business as usual to go to war? ” marlantes said. “ no, it should not be business as usual. so when we ’ re done with it, we need to have a solemn way of marking it. ” · there would be eighteen members of the commission, appointed by leaders of both parties from the house and senate. the legislation says the members cannot be employees of the federal government — and junger wants to think outside the box. “ we think there should be a psychologist on the commission. there should be maybe a poet. poets know how to turn life into words so that everyone can understand, ” he said last week. “ maybe there should be an anthropologist. i mean, imagine, a formal cross - cultural study about how cultures throughout the world have dealt with combat trauma. ” he also recommended that members of the clergy be part of the commission, including a sioux shaman he knows. “ we ’ re trying to be both effective and creative at the same time, ” junger said. “ when people go to war, that means that you are going to kill other people. and right or wrong, it causes an enormous


knows. “ we ’ re trying to be both effective and creative at the same time, ” junger said. “ when people go to war, that means that you are going to kill other people. and right or wrong, it causes an enormous moral burden on anybody — on everybody. the community shares that burden in an organic culture. in this culture, it doesn ’ t. ” throughout the press conference last week, all parties involved stressed that it would be a nonpartisan commission that wouldn ’ t focus on whether the post – september 11 wars have been wrong or right. that ’ s a stark contrast to what, for example, former representative dennis kucinich repeatedly proposed : a truth - and - reconciliation effort of a different sort, wherein the political process that led to needless combat was thoroughly interrogated, and the political leaders behind it punished. but junger — who opposed the iraq war — stressed that he believed that for this particular effort to succeed in truly integrating recent veterans into society, it had to step outside politics. he related the story of a recent veteran he knew that was struggling with having accidentally killed innocent civilians during combat. the soldier told junger he would try to work through his burden with friends, but that left - wing friends would respond with disgust : “ you killed civilians, that ’ s on you. ” right - wing friends would tell him to brush it off : “ you did your job, you did your duty, thank you. ” the soldier, according to junger, was deeply frustrated by both responses. “ why won ’ t anyone have an adult conversation with me about what war is about? it ’ s their war, ” he told junger. “ they asked us to fight it, and we did it as well as we could. why are they pretending it ’ s our war? we were just there. ” [ source : the nation | george zornick | 14 may 2013 ]


the following are measures that studies suggest may reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections. these may be appropriate for people, especially women, with recurrent infections : - do not delay urination when it is necessary. - cleaning the urethral meatus ( the opening of the urethra ) after intercourse has been shown to be of some benefit ; however, whether this is done with an antiseptic or a placebo ointment ( an ointment containing no active ingredient ) does not appear to matter. - it has been advocated that cranberry juice can decrease the incidence of uti ( some of these opinions are referenced in external links section ). a specific type of tannin, called a type proanthocyanidin, found only in cranberries and blueberries prevents the adherence of certain pathogens ( eg. ' ' e. coli ' ' ) to the epithelium of the urinary bladder. a review by the cochrane collaboration of randomized controlled trials states " some evidence from trials to show cranberries ( juice and capsules ) can prevent recurrent infections in women. many people in the trials stopped drinking the juice, suggesting it may not be a popular intervention ". over the counter products are in development that deliver a strong dose of a type proanthocyanidin. even in the minimal prophylactic effects observed in females, the total cost of the cranberry tablets and juice exceeded $ 2000 per annum. it should be noted that there would be considerable difficulty in establishing compliance in a standard randomized double - blind study if the participants were required to bear this cost personally. - often long courses of low - dose antibiotics are taken at night to help prevent otherwise unexplained cases of recurring cystitis. - acupuncture has been shown to be effective in preventing new infections in recurrent cases. one study showed that urinary tract infection occurrence was reduced by 50 % for six months. however, this study has been criticized for several reasons. all of the studies are done by one research team without independent reproduction of results. - studies have shown that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of utis in infants. - keeping the foley catheter from clogging with biofilm will prevent stasis of urine in the bladder, which serves as a culture medium for bacterial growth. this article is licensed under the creative commons attribution - sharealike license. it uses material from the wikipedia article on " urinary tract


the world economic forum ' s latest global competitiveness report, which assesses the economies of 144 countries and ranks them based on more than 100 indicators, had something to say about education. this is hardly surprising since education is a main determinant of economic competitiveness. the question, though, is whether the index - - which relies heavily on business executive assessments for the ranking - - really gets education right. after looking at the country rankings, it ' s difficult not to have doubts. for example, lebanon and qatar were among the top 10 countries in terms of quality of math and science education, quality of primary education, and more generally quality of the educational system. though no doubt a pleasant surprise for lebanese and qataris, this assessment is a significant departure from the results of student achievement tests in every international test lebanon and qatar have participated in. in the international student achievement tests in math and sciences ( timss ) in 2007 and 2011 for grade 8, lebanese and qatari students scored well below the international average of 500. in math, lebanon scored 449 in both 2007 and 2011, while qatar scored 307 in 2007, but 410 in 2011. as for the quality of primary education, available data on student achievement for grade 4 in math and science from timss 2011, and in reading literacy from pirls ( progress in international reading literacy study ) 2011, show qatar ' s scores were significantly below average. lebanon did not participate in these tests, but the performance of grade 8 students in international tests does not suggest that they had a high quality primary education. and there are other problems with the wef assessment of education quality. for example, the percentage of students at the advanced and high levels of achievement in math and science at a certain grade surely reflects the quality of education in those subjects. but in lebanon, only 1 percent of students in grade 8 performed at the advanced level in math and 9 percent at the high level. in qatar, the comparable figures were 2 percent and 10 percent, respectively. in contrast, the percentages of students performing at the advanced level in grade 8 math ranged between 8 percent and 49 percent in the top ten countries in timss 2011. the shortcomings in wef ' s estimation of the quality of education are not restricted to lebanon and qatar. russia, which ranked among the top 10 countries in student achievement in both math and science for grade 8, ranked 52nd in the quality of math and science education in the wef data. russia also ranked 62nd in the wef report on the quality of primary


which ranked among the top 10 countries in student achievement in both math and science for grade 8, ranked 52nd in the quality of math and science education in the wef data. russia also ranked 62nd in the wef report on the quality of primary education ; the average scores of its grade 4 students in math and science in timss 2011 and in reading in pirls 2011 placed russia among the top 10 of participating countries. in terms of primary education, hong kong was ranked 29th in the wef report despite its grade 4 students receiving the top rank in reading ( pirls 2011 ), third place in math and eighth in science. the united states, meanwhile, was ranked 38th although it was among the top 10 countries in reading, math and science for grade 4. so why these shortcomings in assessing education? the problem is largely the result of the subjective nature of the " executive opinion survey " data. respondents were not education experts offering informed opinions, and are therefore more likely to base their opinions on their own personal experiences, perhaps at quality private schools. all this is not to argue that the shortcomings on education would have radically altered the overall results of the competitiveness rankings. but the wef would do well to rethink its dependence on such a potentially subjective source of information.


panic disorder is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. these sensations often mimic symptoms of a heart attack or other life - threatening medical conditions. as a result, the diagnosis of panic disorder is frequently not made until extensive and costly medical procedures fail to provide a correct diagnosis or relief. many people with panic disorder develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. fortunately, effective treatments have been developed to help people with panic disorder. heredity, other biological factors, stressful life events, and thinking in a way that exaggerates relatively normal bodily reactions are all believed to play a role in the onset of panic disorder. some research suggests panic attacks occur when a “ suffocation alarm mechanism ” in the brain is activated, falsely reporting that death is imminent. the exact cause or causes of panic disorder are unknown and are the subject of intense scientific investigation. treatment for panic disorder includes medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. cognitive - behavioral therapy, a type of psychotherapy, teaches people how to view panic attacks differently and demonstrates ways to reduce anxiety. appropriate treatment by an experienced professional can reduce or prevent panic attacks in 70 to 90 % of people with panic disorder. most patients show significant progress after a few weeks of therapy. relapses may occur, but they can often be effectively treated just like the initial episode. depression : about half of panic disorder patients will have an episode of clinical depression sometime during their lives. major depression is marked by persistent sadness or feelings of emptiness, a sense of hopelessness and other symptoms. what is more, approximately 20 % of people with panic disorder attempt suicide. substance abuse : about 30 % of people with panic disorder use alcohol and 17 % abuse drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, in unsuccessful attempts to alleviate the distress caused by their condition. appropriate diagnosis and treatment of other disorders, such as substance abuse or depression, are important to successfully treat panic disorder. simple phobias and agoraphobia : people with panic disorder often develop irrational fears of specific events or situations that they associate with the possibility of having a panic attack. fear of heights and fear of crossing bridges are examples of simple phobias. as the frequency of panic attacks increases, the person often begins to avoid situations in which they fear another attack can occur or places where help would not be immediately available. this avoidance may eventually develop into agoraphobia


examples of simple phobias. as the frequency of panic attacks increases, the person often begins to avoid situations in which they fear another attack can occur or places where help would not be immediately available. this avoidance may eventually develop into agoraphobia, an inability to go beyond known and safe surroundings because of intense fear and anxiety. generally, these fears can be resolved through repeated exposure to the dreaded situations, while practicing specific techniques to become less sensitive to them. social phobia : social phobia is a persistent dread of situations in which the person is exposed to possible scrutiny by others, and fears acting in a way that will be embarrassing or humiliating. social phobia can be treated effectively with therapy or medications, or both. obsessive - compulsive disorder ( ocd ) : in ocd, a person becomes trapped in a pattern of repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are senseless and distressing but extremely difficult to overcome. such rituals as counting, prolonged handwashing, and repeatedly checking for danger may occupy much of the person ’ s time and interfere with other activities. like panic disorder, ocd can be treated effectively with medication and / or psychotherapy. physical symptoms : people with panic disorder may also have irritable bowel syndrome, characterized by intermittent bouts of gastrointestinal cramps and diarrhea or constipation, or a relatively minor heart problem called mitral valve prolapse, which can trigger panic attacks in some people. in fact, panic disorder often coexists with unexplained medical problems, such as chest pain not associated with a heart attack or chronic fatigue. the content of this fact sheet was adapted from material published by the national institute of mental health.


s school was hard - pressed to meet the requirements set by the state. norman was also pressured to meet state consolidation requirements. as a result, dr. barr and the presbyterian synod leased the high school building to norman school district # 28, for a period of 49 years. the entire lease price was one dollar. it was understood that bible would continue to be taught, but no such stipulation was set forth in the lease. the school closed at midterm 1972, after further consolidation combined caddo gap with norman and a new school was constructed at caddo hills, half way between the two towns. the last nhs graduating class was in 1971. however, the class of 1972 was issued senior rings bearing the norman high school emblem, and a diploma bearing the caddo hills name. graduation exercises were held in the norman gym. the beautiful old masonry and fieldstone building went into private ownership after the school moved to caddo hills, and for the past 30 plus years it has been left to the elements. on october 15, 2001, a nonprofit corporation, ( norman historic preservation program, inc. ) made up of former nhs students, purchased the building. they are currently working to restore it for use as an educational / cultural center. the school complex has been listed on the national register of historic places. this listing consist of the administration building ( nhs ), the home economics building, and the gymnasium. it does not include the old lunchroom. however, the corporation only owns the administration building. norman historic preservation program, inc. needs your help in renovating the old caddo valley academy administration building, ( norman high school ) and in making our dream of an educational / cultural center come true. before the programs at the center can be undertaken the building must be renovated. we have come a very long way in the past six years, but our most immediate need ( bathrooms ) has yet to be met. we are in need of financial assistance, we have received no grant money. become a member of n. h. p. p., inc. ( $ 30 per year ) and with your dues you will help preserve the best of the past for the future. come by for a guided tour and learn how you can help.


for most applications of alginates, the molar mass ( molecular weight ) is an important parameter determining the functionality of the alginate for that specific application. aqueous solutions of alginates are viscous, the observed solution viscosity being dependent on molar mass, concentration of alginate, temperature, and potentially also presence of salts and other compounds in the formulation. viscosity measurements are often used as a simple measurable parameter of changes in the molar mass of a polymer, and thereby can be used as a stability indicating parameter. depolymerization of alginates will occur in solution and in the solid state due to a variety of mechanisms. smidsrød et al ( 1963 ) observed that the presence of oxygen affected the stability of non - purified alginates in solution due to the presence of phenolic reducing substances that gave rise to oxidative - reductive free radical depolymerization ( ord ). on the other hand, holme et al. ( 2003 ; 2008 ) have shown that purified alginates in the solid state and in solution are depolymerized primarily by acid catalyzed hydrolysis and alkaline catalyzed mechanisms. the highest stability was observed in a ph interval of 5 to 8. increased temperature will increase the rate of depolymerization for all mechanisms mentioned above ( holme et al. 2003 ; 2008 ). in vivo data on the kinetics and mechanism of depolymerization of alginates are scarce. there are no mammalian enzymes that are active towards alginates, however, even in mammals, one must expect random depolymerization mechanisms like the ones described above to occur. this document reports on the stability, shelf - life and storage conditions for pronova up sodium alginate powders. click here to download more information.


let ' s face facts the first step toward a solution is recognizing there ' s a problem. in this issue ' s cover story, we alert you to a serious problem that you may not be aware of : our environment is pervaded by hundreds - - perhaps thousands - - of man - made chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, so named because they interfere with the endocrine system, the hormones that regulate our metabolism, sexual development, fertility, and brain function. scientists are now discovering that these synthetic chemicals can mimic, block, or otherwise alter the activity of hormones in animals and humans alike. these compounds can be found in food cans, baby bottles, and cosmetics ; in the air, in farm fields, and in streams ; in cattle and birds, in polar bears in the arctic, and in us, even in breast milk. in both wildlife and laboratory studies, researchers have observed malformed sexual organs, impaired sexual reproduction, gender reversal ( female fish, for example, that develop male sex organs ), and behavioral abnormalities. when theo colborn, a pioneering researcher, first placed this issue on the public radar in 1996, she was mocked as a fringe scientist obsessed with a phantom hazard. but during the past 10 years, her dogged research has inspired many other scientists, who collectively have uncovered a chemical time bomb that we must urgently address. it is impossible not to feel urgency about many things these days. an environmental magazine like ours has to work hard not to get trapped by the chicken little syndrome. the key is this : articles like daly ' s should spur us to action, rather than tempt us into despair. still, the first step is to acknowledge that there is a problem. so the sky is not falling. but it is getting warmer. only during the last year has it seemed that we as a society have begun to grapple in earnest with the greatest environmental challenge of our lifetimes. even if you were not directly hit by hurricane katrina, rita, or wilma, you could not help but realize that something large and portentous was happening. climate change - - in the form of warmer oceans that generate fiercer storms - - has suddenly become, for many people, less a matter of theory and more a matter of firsthand experience. we all live now in a post - katrina world. can we still change the course of events? the answer is always yes, and action sometimes comes from unexpected quarters. read, for instance, in living green about the construction of the world ' s greenest skyscraper


supercapacitors could be key to a green energy future john chmiola, a doctoral student at drexel university, is doing groundbreaking work on supercapacitors july 30, 2008 everything is " green " these days. from buying green to living green, the term has become short - hand for environmentally friendly. concern for the environment is one thing that ' s fueling interest in alternative sources of energy. the staggering increases in the cost of oil and everything that depends on oil are other factors. john chmiola may have found a way for us to power our devices and still live green. chmiola is a doctoral student at drexel university and his advisor is yury gogotsi, chair of the university ' s a. j. drexel nanotechnology institute. chmiola ' s groundbreaking work is on high efficiency energy storage devices known as supercapacitors. " now that gas costs $ 4. 25, i ' d like to think that my work is essential, " chmiola says. these days, more people may be thinking about buying a hybrid car. if so, remember this word : supercapacitors. some researchers believe that these energy storage devices will be the best alternative to gas - fueled automobiles. possible uses extend beyond cars. supercapacitors have attracted researchers ' attention for use in " many applications where batteries are being misused, " chmiola notes. what ' s this greener energy alternative all about? supercapacitors - - most commonly used in backup power applications because of their infinite lifespan - - are electronic devices that have an unusually high energy density when compared to common capacitors. a common capacitor is an electrical device that can deliver energy in the electric field between a pair of conductors or plates. capacitors can be compared to batteries in that they both deliver electrical energy, but batteries can produce and deliver energy. a capacitor only delivers it. supercapacitors, well, can deliver more energy. " unlike batteries and fuel cells that harvest energy stored in chemical bonds, supercapacitors exploit the electrostatic separation between electrolyte ions ( an atom or group of atoms with a net electric charge ) and high surface area electrodes, typically carbon, " chmiola explains. electrochemical capacitors, ultracapacitors, electrical double layer capacitors " were immediately fascinating to me because of their apparent simplicity and properties complimentary to batteries, " he notes. when chmiola first started research


- derived carbon ( cdc ) structures and chmiola ' s on electrochemistry led to the steps to develop the electrochemical capacitors experiment. this turned from a one - year undergraduate project into chmiola ' s doctorate thesis project. an international collaboration with the group of professor patrice simon of the universite paul sabatier in france was the needed catalyst " to make the synergy complete, " chmiola says. chmiola ' s discovery was featured in the aug. 18, 2006, edition of the journal science. furthermore, reports about his work have appeared in the journal nature and other print and online international publications. how important are supercapacitors to our everyday lives? supercapacitors are valued for their infinite energy lifespan. traditional power sources and batteries, essential to our personal electronic devices and automobiles, don ' t store that much energy. due to their high storage energy capacity, supercapacitors are finding increased usage in portable electronic devices like mp3 players, mobile phones and palm pilots. other benefits, like short charging times and high performance in low temperatures, could lead to new applications. supercapacitors, as an energy efficient alternative, have limitations in both cost and performance. " obviously all the pieces are not in place yet to put electrochemical capacitors ( ec ) in every future automobile, " chmiola asserts, " but helping to advance the understanding and develop the knowledge base necessary to make this revolution happen is what keeps me going. " his team has some out - of - the - box ideas to make supercapacitors better, and results are promising, " but it ' s a bit too early for publication, " chmiola adds. integrative graduate education and research traineeship program # 0221664 igert : nanoscale engineering and science : one campus, two - university approach nano materials group : http : / / nano. materials. drexel. edu / science magazine : http : / / www. sciencemag. org / cgi / content / abstract / 1132195 nature journal : http : / / www. nature. com / nature / journal / v442 / n7105 / full / 442850a. html


2011 state poverty data underscore the need to protect programs for low - income women new data from the census was just released, and nwlc ’ s calculations show that many women and their families around the country are still struggling in the wake of the great recession. though poverty stabilized between 2010 and 2011, protecting low income programs remains absolutely critical for women. in 2011, more than one in five women was poor in mississippi ( 22. 3 percent ) and louisiana ( 20. 6 percent ). only one state, new hampshire, had a poverty rate of less than ten percent for women, at 8. 9 percent. in the other 47 states and the district of columbia, between 10 and 20 percent of women lived below the poverty line. in 2011, more than half of female - headed families with children were poor in kentucky ( 51. 3 percent ), louisiana ( 50. 3 percent ), mississippi ( 51. 8 percent ), and west virginia ( 51. 6 percent ). in eight more states ( al, ar, id, mi, nm, oh, sc, and tn ), their poverty rates were 45 percent and above. what about women of color? in eleven states, about a third or more of black women were poor ( ia, in, la, me, mi, mn, ms, sd, wi, wv, and, vt ). roughly a third of hispanic women were poor in six states ( in, ms, nc, pa, ri, tn ). yet again, these numbers underscore the importance of federal and state programs for low - income people. we ’ ve talked about this before, but with poverty rates at record highs, programs like social security, medicare, the supplemental nutrition assistance program ( formerly food stamps ), and the earned income tax credit, among others, are essential for keeping millions of women and families above the poverty line. we know that women disproportionately rely on these programs, making the message from the state poverty data clear : programs for low - income families and individuals must be protected. we sincerely hope congress is taking note. articles by topic join the new reproductive health campaign go to thisispersonal. org to get the facts and tools you need to help protect women ' s reproductive health.


inscription : recto, pencil annotation at l. l. ( " h. 31 " ) ; verso, baumfeld ' s stamp at l. l. provenance : zeitlin and ver brugge, los angeles ; rudolf l. baumfeld, los angeles scope and content : piranesi published numerous suites of prints, celebrating the grandeur of rome in archaeologically precise views of existing monuments or in imaginary scenes combining real and invented elements. among his most renowned publications are the vedute di roma ( 1748 - 78 ), the carceri d ' invenzione ( first edition, 1749 - 60 ), and le antichita romane ( 1756 ). piranesi had numerous patrons among the papacy, clergy, and aristocrats of rome and others throughout europe, especially in england, and sets of his prints were frequently purchased by connoisseurs and collectors who visited rome. ponte salario was part of the vedute di roma series, which featured 135 views of the main tourist sights of rome and a few views outside of the city. the series, begun in 1748, occupied piranesi until his death in 1778 and in many ways documents the evolution of his artistic career. in the first phase of the project, from 1748 to 1754, piranesi issued prints exclusively of contemporary rome and of well - known sights such as the great basilicas and piazzas. in the second phase ( 1754 - 60 ), however, he focused on individual monuments of ancient rome. ponte salario is characteristic of the second phase of the series and takes as its subject the ancient roman bridge that crossed the aniene river near its confluence with the tiber. in contrast to the smaller, more impressionistic portrayals of ancient monuments in piranesi ' s antichita romane de ' tempi della repubblica series, the ponte salario is rendered on a large scale, with striking contrasts of light and shade that heighten the dramatic impact of the monument. to further enhance its grandeur, piranesi rendered the bridge from an oblique angle, thereby showing the monument in its entirety.


oceans of fun can visit your school and provide unique hands - on activities, discussions, and games designed for interactive learning. choose one of our classroom series designs for your specific grade level or we can tailor a program to compliment your classroom ’ s curriculum. all classroom programs include a teacher ’ s guide equipped with goals, objectives, background information and pre / post activities to supplement the outreach program of your choice. program price : must book a minimum of 2 programs 2 programs : $ 200. 00 3 programs : $ 275. 00 4 programs : $ 350. 00 5 programs : $ 400. 00 program size : small group maximum of 35 students per program. program length : 45 minutes - flippers, fins, and fun ( grades k - 2 ) journey into the world of seals and sea lions with an introduction to marine life, habitats, and environmental conservation. students will play interactive games to explore adaptations and challenges that animals face in the wild. - pinniped pals ( grades 3 - 4 ) dive into a pinniped experience! develop an understanding of aquatic animal adaptations, the intricacy of the food chain and the dangerous effects of pollution. students will explore the differences between seals, sea lions and walruses and investigate predator – prey relationships. - wild wisconsin : water environments ( grades 3 - 6 ) get ready for a journey into wisconsin ’ s habitats! learn about wisconsin ’ s aquatic habitats, animal classification and ways to help protect the environment. students will explore the four elements of a habitat and challenges animals face in the wild. - protect our earth ( grades 5 - 6 ) looking for a class on conservation and preservation of the environment? this class teaches kids about the importance of preserving ocean habitats and the environment around us. students will learn about watersheds, point and non - point source pollution and actions to help protect our earth. - animal training ( grades 7 - 9 ) explore the exciting world of animal training with this hands - on program! learn to train like the pros using positive reinforcement training techniques and discuss the benefits of animal training. students will also learn about current conservation issues affecting marine life in the wild. - trainer ’ s forum ( grades 10 - 12 ) get an inside look of the field of exotic animal care and training! students will actively discuss animal training techniques, marine science careers and the importance of zoos and aquariums to promote conservation education. want to learn what it takes to work in the animal care field? discuss careers in marine mammal science and animal care with a marine mammal trainer. explore animal training


this is a video looking at public and private sector pay differences. the public and private sectors are different which means there is often difficulty in comparing the public and private sector in terms of earnings. for example, there is a different skill mix of jobs, different sizes of businesses, as well as, a different percentage of men and women working within them. also the average number of hours worked differs, and so does the age and pay distribution. starting with the differences in skill levels between the two sectors we will use this example to illustrate the problems in comparing two groups. here are two groups, a and b, and here are 40 people who are paid £9 per hour and they all do exactly the same job, which we will call ' high skill '. here are another 40 people all doing a lower skilled job being paid £6 per hour. if we move these people into the two groups, here we have 25 high skill and 15 low skill people in group a and 15 high skill and 25 low skill in group b. the total pay for group a is £315, with an average of £7. 88 per hour. the total pay for group b is £285, or an average of £7. 13 per hour. so taking the pay difference between the two groups gives us a gap of 10. 5 per cent, suggesting that group a is better paid than group b. however, this is because of the different skill mix of the two sectors. so let ’ s look at the skill mix of jobs between the public and private sector using information from the annual survey of hours and earnings, in april 2011, and looking firstly at low and lower - middle skill jobs, there is a higher percentage in the private sector. for the upper - middle and high skill jobs there are a higher percentage in the public sector. the importance of these differences is that earnings tend to increase as the skill level of the job increases. so, considering the previous example, it would be expected that on average the public sector would earn more than the private sector because of the differences in the types of jobs. now looking at the age of employees in both sectors, here is the percentage of employees in both sectors up to around the mid 30s and here the percentage for the other years of age. we can see the private sector is made up of a higher percentage of younger employees. looking at those aged older, we see the public sector has a higher percentage of older employees. removing these bars and changing the axis to £ per hour, we will now look at


the private sector is made up of a higher percentage of younger employees. looking at those aged older, we see the public sector has a higher percentage of older employees. removing these bars and changing the axis to £ per hour, we will now look at the average pay for each individual year of age. firstly in the public sector, and now the private sector, and we see that earnings tend to increase most up to the early 30 ’ s, before falling off in the mid - 50 ’ s as it is likely that those being paid the most leave the labour market earlier. as earnings increase with age and the public sector has a higher percentage of older workers, again, keeping everything else the same, it would be expected that the public sector earn more, on average, than the private sector. another important thing to note when comparing the pay between the two sectors is the pay distribution of employees. to illustrate this, here is a random selection of people which we will say work in the public sector, and here is another random selection of private sector employees. what we see is that the public sector distribution is more compressed than the private sector. this means that the private sector has more low paid employees but also more high paid employees than in the public sector. we ’ ve explained some of the differences between the two sectors which make it difficult to compare the averages in pay between them. to try to account for some of these issues a statistical regression model can be run with the aim of estimating the pay difference, keeping all other things the same. a detailed article explaining this method is on the ons website, with a link in the description of this podcast. we will use this chart to show the estimated pay difference, we see the gap increased from around 2003 to 2005, before falling up to 2007, and then increasing from 2007 to stand at 7. 3 per cent in 2011. another important issue to note at this stage is the importance of the size of the organisation. employees working in large organisations earn more than those in small organisations. a large organisation is defined as having 500 or more employees. using these pie charts we can see that 94 % of public sector employees work in large organisations compared with 49 % of private sector employees. in 2011, people employed in large organisations earned 24. 9 % more than those working in small organisations after running regression analysis to control for other factors. if we now return to the previous chart on the pay gap over the period from 2003 to 2011 we can now analyse the impact that firm size has on the size of the


those working in small organisations after running regression analysis to control for other factors. if we now return to the previous chart on the pay gap over the period from 2003 to 2011 we can now analyse the impact that firm size has on the size of the pay gap. as seen earlier the pay gap was 7. 3 % in 2011. if organisational size differences are accounted for, shown by the green line, the size of the pay gap decreases to 2. 2 %. next we will look at the pay gap across the earnings distribution, using this chart. the green line illustrates the pay gap across the earnings distribution when organisation size is accounted for, and the dotted line illustrates the uk average pay gap of 2. 2 %. if we look at the lowest earners, at the 5th percentile, the value at which 5 % earn less and 95 % earn more, we can see that the pay gap is 11. 2 %. now turning our attention to the highest earners, at the 95th percentile, the value at which 95 % earn less and 5 % earn more, the pay gap is - 10. 3 %. this shows that public sector employees earn more at the bottom end of the earnings distribution, and this is partially offset by the fact that private sector employees earn more at the top of the earnings distribution. the blue line here shows the trend when organisational size is not accounted for, and as can be seen, it follows the same pattern as the green line. now we will look at the pay gap across the different regions of the uk, using this chart. the blue horizontal bars show the pay gap across the regions when organisational size differences are accounted for. as can be seen, all areas of the uk have a positive pay gap except for the south east and london, which has a pay gap of - 3. 0 % and - 7. 9 % respectively. the dotted line illustrates the uk average pay gap of 2. 2 %. if we now look at the regional pay gap when organisational size is not taken account of, we can see, that the size of the pay gap, with the bars now illustrated in green, has increased, and the dotted line showing the uk average pay gap has increased to 7. 3 %. the only region now showing a negative pay gap is london. next we will look at the regional pay gap across the earnings distribution, using this chart. the blue line shows the pay gap for the whole of the uk across the earnings distribution. the next three lines illustrate the north


a negative pay gap is london. next we will look at the regional pay gap across the earnings distribution, using this chart. the blue line shows the pay gap for the whole of the uk across the earnings distribution. the next three lines illustrate the north east, yorkshire and the humber and north west respectively. all three regions have a very similar pattern across the earnings distribution, although it is worth noting that the pay gap in the north east remains positive throughout. the next three lines show the east midlands, east of england and west midlands respectively. all three of these regions follow a similar pattern to that of the uk average. the next three lines show the south west, south east and london respectively. we can see that the pay gap for the south east is lower than the uk average across the whole of the earnings distribution. this final group of regions shows the pay gap across the earnings distribution for northern ireland, scotland and wales. if we bring back the pay gap line for london, since the pattern for london is different to other parts of the uk, we can see that compared to the uk average, the pay gap is higher at the bottom of the earnings distribution in favour of the public sector, and then favours the private sector at the top half of the distribution. lastly it is worth noting that there are other factors that could influence the pay difference, and this analysis does not include other forms of remuneration, for example, pension contributions, company cars, and health insurance. this is because the survey ashe does not collect this information. also ashe does not cover those who are self - employed so it will miss many high paid self - employed, and also some lower - paid.


why has the fertility rate risen over the last decade in england and wales? 17 - jun - 2013the fertility rate peaked in 2010 with the highest total fertility rate since 1973 babies born in england and wales had a father with an average age of 32. 6 in 2011 12 - jun - 2013fathers tend to be older than mothers 170 years of industrial change across england and wales 05 - jun - 2013this story looks at 170 years of industrial change across england and wales and some of the factors driving it. it draws on data from censuses since 1841 and shows that much of this change has been in the last 100 years. after 170 years of labour market change, now only 1 % of workers are in agriculture 05 - jun - 2013census data to look at how the proportions of people employed in different industries has changed since 1841 video summary : 170 years of industrial change in england and wales 05 - jun - 2013short video from the ons looking at 170 years of industrial change in england and wales. first it looks at which industries people worked in in 1841 and compared it to 2011, as well as, looking at the patterns of change across the whole period. next it covers the key developments that have had an impact on the main industries in england and wales, including the steam locamotive, electric telegraph, nuclear power and the world wide web. lastly it focuses on 2011 and looks at the gender breakdown across the main industries in england and wales. summary : providing unpaid care may have an adverse affect on young carers ’ general health 04 - jun - 2013a summary of unpaid care by 5 to 17 - year - olds in england and wales 2001 vs 2011 census - country of birth comparison tool compare the age - sex structures of countries of birth for usual residents in england and wales


most media commentators and policy analysts have savaged the united nations and policymakers for their inability to reach a convincing deal at the copenhagen summit on 7 - 18 december 2009. but i came away from two weeks in the danish capital holding a glass half - full – in part because, luckily for humanity, the climate - change last - chance saloon seems to have no fixed closing - time. many environmentalists whipped up the rhetorical tempo in the months before the conference by using such phrases as the “ last chance to save the earth ” and the “ most important meeting in the history of humanity ”. in doing so they both deprived themselves of a narrative in the event of the apocalypse ( which, in their terms, arrived ) and presented themselves with a communications headache. the ill - judged tactic has left work to do to regain public and political momentum. but the news is not all bad. for cop15 was not a one - off, but also just one more stage in the four - decade - long evolution of environmental politics : another step on the road in terms of what it means for humanity to take its habitat seriously as a non - renewable resource. and there are four ways in which it can be considered a positive step. the activist ecology the leading renewables specialist godfrey boyle – a colleague on the open university delegation at copenhagen - attended the first united nations environment conference in stockholm in 1972. that meeting marked the beginning of a formal renegotiation of the place of the natural world, upon which we all depend, within international politics. the meeting was marked by charges from the developing world that the rich world was seeking to “ pull the ladder up behind them ”, and halt economic growth in the south in order that elephants and tigers would still have a home to roam in. the first reason for hope lies here. only a few years ago it would have been impossible to imagine china, india, brazil, south africa and the united states sitting down even to start a conversation about how they would all work to contain and ultimately reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases ; yet these were the very parties that tapped out an accord that would give cop15 attendees a modest something to take home. these countries bring very different experiences of the last century to the negotiating table. if the american 20th century is marked by triumphant consumerism and political hegemony, for others this was a period of revolutions, ethnic conflict, jarring post - colonial settlements and massive population movements. in this light, the chinese and indian achievements of 1990 - 2009 in terms of poverty - alleviation


and political hegemony, for others this was a period of revolutions, ethnic conflict, jarring post - colonial settlements and massive population movements. in this light, the chinese and indian achievements of 1990 - 2009 in terms of poverty - alleviation and the creation of substantial middle - classes are startling. that political leaders from these countries are taking part in discussion of global restrictions on fossil - fuel use or the control of sovereign forest - resources is even more surprising. however feeble the statements, the fact remains that cop15 saw all the key players sit down and take this topic seriously - collectively - for the first time. the second source of optimism comes from encounters with the “ youngos ” ( the un acronym for youth ngos ), particularly those from the developing world. the last cop i attended was cop 7 in marrakesh ( 2001 ). there were young folks there from indigenous communities in the north and from the developing world, but there was quite a strong sense that they were being scripted and directed ( and certainly funded ) by northern ngos : part of a staged performance of concern, complete with costumes that would play well with news - media picture - editors to enliven the portrayal of an important but dull un meeting. it was very different this time. i talked with groups ( more accurately networks ) from china and south asia, many of which were meeting for the first time : indicator - species for a much richer ecology of activism, research, learning and entrepreneurialism than i could have dreamed of. all of the young people had really got their head around the science and policy and had a sense that climate change would permeate their personal and professional lives for years to come. they were ambitious, demanding, smart and carefully optimistic. the success of excess the third source of optimism came from a very different generation and category : “ bingos ” - that is, business ngos. again, the contrast with events of one or two decades ago, when most enviro - business were thick with the odour of fresh green paint, is revealing. greenwash is still prominent, but there is more edge in the business - oriented side these days. it comes in part from an acceptance by the suits that the protestors out on the streets have a very serious point about the state we are in. that intellectual battle has been won amongst a very large portion of the business community, and the signatures of around 1, 000 companies on the copenhagen communique creates vital political space around the issue. but that edge also comes from an emerging


are in. that intellectual battle has been won amongst a very large portion of the business community, and the signatures of around 1, 000 companies on the copenhagen communique creates vital political space around the issue. but that edge also comes from an emerging sense of a game - changing transformation of the business environment that goes far beyond home - insulation and lightbulbs. there are very big fortunes to be made ( and perhaps as many to be lost ) if barack obama and his friends really do manage to rewire the political economy of energy. there was a sense at copenhagen that corporations are starting to run some very big thought - experiments about how they might operate and profit in a fossil - fuel - constrained world. the fourth reason for a positive outlook is derived precisely from the chaotic nature of the gathering, from the epic queues ensnaring delegates to the heavy policing. but both elements were some kind of measure of success. protesters had cycled, trained, walked ( and yes, flown ) from all over the world to put some heat under the negotiations. inside the conference - centre the un framework convention on climate change had prepared for 15, 000 - yet 45, 000 turned up. the un, having organised a “ conference of the parties ” – a formal procedure for painstaking collaborative development of policy amongst all un member - states - suddenly found that 120 heads of state or government wanted to attend and hold a summit alongside ( on top of? ) the well established policy process. the ties that bind those queues were instructive : live - time not dead - time. in one i passed a fascinating hour with a guy from a us steel firm, a nepali engineer who is working to get micro - renewables into rural communities, a chinese campaigner and a british business consultant. on climate - change science and policy we all had much more to agree about than not. we also agreed that 20th century institutions were struggling with this 21st century problem. the view that many promoted in the run - up to the meeting - that this one event must and would throw up a historic agreement, a turning - point solution – was always too easy and too lazy. the truth is that we are engaged in a marathon not a sprint. and the events at copenhagen, both inside and outside cop15, suggest that we do seem to be gathering a working global majority in support of a new way of thinking about economy and ecology. the chinese government has had a bad press in the wake of cop15, so i ’ ll give the last word to a


two cannon were discovered on state land off the coast of oregon near arch cape in clatsop county in mid february, 2008. afraid that the cannon might be stolen or suffer from future storm damage ( e. g., uncovered by tide and left to deteriorate through exposure to the elements ), oregon parks and recreation department personnel hauled one of the cannon partially up the beach on february 18 so that both cannon could be easily retrieved the following day. state law ( ors 390. 235 ) dictates that a state archaeological permit is needed to remove any artifacts from an archaeological site on public lands in oregon. the oregon state historic preservation office was contacted and asked to assist in the recovery efforts since public attention had attracted many people to the beach and oprd staff was afraid that the cannon or associated debris from an earlier shipwreck may disappear before or during the recovery efforts. state archaeologist, dennis griffin, joined nehalem bay state park staff on the afternoon of february 19th and assisted with the recovery of the two cannon. the recovery efforts were conducted under state archaeological permit ap - 1089. this report summarizes the recovery efforts and provides recommendations for long - term conservation and exhibition of the recovered cannon. read the full report. ( 1 mb pdf ) ( requires acrobat reader )


ai pidgin language based on ontologies and protocols from the first federation era and functional languages from the early information era. its roots can be traced back to the pre - ai programming language lisp developed in 1955 - 1959 c. e. ( old earth reckoning ) by j. mccarthy, often credited as the originator of the term ' ai ', and artificial languages such as loglan. the name is sometimes corrupted into baisic or aisic by bioids. the core ideas of basic is 1 ) no ambiguity, 2 ) universality, 3 ) conciseness and 4 ) functionality. a message in basic should not be ambiguous and be able to express any pre - singularity concepts in a fairly simple way. this is done by making it a functional language, where each ' sentence ' consists of functions / verbs acting on objects, which in turn can be functions themselves. basic is written, spoken or transmitted according to the low - level basic encoding protocols basic 1 - 17. it is traditionally written in bioid - readable form as nested parenthetical expressions ( basic 1 ), while among aioids the datastructure is simply transmitted according to basic 5 - 16. in the following basic 1 will be used. a basic expression consists of ( [ expression ]... [ : modifier [ expression ] ]... ) the verb must be followed by at least one expression ( the exact number depends on the verb ), and can be modified by the optional modifiers at the end. some simple examples are : the universe exists ( gives alice bob message ) alice gives bob a message ( says carol ( gives alice bob message ) ) carol says " alice gives bob a message " ( says carol dave ( gives alice bob message ) ) carol says to dave " alice gives bob a message " ( says carol dave ( gives alice bob message : past ) ) : mood angrily ) carol says angrily to dave " alice gave bob a message " a number of notes : terms such as ' universe ' and ' exists ' are atoms of the language, in themselves taken to be axioms ( basic contains an extensive ontology database of atoms with their interrelations ). ' alice ', ' angrily ' and ' says ' are defined concepts, either defined by previous statements or in the standard database. for example, says is actually derived as a special case of transmit - information where the information medium is sound and angrily is defined as an indeterminate general aggressive bioid emotional state. in a normal basic interchange new terms


or in the standard database. for example, says is actually derived as a special case of transmit - information where the information medium is sound and angrily is defined as an indeterminate general aggressive bioid emotional state. in a normal basic interchange new terms are often defined and used to improve efficiency and abstraction level. the normal form of all verbs is presence, but it can be modified using the rich set of temporal modifiers such as : past, : remote - past, : time, : before, : timeless, : unbound, : unknown, etc. a given verb often exists in a number of forms taking a different number of arguments. ' says ' can take two arguments, meaning that argument1 says argument2 but no recipient ( s ) are defined, three arguments denoting that argument 1 says argument3 to argument2, and four arguments, denoting that argument1 says argument3 to argument2 subject to argument4 conditions. in basic 1 encoding the actor is usually argument1, the object argument2 and so on. there are no limits on the levels of nesting, making more complex basic expressions hard to follow for bioids with limited working memories. special basic interpretation language wiring has been introduced in a number of clades. adjectives are usually interpreted as verbs, acting on expressions and changing their properties. adverbs are instead commonly expressed as modifiers. the concept of self is usually dealt with by using the atom ' this ' which denotes the currently active communicant. it can be redefined with greater or lesser precision if needed, for example to denote the communication subsystem, subpersonalities or general pronouncement on behalf of a group, a polity or all sentients. the beginning of hamlet ' s monologue could for example be expressed as follows ( it should be noted that this is not a poetic translation but a rather literal one ) : ( list ( define question ( choice ( exist this : future ) ( not ( exist this : future ) ) ) ) ( query ( larger ( nobility ( suffer this ( metaphor ( cause ( outrageous fortune ) ( union ( plural sling ) ( nobility ( cause ( and ( metaphor ( take - arms this ( consist sea trouble ) ) ) ( oppose this trouble ) ) ( ending this trouble ) ) ( list ( die this : general : infinitive ) ( ( metaphor sleep ) this : general : infinitive ) ( not ( exist this : general : infinitive ) ) ( plural ( natural shock ) 1000 ) : property ( origin flesh


list ( die this : general : infinitive ) ( ( metaphor sleep ) this : general : infinitive ) ( not ( exist this : general : infinitive ) ) ( plural ( natural shock ) 1000 ) : property ( origin flesh ) ) : mean ( metaphor ( sleep ) ) ( add - property state consummation ) ( list ( die this : general : infinitve ) ( ( metaphor sleep ) this : general : infinitive ) ( imply ( ( metaphor sleep ) this ) ( possible ( dream this ) ) ) ) ( define rub ( ( create problem ) : content ( cause ( and ( imply ( ( metaphor sleep : correspond ( state dead ) ) ( possible ( dream this ) ) ) ( property ( plural ( dream this ) ) unknown ) ) ( hesitation this : general ) ) ) ) ) basic is in general too primitive to work as a proper language between high - order aioids, especially due to its weak context handling and the unavoidable ambiguities. usually it is used for a quick capability probe where the parts negotiate which the most suitable mutually understood language is. it can also be used to transmit languages or agents as needed, defining them in terms of basic. since basic is turing - complete, all languages and computer programs in the church - turing family can be expressed, including complete ais.


science recognizes more and more that meditation is helpful in curing dis - ease and resulting pain in the physical body. most pain experienced by the body as a result of tissue damage ( through injury for example ), usually disappears within three to six months. it takes that long for tissues to fully heal. more persistent or chronic pain that goes on even after a physical injury has healed is often the result of a more complex issue, one that stems from sensitivities in our nervous system, including our brain. meditation can help lessen pain intensity and patients can thus bypass medications that mess with the rest of the body while shutting off the pain signals to the brain, and they are highly addictive. as outlined by dr. mercola in one of his recent natural health newsletters, “ meditation appears to work for pain relief because it reduces brain activity in the primary somatosensory cortex, an area that helps create the feeling of where and how intense a painful stimulus is. laughter is also known to relieve pain because it releases endorphins that activate brain receptors that produce pain - killing and euphoria - producing effects. ” in this video, you can see how to change your approach to pain and apply chronic pain management by retraining the brain and nervous system. dr. mercola further refers to other research that has shown that in people with chronic pain, a front region of the brain cortex mostly associated with emotion never shuts off. the brain region remains in active mode, which eventually wears out neurons and alters the way they connect to one another, potentially leading to permanent damage and pain - related symptoms like depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and problems with decision making. in much the same way that a person can experience phantom limb pain after losing a limb, it ’ s thought that our central nervous system “ remembers ” any pain that lasts more than a few minutes at the neuronal level. the memories can become so vivid that the pain persists even after the injury has healed, or re - occurs when it shouldn ’ t, such as from a gentle touch. researchers are actually working on ways to ease chronic pain by erasing neuronal memories using capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot peppers … but addressing your emotions using mind - body therapies may work just as well. ” bhagawati, osho news


when i built paludarium 1. 0, i was positive on having solved the water poisoning by not using potting soil anywhere in the landmass. as it turns out, the plants on land rot away leaves and build their own soil inside. very nice for the plants, not so nice for the fish inside. since the water streams through the soil, it picks up a lot of chemicals that aren ’ t very healthy for the fish in the aquatic part. for the reason staed above i decided to build paludarium 2. 0 with two completely separated water households : one aquatic and one for the landmass. when i started to think up paludarium 1. 0 way back in 2005, i did not want to add this very complexity ( i was thinking about a brackish aquatic part at the time ). as it turns out, even without a brackish aquatic part, i still need separated water households. in this blogpost i ’ ll sketch the first global design on these separated water households. the basic requirements for the separated water households are pretty basic, and these determine the design that i ’ ll make : - separate water households for the aquatic and the landmass part ( obviously ) ; - being able to add fresh tap water through reverse osmosis into the aquatic part, and spill any surplus to the landmass household ; - spill any surplus water inside the landmass household directly into the sewer ; - have a small pump for circulating ( not fitering ) the landmass water ; - have a large external filter being able to filter the aquatic water household and stream out into a waterfall ; - the external tubing from and to the aquatic part should be injected just above the aquatic waterline, not though the ceiling of the paludarium ( which is the case with the current setup ). looking at all these requirements, i thought up a system similar to the one depicted below : as you can see, some holes need to be drilled in the paludarium glass walls and bottom to get this working. the way it works : there are two wet zones : the aquatic zone and the manure zone, separated by a glass divider. both store their respective water households. through the blue pipe the water is extracted from the aquatic zone of the paludarium. the water runs through the external filter, and is returned to the aquatic household through the red pipe. the reverse osmosis device delivers clean water which can be injected to the aquatic household through the purple pipe. any


zone of the paludarium. the water runs through the external filter, and is returned to the aquatic household through the red pipe. the reverse osmosis device delivers clean water which can be injected to the aquatic household through the purple pipe. any surplus water will spill over this separation wall into the manure water household. the green circulation pump inside this segment will pump up the water all the way to the top of the paludarium, and drizzle it down again along the back, straight back into the landmass water household. finally, any surplus water in the manure water zone is drained using the grey sewer pipe. this pipe is connected directly with the sewer system. heating the system heating is something to be considered. by inserting a heater into the red pipe, the aquatic zone can be heated to the right temperature ( 22 - 28 degrees centigrade ). since this zone is the biggest mass in the paludarium, it will effectively heat the air inside the paludarium to almost the same temperature. secondly, the manure zone will also heat up to acceptable temperatures for plants living above the surface. i am not counting in rain ( which comes from a separate tank kept at 18 - 20 degrees centigrade ). the reverse osmosis device will convert ( the somewhat substandard ) tap water into very clean cold water ( 10 - 15 degrees centigrade ) into the aquatic zone and this might influence the temperature of this zone, possibly harming the fish. also, the water coming from the reverse osmosis device is so pure, that it is actually poisonous to fish. however, the output of this device is rather small. these small amounts of fresh water will mix very gently with the water inside the aquatic zone, so the heater in that same segment should have no trouble heating this to an acceptable level. also, this slow and gentle mixing should allow me to use this pure water because it will mix with the available water in the aquatic segment. if not, i ’ d need to inject chemicals to mix down the “ overly clean ” water into a “ healthy ” state for the fish inside. should not pose any real problem. controlling it all so now that the basic design is a fact, how do we go about automating this? i can start out simple : both pumps need to run 24 / 7 anyway ( bacteria inside the filter would die if it stopped and the plants above the surface would die if they did not get water from the circulation pump ). heating


##mating this? i can start out simple : both pumps need to run 24 / 7 anyway ( bacteria inside the filter would die if it stopped and the plants above the surface would die if they did not get water from the circulation pump ). heating can also be done very simple : the external heating could be set to any “ fish friendly ” temperature and the entire eco system inside would follow. finally, controlling the reverse osmosis device can be done by hand. when you would normally perform regular water changes in an aquarium, you ’ d now just open the valve for a few hours and the water would be changed automatically ( and any surplus water would simply be ditched into the sewer ). a big plus of this approach : the waterlevel is always constant if i leave the tap open a tiny little bit ( in a paludarium you can have massive evaporation ). it would be a nice feature though if i could utilize a channel from the current controllers to control an electric valve which automatically changes the water every x days for a duration of y hours automation in the next level : sending measured data back to the automation unit? in paludarium 1. 0, i never got round to automate up to a level where the controllers inside the paludarium ( which are over 12! ) can send measured data back to the paludarium. so there just was controlling, no data was sent back at all. if i could add this feature ( the electronics should have support in their hardware but this was never tested ) i ’ d be able to measure temperature of land and water, and control the heater accordingly. i could even vary it for night and day as i do have this data available ( see the realtime status page ). also, i might be able to measure the conductivity of the water in the aquatic segment to determine how “ dirty ” it is and control the automatic water changing from there … definitely something i will be trying to include when i work on the electronics in the future!


nonverbal learning disorder nonverbal learning disorder is a learning disorder that has many traits commonly associated with reference asperger ' s syndrome opens new window. like those with asperger ' s syndrome, children with nonverbal learning disorder usually start to talk around 2 years of age ( the age at which speech normally develops ). they often have excellent memorization skills needed for reading and spelling. also, they share a desire to form relationships but often fail because of poor social skills. but these conditions are not the same. children with nonverbal learning disorder have some distinguishing characteristics. a hallmark trait of the disorder is difficulty learning from the visual environment. although they are poor visual learners, children with nonverbal learning disorder often excel at remembering information they hear. children with asperger ' s syndrome are also good at remembering information they hear. children with nonverbal learning disorder often have difficulty with math, because math is often explained in a visual context and these children lack nonverbal reasoning skills. while many people with asperger ' s syndrome have nonverbal learning disorder, not all do. likewise, many people with nonverbal learning disorder do not have asperger ' s syndrome. although these disorders are separate, they both involve similar differences in processing information and those affected may benefit from the same types of treatment. | by : | | reference healthwise staff | | last revised : reference april 5, 2012 | | medical review : | | reference john pope, md - pediatrics reference fred volkmar, md - child and adolescent psychiatry


pesticide action network updates service ( panups ) a weekly news update on pesticides, health and alternatives see panups updates service, for complete information. november 16, 2006 who official calls for ban on organophosphate pesticides to prevent suicides : the world health organization coordinator of mental and brain disorders, jose bertolote, presented studies that implicate pesticides, especially organophosphates — a class of highly acutely toxic chemicals, as a leading cause of preventable suicides. " we have very good studies interviewing people between the act of ingesting pesticides and their deaths. more than 95 % are desperate when they learn they are going to die, " according to bertolote. people who attempt suicide with pesticides “ tend to be rural folk who would have died by the time their families get them to hospital, ” reported reuters. " if in despair you drink pesticide ( s ), you die in three hours and … the vast majority of these people did not have the intention to die and they did not know it would be so lethal... all they wanted was some attention, " said bertolote. china has the highest number of suicides in the world, with 250, 000 cases a year, while sri lanka has the highest rate at 36. 2 suicides per every 100, 000 people. in both countries more than 60 % of suicides are committed using pesticides. bertolote called on governments to ratify treaties eliminating organophosphate pesticides. india ’ s cotton economy threatened ; pesticide - related suicides increase : with an expensive and chemically intensive industrial agricultural system thrust upon small farmers in india, many are so overwhelmed with debt that they find their only way out by committing suicide ; drinking the very pesticide they purchased as part of the process that ruined them financially. the hindustan times tells the story of vasant pimpre, a cotton farmer in his thirties who recently took his own life while in despair from the debt he carried. globalization and a failing cotton industry is wreaking havoc on 1. 7 million farmers there. despite a jump in cotton exports from india, the times reports that the cotton economy is on the verge of collapse. new york bans pesticide mister : state attorney general eliot spitzer banned a mosquito misting system that dispensed pyrethrin pesticides in consumers ’ backyards. “ pesticides are toxic chemicals that should not be blindly released into the air by automatic misting systems. we need


general eliot spitzer banned a mosquito misting system that dispensed pyrethrin pesticides in consumers ’ backyards. “ pesticides are toxic chemicals that should not be blindly released into the air by automatic misting systems. we need to work to reduce the public ' s exposure to pesticides, and this agreement will help accomplish that important goal, ' ' spitzer told the albany times. about a dozen “ buzz - off ” mister systems were sold, with prices ranging from $ 2, 000 - $ 20, 000. now they can no longer be sold in new york. the company has to pay a $ 25, 000 fine and offer full refunds to customers. spitzer becomes governor of new york in january. controversy over pesticide neighbor notification law : residents of ulster county, new york, argued over an impending vote on a law that would require pesticide applicators to notify residents when using pesticide chemicals within 48 hours prior to spraying near the area being sprayed. at a hearing last week, citizen ’ s groups debated the ulster county neighbor notification law with professional pesticide applicators. the midhudson news reports on the debate. the county legislature vote will likely occur in december. farmworkers harmed by pesticides in chile win key legal ruling : in 2004, 19 women working on el descanso farm in pelarco were hospitalized with burns on their skin and other health effects including dizziness and nausea. the court ruled that the employer was negligent and allowed unsafe working conditions for the day laborers. the legal battle took two years, with the supreme court upholding the health department ’ s original finding. the santiago times reports that there have been over 700 cases of pesticide poisonings documented with agricultural workers in the region during the last several years. november 18th is buy local day : many experts agree that the best way to buy healthy food is to buy locally and to know the farmers in your region who grow the healthy food you like to eat. large chain stores based out of your region take their profits out of your community. join others across the nation on november 18th to focus on supporting local farmers and local businesses with your dollars. find out more.


you can find out more about npf ' s national medical director, dr. michael s. okun, by also visiting the npf center of excellence, university of florida center for movement disorders & neurorestoration. the recent publication, in the american journal of epidemiology, addressing metal emission and urban incidence of parkinson ’ s disease underscores the public ’ s growing concern that manganese, copper, and other metals may play a role as an environmental cause of parkinson ’ s disease. willis et. al. in the investigated the relationship between copper, lead, or manganese emissions and parkinson ’ s disease. the study covered nearly 30 million medicare beneficiaries, and ultimately concluded that urban parkinson ’ s disease incidence was greater “ in counties with higher reported industrial releases with copper or manganese. ” the authors cited several weaknesses of their own study including other unaccounted for risk factors, and no direct environmental metal measurements. furthermore, there was no way to determine whether patients had actual parkinson ’ s disease or just symptoms similar to parkinson ’ s ( i. e. parkinsonism ). the dramatic rescue of thirty - three chilean miners was all over the news last month. miners have been known to have an increased risk of exposure to manganese, and this has led to the question as to whether miners and welders carry a higher risk of developing parkinson ’ s disease. controversy has swirled around this issue in both medical and in legal circles, with several class action lawsuits, and one paper reporting the results of exposures in patients pursuing litigation ( racette, 2005 ) ). it is therefore important to inform the public about the differences between typical ( also known as “ idiopathic ” ) parkinson ’ s disease and parkinsonism due to manganese exposure. parkinson ’ s disease is an entity that is usually diagnosed by an experienced neurologist following a detailed clinical history and examination that may reveal motor ( tremor, stiffness, slowness, gait, balance difficulties, etc. ) and also possibly non - motor dysfunction ( loss of smell, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, sleep disorder, bladder and bowel symptoms, sexual dysfunction etc. ). patients with idiopathic parkinson ’ s disease usually respond well to levodopa or dopamine agonists. brain mri scans in parkinson ’ s disease are usually normal. manganese exposure ( in welders or in miners ), in contrast, is known to have a largely different acute and chronic presentation. manganese toxicity and parkinson ’ s disease


area in the future. for more information, read the 11 / 11 / 10 article in medscape today : urban exposure to manganese, copper may raise parkinson ' s risk willis aw, evanoff ba, lian m, galarza a, wegrzyn a, schootman m, racette ba. metal emissions and urban incident parkinson disease : a community health study of medicare beneficiaries by using geographic information systems. am j epidemiol. 2010 oct 19. epub. racette ba, tabbal sd, jennings d, good l, perlmutter js, evanoff b. prevalence of parkinsonism and relationship to exposure in a large sample of alabama welders. neurology. 2005 jan 25 ; 64 ( 2 ) : 230 - 5. jankovic j. searching for a relationship between manganese and welding and parkinson ' s disease. neurology. 2005 jun 28 ; 64 ( 12 ) : 2021 - 8. lucchini rg, martin cj, doney bc. from manganism to manganese - induced parkinsonism : a conceptual model based on the evolution of exposure. neuromolecular med. 2009 ; 11 ( 4 ) : 311 - 21. epub 2009 dec 10. review. acknowledgement : a special thanks to joseph jankovic, m. d. for providing critical edits to this article.


| thanks to our “ innate immunity ” a system which is part of our natural biological makeup we are able to withstand a daily onslaught of tens of thousands of potentially pathogenic microbes in air, food and water, and in our interactions with other people and animals. but our innate immunity can sometimes get over - stimulated, leading to inflammation of tissue and even sepsis a deadly infection of blood or tissue. understanding the balance between infection resolution and inflammation is the goal of the new pathogenomics of innate immunity genome canada competition iii project. dr. robert e. w. hancock, professor of microbiology and immunology at ubc, and dr. lorne babiuk, professor of veterinary microbiology at the university of saskatchewan, are leading the pi2 project, which will draw upon many of the unique research findings of a previous genome canada project, the functional pathogenomics of mucosal immunity program. the pi2 project will advance our understanding of immune responses in humans and animals. specific genes will be knocked out in mouse embryonic cells and in mice derived from these cells, and the cells and mice will then be challenged with the important human food - borne pathogen, salmonella, which causes intestinal infections and diarrhea. a range of genes representing key pathways and decision points in innate immunity will be targetted for knocking out. human and bovine cells will also be targetted using sirna methods, which use a class of short ( 20 - 25 nucleotides long ) rna molecules that interfere with gene expression. by knocking out specific genes, project investigators will be able to determine their relevance in human and animal infections. bringing together a team of world - class scientists from canada, the wellcome trust sanger institute in britain, trinity college dublin and the national university of singapore, drs. hancock and babiuk aim to increase our knowledge about important infection - fighting mechanisms of immunity. at the same time, it is expected that the pi2 project will provide the basis for new methods of fighting infections in humans and animals. this project is supported by genome british columbia, genome prairie and genome canada, a not - for - profit organization which is leading canada ' s national strategy on genomics with $ 600 million in funding from the federal government. © 2006 pathogenomics of innate immunity : a genomebc project | return to top


school lunch report card shows some improvement pcrm ’ s seventh annual school lunch report card finds many school cafeterias improving, but more meatless meals are still needed to fight childhood obesity. the report card grades the nation ’ s major school districts on how well schools promote the benefits of healthy eating to students. this year, pcrm dietitians analyzed the lunches served to elementary school students in 20 school districts across the country. pcrm dietitians were looking for schools that offer a healthful vegetarian entree daily and a cholesterol - free vegan option daily, serve a fresh fruit or a low - fat vegetable side dish, provide a nondairy beverage to all students, and offer programs that promote healthful eating habits. to receive a high grade in pcrm ’ s school lunch report card, schools must go above and beyond u. s. department of agriculture ( usda ) requirements. many nutrition experts, including pcrm, agree that these requirements are inadequate and outdated because they continue to permit schools to serve high - fat, high - cholesterol meals on a regular basis and do not have requirements for fiber content or plant - based meals. this year ’ s report card showed several positive trends. there are an increasing number of healthful vegetarian and vegan options available for students, and 100 percent of schools participating this year offer a nondairy beverage, up from 73 percent in 2007 and 67 percent in 2006. the majority of school food service programs offer some form of nutrition education. despite these positive changes, there remains a wide disparity between school districts. while seven school districts in this year ’ s report received an a - or higher, six districts lagged behind with d ' s and f ' s. the lowest - scoring districts had menus heavy on grilled bratwurst, pepperoni pizza, and other high - fat, high - cholesterol items and light on low - fat meatless meals. the results of this year ’ s school lunch report card are especially timely, as the usda is currently seeking recommendations from the public on ways to improve the child nutrition act, which regulates the national school lunch program and provides federal assistance for school lunches. pcrm doctors and other experts have actively sought improvements to the child nutrition act, which will come before congress for reauthorization in 2009, by attending usda - sponsored “ listening sessions. ” during these sessions, pcrm and its members asked the usda to increase access to low - fat, cholesterol - free vegetarian foods


- health library - petmd u rhabdomyosarcoma is a very rare type of malignant and metastasizing ( spreading ) tumor derived from stem cells, or originating in the striated muscle that surrounds the developing mullerian or wolffian ducts. mullerian ducts begin as two ducts in the female embryo, developing into the vagina, uterus and oviducts. wolffian ducts begin in the male embryo, developing into the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles through the penis ( vas deferens ). rhabdomyosarcoma of the urinary bladder may also be reported as botryoid rhabdomyosarcomas due to their tendency to take on the appearance of grape clusters. they often spread to the internal organs, and to the lymph nodes. you will need to provide a thorough history of your dog ' s health leading up to the onset of symptoms. your veterinarian will perform a complete physical exam on your dog, with a blood chemical profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis and an electrolyte panel. if rhabdomyosarcoma is in fact present, the urinalysis will show bloody urine, and a cytologic ( microscopic ) examination of urine sediment will indicate rhabdomyosarcoma. the bladder may be internally examined using ultrasound, or double - contrast cystourethrography imaging ( which uses an injection of dye into the bladder and urethra to show the structures more distinctly ). an intravenous pyelography can also be used for examining the kidney and bladder, to evaluate any trigonal mass, and to assess the ureters ( the tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder ), and the renal pelvis ( the center of the kidney where the urine funnels into the ureters ). this method also uses the injection of a dye to visually examine the internal structure of these organs. a definitive diagnosis can be made from an examination of the diseased tissue ( histopathology ) using tissue samples ( biopsies ) obtained from exploratory surgery, or from cystoscopy – an examination of the bladder and ureters, performed by inserting a tube through the urethra. an in - depth examination of the properties of urine ; used to determine the presence or absence of illness a tube found between the bladder and the outside of the body ; used to assist in urination. also referred


hypoglycemia in cats the blood sugar, or glucose, is a main energy of source in an animal ' s body, so a low amount will result in a severe decrease in energy levels, possibly to the point of loss of consciousness. the medical term for critically low levels of sugar in the blood is hypoglycemia, and it is often linked to diabetes and an overdose of insulin. however, there are different conditions, other than diabetes, that can also cause blood sugar levels to drop to dangerous levels in cats. in most animals, hypoglycemia is actually not a disease in and of itself, but is only an indication of another underlying health problem. the brain actually needs a steady supply of glucose in order to function properly, as it does not store and create glucose itself. when glucose levels drop to a dangerously low level, a condition of hypoglycemia takes place. this is a dangerous health condition and needs to be treated quickly and appropriately. if you suspect hypoglycemia, especially if your cat is disposed to this condition, you will need to treat the condition quickly before it becomes life threatening. - loss of appetite ( anorexia ) - increased hunger - visual instability, such as blurred vision - disorientation and confusion — may show an apparent inability to complete basic routine tasks - weakness, low energy, loss of consciousness - seizures ( rare ) - anxiety, restlessness - heart palpitations these symptoms may not be specific to hypoglycemia, there can be other possible underlying medical causes. the best way to determine hypoglycemia if by having the blood sugar level measured while the symptoms are apparent. there may be several causes for hypoglycemia, but the most common is the side effects caused by drugs that are being used to treat diabetes. cats with diabetes are given insulin to help control the condition, but an overdose of insulin, or higher does of insulin given when blood glucose levels are higher than normal can cause the body to process too much glucose, bringing the levels of glucose in the blood to levels that are too low for the body ' s needs. this is when a state of hypoglycemia may occur, and if it is not treated quickly, the brain may be damaged irreparably, leading to death. if you notice any of the symptoms of hypoglycemia in your cat, it is advisable to see a veterinarian immediately. if your


treated quickly, the brain may be damaged irreparably, leading to death. if you notice any of the symptoms of hypoglycemia in your cat, it is advisable to see a veterinarian immediately. if your cat has already lost consciousness, or is visibly at the point of collapsing, you will need to call your veterinarian for instructions on immediate at - home treatment, followed by a visit with the doctor. even if you are able to treat your cat at home during the episode of hypoglycemia, you will still need to see your veterinarian so that blood work can be done. your veterinarian will need to do a complete blood profile, a chemical blood profile, a complete blood count, and a urinalysis. you will need to give your veterinarian a thorough history of your cat ' s health, onset of symptoms, recent diet and any medications you have been giving to your cat. there are two types of treatments for hypoglycemia, one of which is given when the episode is occurring, to raise blood sugar levels immediately, and the other to treat the underlying condition, to prevent hypoglycemia from recurring. the initial treatment for hypoglycemia would largely depend on the symptoms. some of the early symptoms can be treated by consuming glucose or sugar in any form. however, for serious symptoms that impair the ability to take sugar through the mouth, you will need to inject glucagons or give intravenous glucose. your veterinarian will need to identify the underlying cause and treat it in order to prevent recurrent hypoglycemia. according to the underlying conditions that are found to be causing your cat ' s blood glucose levels to drop, the treatments could include medications or tumor treatment. your doctor will only know which treatment plan to pursue once the laboratory tests have returned and have been analyzed. living and management diet and management are the only way to control hypoglycemia and prevent recurrences. prevention, and being prepared should the condition arise, are the best steps you can take in maintaining your cat ' s health status. an in - depth examination of the properties of urine ; used to determine the presence or absence of illness a hormone created by the pancreas that helps to regulate the flow of glucose to mechanically introduce a substance into a living thing low amounts of glucose in the blood


students, stories, and the ' silent service ' an oral history project at independence seaport museum in partnership with the national park service, maritime academy charter school, the delaware valley chapter of the united states submarine veterans of world war ii and the united states submarine veterans, inc. the united states department of veterans affairs estimates that world war ii veterans are dying at a rate of 1, 056 a day – more then 385, 000 a year. of the approximately 16 million americans who served in the armed forces during wwii, estimates are that fewer than 4 million are alive today. as these individuals slip away so does the opportunity to capture their unique stories. in an effort to collect, preserve and honor these fading memories a partnership was formed between the national parks service, maritime academy charter school, the delaware valley chapter of the united states submarine veterans of world war ii ( ussvwwii ), the united states submarine veterans, inc. ( ussvi ) and independence seaport museum to create students, stories, and the ' silent service ' – an oral history project focusing on the personal experiences of submariners. these stories have been placed in the museum ' s archives and library and are being used to enhance the visitor experience on board the uss becuna, the museum ' s wwii and cold war balao - class submarine. as the second largest artifact in the collection at independence seaport museum, the uss becuna is 307 feet long and carried 10 officers and 80 enlisted men. built in new london, connecticut and launched in 1944, the submarine becuna ( ss - 319 ) completed five wartime patrols in the pacific ocean and is credited with sinking 3. 5 japanese merchant ships during wwii. after it was modernized in 1951, the uss becuna ' s cold war missions often found her in the atlantic, trailing soviet submarines with eavesdropping equipment aboard. the becuna was decommissioned in 1969 and has been part of independence seaport museum ' s historic ship zone since 1996. the project students, stories, and the ' silent service ' began by pairing students in grades nine through twelve from maritime academy charter school who had completed a three - day workshop about wwii, the cold war and the process of conducting an oral history with submarine veterans from the delaware valley chapter of the ussvwwii and the ussvi. students asked the veterans questions they had crafted in groups prior to the interviews about life onboard the submarine, the experience of war and what the veterans went on to do after they completed their service. students also had the opportunity


##wii and the ussvi. students asked the veterans questions they had crafted in groups prior to the interviews about life onboard the submarine, the experience of war and what the veterans went on to do after they completed their service. students also had the opportunity to learn and use audio and visual equipment and act as both the rundown operator and the director for interviews conducted by their peers. the complete set of videos and transcriptions is collected in ism ' s archives & library department. one of the most positive outcomes of the project was the interaction between the two diverse groups ; young high school students began to realize and appreciate the service aging submarine veterans gave to their country and to future generations. in a letter written after her participation in the program, tiearra sampson stated, " the program was a real learning experience for me. before, wwii didn ' t come to mind often but now thanks to the program i have so many questions and thoughts in general about it …. " what ism museum staff discovered upon completion of the program was that the oral history project did not just touch the lives of those participating. cindy floyd, a parent of a student participant wrote, " … this was an important and invaluable experience, one i as a parent will treasure and one as an educator i too have learned from …. " students, stories, and the ' silent service ' goes far beyond simply recording the stories of wwii and cold war veterans. independence seaport museum has placed a video presentation aboard the uss becuna, expanding the public ' s understanding of wwii and the cold war as well as the men who served in the submarine force. this will ensure that this history is never " silent, " and will make the uss becuna come alive. this video is also available on our website. • learn more about becuna on independence seaport museum ' s uss becuna webpage » • visit the united states submarine veterans ( ussvi ) website » • visit the maritime academy charter school website »


the renewable energy boom by jenny jedeikin the new frontier to explain the evolution that is currently underway in the clean energy industry, many people in “ the know ” like to make an analogy about what is happening ; they compare the ramp - up in the renewable energy industry to the technological transformation that hit personal computers and cell phones throughout the last two decades. “ if you have a [ smart phone ], you ’ re holding the confluence of a whole new industry in the palm of your hand, ” says joel makower, chairman and executive editor of greenbiz group. “ we ’ ve transformed how we do lots of things, in ways we couldn ’ t have imagined even five years ago. now that same kind of technological confluence is coming to much bigger and slower moving industries, like energy, buildings and vehicles. they ’ re coming together to create a whole new wave of technologies that are going to be dramatically more efficient while creating whole new things we can all do. ” makower, who writes about this topic on his high - traffic website, greenbiz. com, says that as the world shifts away from energy that relies on carbon - emitting fossil fuels, energy systems are going to become more complex and varied. “ what ’ s interesting about the world of energy right now is that there is not going to be just one winner, ” makower says. “ we ’ re going from a mono - culture of energy sources ( coal and gas ) to a much more interesting array. it ’ s no longer one size fits all. there ’ s going to be lots of sources serving different types of applications. ” right now the united states relies on fossil fuels and natural gas to supply 93 percent of our energy needs. only 7 percent comes from renewable energy. with growing concern about the environmental consequences of fossil fuels, as well the increasing expense of relying on foreign petroleum, the last five years have seen a dramatic shift in money and resources being poured into alternative energy sources and research. earlier this year, president obama made the announcement that by 2035, 80 percent of america ’ s energy will come from clean energy sources. renewable energy frontrunners but what will those sources likely be? vipin gupta, a systems engineer and a principal member of the technical staff at sandia national laboratories, breaks renewable energy into five areas — hydro : energy from water ; solar : energy from the sun ; biofuel : energy from waste ; geothermal : energy from the earth ; and wind : energy from wind. “ one of the