viewpoints held by the communist left, which criticizes the political ideas of the bolsheviks at certain periods, from a position that is asserted to be more authentically marxist and proletarian than the views of leninism held by the communist international after its first and during its second congress. left communists see themselves to the left of leninists ( whom they tend to see as ' left of capital ', not socialists ), anarchist communists ( some of whom they consider internationalist socialists ) as well as some other revolutionary socialist tendencies ( for example de leonists, who they tend to see as being internationalist socialists only in limited instances ). although she died before left communism became a distinct tendency, rosa luxemburg has heavily influenced most left communists, both politically and theoretically. proponents of left communism have included amadeo bordiga, herman gorter, anton pannekoek, otto ruhle, karl korsch, sylvia pankhurst and paul mattick. the situationist international was a restricted group of international revolutionaries founded in 1957, and which had its peak in its influence on the unprecedented general wildcat strikes of may 1968 in france. with their ideas rooted in marxism and the 20th century european artistic avant - gardes, they advocated experiences of life being alternative to those admitted by the capitalist order, for the fulfillment of human primitive desires and the pursuing of a superior passional quality. for this purpose they suggested and experimented with the construction of situations, namely the setting up of environments favorable for the fulfillment of such desires. using methods drawn from the arts, they developed a series of experimental fields of study for the construction of such situations, like unitary urbanism and psychogeography. they fought against the main obstacle on the fulfillment of such superior passional living, identified by them in advanced capitalism. their theoretical work peaked on the highly influential book the society of the spectacle by guy debord. debord argued in 1967 that spectacular features like mass media and advertising have a central role in an advanced capitalist society, which is to show a fake reality in order to mask the real capitalist degradation of human life. to overthrow such a system, the situationist international supported the may 1968 revolts, and asked the workers to occupy the factories and to run them with direct democracy, through workers ' councils composed by instantly revocable delegates. autonomism refers to a set of left - wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. as an identifiable theoretical system it first emerged in italy in the 1960s from workerist ( opera


councils composed by instantly revocable delegates. autonomism refers to a set of left - wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. as an identifiable theoretical system it first emerged in italy in the 1960s from workerist ( operaismo ) communism. later, post - marxist and anarchist tendencies became significant after influence from the situationists, the failure of italian far - left movements in the 1970s, and the emergence of a number of important theorists including antonio negri, who had contributed to the 1969 founding of potere operaio, mario tronti, paolo virno, etc. through translations made available by danilo montaldi and others, the italian autonomists drew upon previous activist research in the united states by the johnson - forest tendency and in france by the group socialisme ou barbarie. it influenced the german and dutch autonomen, the worldwide social centre movement, and today is influential in italy, france, and to a lesser extent the english - speaking countries. those who describe themselves as autonomists now vary from marxists to post - structuralists and anarchists. the autonomist marxist and autonomen movements provided inspiration to some on the revolutionary left in english speaking countries, particularly among anarchists, many of whom have adopted autonomist tactics. some english - speaking anarchists even describe themselves as autonomists. the italian operaismo movement also influenced marxist academics such as harry cleaver, john holloway, steve wright, and nick dyer - witheford. anarchist communism ( also known as libertarian communism ) is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, private property, and capitalism in favour of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of voluntary associations and workers ' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle : " from each according to his ability, to each according to his need ". anarcho - communism differs from marxism rejecting its view about the need for a state socialism phase before building communism. the main anarcho - communist theorist peter kropotkin argued " that a revolutionary society should “ transform itself immediately into a communist society, ”, that is, should go immediately into what marx had regarded as the “ more advanced, ” completed, phase of communism. " in this way it tries to avoid the reappearence of " class divisions and the need for a state to oversee everything ". some forms of anarchist communism such as insurrectionary anarchism are egoist


” completed, phase of communism. " in this way it tries to avoid the reappearence of " class divisions and the need for a state to oversee everything ". some forms of anarchist communism such as insurrectionary anarchism are egoist and strongly influenced by radical individualism, believing that anarchist communism does not require a communitarian nature at all. most anarcho - communists view anarcho - communism as a way of reconciling the opposition between the individual and society to date in human history, the best known examples of an anarchist communist society, established around the ideas as they exist today, that received worldwide attention and knowledge in the historical canon, are the anarchist territories during the spanish revolution and the free territory during the russian revolution. through the efforts and influence of the spanish anarchists during the spanish revolution within the spanish civil war, starting in 1936 anarchist communism existed in most of aragon, parts of the levante and andalusia, as well as in the stronghold of anarchist catalonia before being brutally crushed by the combined forces of the authoritarian regime that won the war, hitler, mussolini, spanish communist party repression ( backed by the ussr ) as well as economic and armaments blockades from the capitalist countries and the spanish republic itself. during the russian revolution, anarchists such as nestor makhno worked to create and defend — through the revolutionary insurrectionary army of ukraine — anarchist communism in the free territory of the ukraine from 1919 before being conquered by the bolsheviks in 1921. christian communism is a form of religious communism centred on christianity. it is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of jesus christ urge christians to support communism as the ideal social system. christian communists trace the origins of their practice to teachings in the new testament, such as the acts of the apostles at chapter 2 and verses 42, 44 and 45 : 42 and they continued steadfastly in the apostles ' doctrine and in fellowship... 44 and all that believed were together, and had all things in common ; 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. christian communism can be seen as a radical form of christian socialism. also, because many christian communists have formed independent stateless communes in the past, there is a link between christian communism and christian anarchism. christian communists may not agree with various parts of marxism, but they share some of the political goals of marxists, for example replacing capitalism with socialism, which should in turn be followed by communism at a later


between christian communism and christian anarchism. christian communists may not agree with various parts of marxism, but they share some of the political goals of marxists, for example replacing capitalism with socialism, which should in turn be followed by communism at a later point in the future. however, christian communists sometimes disagree with marxists ( and particularly with leninists ) on the way a socialist or communist society should be organized. some people have criticised socialism and by extension communism, stating that the two systems have distorted or absent price signals, slow or stagnant technological advance, reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity, as well as on the grounds of its feasibility and its social and political effects. part of this criticism extends to the policies adopted by one - party states ruled by communist parties ( known as " communist states " ). some scholars are specially focused on their human rights records which are claimed to be responsible for famines, purges and warfare resulting in deaths far in excess of previous empires, capitalist or other regimes. the council of europe in resolution 1481 and international declarations such as the prague declaration on european conscience and communism and the declaration on crimes of communism have condemned some of the actions that resulted in these deaths as crimes. stephane courtois argues that communism is responsible for the murder of almost 100 million people in the 20th century, but two of the main black book ' s contributors, nicolas werth and jean - louis margolin, disagreed and publicly disassociated themselves from courtois ' s statements. - principals of communism, frederick engels, 1847, section 18. " finally, when all capital, all production, all exchange have been brought together in the hands of the nation, private property will disappear of its own accord, money will become superfluous, and production will so expand and man so change that society will be able to slough off whatever of its old economic habits may remain. " - the abc of communism, nikoli bukharin, 1920, section 20 - see for example, socialism : utopian or scientific by friedrich engels, chapter iii, paragraph iii : " the proletariat seizes the public power, and by means of this transforms the socialized means of production, slipping from the hands of the bourgeoisie, into public property. by this act, the proletariat frees the means of production from the character of capital they have thus far borne, and gives their socialized character complete freedom to work itself out. socialized production upon a predetermined plan becomes hence


this act, the proletariat frees the means of production from the character of capital they have thus far borne, and gives their socialized character complete freedom to work itself out. socialized production upon a predetermined plan becomes henceforth possible. the development of production makes the existence of different classes of society thenceforth an anachronism. in proportion as anarchy in social production vanishes, the political authority of the state dies out. man, at last the master of his own form of social organization, becomes at the same time the lord over nature, his own master — free. " or the abc of communism : " in a communist society there will be no classes. but if there will be no classes, this implies that in communist society there will likewise be no state. " - communism. collinsdictionary. com. collins english dictionary - complete & unabridged 11th edition. retrieved december 02, 2012. - critique of the gotha programme, karl marx. - full communism : the ultimate goal : http : / / www. economictheories. org / 2009 / 05 / full - communism - ultimate - goal. html archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - " communism ". britannica encyclopedia. - world book 2008, p. 890. - " critique of the gotha programme — iv ". critique of the gotha programme. retrieved 2009 - 10 - 18. - richard pipes communism : a history ( 2001 ) isbn 978 - 0 - 8129 - 6864 - 4, pages 3 – 5. - " historical background for spartacus ". vroma. org. archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 29. retrieved 2009 - 10 - 18. - the cambridge history of iran volume 3, the seleucid, parthian and sasanian period, edited by ehsan yarshater, parts 1 and 2, p1019, cambridge university press ( 1983 ) - lansford 2007, pp. 24 – 25 - " diggers ' manifesto ". archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 29. retrieved 2011 - 07 - 19. - " eduard bernstein : cromwell and communism ( 1895 ) ". - eduard bernstein, ( 1895 ). kommunistische und demokratisch - sozialistische stromungen wahrend der englischen revolution, j. h. w. dietz, stuttgart. oclc 36367345 sources available at eduard bernstein : cromwell and communism ( 1895 ) at www. marxists.


of politics. ed. iain mclean and alistair mcmillan. oxford university press, 2003. - mclean and mcmillan, 2003. - ball and dagger 118 - terence ball and richard dagger. " political ideologies and the democratic ideal. " pearson education, inc. : 2006. - karl marx ; friedrich engels ; philip gasper ( 1 october 2005 ). the communist manifesto : a road map to history ' s most important political document. haymarket books. pp. 60 – 63. isbn 978 - 1 - 931859 - 25 - 7. retrieved 12 april 2011. - karl marx, ( 1845 ). the german ideology, marx - engels institute, moscow. isbn 978 - 1 - 57392 - 258 - 6. sources available at the german ideology at www. marxists. org. - see chapter 5 of vladimir lenin ' s the state and revolution " ( 1917 ). - hill, christopher lenin and the russian revolution ( 1971 ) penguin books : londonp. 86. - harding, neil ( ed. ) the state in socialist society, second edition ( 1984 ) st. antony ' s college : oxford, p. 189. - brudny, yitzhak ( 1998 ). re - inventing russia : russian nationalism and the soviet state ( 1953 - 1991 ). isbn 0 - 674 - 00438 - 8. - flank, lenny ( august 2008 ). rise and fall of the leninist state : a marxist history of the soviet union. red and black publishers. p. 57. isbn 1 - 931859 - 25 - 6. " lenin defended his actions, arguing that the revolution could be consolidated ' only through dictatorship, because the realization of the transformations immediately and unconditionally necessary for the proletariat and the peasantry will call forth the desperate resistance of the landlords, of the big bourgeoisie, and of tsarism. without dictatorship, it would be impossible to defeat counter - revolutionary efforts. " - marx engels lenin on scientific socialism. moscow : novosti press ajency publishing house. 1974. - " marxism and the national question ". - pierce, wayne. " libertarian marxism ' s relation to anarchism " " the utopian " 73 - 80. - herman gorter, anton pannekoek, sylvia pankhurst, otto ruhl non - leninist marxism : writings on the workers councils. red and black, 2007. - marot, eric. " trotsky, the left opposition and the rise of stalinism :


here http : / / www. nestormakhno. info / english / platform / constructive. htm archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - " " what is anarchist communism? " by wayne price ". archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 29. - christopher gray, leaving the twentieth century, p. 88. - " towards the creative nothing " by renzo novatore archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - " bob black. nightmares of reason ". archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 29. - " communism is the one which guarantees the greatest amount of individual liberty — provided that the idea that begets the community be liberty, anarchy... communism guarantees economic freedom better than any other form of association, because it can guarantee wellbeing, even luxury, in return for a few hours of work instead of a day ' s work. " " communism and anarchy " by peter kropotkin archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - this other society will be libertarian communism, in which social solidarity and free individuality find their full expression, and in which these two ideas develop in perfect harmony. organisational platform of the libertarian communists by dielo truda ( workers ' cause ) archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - " i see the dichotomies made between individualism and communism, individual revolt and class struggle, the struggle against human exploitation and the exploitation of nature as false dichotomies and feel that those who accept them are impoverishing their own critique and struggle. " " my perspectives " by willful disobedience vol. 2, no. 12 archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - von mises, ludwig ( 1990 ). economic calculation in the socialist commonwealth ( pdf ). ludwig von mises institute. retrieved 2008 - 09 - 08. - f. a. hayek, ( 1935 ), " the nature and history of the problem " and " the present state of the debate, " om in f. a. hayek, ed. collectivist economic planning, pp. 1 – 40, 201 – 43. - milton friedman. we have socialism q. e. d., op - ed in new york times december 31, 1989 on milton friedman, mgr & annaism archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - zoltan j. acs & bernard young. small and medium - sized enterprises in the global economy. university of michigan press, page 47, 1999. - mill, john stuart. the principles of political economy, book iv


at webcite - zoltan j. acs & bernard young. small and medium - sized enterprises in the global economy. university of michigan press, page 47, 1999. - mill, john stuart. the principles of political economy, book iv, chapter 7. - john kenneth galbraith, the good society : the humane agenda, ( boston, ma : houghton mifflin co., 1996 ), 59 – 60. " - hans - hermann hoppe. a theory of socialism and capitalism http : / / www. mises. org / etexts / soc & cap. pdf [ dead link ]. - ludwig von mises, socialism : an economic and sociological analysis, indianapolis, in : liberty fund, inc.. 1981, trans. j. kahane, iv. 30. 21 - f. a. hayek. the intellectuals and socialism. ( 1949 ). - alan o. ebenstein. friedrich hayek : a biography. ( 2003 ). university of chicago press. isbn 978 - 0 - 226 - 18150 - 9 p. 137 - friedrich hayek ( 1944 ). the road to serfdom. university of chicago press. isbn 978 - 0 - 226 - 32061 - 8. - bellamy, richard ( 2003 ). the cambridge history of twentieth - century political thought. cambridge university press. p. 60. isbn 978 - 0 - 521 - 56354 - 3. - self, peter. socialism. a companion to contemporary political philosophy, editors goodin, robert e. and pettit, philip. blackwell publishing, 1995, p. 339 " extreme equality overlooks the diversity of individual talents, tastes and needs, and save in a utopian society of unselfish individuals would entail strong coercion ; but even short of this goal, there is the problem of giving reasonable recognition to different individual needs, tastes ( for work or leisure ) and talents. it is true therefore that beyond some point the pursuit of equality runs into controversial or contradictory criteria of need or merit. " - socialism archived 29 july 2011 at webcite - rosefielde, steven ( 2009 ). red holocaust. routledge. isbn 978 - 0 - 415 - 77757 - 5. - daniel jonah goldhagen. worse than war : genocide, eliminationism, and the ongoing assault on humanity. publicaffairs, 2009. isbn 978 - 1 - 58648 - 769 - 0 p. 54 : "... in the past century communist regimes,


than war : genocide, eliminationism, and the ongoing assault on humanity. publicaffairs, 2009. isbn 978 - 1 - 58648 - 769 - 0 p. 54 : "... in the past century communist regimes, led and inspired by the soviet union and china, have killed more people than any other regime type. " - benjamin a. valentino. final solutions : mass killing and genocide in the twentieth century. cornell university press, 2004. p. 73 isbn 978 - 0 - 8014 - 3965 - 0 - courtois, stephane, ed. ( 1999 ). the black book of communism : crimes, terror, repression. harvard university press. p. 9. isbn 978 - 0 - 674 - 07608 - 2. - le monde, 14 november 1997 - holmes, leslie ( 2009 ). communism : a very short introduction. oxford and new york : oxford university press. isbn 978 - 0 - 19 - 955154 - 5. - lansford, tom ( 2007 ). communism. marshall cavendish. isbn 978 - 0 - 7614 - 2628 - 8. - link, theodore ( 2004 ). communism : a primary source analysis. the rosen publishing group. isbn 978 - 0 - 8239 - 4517 - 7. - rabinowitch, alexander ( 2004 ). the bolsheviks come to power : the revolution of 1917 in petrograd. pluto press. - " ci – cz volume 4 ". world book. chicago, illinois : world book, inc. 2008. isbn 978 - 0 - 7166 - 0108 - 1. - adami, stefano. " communism ", in encyclopedia of italian literary studies, ed. gaetana marrone – p. puppa, routledge, new york - london, 2006 - beer, max. the general history of socialism and social struggles volumes 1 & 2. new york, russel and russel, inc. 1957 - daniels, robert vincent. a documentary history of communism and the world : from revolution to collapse. university press of new england, 1994. isbn 978 - 0 - 87451 - 678 - 4. - dirlik, arif. origins of chinese communism. oxford university press, 1989. isbn 978 - 0 - 19 - 505454 - 5 - forman, james d. communism from marx ' s manifesto to 20th century reality. new york, watts. 1972. isbn 978 - 0 - 531 - 02571 - 0 - furet, francois and


- 505454 - 5 - forman, james d. communism from marx ' s manifesto to 20th century reality. new york, watts. 1972. isbn 978 - 0 - 531 - 02571 - 0 - furet, francois and deborah kan ( translator ). the passing of an illusion : the idea of communism in the twentieth century. university of chicago press, 2000. isbn 978 - 0 - 226 - 27341 - 9 - marx, karl and friedrich engels. communist manifesto. ( mass market paperback – reprint ), signet classics, 1998. isbn 978 - 0 - 451 - 52710 - 3 - pons, silvio and robert service. a dictionary of 20th century communism. 2010. - nicolas werth, karel bartosek, jean - louis panne, jean - louis margolin, andrzej paczkowski, stephane courtois, the black book of communism : crimes, terror, repression, harvard university press, 1999, hardcover, 858 pages, isbn 978 - 0 - 674 - 07608 - 2 - hollander, paul ( ed ). from the gulag to the killing fields : personal accounts of political violence and repression in communist studies. intercollegiate studies institute, ( 2006 ). isbn 978 - 1 - 932236 - 78 - 1 - zinoviev, alexandre. the reality of communism ( 1980 ), publisher schocken, 1984. - marxists. org ( marxists internet archive ) - libcom. org extensive library of almost 20, 000 articles, books, pamphlets and journals on libertarian communism - " communism ". encyclopædia britannica ( 11th ed. ). 1911. - samuel mccune lindsay ( 1905 ). " communism ". new international encyclopedia. - marxist theory


the study, led by researchers at the university of washington, said air pollution posed the fourth largest threat to the health of chinese people, behind dietary risks, high blood pressure and smoking. air pollution is a fact of life in cities such as beijing, where many people wear breathing masks when travelling outdoors to guard against “ pm2. 5 particles ” – tiny pollutants that can go deep into the lungs and cause cancer, bronchitis and asthma. - pollution : why is uk only now waking up to this public health crisis? ( environmentaleducationuk. wordpress. com ) - exposure to air pollution after a heart attack ( pollutionfree. wordpress. com ) - canada one - ups the us by launching new startup visa on an important day ( qz. com ) - national › air pollution turns skies gray over kanto region ( japantoday. com ) - air pollution linked to 1. 2m premature deaths in china ( latinospost. com ) - air pollution : more bad news for pregnant women ( pe. com ) 2013 is un year of water cooperation – and naeeuk is bringing together education resources to about this key area … please let me know of your favourites. sandra postel is a leading authority and prolific author on international water issues ; she directs the independent global water policy project and in march 2010 she was named the national geographic society ‘ s first freshwater fellow. in 1992 postel authored last oasis : facing water scarcity, which now appears in eight languages and was the basis for a pbs documentary that aired in 1997. she is also author of pillar of sand : can the irrigation miracle last? ( 1999 ) and co - author of rivers for life : managing water for people and nature ( 2003 ). her article “ troubled waters ” was selected for inclusion in the 2001 edition of best american science and nature writing. sandra has authored well over 100 articles for popular, scholarly, and news publications, including science, scientific american, foreign policy, the new york times, and the washington post. - with drought looming, colorado river basin needs solutions ( newswatch. nationalgeographic. com ) - the value of water : it may be old, but it ’ s valuable ( wateronline. com ) - superstorm sandy speaks to preparedness for climate disruption ( newswatch. nationalgeographic. com ) - wetlands behind the faucets ( artinpublicspaces2012. wordpress. com ) - grabbing at solutions : water for the hungry first ( resilience.


climate disruption ( newswatch. nationalgeographic. com ) - wetlands behind the faucets ( artinpublicspaces2012. wordpress. com ) - grabbing at solutions : water for the hungry first ( resilience. org ) villagers band together to protect their wildlife and tourism industry the new york times - notorious poacher now leads a fight to save africa ’ s elephants ( smh. com. au ) - wildlife update : saving the rhino with surveillance drones ( environmentaleducationuk. wordpress. com ) - cameroon army to take on elephant poachers ( worldnews. nbcnews. com ) - poaching of jungle elephants strikes gabon ( nytimes. com ) - clinton calls on world leaders to end african elephant slaughter ( cbsnews. com ) - how dogs help protect threatened species ( mnn. com ) - cameroon deploys troops to fight poachers ( worldbulletin. net ) with encroachment from settlers and speculators, and after a devastating war against shining pathrebels a decade ago, the indigenous ashaninkas ’ hold is precarious. and they are now facing anew peril, the proposed 2, 200 - megawatt pakitzapango hydroelectric dam, which would flood muchof the ene river valley. the project is part of a proposal for as many as five dams that under a 2010 energy agreementwould generate more than 6, 500 megawatts, primarily for export to neighboring brazil. the damswould displace thousands of people in the process. antonio metzoquiari, 59, considered the implications for his community. “ this is a grave matter, ” he said. “ it ’ s a return to violence, another war. i don ’ t know where or how, but we would have to finda new place to live. ” hydroelectric dams have fallen out of favor in some parts of the world, but they remain attractive inmuch of latin america, where a number of nations have plenty of water but lack other energysources. for now, the project is stalled in the peruvian congress. president ollanta humala has not stakedout a clear position on the proposed dams, though that is likely to change when president dilmarousseff of brazil visits peru, a visit expected soon. despite claims that the welfare of affected communities is a top priority, several of the projectspassed feasibility studies before local residents were even informed that the government had


to change when president dilmarousseff of brazil visits peru, a visit expected soon. despite claims that the welfare of affected communities is a top priority, several of the projectspassed feasibility studies before local residents were even informed that the government hadawarded concessions on the land. in response, the central ashaninka del rio ene, whichrepresents ashaninka populations, went to court to compel the energy and mining ministry todisclose all feasibility studies. after the project was announced, the organization brought together 17 ashaninka communities toexplain that a dam would inundate some communities and dry out others. many people would beforced from their homes, critics argue, evoking memories of peru ’ s war against the maoist - inspiredshining path rebels, which officially ended in 2000 but scarred the ashaninka. of the 70, 000 people who were killed over two decades, 6, 000 were ashaninka, experts said. thousands more were displaced. the final speaker at the meeting, dimer dominguito, 25, who was accompanied by his wife andfive children, captured the ashaninka ’ s outrage. “ in the city they make money and buy whatever they need, but here we live by our customs, ourmarket, eating what we plant and we are happy, ” he said. “ we want to defend our right to what isnatural, to defend our market, and we support the government, but who supports us? ” the new york times - dam project latest threat to peruvian tribe ( smh. com. au ) - boca sanibeni journal : dam project would displace villages in jungle valley of peru ( nytimes. com ) - latin america hydroelectric projects opposed – the threat of “ green ” energy ( climate - connections. org ) - a dam clouds the future of peru ’ s indigenous people ( nytimes. com ) - the earliest artists were realists, not symbolists ( slog. thestranger. com ) - stone age cave painters were realists – discovery news ( gingerjar2. wordpress. com ) - cave painters were realists, dna study finds ( huffingtonpost. com ) - cave painters painted spotted horses as they saw them. ( dienekes. blogspot. com ) - cave painters were realists, dna study finds ( seattletimes. nwsource. com ) - painter ’ s sky ( eoghann. com ) - realistic embroidered


a recurring theme in science fiction is the idea that one day, our technologies will become self - aware, grow their population, and take over the world. of course, humans will still be around, otherwise there ’ s no story, but they will be second - class citizens to the tools that they invented. i ' ve often wondered why self - awareness always comes first. perhaps it ' s because it makes for a more interesting storyline. after all, a technology doesn ' t need to be self - aware to be self - reinforcing. a couple of years ago, nielsen ran a study that showed that the average teenager sends more than 100 text messages a day. adults might get startled or nostalgic when they hear this, but the kids, for the most part, are happy. they like being in touch with their friends, and are not so concerned about the fragmentation of their attention or their dependence on their devices. their phones are an extension of themselves. if there were a textbook example of a viral technology, sms may be it. its use facilitates its spread. people get texts, and they respond. the responders then at some point become initiators, and the story goes on. eventually, even the kids who don ' t want to be attached to their phones don ' t have such an easy choice. in a culture where everybody sends each other 3000 texts a month, you get left out if you only send 30. there is a story of bill joy asking danny hillis what he thought about the scenario in which humans one day merge with robots. danny responded that the changes would come gradually, and we ' d get used to it. that ' s the way it is with technology. we get used to it. i will get older and sound like a luddite when i suggest that a hundred text messages a day might be too much. that will simply be the pace of modern life. when the mechanical clock was invented, one of its early uses was to set the arrival and departure times of factory workers during the industrial revolution. at the time, people hated the idea of getting to work at a certain time ; it felt like the ultimate victory of machine over man. now, it ' s seen as responsible behavior. but if aliens come from outer space and see people wake up grudgingly every morning to the beeping of an alarm clock, they might wonder who is the master and who is the tool.


two monkeys with tiny sensors in their brains have learned to control a mechanical arm with just their thoughts, using it to reach for and grab food and even to adjust for the size and stickiness of morsels when necessary, scientists reported on wednesday. via ny times the new experiment goes a step further. in it, the monkeys ’ brains seem to have adopted the mechanical appendage as their own, refining its movement as it interacted with real objects in real time. the monkeys had their own arms gently restrained while they learned to use the added one. in the experiment, two macaques first used a joystick to gain a feel for the arm, which had shoulder joints, an elbow and a grasping claw with two mechanical fingers. then, just beneath the monkeys ’ skulls, the scientists implanted a grid about the size of a large freckle. it sat on the motor cortex, over a patch of cells known to signal arm and hand movements. the grid held 100 tiny electrodes, each connecting to a single neuron, its wires running out of the brain and to a computer. scientists have to clear several hurdles before this technology becomes practical, experts said. implantable electrode grids do not generally last more than a period of months, for reasons that remain unclear. the equipment to read and transmit the signal can be cumbersome and in need of continual monitoring and recalibrating. and no one has yet demonstrated a workable wireless system that would eliminate the need for connections through the scalp.


wlan roaming - the basics even if you keep the same ip address, things get complicated. when a wlan client moves from the range of one access point ( ap ) to another in the same subnet, it needs to find the best ap, decide when to roam onto it, associate with it and do any authentication required, as per your security policies. then the wired network has to relearn the location of the client, so that data can be sent to it. all of this takes time and this is without the client having to worry about getting a new ip address! the scanning and decision making part of the roaming process ( see how to make your wlan roam faster ) allows the client to find a new ap on an appropriate channel as the user moves. when this happens, the client must associate with the new ap. it must then, assuming that it is an 802. 1x supplicant ( see the eap heap ), reauthenticate with the radius server. this is transparent to the user - but the delay in this happening may not be. it can take up to a second for association and authentication to occur ( see below for implications and solutions ). iapp the next part of the process is for the rest of the network to be made aware that the client has shifted. this calls for ap to ap communication, which was never catered for in the original 802. 11 spec. vendors had their own way of passing updates ; however 802. 11f, the inter - access point protocol, has now been now published by the ieee as a trial - use standard - it sits in this state for two years before being submitted as a full - use standard - to facilitate multi - vendor ap interoperability. iapp calls for the new servicing ap to send out two packets onto the wired lan. one of these is actually set with the source address of the client ( the standard says this should be a broadcast, however some implementations still use unicast to the previous ap or a multicast ) and is used by intervening switches to update their mac address tables with the client ’ s new location. the other is an iapp add - notify packet from the new ap to an iapp multicast address that all aps subscribe to, which contains the mac address of the station it has just associated. all aps will receive this packet, and the one that had been associated with that station will use the sequence number included to determine that this is newer information and remove the stale association


, which contains the mac address of the station it has just associated. all aps will receive this packet, and the one that had been associated with that station will use the sequence number included to determine that this is newer information and remove the stale association from its internal table. iapp provides for the sharing of information between aps. the format of this information is specified, as " contexts " but the actual content is not defined, so it ’ s not yet hugely useful as far as vendor interoperability is concerned. also iapp has no specific provision for security. who cares? so, worst case, you ’ re probably looking at about one second where your client can ’ t be reached over the network. for a lot of clients and applications, this isn ’ t an issue. if you ’ re walking from one room to another carrying your laptop, and you want to use email or a web browser, it ’ s not a problem. in fact, most tcp - based applications will be able to handle this sort of hiccup ( remember that in this instance there ’ s no address change ). udp applications are less able to handle interruptions, and unfortunately, these are the ones where a break would be most noticed by the user. the killer? voice. not only is vowlan udp - based for the bearer traffic, but it ’ s also the one application where you are likely to be using it as you move between aps. and you are definitely going to notice a one second hit. which is presumably why the vendors that are pushing fast roaming for 802. 11 are the ones squarely behind the use of wireless handsets in an ip telephony environment, such as cisco, spectralink and symbol. related standards in fact these are three of the companies behind the drive for a new ieee working group to create a standard to handle faster layer 2 roaming. there are several related standards and works - in - progress, but none that actually cover this specific aspect : - as already discussed, iapp — 802. 11f — isn ’ t designed for speed. - 802. 11i, the security standard ( not yet ratified ) has provision for secure fast handoff, but it ’ s too security specific for this requirement. - 802. 11k — radio resource management — might help in that it should cater for faster discovery of aps. again, not yet finalised. - 802. 21 isn ’ t specifically for wireless lans at all. it ’ s aimed at the handoff between het


radio resource management — might help in that it should cater for faster discovery of aps. again, not yet finalised. - 802. 21 isn ’ t specifically for wireless lans at all. it ’ s aimed at the handoff between heterogeneous networks ( wired, 802. 11, bluetooth ) and while it will deal with inter - ess roaming ( ie subnet to subnet in a wlan ), it won ’ t speed up the layer 2 process which is needed prior to any layer 3 interaction. this was the p802 handoff study group, and is just in the process of kicking off now. in the meantime of course, there are proprietary solutions. the two parts that need to be speeded up to cut down outage times are the scanning process ( to allow clients to find new suitable aps to associate to ), and, specifically for security, a faster way of reauthenicating to cut out the radius request / response process. there are things that can be done to speed up the time it takes for a client to find another suitable ap. an ap can maintain information on its adjacent aps, which it can pass to a client on request — this will give the client a better indication of usable channels to scan, for example. the biggest time saver, however, is reckoned to be in localising the 802. 1x authentication process. cisco has incorporated fast secure roaming into its wireless domain services ( wds ) portfolio as part of its structured wireless aware networking offering, which in effect allows an ap on each local subnet to act as the authenticator for clients. when a client ( or other ap ) goes through the initial radius authentication, it does it via one ap running wds. this lets that ap establish shared keys between itself and every other entity in the l2 domain, and allows for quicker reauthentication. plans are for this capability to be included in cisco ’ s router / switch platforms later this year as part of its swan development. symbol provides similar functionality in its hardware, while airespace ) also caters for fast roaming in its wireless switches and appliances, and companies such as bluesocket, which use gateways to control pretty dumb aps, manage everything centrally. proxim handles things differently, pre - authenticating clients to nearby aps as well as the one currently in use in preparation for the client moving. so before you get excited about layer 3 roaming, make sure you understand how your vendor of choice implements


common risks for smartphones we usually do a good job of protecting our computers, but what about smartphones? careless use can open up users to a lot of risks. take a moment to consider each of these areas : loss of device and information theft. smartphones are small and can easily be lost or stolen. unauthorized users may access your accounts, address lists, photos, and more to scam, harm, or embarrass you or your friends. they may leverage stored passwords to access your bank and credit card accounts, steal your money, or make credit card charges. they may also gain access to sensitive material. social engineering. a common mobile threat is social engineering. whether via text message, image, or application ( app ) to download, an incoming communication may be an attempt to gain access to your information. a current example consists of a text message that comes from an unknown number telling you that if you click on the link provided, you will have access to thousands of free ringtones. if this sounds too good to be true, that is because it is. the link is a malicious link. clicking on it will compromise the security of your smartphone. tmi ( too much information ). guidelines for protecting privacy, safety, and reputation when sharing via computers also apply when sharing via smartphones. public wi - fi. smartphones are susceptible to malware and hacking when leveraging unsecured public networks. bluetooth® and near field communications ( nfc ). bluetooth is a wireless network technology that uses short - wave radio transmissions to transmit voice and data. nfc allows for smartphones to communicate with each other by simply touching ( “ bumping ” ) another smartphone, or being in close proximity to another smartphone with nfc capabilities or an nfc device. risks with using nfc and bluetooth include eavesdropping, through which the cybercriminal can intercept your personal data. nfc also has the risk of transferring viruses or other malware from one nfc - enabled device to another. simple steps to protect your smartphone update the operating system. smartphones are computing devices that need to be updated. updates often provide you with enhanced functionality and enriched features, as well as fixes to critical security vulnerabilities. your smartphone manufacturer should notify you whenever an update is available. use of security software is a must. as the smartphone market is increasing, so too is the amount of malware designed to attack smartphones. the software security solutions that are available for desktops and laptops are not as widely available for smartphone


. use of security software is a must. as the smartphone market is increasing, so too is the amount of malware designed to attack smartphones. the software security solutions that are available for desktops and laptops are not as widely available for smartphones. a key protection is to use mobile security software and keep it up to date. many of these programs can also locate a missing or stolen smartphone, back up your data, and even remotely wipe all data from the smartphone if it is reported stolen. password - protect your device. enable strong password protection on your device and include a timeout that requires authentication after a period of inactivity. secure the smartphone with a unique password – not the default one it came with. do not share your password with others. think before you click, download, forward, or open. before responding, registering, downloading, or providing information, get the facts. no matter how tempting the text, image, or application is, if the download is not from a legitimate app store or the site of a trusted company, do not engage with the message. be cautious with public wi - fi. many smartphone users use free wi - fi hotspots to access data and keep their smartphone plan costs down. there are numerous threats associated with wi - fi hotspots. to be safe, avoid logging into accounts, especially financial accounts, when using public wireless networks. disable bluetooth and nfc capabilities when not in use. capabilities such as bluetooth and nfc can provide ease and convenience in using your smartphone. they can also provide an easy way for a nearby, unauthorized user to gain access to your data. turn these features off when they are not required. enable encryption. enabling encryption on your smartphone is one of the best ways to safeguard information stored on the device, thwarting unauthorized access. securely dispose of your device. with the constant changes and upgrades in the smartphone market, many are upgrading their devices on a regular basis. it is important that you wipe the information from your smartphone before disposal. additionally, make sure any secure digital ( sd ) cards are removed and erased. if you are not redeploying the subscriber identity module ( sim ) card to another device, then make sure your personal information stored on the sim card is erased or destroyed. for additional information, please consult these resources : about. com – 14 ways to find a stolen or lost iphone : http : / / ipod. about. com / od / iphonetroubleshooting / tp / 14 -


last week i began discussing rethinking what we already know about health. ( or what we think we know. ) we discussed that nutrition is crucial for our long term health, and many consider it to be the building blocks and foundation to being healthy. without a proper foundation, a “ building ” has no chance …. so today, i ’ m gonna jump right in : grans is a very hot topic. it ’ s one where everyone has their own opinion, experiences and preferences. no matter which school of thought that we follow, we need to remember the most basic thing rule : beware of white flour : white flour products ( such as “ enriched ” flours ) are missing the two most nutritious and fiber - rich parts of the seed : the outside bran layer and the germ ( embryo ). the wheat is milled, which removes the bran and germ. this process gives the flour a longer shelf life. these products should not be staples in our diets. on occasion i bake yummy cookies and cakes for my friends and family, but as a general rule, white flour should not be a staple, used in sandwiches, pastas, dinners etc.. white flour has been stripped of nutritional value and while “ carb loading ” might give us a quick boost of energy, the satiated feeling doesn ’ t last long and the negative effects last longer. white flour can and will make us fat and sleepy. it causes anxiety, mood swings and depression and weakens our immune systems making our bodies more susceptible to illnesses. there is a very long list of why white flour is bad – so please when you have a moment, google it. ok, so white flour is bad. i think we all get that by now, right? so what ’ s the alternative? how about whole grains? “ whole grains ( or foods made from them ) contain all the essential parts and naturally - occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. this definition means that 100 % of the original kernel – all of the bran, germ, and endosperm – must be present to qualify as a whole grain. ” ( definition of whole grains – wholegrainscouncil. org ) so let ’ s talk whole grain breads. once again – it ’ s a hot topic and it can be very confusing. breads – check those ingredients!! if you want to make things super fun, let ’ s talk about the fact that many of the breads sold in supermarkets that claim are whole


it ’ s a hot topic and it can be very confusing. breads – check those ingredients!! if you want to make things super fun, let ’ s talk about the fact that many of the breads sold in supermarkets that claim are whole grain and super duper healthy, are not as healthy as they seem. this is why we must learn to understand to decode nutritional and ingredient labels. the other night, i went to my local grocery store to do some investigative research on the subject. i went with the intention to compare the popular breads and study the labels. i then went home and researched this on the internet. if it looks whole grain, and says whole grain, is it whole grain? the question we need to ask ourselves is, “ am i eating whole grain? ” just because we ate “ brown ” colored bread, doesn ’ t mean the bread is in fact whole grain. many products tout they are a healthy source of whole grains, when in reality refined flour is the first ingredient. the fda does not define what percentage of grain must be whole in order to use this claim, so be sure “ whole grain ” or “ whole wheat flour ” is listed as a primary ingredient. my dear readers, i was so flipping confused i can ’ t even begin to express my frustration at how difficult it was to demystify the healthy breads amongst the supermarket shelves!! breads or cereals may say “ whole grain ” on the label, but that doesn ’ t tell us how much of the flour contained within is really whole. points to remember : - white flour products should not be staples on our tables. - introduce sprouted bread products – duby recommends : ezekiel bread, and alvarado st. bakery sprouted breads i am also a fan of the baker company. they have very few ingredients in their products ( always an excellent sign! ). - many people have difficulties digesting wheat and wheat products. there are many whole grain breads out there that are not made from wheat and therefore easier to digest and lower on the glycemic index. ( spelt is one of them – and i make a spelt challah with no sugar and it ’ s wonderful! ) - its imperative to listen to our bodies when we eat grains. have a little fun science experiment with yourself. if you “ crave ” another slice or don ’ t feel at all full after eating one or two slices, you might want to consider switching companies. - don ’ t rely on fiber numbers


grains. have a little fun science experiment with yourself. if you “ crave ” another slice or don ’ t feel at all full after eating one or two slices, you might want to consider switching companies. - don ’ t rely on fiber numbers to find whole grains. breads, especially " light " loaves, may have added processed fiber. - the less ingredients the better. even if a bread is in fact whole grain, it defeats the purpose if it contains sugar, high fructose corn syrup and a whole host of preservatives. test your knowledge : which bread is healthier? these two breads both look healthy and wonderful. both boast “ high in fiber, ” “ no high fructose corn syrup ” and have that healthy look to them. both say whole grains, and look to be a great bread to grace your table! however, when we look at the label and ingredients, the bread on the left contains “ 100 % whole wheat flour, ” while the one on the right, contains whole wheat flour and regular white flour. this means that we as the consumer have no idea how much or how little whole grain it really has! food for thought! editor ’ s note : the breads pictured here are not necessarily kosher and weren ’ t examined based on the fact that they are. they were merely used for investigative purposes.


the notion of the person according to daniel clark walsh and thomas merton thomas merton, prolific spiritual and monastic author, is well known and studied ; yet the influence upon merton ' s thought of his teacher from columbia university, daniel clark walsh, is not taken into account by merton scholars. a knowledge of the teachings of walsh on the notion of the person helps to reveal the metaphysical depths in merton ' s thought and to clarify the meaning of merton ' s distinctions between person, nature, and individual. ^ in the christian tradition authors concerned to refine definition of person have regarded person as a type of being. to understand a person as a type of being is to distinguish persons from other types and thereby to determine how persons fit into a hierarchy of beings. such an approach leads to " what " a person is, not the " who " of personal existence. in contrast to such a view merton and walsh understand person as relationship with god and image of god. person originates in, is guided by, and is called to union with god. this view of person expresses a religious activity on the part of the thinker that consists in linking person with god rather than the activity of categorization that locates persons within an order of being. ^ merton and walsh employ the polarities of person versus individual, nature versus person, individuality versus uniqueness, and community versus collectivity to help to articulate their insights into the meaning of person. they use their understanding of person, image of god or deeper self to challenge ordinary individual identity based on self assertion and self differentiation. that challenge is properly understood in the context of the spiritual journey, a context in perfect harmony with merton ' s cistercian roots. this journey includes origin in god, fall into unlikeness to god and return in christ through self - knowledge and contemplation. ^ this study not only analyzes and contextualizes the thought of merton and walsh on the meaning of person but also indicates that person underlies and gives unity to those areas for which merton is primarily known, namely christian spirituality, social issues, and east / west dialog. the person is thus an interpretive key to merton ' s thought. ^ " the notion of the person according to daniel clark walsh and thomas merton " ( january 1, 1984 ). etd collection for fordham university.


the oldest known samples of pottery have been unearthed in southern china. the us archaeologists involved have determined that fragments from a large bowl found in xianrendong cave, jiangxi province, are 20, 000 years old. the discovery, published in the journal science, is the latest in recent years that have pushed back the invention of pottery by 10, 000 years. it is thought that the bowl was a cauldron to cook food, or possibly to brew alcohol. until recently, the majority view was that pottery bowls and drink receptacles were invented after the emergence of agriculture, when people began to stay in one place for long periods. part of the reasoning was that pottery items are large and breakable, and so not a useful technology for hunter - gatherer societies that moved from place to place in search of food. continue reading the main story people were gathering together in larger groups and you needed social activities to mitigate against increased tensions. maybe the potteries were used to brew alcohol ” prof gideon shelach hebrew university but in the past 10 years, researchers have found instances of pottery pre - dating agriculture. 20, 000 years ago. why is this date significant? because the creationists keep saying the earth is 6000 to 10, 000 years ago. i was debating whether to put this thread under religion or science.


i was born in baltimore, grew up in cleveland, and currently live with my wife, drea, and our dog, kaya, in omaha, nebraska, the center of the universe. we anxiously await the arrival of our first child in july 2011... " the selma of the north " : civil rights insurgency in milwaukee between 1958 and 1970, a distinctive movement for racial justice emerged from unique circumstances in milwaukee. a series of local leaders inspired growing numbers of people to participate in campaigns against employment and housing discrimination, segregated public schools, the membership of public officials in discriminatory organizations, welfare cuts, and police brutality. the milwaukee movement culminated in the dramatic — and sometimes violent — 1967 open housing campaign. a white catholic priest, james groppi, led the naacp youth council and commandos in a militant struggle that lasted for 200 consecutive nights and provoked the ire of thousands of white residents. after working - class mobs attacked demonstrators, some called milwaukee “ the selma of the north. ” others believed the housing campaign represented the last stand for a nonviolent, interracial, church - based movement. patrick jones tells a powerful and dramatic story that is important for its insights into civil rights history : the debate over nonviolence and armed self - defense, the meaning of black power, the relationship between local and national movements, and the dynamic between southern and northern activism. jones offers a valuable contribution to movement history in the urban north that also adds a vital piece to the national story. think you know the full story of the civil rights era? patrick jones ' s masterful study of the movement in milwaukee will make you think again. meticulously researched and elegantly written, the selma of the north provides a devastating rebuttal of many of the conventional narratives of the civil rights movement. here a vibrant nonviolent movement in the de - industrializing midwest grows into a black power movement led by urban youth and a white catholic priest who use confrontational direct action to lay bare the fissures of racial inequality in the ' liberal ' north. - - jeanne theoharis, brooklyn college, editor of freedom north and groundwork a well - researched, well - written, and important history. based on a rich array of sources, this book enhances our understanding of civil rights activism in the postwar urban north and establishes a useful foundation for the comparison of similar developments elsewhere in the country. - - joe william trotter, jr., carnegie mellon university, author of black milwaukee this book fills a serious gap in


civil rights activism in the postwar urban north and establishes a useful foundation for the comparison of similar developments elsewhere in the country. - - joe william trotter, jr., carnegie mellon university, author of black milwaukee this book fills a serious gap in the literature of the civil rights revolution, joining studies on other cities in laying the groundwork on race and civil rights in the postwar urban north. jones tells a good story, capturing events that might otherwise be lost to history. - - arnold r. hirsch, university of new orleans, author of making the second ghetto the selma of the north is an insightful and invigorating addition to the growing literature on black freedom struggles outside of the south. jones ' s important and informative account writes milwaukee back into the narrative of the civil rights - black power era and in the process expands our understanding of postwar america. - - peniel e. joseph, brandeis university, author of waiting till the midnight hour the selma of the north is a riveting new story of the civil rights movement in america, a tale on par with selma, birmingham, and montgomery in its power and importance. jones ' s magisterial research and magnetic prose illuminate the untold story of the battle for the urban north in the 1960s, a battle that shows how race has always been the achilles heel of white progressives. this story transcends easy dichotomies of black and white, north and south, radical and reformist. how did a group called ' the commandos ' define nonviolence? how did a white catholic priest become a ' black power ' leader? if this is not a saga for the age of obama, i don ' t know what is. - - timothy b. tyson, duke university, author of radio free dixie and blood done sign my name


file : recent sea level rise. png from global warming art this figure shows the change in annually averaged sea level at 23 geologically stable tide gauge sites with long - term records as selected by douglas ( 1997 ). the thick dark line is a three - year moving average of the instrumental records. this data indicates a sea level rise of ~ 18. 5 cm from 1900 - 2000. because of the limited geographic coverage of these records, it is not obvious whether the apparent decadal fluctuations represent true variations in global sea level or merely variations across regions that are not resolved. for comparison, the recent annually averaged satellite altimetry data from topex / poseidon are shown in red. these data indicate a somewhat higher rate of increase than tide gauge data, however the source of this discrepancy is not obvious. it may represent systematic error in the satellite record and / or incomplete geographic sampling in the tide gauge record. the month to month scatter on the satellite measurements is roughly the thickness of the plotted red curve. much of recent sea level rise has been attributed to global warming. original data for this figure is from the permanent service for mean sea level ( psmsl ). douglas ( 1997 ), defined the following criteria for selecting records from the psmsl which were long, reliable, and avoided large vertical geologic changes : - each record should be at least 60 years in length - not be located at collisional plate boundaries - at least 80 % complete - show reasonable agreement at low frequencies with nearby gauges sampling the same water mass - not be located in regions subject to large post - glacial rebound he subsequently identified 24 psmsl records meeting all five of these criteria : - auckland, new zealand, 1903 - 2000 - balboa, panama, 1908 - 1996 - brest, france, 1807 - 2000 - buenos aires, argentina, 1905 - 1987 - cascais, portugal, 1882 - 1993 - cristobal, panama, 1909 - 1980 - dunedin, new zealand, 1900 - 1998 - fernandina, florida, 1897 - 2003 - genova, italy, 1884 - 1997 - honolulu, hawaii, 1905 - 2003 - key west, florida, 1913 - 2003 - lagos, portugal, 1908 - 1999 - la jolla, california, 1924 - 2003 - lyttelton, new zealand, 1924 - 2000 - marseille, france, 1885 - 2000 - newlyn, cornwall, england, 1915 - 2003 - pensacola, florida, 1923 - 2003 - quequen, argentina, 1918 - 1982 - san diego,


##telton, new zealand, 1924 - 2000 - marseille, france, 1885 - 2000 - newlyn, cornwall, england, 1915 - 2003 - pensacola, florida, 1923 - 2003 - quequen, argentina, 1918 - 1982 - san diego, california, 1906 - 2003 - san francisco, california, 1854 - 2003 - santa cruz de tenerife, canary islands, 1927 - 1990 - santa monica, california, 1933 - 2003 - trieste, italy, 1905 - 2001 - wellington, new zealand, 1901 - 1988 after slight corrections following douglas ( 1997 ) for any remaining post - glacial rebound at these sites ( typically ~ 3 cm / century ), the tide gauge data from these sites were plotted in no particular order as the thin lines in the above figure. one site, wellington, was omitted because the author of this figure was unable to locate the corresponding record from the psmsl. this figure was prepared from publicly available data by robert a. rohde. - [ abstract ] [ bruce c. douglas ( 1997 ). " global sea rise : a redetermination ". surveys in geophysics 18 : 279 - 292. gwart images and pages linking to this file wikipedia pages and images linking to this file click on a date / time to view the file as it appeared at that time. | current | | 18 : 38, 3 february 2007 | | 800×561 ( 80 kb ) | | robert a. rohde | | 00 : 06, 18 november 2005 | | 537×373 ( 47 kb ) | | robert a. rohde |


yao ming and the froghopper just a few days after a tough and inspiring performance against the lakers, yao ming is injured again, with a stress fracture in his foot. lakers coach phil jackson commented on yao ’ s fragility by saying “ a person in physics once told me if man was 60 feet tall, the first step he ’ d take, he ’ d completely crumble … gravity ’ s a bitch. ” but is it true? certainly larger people have heavier bodies, but they also have thicker bones and larger muscles. so why are tall people more prone to injury? this post examines that question using one of the simplest and most powerful ideas in physics : the scaling argument. i will also try to make a prediction for the “ injury prone - ness ” of a person as a function of their height. before i get to yao ming, allow me to discuss a simple example using what is arguably the best athlete in the animal kingdom : the froghopper. the froghopper is a little insect, barely half a centimeter long, but it has about a 27 ″ vertical jump. that ’ s about 140 times its own body length, so in a certain sense it would be like me jumping 840 vertical feet. pretty impressive. but if we put the froghopper in an enlarging ray, and blew it up 365 times so that it was the same size as me, would it really be able to jump 840 feet? the answer is no. that ’ s because an object ’ s weight is proportional to its body volume, which is proportional to the cube of its size. so making the froghopper 365 times larger would make it million times heavier. the froghopper ’ s ability to jump depends on the volume of its muscles, which also increase by times after it gets put through the enlarging ray. so the ability of the froghopper to jump remains the same : it gets a lot stronger, but also proportionally heavier. therefore, a 6 - foot froghopper could jump the same height as a half - centimer froghopper : 27 inches. it just looks much less impressive. now let ’ s think about yao ming, who is sort of like a normal person put through an enlarging ray. the propensity for one of yao ’ s bones to fracture depends on the stress he puts on them. stress can be defined as weight divided by cross - sectional area. so if weight depends on volume ( size ^ 3 ) and the cross - sectional area of his poor foot bones depends on size ^ 2,


depends on the stress he puts on them. stress can be defined as weight divided by cross - sectional area. so if weight depends on volume ( size ^ 3 ) and the cross - sectional area of his poor foot bones depends on size ^ 2, then the stress grows as ( volume / area ) = ( size ^ 3 / size ^ 2 ), or in other words, the stress increases directly with size. you can think of it this way : by virtue of his great height, yao ’ s bones are about 1. 7 times thicker than the average person ’ s, but he weighs about 2. 2 times more. thus, his bones have a harder time than yours do. so how much more likely is he to get injured than the average man ( height 5 ’ 8 ″ )? well, there are people out there who break bones for a living and have addressed this very question. they found that the frequency of stress fracture in bone grows as the stress it is under to the power 0. 06. putting together their conclusions, along with the observation that yao gets some kind of stress fracture every year or so, we can estimate how many years it would take for athletes of various heights to come down with a stress fracture : of course, this chart is just a general prediction and is not meant to be completely accurate. some people will be hardier than others, and those people tend to be athletes ( no stress fractures yet for a 7 ’ 1 ″ shaquille o ’ neal ). but the shape is important. it suggests that if you ’ re under 6 feet tall ( hooray, most of the world! ) there is really not much risk of a stress fracture. you can have a 20 - year career as an athlete without too much worry. but for those above 7 feet tall, your chance of a fracture is about 10 times greater than for your 6 - foot brethren. so finally, was phil jackson right about the collapse of a 60 foot man? actually, by my estimate, he was quite conservative. as far as i can tell, a 16 ’ 3 ″ man would fracture his tibia the first time he took a step. there is a sad and interesting footnote to this story. the depressing far - right side of the graph above corresponds to the 8 ’ 11 ″ robert wadlow, the tallest man in recorded history who suffered from an overactive pituitary gland. by his late teens he was already incapable of walking without leg braces, and he continued to grow until his death at age


this apart, areas where traps worked successfully last year, will also be included. devised by the wildlife institute of india ( wii ), the traps are believed to be an important tool in assessing the number of tigers in sunderbans which has remained a mystery. it will be the biggest technological exercise undertaken at the mangrove forest so far. the areas where the traps worked successfully last year will be included as well. devised by wildlife institute of india ( wii ), the traps are believed to be an important tool in helping to arrive at the number of tigers in sunderbans which has remained a mystery. “ the traps worked very well last time. they not only filmed the tigers, but also detected at least two species, including leopard cats, which were not known to exist in the sunderbans. this time, the wii has been working on an improved version of camera traps that will be even sharper and more effective. we don ’ t yet know how much better these cameras are going to be. but we expect them to be even more effective than the ones used last time, ” said ss bist, principal chief conservator of forests ( pccf ). initially, 230 cameras will be placed at the basirhat, sajnekhali and east ranges of the forest which were not covered last year. as many 230 cameras will be installed across the basirhat, sajnekhali and east ranges of the forest. these were not covered last year. “ subsequently, we shall have more cameras installed in the south 24 - parganas division that was covered last time. it will give us a fair idea about the number of tigers in these areas, ” said sb mondol, principal chief conservator of forests ( wildlife ). an effort to produce radio - collars for tigers has also been revived by the wii. the new ones are being devised following more research on the sunderbans terrain. four years ago, several collars had been mounted on tigers but they stopped functioning after a short period. “ unlike the dry forests, sunderbans is not suitable for collaring tigers. it ’ s muddy and has rivers which make the collars malfunction. the wii has worked on an improved version that will survive the sunderbans terrain. we hope to have them soon. along with the camera traps, it will aid the tiger counting process, ” said bist. with the help of the wii, the forest department has been able to devise


survive the sunderbans terrain. we hope to have them soon. along with the camera traps, it will aid the tiger counting process, ” said bist. with the help of the wii, the forest department has been able to devise methods of was still working on finetuning the method of identifying tigers through photographs. with the help of the wii, it has been able to devise methods. “ when you use cameras, there ’ s always the possibility of the same tiger being clicked more than once. we need to identify tigers from photographs which we have been able to do. it could be improved further. but camera traps have been invaluable. they have given us access to the remotest areas of the forest where monitoring was impossible otherwise. there could be no better way of tracking tigers in sunderbans and will give us valuable inputs on the behaviour of big cats in the forest, ” added bist. in february, the camera traps captured a mysterious cat which was later discovered as a leopard cat. that led to speculation about a new species being discovered at the sunderbans. later, analysis of the photographs revealed that. the animal was a leopard cat that had not been sighted in the sunderbans prior to that. it was identified from its tail. “ more importantly, it will give us inputs on tiger behaviour. in areas where straying is frequent, we can have an idea if tiger density is the reason. we could then release straying tigers in other areas where density is low. it will help to bring about a balance. traps could also be used to monitor prey animals,, an exercise which will begin soon said bist. the concentration of prey animals in a particular zone is the best indicator of the number of tigers in an area, he said. “ we have never been able to arrive at the number of prey animals since it ’ s difficult. so far, we have depended on guesswork based on sightings which is not a scientific method. but it ’ s important to know the number to have the right tiger count. the wwi is drawing up a methodology which could be used by us. it would involve the use of technology, similar to the ones being used to count tigers. we shall have a better idea within a month, ” said bist. the prey base at sunderbans includes deer, wild boars, gazelles and even fish and crabs. since each big cat consumes around 50 animals a year, a base of 6000 animals is believed


this may be the perfect complement to an article on wednesday about mayor michael r. bloomberg ’ s plan to reduce the flow of sewage into the city ’ s water bodies : a video on youtube showing a sheet of sewage and storm water coating the gowanus canal in brooklyn with a muddy brown. the video, dated sept. 16 and already posted on sites like that of riverkeeper, the environmental group that monitors the city ’ s waterways, is so graphic that viewers can almost smell the stench. but city officials say it is a prime example of a problem plaguing the city ’ s ancient sewer system and prompting the designation of the gowanus and newtown creek as federal superfund sites. both are scheduled for half - billion - dollar cleanups over the next 10 to 15 years. when it rains, untreated sewage and storm water can overwhelm sewage treatment plants. so the sewer system releases the combined overflows into bodies of water like new york harbor, jamaica bay and, of course, the gowanus canal and newtown creek, which straddles brooklyn and queens. the city is already spending billions of dollars under consent orders with the state to upgrade the system so it can handle its waste better. but on tuesday, the mayor also announced plans for creating a “ green infrastructure ” to capture and retain storm water before it can reach the sewer system and overload it. “ gowanus, especially, is one of the drainage areas that can take advantage of green infrastructure, ” said farrell sklerov, a spokesman for the city ’ s department of environmental protection. in the meantime, the video shows the post - storm, sewage - choked gowanus in all its fearsome glory.


thousands of inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs gathered in a suburban washington convention center on monday for the annual three - day meeting of arpa - e, the advanced research projects agency – energy. it wasn ’ t quite the oscars. at the registration desk, attendees received a goody bag that included a report on clean energy from the pew charitable trusts and a refrigerator magnet that showed the periodic table of the elements. but the breakout sessions held true to arpa - e ’ s tradition : there were lots of swing - for - the - fence ideas. these included finding a high - efficiency, low - cost way to turn surplus natural gas into liquid fuel for cars and trucks, and identifying something to burn other than hydrocarbons so that carbon dioxide is not one of the byproducts. one researcher proposed burning aluminum instead. one challenge is that the ashes, or oxidized metal, would be hard to recycle back into aluminum without big releases of carbon dioxide. arpa - e is the energy department ’ s effort to imitate the better - known pentagon arm known as the defense research projects agency, or darpa. darpa laid the groundwork for the internet and still finances high - potential ideas in their early speculative stages in the expectation that a few will be major breakthroughs ; arpa - e tries to do the same in energy. so far the agency has invested $ 770 million in 285 projects, “ and we ’ re proud of every single one of them, ’ ’ said cheryl martin, the agency ’ s deputy director, in opening remarks to several thousand attendees. although most will never be commercialized, the strikeouts are not as important as the home runs. one particularly ambitious idea presented on monday was to re - engineer plants so that their leaves reflect rather than absorb more light. in an age of global climate change, with shifting rainfall patterns, changing reflectivity holds appeal. the technology would save water, which means saving energy because the water that the plants need often must be pumped. it could prove a way to help crops grow with less rainfall. some of those crops can be used to produce energy as well. and increasing the amount of light that bounces back into space would help to limit global warming. the notion is that crops will absorb light in the visible spectrum yet reflect some of the infrared and ultraviolet light, which heats the leaves. “ plants have a maximum efficiency of about 6 percent, ’ ’ said robert conrado, an agency scientist. and plants regulate their temperature much the way people do, by giving


( cancer of the vagina ) - squamous cell carcinoma — occurs in the lining of the vagina adenocarcinoma — occurs in the area of the vagina lined with cells similar to those in the glands of the cervix and uterus - a special type of this cancer, called clear cell adenocarcinoma, occurs in women who were exposed to a drug called diethylstilbestrol ( des ) while in their mother ’ s womb. this drug was introduced in the late 1930s and no longer used after 1971, so the incidence of this particular type of adenocarcinoma is expected to decline. - melanoma — usually affects lower or outer portion of the vagina - sarcoma — forms deep in the walls of the vagina, not on the surface | female reproductive organs | | copyright © nucleus medical media, inc. | - age : 60 and older - history of cervical cancer - history of precancerous conditions in the cervix or vagina - having a mother who took diethylstilbestrol ( des ) while pregnant - human papillomavirus infection ( hpv ) — a sexually transmitted disease ( std ) - vaginal adenosis — when cells lining the vagina look like those found in the cervix and uterus - bleeding or discharge not related to menstrual periods - pain or difficulty when urinating - pain during intercourse - pain in the pelvic area - new or worsening constipation - a mass in the vagina that can be felt american cancer society http : / / www. cancer. org / gynecologic cancer foundation http : / / www. thegcf. org / canadian cancer society http : / / www. cancer. ca / canadian women ' s health network http : / / www. cwhn. ca / andrassy, rj, wiener, es, raney, rb, et al. progress in the surgical management of vaginal rhabdomyosarcoma : a 25 - year review from the intergroup rhabdomyosarcoma study group. j pediatr surg. 1999 ; 34 : 731. dematos, p, tyler, d, seigler, hf. mucosal melanoma of the female genitalia : a clinicopathologic study of forty - three cases at duke university medical center. surgery. 1998 ; 124 : 38. frank s


d, seigler, hf. mucosal melanoma of the female genitalia : a clinicopathologic study of forty - three cases at duke university medical center. surgery. 1998 ; 124 : 38. frank sj, jhingran a, levenback c, et al. definitive radiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina. int j radiat oncol biol phys. 2005 ; 62 : 138 - 147. human papillomavirus vaccine. ebsco health library website. available at : http : / / www. ebscohost. com / healthlibrary /. updated december 4, 2009. accessed december 15, 2009. pandey m ; mathew a ; abraham ek ; ahamed im ; nair km. primary malignant melanoma of the mucous membranes. eur j surg oncol. 1998 aug ; 24 ( 4 ) : 303 - 7. vaginal cancer. american cancer society website. available at : http : / / www. cancer. org / docroot / cri / cri % 5f2 % 5f3x. asp? dt = 55. accessed july 12, 2005. vaginal cancer. gynecological oncology health guide website. available at : http : / / www / umm. edu / gyn / vaginal. htm. accessed july 12, 2005. vaginal cancer ( pdq ) treatment. national cancer institute website. available at : http : / / www. cancer. gov / cancertopics / pdq / treatment / vagina / patient. accessed july 12, 2005. what is vaginal cancer? american cancer society website. available at : http : / / www. cancer. org / cancer / vaginalcancer / detailedguide / vaginal - cancer - what - is - vaginal - cancer. updated august 2010. accessed october 13, 2010. - reviewer : igor puzanov, md - review date : 12 / 2011 - - update date : 12 / 30 / 2011 -


keats in italy second leaf of ms keats 4. 3. 27. presented by arthur a. houghton, jr., 1970. john keats. letter to charles armitage brown, november 1, 1820. transcribed by charles brown. brown wrote to keats after receiving keats ’ s november 1st letter, urging keats to “ keep your mind easy, my dear fellow, & no fear of your body... if i have a right to guess, a certain person next door is a little disappointed at not receiving a letter from you, but not a word has dropped. she wrote to you lately... ” keats replied with this letter, which now exists only in this transcription of brown ’ s. the persuasion that i shall see her no more will kill me... my dear brown, i should have had her when i was in health, and i should have remained well. i can bear to die – i cannot bear to leave her. oh, god! god! god! everything i have in my trunks that reminds me of her goes through me like a spear. the silk lining she put in my travelling cap scalds my head. my imagination is horribly vivid about her – i hear her. there is nothing in the world of sufficient interest to divert me from her for a moment... o that i could be buried near where she lives! i am afraid to write to her – to receive a letter from her – to see her handwriting would break my heart – even to hear of her any how, to see her name written would be more than i can bear... my dear brown, for my sake, be her advocate for ever... i am afraid to write to her. i should like her to know that i do not forget her. ms keats 4. 3. 27, f. 32. john keats to charles armitage brown, 1 november 1820. presented by arthur a. houghton jr., 1970.


vol. 4, no. 1 – june 2006 usgs activities related to human health human exposure to mercury in ukraine an integrated environmental / human health study is underway in gorlovka, ukraine, where elevated levels of mercury occur primarily due to past mercury mining and processing activities. mine waste from mercury production, and current domestic and industrial use of coal from local sources, contribute to elevated levels of mercury in the environment. the study, feasibility of assessing health risks from long - term mercury exposure in gorlovka, ukraine, funded by the u. s. civilian research and development foundation, has been incorporated into u. s. geological survey ( usgs ) project work on health effects of energy resources. the goals of the work in gorlovka are to define levels of human exposure to mercury, assess possible health effects to exposed individuals, and determine the feasibility of larger scale epidemiologic studies. the project involves u. s. participants from the usgs, the armed forces institute of pathology, and sciences international, inc., as well as ukrainian scientists from the academy of medical sciences of ukraine institute for occupational health, and donetsk national technical university. during a field visit to gorlovka in august 2005, samples of hair, nails, blood, and urine were taken from a group of 30 workers at a mercury recycling facility on the site of the defunct nikitovka mercury extraction plant. the scientists also collected environmental samples to assess mercury levels and potential exposure near the mercury mines and over a larger portion of gorlovka. further sampling will focus on gorlovka residents lacking occupational mercury exposure, and residents of a nearby control municipality. this research has the potential to be an important human health case study of mercury exposure. navajo students assist in coal combustion and air quality study usgs scientists are collaborating with the navajo nation division of health on respiratory health issues related to coal combustion products in ambient air and indoor air quality where coal is burned industrially and for home heating. usgs researchers will be assisted by navajo students this summer ( 2006 ) to collect air samples. the samples will be analyzed and compared with samples collected this winter. usgs scientist named director of the international medical geology association ' s north american regional division the usgs ' s joe bunnell has accepted the nomination as director of the newly established north american regional division of the international medical geology association ( imga ). the imga, formally inaugurated in january 2006, now has established regional divisions throughout the world. the association grew out of interest in medical geology


nomination as director of the newly established north american regional division of the international medical geology association ( imga ). the imga, formally inaugurated in january 2006, now has established regional divisions throughout the world. the association grew out of interest in medical geology that continues to expand worldwide at an increasingly rapid rate. the imga should enable the community to better respond to numerous opportunities, to rapidly pass information to those interested in medical geology issues, and to make critical decisions that will benefit this emerging scientific discipline. special session ( 4. 0w ) soils and human health, 18th world congress of soil science, philadelphia, pennsylvania, july 9 - 15, this special session of the world congress symposium will show the importance of soils and soil properties for human health. relevant topics include the influence of soil and climatic factors on the content of essential nutrients or naturally occurring toxic substances in plant products, impacts of soil pollution on human health, and the spreading of infectious diseases via atmospheric transport of soil dust. the symposium is a contribution to the icsu initiative on " science for conference web site sponsors : inst. - plt. sci. ; u. s. geological survey ; norwegian university of science and technology special session ( u07 ) health on the rocks, western pacific geophysics meeting, beijing, china, july 24 - 27, 2006 in 2005 we witnessed and experienced the effects of several natural disasters. these events caused significant loss of life, devastation to the environment, and extensive financial loss and damage to infrastructure. yet, in 2005 we also saw geoscientists and public health officials become more aware of the relationships between natural geological factors and health in man and animals. this awareness has led to ongoing attempts to understand the influence of ordinary environmental factors on the geographic distribution of various trace elements ( i, f, as, se, pb, hg, co, etc. ) that may adversely affect a population ' s health. the 2006 wpgm is the ideal setting to discuss the status of medical geology investigations worldwide, particularly of those in the western pacific region. we are seeking submissions that inform and educate as well as lay the groundwork for future collaborations and data sharing. sponsors : u. s. naval academy, u. s. geological survey second national conference on usgs health - related research, u. s. geological survey, reston, virginia, september 12 - 14, 2006 collaboration between the public health and earth science communities can lead to solutions for existing and emerging environmental health problems. organizations and individuals interested in environmental and earth science factors


, u. s. geological survey, reston, virginia, september 12 - 14, 2006 collaboration between the public health and earth science communities can lead to solutions for existing and emerging environmental health problems. organizations and individuals interested in environmental and earth science factors affecting human health will be interested in attending this conference, which is designed to provide a broad forum for discussion, bringing together a variety of interested parties, including policy makers, scientists, resource managers, congressional staffers, and representatives from federal and state governments and non - governmental organizations. conference web site sponsor : u. s. geological survey special session ( sp01 ) natural dust and human health, 7th international symposium on environmental geochemistry, beijing, china, september 24 - 27, 2006 the session will bring together specialists from several disciplines to review the current status of research into naturally - occurring atmospheric aerosols, the nature of fine aerosol dust, variations in its toxicity and its interaction with live tissue, the effects of prolonged exposure to natural toxic dusts, and the epidemiology of lung disease and dust - related conditions in human populations. this session will provide insights into a relatively neglected scientific field of societal importance, with the potential to form the basis of a state - of - the art publication on the subject. session web site sponsors : university of london, uk, university of bristol, uk, and u. s. geological survey medical mineralogy and geochemistry short course, menlo park, california, december 9 - 10, 2006 the objectives of this workshop are to introduce geochemists and mineralogists to the concepts and problems involved with the interactions between geomaterials and the human body, to highlight the importance of mineralogy and crystal chemistry in understanding health issues, and to promote links between mineralogists and geochemists working on medical problems as well as medical scientists working on problems involving geomaterials. course web site sponsors : u. s. geological survey ; university of wisconsin - madison ; stony brook university, new york - u. s. geological survey, in press, navajo coal and air quality in shiprock, new mexico : u. s. geological survey fact sheet 2006 - 3094. - ayotte, j. d. ; baris, dalsu ; cantor, k. p. ; colt, joanne ; robinson, g. r., jr. ; lubin, j. h. ; karagas, margaret ; hoover, r. n. ; fraumeni, j. f., jr. ; and silver


. ; colt, joanne ; robinson, g. r., jr. ; lubin, j. h. ; karagas, margaret ; hoover, r. n. ; fraumeni, j. f., jr. ; and silverman, d. t., 2006, bladder cancer mortality and private well use in new england - - an ecological study : journal of epidemiology and community health, v. 60, p. 168 - 172. - ayotte, j. d. ; nolan, b. t. ; nuckols, j. r. ; cantor, k. p. ; robinson, g. r., jr. ; baris, dalsu ; hayes, laura ; karagas, margaret ; bress, william ; silverman, d. t. ; and lubin, j. h., 2006, modeling the probability of arsenic in groundwater in new england as a tool for exposure assessment : environmental science and technology, v. 40, no. 11, p. 3578 - 3585, doi / 10. 1021 / es051972f. - barringer, j. l., szabo, zoltan, schneider, donald, atkinson, w. d., and gallagher, r. a., 2006, mercury in ground water, septage, leach - field effluent, and soils in residential areas, new jersey coastal plain : science of the total environment, v. 361, p. 144 - 162. - chrosniak, l. d., smith, l. n, mcdonald, c. g., jones, b. f., and flinn, j. m., 2006, effects of enhanced zinc and copper in drinking water on spatial memory and fear conditioning : journal of geochemical exploration, v. 88, p. 91 - 94, - fitzgerald, a. a., smith, l. n., thompson, j. h., chrosniak, l. d., conko, k. m., jones, b. f., and flinn, j. m., 2005, the effects of copper on zinc - related cognitive deficiencies as assessed by the morris water maze, in proceedings of the annual meeting of the society for neuroscience, washington, d. c. - flinn, j. m., hunter, d., linkous, d. h., lanzirotti, a., smith


, in proceedings of the annual meeting of the society for neuroscience, washington, d. c. - flinn, j. m., hunter, d., linkous, d. h., lanzirotti, a., smith, l. n., brightwell, j., and jones, b. f., 2005, enhanced zinc consumption causes memory deficits and increased brain levels of zinc : physiology and behavior, v. 83, no. 5, p. 793 - 803, doi / 10. 1016 / j. physbeh. 2004. 10. 009. - koterba, m. t., andres, a. s., vrabel, j. p., crilley, d. m., szabo, zoltan, dewild, j. f., aiken, g. r., and reyes - padro, betzaida, 2006, occurrence and distribution of mercury in the surficial aquifer, long neck peninsula, sussex county, delaware, 2003 - 04 : u. s. geological survey scientific investigations report 2006 - 5011, 159 p. - nemec, j. a., marinkovic, n. s., cano, k. e., linkous, d. h., flinn, j. m., and jones, b. f., 2005, effects of dietary consumption of zinc and iron on beta - amyloid conformation using synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy, in proceedings of the annual meeting of the society for neuroscience, washington, d. c. compiled and edited by david w. morganwalp


a calorie ’ s a calorie, isn ' t it? well, accumulating evidence shows that our body has a hard time registering calories from beverages in the tally towards satiety ; unfortunately, these beverage ' s calories still count in our energy balance. that ’ s why the extra calories in beverages are just extra — much like items that didn ’ t go into the budget, but will nevertheless have to be paid for. there are numerous studies to prove this point ; here are just a few : nutritionist barbara rolls from penn state served women water, diet soda, regular soda, orange juice, milk or no drink with lunch. those given caloric beverages consumed about 100 calories more than those given diet soda, water or no beverage at the meal, without significantly affecting satiety ratings. in the cute jellybean study, researchers gave men and women 450 calories a day of either soda or jellybeans for a month, then switched them for the next month and kept track of total consumption. candy eaters ate less food - - compensating for the extra calories. soda drinkers did not, so they ate more calories than usual. a study by richard mattes and wayne campbell of perdue university looked at the effects of food form ( solid, semi - solid or liquid ) on appetite. participants consumed either a whole apple, applesauce or apple juice of equivalent caloric value. the apple juice reduced hunger the least, the whole apple reduced hunger the most and the applesauce response was intermediate. the participants that had the beverage apple where ready for their next meal almost an hour earlier than those that had a bitable apple. is satiety in our senses or in our heads? previous research suggests that a fluid consistency leads to less satiety. beverages require less chewing, and travel faster through the stomach and the intestine, explaining the lower satiety effect. but we also eat and get full in our mind. could it be that it ’ s our mind that doesn ’ t see fluids as food, and therefore fails to register beverage ’ s calories? to try and tease apart the physiological from the psychological a new study led by bridget cassady and published ahead of print in the american journal of clinical nutrition devised an interesting experiment. fifty - two healthy adults were treated to a pre - lunch “ appetizer ”, consisting of 10 percent of their daily caloric needs. each participant experienced 4 different pre - lunch settings, all containing


journal of clinical nutrition devised an interesting experiment. fifty - two healthy adults were treated to a pre - lunch “ appetizer ”, consisting of 10 percent of their daily caloric needs. each participant experienced 4 different pre - lunch settings, all containing exactly the same amount of calories : - liquid to liquid : participants consumed a clear, cherry flavored drink. study administrators demonstrated what happens in the body by mixing the drink with what they called “ gastric acid ”, but was really ordinary tap water. the mix didn ’ t change the liquidity of the pre - meal, therefore participants drank a liquid, and believed it remained liquid in their stomach. - liquid to solid : participants consumed the same clear, cherry flavored drink. study administrators demonstrated what happens in the body by mixing the drink with what they called “ gastric acid ”, but this time it was calcium chloride, which formed a solid mass upon mixing, therefore participants drank a liquid, but believed it turned solid in their stomach. - solid to liquid : participants consumed cherry flavored gelatin cubes. the study administrator imitated what happens in the stomach by mixing the gelatin cubes with “ gastric acid ” which in this setting was warm water, which melted the cubes, leading participants to believe that although they swallowed a solid, their stomach experienced a liquid. - solid to solid : participants consumed cherry flavored gelatin cubes. the study administrator imitated what happens in the stomach by mixing the gelatin cubes with “ gastric acid ” which in this setting was cold water, which didn ’ t affect the cubes ’ solidity, leading participants to believe that they swallowed a solid, and their stomach is digesting a solid. hunger, fullness and appetite were assessed after each pre - meal, as well as objective measures such as blood glucose, insulin and ghrelin, stomach emptying and intestinal transit time and caloric intake in the meal following the test pre - meals. and the results : liquid meals and perceived liquid meals were followed by greater hunger and less fullness. participants ’ responses to liquid to liquid and solid to liquid pre - meals included : ” this didn ’ t fill me up at all ” and “ it hardly feels i ate anything ”. on the other hand, the solid meal ( solid to solid ) and perceived solid meal ( liquid to solid ) elicited responses such as “ i can ’ t remember ever being so full ” and “ it feels like i swallowed a rock ”. participants ate more ( in the


solid meal ( solid to solid ) and perceived solid meal ( liquid to solid ) elicited responses such as “ i can ’ t remember ever being so full ” and “ it feels like i swallowed a rock ”. participants ate more ( in the post - test meal ) when they thought they ’ re eating liquids – 22 percent more, which amounted to about 160 additional calories. stomach emptying and transit time in the colon were faster when taking in liquid or when believing the solid turned into liquid. insulin and other hormones signaling satiety had an attenuated rise when consuming liquids. ghrelin, a hormone, which is suppressed after meals, was less suppressed by the liquid pre - meals. thinking about liquids is enough to diminish satiety this study confirms that liquid calories cause less satiety, and also shows that just thinking about food in liquid form increases not only hunger levels but also measurable physiologic responses such as the rate in which the stomach empties and the levels of hormones that affect appetite. why does our body seem oblivious to the calories in drinks? perhaps it can be explained by looking at human history : throughout most of human times people ate food when they were hungry, and drank water when they were thirsty. beverages with calories were rare. nowadays, sugary beverages constitute about a fifth of the daily caloric intake and are probably the most ubiquitous food item, available for purchase practically everywhere. these liquids calories don ' t seem to satisfy hunger and are therefore a source for calories that just sneak up on us. full disclosure : i ’ m vice president of product development for herbal water, where we make organic herb - infused waters that have zero calories and no sugar or artificial ingredients. i ’ m also a pediatrician and have been promoting good nutrition and healthy lifestyle for many years. reposted as part of food renegate ' s fight back fridays - - join the food fight!