keeping fit and active in old age or taking cholesterol - busting statins are both vital for preventing early death. and when the two are combined, it dramatically slashes the chances of dying early by up to 70 per cent, scientists found after a 10 - year study of 10, 000 people. experts are already calling for everyone over the age of 50 to be prescribed statins to ward off chronic and potentially fatal conditions, even if the patients are at low risk. they say administering statins to an extra five million people would cut heart attacks and strokes by 10, 000 a year and save at least 2, 000 lives. the pills, which cost as little as 40p a day and are taken by eight million britons to reduce cholesterol and protect against heart attacks, heart disease and stroke, have also been shown to be a potent cancer - buster. treatment with statins is important, but better fitness improves survival significantly and is a valuable additional treatment or an alternative when statins cannot be taken us scientists studied 10, 000 men and women with an average age of 60 and diagnosed with the high cholesterol condition dyslipidaemia. all had their fitness graded and were divided into those taking statins and those not. over 10 years, death rates were lowest for people who were both fit and taking statins. that group had a 70 per cent reduced risk of death. for those who were fit but not taking the pills, the chances of dying were reduced by just under 50 per cent. according to the study, published in the lancet, the differences could not be explained by factors such as age, weight, ethnicity, sex, heart disease history and other drugs. leader of the study, dr peter kokkinos, of the veterans affairs medical center in washington, said unfit middle - aged and older people would only need to undertake “ moderate and feasible ” activity such as walking, gardening, and gym classes to gain the same or greater protection than that achieved by statins. he urged people with high cholesterol to improve their fitness to at least a moderate level. he added : “ treatment with statins is important, but better fitness improves survival significantly and is a valuable additional treatment or an alternative when statins cannot be taken. ” natasha stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the british heart foundation, said : “ this research shows that the two together ( statins and exercise ) can provide a winning combination to further improve your heart health, with higher intensity exercise possibly offering more protection. “ if you have high cho


air pollution is a broad term applied to all chemical and biological agents that modify the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. some definitions also consider physical perturbations such as noise pollution, heat, radiation or light pollution as air pollution. some definitions include the term harmful as a requisite to consider a change to the atmosphere as pollution. the sources of air pollution are divided in two groups : anthropogenic ( caused by human activity ) and natural. natural sources include : anthropogenic sources are mostly related to burning different kinds of fuel. they include : - volcanic activity - dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no vegetation - gases, such as methane, emitted by the digestion of animals, usually cattle. - smoke from wildfires. - dust and chemicals from farming, especially of erodible land, see dust bowl - industrial activity in general. - vehicles with internal - combustion engines. - stoves and incinerators, specially coal ones. - paint fumes, or other toxical vapors. contaminants of air can be divided in particles and gases. particles are classified by their sizes. a usual division is in pm10 and pm2. 5. pm10 are particles whose size is less than 10 microns ( 0. 01 mm ) ; they are dangerous to humans because they can be breathed and reach the lungs. pm2. 5 are particles whose size is less than 2. 5 microns ( 0. 0025 mm ), and they are even more dangerous because they can pass the alveoli and reach the blood. important pollutant gases include : the worst single incident of air pollution to occur in the united states occurred in donora, pennsylvania in late october, 1948 - davis, devra, when smoke ran like water : tales of environmental deception and the battle against pollution, basic books, 2002, hardcover, 316 pages, isbn 0 - 465 - 01521 - 2


donald ervin knuth knuth, donald ervin ( noth, kənothˈ ) [ key ], 1938 –, american mathematician and computer scientist, b. milwaukee, wis., grad. case institute of technology ( b. s. and m. s., 1960 ) and california institute of technology ( ph. d., 1963 ). while still a graduate student, knuth was contracted to write a book about the construction of computer compilers ( see programming language ). what he wrote instead turned into his monumental series the art of computer programming ( 3 vol., 1968 – ), an overview of programming algorithms, each described with mathematical rigor, that has been translated into six languages. disappointed with the state of computer typesetting, knuth developed a typesetting program that has become the standard for mathematics and physics. he taught at the california institute of technology from 1962 until 1968, when he joined the faculty at stanford univ., becoming professor emeritus in 1993. his writings include surreal numbers ( 1974 ), literate programming ( 1992 ), and digital typography ( 1999 ). the columbia electronic encyclopedia, 6th ed. copyright © 2012, columbia university press. all rights reserved. see more encyclopedia articles on : computers and computing, biographies


what reaction can i expect from my small children when i tell them we ’ re separating and in the months following? posted on january 10, 2012 while no child wants to hear that their parents are breaking up, children often have predictable responses when you tell them that you are separating that relate to their developmental stage. knowing what these might be will hopefully make you more prepared for the emotional, behavioral and physical changes that will follow. young children do not fully understand the concept of marriage and separation. they will only understand that mommy or daddy will no longer be living together. be prepared for them to find it difficult to grasp what is happening. try to make them understand otherwise they will be frustrated and confused. children under the age of 5 years old will have various reactions depending on their personality. they will either cry, pretend you never mentioned the separation, they may change the subject because they want to stop their feelings or they go back to focus on what they were doing before you started talking to them or they may show no emotion at all at the time but then leave the room to process their feelings. once they have been able to process some of the information you tell them they will have lots of feelings and fears about the future. the fear of abandonment is very common and is expressed in a variety of ways. children may cling, whine and have tantrums when left at childcare. they want the security of being with their main carer and don ’ t want to be left. when you pick them up they may also be upset because you left them but also relieved and pleased to see you. children may get upset when moved between parents during access visits and will feel unsettled if their main carer changes e. g. they may have a new person looking after them if mum has to go to back to work. being around unfamiliar people can make them tearful and anxious. often they will struggle with a new routine and having to be moved between both parents. some children often regress in their behaviour. they may return to the comfort of a security blanket or a toy they had outgrown or they may have a lapse in toilet training. it is not unusual for children to have disturbed sleep either. bear with them, as it won ’ t be forever. these types of behaviour rarely last for more than a few weeks. some children may become irritable and engage more in physical activity and fighting. this is because of the hurt they feel and the anger towards the situation. other children may become more fearful of aggression and


math is the basis for music, but for those of us who aren ’ t virtuosic at either, the connection isn ’ t always easy to grasp. which is what makes the videos of vi hart, a “ mathemusician ” with a dedicated youtube following, so wonderful. hart explains complex phenomena - - from cardioids to carl gauss - - using simple ( and often very ) funny means. as maria popova pointed out yesterday, hart ’ s latest video is a real doozy. in it, she uses a music box and a mobius strip to explain space - time, showing how the two axes of musical notation ( pitch and tempo ) correspond to space and time. using the tape notation as a model for space - time, she cuts and folds it to show the finite ways you can slice and dice the axes. then, she shows us how you can loop the tape into a continuous strip of twinkling notes : if you fold space - time into a mobius strip, you get your melody, and then the inversion, the melody played upside down. and then right side up again. and so on. so rather than folding and cutting up space - time, just cut and tape a little loop of space - time, to be played over, and over. it ’ s a pretty magical observation, and it makes even me - - the prototypical math dunce - - wish i ’ d tried harder. yet there ’ s still time : hart works for the khan academy, a nonprofit that offers free educational videos about math, biology, and more. check it out. [ h / t brain pickings ]


the colors are the different echo intensities ( reflectivity ) measured in dbz ( decibels of z ) during each elevation scan. " reflectivity " is the amount of transmitted power returned to the radar receiver. reflectivity ( designated by the letter z ) covers a wide range of signals ( from very weak to very strong ). so, a more convenient number for calculations and comparison, a decibel ( or logarithmic ) scale ( dbz ), is used. the dbz values increase as the strength of the signal returned to the radar increases. each reflectivity image you see includes one of two color scales. one scale ( far left ) represents dbz values when the radar is in clear air mode ( dbz values from - 28 to + 28 ). the other scale ( near left ) represents dbz values when the radar is in precipitation mode ( dbz values from 5 to 75 ). notice the color on each scale remains the same in both operational modes, only the values change. the value of the dbz depends upon the mode the radar is in at the time the image was created. the scale of dbz values is also related to the intensity of rainfall. typically, light rain is occurring when the dbz value reaches 20. the higher the dbz, the stronger the rainrate. depending on the type of weather occurring and the area of the u. s., forecasters use a set of rainrates which are associated to the dbz these values are estimates of the rainfall per hour, updated each volume scan, with rainfall accumulated over time. hail is a good reflector of energy and will return very high dbz values. since hail can cause the rainfall estimates to be higher than what is actually occurring, steps are taken to prevent these high dbz values from being converted to rainfall.


it is from the traditional family that we absorb those universal ideals and principles which are the teaching of jesus, the bedrock of our religious faith. we are taught the difference between right and wrong, and about the law, just punishment and discipline. what do you first do when you learn to swim? you make mistakes, do you not? and what happens? you make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning - and some of them many times over - what do you find? that you can swim? well - life is just the same as learning to swim! do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live! the past is for learning from and letting go. you can ' t revisit it. it vanishes. every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a process of learning. we pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. it is a powerful obstacle to growth. it assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. there is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. if you. i used to think that prayer should have the first place and teaching the second. i now feel it would be truer to give prayer the first, second, and third places, and teaching the fourth. i am not afraid of storms, for i am learning how to sail my ship. on any longer view, man is only fitfully committed to the rational to thinking, seeing, learning, knowing. believing is what he \ ' s really proud of. racing is a process of learning where the edge lies. the soul of man is nourished by learning, as the body is by food. it is because modern education is so seldom inspired by a great hope that it so seldom achieves great results. the wish to preserve the past rather than the hope of creating the future dominates the minds of those who control the teaching of the young. curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. teaching is the greatest act of optimism the whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. if we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self - direction, and for self - initiated learning. the praises of others may be of use


, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self - direction, and for self - initiated learning. the praises of others may be of use in teaching us, not what we are, but what we ought to be. liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty is always in vain whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don ' t look back at it too long. mistakes are life ' s way of teaching you. your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. no one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. shake off your blunders. how will you know your limits without an occasional failure? never quit. your turn will come. don ' t look for more honor than your learning merits. you can teach a student a lesson for a day ; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. i am learning all the time. the tombstone will be my diploma. the most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue. learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. the only kind of learning which significantly influences behavior is self - discovered or self - appropriated learning - truth that has been assimilated in experience.


a lot of pilots are satisfied to fly away with the terminal forecasts and metars ( in plain language, please ) and i suppose that might meet the letter of the law on weather information. but there is so much more than that to weather and the pilot who puts some effort into understanding weather, and how it affects his flying, will find less weather - related surprises as a flight unfolds. let ' s look at some of the basics that are available to us and see what we learn from them. the synopsis : maybe the word is misunderstood, but as it appears at the beginning of an area forecast it is basically a description of the weather map. it is followed by a clouds and weather forecast. do pay attention to the note " non msl hgts denoted by agl or cig. " that means cloud bases are generally above sea level except where noted. big difference in the mountains. why is this basic item important? the location of high and low pressure areas and fronts tells a lot about the conditions that will be available for flying. if a trip is headed toward a low or a front, conditions will likely deteriorate the closer the airplane gets to the condition. tops will probably be higher and bottoms lower. at lower altitudes, there will likely be turbulence in the frontal zone. this may not be wing - bending but it will make the flying more difficult and any passengers less comfortable. we have to be careful with weather maps. the ones on tv in the morning generally show weather for the whole day. for flying, we need to know what is expected to exist at a specified time. official prog ( for prognostic ) charts are available on the web at adds. aviationweather. noaa. gov. there is a lot of other good stuff there, including a useful icing forecast. lows : low pressure areas are more important to flying weather than high pressure areas because the lows make the inclemencies that challenge us. the circulation around a low is counter - clockwise in the northern hemisphere and air flows around and into a low and then circulates upward. low pressure areas almost always move, though they can become stationary or erratic in their movement. the normal movement of a surface low is roughly with the wind flow at the 500 - millibar level, or about 18, 000 feet. the prog charts will show the projected movement of lows, or you can look at the 18, 000 - foot wind forecast and visualize the movement. upper lows are just that :


millibar level, or about 18, 000 feet. the prog charts will show the projected movement of lows, or you can look at the 18, 000 - foot wind forecast and visualize the movement. upper lows are just that : complete circulations aloft. they are complex, it is difficult to forecast the formation, movement or dissipation of an upper low, and they can make nasty weather over a wide area. called cut - off or closed lows aloft, if one is overhead nearby, the best surface forecast is for continuous clag. any surface low might not be directly below the low aloft, and the air swirling into the surface low and then up into the low aloft can be quite bothered. bad place to fly. fronts : they come in cold, warm, stationary or occluded versions. the cold variety can spawn serious thunderstorms, especially when the low is strong and the temperature difference on the warm and cold side of the front is great. warm fronts make for inclement weather over a wider area and can harbor embedded thunderstorms. occluded fronts, generally found where a cold front overtakes a warm front because of an exceptionally strong circulation around a low, can make for nasty, bumpy flying. this is especially true just as the fronts are starting to occlude. stay as far away from the driving low as possible. stationary fronts come when a low peters out or moves so far away that the circulation is no longer strong enough to move the fronts. the weather might stay bad for days in a stationary frontal zone and only the development of a strong new low will change things. if all the parameters for a front are not met, the condition might be called a trough and, to a pilot, it might seem for all the world like a real front. source regions : that ' s simply where the air is coming from. visualize the flow around the low and if the source of the low - level air along your route is moist, as in that coming from over the oceans or the gulf of mexico or california, then there will be plenty of ingredients for clouds and rain. the stronger the flow, the more important this becomes. wind : a complete pilot studies wind, especially surface and wind aloft forecasts. if the forecasts are bang - on, that means the model of the atmosphere is accurate and the other forecasts should be pretty good. if the wind forecast is incorrect, then the other forecasts might be too


and wind aloft forecasts. if the forecasts are bang - on, that means the model of the atmosphere is accurate and the other forecasts should be pretty good. if the wind forecast is incorrect, then the other forecasts might be too. generally, a wind that is more southerly or easterly than forecast means the surface weather will be worse than forecast. a stronger wind than forecast means that the low pressure area causing the wind is stronger than forecast. wind shear is important, too. defined as a change in direction and / or velocity over distance or height, wind shear can result in enthusiastic turbulence and can create low - altitude hazards around airports. there is always wind shear in frontal zones and where areas of strong wind ( jet streams, streaks or cores ) aloft interact with areas of lighter winds. temperature & dewpoint : this is really basic, but these items give clues to a lot of things. we learn early and often that if they are close, the flying weather suffers. they are especially important as the day is ending and beginning, when a small spread can result in rapidly deteriorating weather after sunset, or fog at and just after sunrise. if there is a big difference in the temperature and dewpoint ahead of and behind a cold front, there is probably a lot of action in the frontal zone. also, if the temperature aloft is warmer than forecast, that means more moisture. the ability of the atmosphere to hold moisture doubles with every 11 degrees celsius rise in temperature. that is why, when the talking heads say a heavy rain would have been so much snow, they don ' t know what they are talking about.


in this edition, illustrated with beautiful sung dynasty paintings that reflect confucian subjects and ideas, every reader can profit from the timeless philosophy that remains at the heart of chinese civilisation and tradition. ponder the issues of life, existence and knowledge with classic books by some of the greatest thinkers in all history. political theory, philosophical treaties from the ancient greeks to the modern era and more are included in the folio society ’ s collection of beautiful books on philosophy and politics. each title features carefully researched or original commissioned illustrations, and presented in specially designed hardback covers. see below for the full list of folio philosophy and politics books. the bhagavad gita is the cornerstone of the hindu faith and one of the world ’ s greatest religious texts. gandhi called it his ‘ spiritual dictionary ’, while as a secular work it inspired einstein, yeats and jung. our edition uses juan mascaro ’ s acclaimed translation, with illustrations by anna bhushan. so impossible to vanquish with words that mark antony put him to death, cicero was a master of rhetoric and declamation. his orations live on, echoed by the most famous speakers of modern times, from winston churchill to barack obama. in a rare commission for folio, tom phillips, ra, has illustrated this edition. a ‘ political turncoat, a dangerous adventurer ’ ; a ‘ delightful rogue who lacked political judgement ’ – today few people would guess that these were descriptions of one of the most admired statesmen of the 20th century – winston churchill. yet as historian john lukacs points out, when churchill took over as prime minister in may 1940, he was not well - liked. in his inspiring account of the first half of his life, gandhi recounts his childhood in india, education in england and early legal career in south africa, before his return home to take up the cause of indian self - determination. albert einstein was a complex, fascinating man, as brilliant when writing about pacifism, religion and anti - semitism as about theoretical physics. ideas and opinions is a wonderfully engrossing collection of einstein ’ s major articles, speeches and letters on all these subjects, and more. how do we know that what we think is true is actually true? can we prove the existence of god? descartes ’ questions endure. the folio edition of meditations is wittily illustrated by shout, with an introduction by psychologist nicholas humphrey. blaise pascal ( 1623 – 62 ) was a mathematician and physicist who invented the mechanical calcula


foreign minister bob carr has welcomed a new framework to support the comprehensive nuclear - test - ban treaty ( ctbt ). senator carr said the framework involves scientific and technical cooperation between australia and new zealand to promote a permanent and effective ban on nuclear weapon tests. " international cooperation enhances the ability of scientific experts to provide advice to their governments on whether a nuclear test has occurred, " senator carr said. " cooperation between australia and new zealand can serve as a model for others around the world and will strengthen the ctbt. " australia strongly advocates the earliest possible entry into force of the ctbt, so we are taking technical steps to prepare for that time. " in the 16 years since the ctbt opened for signature, the ctbt organization has largely completed work on a global network of over 300 facilities to monitor the environment for acoustic waves and radionuclide particulates and gases from a possible nuclear explosion. data collected by these facilities is made available to ctbt parties, who have the final responsibility in determining which events – about 30, 000 per year - could be a nuclear explosion. although the ctbt has not yet entered into force, its monitoring system has already shown its potential by readily detecting nuclear tests conducted by north korea in 2006 and 2009. technical agencies in australia monitoring for nuclear explosions are geoscience australia and the australian radiation protection and nuclear safety agency. the framework for bilateral cooperation is set out in a memorandum of understanding between the australian safeguards and non - proliferation office and the new zealand ministry of foreign affairs. - minister ' s office : ( 02 ) 6277 7500 - dfat media liaison : ( 02 ) 6261 1555


a stinky little problem : true to its name, malodorous bug invades many area homes dover — a small insect notorious for generating big headaches around the seacoast is once again giving homeowners reason to gripe. stink bugs — small, smelly pests that can damage crops and overwhelm buildings — have been a recent source of frustration as they congregate in masses outside and inside homes in preparation for the winter months. “ i ' m not sure why, but this has been a great year for them, ” said alan eaton, an entomologist at the university of new hampshire ' s cooperative extension program. “ they search for cracks or crevasses to hide in and form huge masses on buildings. ” and these masses have been visible as of late, with large numbers invading homes in search of overwintering sites. as eaton explained, most of these stink bugs are known as the western conifer seed bug — an insect which has expanded eastward since first being detected in pennsylvania in 1992. the western conifer seed bug is a relative of the brown marmorated stink bug — another insect that has contributed to this sudden influx. the brown marmorated stink bug, however, is currently only present in eight municipalities statewide. therefore, eaton credited the western conifer seed bug as the primary source of these recent headaches. “ sealing holes, cracks, and other openings is the best approach, ” eaton said. “ there are a lot of places people might not think about that are actually great for these insects. ” although neither bites, is poisonous, or spreads disease, these dime - sized bugs emit terrible odors when triggered and are classified as agricultural pests. stink bugs can cause widespread damage to fruit and vegetable crops, including peaches, apples, green beans, soybeans, cherries, raspberries, and pears, among others. and once inside homes, neither insect needs much space to feel comfortable and secure — they ' ve been known to settle around window sills, picture frames, and behind television screens. once nestled in their new locations, these insects pass the winter months in a deep hibernation, returning once again around may or june. for now, effective strategies to reduce these insects remain unclear — although sprays are somewhat effective, researchers have said numbers are too big to eradicate entire populations. and although eaton said sept. 15 is normally the deadline to seal up any holes, crevasses, or cracks the bugs may take advantage of,


looking for a spooky way to light your home and yard this halloween? consider the eerie illuminations of candles, lamps, and solar lights. many people carve jack - o - lanterns every autumn when the leaves begin to fall, but not everyone thinks of pumpkins in terms of their sustainable energy potential. a stroll around the farmer ’ s market provides a ton of options for finding that perfect pumpkin. this year, i will be carving my very first jack - o - lantern! i ’ ve watched others carve pumpkins and hollow out gourds for birdhouses, but now it ’ s time for me to give it a go. jack - o - lantern carving tips : 1. choose a flat - bottomed pumpkin so it won ’ t roll around. 2. cut out the lid at an angle to prevent it from dropping inside. 3. sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin spice inside the lid so it smells like a pumpkin pie! by placing candles inside jars with loose beans, rice or gravel, they can light a path to your porch for trick - or - treaters ( or gently illuminate the garden while you drink hot cocoa around a bonfire ). need more jars? clean out your used jam or spaghetti sauce jars and instead of recycling them, reuse them for candles. alternatively, create “ iluminarias ” from tea lights and paper bags. just place a couple inches of sand inside the paper bag, and nestle the tea light into the center. candles are almost as controversial as harry potter. candles themselves aren ’ t always sustainable, and can pollute our indoor air, depending on the ingredients and where they ’ re sourced. avoiding palm oil and paraffin ( a petroleum by - product ) is a good place to start. paraffin candles release carcinogenic toxins into the air, and palm oil is sometimes farmed using unsustainable methods that harm overseas ecosystems and displace local populations. you can keep your holiday celebrations cleaner with options like beeswax or soy candles, which often burn longer than paraffin even though they are more expensive. now you can dress up like a super hero and capture the power of the sun — literally! if you ’ re like me, and think the tiny pumpkin strings of lights are super cute, you don ’ t have to miss out on them this year to save electricity. buy solar - powered or led string lights instead. there are all sorts of pumpkin and holiday - themed solar lights online these days. sustainable lighting isn ’ t just great


garden talk : august 25, 2011 from nga editors native bee basics native bees are important and often under - appreciated pollinators. if you ' d like to find out more about these helpful insects and what you can do to conserve and protect them on your property and in your community, start by reading about them in bee basics : an introduction to our native bees by dr. beatriz moisset and dr. stephen buchmann. this forty - four page booklet, published by the usda forest service and pollinator partnership, is available as a free download from the pollinator info website or can be ordered in a print version. with information on bee anatomy, nesting, and foraging needs, along with profiles of native bees and an extensive section on conservation and what you can do to help keep native bee populations healthy, the booklet provides a wealth of information written in an accessible manner. for those who want to delve deeper, there is a helpful resource section. the pollinator info website that is offering the free download contains an interview with one of the co - authors of bee basics, along with extensive information on all kinds of pollinators. to download bee basics and find out more about pollinators, go to : pollinators info. lingering effects of invasive species the ecological disruption caused by invasive plants species is a worldwide problem. the cost of the environmental and economic impact of these invaders is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $ 1. 4 trillion annually! much research is being done to come up with strategies to control the spread of undesirable plants and minimize their impact on natural ecosystems. now new research suggests that simply removing invasive species may not return plant communities to their pre - invasion condition. part of developing control strategies for invasive plants involves understanding the characteristics that allow certain species to become invasive in the first place, factors such as freedom from natural enemies, disturbance in the environment, and the ability of plants to release substances that prevent competing plants from growing. to study how the interactions between all of these factors affect the success of an invasive species, investigators from the university of california and the university of wisconsin studied invasive velvetgrass, holcus lanatus, ( illustrated ) and its effect on a native daisy, erigeron glaucus, in california. as described in an article in science daily on august 10, 2011, they found that direct competition between velvetgrass and the daisy accounted for much of its initial success due to the dense growth of the grass and its abundant propagules. but they also found that velvet


an article in science daily on august 10, 2011, they found that direct competition between velvetgrass and the daisy accounted for much of its initial success due to the dense growth of the grass and its abundant propagules. but they also found that velvetgrass altered the structure of the native community of soil organisms, specifically the mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. this change reduced the benefits of the mycorrhizae to the native daisy without having any negative impact on the velvetgrass. and the changes in the soil community persisted even after the velvetgrass was removed, potentially affecting the reestablishment of the native plants. these findings suggest that studying the negative effects invasive species have on the ecology of the soil has important implications for researchers who are looking at ways to mitigate their effects. to read more about the effects of invasive plants even after removal, go to : science daily. move gypsy moth free the gypsy moth is an introduced insect that is one of the most destructive pests of trees and shrubs ever to reach our shores. its immature stage, a dark, hairy caterpillar with rows of red and blue spots on its back, is a general feeder that devours more than 450 species of plants! the caterpillars feast on leaves, leaving defoliated plants weakened and perhaps even killed. this pest overwinters as inch - and - a - half long egg masses that look like a clumps of tan or buff - colored hairs on tree trunks, outdoor furniture, or the sides of buildings. native to europe and asia, the gypsy moth was accidentally introduced in the boston area in the 1860 ' s and has since spread to much of the eastern united states. there have also been some infestations on the west coast that came from asia. in an effort to keep this pest from spreading further, the usda requires homeowners to inspect and remove gypsy moth egg masses from household goods prior to moving from an infested to a non - infested area. if you have a move planned, first find out if you are in a gypsy moth - quarantined area by checking out the your move gypsy moth free website. there you can also learn how to inspect your outdoor household articles such as lawn furniture, yard equipment, outdoor toys, and the like, for gypsy moth egg masses and remove them. without checking, you can unwittingly bring the moth with you and risk harm to the landscape trees and shrubs and natural forests in your new community. print out a handy self -


and the like, for gypsy moth egg masses and remove them. without checking, you can unwittingly bring the moth with you and risk harm to the landscape trees and shrubs and natural forests in your new community. print out a handy self - inspection checklist or download a brochure with all the information you need to move safely and comply with federal law. to hone your detection skills, you can even play the fun, on - line bust - a - moth game. for more information, go to : your move gypsy moth free. landscape problem solver we all probably wish we had an experienced gardener we could call on for advice whenever problems arise in the garden. for those of us without such a fount of knowledge, the landscape problem solver from the university of maryland ' s home garden information center may be the next best thing. this site offers photographic keys to help diagnose and solve plant problems, using integrated pest management principles. choose from a list of broad categories, such as shade trees, vegetables, or houseplants. then select the affected plant part from the drop - down menu. this brings up a photographic selection of symptoms. choose the one that seems to fit and you get a page of information on the problem, its cause, and environmentally responsible ways to treat it. there is also information on how to look at a plant to best assess its symptoms, beneficial insects, and emerging pest threats. the information has been put together with the mid - atlantic region as its focus, but there is lots of good information that will be of use to gardeners in other parts of the country. to check out this great resource, go to plant diagnostics.


few things spark up a dull winter landscape like the glowing red - orange stems of coral bark willow. this hardy, fast - growing plant grows naturally as a large tree, but it can easily be turned into a multi - stemmed shrub by annual coppicing ( cutting stems back nearly to the ground ). the brightest stem color occurs only on young stems, so coppicing keeps the plant small and leads to the best bark display. coral bark willow has narrow, medium green leaves that turn yellow in the fall. it can be grown singly or, for real punch, in groups or as hedges. common name : coral bark willow botanical name : salix alba subsp. vitellina ‘ britzensis ’ ( syn. s. alba ‘ britzensis ’ ) plant type : deciduous tree zones : 3 to 8 height : 40 to 60 feet ( 6 to 10 feet if grown as a coppiced shrub ) • sun : full sun • soil : adaptable to most soil types • moisture : average to moist • mulch : 2 to 3 inches of wood chips or other organic mulch • pruning : to grow as a shrub, cut all stems back to within a few inches from the ground in early spring each year. for tree form, just prune lightly to improve form and remove any damaged branches. • fertilizer : none, or apply compost or balanced fertilizer as needed pests and diseases • susceptible to some insects ( willow leaf beetle, stem borer, aphids ) and diseases ( cankers, leaf blights ) • as with most willows, coral bark willow prefers moist soil and does especially well near ponds or streams. • the colorful stems look great in winter arrangements outdoors or indoors. all in the family • coral bark willow is a member of the willow family ( salicaceae ), which also includes poplars and aspens ( populus spp. ). • there are about 400 species of willow ( salix ) ranging from trees 80 + feet tall to creeping alpine plants less than 6 inches tall. • willow bark extract has been used as an anti - inflammatory for centuries ; it contains salicylic acid, which was a key ingredient in the first forms of modern aspirin. where to buy • bluestem nursery, christina lake, bc ; 250 - 447 - 6363 ; www. bluestem. ca • joy creek nursery, scappoose, or ; 503 - 543 - 7474 ; www. joycreek. com


14 october 2005 gsa release no. 05 - 37 for immediate release mars ' climate in flux : mid - latitude glaciers new high - resolution images of mid - latitude mars are revealing glacier - formed landscapes far from the martian poles, says a leading mars researcher. conspicuous trains of debris in valleys, arcs of debris on steep slopes and other features far from the polar ice caps bear striking similarities to glacial landscapes of earth, says brown university ' s james head iii. when combined with the latest climate models and orbital calculation for mars, the geological features make a compelling case for mars having ongoing climate shifts that allow ice to leave the poles and accumulate at lower latitudes. " the exciting thing is a real convergence of these things, " said head, who will present the latest mars climate discoveries on sunday, 16 october, at the annual meeting of the geological society of america in salt lake city ( specific time and location provided below ). " for decades people have been saying that deposits at mid and equatorial latitudes look like they are ice - created, " said head. but without better images, elevation data and some way of explaining it, ice outside of mars ' polar regions was a hard sell. now high - resolution images from the mars odyssey spacecraft ' s thermal emission imaging system combined with images from the mars global surveyor spacecraft ' s mars orbiter camera and mars orbiter laser altimeter can be compared directly with glacier features in mountain and polar regions of earth. the likenesses are hard to ignore. for instance, consider what head calls " lineated valley fill. " these are lines of debris on valley floors that run downhill and parallel to the valley walls, as if they mark some sort of past flow. the same sorts of lines of debris are seen in aerial images of earth glaciers. the difference is that on mars the water ice sublimes away ( goes directly from solid ice to gas, without any liquid phase between ) and leaves the debris lines intact. on earth the lines of debris are usually washed away as a glacier melts. the lines of debris on mars continue down valleys and converges with other lines of debris - again, just like what ' s seen on earth where glaciers converge. " there ' s so much topography and the debris is so thick ( on mars ) that it ' s possible some of the ice might still be there, " said head. the evidence for present day ice includes unusually degraded recent impact craters in these areas - just what you ' d expect to see if a lot of the material ejected from the impact was ice that quickly


of the ice might still be there, " said head. the evidence for present day ice includes unusually degraded recent impact craters in these areas - just what you ' d expect to see if a lot of the material ejected from the impact was ice that quickly sublimed away. another peculiarly glacier - like feature seen in martian mid - latitudes are concentric arcs of debris breaking away from steep mountain alcoves - just as they do at the heads of glaciers on earth. as for how ice could reach mars lower latitudes, orbital calculations indicate that mars may slowly wobble on its spin axis far more than earth does ( the moon minimizes earth ' s wobble ). this means that as mars ' axis tilted to the extremes - up to 60 degrees from the plane of mars ' orbit - the martian poles get a whole lot more sunshine in the summertime than they do now. that extra sun would likely sublime water from the polar ice caps, explains head. " when you do that you are mobilizing a lot of ice and redistributing it to the equator, " head said. " the climate models are saying it ' s possible. " it ' s pure chance that we happen to be exploring mars when its axis is at a lesser, more earth - like tilt. this has led to the false impression of mars being a place that ' s geologically and climatically dead. in fact, says head, mars is turning out to be a place that is constantly changing. when and where lineated valley fill at the dichotomy boundary on mars : evidence for regional mid - latitude glaciation sunday, 16 october, 3 : 15 p. m. mdt, salt palace convention center room 257 view abstract : http : / / gsa. confex. com / gsa / 2005am / finalprogram / abstract _ 94125. htm click photo for larger image with caption. during the geological society of america annual meeting, 16 - 19 october, contact ann cairns at the gsa newsroom, salt palace convention center, for assistance and to arrange for interviews : + 1 - 801 - 534 - 4770. - after the meeting contact : - james head iii - department of geological sciences - brown university, providence, ri - phone : + 1 - 401 - 863 - 2526 - e - mail : james _ head _ iii @ brown. edu


the clock command the clock command has facilities for getting the current time, formatting time values, and scanning printed time strings to get an integer time value. the clock command was added in tcl 7. 5. table 13 - 1 summarizes the clock command : table 13 - 1. the clock command. | clock clicks | | a system - dependent high resolution counter. | | clock format value? - format str? | | formats a clock value according to str. | | clock scan string? - base clock?? - gmt boolean? | | parses date string and return seconds value. the clock value determines the date. | | clock seconds | | returns the current time in seconds. | the following command prints the current time : clock format [ clock seconds ] = > sun nov 24 14 : 57 : 04 1996 the clock seconds command returns the current time, in seconds since a starting epoch. the clock format command formats an integer value into a date string. it takes an optional argument that controls the format. the format strings contains % keywords that are replaced with the year, month, day, date, hours, minutes, and seconds, in various formats. the default string is : % a % b % d % h : % m : % s % z % y tables 13 - 2 and 13 - 3 summarize the clock formatting strings : table 13 - 2. clock formatting keywords. | % % | | inserts a %. | | % a | | abbreviated weekday name ( mon, tue, etc. ). | | % a | | full weekday name ( monday, tuesday, etc. ). | | % b | | abbreviated month name ( jan, feb, etc. ). | | % b | | full month name. | | % c | | locale specific date and time ( e. g., nov 24 16 : 00 : 59 1996 ). | | % d | | day of month ( 01? 31 ). | | % h | | hour in 24 - hour format ( 00? 23 ). | | % i | | hour in 12 - hour format ( 01? 12 ). | | % j | | day of year ( 001? 366 ). | | % m | | month number ( 01? 12 ). | | % m | | minute ( 00? 59 ). | | % p | | am / pm indicator. | | % s | | seconds ( 00? 59


. | | % m | | month number ( 01? 12 ). | | % m | | minute ( 00? 59 ). | | % p | | am / pm indicator. | | % s | | seconds ( 00? 59 ). | | % u | | week of year ( 00? 52 ) when sunday starts the week. | | % w | | weekday number ( sunday = 0 ). | | % w | | week of year ( 01? 52 ) when monday starts the week. | | % x | | locale specific date format ( e. g., feb 19 1997 ). | | % x | | locale specific time format ( e. g., 20 : 10 : 13 ). | | % y | | year without century ( 00? 99 ). | | % y | | year with century ( e. g. 1997 ). | | % z | | time zone name. | table 13 - 3. unix - specific clock formatting keywords. | % d | | date as % m / % d / % y ( e. g., 02 / 19 / 97 ). | | % e | | day of month ( 1? 31 ), no leading zeros. | | % h | | abbreviated month name. | | % n | | inserts a newline. | | % r | | time as % i : % m : % s % p ( e. g., 02 : 39 : 29 pm ). | | % r | | time as % h : % m ( e. g., 14 : 39 ). | | % t | | inserts a tab. | | % t | | time as % h : % m : % s ( e. g., 14 : 34 : 29 ). | the clock clicks command returns the value of the system ' s highest resolution clock. the units of the clicks are not defined. the main use of this command is to measure the relative time of different performance tuning trials. the following command counts the clicks per second over 10 seconds, which will vary from system to system : example 13 - 1 calculating clicks per second. set t1 [ clock clicks ] after 10000 ; # see page 218 set t2 [ clock clicks ] puts " [ expr ( $ t2 - $ t1 ) / 10 ] clicks / second " = > 1001313 clicks / second the clock scan command parses a date string and returns a seconds


218 set t2 [ clock clicks ] puts " [ expr ( $ t2 - $ t1 ) / 10 ] clicks / second " = > 1001313 clicks / second the clock scan command parses a date string and returns a seconds value. the command handles a variety of date formats. if you leave off the year, the current year is assumed. year 2000 compliance tcl implements the standard interpretation of two - digit year values, which is that 70? 9 are 1970? 999, 00? 9 are 2000? 069. versions of tcl before 8. 0 did not properly deal with two - digit years in all cases. note, however, that tcl is limited by your system ' s time epoch and the number of bits in an integer. on windows, macintosh, and most unix systems, the clock epoch is january 1, 1970. a 32 - bit integer can count enough seconds to reach forward into the year 2037, and backward to the year 1903. if you try to clock scan a date outside that range, tcl will raise an error because the seconds counter will overflow or underflow. in this case, tcl is just reflecting limitations of the underlying system. if you leave out a date, clock scan assumes the current date. you can also use the - base option to specify a date. the following example uses the current time as the base, which is redundant : clock scan " 10 : 30 : 44 pm " - base [ clock seconds ] the date parser allows these modifiers : year, month, fortnight ( two weeks ), week, day, hour, minute, second. you can put a positive or negative number in front of a modifier as a multiplier. for example : clock format [ clock scan " 10 : 30 : 44 pm 1 week " ] = > sun dec 01 22 : 30 : 44 1996 clock format [ clock scan " 10 : 30 : 44 pm - 1 week " ] sun nov 17 22 : 30 : 44 1996 you can also use tomorrow, yesterday, today, now, last, this, next, and ago, as modifiers. clock format [ clock scan " 3 years ago " ] = > wed nov 24 17 : 06 : 46 1993 both clock format and clock scan take a - gmt option that uses greenwich mean time. otherwise, the local time zone is used. clock format [ clock seconds ] - gmt true = > sun nov 24 09 : 25 : 29 1996 clock format [ clock seconds ] - gmt


the data on species level is structured in four areas ( see picture below ) : 1. at the top in light yellow, the species ' name is shown together with, when applicable, its iucn code ( click on the code and you will be redirected to iucn ' s webpage with detailed information about this threatened species ) and, if you have ticked the species, a green tick to the right 2. in the rich yellow field you also have the species name and a scroll function up ( left ) or down ( right ) the sequence of the chosen checklist ( click on filter if you want to change the active checklist ). 3. below the yellow field, the taxonomic tree down to the chosen level is shown ( click on any higher level to get a new selection of species groups ). 4. the submenu in black shows the information sets available : * info - species info including a distribution map, a photo and, if applicable, subspecific information and taxonomic notes * names [ # of ] - shows the species ' name in different languages ( recommended as well as optional names ) and within brackets # of names * photo [ # of ] - all photos on the gt network of this species and within brackets # of photos * distribution - a distribution map and countries where this particular species / subspecies has been recorded and also its status * who x - list of gt members that have ticked the species and in which countries * my ticks [ # of ] - my own ticks on country level and within brackets # of ticks * my notes [ * ] - a free text field where you can save your personal notes related to this species ; if you have saved information you will have a [ * ] marker * literature - in which book and on which plate is the taxon depicted ( this is work - in - progress so not many references so far... ) * xeno - canto - click and you will be redirected to xeno - canto ' s website to hear voice recordings of the species * wikipedia - click on the icon and you will be redirected to wikipedia ' s website * google images - click on the icon and you will be redirected to google ' s website


a recursive function typically contains a conditional expression which has three parts : recursive functions can be much simpler than any other kind of function. indeed, when people first start to use them, they often look so mysteriously simple as to be incomprehensible. like riding a bicycle, reading a recursive function definition takes a certain knack which is hard at first but then seems simple. there are several different common recursive patterns. a very simple pattern looks like this : ( defun name - of - recursive - function ( argument - list ) " documentation... " ( if do - again - test body... ( name - of - recursive - function next - step - expression ) ) ) each time a recursive function is evaluated, a new instance of it is created and told what to do. the arguments tell the instance what to do. an argument is bound to the value of the next - step - expression. each instance runs with a different value of the next - step - expression. the value in the next - step - expression is used in the do - again - test. the value returned by the next - step - expression is passed to the new instance of the function, which evaluates it ( or some transmogrification of it ) to determine whether to continue or stop. the next - step - expression is designed so that the do - again - test returns false when the function should no longer be repeated. the do - again - test is sometimes called the stop condition, since it stops the repetitions when it tests false.


scientists at the ucl institute of child health ( ich ) have developed a new gene therapy that could have the potential to save the lives of children with a life threatening tumour called neuroblastoma. the technique, which uses novel tumour - homing nanoparticles has proved to be effective in a first stage trial in which researchers successfully targeted the tumours in a mouse model. the details of the study are published online today in the international journal biomaterials. stephen hart, reader in molecular genetics at the ich, explains : “ it has long been a major technical challenge for medical researchers to use gene therapy to target this type of tumour, particularly when the cancer has spread. now with the development of these novel nanoparticles in our laboratory, we ’ ve been able to deliver the genes to where they are needed, via an intravenous injection. ” neuroblastoma is one of the most aggressive malignancies, affecting around 100 children each year in britain. new treatments are urgently needed to tackle the disease, which is often fatal. two thirds of children have widespread disease at diagnosis, making treatment even more challenging for specialist clinicians. “ in the mouse tumour model we have demonstrated that the nanoparticles can home in on tumours after injection into the blood stream, avoiding the liver, lung and spleen, organs that might otherwise remove the particles from the circulation. we have then used the nanoparticles to deliver a cargo of anti - tumour genes, which in turn stimulated the mouse ’ s immune cells to attack and destroy the tumour. we observed that tumour growth was slowed significantly and in a third of mice, tumours were eradicated completely, surviving long - term. ” “ these nanoparticles are composed of peptides ( small pieces of protein ) and liposomes ( fatty globules ), as well as the therapeutic genes. although similar to artificial viruses, the nanoparticles are safe and non - infectious. ” dr penelope brock, consultant oncologist at great ormond street hospital said : “ this is an extremely exciting breakthrough with enormous promise for improving clinical care of children and adolescents suffering from a very aggressive disease. i look forward to seeing results of early phase clinical trials. ” dr hart continues, “ we now need to study the efficacy, safety and side - effects of the nanoparticles and hope that in the future our findings will translate into a viable treatment for some of the most challenging cases


with predictions of polar bears being extinct in 50 years, on thin ice follows bears as they emerge from their dens and navigate their rapidly changing environment. on thin ice shows how the frozen expanses of the arctic are shrinking at an unprecedented rate, with the very survival of the polar bear literally on thin ice. over the last year, producer / presenter greg grainger has mounted a series of expeditions across the arctic to document the plight of the polar bear. * researcher nick lunn tranquillises polar bears from his helicopter, cataloguing the diminishing health of the western hudson bay bear population and finding the remains of a bear thought to have died from starvation. * close and wild encounters with rangers from the polar bear alert team as they chase bears out of the township of churchill, built in the middle of the bears ’ migration route. follow one family of bears that have to be darted after they attempt to break into a building food for food, while another bold bear becomes trapped inside a garbage truck. * hungry bears and husky dogs fighting one another at an isolated weather station north of norway. * polar bears in the wild as they capture seals and devour whale carcasses. there is no more iconic symbol of strength and adaptation to survival than the polar bear.... an animal so superbly suited to its environment that it thrives in the most hostile corners of the planet – until now. on thin ice - a moving account of polar bears struggling to survive as climate change melts their summer hunting ground - the arctic sea ice.


" they tell me that isn ' t right, " harding said. judy ellinghausen, archivist at the history museum in great falls, agreed, calling such an account " unlikely. " in all the reading she has done on the 1908 flood, she has seen no references to serious flooding in the center of town. great falls was not the only community affected by the precipitation in june 1908. lewis and clark county commissioners estimated the helena area lost $ 100, 000 worth of its roads and bridges, while the tribune quoted a fort benton resident as saying the water had never been as high in that historic town along the missouri as it was in 1908. great falls still sports one clear public reference to the flood of 1908 — a plaque located on a railroad overpass pier next to 6th street north between park drive and river drive north. the plaque on the east pier shows the peak water level of the june 1908 flood. based on that high - water mark, floodwaters would have intruded only a short distance into the lower north side residential area. however, the west side was inundated with water in 1908, just as it was in 1964, another disastrous flood year for west great falls. harding said the worst recorded flooding on the sun river, which runs through the west side and connects to the missouri river near the meadow lark country club area, occurred in 1964. " the 1908 ( flood ) always was the granddaddy of them all until ' 64, " harding said. along the sun river, water levels were higher in 1964 " by about a foot and a half, " than they were in 1908, he added. other notable floods in great falls occurred in 1953 and 1975, which gave rise to a theory that big floods took place in great falls every 11 years. before 1986 rolled around, much of west great falls formed a flood district, and contractors built a thick earthen dike to keep out any flooding. sun river dikes in great falls have yet to be seriously tested. reach tribune staff writer richard ecke at firstname. lastname @ example. org, or at 406 - 791 - 1467 or 800 - 438 - 6600.


saving energy : california clamps down on ‘ vampire ’ chargers wasteful battery chargers for smartphones, tablet computers, laptops, etc., will be subject to new, stricter rules in the us state of california. ‘ vampire ’ battery chargers can waste up to 60 % of the energy they take from electrical outlets. california is the first us state to confront this problem, with the california energy commission voting unanimously to improve efficiency standards, which will cover some 170 million chargers. the manufacturers of consumer appliances of course strongly objected to the new regulations, despite projections that the improved energy standards would save $ 306 million per year on commercial and residential electricity bills. from the los angeles times : this means that we can have the devices that we like in our lives and that make our lives easier. but by taking a few relatively simple steps to improve battery chargers, we can save so much electricity, take care of the environment and save ratepayers money. – commissioner karen douglas, california energy commissioner california ’ s energy plan has a tradition of placing a priority on energy efficiency, above the development of renewable power, starting with air conditioner regulations back in 1977. this strategy has helped keep the state ’ s per capita energy consumption the same over the past 30 years, as opposed to the us as a whole, which saw consumption increase by 50 % over the same period. the chargers are called vampires because they continue to suck energy from the wall if plugged in, even when they are not charging their battery - powered devices. ( tip : don ’ t leave your laptop, smartphone, tablet charger, etc., plugged into the wall! ).


high selection pressure on domestic cattle has led to an undesirable increase in inbreeding, as well as to the deterioration of some functional traits which are indirectly selected. semen stored in a cryobank may be a useful way to redirect selection or limit the loss of genetic diversity in a selected breed. the purpose of this study was to analyse the efficiency of current cryobank sampling methods, by investigating the benefits of using cryopreserved semen in a selection scheme several generations after the semen was collected. the theoretical impact of using cryopreserved semen in a selection scheme of a dairy cattle breed was investigated by simulating various scenarios involving two negatively correlated traits and a change in genetic variability of the breed. our results indicate that using cryopreserved semen to redirect selection will have an impact on negatively selected traits only if it is combined with major changes in selection objectives or practices. if the purpose is to increase genetic diversity in the breed, it can be a viable option. using cryopreserved semen to redirect selection or to improve genetic diversity should be carried out with caution, by considering the pros and cons of prospective changes in genetic diversity and the value of the selected traits. however, the use of genomic information should lead to more interesting perspectives to choose which animals to store in a cryobank and to increase the value of cryobank collections for selected breeds. within the context of farm animal biotechnologies, cryopreservation is one of the most useful tools for selection improvement, dissemination of genetic progress and ex situ conservation. in its global plan of action, the fao recommended the implementation of ex situ programmes to complement in situ conservation of animal genetic resources. it was also suggested that cryopreserved bio - specimens could be used as a backup material to redirect the selection scheme of a given breed, if needed [ 2, 3 ]. consequently, several gene banks have been created with different strategies and policies that vary with the breed, species, and country concerned [ 4, 5 ] and methods have been proposed to use ex situ genetic resources to optimise the management of genetic diversity in endangered breeds. breeds with large populations are subject to high selection pressures and have rates of inbreeding greater than the desired values. in these cases, the use of stored semen from male ancestors has seldom been investigated, although breeding organisations could be interested in doing so. for instance, in the dairy cattle breed ab


and have rates of inbreeding greater than the desired values. in these cases, the use of stored semen from male ancestors has seldom been investigated, although breeding organisations could be interested in doing so. for instance, in the dairy cattle breed abondance ( a local selected breed in the french northern alps ), the semen of a bull born in 1977 ( called naif ), which was rarely used in the 1980 ' s, was used from 2004 to 2007, to produce 20 young bulls in order to reintroduce some genetic variability in the breed. depending on the country, different strategies have been implemented to sample individuals for national collections. in the netherlands, most of the tested bulls are sampled for preservation in the gene bank, while in the usa, the selection of animals for cryopreservation is aimed at optimizing genetic diversity within the collection, by sampling animals from clusters determined through computed genealogical relationships. in france, based on the idea that individuals sampled for a cryobank should be as diverse as possible and carry special genotypes, regulations have been implemented to conserve frozen sperm from three main origins : ( i ) animals from endangered breeds, ( ii ) original animals from non - endangered breeds ( with either extreme positive or negative estimated breeding values ( ebv ), carrying rare alleles or representing rare pedigree lines ), and ( iii ) representative animals from non - endangered breeds. the purpose of this study was to analyse the efficiency of current cryobank sampling methods by investigating the benefits of using cryopreserved semen in a selection scheme several generations after the semen was collected. based on simulations, we examined two situations in which cryopreserved sperm was used ( 1 ) to redirect the selection goal, by including a trait which, in the past, had shown a negative correlated selection response ( e. g. fertility in dairy cattle ), and ( 2 ) to limit the loss of genetic diversity in the breed. the impact of using cryopreserved sperm was measured by estimating the evolution of two negatively correlated traits and the evolution of the breed ' s genetic diversity, assessed through pedigree information. a simplified cattle breed was simulated with 13 discrete generations, each consisting of 100 males and 10000 females. in each generation, 10 bulls and 50 cows were chosen as parents of the male progeny, and 20 bulls and 10000 cows were chosen as parents of the female progeny ( with no selection on the dam to dam path ). mating


females. in each generation, 10 bulls and 50 cows were chosen as parents of the male progeny, and 20 bulls and 10000 cows were chosen as parents of the female progeny ( with no selection on the dam to dam path ). mating was random resulting in random variation of progeny size among parents, i. e. the sire and dam of a given newborn were randomly chosen in the corresponding lists of parents. simulation of genetic values and ebv we considered two traits a and b. trait a corresponded to a production trait which had been recently and intensively selected and improved ( such as milk production in dairy cattle ). trait b corresponded to a functional trait which had deteriorated because of a negative correlation with trait a ( e. g. fertility or longevity ). the genetic standard deviation of each trait ( σa and σb, respectively ) was set to 1 and the correlation between traits ( ρ ) was set to - 0. 3. for each trait, an additive polygenic model was assumed and the simulation of correlated genetic values was based on the bivariate normal distribution ( see, e. g. ). at generation 0 ( base population ), genetic values for trait a were randomly and independently drawn from a n ( 0, 1 ) distribution. for a given individual ( i ), the genetic value for trait b ( bi ) was generated from its value for trait a ( ai ) : where βi is a n ( 0, 1 ) random number independent of ai. in the following generations, genetic values of individual i were simulated from the genetic values of its sire ( ap and bp ) and its dam ( am and bm ), taking into account the parent ' s coefficients of inbreeding ( fp and fm, resp. ) [ 12, 13 ] : in these equations, γi and δi are two numbers randomly drawn from a n ( 0, 1 ) bivariate normal distribution with a correlation equal to ρ. ebv were directly simulated from genetic values, assuming an evaluation procedure leading to an accuracy ( cd = square of the correlation between the ebv and the true genetic value ) equal to 0. 6 for bulls and 0. 4 for cows, whatever the trait and the generation considered. therefore, the ebv of a given individual for trait a ( ebvai ) and for trait b ( ebvbi ) were computed as follows : where εi and are two independent numbers drawn from a n ( 0, 1 ) distribution. finally,


of a given individual for trait a ( ebvai ) and for trait b ( ebvbi ) were computed as follows : where εi and are two independent numbers drawn from a n ( 0, 1 ) distribution. finally, a total merit index ( tmii ) was computed, weighting the two ebv by wa and wb = 1 - wa, respectively : sampling and use of cryopreserved semen simulations comprised two stages. during stage 1 ( generations 0 to 8 ), the lists of parents were selected based on their ebv for trait a only, without considering the evolution of the genetic mean for trait b or the average coefficient of inbreeding. during stage 2 ( generations 9 to 12 ), the bulls were also used to improve trait b or to introduce genetic diversity in the breed. during stage 1, the semen of some bulls was sampled and cryopreserved if the animals fulfilled one of the three following conditions, which correspond to the current sampling rules of the french national cryobank for type " ii " ( original bulls ) : - ( i ) ebva is three standard deviations above or below the mean of the generation, - ( ii ) ebvb is two standard deviations above the mean of the generation ( trait b is considered as a functional trait and for functional traits, only animals above the average are considered ), - ( iii ) the bull is a sire of sires with no male offspring selected after the evaluation process ( these bulls were actually selected with one generation lag ). to check the validity of this elaborate sampling method, we tested a simpler sampling method ( similar to the one used in the netherlands ), where the semen of all young bulls is stored in the cryobank. in the simulations performed here, we investigated the impact of a one - time use ( i. e. during a single generation ) of cryopreserved semen. at generation 9, four bulls with cryopreserved semen were selected ( hereafter referred to as ' cryobank bulls ' ), these bulls fulfilling one of the following conditions either ( i ) they are the best cryobank bulls for the tmii or ( ii ) they have the lowest average kinship with the existing population ( males and females taken together ). we studied the impact of various selection orientations ( use of cryopreserved semen, conservation of male lines, etc. ) only on the male path, because applying the


average kinship with the existing population ( males and females taken together ). we studied the impact of various selection orientations ( use of cryopreserved semen, conservation of male lines, etc. ) only on the male path, because applying the above conditions on the female path would be much more restrictive, less effective, and would require a larger amount of semen, all the more since the number of doses is generally limited in cryobanks ( 200, in france ). for these reasons, we considered that cryobank bulls were used only to procreate young bulls for progeny testing. the 9th generation of young bulls was then generated using either the bulls from the cryobank or the group of 10 sires selected as described in previous sections. depending on the scenario ( see following section ), 0, 40 or 80 individuals ( among the 100 newborn bull calves ) were sired randomly by one of the four selected cryobank bulls. simulation scenarios and results six simulation scenarios were completed with two main options ( table 1 ). table 1. description of simulation scenarios firstly, in scenario " b ", emphasis was put on the selection of both traits b and a. to achieve this goal, three methods were compared : - b1 : at generation 9, the four bulls with the highest tmi ( wb = 0. 5 ) were used to sire 40 % of the young bulls, while the selection criterion during stage 2 remained unchanged ( improving ebva ). the other young bulls were sired by bulls randomly sampled within the group of 10 sires ; - b2 : at generation 9, no cryobank bull was used, and during stage 2, tmi ( wb = 0. 5 ) was used as the selection criterion instead of ebva ; - b3 : at generation 9, the four cryobank bulls with the highest tmi were used to sire 40 % of the young bulls, and during stage 2, tmi was used as the selection criterion instead of ebva. to test more or less drastic selection changes, scenario b3 was tested with an increasing weight given to trait b ( wb increasing from 0. 5 to 1 ). secondly, in scenarios " d ", emphasis was put on genetic variability while trait a remained the breeding goal. three methods were also compared : - d1 : at generation 9, the four cryobank bulls having the lowest kinship with the existing population ( scenario b1 ) were used to sire 40 % of the young bulls ; -


remained the breeding goal. three methods were also compared : - d1 : at generation 9, the four cryobank bulls having the lowest kinship with the existing population ( scenario b1 ) were used to sire 40 % of the young bulls ; - d2 : at generation 9, no cryobank bull was used, while during stage 2, the progenies on the sire to sire path were given the same size i. e. for each sire of sires, 10 male offspring were created among which those with the two best ebva became the sires of dams and that with the best ebva became a sire of sires ; - d3 : at generation 9, the four cryobank bulls having the lowest kinship with the existing population ( scenario b1 ) were used to sire 40 % of the young bulls, while during stage 2, selection was used to equalise progeny sizes on the sire to sire path. simulations were performed with 1000 runs for each scenario. for each generation, individual inbreeding coefficients and genetic values were computed and averaged for the entire male and female populations. the individual coefficients of kinship were also computed and averaged over males only and over the entire populations. the proportion of genes originating from cryobank bulls was computed on the basis of the gene dropping procedure ( one locus averaged over the 1000 runs ). stage 1 : evolution of selected traits, diversity loss, and sampling of cryobank bulls as expected, the results of the different scenarios did not differ significantly for generations 0 to 8 given that in stage 1, the conditions were the same whatever the option chosen, ( here we present results averaged over the 1000 runs of one scenario only ). with the parameters chosen for the simulation, each sire of sires had on average 10 male offspring ( across sires standard deviation s. d. = 2. 9 ) and each sire of dams had on average 500 female offspring ( across sires s. d. = 21. 6 ). as expected ( see figure 1 ), selection on trait a during stage 1 led to a major increase in the mean of this trait ( + 6. 7 initial genetic standard deviation ) from generation 0 to 8, while at the same time, the mean of b decreased to a lesser extent ( - 2 initial genetic standard deviation ). the average coefficient of inbreeding increased simultaneously. young bulls were slightly more inbred than cows, as they originated from a smaller number of sires and dams. in parallel ( generation 0 to 8 )


- 2 initial genetic standard deviation ). the average coefficient of inbreeding increased simultaneously. young bulls were slightly more inbred than cows, as they originated from a smaller number of sires and dams. in parallel ( generation 0 to 8 ), the average coefficient of kinship among the young bulls and among the entire population increased to 8. 1 % and 6. 9 %, respectively. figure 1. changes in genetic values ( a ) and in genetic diversity ( b ) ( scenario b1 ). dotted lines : young bulls ; solid lines : whole population ; red : trait a, blue : trait b ; green : average between a and b ; purple : inbreeding f ; pink : kinship φ. an average of 31 cryobank bulls was sampled per replicate, 58 % being sampled because of outstanding ebvb ( see table 2 ). table 2 shows that cryobank bulls chosen for their genetic diversity were generally born earlier than others, which can be explained by the fact that they were chosen with one generation lag compared to other sampling procedures. table 2. average number and birth generation of bulls selected for conservation stage 2 in scenarios b : change in breeding goals as shown in figure 1, introducing cryobank bulls with exceptional tmi without changing the selection criterion during stage 2 ( scenario b1 ) had a temporary impact on traits a and b as well as on the diversity indicators of the young bulls. at the whole population level, the impact was negligible, since young bulls sired by cryobank bulls were rarely subsequently selected as sires : three generations after introduction ( generation 12 ), the cryobank contribution to genetic diversity was less than 3 % ( table 3 ). table 3. origin and impact of cryobank bulls used in the different scenarios when tmi was used as a selection criterion ( considering wb = 0. 5 ), without using cryobank bulls ( scenario b2 ), there was a per generation increase in the mean of trait b from generation 9 on ( b1 : - 0. 3 vs b2 : + 0. 4 ), while the genetic gain for trait a decreased ( b1 : + 1. 0 vs b2 : + 0. 4, see additional file 1 ). the change in breeding goals had no impact on diversity indicators. additional file 1. changes in genetic values ( a ) and in genetic diversity ( b ) ( scenario b2 ). the data represent the simulation results for scenario b2. dotted lines : young bulls ; solid


goals had no impact on diversity indicators. additional file 1. changes in genetic values ( a ) and in genetic diversity ( b ) ( scenario b2 ). the data represent the simulation results for scenario b2. dotted lines : young bulls ; solid lines : whole population ; red : trait a ; blue : trait b ; green : average between a and b ; purple : inbreeding f ; pink : kinship φ. format : pdf size : 58kb download file this file can be viewed with : adobe acrobat reader combining the use of cryobank bulls and tmi as a selection criterion ( scenario b3 for wb = 0. 5 ) resulted in a slight but significant ( p < 0. 001 ) reduction in average kinship ( - 0. 3 % between scenario b2 and b3, with 40 % of the males from generation 9 sired by cryobank bulls, see additional file 2 ). concerning the selected traits, the genetic gain for trait a decreased slightly when cryobank bulls were used ( - 0. 12 between scenarios b2 and b3, p < 0. 001 ), while the genetic gain for trait b increased slightly ( + 0. 06 between scenarios b2 and b3, p = 0. 02 ). these tendencies increased slightly when 80 % of the males from generation 9 were sired by cryobank bulls ( see additional file 2 ). according to the results from table 3, cryobank bulls contributed to 6. 5 % of the diversity three generations after their introduction. it should be noted that the cryobank bulls used were generally sampled in recent generations, their average birth generation being 6. 6 ( table 3 ). additional file 2. changes in genetic values ( a ) and in average kinship ( b ) when trait b was added to selection goals. the data represent the simulation results when selection is redirected with a new trait accounting for 50 % of the total merit index and when the use of semen from cryobank bulls is increased. scenario b3 and whole population are considered with the weight wb given to trait b accounting for 50 % of the total merit index and an increased use of the semen from cryobank bulls. brown : no cryobank bull is used ( scenario b2 ) ; red : cryobank bulls are used to produce 40 % of sons ( scenario b3 ) ; yellow : cryobank bulls are used to produce 80 % of sons ; o : genetic value for


is used ( scenario b2 ) ; red : cryobank bulls are used to produce 40 % of sons ( scenario b3 ) ; yellow : cryobank bulls are used to produce 80 % of sons ; o : genetic value for trait a ; ♦ : genetic value for trait b ; dotted line : average genetic value between a and b ; x : kinship φ. format : pdf size : 57kb download file this file can be viewed with : adobe acrobat reader as a result of the increased weight of trait b within tmi ( see figure 2 ), there was a per generation increase in genetic gain for trait b, while there was a slightly lower increase or even a decrease in genetic gain for trait a, as well as in average kinship, when trait b accounted for more than 80 % of ebv. when only trait b was taken into account for tmi, the genetic value of traits a and b reached 4. 7 and 1. 37, respectively at generation 12 ( versus 8. 4 and - 0. 41 respectively when wb = 0. 5 ), while average kinship reached 8. 9 % at generation 12 ( versus 11. 9 % when wb = 0. 5 ). figure 2. changes in genetic values ( a ) and in average kinship ( b ), when trait b was added to selection goals. scenario b3 and whole population are considered with the weight wb of trait b increasing for computation of the total merit index. black : wb = 0 ( scenario b1 ) ; brown : wb = 0. 5 ; red : wb = 0. 6 ; orange : wb = 0. 7 ; green : wb = 0. 8 ; light blue : wb = 0. 9 ; dark blue : wb = 1 ; o : genetic value for trait a ; ♦ : genetic value for trait b ; x : kinship φ. stage 2 in scenarios d : improvement in genetic diversity as shown in figure 3, the use of cryobank bulls with a minimised kinship with the current generation ( scenario d1 ), had no impact if the selection policy was not modified, since none of the offspring of the cryobank bulls were selected as sires. equalising progeny sizes on the sire to sire path alone ( scenario d2 ) decreased diversity a little less ( in generation 12, φ = 12 % for scenario d1 and φ = 11 % for scenario d2 ), with an almost negligible impact on genetic progress. combining this option with the introgression of


) decreased diversity a little less ( in generation 12, φ = 12 % for scenario d1 and φ = 11 % for scenario d2 ), with an almost negligible impact on genetic progress. combining this option with the introgression of cryobank bulls ( scenario d3 ) resulted in a significant reduction in average kinship ( - 2 % in comparison to d1 ). under such a scenario, the genetic mean of trait b also increased slightly ( + 0. 3 between scenario d1 and d3, p < 0. 001 ), while that of trait a and the average of both traits decreased slightly ( - 0. 08 and - 0. 02 respectively, between scenarios d1 and d3, p < 0. 001 ). it should be noted that most of the cryobank bulls used originated from the founder population, their average birth generation being 0. 3 ( table 3 ). figure 3. changes in genetic values ( a ) and in average kinship ( b ), when the aim was to manage genetic diversity. the whole population is considered brown : no change in selection ; cryobank bulls used to produce 40 % of male offspring ( scenario d1 ) ; red : conservation of male lines ( scenario d2 ) ( curve overlapping the preceding one ) ; yellow : conservation of male lines and cryobank bulls used to produce 40 % of male offspring ( scenario d3 ) ; o : genetic value for trait a ; ♦ : genetic value for trait b ; dotted line : average genetic value between a and b ; x : kinship φ. modifying which bulls entered the cryobank by preserving semen for all the young bulls did not significantly alter the results of scenarios b3 and d3, either for the selected traits or for kinship evolution ( data not shown ). it should be noted that in this case, the average birth generation of the cryobank bulls used was 7, in scenario b3 ( instead of 6. 6, in the first cryobank sampling method ), and 0, in scenario d3 ( instead of 0. 3, in the first cryobank sampling method ). in this study, we assessed the impacts of using cryopreserved bull semen either to redirect selection or to improve the genetic variability of a selected cattle breed. simulation parameters were chosen as a compromise between realism in the scenarios, their applicability, and the simplicity of the model. for instance, with respect to the choice of population size, a


or to improve the genetic variability of a selected cattle breed. simulation parameters were chosen as a compromise between realism in the scenarios, their applicability, and the simplicity of the model. for instance, with respect to the choice of population size, a breed with 20 breeding males and 10000 potential dams could be considered quite small, especially with reference to the fao endangerment status. in our simulation, sires and dams were randomly chosen from lists of reproducers. this differs significantly from what occurs in real breeds, in which an unbalanced use of reproducers is frequently the case, leading to a reduced size of the effective population. in terms of effective size, our breed would correspond to a much larger population with a similar inbreeding rate per generation ( 1. 07 % ) to that found in real dairy cattle breeds e. g.. concerning sampling conditions in the simulations, as mentioned above, the procedure chosen to select bulls for cryopreservation is similar to that currently applied in france. this choice was made to test if bulls selected this way could be effectively used in a selected breed. compared to the case in which all young bulls are sampled for cryopreservation ( which corresponds more or less to the current procedure in the netherlands ), the results were basically the same. this shows that the french sampling procedure is reasonably efficient to select useful bulls, and could be applied in situations when only a limited number of semen samples can be stored in a cryobank ( for financial reasons, for instance ). one of the main conclusions of this study is that using cryopreserved semen is relevant for a breed for which major changes in selection objectives or practices are considered. since genetic progress is rapid in dairy cattle breeds ( e. g. ), a bull for which semen has been stored for a few generations, is likely to have a lower genetic value than current bulls, if the selection goals remain the same. thus the latter ' s offspring may not be used, as illustrated by scenarios b1 and d1, and using cryobank bulls is then meaningless. the results of scenario b3 demonstrate that using cryobank bulls has a significant impact on the selected traits and on genetic diversity only if a relatively large change is implemented in the selection programme ( i. e. introducing a new trait formerly negatively selected but subsequently accounting for more than 50 % of ebv ). under that scenario, when trait b accounted for less than 70 % of ebv, the cryob


the selection programme ( i. e. introducing a new trait formerly negatively selected but subsequently accounting for more than 50 % of ebv ). under that scenario, when trait b accounted for less than 70 % of ebv, the cryobank bulls selected were those more recently collected, since they generally had a higher value for trait a than older cryobank bulls, which compensated for a slightly lower value for trait b. when trait b accounted for 80 % or more of ebv, most of the cryobank bulls finally used, originated from generation 0 ( data not shown ), which explains the sudden decrease in average kinship after introgression of the cryobank bulls ( see figure 2 ). therefore if managers of a selection scheme want to redirect breeding goals, using cryobank bulls is viable only if the breeding goals are subjected to a major modification ( i. e. if the weight of the new trait accounts for more than 50 % of ebv ). our results also indicate that cryobank bulls that have been sampled for functional traits with high ebv will tend to be used more frequently than other cryobank bulls, independently of the aim. if the objective is to introduce genetic diversity into the breed, using cryobank bulls appears to be a valid choice. however, it is imperative that other measures are also taken to guaranty that genes are spread within the breed i. e. either conserving male lines ( scenario d3 ), when their use is promoted among breeders, or setting up more restrictive and effective breeding schemes. several methods of varying complexity have been proposed to minimise kinship, or to maximise breeding values for a predefined inbreeding rate, or to minimise average kinship for a desired average ebv, usually by optimising the contribution of reproducers. on the one hand, decreasing inbreeding in a selected breed may improve selected traits ; for instance, it has been shown that in holstein cattle, milk production ( over 305 days ) can decrease by about 20 litres per 1 % inbreeding increase. on the other hand, using semen from cryobank bulls has a negative impact on previously selected traits, as illustrated by our simulations. in the case of local breeds, in which genetic progress is not as effective as in breeds with a larger population size, the difference in ebv between current bulls and bulls from earlier generations should be minimised. this could lead


our simulations. in the case of local breeds, in which genetic progress is not as effective as in breeds with a larger population size, the difference in ebv between current bulls and bulls from earlier generations should be minimised. this could lead to an effective use of cryobank bulls to reintroduce diversity without overly affecting selected traits. as an illustration in the abondance breed, one of the male offspring of the bull born in 1977 was found to have quite a high ebv ( vaccin, born in 2003, ), and was therefore recently confirmed as a sire of dams. among all the sires of dams, this bull shared the lowest average kinship with the 2004 - 2007 female cohorts ( 4. 6 % vs. 6. 5 % on average, personal communication ). the impact of using this bull on the genetic variability of the breed remains to be assessed. based on our results, using semen from cryobank bulls should be useful either to introduce drastic changes in selection goals or to reintroduce genetic diversity within a given population. however, it is important to carefully assess the pros and cons of the potential changes in genetic diversity and values of the selected traits. our simulations were based on a classic quantitative selection scheme. recent progress in genomic tools should make it possible to identify semen from cryobank bulls that share specific alleles or qtl of interest for selection. this could then be taken into account when choosing cryobank bulls as well as how they will be used. using such reproducers should be investigated in further studies, which opens exciting perspectives for an improved exploitation of cryobank collections. the authors declare that they have no competing interests. ev, cdb and gl jointly conceived the design of the study and discussed the results. gl wrote and checked the simulation program. gl wrote the first draft of the manuscript, which was then modified by cdb and ev. all authors read and approved the final manuscript. this study was funded by the bureau des ressources genetiques ( brg ) ( contract 2007 - 14 " cryositu " ). the authors wish to thank emilie setlakwe, daphne goodfellow and helene hayes for linguistic revision. verrier e, danchin - burge c, moureaux s, ollivier l, tixier - boichard m, boichard d, maignel mj, bidanel jp, clement f


revision. verrier e, danchin - burge c, moureaux s, ollivier l, tixier - boichard m, boichard d, maignel mj, bidanel jp, clement f : what should be preserved : genetic goals and collection protocols for the french national cryobank. in proceedings of the workshop on cryopreservation of animal genetic resources in europe : 23 february 2003 ; paris. edited by planchenault d. bureau des ressources genetiques ; 2003 : 79 - 89. gandini g, oldenbroek k : strategies for moving from conservation to utilisation. in utilisation and conservation of farm animal genetic resources. edited by oldenbroek k. wageningen : wageningen academic publishers ; 2007 : 29 - 54. genet res 2002, 80 : 27 - 30. pubmed abstract danchin - burge c, hiemstra sj : cryo - preservation of domestic animal species in france and the netherlands : experience, similarities and differences. in proceedings of the workshop on cryopreservation of animal genetic resources in europe : 23 february 2003 ; paris. edited by planchenault d. bureau des ressources genetiques ; 2003 : 15 - 28. livest sci 2009, 120 : 196 - 203. publisher full text livest prod sci 1984, 11 : 37 - 48. publisher full text theor appl genet 1989, 77 : 142 - 148. publisher full text philipsson j, forabosco f, jakobsen jh : monitoring sustainability of international dairy breeds. [ http : / / www - interbull. slu. se / bulletins / bulletin40 / philipsson. pdf ] webcite cooperative d ' elevage et d ' insemination animale de haute - savoie [ http : / / www. ceia74. fr / index / genetiquelait. php? race = 12 ] webcite


amid doubt, disappointment and division, the world ' s governments came together in rio on friday to declare " a pathway for a sustainable century ". at the close of the rio + 20 earth summit, heads of state and ministers from more than 190 nations signed off on a plan to set global sustainable development goals and other measures to strengthen global environmental management, tighten protection the oceans, improve food security and promote a " green economy ". after more than a year of negotiations and a 10 - day mega - conference involving 45, 000 people, the wide - ranging outcome document – the future we want – was lambasted by environmentalists and anti - poverty campaigners for lacking the detail and ambition needed to address the challenges posed by a deteriorating environment, worsening inequality and a global population expected to rise from 7bn to 9bn by 2050. but the un secretary general, ban ki - moon said the document would guide the world on to a more sustainable path : " our job now is to create a critical mass. the road ahead is long and hard. " us secretary of state hillary clinton said it was a time to be optimistic. " a more prosperous future is within our reach, a future where all people benefit from sustainable development no matter who they are or where they live. " however, civil society groups and scientists were scathing about the outcome. greenpeace international executive director kumi naidoo called the summit a failure of epic proportions. " we didn ' t get the future we want in rio, because we do not have the leaders we need. the leaders of the most powerful countries supported business as usual, shamefully putting private profit before people and the planet. " rio + 20 was intended as a follow up on the 1992 earth summit, which put in place landmark conventions on climate change and biodiversity, as well as commitments on poverty eradication and social justice. since then, however, global emissions have risen by 48 %, 300m hectares of forest have been cleared and the population has increased by 1. 6bn people. despite a reduction in poverty, one in six people are malnourished. while the problems have grown, the ability of nations to deal with them has diminished because the eu is distracted by economic crisis, the us is diverted by a presidential election, and government power has declined relative to that of corporations and civil society. with barack obama, angela merkel and david cameron absent, the brics nations dominated proceedings. brazil artfully – and, according to some delegates, aggressively – pushed through the compromise text


government power has declined relative to that of corporations and civil society. with barack obama, angela merkel and david cameron absent, the brics nations dominated proceedings. brazil artfully – and, according to some delegates, aggressively – pushed through the compromise text, thereby avoiding the conflict and chaos that marked the copenhagen climate conference in 2009. but that also left heads of state and ministers with little but a ceremonial function, wasting an opportunity for political leaders to press for a more ambitious outcome. " our final document is an opportunity that has been missed. it contributes almost nothing to our struggle to survive as a species, " the nicaraguan representative miguel d ' escoto brockmann at the conference. " we now face a future of increasing natural disasters. " other delegates expressed disappointed, but said the agreement could be built upon. " the document does not entirely match our ambition or meet the challenge the world faces. but it ' s an important step forward … that ' s why we support it. that ' s why we must engage with it, " said janez potocnik, european commissioner for environment. the main outcome of the conference is a plan to set sustainable development goals ( sdgs ), which brazil described as the " crown jewels " of the conference. but the gems have not yet been chosen, let alone cut, polished and set. negotiators at rio were unable to agree on themes, which will now be left to an " open working group " of 30 nations to decide upon by september 2013. two years later, they will be blended with millennium development goals. the new goals look set to be the focus of tussles between rich and poor nations over the coming years. the g77 group of developing countries is adamant that the goals must include strong social and economic elements, including financing and technology transfer. " when the eu, us say land, water – they usually emphasise environment. the g77 insist that it also has strong economic and social pillars. it needs to be better and bolder than the millennium development goals, " said bhumika muchhala, of the third world network. the 49 - page document contained many other – mostly loosely defined – steps. the un environment programme ( unep ), long a poor relation of other un organisations, will get a more secure budget, a broader membership and strong powers to initiate scientific research and coordinate global environment strategies. rio + 20 also established a " high - level " forum to coordinate global sustainable development, though its format is still to be defined. ac