computer models how buds grow into leaves posted on march 02, 2012 at 08 : 24 : 51 am " a bud does not grow in all directions at the same rate, " said samantha fox from the john innes centre on norwich research park. " otherwise leaves would be domed like a bud, not flat with a pointed tip. " by creating a computer model to grow a virtual leaf, the bbsrc - funded scientists managed to discover simple rules of leaf growth. - advertisement - similar to the way a compass works, plant cells have an inbuilt orientation system. instead of a magnetic field, the cells have molecular signals to guide the axis on which they grow. as plant tissues deform during growth, the orientation and axis changes. the molecular signals become patterned from an early stage within the bud, helping the leaf shape to emerge. the researchers filmed a growing arabidopsis leaf, a relative of oil seed rape, to help create a model which could simulate the growing process. they were able to film individual cells and track them as the plant grew. it was also important to unpick the workings behind the visual changes and to test them in normal and mutant plants. " the model is not just based on drawings of leaf shape at different stages, " said professor enrico coen. " to accurately recreate dynamic growth from bud to leaf, we had to establish the mathematical rules governing how leaf shapes are formed. " with this knowledge programmed into the model, developed in collaboration with professor andrew bangham ' s team at the university of east anglia, it can run independently to build a virtual but realistic leaf. professor douglas kell, chief executive of bbsrc said : " this exciting research highlights the potential of using computer and mathematical models for biological research to help us tackle complex questions and make predictions for the future. computational modelling can give us a deeper and more rapid understanding of the biological systems that are vital to life on earth. " the model could now be used to help identify the genes that control leaf shape and whether different genes are behind different shapes. " this simple model could account for the basic development and growth of all leaf shapes, " said fox. " the more we understand about how plants grow, the better we can prepare for our future - - providing food, fuel and preserving diversity. "


irish druids and old irish early religions of the one of the most philosophical statements from max muller is to this effect : " whatever we know of early religion, we always see that it presupposes vast periods of an earlier development. " this is exhibited in the history of all peoples that have progressed in civilization, though we may have to travel far back on the track of history to notice transformations of thought or belief. when the late dr. birch told us that a pyramid, several hundreds of years older than the great pyramid, contained the name of osiris, we knew that at least the osirian part of egyptian mythology was honoured some six or seven thousand years ago what the earlier development of religion there was, or how the conception of a dying and risen osiris arose, at so remote a period, may well excite our wonder. professor jebb writes - - " there was a time when they ( early man ) began to speak of the natural powers as persons, and yet had not forgotten that they were really natural, powers, and that the persons ' names were merely signs? yet this goes on the assumption that religion - - or rather dogmas thereof - - sprang from reflections upon natural phenomena. in this way, the french author of sirius satisfied himself, particularly on philological grounds, that the idea, of god sprang from an association with thunder and the barking of a dog. we are assured by max muller, that religion is a word that has changed from century to century, and that " the word rose to the surface thousands of years ago. " taking religion to imply an inward feeling of reverence toward the unseen, and a desire to act in obedience to the inward law of right, religion has existed as long as humanity itself. what is commonly assumed by the word religion, by writers in general, is dogma or belief. the importance of this subject was well put forth by the great sanscrit scholar in the phrase, " the real history of man is the history of religion. " this conviction lends interest and weight to any investigations into the ancient religion of ireland ; though plowden held that " few histories are so charged with fables as the annals of ireland. " it was herder who finely said, " our earth owes the seeds of all higher culture to a religious tradition, whether literary or oral. " in proportion as the so - called supernatural gained an ascendancy, so was man really advancing from the materialism and brutishness of savagedom. lecky


seeds of all higher culture to a religious tradition, whether literary or oral. " in proportion as the so - called supernatural gained an ascendancy, so was man really advancing from the materialism and brutishness of savagedom. lecky notes " the disposition of man in certain stages of society towards the miraculous. " but was buckle quite correct in maintaining that " all nature conspired to increase the authority of the imaginative faculties, and weaken the authority of the reasoning ones "? it is not to be forgotten in our inquiry that, as faiths rose in the east, science has exerted its force in the west. fetishism can hardly be regarded as the origin of religion. as to those writers who see in the former the deification of natural objects, max muller remarks, " they might as well speak of primitive men mummifying their dead bodies before they had wax to embalm them with. " myth has been styled the basis of religion not less than of history ; but how was it begotten? butler, in english, irish, and scottish churches, writes - - " to separate the fabulous from the probable, and the probable from the true, will require no ordinary share of penetration and persevering industry. " we have certainly to remember, as one has said, that " mythic history, mythic theology, mythic science, are alike records, not of facts, but beliefs. " andrew lang properly calls our attention to language, as embodying thought,, being so liable to misconception and misinterpretation. names, connected with myths, have been so variously read and explained by scholars, that outsiders may well be puzzled. how rapidly a myth grows, and is greedily accepted, because of the wish it may be true, is exemplified in the pretty story, immortalized by music, of jessie of lucknow, who, in the siege, heard her deliverers, in the remote distance, playing " the campbells are coming. " there never was, however, a jessie brown there at that time ; and, as one adds, jessie has herself " been sent to join william tell and the other dethroned gods and in the hibbert lectures, professor rhys observes, " the greek myth, which distressed the thoughtful and pious minds, like that of socrates, was a survival, like the other scandalous tales about the gods, from the time when the ancestors of the greeks were savages. " may it not rather have been derived by homer


which distressed the thoughtful and pious minds, like that of socrates, was a survival, like the other scandalous tales about the gods, from the time when the ancestors of the greeks were savages. " may it not rather have been derived by homer, through the trading phœnicians, from the older mythologies of india and egypt, with altered names and scenes to suit the poet ' s day and clime? it would scarcely do to say with thierry, " in legend alone rests real history - - for legend is living tradition, and three times out of four it is truer than what we call history. " according to froude, " legends grew as nursery tales grow now. - - there is reason to believe that religious theogonies and heroic tales of every nation that has left a record of itself, are but practical accounts of the first impressions produced upon mankind by the phenomena of day and night, morning and evening, winter and summer. " such may be a partial explanation ; but it may be also assumed that they were placed on record by the scientific holders of esoteric wisdom, as problems or studies for elucidation by disciples. the anthropological works of sir john lubbock and dr. tylor can be consulted with profit upon this subject of primitive religious thought. hayes o ' grady brings us back to ireland, saying, " who shall thoroughly discern the truth from the fiction with which it is everywhere entwined, and in many places altogether overlaid? - - there was at one time a vast amount of zeal, ingenuity, and research expended on the elucidation and confirming of these fables ; which, if properly applied, would have done irish history and archaeology good service, instead of making their very names synonymous among strangers with fancy and delusion. " after this we can proceed with the irish legends and myths, the introduction to this inquiry being a direction to the current superstitions of the race.


you have to like the attitude of thomas henning ( max - planck - institut fur astronomie ). the scientist is a member of a team of astronomers whose recent work on planet formation around tw hydrae was announced this afternoon. their work used data from esa ’ s herschel space observatory, which has the sensitivity at the needed wavelengths for scanning tw hydrae ’ s protoplanetary disk, along with the capability of taking spectra for the telltale molecules they were looking for. but getting observing time on a mission like herschel is not easy and funding committees expect results, a fact that didn ’ t daunt the researcher. says henning, “ if there ’ s no chance your project can fail, you ’ re probably not doing very interesting science. tw hydrae is a good example of how a calculated scientific gamble can pay off. ” i would guess the relevant powers that be are happy with this team ’ s gamble. the situation is this : tw hydrae is a young star of about 0. 6 solar masses some 176 light years away. the proximity is significant : this is the closest protoplanetary disk to earth with strong gas emission lines, some two and a half times closer than the next possible subjects, and thus intensely studied for the insights it offers into planet formation. out of the dense gas and dust here we can assume that tiny grains of ice and dust are aggregating into larger objects and one day planets. image : artist ’ s impression of the gas and dust disk around the young star tw hydrae. new measurements using the herschel space telescope have shown that the mass of the disk is greater than previously thought. credit : axel m. quetz ( mpia ). the challenge of tw hydrae, though, has been that the total mass of the molecular hydrogen gas in its disk has remained unclear, leaving us without a good idea of the particulars of how this infant system might produce planets. molecular hydrogen does not emit detectable radiation, while basing a mass estimate on carbon monoxide is hampered by the opacity of the disk. for that matter, basing a mass estimate on the thermal emissions of dust grains forces astronomers to make guesses about the opacity of the dust, so that we ’ re left with uncertainty — mass values have been estimated anywhere between 0. 5 and 63 jupiter masses, and that ’ s a lot of play. error bars like these have left us guessing about the properties of this disk. the new work takes a different


re left with uncertainty — mass values have been estimated anywhere between 0. 5 and 63 jupiter masses, and that ’ s a lot of play. error bars like these have left us guessing about the properties of this disk. the new work takes a different tack. while hydrogen molecules don ’ t emit measurable radiation, those hydrogen molecules that contain a deuterium atom, in which the atomic nucleus contains not just a proton but an additional neutron, emit significant amounts of radiation, with an intensity that depends upon the temperature of the gas. because the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen is relatively constant near the sun, a detection of hydrogen deuteride can be multiplied out to produce a solid estimate of the amount of molecular hydrogen in the disk. the herschel data allow the astronomers to set a lower limit for the disk mass at 52 jupiter masses, the most useful part of this being that this estimate has an uncertainty ten times lower than the previous results. a disk this massive should be able to produce a planetary system larger than the solar system, which scientists believe was produced by a much lighter disk. when henning spoke about taking risks, he doubtless referred to the fact that this was only the second time hydrogen deuteride has been detected outside the solar system. the pitch to the herschel committee had to be persuasive to get them to sign off on so tricky a detection. but 36 herschel observations ( with a total exposure time of almost seven hours ) allowed the team to find the hydrogen deuteride they were looking for in the far - infrared. water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs this kind of radiation, which is why a space - based detection is the only reasonable choice, although the team evidently considered the flying observatory sofia, a platform on which they were unlikely to get approval given the problematic nature of the observation. now we have much better insight into a budding planetary system that is taking the same route our own system did over four billion years ago. what further gains this will help us achieve in testing current models of planet formation will be played out in coming years. the paper is bergin et al., “ an old disk that can still form a planetary system, ” nature 493 ( ( 31 january 2013 ), pp. 644 – 646 ( preprint ). be aware as well of hogerheijde et al., “ detection of the water reservoir in a forming planetary system, ” science 6054 ( 2011 ), p. 338. the latter, many of whose


( preprint ). be aware as well of hogerheijde et al., “ detection of the water reservoir in a forming planetary system, ” science 6054 ( 2011 ), p. 338. the latter, many of whose co - authors also worked on the bergin paper, used herschel data to detect cold water vapor in the tw hydrae disk, with this result : our herschel detection of cold water vapor in the outer disk of tw hya demonstrates the presence of a considerable reservoir of water ice in this protoplanetary disk, sufﬁcient to form several thousand earth oceans worth of icy bodies. our observations only directly trace the tip of the iceberg of 0. 005 earth oceans in the form of water vapor. clearly, tw hydrae has much to teach us. addendum : this jpl news release notes that although a young star, tw hydrae had been thought to be past the stage of making giant planets : “ we didn ’ t expect to see so much gas around this star, ” said edwin bergin of the university of michigan in ann arbor. bergin led the new study appearing in the journal nature. “ typically stars of this age have cleared out their surrounding material, but this star still has enough mass to make the equivalent of 50 jupiters, ” bergin said.


fill out the form below to find out if you have a case. a new program is making physical and occupational therapy more convenient for adults with cerebral palsy. using the internet, the program connects adult cerebral palsy patients to “ virtual trainers ” who help them complete movement - based training from the comfort of their own homes. the upper limb training and assessment program, also known as ultra, is part of a joint research and movement therapy project aimed at helping adults who have upper limb and hand impairment. “ physical and occupational therapy are the most important treatments for cerebral palsy. the ultra program works with the idea of bringing therapy into the home to allow adults to do their therapy at a time that ’ s convenient for them, ” said dr. edward hurvitz of the university of michigan. patients participating in the program have their homes equipped with the computer - based training unit, a training cd, and a high - speed internet connection. they then complete five 40 - minute training sessions a week over the course of an eight - week period. “ the computer interface in the individual ’ s home includes computer - generated images of people stretching, and we also have people in our lab who are able to coach and provide encouragement to participants via web cameras. being connected to the patients allows us to modify their program as needed, without them coming into the research lab or clinic, ” said susan brown, ph. d. brown, who directs the motor control lab at the u - m school of kinesiology, said that the technology has “ real potential to open up the world for people who have mobility issues. ” one cerebral palsy patient, 41 - year - old laura grable, praised the project. “ the ultra project is a step toward moving cerebral palsy treatment into the 21 st century. there ’ s the potential to figure out how to improve range of motion and daily quality of life for people with cp, ” she said.


good news. there are simple ways to save money especially if you go back to the time - honored concept of byo – “ bringing your own ” container of coffee, lunch or water as part of your daily routine. this can do a world of good not only for your pocketbook, but also for the environment, and even your health. here are some tips to get you started : * bring your own coffee or tea according to the environmental protection agency, americans throw away 25 billion foam cups each year. and 500 years from now, those cups will still be sitting in a landfill. despite the convenience of foam cups, small changes such as bringing coffee or tea in a reusable container can have both an environmental and economic impact. for example, genuine thermos ( r ) brand makes a vacuum insulated commuter bottle that will keep a beverage hot for eight hours or cold for 12 hours. not only is this great for a day at the office or running errands around town, it saves the cost of purchasing beverages day in and day out. if you still like an occasional custom - made coffee or chai latte, some retailers will fill your own bottle. * bring your own lunch many grownups still have fond memories of a school lunchbox featuring their favorite tv or movie character. bringing your own lunch in an insulated lunch carrier is a good way to keep your favorite foods fresh and tasty, and a smart way to save money. according to a report in time magazine, bringing your lunch to work can cut your weekly costs by 80 percent. to keep foods fresh while on the go, insulated reusable containers are an ideal option. they come in all shapes and sizes to keep snacks or lunch foods hot or cold for hours, saving you the cost of going out and making it easier to stay away from unhealthy temptations. * keep yourself hydrated as you get in the habit of bringing your own reusable portable container, don ’ t neglect the one thing every human needs for basic good health – water – to help you hydrate throughout the day. according to the mayo clinic, water makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. lack of appropriate water intake can lead to dehydration, draining your energy and making you feel tired. the institute of medicine determined that adequate water intake for men is roughly 104 ounces and is roughly 72 ounces for women. instead of purchasing bottled water in containers that will also end up in landfills, bring plenty of your own water in a


cameron park elementary school in hillsborough held an early earth day celebration on april 11 with visits from two special guests : nasa astronaut sunita williams and unc ' s nobel prize - winning scientist oliver smithies. williams went to the international space station aboard the shuttle discovery in december 2006 and remained in space for 195 days, setting the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. while she was in the space station, another astronaut cut her long ponytail and sent the hair back to earth to be donated to locks of love, which makes wigs for cancer patients. she also ran the boston marathon in space last year to draw attention to fitness for kids. students also learned williams worked seven - hour days wearing a 300 - pound space suit, ate dehydrated food and exercised frequently to help prevent bone loss due to the lack of gravity. she told the students about the special respect and appreciation for the earth that she gained from her perspective in space. smithies, who won the 2007 nobel prize in medicine, engaged cameron park students in a discussion about the excitement of discovery. using a basketball, he showed how daylight moves around the earth as it rotates. he also showed students a helix and mentioned his laboratory experiments in genetics. smithies ' work has been recognized as revolutionizing research into the genetic basis of disease. students also enjoyed outdoor games and lots of learning about conservation, recycling and environmental protection. outdoor learning exhibits were presented by the north carolina fossil club, seeds, north carolina fisheries, orange county soil and water conservation, orange county erosion control, orange county solid waste and recycling, bountiful backyards, and occaneechi leader john blackfeather jeffries.


consider four vectors ~ f1, ~ f2, ~ f3, and ~ f4, wheretheir magnitudes are f1 = 43 n, f2 = 36 n, f3 = 19 n, andf4 = 54 n. let θ1 = 120o, θ2 = −130o, θ3 = 200, and θ4 = −67o, measured from thepositive x axis with the counter - clockwiseangular direction aspositive. what is the magnitudeof the resultant vector ~ f, where ~ f = ~ f1 + ~ f2 + ~ f3 + ~ f4? answer in units of n. what is the direction ofthis resultant vector ~ f? note : give the anglein degrees, use counterclockwise as the positiveangular direction, between the limits from the positive xaxis. answer in units ofo i worked out the first part of thequestion by using trigonomic rules. my x value = - 5. 68671and my y value = - 33. 5474. the magnitude came out to 34. 026n. i tried finding the direction by usingθ = tan - 1 ( y / x ) but i cant get the rightanswer.


the cardinals were deadlocked. they had been deadlocked for 27 months, since 1292 when pope nicholas v died. there were only twelve cardinals and they were evenly divided between two factions of the roman nobility. neither side would give way. each hoped for the perks that would accrue from having one of their number named pope. and then a message arrived from the mountains. peter murrone, the hermit founder of the celestines, a strict branch of benedictines, warned that god was angry with the cardinals. if they did not elect a pope within four months, the lord would severely chastise the church. eager for a way out of their deadlock, the cardinals asked themselves, why not elect peter himself? finally the cardinals could agree. in a vote that they declared to be " miraculous " they unanimously chose peter. when three of the cardinals climbed to his mountain roost to tell peter he had been chosen, the hermit wasn ' t happy. all of his life, he had tried to run away from people. dressed like john the baptist, he subjected himself to fasts, heavy chains, and nights of prayer without sleep. but when the cardinals and his friend king charles ii of naples insisted that he must accept the position for the good of the church, peter reluctantly agreed. charles ii prompted him to name a number of new cardinals - - all of them from france and naples, changing the consistency of the group which would elect future popes. peter, who was too trusting, made many mistakes. a babe in political matters, he was used by everyone around him. the vatican staff even sold blank bulls with his signature on them. the business of the church slowed to a crawl because he took too much time making decisions. within weeks it became apparent he had to resign for the good of the church. but could a pope resign? guided by one of the cardinals, benedetto caetani, celestine as pope issued a constitution which gave himself the authority to resign. all sorts of rumors followed this resignation. peter had built himself a hut in the vatican where he could live like a hermit. supposedly caetani thrust a reed through the wall of the hut and pretended he was the voice of god ordering celestine to resign. since his mind was undecided as to his proper course, this trick is said to have convinced him. celestine stepped down on this day, december 13, 1294, having actually filled the position of pope only three months. he was


since his mind was undecided as to his proper course, this trick is said to have convinced him. celestine stepped down on this day, december 13, 1294, having actually filled the position of pope only three months. he was replaced by caetani who took the name boniface viii. afraid that peter would become a rallying point for troublemakers, boniface locked the old man up. he destroyed most of the records of celestine ' s short time in office, but he could not unmake the cardinals. peter escaped and wandered through mountains and forests. he was recognized and recaptured when he tried to sail to greece, his boat having been driven back by a storm. the last nine months of his life he spent in prayer as a prisoner of boniface, badly treated by his guards. when he died in 1296, rumor had it that boniface had murdered him. he was about 81 - years - old. in 1313, pope clement v declared him a saint. - brusher, joseph stanislaus. popes through the ages. princeton, n. j. : van nostrand, 1959. - " celestine v. " the oxford dictionary of the christian church, edited by f. l. cross and e. a. livingstone. oxford, 1997. - de rosa, peter. vicars of christ ; the dark side of the papacy. dublin : poolbeg press, 2000 ; especially pp. 75ff. - loughlin, james f. " pope st. celestine v. " the catholic encyclopedia. new york : robert appleton, 1908. - montor, chevalier artaud de. lives and times of the popes. new york : catholic publication society of america, 1909. source of the picture. - rusten, e. michael and rusten, sharon. one year book of christian history. ( wheaton, il : tyndale house, 2003 ). - silone, ignazio. the story of a humble christian. [ dramatic account with historical addenda. ] new york : harper and row, 1970. - various encyclopedia and internet articles. last updated july, 2007


interviewing children about past events : evaluating the nichd interview protocol this study, conducted by the nichd in collaboration with lancaster university in lancaster, england, will evaluate the accuracy of information obtained from children using an adapted version of nichd ' s interview protocol. the nichd protocol was developed to help forensic interviewers obtain information from children who may be victims of or witnesses to a crime about their experiences. this study does not involve forensic interviews, but is designed to obtain information from children about an event that takes place at their school. the study will examine how children report a brief interaction with an unfamiliar adult, how the memory of the event changes over time, and how the use of different interview techniques can help children give a fuller and more accurate accounts of past experiences. children 5 and 6 years of age who attend local schools in the lancaster, england, area may be eligible for this study. participants will be told that they are going to have their pictures taken and will be escorted by a researcher to a room at the school with another researcher who is posing as a photographer. the " photographer " and the child will put on a costume, such as a pirate ' s outfit, over their street clothes, helping each other put on pieces of the costume. the photographer will take pictures of the child in the costume. they will each take off the costumes and the child will be told that he or she will receive the photographs at a later time. another researcher posing as a photographer will come into the room, interrupting the event, and begin to argue with the first photographer about who had booked the equipment. they will resolve the argument and apologize to the child for the interruption. about 6 weeks after the event, the children will be interviewed using the adapted version of nichd interview protocol. half will be interviewed first about the staged event ( the photo session ), followed by an interview about a fictitious event ( e. g., a class visit to the fire station ) that could plausibly have happened but did not. the other half of the children will be interviewed first about the fictitious event and then about the staged event. the children will be interviewed according to one of the following three procedures : - the nichd protocol preceded by a rapport - building phase that includes the rules of the interview and open - ended questions about the child and a recently experienced event - the nichd protocol preceded by a rapport - building phase that includes the rules of the interview and direct questions about the child and a recently experienced event, or - the nichd protocol preceded by the


questions about the child and a recently experienced event - the nichd protocol preceded by a rapport - building phase that includes the rules of the interview and direct questions about the child and a recently experienced event, or - the nichd protocol preceded by the rules of the interview and open - ended questions about the child, but no opportunity to practice talking about a recently experienced event. after the interviewer has elicited as much information as is likely to be gained from verbal questions, he or she will present the child with a line drawing of a gender neutral person and ask the child to indicate where the child was touched by the photographer and where the child touched the photographer. any child who provides a report of the fictitious event will be interviewed in the same way about the fictitious event. after 1 year, the children will be interviewed again in the same manner as the 6 - week interview. the interviews will be audio - and videotaped to record the kind of information the children talk about and compare it to what actually happened in the event. | official title : | | evaluating the nichd interview protocol in an analog study | | study start date : | | january 2004 | | estimated study completion date : | | october 2006 | the nichd interview protocol was designed to aid forensic interviewers in adhering to best standards of practice when interviewing children. field studies evaluating its use have demonstrated improvements in both interviewer behavior, and the amount and quality of information obtained from children, compared to interviews conducted prior to its implementation in test sites. because field studies were conducted in forensic settings, however, it has not been possible to evaluate the protocol ' s effect on the accuracy of information reported by children. this present study therefore aims to evaluate the accuracy of information obtained using the nichd interview protocol in an analog study. in addition the study is designed to explore children ' s willingness to provide details of a suggested, non - experienced event, and the effectiveness of including a human figure drawing as an auxiliary technique for eliciting further information. furthermore, we will explore the importance of the pre - substantive / rapport - building phase of interviews, and the impact this has on children ' s reports of experienced and suggested events. finally, we will explore the effectiveness of the interview protocol with children when a long delay has occurred between the event and the interview. children will take part, individually, in a staged event at their school, and approximately six weeks later, be interviewed at the university about what they experienced. in addition, children will be asked to talk about a suggested


between the event and the interview. children will take part, individually, in a staged event at their school, and approximately six weeks later, be interviewed at the university about what they experienced. in addition, children will be asked to talk about a suggested fictitious event ( one that has not happened ). the order of the interviews will be counter - balanced across children and rapport - building conditions. some children will be interviewed with an open - ended script that includes practice in episodic memory, some with a script made up of direct questions, including a practice in episodic memory, and some with one that uses open - ended questions but does not provide practice in talking about an event from episodic memory. approximately one year later children will be interviewed again, so that we can examine children ' s reports in protocol interviews over a long delay. children ' s reports will be analyzed for both overall amount and accuracy of information reported, as well as in response to the different cues and props given in the course of the interview. it is not anticipated that the study will pose any risks to the children involved, and we expect that both the staged event and the interviews will be enjoyable and stimulating. we expect that the results of the study will provide further support for the use of nichd interview as a safe and effective means of interviewing children about past experiences. in addition to general information on children ' s eyewitness capabilities, the study is expected to supplement field studies by contributing knowledge about the accuracy of children ' s memory using the nichd interview protocol. | united states, maryland | | national institute of child health and human development ( nichd ) | | bethesda, maryland, united states, 20892 |


growth hormone and endothelial function in children objective : this study is designed to determine whether growth hormone treatment in children 8 to 18 years of age alters function of the lining of the arteries. this may play a role in increasing or decreasing the risk of heart disease. methods. twenty children, for whom growth hormone therapy will be otherwise provided, will be studied before and 3 months after starting growth hormone. subjects can be on other hormonal replacements but no other medications. each study will be done in the fasting state. the blood vessel function will be determined by measuring the change in forearm blood flow before and after blocking flow to the arm for 5 minutes. blood will be drawn after the test to measure glucose, insulin and fats. growth hormone deficiency drug : growth hormone | study design : | | allocation : non - randomized endpoint classification : safety study intervention model : single group assignment masking : open label primary purpose : treatment | official title : | | growth hormone and endothelial function in children | - change in reactive hyperemic response after 3 months of growth hormone [ time frame : 3 months ] [ designated as safety issue : no ] - glucose, insulin, lipid measurements [ time frame : 3 months ] [ designated as safety issue : no ] | study start date : | | january 2005 | | study completion date : | | december 2007 | | primary completion date : | | june 2007 ( final data collection date for primary outcome measure ) | the purpose of the research is to learn more about how the lining of arteries in the body ( called the endothelium ) is affected by growth hormone treatment in children and adolescents. poor function by the blood vessels is associated with increased risk of heart disease or stroke. this research is being done because growth hormone treatment has been shown to make the endothelium work better in adults. growth hormone treatment may have the same or different effects in children because the dose is larger in children. children between 8 and 18 years who are to be started on growth hormone will be eligible to participate. blood vessel function will be studied before starting growth hormone and 3 months after. this will be done by measuring blood flow to the arm before and after 5 min of stopping blood flow to the arm. the three months of growth hormone will be given free. | united states, ohio | | ohio state university | | columbus, ohio, united states, 43210 | | study chair : | | robert p hoffman, md | | ohio state university |


the national science foundation available languages : english, spanish this classroom - tested learning module gives a condensed, easily - understood view of the development of atomic theory from the late 19th through early 20th century. the key idea was the discovery that the atom is not an " indivisible " particle, but consists of smaller constituents : the proton, neutron, and electron. it discusses the contributions of john dalton, j. j. thomson, ernest rutherford, and james chadwick, whose experiments revolutionized the world view of atomic structure. see related materials for a link to part 2 of this series. atomic structure, cathode ray experiment, electron, helium atom, history of atom, history of the atom, hydrogen atom, neutron, proton metadata instance created july 12, 2011 by caroline hall october 10, 2012 by caroline hall last update when cataloged : january 1, 2006 aaas benchmark alignments ( 2008 version ) 4. the physical setting 4d. the structure of matter 6 - 8 : 4d / m1a. all matter is made up of atoms, which are far too small to see directly through a microscope. 9 - 12 : 4d / h1. atoms are made of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons. the nucleus is a tiny fraction of the volume of an atom but makes up almost all of its mass. the nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons which have roughly the same mass but differ in that protons are positively charged while neutrons have no electric charge. 9 - 12 : 4d / h2. the number of protons in the nucleus determines what an atom ' s electron configuration can be and so defines the element. an atom ' s electron configuration, particularly the outermost electrons, determines how the atom can interact with other atoms. atoms form bonds to other atoms by transferring or sharing electrons. 10. historical perspectives 10f. understanding fire 9 - 12 : 10f / h1. in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the idea of atoms reemerged in response to questions about the structure of matter, the nature of fire, and the basis of chemical phenomena. 9 - 12 : 10f / h3. in the early 1800s, british chemist and physicist john dalton united the concepts of atoms and elements. he proposed two ideas that laid the groundwork for modern chemistry : first, that elements are formed from small, indivisible particles called atoms, which are identical for a given element but different from any other element ; and second, that chemical compounds are


proposed two ideas that laid the groundwork for modern chemistry : first, that elements are formed from small, indivisible particles called atoms, which are identical for a given element but different from any other element ; and second, that chemical compounds are formed from atoms by combining a definite number of each type of atom to form one molecule of the compound. 9 - 12 : 10f / h4. dalton figured out how the relative weights of the atoms could be determined experimentally. his idea that every substance had a unique atomic composition provided an explanation for why substances were made up of elements in specific proportions. this resource is part of a physics front topical unit. topic : particles and interactions and the standard model unit title : history and discovery this classroom - tested learning module gives a condensed, easily - understood view of the development of atomic theory from the late 19th through early 20th century. the key idea was the discovery that the atom is not an " indivisible " particle, but consists of smaller constituents : the proton, neutron, and electron. it discusses the contributions of john dalton, j. j. thomson, ernest rutherford, and james chadwick, whose experiments revolutionized the world view of atomic structure. % 0 electronic source % a carpi, anthony % d january 1, 2006 % t visionlearning : atomic theory i % i visionlearning % v 2013 % n 21 may 2013 % 8 january 1, 2006 % 9 text / html % u http : / / www. visionlearning. com / library / module _ viewer. php? mid = 50 & l = disclaimer : compadre offers citation styles as a guide only. we cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. please refer to the style manuals in the citation source information area for clarifications.


an electron is a subatomic particles of spin 1 / 2. it couples with photons and, thus, is electrically charged. it is a lepton with a rest mass of 9. 109 * 10 − 31kg and an electric charge of − 1. 602 * 10 − 19 c, which is the smallest known charge possible for an isolated particle ( confined quarks have fractional charge ). the electric charge of the electron e is used as a unit of charge in much of physics. electron pairs within an orbital system have opposite spins due to the pauli exclusion principle ; this characteristic spin pairing allows electrons to exist in the same quantum orbital, as the opposing magnetic dipole moments induced by each of the electrons ensures that they are attracted together. current theories consider the electron as a point particle, as no evidence for internal structure has been observed. as a theoretical construct, electrons have been able to explain other observed phenomena, such as the shell - like structure of an atom, energy distribution around an atom, and energy beams ( electron and positron beams ). - ↑ massimi, m. ( 2005 ). pauli ' s exclusion principle, the origin and validation of a scientific principle. cambridge university press. pp. 7 – 8 - ↑ mauritsson, j.. " electron filmed for the first time ever ". lunds universitet. retrieved 2008 - 09 - 17. http : / / www. atomic. physics. lu. se / research / attosecond _ physics - ↑ chao, a. w. ; tigner, m. ( 1999 ). handbook of accelerator physics and engineering. world scientific. pp. 155, 188. isbn 981 - 02 - 3500 - 3.


questions relating to the future of humankind by jason g. brent 24 october, 2011 we have come a long way from the nuclear bombs dropped on japan in 1945 - - 20, 000 tons tnt equivilent - - - to nuclear devices which produce over 57, 000, 000 tons tnt equivilent. 1. after many years of thinking and research i could come up only with three ways by which the growth of the human population can be reduced to zero or made negative, if that were necessary for the survival of our species. a ) by war, with or without weapons of mass destruction, starvation, disease, ethnic cleansing, rape, mutilation, and other horrors. this most likely would occur as humanity got close to the carrying capacity of the earth and almost certainly would occur after humankind reached or exceeded the earth ' s carrying capacity. b ) by the voluntary action of all of humanity. this most likely would occur prior to reaching the carrying capacity of the earth. of course, this also could happen after humanity reached or exceeded the carrying capacity of the earth and be used to reduce the human population to the carrying capacity of the earth without violence - - - provided the horrors in ( a ) above have not commenced. this action would include education of women, raising their standard of living, modifying the culture of many societies, increasing the standard of living of all of humanity, and many other actions of a similar nature. voluntary action includes any and all non - violent steps humankind could take to reduce population growth to zero or make it negative except coercive action. c ) by the coercive action of society limiting the number of children a person or a couple could produce. this most likely would occur prior to reaching the carrying capacity of the earth. of course, it could also be used to reduce human population to the carrying capacity of the earth after humanity has exceeded the carrying capacity of the earth, provided the horrors in ( a ) above have not commenced. there isn ' t a single accepted definition of " carrying capacity ". for the purposes of this essay i will define " carrying capacity " as the number of human beings combined with the average per capita usage of resources which will permit that number of human beings to exist and survive on this planet for a minimum of 1000 years. an alternative definition of " carrying capacity " is the number of human beings combined with the average per capita usage of resources which if exceeded even for a short period of time will result in the inability of the earth provide the resources necessary for civilization to continue


. an alternative definition of " carrying capacity " is the number of human beings combined with the average per capita usage of resources which if exceeded even for a short period of time will result in the inability of the earth provide the resources necessary for civilization to continue causing a rapid and horrendous decline in the human population. while no one knows what the carrying capacity of the earth may be, it cannot be infinite - - it must be finite. no matter how much the average per capita usage of resources is reduced the earth could not support 1 trillion human beings. similarly, if the per capita usage of resources were increased such that each human being used 30 times the amount of resources used by the average american is highly unlikely that the earth could support 1 billion human beings. at present human population is growing. it is highly likely that the average per capita usage of resources will continue to increase due to the rapidly growing economies of india and china and the growing economies of many of the other nations of the world. therefore, a very strong case can be made that humanity will shortly exceed the carrying capacity of the earth, if humanity already has not exceeded that capacity. if humanity exceeds the carrying capacity and takes no immediate action to reduce the population and / or the usage of resources to reduce it ' s impact on the planet below carrying capacity, then humans will enter into a violent competitions for the resources necessary to survive and the horrors set forth in 1 ( a ) will occur. in simple terms, it will be each and every man / group / religion / nation / culture against every other man / group / religion / nation / culture in order to obtain resources which the earth can provide so that the individual survives - - pure violent darwinism. billions will die and die horribly and more importantly the catastrophe will use up and / or destroy any remaining resources such that civilization will be unable to restart forever or at least for thousands of years 2. does society, no matter how defined, have a right to limit the number of children a person produces by coercion or is the right to determine how many children a person produces absolute and society has no right to interfere with that decision? in considering this question limit yourself to the right i have set forth above and do not consider how that right could or would be enforced and whether enforcing that right would be harmful or beneficial to society. those questions and any and all others would have to be considered, evaluated and discussed only if the right to limit the number of children a person produces by coercion exists in society. as far as i


right would be harmful or beneficial to society. those questions and any and all others would have to be considered, evaluated and discussed only if the right to limit the number of children a person produces by coercion exists in society. as far as i have been able to determine after doing many years of research i could not find a single human right that was not subject to control or modification by society. even the right to life is not absolute - - many nations and cultures take away right to life when a person has committed certain types of murder. the right walk the streets as a free person is not an absolute right - - almost every nation or culture takes away that right and places a person in prison when a serious / heinous crime has been committed. your reasons for your answer are requested. 3. while united nations issues about eight different projections of the future human population, the most quoted and accepted projection is the " medium " projection. the most recent medium projection / estimation / prediction / prognostication ( use whatever word you desire ) issued by the un predicts that the human population will exceed 10 billion and still be growing by the year 2100. do you agree with that prediction after giving due consideration to the rate by which humanity is using the limited finite nonrenewable resources of our planet and the rate our species is using resources normally considered renewable? do you agree with that prediction after giving consideration to the projected increase in per capita usage of resources by the nations of the world and in particular by the ever increasing per capita usage of resources of china and india? you may want to review the work of lester brown of the earth policy institute as to the future usage of resources by china. do you believe that the carrying capacity of the earth, no matter how defined, is substantially less than 10 billion of our species and that the continued population growth will result in the collapse of society / the social order / civilization and the horrors set forth in paragraph 1 ( a ) above will happen prior to the year 2100? you may want to consult the works of william catton, richard heinberg, chris clugston, david pimental, james lovelock and many others. clugston ' s work can be viewed free of charge on his web site www. wakeupamerika. com ( it is spelled with a ' k " and not a " c " ) - - pay particular attention to his book " scarcity ". the reasons for your answers to these questions would be most appreciated. since no rational person would want


. com ( it is spelled with a ' k " and not a " c " ) - - pay particular attention to his book " scarcity ". the reasons for your answers to these questions would be most appreciated. since no rational person would want to control population growth by the horrors set forth in paragraph 1 ( a ) above, there are in reality only two ways to control population growth / reduce population growth to zero / make it negative. no one can present a logically and factually supported case that the voluntary action ( as defined in paragraph 1 above ) of humanity will reduce population growth to zero prior to the commencement of the horrors described in paragraph 1 ( a ) with absolute certainty. in other words, there is some level of probability that if humanity were to limit itself to voluntary action to control population growth that action will fail and humanity will exceed the carrying capacity of the earth such that the horrors described in paragraph 1 ( a ) would occur. no one knows what is the chance of success or what is the chance of failure of voluntary action - - no one knows if the chance of success is 70 % and the chance of failure is 30 % or 80 / 20 or 60 / 40 or 50 / 50 or any other combination of numbers. however, there is a chance of failure and failure will lead to the collapse of society / the collapse of the social order / the destruction of civilization and to the horrors described in paragraph 1 ( a ). more importantly, there is a vastly greater chance of failure of voluntary action if population growth not only has to be reduced to zero but made negative to substantially reduce the human population from the current 7 billion or from the future 10 billion ( year 2100 ) to a much lower number in order for our species to survive for a reasonable period of time. a number of experts ( whatever the word " expert " means ) ( david pimental of cornell university and james lovelock of gaia fame, for example ) have presented factually and logically supported cases that the earth ' s carrying capacity is 2 billion or less of our species. humanity ignores at its peril the work of these experts. if the chance of success / failure is one set of numbers for voluntary action relating to reducing population growth zero, then there is a second set of numbers for success / failure in which the success side of the equation is substantially reduced and failure side of the equation is substantially increased in considering voluntary action in relation to population reduction. since chance of failure of voluntary action could result in the horrific deaths of billions, perhaps as many


failure in which the success side of the equation is substantially reduced and failure side of the equation is substantially increased in considering voluntary action in relation to population reduction. since chance of failure of voluntary action could result in the horrific deaths of billions, perhaps as many as 9. 6 billion - - ( 10. 1 billion alive in 2100 less the possible carrying capacity of 0. 5 billion = reduction of 9. 6 billion ), the question becomes - - - - what level of possible failure of voluntary action is acceptable to humankind? of course, the number of horrific deaths could be substantially less than 9. 6 billion. however, since no one can guarantee with 100 % certainty that the voluntary action will not prevent a substantial number of horrific deaths, the leaders of humanity have a duty to convene one or more conferences of the best minds presently on our planet to evaluate and consider coercive population control. it cannot be denied that many arguments can be made against coercive population control - - - the experiment in india a number of years ago was a failure, humanity could equate coercive population control with the actions of adolph hitler or racists, it will take as long to impose coercive control as to make voluntary action successful and many others. coercive population control need not be discriminatory. if each couple in the entire world were limited to one child, no religion, group, nationality, race, culture, etc., would benefit at the expense of any other religion, group, nationality, race or culture. this essay is not intended discuss or debate the advantages / disadvantages, or the problems / benefits of coercive population control. rather, the purpose of this essay is to show that humanity must consider and evaluate coercive population control because there is a substantial, but undefined, risk that voluntary action will lead to the horrific deaths of a substantial number of human beings in the very near future - - - - probably before the year 2050 and almost certainly before the year 2100. jason g. brent email @ example. com comments are not moderated. please be responsible and civil in your postings and stay within the topic discussed in the article too. if you find inappropriate comments, just flag ( report ) them and they will move into moderation que.


healthetimes guides and inspires readers to be proactive about their health and make informed decisions about every aspect of wellness, from lifestyle and dietary choices to environmental issues. it is brought to you by carlson labs in the news obesity and heart disease in kids an obese child ’ s arteries may be just as clogged as the arteries of a middle - aged adult, finds a recent study. a buildup of plaque in the arteries puts kids at risk for a heart attack or stroke as early as age 30. in the study of 70 mostly obese children ages 6 to 19, researchers used an ultrasound to measure the thickness of the kids ’ artery walls in the neck. “ we wanted to gauge their vascular age, ” says geetha raghuveer, md, mph, referring to the age at which the level of plaque in the arteries would be normal. in these children, the vascular age was generally 30 years older than their chronological age. although the growing research linking obesity with heart disease in children is alarming, dr. raghuveer is hopeful. “ a lot of these kids ’ arteries, even though they are in the early stages of atherosclerosis, are not hardened or calcified, not really advanced. ” she says there may be an opportunity to implement lifestyle alterations, including exercise and diet. “ perhaps it may be reversed. ”


use it or lose it? researchers investigate the dispensability of our dna | october 2, 2008 our genome contains many genes encoding proteins that are similar to those of other organisms, suggesting evolutionary relationships ; however, protein - coding genes account for only a small fraction the genome, and there are many other dna sequences that are conserved across species. what are these sequences doing, and do we really need them at all? in a study published online today in genome research ( www. genome. org ), researchers have delved into this mystery and found that evolution has actively kept them in our genome. before the human genome was sequenced, researchers estimated the genome might contain upwards of 140, 000 protein - coding genes, but surprisingly, sequencing revealed only about 20, 000, accounting for less than 2 % of the entire genome. previously, dr. gill bejerano of stanford university found that lurking within the other 98 % of the genome are stretches of sequences, known as ultraconserved elements, which are identical between humans and animals such as rodents and chickens, even though hundreds of millions of years of independent evolution separates them. other evidence has suggested that ultraconserved sequences can harbor critical functions, such as regulation of the activity of certain genes. yet research in this field has produced laboratory results that are seemingly in disagreement : some ultraconserved elements can be deleted from the mouse genome and produce no observable effect on mice. bejerano cautions that laboratory experiments such as these may not be able to detect slow evolutionary forces at work. " with this in mind, we set out to examine the genomic data, much as someone would examine archaeological data, in search of similar deletion events that have happened naturally, and more importantly, were retained in the wild. " " an analogy i like to entertain is that of plate tectonics : a fraction of the phenomena may be strong enough to be directly measured by our instruments, but to appreciate its full magnitude we must dig into the geological record, " said bejerano. " this digging into the genomic record is what our current work was all about. bejerano and graduate student cory mclean studied the genomes of six mammals, investigating ultraconserved elements that are shared between primates and closely related mammals, were present in the ancestor of modern rodents, but have been lost in the rodent lineage more recently. the researchers found that the genomic evidence supports an important biological role for ultraconserved elements, as well as thousands of other non -


, were present in the ancestor of modern rodents, but have been lost in the rodent lineage more recently. the researchers found that the genomic evidence supports an important biological role for ultraconserved elements, as well as thousands of other non - coding elements that are resistant to deletion. " the functional importance of ultraconserved elements is reinforced by the observation that the elements are rarely lost in any species, " said mclean. " in fact, they are over 300 - fold less likely to be lost than genomic loci which evolve neutrally in our genome. " bejerano explained that while loss of some elements may have a significant impact on the fitness of a species and the loss of other elements might be harder to detect in the laboratory, nearly all changes to these regions are picked up by evolution and swept out of the population. " perhaps our most striking observation is one of sheer magnitude, " bejerano said. " our work highlights how essential these dozens of thousands of regions are to the natural evolution of a species even as their actual functions remain, at large, a mystery. " scientists from stanford university ( stanford, ca ) contributed to this study. this work was supported by a stanford bio - x graduate fellowship and the edward mallinckrodt, jr. foundation. gill bejerano, ph. d. ( email @ example. com ; + 1 - 650 - 723 - 7666 ) has agreed to be contacted for more information. interested reporters may obtain copies of the manuscript from peggy calicchia, editorial secretary, genome research ( firstname. lastname @ example. org ; + 1 - 516 - 422 - 4012 ). about the article : the manuscript will be published online ahead of print on october 2, 2008. its full citation is as follows : mclean, c., and bejerano, g. dispensability of mammalian dna. genome res. doi : 10. 1101 / gr. 080184. 108. about genome research : genome research ( www. genome. org ) is an international, continuously published, peer - reviewed journal published by cold spring harbor laboratory press. launched in 1995, it is one of the five most highly cited primary research journals in genetics and genomics. about cold spring harbor laboratory press : cold spring harbor laboratory press is an internationally renowned publisher of books, journals, and electronic media, located on long island, new york. it is a division of cold spring harbor laboratory, an innovator in life science research


are britons becoming nature nitwits? one in five don ' t know oak trees come from acorns it ' s the national tree of england and a symbol of britain ’ s seafaring power for hundreds of years. yet according to a new survey, one in five adults have no idea that oak trees spring from tiny acorns. instead, millions of ‘ nature ninnies ’ believe acorns fall from sycamore, elm or birch trees. scroll down for video worrying : millions of ' nature ninnies ' believe acorns fall from sycamore, elm or birch trees the survey also found that 15 per cent of adults think cows ’ milk comes from male cattle, while a similar number are unaware that tadpoles turn into frogs. the shocking state of ignorance about nature is highlighted by an opinion poll of 2, 000 adults carried out in the run up to open farm sunday, when hundreds of farmers will open their gates to the public. fewer than half the adults surveyed said correctly that bees make honey from nectar, with 59 per cent wrongly believing that honey comes from pollen. only half knew that robins live in britain all year round, while two thirds did not realise that sparrows – one of the most common uk birds – also live here all year. and although the call of the cuckoo is one of the great symbolic heralds of the spring, one in ten people said the birds live in the british isles all through the winter. farmer and tv presenter adam henson admitted he was disappointed by the level of public ignorance revealed in the poll, commissioned by the farming and environment charity leaf. ‘ as a farmer i am passionate about the great british countryside and like most farmers i spend a considerable amount of my time looking after it – along with all the wildlife that lives there too, ’ he said. ‘ i ’ m disappointed to see that so many people seem to be confused about the countryside and the role that farmers like me play in nurturing wildlife and tending the land. ’ three out of ten people questioned could not identify the red triangular road sign for frogs or toads crossing – with one in six believing it means ‘ beware of frogs ’. women and men got a similar number of answers wrong. however, women were more likely to know that oak trees come from acorns – and that milking cows are female. all ages were unaware of the role of farmers in looking after the countryside, leaf said. around 95 per cent did not know that they manage over three quarters of the uk


the shared anger of mice and men : scientific breakthrough linking humans to rodents could lead to new treatments for alzheimer ' s and autism by rob preece it is one of life ' s great mysteries - how some people can fly off the handle and become aggressive and violent seemingly without warning. but scientists now believe they know why some humans are more likely to show aggression than others, after they managed to block pathological rage in mice. researchers found that overly hostile mice and angry men share biological similarities which make them more susceptible to rage - a major breakthrough which could pave the way for new treatments for conditions including alzheimer ' s disease and autism. breakthrough : researchers found that overly hostile mice and angry men share biological similarities which make them more susceptible to rage in a study published in the journal of neuroscience, researchers from the university of southern california and italy identified a brain receptor in mice, which malfunctions in overly hostile rodents. when the scientists shut down the brain receptor, which also exists in humans, the excess aggression disappeared. the findings are expected to help experts develop drug targets for pathological aggression, which is a component in alzheimer ' s, autism, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. marco bortolato, the study ' s lead author and an assistant professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at the usc school of pharmacy, told science daily : ' from a clinical and social point of view, reactive aggression is absolutely a major problem. ' we want to find the tools that might reduce impulsive violence. ' scientists had already found that both male humans and mice respond violently to stress if they have low levels of the enzyme monoamine oxidase a ( mao a ). similarities : scientists found that both male humans and mice respond violently to stress if they have low levels of the enzyme monoamine oxidase a ' the same type of mutation that we study in mice is associated with criminal, very violent behaviour in humans, ' bortolato said. ' but we really didn ' t understand why that is. ' bortolato and his usc colleague jean shih worked backwards to replicate elements of human pathological aggression in mice. this meant not only low enzyme levels but also the interaction of genetics with early stressful events, such as trauma and childhood neglect. ' low levels of mao a are one basis of the predisposition to aggression in humans, ' bortolato. ' the other is an encounter with maltreatment, and the combination of the two factors appears to be deadly. ' it results consistently in violence in


heat is a sad fact of life for current generation electronics. any android, iphone, or blackberry user can tell you that smartphones tend to get pretty hot at times. and by today ' s standards a balmy 85 degrees celsius, while hot enough to cook an egg, is a pretty " good " operating temperature for a high - powered pc graphics processing unit. but that could all soon change, according to the results of a new study by researchers at the university of illinois. examining graphene transistors, a team led by mechanical science and engineering professor william king [ profile ] and electrical and computer engineering professor eric pop [ profile ] made a remarkable discovery - - graphene appears to self - cool. i. what is graphene? graphene is somewhat like a miniature " fence " of carbon. the material consists of a single - atom thick layer composed of hexagonal units. at each point of the hexagon sits a carbon atom that is bonded to its three close neighbors. the material behaves like a semiconductor, despite being made of organic atoms. it offers remarkable performance at an incredibly small scale, thus the electronics industry views it as a potential material to power electronic devices of the future. a variety of methods exist for producing graphene. the earliest method was an exfoliation technique that involved stripping individual graphene layers off a layer of graphite ( the material found in pencil lead ) - - this technique ( as of 2008 ) cost as much as $ 100m usd to produce a single cubic centimeter of material. however, rapid advances in production have allowed manufacturers to begin scaling up production to the point where tons of exfoliated graphene can now be produced. techniques promise to drop the price even further. one method, epitaxial growth on silicon cost $ 100 per cubic centimeter in 2009. its limitation is that, obviously, it requires silicon ( eliminating some desirable properties like flexibility ). south korean researchers have tested another promising method, nickel metal transfer. graphene is fascinating from a physics perspective. in 2005 physicists at the university of manchester and the philip kim group from columbia university demonstrated that quasiparticles inside graphene were massless dirac fermions. these unusual particles help give rise to the material ' s unique characteristics. ii. graphene as a self - cooling device despite the extreme interest in the material, deal of mystery still surrounds graphene. because it is so extremely thin, it is difficult to test and measure accurately certain properties of the material. overcoming technical challenges,


. graphene as a self - cooling device despite the extreme interest in the material, deal of mystery still surrounds graphene. because it is so extremely thin, it is difficult to test and measure accurately certain properties of the material. overcoming technical challenges, the university of illinois team used an atomic force microscope tip as a temperature probe to make the first nanometer - scale temperature measurements of a working graphene what they found was that the resistive heating ( " waste heat " ) effect in graphene was weaker than its thermo - electric cooling effect at times. this is certainly not the case in silicon or other semiconductors where resistive heating far surpasses cooling effects. what this means is that graphene circuits may not get hot like traditional silicon - based ones. this could open the door to dense 3d chips and more. further, as the heat is converted back into electricity by the device, graphene transistors may have a two - fold power efficiency gain, both in ditching energetically expensive fans and by recycling heat losses into usable electricity. professor king describes, " in silicon and most materials, the electronic heating is much larger than the self - cooling. however, we found that in these graphene transistors, there are regions where the thermoelectric cooling can be larger than the resistive heating, which allows these devices to cool themselves. this self - cooling has not previously been seen for graphene devices. " professor pop adds, " graphene electronics are still in their infancy ; however, our measurements and simulations project that thermoelectric effects will become enhanced as graphene transistor technology and contacts improve. " a paper has been published [ full text ] in nanotechnology ' s most prestigious peer - reviewed journal, nature nanoscience. university of illinois graduate student kyle undergraduate feifei lian and postdoctoral researcher myung - ho bae [ profile ] are listed as co - authors on the paper. iii. what ' s next? the study should provide even more motivation for semiconductor manufacturing companies like intel, globalfoundries, and tmsc to lay down the process work necessary to mass - produce circuits based on graphene transistors, capacitors, etc. as for the university of illinois team, they plan to next use their new measurement technique to analyze carbon nanotubes and other novel structures that are of interest to future electronics applications. their work is funded via a grant from the air force office of scientific research and the office of naval research.


corn crop residues are often left on harvested fields to protect soil quality, but they could become an important raw material in cellulosic ethanol production. u. s. department of agriculture ( usda ) research indicates that soil quality would not decline if post - harvest corn cob residues were removed from fields. this work, led by agricultural research service ( ars ) soil scientist brian wienhold, supports the usda priority of developing new sources of bioenergy. ars is usda ' s chief intramural scientific research agency. wienhold, with the ars agroecosystem management research unit in lincoln, neb., led studies that compared runoff rates and sediment loss from no - till corn fields where postharvest crop residues were either removed or retained. the scientists also removed cobs from half of the test plots that were protected by the residues. after the test plots were established, the scientists generated two simulated rainfall events. the first occurred when the fields were dry, and the next occurred 24 hours later when the soils were almost completely saturated. during the first event, on plots where residue was removed, runoff began around 200 seconds after the " rain " began. runoff from plots protected by residues didn ' t start until around 240 seconds after it started to " rain. " runoff from the residue - free plots contained 30 percent more sediment than runoff from all the residue - protected plots. but the presence or absence of cobs on the residue - protected plots did not significantly affect sediment loss rates. wienhold ' s team concluded that even though cob residues did slightly delay the onset of runoff, sediment loss rates were not significantly affected by the presence or absence of the cobs. the results indicated that the cobs could be removed from other residue and used for bioenergy feedstock without significantly interfering with the role of crop residues in protecting soils. in a related study, wienhold examined how the removal of cob residues affected soil nutrient levels. over the course of a year, his sampling indicated that cobs were a source of soil potassium, but that they weren ' t a significant source of any other plant nutrients.


los gallardos, nestled between the bedar mountain range and the valley down to the coast, is a pleasant small town, well communicated and an important nexus in the road transport system of the area. it is a rich town, from which several of the local important spanish dynasties have their homesteads, and it ’ s beginnings as a base for the mining experts and investors of the mines above it gave it a good start in life. indeed, it is almost unique in the area as being one of the few towns that has never had a natural spring – the drinking water for the town was piped in from natural springs a couple of kilometers away. nobody seems sure as to why it is called “ los gallardos ”, the most common explanation being that it was the name given to the rich foreigners who settled there at the turn of the last century. a “ gallardo ” in spanish was a gentleman, and the name was given to mining engineers and investors who came to exploit the mines of bedar. an alternate theory, expounded to me by a 90 year old man who heard it from his grandfather when he was small, was that it came from the man who built the first house where los gallardos now is – a rich sailor from mojacar, who disliked mojacar and brought a plot of land next to the old almeria – vera route. his surname was “ gallardo ” and as his family settled there the hamlet that sprung up was known locally as “ el pueblo de los gallardos ”, or the village of the gallardos [ family ]. since the original almeria – vera route ran past los gallardos ( the actual cn340 that runs past the village ), and a track split off to go bedar and lubrin, it was the logical place for the ( mainly british ) engineers and investors to settle for their base. bedar was where the miners lived ; los gallardos the owners. ease of communication from that point to nearly all the mines in the area, plus garrucha ( the main port ) meant that it was easier for them to build a new base there rather then flog up and down the track to bedar, which in those days would have taken the better part of a day. los gallardos was part of bedar until 1924, when it was incorporated as a municipio, or a town hall. ( bedar has been mentioned in the records since before 1505, when the position of


of a day. los gallardos was part of bedar until 1924, when it was incorporated as a municipio, or a town hall. ( bedar has been mentioned in the records since before 1505, when the position of bishop of bedar was created in order to cement christianity in the mountains ). until the latter part of the 1910s bedar was a much larger community then los gallardos, being the main work base. as the mines close to bedar started to close, the miners moved to new exploitations, causing a net loss of population and a small surge in the many ( now often abandoned ) villages in the mountains. the truth of the matter was that the intense mining activity that took place at the end of the 19th century, and whose financial and technical centre was based in los gallardos, created and consolidated a large number of villages in the area, such as bedar, garrucha, seron, el pinar and others. upon the incorporation of los gallardos as an independent village, the new mayor was eager to get up and running with all the trappings of power. since there was an economic downturn in the area, there were quite a few empty buildings lying around. the town hall was installed in a palm tree warehouse, which was rented from the owners until the late 80 ′ s when money was made available to purchase it, knock it down and rebuild ( preserving the original look of the building ). the church was installed in another warehouse, which is currently being rebuilt and restored. check out sebastians bakery across the plaza from the church, which has the oldest wood fired bakery in the area ( well over a hundred years old, and in one of the original buildings ). the square in front of the church is the original square from the foundation of the village. calle seron was it ’ s first official street. the tarmacking of the main road in 1927 was a pivotal event in the history of los gallardos, as it cemented it ’ s position as the “ doorway to the levante ”. older people in the village still reminisce about a story that shocked the area at the time : the asphalt arrived in large cheaply made barrels of wood, metal lorries not existing at the time. the asphalt would then be mixed and poured onto the surface. the barrels were held together with simple hoops of metal. the children of los gallardos were envious of these hoops, and any discarded ones would


not existing at the time. the asphalt would then be mixed and poured onto the surface. the barrels were held together with simple hoops of metal. the children of los gallardos were envious of these hoops, and any discarded ones would be pounced upon and used as playthings, although almost all of them were taken away with the workmen. over one weekend a group of older children hatched a cunning plan – gathering at dusk, they seized their opportunity and stole as many hoops off the barrels as possible. the scandal that erupted on the monday was, by all accounts, enormous. the foreman of works was incandescent with rage, especially as without the hoops all the barrels had broken and the asphalt split out into the fields. the local judge arrived to investigate, accompanied by the dreaded civil guard, famed even before francos day. after his investigation, he passed a number of fines, ranging from 5 to 20 pesetas, on the parents of the children, but stated that the onus on punishment for the children should be on the local headmaster of the school. the headmaster, as grandfathers still remember, enthusiastically doled out some quite heavy punishments upon the culprits! however, the asphalting of the road lead to the consolidation of los gallardos as a transport nexus for the area. a large number of taxi, transport and bus services sprang up over the next few years, although almost all vehicles were confiscated for the war effort during the civil war. los gallardos has always been known as “ the taxi village ”, and several large transport companies were born out of these humbles beginnings. the transport industry in los gallardos did not start to reestablish itself until the late 1950 ′ s. the father of the current main taxi driver in los gallardos recounts a tale in which he was lucky enough to have a cousin working in seat in barcelona, who was able to help him obtain a coveted car during this austere period. other marques seem in the area were peugots and citroens, usually brought from france, and quite a few fords. apparently, although i can ’ t confirm this, there was for many years a ford garage in the village. large companies such as jerasa, rodriguez buses, nilasa and others were all founded in or by los gallardos families, and most came out of those early years experimenting with early transport industries. telephones arrived in the area in 1957, and the switch


jerasa, rodriguez buses, nilasa and others were all founded in or by los gallardos families, and most came out of those early years experimenting with early transport industries. telephones arrived in the area in 1957, and the switchboard operator ( on duty 24 / 7, 365 days a week ) was paid 150 pesetas a month, a lot in 1957 but not so much 10 years later when she was still on the same pay level! she was on duty all day, but since there were only 10 phones in the village, any important calls were usually arranged the day before. water problems throughout the area were endemic from the turn of the century until the creation of the almanzora dam, caused by a lowering of the water level as population and agriculture increased, and a corresponding drying up of natural springs. despite constant promises throughout these decades, no major investment in water infrastructure were made until the 80 ′ s. this lead to the infamous protests by the side of the road as the caudillo ( old franco himself ) drove by on his way to almeria in the mid 60 ′ s. the old railway bridge by la perulaca still has graffiti on it saying such things as “ franco mas agua! ”. there is no indication that franco noticed the demonstrations. no doubt he would have had them all shot. currently los gallardos is in a strong expansionist phase. from 1996 to 2006 it was the 4 fastest growing town in almeria, going from 1761 inhabitants to 3126. last updated 18th july 2008.


banded - found is coastal drainages of alabama and florida from conecuh river to the ochlockonee system, male banded topminnows are olive green with orange highlighting the upper gill covers. bayou - the bayou topminnow has rows of dots and vertical bars, and it has a limited distribution, ranging from the escatawpa and mobile basins west to the lake pontchartrain drainage in louisiana. blackspotted - blackspotted topminnows are characterized by a dark lateral stripe extending from the mouth to the caudal fin base and by small, distinct black spots along the back and upper sides ( a useful characteristic for separating the blackspotted topminnow from the blackstripe topminnow ). blackstripe - the blackstripe topminnow can usually be distinguished from the blackspotted topminnow by the absence of small dark dots along the upper sides and back. bluefin killifish - the colorful bluefin killifish is found in georgia, florida, and only one pond in extreme southeast alabama. golden - when not breeding the golden topminnow is similar in appearance to the banded topminnow ; in alabama, the golden topminnow is limited to tributaries and backwaters of the mobile delta, mobile bay, and coastal lowland systems. northern starhead - the northern starhead topminnow is difficult to identify because of the sexual dimorphism. northern studfish - the northern studfish is a colorful topminnow that occurs in the ozark and ouachita mountains, upland regions of the tennessee, cumberland, and green river drainages, and in isolated populations in indiana and mississippi. pygmy killifish - perhaps alabama ' s smallest fish, this fish is very rare in alabama, but more common in georgia and florida. rainwater killifish - one of alabama ' s smallest fish, it can be confused with the mosquitofish ; the edges of the scales of rainwater killifish are edged in black, giving them a diamond - shaped appearance. russetfin - in gulf coastal drainages, fundulus escambiae is distributed from the perdido river drainage eastward to the santa fe river in florida. southern starhead - the southern starhead topminnow is listed as a distinct species because individuals in alabama are distinguishable from the bayou topminnow on the basis of body coloration. southern studfish - found in the coosa system and some lower alabama river tributaries, the southern studfish is most closely


dry sockets can on rare occasion result after a tooth is extracted. the blood clot healing in the extraction socket is unexpectedly dislodged leaving a bare painful open area. the technical term for this condition is acute alveolar osteitis. generally the pain involved with a dry socket is intense, throbbing and unceasing. this pain is often worse than the pain associated with the tooth prior to extraction. a foul odor may be associated with this condition. pain medication often does a sub par job of relieving the discomfort associated with this situation. what causes dry sockets to occur? difficult surgical extractions leave patients more susceptable to this problem. any action that forms suction within the mouth can raise risk level and should be avoided. actions that should be avoided include but are not limited to : smoking, sucking through through a straw, spitting, vigorous mouth rinsing, sneezing, or coughing. eating should be very light within the first 24 hours after tooth extraction to protect the affected area. in addition to the sucking action smokers use with cigarettes, smoking is thought to decrease the amount of oxygen available to the healing tissue, thereby, increase the risk of having a dry socket. avoid smoking for at least the first 48 hours post extraction. alveolar osteitis seem to occur in 5 - 10 % of extractions. frequency is greater with teeth of the lower jaw ( mandible ) and in cases involving wisdom teeth. women are at greater risk than men for this condition due to hormone fluctuations associated with the menstrual cycle. women taking oral contraceptives are at even greater risk. prevention of acute alveolar osteitis. cleanings and xrays. this regimen will hopefully allow problems to be when they are small and easily treatable. mainaining good oral hygiene during the healing period. women should schedule extractions during the last week of their menstrual cycles ( days 23 through 28 ). this is when estrogen levels are lowest. commence with a light, warm salt water rinse beginning 24 hours post tooth extraction. avoid drinking through a straw, smoking or spitting for at least the first 48 hours post tooth extraction. avoid alcohol for 48 hours as it can change bleeding patterns after an extraction. avoid hard foods for 24 hours then carefully chew on the opposite side for an additional 24 hours to minimize injury to the extraction site. carefully follow the post operative instructions given by the dentist and / or his staff. treatment for a dry socket. follow all post operative


foods for 24 hours then carefully chew on the opposite side for an additional 24 hours to minimize injury to the extraction site. carefully follow the post operative instructions given by the dentist and / or his staff. treatment for a dry socket. follow all post operative instruction very closely to avoid getting one. the pain associated with this condition will cause many regrets for patients that deviate from the healing protocol. the dentist may debride the socket of debris which also will cause new blood flow and clotting. dental staff may place eugenol based iodoform gauze packing material into the socket to ease discomfort while healing commences. the site may need packed daily for up to 7 - 10 days although most need on 3 - 5 placements of analgesic packing. take oral pain relievers. these have varied effectiveness for each individual. even though the oral cavity is in discomfort, maintaining a proper diet is important to facilitate socket healing. can be a very uncomfortable and unforgettable experience. no patient wants to add this situation to their list of dental experiences. they are best avoided through prevention by receiving regular dental checkups, cleanings and xrays. by following this regimen, problems are usually found when small and extraction of teeth hopefully can be avoided. when tooth removal can not be avoided, closely follow the instructions provided by the dental staff.


a new approach to improving system performance by terry costlow embedded. com ( 01 / 05 / 10, 08 : 20 : 00 pm est ) speed is a key element in most every electronic design. whether engineers are creating complex image processing applications or designing systems that extend battery life by working swiftly before returning to sleep mode, speed is a critical factor in a product ' s success. though hardware usually gets first consideration when design teams look for ways to improve speed, that ' s not usually the most effective path. it ' s fairly straightforward to run the features and functions of a product faster without making any hardware changes. streamlining software so it runs at optimal rates can bring significant improvements in a way that ' s so easy to implement units in the field can be enhanced. that ' s far more cost effective than redesigning hardware. three of the four basic components in system speed are in software : operating systems, compilers and application software. hardware is the critical fourth phase, but altering processors, memories, bus architectures and data channels is difficult. altering the operating system is also difficult once the os has been selected. that leaves optimizing the software that runs above the operating system as the most straightforward way to increase speed. applications packages, middleware and drivers take center stage when development teams focus on the features and functions that attract customers. but this software is typically overlooked when the focus shifts to performance. that ' s a mistake. significant performance increases can be achieved when acceleration techniques are applied to software that resides above the operating system. it ' s rare that speed can ' t be boosted by 20 percent ( or even doubled or quadrupled ) especially when utilizing an outside firm that specializes in software acceleration who can assist with streamlining programs. click here to read more...


michael specter has an interesting article in the new yorker about global warming and how " dazzlingly complex " it all is once you start to take all of the factors into account. the calculations required to assess the full environmental impact of how we live can be dazzlingly complex. to sum them up on a label will not be easy. should the carbon label on a jar of peanut butter include the emissions caused by the fertilizer, calcium, and potassium applied to the original crop of peanuts? what about the energy used to boil the peanuts once they have been harvested, or to mold the jar and print the labels? seen this way, carbon costs multiply rapidly. a few months ago, scientists at the stockholm environment institute reported that the carbon footprint of christmas — including food, travel, lighting, and gifts — was six hundred and fifty kilograms per person. that is as much, they estimated, as the weight of “ one thousand christmas puddings ” for every resident of england. this passage caught my attention. we need to look at the whole picture and not just the impact of our individual actions. remember all of the " save the rain forest " campaigns during the 1980 ' s? my 7th grade science class wrote a letter to the ecuadorian embassy to encourage them to stop deforestation. it ' s great that carbon emissions are getting so much attention, but they ' re just a piece of the overall puzzle. just two countries — indonesia and brazil — account for about ten per cent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. neither possesses the type of heavy industry that can be found in the west, or for that matter in russia or india. still, only the united states and china are responsible for greater levels of emissions. that is because tropical forests in indonesia and brazil are disappearing with incredible speed. “ it ’ s really very simple, ” john o. niles told me. niles, the chief science and policy officer for the environmental group carbon conservation, argues that spending five billion dollars a year to prevent deforestation in countries like indonesia would be one of the best investments the world could ever make. “ the value of that land is seen as consisting only of the value of its lumber, ” he said. “ a logging company comes along and offers to strip the forest to make some trivial wooden product, or a palm - oil plantation. the governments in these places have no cash. they are sitting on this resource that is doing nothing for their economy. so when a guy says, ‘ i will give you a few hundred dollars if you


wooden product, or a palm - oil plantation. the governments in these places have no cash. they are sitting on this resource that is doing nothing for their economy. so when a guy says, ‘ i will give you a few hundred dollars if you let me cut down these trees, ’ it ’ s not easy to turn your nose up at that. those are dollars people can spend on schools and hospitals. ” the ecological impact of decisions like that are devastating. decaying trees contribute greatly to increases in the levels of greenhouse gases. plant life absorbs co2. but when forests disappear, the earth loses one of its two essential carbon sponges ( the other is the ocean ). the results are visible even from space. satellite photographs taken over indonesia and brazil show thick plumes of smoke rising from the forest. according to the latest figures, deforestation pushes nearly six billion tons of co2 into the atmosphere every year. that amounts to thirty million acres — an area half the size of the united kingdom — chopped down each year. put another way, according to one recent calculation, during the next twenty - four hours the effect of losing forests in brazil and indonesia will be the same as if eight million people boarded airplanes at heathrow airport and flew en masse to new york. read big foot in measuring carbon emissions, it ’ s easy to confuse morality and science. by michael specter via : the frontal cortex


a form of carbohydrate that will raise blood glucose levels relatively quickly when ingested. the term “ fast - acting carbohydrate ” is generally used in discussions of treating hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. however, as research accumulates on the subject of carbohydrates and how quickly they are absorbed, some diabetes experts say the term has become outdated. what defines hypoglycemia varies from source to source, but it generally refers to a blood glucose level below 70 mg / dl. in many cases, this will produce the typical symptoms of low blood sugar, which include trembling, sweating, heart palpitations, butterflies in the stomach, irritability, hunger, or fatigue. severe hypoglycemia can cause drowsiness, poor concentration, confusion, and even unconsciousness. diabetes care experts generally recommend checking one ’ s blood sugar level whenever possible to confirm hypoglycemia before treating it. to treat hypoglycemia, the standard advice is to consume 10 - 15 grams of “ fast - acting ” carbohydrate. each of the following items provides roughly 10 - 15 grams of carbohydrate : - 5 - 6 lifesaver candies - 4 - 6 ounces regular ( non - diet ) soda - 4 - 6 ounces of orange juice - 2 tablespoons of raisins - 8 ounces of nonfat or low - fat milk - one tube ( 0. 68 ounces ) of cake mate decorator gel. there are also a number of commercially available glucose tablets and gels. benefits to using commercial products include the following : - they aren ’ t as tempting to snack on as candy is. - they contain no fat, which can slow down digestion, or fructose, which has a smaller and slower effect on blood glucose. - the commercial products are standardized, so it ’ s easy to measure out a dose of 10 - 15 grams of carbohydrate. if someone is unconscious from low blood sugar, don ’ t attempt to give him anything to eat or drink. rather, take him to the nearest emergency room, or inject glucagon if you have been instructed how to do it. if you can ’ t get emergency help fast enough and can ’ t inject glucagon, it may help to rub a little glucose gel between the person ’ s gums and cheek.


micro vs macro micro and macro are prefixes that are used before words to make them small or big respectively. this is true with micro and macroeconomics, micro and macro evolution, microorganism, micro lens and macro lens, micro finance and macro finance, and so on. the list of words that makes use of these prefixes is long and exhaustive. many people confuse between micro and macro despite knowing that these prefixes signify small and large respectively. this article takes a closer look at the two prefixes to find out their differences. to understand the difference between micro and macro, let us take up the example of micro and macro evolution. to signify evolution that takes place within a single species, the word microevolution is used whereas evolution that transcends the boundaries of species and takes place on a very large scale is termed as macroevolution. though the principles of evolution such as genetics, mutation, natural selection, and migration remain the same across microevolution as well as macro evolution, this distinction between microevolution and macroevolution is a great way to explain this natural phenomenon. another field of study that makes use of micro and macro is economics. while the study of the overall economy and how it works is called macroeconomics, microeconomics focuses on the individual person, company, or industry. thus, the study of gdp, employment, inflation etc. in an economy is classified under macroeconomics. microeconomics is the study of forces of demand and supply inside a particular industry effecting the goods and services. so it is macroeconomics when economists choose to concentrate upon the state of the economy in a nation whereas the study of a single market or industry remains within the realms of microeconomics. there is also the study of finance where these two prefixes are commonly used. thus, we have microfinance where the focus is upon the monetary needs and requirements of a single individual where there is also macro finance where financing by the banks or other financial institutions is of very large nature. micro and macro are derived from greek language where micro means small and macro refers to large. these prefixes are used in many fields of study such as finance, economics, evolution etc. where we have words like micro finance and macro finance, micro evolution and macro evolution etc. studying something at a small level is micro while studying it on a large scale is macro analysis. financing the needs of an individual may be micro financing whereas the financial needs of a builder requiring money for a