investigating the martian landscape for at least the next two years in search of the building blocks of life : carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and oxygen. but before the exploration begins, scientists at nasa intend to perform a few weeks of health checks on the machine that just survived the most epic landing in the history of robotic space travel. this view of gale crater is made up of a combination of data from three mars orbiters. the circle in the top left corner indicates the area where scientists aimed curiosity ’ s landing. image credit : nasa / jpl - caltech / esa / dlr / fu berlin / msss. surviving seven minutes of terror scientists at nasa ’ s jet propulsion laboratory ( jpl ) in pasadena, california twitched and hunched forward nervously as they waited for confirmations that curiosity had survived the technological challenge of landing on the surface of mars. scientists had dubbed the descent into the martian atmosphere the “ seven minutes of terror ” due to the intricate and tightly choreographed maneuvers required for a safe landing, including slowing down from 20, 921 km per hour to zero in just a few minutes. a heat - shield protected the one - tonne curiosity from a 1600 degrees celsius blaze that engulfed it at the force of impact with the martian atmosphere. because the martian atmosphere is so thin, a supersonic parachute, weighing only 100 pounds but able to withstand 65, 000 pounds of pressure, then needed to slow down its descent, but even it could only do so much. to enable a safe landing, nasa equipped the rover with a “ rocket - propelled backpack ” to lower it down to the surface on cables. photo of parachute landing today nasa released a photo of the parachute landing that was snapped by a spacecraft that ’ s been orbiting mars for six years. in a testament to advanced planning, the commands to take the photo had to be uploaded 72 hours prior. " guess you could consider us the closest thing to paparazzi on mars, " said sarah milkovich, high resolution imaging science experiment ( hirise ) investigation scientist at nasa ' s jpl. " we definitely caught nasa ' s newest celebrity in the act. " photo credit : nasa / jpl - caltech / univiversity of arizona. astronomer, lecturer, and author phil plait, who blogs for the popular discover magazine blog bad astronomy, wrote about the “ sheer amazingness ” of capturing a photo of the 16 - metre - wide parachute. “ here we have a picture taken by a camera on board a space probe that ’ s been


blogs for the popular discover magazine blog bad astronomy, wrote about the “ sheer amazingness ” of capturing a photo of the 16 - metre - wide parachute. “ here we have a picture taken by a camera on board a space probe that ’ s been orbiting mars for six years, reset and re - aimed by programmers hundreds of millions of kilometers away using math and science pioneered centuries ago, so that it could catch the fleeting view of another machine we humans flung across space, traveling hundreds of million of kilometers to another world at mind - bending speeds, only to gently – and perfectly – touch down on the surface mere minutes later. ” nasa erupts in cheers the landing depended on the perfect execution of a computer already given its commands, while scientists could only wait for a delayed signal back on earth on how it all went. it takes fourteen minutes for a signal to reach earth from mars. engineers at nasa ' s jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california celebrate the landing of nasa ' s rover curiosity on mars. image credit : nasa / jpl - caltech. when word of the safe landing reached earth, scientists at nasa jumped out of their chairs and threw their hands up in the air in joy, erupting in cheers, hugs and tears. a few minutes later they received the first three photos taken by curiosity, black - and - white images of the rover ’ s wheel on the rocky surface of mars. “ i can ’ t believe this. this is unbelievable, ” said allen chen, the deputy head of the rover ’ s descent and landing team. in times square, hundreds gathered to watch the nasa live stream of the team in california overseeing the landing. when nasa released the images online, their website crashed due to an unprecedented number of hits. mission manager at nasa ' s jpl michael watkins said that he loves these first few images the most. “ here we are seeing a part of mars that we ' ve never seen before, ” he said in a news conference this morning. better resolution photos should be arriving in the next few days along with black - and - white panoramas and the first colour images. working on mars time hundreds of thousands of scientists and engineers contributed to this $ 2. 5 billion mission to mars. all together seven countries collaborated, including canada, finland, spain, russia, france, germany, and the united states. scientists at the canadian space agency ( csa ) spent years working on a device aboard curiosity. a new alpha particle x - ray spectrometer, designed by a team of researchers at guel


ear checksour hospital offers thorough ear exams as one of our many extensive dermatology services. conditions of the ears can be extremely uncomfortable and even painful. symptoms like head shaking, scratching and pawing at the ears, rubbing the ears on the floor or furniture, whining, and abnormal odors are common. conditions of the ear occur frequently in dogs and cats and result from a variety of causes. determining these causes is vital to the long term resolution of the symptoms. as with any other health issue, gathering a detailed history and performing a full examination of the patient are critical. careful examination of the ear with an otoscope, visualizing the full length of the ear canal and the ear drum, provides information important to the diagnosis. pain is common in ear disease and some patients will require sedation or anesthesia to be properly evaluated. additional diagnostic tests are often warranted. gathering samples to check for mites, inflammation, bacteria and yeast is a common first step. cultures are sometimes needed. in uncomplicated ear disease, treatment may be straight - forward when the proper information is gathered. however, most recurrent cases of ear disease involve multiple causes like allergy, infection, foreign bodies, tumors or ear mites. treating only one cause will limit the response to therapy. rechecking the ear after each stage of the treatment is critical to providing a long term resolution to the problem.


in the book cutting through the hype : the essential guide to school reform, authors jane l. david and larry cuban concisely describe various aspects of educational reform. they categorize educational reform into three strategies : reforming the system, reforming how schools are organized, and reforming teaching and learning. their descriptors are factual, historical and informative, but conspicuously devoid of any information supporting partisan political positions. david and cuban give the facts about 22 educational reform strategies and not the political spins from either side of the aisle either vociferously supporting or vehemently opposing any of these 22 educational reform strategies. does the american voter see education reform as another partisan political fight as our political leaders have demonstrated? apparently, american voters see education reform much like david and cuban see education reform, desperately needed and devoid of political bias. according to the center for the next generation survey of american voters attitudes on education and global competitiveness ( http : / / www. tcng. org / files / survey _ of _ american _ voters _ attitudes _ on _ education _ and _ global _ competitiveness. pdf ) and as stated in a recent us politics today article ( http : / / uspolitics. einnews. com / pr _ news / 111185232 / more - than - three - in - four - u - s - voters - want - next - president - to - prioritize - education - new - survey - finds ), 78 percent of american voters say restoring america ’ s leadership in global innovation and increasing investments in education should be a top or high priority for the next president. the american voter, regardless of political affiliation, wants education reform but are they willing to pay for educational reform? the answer is a resounding “ yes! ” the survey also revealed that by more than a ratio of 2 - 1, voters are very, or somewhat willing to pay more in taxes if the funds are dedicated to k - 12 education programs. the willingness to pay more taxes if funds are dedicated to education improvements was represented by strong majorities of each major political affiliation ( 81 percent of democrats surveyed, 59 percent of independents surveyed and 57 percent of republicans surveyed. ) the american voter realizes the importance of a strong education system and how it relates to global competitiveness ; however, the improvement of our education system is contingent upon employing effective education reforms as described by david and cuban. perhaps david and cuban did not address the politics of educational reform because the urgency of educational reform has superseded political partisanship. the american voter


[ photographs by the author, shown here by kind permission of the dean & chapter. click on the images to enlarge them : some details cannot be seen in the smaller versions. ] st chad ' s roman catholic cathedral, queensway ( inner ring road dual carriageway ), birmingham, by a. w. n. pugin ( 1812 - 1852 ) with george myers ( 1803 - 1875 ) as builder. 1837 - 41. the interior is seen here at the start of a particularly joyous mass for french - speaking members of the community. overlooking the congregation on the right is a sixteenth - century oak statue of st chad holding a model of lichfield cathedral, where this " apostle of the midlands " established his see in the seventh century. in terms of its continued outreach and vibrancy, as well as of its historic significance in the catholic revival, st chad ' s is one of pugin ' s most important works. it also marks a major advance in the architect ' s own career. john betjeman was less than complimentary about the exterior, describing it as " not much to look at. " but the interior was quite another matter : " inside it fairly takes the breath away, " he wrote : " it soars to the heavens ; its long thin pillars are like being in a mighty forest. the roof is a bit flimsy - looking, but the flimsiness is redeemed by the brilliant colours. the stained glass glows like jewels ; the great rood screen in front of the altar adds mystery to what would otherwise be rather an obvious place ; the altars blaze with gilding and colour " ( qtd. in doolan 1 ). not everyone would agree that the roof looks " flimsy " : andy foster, for instance, admires the " daringly thin timbers, " suggesting that " anything heavier would overwhelm the arcades " which he describes as " exceptionally tall and delicate " ( 49 ). but most would find the rest of betjeman ' s comment perfectly accurate — except for the mention of the rood screen, which was removed in 1967 in the interests of accessibility and openness ( see final discussion ). left : the chancel. right : looking towards the west entrance. worth noting in the left - hand picture ( when enlarged ) is the statue just glimpsed on the extreme left. a fifteenth - century oak figure of the virgin mary from the netherlands or perhaps germany, which pugin restored and gave to the cathedral in 1841,


in the left - hand picture ( when enlarged ) is the statue just glimpsed on the extreme left. a fifteenth - century oak figure of the virgin mary from the netherlands or perhaps germany, which pugin restored and gave to the cathedral in 1841, it was probably the very first such statue to have been " erected for public veneration in england after the reformation " ( doolan 5 ). so, like the new cathedral itself, it marks a significant step forward for catholicism in britain. foster describes the virgin as looking " memorably enduring and serene " ( 51 ). the statue stands under its canopy by the lady chapel, against the beautifully stencilled and scrolled pillars shown in close - up here. the archbishop ' s throne to its right, also of oak, was designed by pugin, its canopy matching that over the altar, and rising to nearly 30 ' ( dent 467 ). looking west from the chancel gives some idea of the spatial dimensions of the cathedral. the original organ was housed in a west gallery, which also accommodated the choir ; but it was moved to the sacristy in 1854 ( see dent 464 ). the present organ was installed here only in the late twentieth century. its splendid case works well with other elements in the cathedral. interior of chancel left to right : ( a ) stained glass window to the left of centre : here pugin shows st john the evangelist and st peter, above st michael and st edmund. ( b ) close - up of the altar of 1841, decorated at the top by joseph aloysius pippet, hardman ' s chief decorator. ( c ) central east window, showing mary holding the infant jesus, beside st chad with his mitre and red chasuble. all three east windows were the gift of the earl of shrewsbury : note the shields between the saints of the left - hand window, sporting the rampant heraldic lions of his family, cf. the lions on the west door of st giles, cheadle. the windows were executed for pugin by william warrington ( shepherd 356 ). the altar is described by foster as an " important, early re - creation of medieval fittings, comparable with pugin ' s thrones in the house of lords " ( 51 ). the finely - wrought casket on the altar was also designed by pugin. it is a reliquary — a container for the relics of st chad found under the altar of the chapel of aston hall, on the outskirts of birmingham. pugin was


finely - wrought casket on the altar was also designed by pugin. it is a reliquary — a container for the relics of st chad found under the altar of the chapel of aston hall, on the outskirts of birmingham. pugin was guided here by bede ' s description of the original shrine for the relics at lichfield cathedral ( see fisher 29 - 30 ). even the curtains either side of the altar were designed by pugin ( doolan 6 ). left : the lady chapel, with its screen, altar, elaborate reredos, cylindrical tabernacle and window all designed by pugin. right : close - up of altar carving, showing the presentation of jesus in the temple, the nativity, and the adoration of the magi. the hounds in the nativity scene may be another reference to the earl of shrewsbury ' s family shield. left : the reredos shows the visitation, with mary and her cousin elizabeth, the virgin mary with the infant jesus, and the annunciation, with the angel gabriel. below are four female saints : mary magdalene, st barbara, st cecilia and st catherine. right : the stained glass window at the back, partly obscured here, shows mary with st cuthbert and st. chad. pugin particularly mentions the tabernacle in the lady chapel when writing to a. n. didron, editor of annales archeologiques, in january 1842, describing it as being " en forme de tour ornee de pierreries at de quatre evangelistes, en email " ( 9 ). the lady chapel ' s screen too is elaborate, beautifully carved with a central quatrefoil, trefoils and pinnacled arches. this makes up a little for the loss of the cathedral ' s original rood screen. the walls are stencilled in patterns of blue and gold, with the initial " m " and fleur - de - lys patterning close to the altar. all in all, as pugin himself remarks to didron, the chapel is " extremement riche " ( 9 ). monument to bishop walsh left : the monument to bishop walsh in the north aisle, in bath stone. right : closer view of the bishop ' s recumbent effigy. bishop walsh ( 1776 - 1849 ), shown here in " pontificals, with crozier and mitre " ( dent 465 ), was responsible for commissioning not only this cathedral but st mary ' s college in nearby oscott. he had


bishop walsh ( 1776 - 1849 ), shown here in " pontificals, with crozier and mitre " ( dent 465 ), was responsible for commissioning not only this cathedral but st mary ' s college in nearby oscott. he had taken a personal and paternal interest in the young architect, sometimes calling him " bishop pugin, " and forbidding him to fast during lent to preserve his health. he had once written to shrewsbury, " i consider him to be an extraordinary genius raised up for these times " ( qtd. in hill 210 ). the design of the monument is widely attributed to pugin, and its execution to george myers, in 1850. the central roundel of its daipered backing sports a little figure of the bishop bearing a model of the cathedral. the monument was displayed in the medieval court at the great exhibition, where it attracted praise for being so finely carved and authentically medieval : " the effigy has a striking resemblance to those venerable and dignified effigies still remaining in our ancient churches " ( the crystal palace, 215 ). note that an early account credits the design of the monument to pugin ' s eldest son, edward welby pugin ( see dent 465 ). this seems likely in view of the latter ' s similar monuments to his own father at st augustine ' s, ramsgate ( 1853 ), and to canon richard north at our ladye star of the sea, greenwich ( 1860 ). but it seems even more likely that pugin himself would have been involved in paying this tribute to his old friend. the octagonal font, designed by pugin, not elaborate but with four carvings representing the four evangelists. the casket for the holy oils, behind it, was also designed by pugin, as were the candle - holders and tiles, the latter made for pugin by minton & and co. ( see doolan 3 ). the candlestand by the font is similar to one of the large ones illustrated in the crystal palace catalogue ( 218 ), and is for the paschal candle at easter. st chad ' s makes its impact by bringing together many different elements. as at st giles in cheadle, pugin has turned his hand to every aspect of the church and its fitments and furnishings, drawing on his scholarly research into medieval craftsmanship, and blending the subsequent designs into a new harmony. as well as recreating the past in his architecture and art, he has brought in the fruits of another related interest — collecting


" extraordinary genius. " - st chad ' s exterior - the rood screen originally at st chad ' s - the bishop ' s house ( that once stood opposite ; sadly, dem. 1960 ) - some of pugin ' s other stained glass windows in the cathedral ( coming shortly ) - st thomas a becket window, by john hardman & co. ( 1865 ) ( coming shortly ) - world war i memorial window, by john hardman & co. ( dedicated 1921 ) ( coming shortly ) web resources of special interest - [ offsite ] " the building of st chad ' s cathedral. " catholic herald archive. - [ offsite ] navigate to a virtual tour of the crypt ( the cathedral ' s own website ). " cathedral church of st chad, birmingham. " british listed buildings. web. 20 january 2013. the crystal palace, and its contents. london : w. m. clark, 1851. internet archive. web. 20 january 2013. dent, robert kirkup. old and new birmingham : a history of the town and its people. birmingham : houghton & hammond, 1880. internet archive. web. 20 january 2013. doolan, father brian. the metropolitan cathedral and basilica of st chad birmingham. 5th revised ed. birmingham : st chad ' s publications, 2006. available at the cathedral. print. fisher, michael. " gothic for ever " : a. w. n. pugin, lord shrewsbury, and the rebuilding of catholic england. reading : spire, 2012. print. foster, andy. birmingham. pevsner architectural guides. new haven and london : yale university press, 2005. print. hill, rosemary. god ' s architect : pugin and the building of romantic britain. london : penguin, 2007. print. o ' donnell, roderick. the pugins and the catholic midlands. leominster : gracewing, and the archdiocese of birmingham, 2002. print. pugin, a. w. n. the collected letters of a. w. n. pugin, vol. 1. 1830 - 42. ed. margaret belcher. oxford : oxford university press, 2001. print. shepherd, stanley a. the stained glass of a. w. n. pugin. reading : spire books, 2009. print. last modified 20 january 2013


by pete kotz by michael musto by michael musto by capt. james van thach told to jonathan wei by kera bolonik by michael musto by nick pinto by steve weinstein washington, d. c. president bush ' s vague plan for coping with a serious outbreak of bird flu is based largely on fear and greed. there is no secret about this. he seeks to get people ' s attention by scaring the citizenry with visions of millions of people dying from a pandemic so bad it leads to martial law, mass quarantines, restrictions on travel, and so on. he wants to encourage private business to meet the crisis by producing more of existing drugs such as tamiflu to combat a flu plague and entice the drug companies to work harder and faster to make a vaccine by ensuring its profitability. the answer to a bird flu pandemic is not a passive first - world population riveted to the tv, watching one person after another drop dead across the world as sickened birds fly closer and closer and finally land in our midst. the answer lies in effective communication at all levels among different nations, through their medical establishments, scientists, and spotters, so that as soon as sick or dead birds are found, the birds in surrounding areas can be culled. this is a job for the world health organization, which is part of the united nations, the organization bush and his ambassador, john bolton, are determined at all costs to wreck. while developed countries race to lay in supplies of antiviral drugs, there is little interest in the animals themselves and in animal - human interaction where flu can begin and spread. the who and food and agriculture organization have only 40 veterinarians between them. " reducing human exposure requires education about handling poultry and a fundamental change in cultural attitudes towards human - animal interactions and husbandry in many parts of the world, " writes the lancet, the british medical journal. " in some african countries, people sleep in the same places as poultry. in southeast asia, ' wet markets, ' where live poultry are traded and slaughtered on the spot, pose a risk of human transmission. and in central asia and eastern europe, hunting of wild birds may have played a major part in the spread of avian influenza. " changing the interplay of animals and humans may meet considerable resistance among small poultry farmers in poor countries, who face the loss of whole flocks in a mass culling. if farmers are offered too little to cull their birds, they


influenza. " changing the interplay of animals and humans may meet considerable resistance among small poultry farmers in poor countries, who face the loss of whole flocks in a mass culling. if farmers are offered too little to cull their birds, they won ' t do it. and if too much money is proffered, " the money will be an incentive to deliberately infect their flocks, " milan brahmbhatt, the world bank ' s lead economist for east asia and the pacific, told the lancet. the overall effect of a pandemic in asia will be to drive small poultry farmers out of business and open the way for u. s. - style industrial chicken farming, with ownership concentrated in the hands of a few. among the major exporters are china and thailand ( southeast asia now accounts for about a quarter of the world poultry business ). most of their chickens go to japan. many countries are banning imports from these two nations, and that is running up the price of chickens worldwide and promising to up exports from such places as the u. s., brazil, and the eu. a serious effort to stave off a pandemic also means stopping the pharmaceutical companies from scaring people to make more money. it is by now well - known that the drug companies provide huge sums of cash to politicians $ 133 million to federal candidates since 1998, according to the center for public integrity, with upwards of $ 1. 5 million going to bush, the top recipient. the industry operates an elaborate lobby in washington that in 2004 spent $ 123 million and employed an army of 1, 291 lobbyists, more than half of whom were former federal officials. the industry ' s sales machine aims to bypass doctors with tv and other advertising aimed directly at the patient, appealing to his or her judgment over that of a physician. in the case of making and marketing drugs to combat flu, the results are disastrous. the industry claims it can ' t make flu vaccines because there is no money in it. when asked about last year ' s flu vaccine shortage by cbs ' s bob schieffer, bush said the industry was fearful of damage suits concocted by ambulance - chasing lawyers. he explained the shortage this way : " bob, we relied upon a company out of england to provide about half of the flu vaccines for the united states citizen, and it turned out that the vaccine they were producing was contaminated. and so we took the right action and didn ' t allow contaminated medicine into our country. " this was not


england to provide about half of the flu vaccines for the united states citizen, and it turned out that the vaccine they were producing was contaminated. and so we took the right action and didn ' t allow contaminated medicine into our country. " this was not true. the american inspectors had approved flu vaccine shipments from a u. s. producer ' s british company. it was british inspectors who blocked shipment of the questionable vaccine from the american firm. with no vaccine in sight, the u. s. government, along with others, is belatedly stocking up on tamiflu, a drug that supposedly offers some defense against bird flu. but last week japanese newspapers told how children who were administered tamiflu went mad and tried to kill themselves by jumping out of windows. in a cautionary statement the fda noted 12 deaths among children, and said there are reports of psychiatric disturbances, including hallucinations, along with heart and lung disorders. roche, the manufacturer, is quoted by the bbc as stating that the rate of deaths and psychiatric problems is no higher among those taking its medication than among those with flu. the company is increasing tamiflu production to 300 million doses a year to meet demand. find everything you ' re looking for in your city find the best happy hour deals in your city get today ' s exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50 - 90 % check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city


written by andrew forgotch last updated on january 07, 2013 @ 8 : 25pm created on january 07, 2013 @ 6 : 47pm health departments all across the state have reported high number of flu cases. the latest totals showed that there were more than 10 - thousand confirmed cases of the flu across the state. what ' s shocking is that that might be a low estimate. that ' s because doctors rely on numbers from doctors from across the state to report the number of cases they treated. the problem is that not everyone who is sick goes to the doctor ' s office. as of mid - december there had been more than 10 - thousand cases of the flu in west virginia. last year there were a little less than 6 - thousand cases for the entire month of december. health officials are concerned because the flu season typically hits in late january or early february. the good news in all of this is that the strain that ' s going around is the h3n2, and that ' s what ' s included in the flu vaccine. ted krafczyk, an epidemiologist with the monongalia county health department, said it ' s not too late to get a flu shot. krafczyk also said to parent the flu it ' s a good idea that you wash your hands on a regular basis. you must have an active wdtv. com user account to post comments. please login to your account, or create your free account today!


meningitis rate is dropping in u. s. cdc researchers say pneumococcal vaccine is helping to lower meningitis rate may 25, 2011 - - cases of bacterial meningitis continue to decline in the u. s., with incidence falling by almost a third over the last decade, the cdc says. the latest drop is being attributed in part to the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which protects children from a leading cause of bacterial meningitis, streptococcus pneumoniae. it follows an even bigger decline in cases over the previous decade, which saw the introduction of a vaccine targeting haemophilus influenza type b ( hib ). between the mid - 1980s and mid - 1990s, bacterial meningitis cases in the u. s. dropped by 55 %. the cdc report appears in tomorrow ' s new england journal of medicine. " the good news is that this very serious infection is now a lot less common than it was, " cdc chief of bacterial and respiratory diseases cynthia whitney, md, mph, tells webmd. " but we want people to know that this disease does still occur. there are about 4, 000 cases of bacterial meningitis each year in the u. s., so physicians still need to be aware of the signs and treat patients quickly and aggressively. " meningitis can be fatal quickly while there has been great progress in preventing bacterial meningitis, far less progress has been made in treating the disease once people get it, whitney says. if not treated quickly, bacterial meningitis can sometimes progress from first symptoms to death in less than a day. in april, a 21 - year - old college student in new hampshire with a rare form of bacterial meningitis died just 12 hours after seeking medical treatment for a severe headache and rash, according to news reports. and last spring, two students at an elementary school in oologah, okla., died and four others were hospitalized with bacterial meningitis within days of first complaining of symptoms. high fever, headache, and neck stiffness are the most common symptoms of bacterial meningitis in adults and children over the age of 2. " when people get bacterial meningitis, it still tends to be very serious, " whitney says.


campbell county, georgia was a county of the u. s. state of georgia from 1828 to 1931. it was created by the state legislature on december 20, 1828 from land taken from fayette, coweta, and carroll counties, and from the half of dekalb county which became fulton county soon afterward. georgia ' s cherokee land lottery of 1832 also added to the county. the county was named for duncan g. campbell, one of the u. s. commissioners responsible for the treaty of indian springs. the original county seat was campbellton ; however, when the atlanta & west point railroad began to plan its route, the town ' s residents said no due to noise concerns. the tracks were laid through fairburn instead, which flourished while campbellton died out, and fairburn soon became the new county seat in 1870. the campbell county courthouse was listed on the national register of historic places. the northwestern half of campbell ( and a bit more of carroll ) became douglas county in 1870, divided on october 17 at the chattahoochee river. the remainder of campbell county was ceded to fulton county at the end of 1931, along with milton county, to save money. the legislation creating the merger was enacted on august 9, 1929, with milton being added to the process in 1931. campbell county is a former county. note : campbell was annexed to fulton in 1932.


primary health care in action madagascar in numbers1 - life expectancy ( both sexes, 2006 ) : 59 years - gross national product per capita ( ppp in international $, 2006 ) : 870 - per capita total expenditure on health ( ppp in international $, 2005 ) : 33 - number of physicians ( per 10 000 population, 2005 ) : 3 madagascar primary health drive achieves mixed results2 - life expectancy has increased since 1990, polio has been eradicated and infant mortality is declining - islanders have never been more motivated to look after their health - only 60 – 70 % of the population has ready access to primary health care services - health centres in a poor state of disrepair when the first batch of 1500 young health aides was dispatched in 1980 to madagascar ’ s villages, it was thought to herald a new era in health care for the island nation off the south - east coast of africa. the project was the centrepiece of the country ’ s primary health care programme, launched in 1978 with high hopes of meeting the alma - ata goal of providing health for all by 2000. the ‘ health for all ’ idea was not to eradicate every disease, but to attain an acceptable level of health, equitably distributed throughout the world. the results in madagascar, however, have been mixed, with strong advances in some areas and little progress in others. on the plus side, islanders today have never been more motivated to look after their health, says professor dieudonne randrianarimanana, cabinet director of the madagascar ministry of health, family planning and social protection. health has improved currently, average life expectancy is 59 years which represents an increase of about 6 years from its 1990 level. poliomyelitis has been eradicated. officials there say the prevalence of leprosy is less than 1 per 10 000 ; and infant mortality is decreasing ( in 2006 the probability of dying in the first year of life was down to 72 deaths per 1000 live births compared with 84 in 2000 and 103 in 1990 ). but 30 years on, only 60 – 70 % of the population has ready access to primary health care, officials say. many people still have to walk 10 kilometres or more to receive treatment, though mobile health centres have been introduced in remote and sparsely populated areas. like randrianarimanana, nurse florentine odette razanandrianina has experienced the ups and downs of primary health care. she arrived in the village of ambohimiarintsoa, 200 kilometres from the capital antananar


randrianarimanana, nurse florentine odette razanandrianina has experienced the ups and downs of primary health care. she arrived in the village of ambohimiarintsoa, 200 kilometres from the capital antananarivo, in october 2006 to run the health clinic. she provides twice - weekly prenatal and postnatal check - ups. she also offers child immunization and vaccination, family planning services and disease treatment. but five of the centre ’ s seven small rooms are in a poor state of repair and lack sufficient equipment, razanandrianina says. “ we have five mattresses for only one bed. consequently, we are often obliged to let patients sleep on the mattresses placed directly on the soil. ” health workers receive mixed reception there are many other health centres in a similarly poor state of disrepair across madagascar, officials admit. also, frictions can arise when modern practices are perceived as counter to traditional customs. since moving to the village, razanandrianina ’ s efforts to teach people about the need for personal hygiene have not always been welcome. despite these setbacks, razanandrianina has not curtailed her efforts. for example, when people from villages further away have chosen not to attend vaccination clinics, she has gone to them. “ every time we visit the remotest villages, people wait for us in a group. they really appreciate our visits, ” razanandrianina says. this is an abridged version of an article published in the bulletin of the world health organization in june 2008. 1world health statistics 2008, online version : http : / / www. who. int / whosis / data / search. jsp ( accessed on 26 / 09 / 2008 ) 2primary health care : back to basics in madagascar, who bulletin, vol 86 ( 6 ), http : / / www. who. int / bulletin / volumes / 86 / 6 / 08 - 010608 / en / index. html


the ungulates and their relatives are a puzzling group, including animals as diverse as whales and hippos, elephants and hyraxes, horses and tapirs, giraffes and sheep. what they have in common is that many of them walk around on their toenails. the phylogeny ( family relationships ) of the ungulates is a constantly shifting terrain, but genetic analysis is beginning to help sort out this enigmatic group of animals. at whozoo, elephants, hippos and rhinos have been grouped for convenience as " large herbivores, " but this is an artifical grouping ; these animals actually represent three different branches of hooved animals. the simplified family tree below is redrawn from the cladograms and other information at the university of california museum of paleontology web site and from an article on mammalian phylogeny in nature ( 1 february 2001 ). the three main branches of the tree below are the cetartiodactyla, the perissodactyla and a part of the recently defined superorder afrotheria, which includes the orders proboscidea ( elephants ), sirenia ( manatees and sea cows ) and hyracoidea ( hyraxes ). in the perissodactyla, the major axis of the leg lines up with the middle toe ( the third digit ), while in the hooved members of the cetartiodactyla, this axis falls between two toes ( the third and fourth digits ). because of molecular evidence that indicates similarities between hippos and whales, the order cetartiodactyla combines two former orders : the cetacea ( whales and dolphins ) and the artiodactyla. the ruminants are a large and successful subgroup of the cetartiodactyla with complex stomachs and the habit of chewing a cud - - a chunk of food that has been swallowed once and then brought back up into the mouth for additional processing. of the ruminants, the bovids constitute the largest and most diverse group, including cattle, antelope, sheep and goats. pointers indicate taxa with representatives at the fort worth zoo. for groups including animals with an informational page or a picture at whozoo, there is a link from the group name to one representative of the group. university of california museum of paleontology. murphy, et al. molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals. nature


i posted a couple of weeks ago about our progress with determining importance and main idea / details in informational text. if you ' re interested, you can read about that here. while we continue to work on this, we have layered in work on note taking and text structures. i will eventually share some of that work, but today i want to share some of the main idea stuff. what i found when we started, was that the kids struggled with one main idea, let alone two. so, i backtracked a bit to get that solid, before pushing for that 5th grade standard of finding more than one ( it will be coming! ). since i ' m a pretty linear thinker, i approached it from the sequence of modeling, doing as a whole class, trying alone, then getting in small groups to do it together. they did a really nice job. here are the kids as they began working alone in short text, rocking those post - its : they ' re so diligent, and i swear the rest of the class was doing the same! they are the greatest class ever. they had a choice of three short articles that we had already worked with in other ways, so they were somewhat familiar. as they worked, i conferred with them to get a sense of who might be finding it tricky and who was on the road to getting it. this helped me to group them for the small group portion of this work. once i had a sense of how to group them, their task was to get together, share their work with one another, and collaboratively generate a main idea that they felt was most accurate. this was great to observe - - i ' m so proud of their ability to listen to one another and speak kindly to one another when they disagree. once they did this, the worked together to determine the most important / key details to support this main idea. they then put this together on a large chart paper to then present to the group. here, you can see a main idea that one of the groups came up with. this group read an article called " alaska : state of extremes ". this main idea is pretty accurate : " one main idea is that alaska is extreme because it stands out from the other 49 states. " true. however, we talked subsequently about paraphrasing to show understanding. ( foreshadowing our note taking work ) for example, here, using something other than extreme ( extraordinary / exceptional / unusual characteristics, etc. ), would be closer to extreme than


we talked subsequently about paraphrasing to show understanding. ( foreshadowing our note taking work ) for example, here, using something other than extreme ( extraordinary / exceptional / unusual characteristics, etc. ), would be closer to extreme than stands out. in any event, they ' re on the right track. here are the key ideas / supports that fit nicely with their main idea : and here is one that is a bit awkward : in this one, they were looking at a section of the text that was about how the capitol is tricky to even get to, because there are no roads and it ' s very isolated, the point being that in most states, the capitol is accessible and not isolated. this idea was not as explicit in the text as the other three, so they needed to do a bit more work here. they were able to hint that they understood this in conversation, but had trouble articulating it in a way that was clear. they were pulling this together with the idea of alaska not being part of the contiguous us as well. that ' s ok! we will get there, little people. by the way, these adorable people decided to stay in for recess to fancy up the poster with all of the patterns and such, since i was pretty clear that the sketching and doodling done in workshop should be in service of the work itself ( sometimes it is, right? ). in this case, they just wanted to make it look nice, so we had lunch together while they decorated it. i love these kids - - they are kids i am willing to give up my lunch to hang out with, which, if you know me, says something. i have other examples, but you get the idea. we will be working on the 2 main ideas as we keep going with note taking, text structures and summarization. i ' m loving this unit, though i ' m fumbling in the dark a bit since it ' s new to our curriculum ( not info. text, just the particular unit itself ). we have a wonderful staff developer from teachers college coming in mid - december to help us with the final phase, which is to do with research. she has a great blog if you are interested : indent. there ' s a nice post about annotating that i found very helpful. and now i will leave you with a picture of another main idea on this chilly saturday morning. i sure needed this by the end of conference week : need i say more? our jobs are awesome


in 1991 the galileo spacecraft photographed the asteroid, gaspra. this picture shows the asteroid in false color. gaspra circles the sun between mars and jupiter. click on image for full size japan and u. s. join together for asteroid expedition news story originally written on june 20, 1997 the first asteroid collection mission has been set. japan and the united states will put joint efforts into the muses - c mission to be launched in january 2002 from kagoshima space center, japan. this will allow the spacecraft to arrive at the nereus asteroid in september 2003. nereus is a small asteroid approximately one mile in diameter. it was discovered in 1982. at its closest point to the sun, its orbit takes it just inside the orbit of the earth. the muses - c spacecraft contains a miniature robotic rover that will conduct surface measurements of the rocky asteroid. the rover weighs less than 2. 2 pounds. it is to date the smallest ever flown in space. asteroid samples will also be taken during the mission and will be returned in january 2006 by a parachute - borne recovery capsule. this mission is extremely important. if successful, it will grant earth - bound scientists first - hand information about the materials that helped form the inner, rocky planets more than four billion years ago. isotopic measurements of the asteroid samples may even unlock information about cosmological beginnings. dr. jurgen rahe, director of solar system exploration at nasa headquarters expressed excitement about the mission by saying, " this ambitious mission is an opportunity for two spacefaring nations to combine their expertise and achieve something truly shop windows to the universe science store! our online store includes issues of nesta ' s quarterly journal, the earth scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in earth and space science, as well as books on science education! you might also be interested in : it was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. it seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. either way, nasa led the way to a great century of discovery. unfortunately,... more the space shuttle discovery lifted off from kennedy space center at 2 : 19 p. m. est, october 29th. the sky was clear and the weather was great as discovery took 8 1 / 2 minutes to reach orbit for the unitied... more a moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, eugenia. this is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. a special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon... more will russia ever put the service


odd wisconsin archive the search for wisconsin ' s first priest that ' s the question that greeted rev. a. a. a. schmirler as he paddled the rivers of northern wisconsin during the summer of 1959. the historian - priest was not fishing, however, but retracing the route of the first missionary to visit wisconsin almost exactly 300 years before. father schmirler was trying to discover the exact location where fr. rene menard died while trying to reach refugee indians on the headquarters of the black river in the summer of 1661. when menard died, iroquois warriors hundreds of miles to the east had driven rival indian nations who were sympathetic to the french from new york, ohio, quebec, and michigan. the fleeing tribes, who included the sauk, fox, potawatomi, kickapoo, ottawa, miami, huron, and others, took refuge in wisconsin during the 1650s. some who had lived close to the french settlements had become christian, and fr. menard joined a flotilla of fur traders to rejoin his congregation in the far western wilderness. so in the fall of 1660, the first missionary to wisconsin travelled the great lakes with fur traders. he made it as far as lake superior when his birchbark canoe was irretrievably damaged just as winter set in. he survived at modern l ' anse, michigan, with the help of voyageurs and local indians. while wintering on keweenaw bay, he wrote two letters about conditions among the refugees, and with the spring thaw set out for a village of exiled hurons near the headwaters of the black river. he hiked overland across the upper penninsula, entered the wisconsin river near lac vieux desert, and proceeded down it to the vicinity of wausau. guided by a frenchman named l ' esperance who had already made the trip, he threaded the streams northwest of modern wausau. when they were within one day of their desination, fr. menard left the canoe to make a short portage while l ' esperance shot the rapids. fr. menard was never seen again. three hundred years later, fr. schmirler followed him downriver from lac vieux desert in a 14 - foot kayak. he had first examined all the contemporary textual and cartographic evidence, as well as reviewing all the previous theories about where fr. menard had died. allowing for modern changes in the river ( such as dams ) and considering the practices of 17th - century


ma ingalls describes family life in 1861 letters to charles and martha carpenter, 1861 - 1919 and 1975 - 1977 ( selection ). caroline quiner ingalls ( mother of laura ingalls wilder ) wrote this letter to her sister, martha quiner carpenter, on oct. 6, 1861. both sisters were in their early twenties and recently married. caroline was still living near their parents at concord, in jefferson co., wis., but martha had moved with her new husband to stockholm, in pepin co. a few years later, caroline would join her sister up north when the ingalls family moved to the " little house in the big woods " in nearby pepin. caroline ' s letter was written before she had any children. it describes life on the farm of laura ' s grandparents, including an epidemic of scarlet fever which sickened laura ' s cousins and nearly killed her grandmother. it also describes laura ' s parents ' early married life, their health, and their farm work and crops. 1860 census records suggest that the people mentioned in the letter are : " mother " : charlotte mary ( tucker ) ( quiner ) holbrook, laura ' s maternal grandmother. " charlotte " : charlotte holbrook, caroline ' s half - sister and laura ' s aunt, born 1854 " eliza " : eliza quiner, caroline ' s sister, born 1842 " louisa " : daughter of caroline ' s brother henry quiner, born 1860 " lafayette " : three - year - old son of charles ingall ' s sister lydia " thomas " : thomas quiner, caroline ' s brother, born 1844 " nancy " : nina quiner, wife of caroline ' s brother joseph. " father ingalls " : lansford ingalls, charles ' father and laura ' s grandfather " peter " : peter ingalls, charles ' brother and laura ' s uncle to see the original handwritten letter, click " view the document " below. use the right - hand frame of the document viewer to navigate. to see a typed transcript, open the drop - down box above the navigation pane reading, " view image & text. " this letter is part of a small collection of letters to charles and martha carpenter preserved by the family. civil war letters by laura ' s uncles and one aunt are included elsewhere in turning points in wisconsin history. a lesson plan based on this document is available. immigration and settlement | wisconsin in the civil war era the civil war home front farming and rural life | creator : |


many living things undergo a process known as development in which a single cell replicates and divides to form a multicellular organism with various structures and functions that the original cell did not have. you are one such organism, growing from a fertilized egg cell in your mother ' s womb to the full - sized adult you are today. along the way, your cells changed from having features like the original fertilized egg to having those of the developed cells that make up human tissues like nerve and skin. this process is known as differentiation. plants are also multicellular organisms, and they too undergo this differentiation process. there are many similarities between the way plants and animals like yourself differentiate, and therefore, they make excellent creatures to study the cycle of growth and development. you will be studying this cycle in a lab in the next few days, and to be ready for it, there are some ideas with which you need to be familiar. the following questions will help you do so. 1. what function does dna play in all organisms? 2. how does fertilization occur in flowering plants and what does it produce? 3. why is there identical dna in all cells of the same plant ( provided there are no mutations )? 4. what occurs during cellular differentiation? 5. does a developing plant embryo undergo differentiation? explain your answer. 6. what is germination? 7. describe the physical appearance and function of the radicle and hypocotyl in germinating and sprouting seeds? 8. how can cells create tissues that have different morphology and physiology in spite of the fact that the dna in all the cells in any organism are identical? 9. make a labeled diagram of a young radicle and identify the regions where you think the most growth is taking place? 10. if respiration rate ( consumption of o2 / min / mg tissue ) is directly related to rate of growth in a plant, what part of the radicle would have the highest respiration rate? explain your answer. 11. hormones play a critical role in the growth and development of plants as well as other organisms ; what are the specific hormones that influence radicle development and what effect do they have?. 12. pick two embryonic plant structures and decide on an interesting question you could ask about their respective developmental rates ; then write a hypothesis that addresses your question ( explaining why it does ) and write a brief summary of a procedure you could use to test it.


i ' m young - do i really need to know the signs of a stroke? q. i hear a lot about knowing the signs of stroke. i ' m young - is it really important to me? a. a stroke can happen to anyone at anytime, regardless of race, gender or age, so we all should be aware of the risks, symptoms and prevention. some risks for stroke may be out of your control. risks that you cannot change include being over age 55, male, african - american, having a family history, or a medical condition such as diabetes. lifestyle risk factors include : • inactivity ( lack of exercise ) • poor diet • alcohol consumption however, there are risks for stroke that we can control. medical conditions that contribute to an increase risk for stroke that can be managed or controlled include : • previous stroke episode • high cholesterol • high blood pressure • heart disease • atrial fibrillation it is believed that 80 % of strokes are preventable. listed below are stroke prevention guidelines as provided by the national stroke association include : 1. know your blood pressure ( hypertension ) 2. if you take blood pressure medicine, take it as prescribed. 3. know if you have atrial fibrillation ( afib ) - afib is an abnormal heartbeat that can increase stroke risk by 500 percent 4. stop smoking and using tobacco products. smoking doubles the risk of stroke. 5. limit alcohol use - alcohol use has been linked to stroke in many studies. 6. know your cholesterol levels - cholesterol is a fatty substance in blood that is made by the body and it also comes from food. high cholesterol levels can clog arteries and cause a stroke. 7. control diabetes - you doctor can prescribe a nutrition program, lifestyle changes and medicine. know your blood sugar level and your hemoglobin a1c if you have diabetes 8. manage exercise and diet - excess weight strains the circulatory system. maintain a diet low in calories, salt, saturated and trans fats and cholesterol. eat as least five servings of fruit and vegetables daily. cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes per day 5 days a week. 9. treat circulation problems - fatty deposits can block arteries. to learn more about stroke, visit www. stroke. com


sorry, no definitions found. “ to say nothing of bill, staggering around those second - tier campaign - stops, still wagging that effete index - finger in our faces. ” “ the nails should be neither longer nor shorter than the points of the fingers ; and the surgeon should practice with the extremities of the fingers, the index - finger being usually turned to the thumb ; when using the entire hand, it should be prone ; when both hands, they should be opposed to one another. ” “ that analysis used the measurements of thumb width, index - finger width, and index - finger length for the program. ” “ among the channels xm is adding : a classic rock venue called big tracks ; u. s. country, which will offer - - you guessed it - - country & western music ; a southern gospel station, enlighten ; and thanks to the magic of diversity and freedom of choice, the former will be joined by a channel devoted to - - prepare those pinky and index - finger mephistopheles horns - - heavy metal rock. ” “ geraldine turns away from the bench and sends an index - finger signal to clarence wexler. ” “ then when he spoke he was likely to fling back his great, white mane, his eyes half closed yet showing a gleam of fire between the lids, his clenched fist lifted, or his index - finger pointing, to give force and meaning to his words. ” “ you might wear out your index - finger running up and down the columns of dictionaries, and never find the word, ” “ she clenched her hands, looked at her index - finger nail again. ” “ sweeney used the traditional black " stroke " or " frailing " or " claw - hammer " style of striking down across the strings with thumb and the back of the index - finger nail ( i would demonstrate ). ” “ “ the new act makes inheritance on intestacy very much simpler, ” said mr. murbles, setting his knife and fork together, placing both elbows on the table and laying the index - finger of his right hand against his left thumb in a gesture of tabulation. ” these user - created lists contain the word ‘ index - finger ’. sentences showing how finger is used to point at with..., she was never wea..., the cardinals hav..., thy heart is fing..., to cheat ( a perso..., frank lee.. had ‘ f


american heritage® dictionary of the english language, fourth edition - n. a state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties. - n. the period of such conflict. - n. the techniques and procedures of war ; military science. - n. a condition of active antagonism or contention : a war of words ; a price war. - n. a concerted effort or campaign to combat or put an end to something considered injurious : the war against acid rain. - v. to wage or carry on warfare. - v. to be in a state of hostility or rivalry ; contend. - idiom. at war in an active state of conflict or contention. century dictionary and cyclopedia - n. a contest beween nations or states ( international war ), or between parties in the same state ( civil war ), carried on by force of arms. international or public war is always understood to be authorized by the sovereign powers of the nations engaged in it ; when it is carried into the territories of the antagonist it is called an aggressive or offensive war, and when carried on to resist such aggression it is called defensive. certain usages or rights of war have come to be generally recognized and defined under the name of the laws of war, which in general ( but subject to some humane restrictions which in recent times have been greatly increased ) permit the destruction or capture of armed enemies, the destruction of property likely to be serviceablo to them, the stoppage of all their channels of traffic, and the appropriation of everything in an enemy ' s country necessary for the support and subsistence of the invading army. on the other hand, though an enemy may be starved into surrender, wounding, except in battle, mutilation, and all cruel and wanton devastation are contrary to the usages of war, as are also bombarding an unprotected town, the use of poison in any way, and torture to extort information from an enemy : but it is admitted that an enemy may be put to death for certain acts which are in themselves not criminal, and it may be even highly patriotic and praiseworthy, but are injurious to the invaders, such as firing on the invaders although not regularly enrolled in an organized military force, or seeking to impair the invaders ' lines of communication. - n. a state of active opposition, hostility, or contest : as, to be at war ( that is, engaged in active hostilities ). -


enrolled in an organized military force, or seeking to impair the invaders ' lines of communication. - n. a state of active opposition, hostility, or contest : as, to be at war ( that is, engaged in active hostilities ). - n. any kind of contest or conflict ; contention ; strife : as, a wordy war. - n. the profession of arms ; the art of war. - n. forces ; army. compare battle. - n. warlike outfit. - n. specifically — in roman history, the war between sulla and marius ( commencing 88 b. c. ) or that between pompey and cæsar ( commencing 49 b. c. ) - n. in english history, the war of the great rebellion. see rebellion. - n. in united states history, the war of secession. see secession. - n. of 1828 – 9, ending in the defeat of turkey ; - n. of 1853 – 6 ( see crimean ) ; - n. of 1877 – 8, between russia and its allies ( rumania, etc. ) and turkey, resulting in the defeat of turkey and the reconstruction of southeastern europe. - n. 343 – 341 b. c. - n. 326 – 304 b. c. - n. 298 – 290 b. c., ending in the triumph of rome. - to make or carry on war ; carry on hostilities ; fight. - to contend ; strive violently ; be in a state of opposition. - to make war upon ; oppose, as in war ; contend against. - to carry on, as a contest. - same as worse. - to defeat ; worst. - a middle english form of ware. - a middle english form of were. - n. uncountable organized, large - scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually involving the engagement of military forces. - n. countable a particular conflict of this kind. - n. countable by extension, any conflict, or anything resembling a conflict. - n. uncountable a particular card game for two players, notable for having its outcome predetermined by how the cards are dealt. - v. intransitive to engage in conflict ( may be followed by " with " to specify the foe ). - v. to carry on, as a contest ; to wage. gnu webster ' s 1913 - adj. obsolete ware ; aware. - n. a contest between nations or


( may be followed by " with " to specify the foe ). - v. to carry on, as a contest ; to wage. gnu webster ' s 1913 - adj. obsolete ware ; aware. - n. a contest between nations or states, carried on by force, whether for defence, for revenging insults and redressing wrongs, for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition of territory, for obtaining and establishing the superiority and dominion of one over the other, or for any other purpose ; armed conflict of sovereign powers ; declared and open hostilities. - n. ( law ) a condition of belligerency to be maintained by physical force. in this sense, levying war against the sovereign authority is treason. - n. poetic instruments of war. - n. poetic forces ; army. - n. the profession of arms ; the art of war. - n. a state of opposition or contest ; an act of opposition ; an inimical contest, act, or action ; enmity ; hostility. - v. to make war ; to invade or attack a state or nation with force of arms ; to carry on hostilities ; to be in a state by violence. - v. to contend ; to strive violently ; to fight. - v. rare to make war upon ; to fight. - v. rare to carry on, as a contest ; to wage. - n. the waging of armed conflict against an enemy - v. make or wage war - n. an active struggle between competing entities - n. a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious - n. a legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply - from middle english werre, from late old english werre, wyrre " armed conflict " from old northern french werre ( compare old french guerre, guerre, whence modern french guerre ), from frankish * werra ( “ riot, disturbance, quarrel ” ) from proto - germanic * werro ( “ mixture, mix - up, confusion ” ), from proto - indo - european * wers - ( “ to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh ” ). akin to old high german werra ( " confusion, strife, quarrel " ) ( german verwirren ( “ to confuse ” ) ), old saxon werran ( " to confuse, perplex " ), dutch war ( " confusion, disarray " ), old english wyr


strife, quarrel " ) ( german verwirren ( “ to confuse ” ) ), old saxon werran ( " to confuse, perplex " ), dutch war ( " confusion, disarray " ), old english wyrsa, wiersa ( " worse " ), old norse verri ( " worse " ) ( originally " confounded, mixed up " ). compare latin versus ( " against, turned " ), past participle of vertere ( " turn, change, overthrow, destroy " ). more at worse, wurst. ( wiktionary ) - middle english warre, from old north french werre, of germanic origin. ( american heritage® dictionary of the english language, fourth edition ) “ view favorites yahoobuzzarticleheadline = ' american plans to loot iraqi oil and other bush war crimes ' ; yahoobuzzarticlesummary = ' though bush has given every other lie and cover story to justify the us war of aggression against iraq, the real reasons for the \ ' war \ ' are now openly admitted. ” “ view favorites yahoobuzzarticleheadline = ' president bush regrets his legacy as man who wanted war ' ; yahoobuzzarticlesummary = ' president bush has admitted to the times that his gun - slinging rhetoric made the world believe that he was a guy really anxious for war in iraq. ” “ edwards : " end ' preventive war ' doctrine " yahoobuzzarticleheadline = ' edwards : " end \ ' preventive war \ ' doctrine " ' ; yahoobuzzarticlesummary = ' article : john edwards talks about ending bush \ ' s " preventative war doctrine " and how to diplomatically engage with iran. ” “ view favorites yahoobuzzarticleheadline = ' chomsky : \ ' there is no war on terror \ ' ' ; yahoobuzzarticlesummary = ' the acclaimed critic of u. s. foreign policy analyzes bush \ ' s current political troubles, the war on iraq, and what \ ' s really behind the global \ ' war on terror. ” “ if iraq is key to bush ' s ' terror war '... we ' re losing yahoobuzzarticleheadline = ' if iraq is key to bush \ ' s \ ' terror war \ '... we \ ' re losing ' ; yahoobuzzarticlesummary = ' article : if democrats


re losing yahoobuzzarticleheadline = ' if iraq is key to bush \ ' s \ ' terror war \ '... we \ ' re losing ' ; yahoobuzzarticlesummary = ' article : if democrats are going to continue to acknowledge bush \ ' s \ ' terror war \ ', they should oblige him and aggressively tie it to the quagmire in iraq and his regime \ ' s wallowing failures elsewhere in the world. ” “ bushs insistence that he treated war with iraq as a last resort and that saddam hussein was the one who chose war by refusing to let ” “ thats funny lynn cheney is a war monger of the aei enterprise $ $ for $ $ war $ $ think tank. ” “ while the phrase the war to end war is often associated with woodrow wilson, its authorship was claimed by wells in an article in liberty, december 29, 1934, p. 4. ” “ at the same time, if we have the choice of continued war or a cowardly peace - - _ we vote for war _. ” “ _ it is the war which kills slavery, and not the man who leads the war _. ” these user - created lists contain the word ‘ war ’. english words of anglo - saxon origin. with the exception of abbreviations and mosaic words all types of words ( proper names, past tense of verbs, etc. ) are allowed. movies or tv shows where the titles are also common words, generally one - word titles. unabashedly stolen from a comment made by courier12. words for fighting ( open list, randomness ) absolute majority, absolute monarchy, abstentionism, access to informa..., acquisition of arms, action brought be..., action for annulment, action to establi..., ad hoc committee, adjournment, adjournment motion, administration and 965 more... all words of the poem by gerard nolst trenite dearest creature in creation, study english pronunciation. i will teach you in my verse <...... and all that heavy metal. a list of english words that are three letters long. abm agreement, accession to a co..., accession to a tr..., accession to an a..., achievement of peace, acp - ec convention, advanced technolo..., aerospace industry, african organisation, aggression, agreement, agricultural


the challenges we face due to the effects of climate change are unprecedented. its reach is widespread, taking into account damage to ecosystems - which in turn effects entire nation ’ s infrastructures - the economy and peoples ' health. already we are seeing extreme weather conditions leading to widespread hunger and disease. reports find that unless action is taken now, the economic costs of climate change could amount to us $ 20 trillion annually by 2100 - that ’ s 6 - 8 % of global economic output. since 1990, annual losses of around $ 60 billion due to climate change have been recorded - with 2005 costing a record $ 200 billion. in the us, hurricane katrina cost $ 125 billion in economic losses. the european heat wave in 2003 cost $ 15 billion in damages. flood damage costs in europe are anticipated to rise from $ 10 billion to $ 120 - $ 150 in the years ahead. massive amounts of revenue will be lost from the collapse of the tourist industry as places of natural beauty and tranquillity are irreparably damaged. an example of this is australia ’ s great barrier reef. currently attracting millions of visitors each year, it is already showing signs of dying. if ocean temperatures continue to increase, it is predicted that 95 % of the barrier reef ’ s living coral will soon be lost. there is not one part of the world or any one individual living on the planet that will go unaffected by the serious results of inaction on climate change. predictions of the timescale in which we may expect to experience the most serious effects of climate change have been seen to be conservative, with many events, such as the complete melting of arctic ice, being revised to occur sooner as the science is better understood. the cost of not putting climate change mitigation at the top of the agenda now could be immeasurable. further delay will increase the costs of reducing emissions and will risk us reaching the point of no return. as the cost of action is far less than cost of inaction, reports show that policies put foward with the goal of mitigating global warming in the short term will not have a major impact on the economy.


the feasibility of micronutrient ( iron ) food fortification in pacific island countries ( a report of mr robert hughes prepared for who western pacific regional office ) the main aim of the consultancy was to obtain information on food production and distribution, availability and consumption in the pacific to determine the best vehicles for food fortification. specific objects were : 1. determination of the total volume of possible vehicles for fortification available for consumption in pacific island countries ( pic ) by source of origin. 2. description of distribution and marketing structure ( in bulk or labeled ), as well as agreements among countries regarding importations and food control. 3. investigate the availability of information from food consumption studies that can help determine the distribution of the above foods ( potential vehicles for fortification ) in each country in order to estimate nutritional implications for urban vs rural population, different age groups, males / females and socio - economic classes. 4. draw conclusions on the most suitable vehicles for a fortification program for the pacific countries and propose the steps needed to implement this. the prevalence of anaemia is high in the region and the most likely causes are diets insufficient in iron and / or parasite infections. the prevalence of anaemia in women and children in pics is high enough to warrant a public health intervention. fortifying the food supply with iron would be an effective way of increasing population iron intakes. the most effective programs to reduce iron deficiency anaemia would involve the elimination of helminth and parasite infections and increasing dietary iron intakes of pacific populations. food import volumes were determined for 10 pics. the principal sources of origin of flour and rice for most pics were fiji, australia and the usa and imported rice and flour from these countries now provide the main staple foods. literature searches found only three recent pacific food consumption studies. low proportions of rural populations consume flour and rice ( 14. 7 % ) in vanuatu and possibly most of rural / remote melanesia. on the basis of evidence food availability data and limited consumption studies, flour and rice appear to be the most suitable vehicles for fortification. results of 3 food consumption studies may not be sufficient on which to base a food fortification program. imported flour and rice is already enriched in many pics. food production in australia, nz and the usa shows a general trend towards enriching foods for domestic consumption with additional nutrients, including iron. the issue of fortifying multiple food vehicles becomes an alternative to fortification of a single food. food availability data collected and analysed by fao remains the best source of food availability in the pacific. unfortunately,


consumption with additional nutrients, including iron. the issue of fortifying multiple food vehicles becomes an alternative to fortification of a single food. food availability data collected and analysed by fao remains the best source of food availability in the pacific. unfortunately, these data only provide information for 8 pics and at best, are only rough estimates. in many cases country import data were either, unreliable, inappropriate, or not available in a form that could be analysed, raising more issues than solely determining the nutrient quality of the food supply. from the results of this consultancy, it is recommended that : 1. wheat flour and rice are the most suitable vehicles for iron fortification in pics. issues such as levels and safety of iron fortificants, policing of mandatory fortification, quality control, contamination and producer compliance are beyond the scope of this consultancy. 2. fortification and helminth elimination programs be undertaken in unison. there is enough evidence to suggest that a food fortification program should not be undertaken in isolation. iron deficiency anaemia is an outcome of a range of influencing factors that include an iron deficient diet and helminth / parasite infections. since fortified foods seem to be imported into many pics, the question of whether a fortification program is necessary arises. more data should be collected to determine the exact proportions of fortified foods already entering pics. pacific governments should be alerted to this in order to make informed decisions about the development of national and / or regional food fortification programs. this also enables governments and regional bodies to determine whether a single or multiple food vehicle program will be the most effective. 3. regular low - cost food and nutrition surveys be undertaken. the searches undertaken during this consultancy showed that little is known about the dietary habits and food consumption patterns of pacific populations. very little is known about food distribution within countries and what proportion of anaemia prevalence is due to parasitic infection. accurate information on food consumption is necessary for governments to make decisions about a range of food and health issues in order to develop policy and programs. 4. a uniform regional approach to food import and availability data collection and analysis be taken. this consultancy found it difficult to access individual pic food availability data and of data received, many were incomplete, difficult to interpret and / or inconsistent. this raises issues of national food security, disaster preparedness and emergency relief. every country government should have easy access to up - to - date per capita food availability of nutrient rich foods in order to determine quantities of foods available to feed populations in times of emergency.


achieving quality the final piece of the puzzle properly calibrated testing equipment ensures quality in order for a business to generate a high - quality product or service, it is essential to obtain a quality measurement system that will be used to study the integrity of its finished product. in the certification industry, testing equipment is essential to measure the different variables that could potentially alter the quality of a raw material, finished product or final status on a certification report. the quality of a product or service is compromised if the test equipment used to measure the final quality is not reading accurate results. this is why a flawless calibration system is the final puzzle piece to achieving a high - quality product or service. what is calibration? in this article, calibration will be defined as the comparison between measurements. during the calibration of a test instrument, a device with a known magnitude or assigned correctness, known as a standard, will be used to check the measuring accuracy of a test instrument. calibration ensures that a measuring instrument is providing results for a sample that fall in an acceptable accurate range. accurate testing results allow manufacturers or certification agencies to eliminate or minimize factors that could cause inaccurate measurements during production or testing. calibration procedures naturally vary depending on the instrument being calibrated. generally, the test instrument is used to test calibrators, which are one or more test samples that have known values. the results are then used to establish a relationship between the measurement instrument and the known values. the calibration processes eliminate or “ zero out ” the current instrument error at the specified calibration points. this process basically “ teaches ” the instrument to produce more accurate results. after a test instrument is calibrated, it will provide more accurate results for unknown values tested during its everyday normal usage. to keep a successful calibration system, calibrations must be done consistently and on a systematic schedule. when is calibration needed? during the manufacturing or certification process of any product, there may be many different types of test instruments used to determine the quality of a product or service. the question of which test instruments need to be calibrated and which do not is answered by whether or not the test performed and the test instrument used affect the final quality of the product or service. there are situations in which a test instrument does not need to be calibrated. if the readings of the test instrument are for reference only, and the accuracy of the test results have little or no impact on the quality of the product or service


. there are situations in which a test instrument does not need to be calibrated. if the readings of the test instrument are for reference only, and the accuracy of the test results have little or no impact on the quality of the product or service being provided, then you do not need to calibrate the test instrument. it is important to be aware that non - calibrated instruments can appear to be working properly while not providing reliable results. sometimes cost is the main reason that people choose not to calibrate a test instrument. it is important to know that there can be huge hidden costs associated with not calibrating a test instrument that should be calibrated. calibrating test instruments may decrease the number of final product rejects because they do not fall within acceptable tolerances. besides saving money in some situations, there are health, safety, legal and regulatory concerns that should be considered. who should perform calibrations? once it is determined which test instruments need to be calibrated, the next step is to determine who will perform these calibrations. to be sure that the calibration results are accurate, they must be traceable back to standards held at a national measurement institute. in order to maintain formal traceability of measurements, the calibrations should be done by a national metrology institute or a united kingdom accreditation service - accredited ( or equivalent ) laboratory that has independent third - party accreditation. national physical laboratory is an example of one of these national measurement institutes. it is also essential that the appropriate equipment and procedures are used in the calibration process and that trained, authorized personnel are performing the calibrations. you can choose a non - accredited source to calibrate your equipment, and you can also choose to calibrate your equipment yourself, but keep in mind the confidence that can be placed on the results will be much greater if the calibration source is third - party accredited. frequency of calibration after you decide who will perform your calibrations, the next question is how frequently an instrument should be calibrated. just like refueling your car, you should calibrate your test instrument when needed. daily or periodic standard checks can provide a good indication of how the test instrument is performing. if these checks show that the instrument performance is stable, then the instrument does not need to be recalibrated. if the history of standard checks show that the instrument is showing a short - term significant shift, then the test instrument should be recalibrated. some laboratory standard


xmlsh is derived from a similar syntax as the unix shells ( see philosophy ). if you are familiar with any of these shell languages ( sh, bash, ksh, zsh ) you should be right at home. an attempt was made to stay very close to the sh syntax where reasonable, but not all subtlies or features of the unix shells are implemented. in order to accomidate native xml types and pipelines some deviations and extensions were necessary. lastly, as an implementation issue, xmlsh is implemented in java using the javacc compiler for parsing. this made support for some of the syntax and features of the c based shells difficult or impossible. future work may try to tighten up these issues. xmlsh can run in 2 modes, interactive and batch. in interactive mode, a prompt ( " $ " ) is displayed and in batch mode there is no prompt. otherwise they are identical. running xmlsh with no arguments starts an interactive shell. running with an argument runs in batch mode and invokes the given script. you can run an xmlsh script by passing it as the first argument, followed by any script arguments xmlsh myscript. xsh arg1 arg2 for details on xmlsh invocation and parameters see xmlsh command - current directory - environment variables - standard ports ( input / output / error ) the shell itself maintains additional environment which is passed to all subshells, but not to external ( sub process ) commands. - namespaces, including the default namespace ( see namespaces ) - declared functions ( see syntaxfunction ) - imported modules and packages ( see modules ) - shell variables ( environment variables and internal shell variables ) ( see builtinvariables ) - positional parameters ( $ 1... $ n ) - shell options ( - v, - x... ) on startup, xmlsh reads the standard input ( interactive mode ) or the script file ( batch mode ), parses one command at a time and executes it. the following steps are performed - parse statement. statements are parsed using the core syntax. - expand variables. variable expansion is performed. see variables and coresyntax. - variable assignment. prefix variable assignment is performed. variables and coresyntax. - io redirection. io redirection ( input, output, here documents ) commandredirect and coresyntax. - command execution. commands are executed. commandexecution - exceptions raised can be handled


is the u. s. ready for human rights? : : discussion guide the articles mentioned below are available on our website : see our focus index to our human rights issue. you are welcome to download and photocopy the articles free of charge. if you would like to purchase multiple copies of yes! or subscriptions for your class or group, please phone 800 / 937 - 4451. the united states has been proud of its leadership in human rights. many times throughout history, we have amended our constitution to answer demands for increased tolerance and equal treatment of all citizens. yet now we find uncharged captives held indefinitely in guantanamo bay, reports of torture in abu ghraib, limits on prisoners ' access to habeas corpus, and other violations. in order for any great nation to progress, it must reflect upon itself, celebrating its accomplishments, addressing areas of concern, and working towards improvement. one of the key goals of this issue of yes! is to present such a “ look in the mirror ” for the united states. this discussion guide will focus on the following articles : - sometimes a great nation by eric foner - check your rights at the border by justin akers chacon - who ' s afraid of economic human rights? by carol estes - mere justice by jesse wegman - yes. we ' re ready. by larry cox & dorothy thomas - the universal declaration of human rights with footnotes by the yes! team sometimes a great nation see article online : : sometimes a great nation by eric foner the united states has sometimes been the world leader in human rights. yet as thomas jefferson warns, “ the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. ” has our record of courage and decency led us to assume that we are still the gold standard of human rights enforcement? foner urges us to examine our true history — one made up of both justice and injustice, of honor and cowardice. can we reclaim our right to call ourselves a truly great nation in terms of human rights? foner says yes. - in your opinion, what are the some of the u. s. ' s greatest achievements in human rights? what are some of the times the u. s. has fallen short of its ideals? - consider a time when someone discriminated against you based on your gender or the color of your skin, or something more abstract, like your faith or level of education. discuss this experience. were you treated with less dignity than you deserve? how did it make you feel?


discriminated against you based on your gender or the color of your skin, or something more abstract, like your faith or level of education. discuss this experience. were you treated with less dignity than you deserve? how did it make you feel? - throughout history, various groups have been denied equal opportunities for reasons that seem justified at the time. in examining past differences that were once intolerable, but are now accepted, perhaps we can learn something. do you see any commonalities among groups of the past and present that have been excluded and oppressed? - sometimes, we are a great nation. with concentrated effort, we can reclaim a national identity associated with upholding human rights. what steps can you as an individual take to advance this change? check your rights at the border see article online : : check your rights at the border by justin akers chacon u. s. trade policy is one of the factors contributing to the immigration of people from mexico and central america seeking work in the united states. free trade agreements have lowered tariffs and undermined traditional economies. chacon says that human rights are among the many things immigrants leave behind while making the journey north. - part of eliminating stereotypes is identifying and addressing them. what words or images come to mind when you think of the word “ immigrant? ” where did these associations come from? - consider your own heritage. if your ancestors immigrated to the united states, what stories have they passed down in your family? did they experience economic, cultural, social, or other kinds of discrimination? - what role do immigrants play in our country? what are the advantages and disadvantages of easing the limitations on international migration? what effect would that have in your own life, neighborhood, and job? - what distinguishes “ beneficial ” immigration from “ harmful ” immigration? who ' s afraid of economic human rights? see article online : : who ' s afraid of economic human rights? by carol estes evidently, the u. s. government is. even though 155 of the world ' s nations have ratified the covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, which recognizes economic rights for all, the united states has not. carol estes argues that people who live in the richest country in the world should be entitled to housing, food, and medical care. - “ if you ' re homeless, you must have done something wrong to end up there, and you alone are responsible for getting yourself out of that situation. ” have you seen or heard messages like this? if so, where have they come


. - “ if you ' re homeless, you must have done something wrong to end up there, and you alone are responsible for getting yourself out of that situation. ” have you seen or heard messages like this? if so, where have they come from? do you agree or disagree with them? - the udhr recognizes that every human being has economic rights. do you think that in the united states we treat basic economic security as a right, or something to be earned? - does having a population of permanently poor people serve to sustain, or even benefit, an economic system? - how would your life be different if our government provided the basic economic security outlined in the udhr to all its citizens? what might you lose? what might you gain? see article online : : mere justice by jesse wegman in his article, wegman discusses the obstacles faced by prisoners who seek review of their cases using habeas corpus. he explains the origin of aedpa, the anti - terrorism and effective death penalty act, which dramatically hinders access to this right. the act speeds up the process by which death - row inmates are pushed to executions, and simultaneously restricts all other prisoners ' ability to appeal for justice. - do you think prisoners have too much access to court review of their cases, or too little? - wegman mentions that many politicians crack down on prisoners ' rights because they are afraid of being perceived as “ soft ” or “ sympathetic ” towards criminals. how do you feel about this? what does this tell us about our society? yes. we ' re ready. see article online : : yes. we ' re ready. by larry cox & dorothy thomas larry cox, the executive director of amnesty international, and dorothy q. thomas, senior program advisor to the u. s. human rights fund, say that human rights are a powerful unifying force for activists, and many groups are drawing on human rights theory to make change. - think of a cause about which you feel strongly. does this cause share values with those promoting human rights? could you imagine forming a meaningful connection with someone working towards a cause different from your own, based on human rights? - how might you expand the human rights network within your own community? the universal declaration of human rights see article online : : the universal declaration of human rights with footnotes by the yes! editorial team in 1948, the udhr was birthed into the world through the efforts of eleanor roosevelt and the newly formed united nations. the document was the first of its kind.


: the universal declaration of human rights with footnotes by the yes! editorial team in 1948, the udhr was birthed into the world through the efforts of eleanor roosevelt and the newly formed united nations. the document was the first of its kind. its 30 articles define the basic rights we all own, simply by virtue of being human. the udhr has been translated into hundreds of languages, yet its contents are unfamiliar to many. examine your rights. then consider the yes! footnotes, showing a u. s. position on each article. - had you seen the udhr before? do any of the 30 articles surprise you? if so, which ones, and why? - the yes! team debated long and hard over whether to include the footnotes about the u. s. ' s position on each article. how did you feel about these interjections? did they make the document more meaningful, or take away from its inherent beauty? - how do you feel about this document? is it just a case of one group imposing norms on others, or are there such things as “ universal human rights ”? if such rights exist, does this document capture them? what rights do you feel are missing from the document, if any? what are you doing? how are you using this discussion guide? how could we improve it? please share your stories and suggestions with us at editors @ yesmagazine. org, with “ discussion guide ” as the subject. yes! is published by the positive futures network, an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to support people ' s active engagement in creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world. that means, we rely on support from our readers. independent. nonprofit. subscriber - supported.


wastes and waste management finnish waste legislation covers all types of waste except certain special wastes such as radioactive wastes, which are controlled by separate laws. finnish waste legislation is largely based on eu legislation, but in some cases includes stricter standards and limits than those applied in the eu as a whole. finland also has legislation on some issues related to wastes that have not yet been covered by eu legislation. for more information on wastes and their environmental impacts see the web pages on the state of the environment. statistics on the generation and management of wastes in finland are compiled by statistics finland. the ministry of the environment supervises and controls the way finnish waste legislation is put into practice. the finnish environment institute conducts research and training, publicises new ideas and methods, and monitors all developments related to waste issues, while also participation in drawingup new legislation and guidelines related to waste. the institute also monitors international waste shipments. centres for economic development, transport and the environment guide, encourage and monitor the implementation of the waste act in their own regions. they also provide training and advice for firms and the public, and issue waste permits to larger firms and operations. the national authority responsible for producer registration and other related issues is the centre for economic development, transport and the environment for pirkanmaa. local authorities organise the collection, recovery and disposal of household refuse and other similar waste, and supervise waste management in general in their own area. they also set local regulations on waste management, ensure that advice on waste matters is freely available, and issue waste permits to smaller firms and operations.


best evidence in brief : free, fortnightly round - up of education research news better : evidence - based education : magazineexploring effective practice a book for governors : must - read book for school governors best evidence encyclopaedia : which educational programmes have good evidence? the iee is working to help schools with the problems they face - trying to make education research more accessible, directing them to solutions that have been proven to work, and connecting them with colleagues who have faced the same issues. you can guide our work by telling us the specific areas where you need proven programmes and practices for improving teaching and learning. we would be very grateful if you could answer a few questions about this. we are currently working with schools in the following ways : we have enrolled the help of schools across the country to take part in a range of research projects. this includes schools that are piloting new programmes and practices, and also ‘ control ’ schools against which we compare the results. you can find out more about our current research here. school case study : st anne ’ s catholic primary school, keighley the iee is currently working with a small group of schools in our region, helping them with how they might select and use evidence - based programmes. the project, which is called yipi, has included putting together a directory of recommended programmes and practices. if successful, a larger pilot study will take place. yipi case study : pannal primary school, harrogate e4f is aimed at practitioners who are currently using, or wish to use, research evidence to inform their work. by participating in the scheme they will be able to access high - quality, independent research expertise and resources, with the help of a an intermediary ' broker '. people involved in e4f can also be put in touch with each other, so that they can share experiences and problems. e4f is a project of the coalition for evidence - based education ( cebe ), and it is hoped that it will get research evidence more widely used in decision - making in schools and colleges.


now the rats are sinking the leaking ship while the massive population of new york city is awfully impacted by sandy, there is a more populous and even more caustic population that is struggling with the aftermath : rats! as forbes notes, the nyc subway is notorious for its rat population and with all five subway tubes now submerged, one can only imagine where these cute cuddly rabies - wielding devil rodents will make their new homes. " rats are incredibly good swimmers and they can climb " is hardly the reassuring news lower manhattan homeowners were looking for, and as the daily mail notes, this could bring infectious diseases such as leptospirosis, hantavirus, typhus, salmonella, and even the plague into human contact. on the bright side ( well not really ), rats don ' t need to bite a human to transmit its gross payload ; rodent feces and urine can spread conditions like hantavirus just as easily - get long hand sanitizer stocks! if they can do this - then what happens when they are forced above ground? cue gratuitous " biggest rat in the world " scary video clip ( real or not - this is crazy ) - rats can climb brick walls, trees, and telephone poles, and walk across telephone lines. - rats can fall from a height of 50 feet without getting hurt. - rats can jump three feet in the air from a flat surface and leap more than four feet horizontally. - rats can scamper through openings as small as a quarter. general rule : if a rat ’ s head fits into the hole then the body will follow. everything you did not want to know about rats and really did not want to ask :