##rable and able to do more damage, says michael. weaponization of the spores would be an indicator of state sponsored terrorism. " initially, scanning electron microscopy [ sem ] conducted at another laboratory, showed high silicon and oxygen signals that led them to conclude that the spores were a weaponized form, says kotula. " the possible misinterpretation of the sem results arose because microanalysis in the sem is not a surface - sensitive tool, " says kotula. " because a spore body can be 1. 5 to 2 microns wide by 1 micron long, a sem cannot localize the elemental signal from whole spore bodies. " using more sensitive transmission electron microscopy ( tem ), kotula and michael ' s research indicated that the silica in the spore samples was not added artificially, but was incorporated as a natural part of the spore formation process. " the spores we examined, " kotula says, " lacked that fuzzy outer coating that would indicate that they ' d been weaponized. " sandia ' s work was the first to actually link the spore material in the new york post, the daschle and the leahy letters. the elemental signatures and the locations of these signatures, while not indicating intentional weaponization, did show that the spores were indistinguishable and therefore likely came from the same source. that conclusion was corroborated a few years later by the dna studies. the materials characterization lab serves as a materials analysis resource for a diverse collection of projects. the lab plays an important role in stockpile surveillance, supporting sandia ' s nuclear weapons mission. michael was recently released from his nondisclosure agreement and flown to washington, d. c., to participate in press conferences at fbi headquarters along with several members of research teams who ' d been asked to examine other aspects of the anthrax case. the fbi was pleased with sandia ' s work, says michael.


dec. 6, 1999 a team of scientists has discovered that some widely - prescribed cholesterol - lowering drugs also have impressive bone - building capabilities that may make them effective drugs for treating osteoporosis. the team ' s findings appear in the 3 december issue of science. these drugs, known as statins, represent an entirely new approach to treating osteoporosis, one which emphasizes building new bone to replace bone that has already deteriorated. current therapies for the disease focus on stopping or slowing bone loss and stabilizing a person ' s existing bone mass. " hopefully this will stimulate drug companies to take a look at the statins that they might have on their shelves and do clinical trials on the ones that actually target bone, " said gregory mundy of osteoscreen, lead author of the study. 100 million people worldwide are at risk for osteoporosis, particularly postmenopausal women and a rapidly growing elderly population. in osteoporosis patients, bone loses crucial minerals such as calcium and phosphorus and becomes thin and fragile. fractures of the hip and pain and compression in the spine are some of the most common problems associated with the disorder. osteoporosis patients have often lost 50 to 60 percent of their bone mass in these crucial areas, so rebuilding this bone is key to their recovery, according to mundy. the team of scientists also included ross garrett, jeannie chan, di chen, giovanni rossini, ming zhao, and gloria gutierrez, all from osteoscreen, as well as stephen harris of the department of medicine at the university of texas health science center and brendan boyce of the department of pathology at the university of texas health science center. mundy and his colleagues identified the statin group as potentially powerful agents against bone loss after an extensive, three month search of over 30, 000 natural compounds. their goal was to find small molecules that could activate the gene for a protein that promotes bone formation. out of 30, 000 possibilities, statins proved to be the only ones that specifically increased levels of the bone formation protein. as they are conventionally prescribed, statins work by blocking the action of an enzyme in the liver that turns fatty foods into cholesterol. studies show that statin drugs dramatically lower cholesterol levels in high cholesterol patients, reducing rates of coronary heart disease and stroke and lowering the risk of dying from these diseases. statins such as lovastatin, simvastatin, pr


statin drugs dramatically lower cholesterol levels in high cholesterol patients, reducing rates of coronary heart disease and stroke and lowering the risk of dying from these diseases. statins such as lovastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin and others have been widely used for over ten years with little toxic side effects, marketed under names like mevacor, zocor, and prevachol. the research team first applied four different types of statins to bone taken from the skulls of mice and grown in a laboratory culture. each of the statins increased bone growth in the cultures two to threefold by stimulating the production of osteoblasts, the specialized cells that create new bone. " the statins build up a team of osteoblasts, but in addition to that, they bring these osteoblasts into maturity, so they can start growing bone, " mundy said. this is in contrast to most current bone loss therapies, which only increase the number of osteoblasts without encouraging the differentiation and maturity of these bone - building cells. after this initial success, the researchers tested the effects of statins in living animals, first injecting the drugs directly into the tissue overlying the skullcaps of mice. they also administered oral doses of the statins to two groups of female rats, one group with intact ovaries and another group with the ovaries removed to mimic the effects of menopause. the mice that were directly injected showed an almost 50 percent increase in new bone formation in the skull after only five days of treatment. in the oral dose groups, the statins caused increases in new trabecular bone ( the type of bone found at the ends of bones like the femur ) ranging from 39 to 94 percent after approximately one month ' s treatment. " it was totally amazing to us, " mundy said of the amount of bone growth, " especially the effects of it in culture and applied locally. " he noted that the less dramatic increase in bone growth for the oral dosage groups was probably due to the fact that the orally - administered statins don ' t make their way to the targeted bone as well as those that are directly injected. since statins are designed to zero in on the liver, most of their effects on bone are secondary. for these statins to be really effective as agents against osteoporosis, mundy said, they need to be the kind of statins


##ins are designed to zero in on the liver, most of their effects on bone are secondary. for these statins to be really effective as agents against osteoporosis, mundy said, they need to be the kind of statins that distribute themselves directly to bone or bone marrow. although the statins seem to be most effective at building new bone, the researchers could not rule out the possibility that the drugs were also inhibiting the breakdown of bone, which could make them a candidate for osteoporosis prevention as well. a preliminary analysis that looked back at a group of elderly women taking statins to lower their cholesterol found that these women had higher bone mineral density and less fractures in their hip. however, mundy cautioned that this retrospective analysis is not definitive, since the overall sample size was small and there were no controls on the length of treatment or the consistency of the statin doses. the real answer to how well these statins contribute to bone formation in humans will come after randomized clinical trials, he said. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : the above story is reprinted from materials provided by american association for the advancement of science. note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


apr. 1, 2003 after years of frustrating searches for genes that contribute to mental illness, researchers at johns hopkins studying families with a severe form of manic depressive illness, called psychotic bipolar disorder, may be one step closer to finding the genetic underpinnings of both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. " finding a gene for bipolar disorder is like finding a needle in a haystack, but by focusing our search on families with a distinctive form of the illness we were able to pinpoint a region of the genome where disease genes are likely to be found, " said james potash, m. d., assistant professor of psychiatry at johns hopkins and lead author of a report on the study in the april issue of the american journal of psychiatry. although genes are unlikely to tell the whole story of major psychiatric diseases, the persistent frequency of mental illness in about 1 percent of the global human population, regardless of cultural or ethnic differences, and its tendency to run in families have always pointed to a strong genetic role. " but pinning down that role is complicated by the many variations in symptoms, even within the same family, " says potash. " there are probably many different genes and environmental factors that can cause any given mental illness. " motivated by previous suggestions that certain broad regions of the dna sequence, especially on human chromosomes 13 and 22, may contain genes that contribute to both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, potash and colleagues focused on those families with the psychotic form of bipolar disorder. like bipolar disorder, psychotic bipolar disorder is characterized by see - sawing episodes of depression and mania, but it is distinctive because these mood changes often are accompanied by such psychotic symptoms as hallucinations and delusions. the concept for the new study is that of two slightly overlapping circles, explains potash. in one circle are all of the genes that contribute to schizophrenia. the other circle has all of the genes that contribute to bipolar disorder, while the intersection of the two circles contains genes that are common to both diseases as well as for psychotic bipolar disorder. the researchers carefully evaluated and took blood samples from 65 patients with bipolar disorder and from their extended families. they extracted blood cell dna and scanned it with dna probes, looking for matching sequences that are more likely to appear in those with mental illness than in those without it. by noting where these markers lay on chromosomes, the researchers were able to narrow in on where the genes were located. out of 65 bipolar disorder families studied, the 10 families in which 3 or more members had psychotic bipolar disorder showed strong genetic " linkage


by noting where these markers lay on chromosomes, the researchers were able to narrow in on where the genes were located. out of 65 bipolar disorder families studied, the 10 families in which 3 or more members had psychotic bipolar disorder showed strong genetic " linkage " to specific regions on chromosomes 13 and 22. these results differed significantly from those for all 65 families, which showed little or no linkage evidence in these two regions. " these results confirmed our expectation that genes for the psychotic form of bipolar disorder are likely to be found in the same regions that show linkage to both bipolar disorder as a whole and to schizophrenia, " says potash. one important implication of the study is that these " overlap genes " may contribute to brain abnormalities that are shared by bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and could help explain why the same anti - psychotic medications are effective treatments for both diseases, says potash. authors on the report are potash, dean mackinnon, sylvia simpson, francis mcmahon, j. raymond depaulo, melvin mcinnis, peter zandi, virginia willour, tsuo - h. lan, yuqing huo, dimitrios avramopoulos, yin shugart. the study was funded by the national institute of mental health, the national alliance for research on schizophrenia and depression, the stanley medical research institute, the dana foundation, the alexander wilson schweizer fund, the affective disorders fund and the george browne laboratory fund. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : the above story is reprinted from materials provided by johns hopkins medical institutions. note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above. note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


jan. 25, 2006 researchers have found stronger evidence for a link between a parasite in cat faeces and undercooked meat and an increased risk of schizophrenia. research published in procedings of the royal society b, shows how the invasion or replication of the parasite toxoplasma gondii in rats may be inhibited by using anti - psychotic or mood stabilising drugs. the researchers tested anti - psychotic and mood stabilising medications used for the treatment of schizophrenia on rats infected with t. gondii and found they were as, or more, effective at preventing behaviourial alterations as anti - t. gondii drugs. this led them to believe that t. gondii may have a role in the development of some cases of schizophrenia. dr joanne webster from imperial college london, and lead researcher said : " although we are certainly not saying that exposure to this parasite does definitely lead to the development of schizophrenia, this and previous studies do show there may be a link in a few individuals, providing new clues for how we treat toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia. " previous epidemiological and neuropathological studies have indicated some cases of schizophrenia may be associated with environmental factors, such as exposure to the parasite t. gondii. at the same time several of the medications used to treat schizophrenia have been shown to posess anti - parasitic and in particular anti - t. gondii properties. this led the authors to suspect that the anti - psychotic activity of these medications may be due in part to their inhibition of these parasites. when the rats were given haloperidol, an anti - psychotic, and valporic acid, a mood stabiliser, the behavioural symptoms of t. gondii were reduced. they found the drugs were able to limit the ' suicidal feline ' attraction by which the rats became less aware of the dangers of cats. dr joanne webster added : " by showing that drugs used to treat schizophrenia affect the parasite t. gondii, this does provide further evidence for its role in the development of some cases schizophrenia. it may be that anti - psychotic drugs work partly by parasite inhibition, and this could lead to new medicine and treatment combinations. " the researchers have already begun human clinical trials using anti - t. gondii treatments as adjunct therapies for schizophrenia with researchers at johns hopkins university. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : materials may be edited for content and length. for further information, please contact the source cited above


jan. 28, 2009 the risk of radiation - induced breast cancer may outweigh the benefits of mammography in women under the age of 30 who carry a mutation in brca1 or brca2, according to a mathematical modeling study. the general recommendation for women who carry a mutation in brca1 / 2 is to start getting annual mammograms as early as 25 to 30 years of age. however, it is not clear whether the risk of radiation - induced breast cancer would limit the benefit of early mammography. to estimate the impact of early mammograms on overall breast cancer risk, amy berrington de gonzalez, d. phil., of the johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health in baltimore, and colleagues modeled excess breast cancer mortality following five annual mammograms starting at various ages. the model indicated that women who underwent five mammograms between the ages of 24 and 29 would have an additional 26 breast cancers per 10, 000 women due to the radiation. between the ages of 30 and 34 they would have an excess of 20 additional cancers, and between 35 and 39 an additional 13 cancers. to outweigh these risks, mammography screening would have to reduce breast cancer mortality by 51 percent for women between the ages of 24 and 29, by 12 percent for those between 30 and 34, and by 4 percent for those between 30 and 34. the investigators conclude that if their assumptions are correct and mammograms reduce breast cancer mortality by 15 - 25 percent, which is consistent with empirical data, then there there would be no benefit for mammograms in women under the age of 30 and a marginal benefit for women between the ages of 30 and 34. " in the absence of direct empiric data, our estimates can be used by those involved in the decision - making process for brca mutation carriers to assess whether the benefits from early mammographic screening are likely to outweigh the radiation risks, " the authors conclude. this research was published in the journal of the national cancer institute january 27, 2009. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


nov. 2, 2009 individuals who consume a diet high in sodium or artificially sweetened drinks are more likely to experience a decline in kidney function, according to two papers being presented at the american society of nephrology ' s annual meeting in san diego, california. julie lin md, mph, fasn and gary curhan, md, scd, fasn of brigham and women ' s hospital studied more than 3, 000 women participating in the nurses ' health study to identify the impact of sodium and sweetened drinks on kidney function. " there are currently limited data on the role of diet in kidney disease, " said dr. lin. " while more study is needed, our research suggests that higher sodium and artificially sweetened soda intake are associated with greater rate of decline in kidney function. " the first study, " associations of diet with kidney function decline, " examined the influence of individual dietary nutrients on kidney function decline over 11 years in more than 3, 000 women participants of the nurses ' health study. the authors found that " in women with well - preserved kidney function, higher dietary sodium intake was associated with greater kidney function decline, which is consistent with experimental animal data that high sodium intake promotes progressive kidney decline. " the second study, also conducted by dr. lin and dr. curhan, " associations of sweetened beverages with kidney function decline, " examined the influence of sugar - sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages on kidney function decline in the same group of nurses ' health study participants. an analysis of the nationally representative nhanes iii participants had previously reported an association between sugar - sweetened soda and urinary protein, but data on kidney function change was not available. this investigation reported " a significant two - fold increased odds, between two or more servings per day of artificially sweetened soda and faster kidney function decline ; no relation between sugar - sweetened beverages and kidney function decline was noted " said dr. lin. this association persisted even after the study authors accounted for age, caloric intake, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, physical activity, and cardiovascular disease. the mechanisms for kidney decline in the setting of high intake of artificial sweetenters have not been previously studied and deserve further investigation. the study participants were older caucasian women and the authors note that the findings may not be directly applicable to men or people of other ethnicities. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


oct. 18, 2010 an enzyme that keeps intestinal bacteria out of the bloodstream may also play an important role in maintaining the normal microbial population of the gastrointestinal system. since the loss of beneficial bacteria that usually results from antibiotic therapy can sometimes lead to serious health problems, a treatment that maintains microbial levels could have significant benefits. " our mouse studies confirmed that giving this enzyme by mouth keeps the gut healthy, in terms of the microbes that usually live there, " says richard hodin, md, of the massachusetts general hospital ( mgh ) department of surgery, senior author of the report in the november issue of the journal gut. " this could prevent infection with dangerous bacteria like salmonella and c. difficile, which can occur when the normal bacterial population becomes depleted, and may lead to development of a supplement to maintain intestinal health whenever someone takes an antibiotic. " virtually all higher animals maintain a population of microbes - - primarily bacteria - - in their digestive tracts. these organisms are not only harmless, they also benefit their host by helping with digestion, and their presence prevents the more pathogenic bacteria that may be present from proliferating. because antibiotics kill all non - resistant bacteria, including those residing in the intestines, the usual balance of beneficial versus harmful microbes is destroyed, leading to problems ranging from diarrhea to infections with dangerous antibiotic - resistant organisms. a 2008 study by members of hodin ' s team that investigated why intestinal bacteria and their toxins do not pass into the bloodstream found that intestinal alkaline phosphatase ( iap ), an enzyme produced by the intestinal lining, blocks the activity of a toxic molecule found on many pathogenic bacteria. because that study and findings by other groups showed that iap acts against several bacterial toxins, the mgh researchers looked at whether the enzyme directly interacted with intestinal bacteria. studies of mice lacking the gene for iap revealed that the animals had reduced levels of all intestinal bacteria and practically none of the common beneficial strains of e. coli. in fact, the most common e. coli strain would not grow if introduced into these knockout mice. but when the animals received oral doses of iap, beneficial e. coli proliferated quickly after other microbial species were killed by antibiotics. experiments with normal mice infected with an antibiotic - resistant salmonella strain showed that iap treatment significantly reduced salmonella levels in the animals ' feces. although only 20 percent of


proliferated quickly after other microbial species were killed by antibiotics. experiments with normal mice infected with an antibiotic - resistant salmonella strain showed that iap treatment significantly reduced salmonella levels in the animals ' feces. although only 20 percent of animals not treated with iap survived, 70 percent of those receiving the enzyme were alive 7 days later. " we believe that iap rapidly restores e. coli and other beneficial bacteria after antibiotic treatment and that the higher numbers of these bacteria prevent colonization by salmonella or other pathogens by competing for nutrients and attachment sites, " says mahdu malo, phd, mbbs, of mgh surgery, corresponding and first author of the gut paper. " we need to test this approach in larger animals before planning a human clinical trial, but this approach has the potential of solving a common, often serious health problem. " malo is an assistant professor of surgery, and hodin, a professor of surgery at harvard medical school. additional co - authors of the gut report are sayeda nasrin alam, golam mosafa, nur mohammad, kathryn chen, angela moss, sundaram ramasamy, adnan faruqui, sarah hodin, premoda malo, farzad ebrahimi and brishti biswas, mgh surgery ; skye zeller, paul johnson and elizabeth hohmann, mgh infectious disease ; shaw warren, mgh pediatrics ; sonoko narisawa and jose luis millan, sanford - burnham medical research institute ; jeffrey kaplan, new jersey dental school ; and christopher kitts, california polytechnic state university. the study was supported by grants from the national institutes of health and the bill and melinda gates foundation. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : - m. s. malo, s. n. alam, g. mostafa, s. j. zeller, p. v. johnson, n. mohammad, k. t. chen, a. k. moss, s. ramasamy, a. faruqui, s. hodin, p. s. malo, f. ebrahimi, b. biswas, s. narisawa, j. l. millan, h. s. warren, j. b. kaplan, c. l. kitts, e. l. hohmann, r. a. hodin. intestinal alkaline phosphatase preserves the normal homeostasis of gut microbiota.


aug. 11, 2011 scientists have found a potential new mechanism to stimulate the body ' s own ability to fight cancer using baculillus calmette - guerin ( bcg ) - - the germ commonly used to inoculate against tuberculosis ( tb ). the findings are published online in the british journal of cancer on august 10, 2011. the researchers, dr wai liu and professor angus dalgleish from st george ' s, university of london, say this new data suggests a mechanism by which vaccines could enhance the anti - cancer activity of currently available therapies. however, they warn that this is an early - stage study and that there is much more research to be done before patients will benefit. in laboratory - based experiments conducted with human tumour cells outside of the body, the researchers showed that a small amount of bcg can instruct white blood cells to produce chemicals called cytokines. these make tumour cells more likely to be detected by the body ' s immune system. " cancerous cells are known to camouflage themselves as healthy cells. this means our blood cells responsible for immunity aren ' t able to recognise the cancerous cells as being a problem and so the disease is able to continue to spread, " explains lead researcher dr wai liu. " this study found that a small quantity of bcg - - similar to the amount that is administered in a tb inoculation - - can help the immune system recognise the cancer cells as ' foreign '. the immune system can then attack these cells in the same way it would any other infection. " the cytokines produced as a consequence of the bcg jab set off a chain of events that begins with the hijacking of the tumour and forcing it to switch off its camouflage. this renders it visible to the body ' s immune system, and so the white blood cells responsible for destroying ' foreign ' cells now have targets to attack. the researchers tested the bcg injection on human cells from lung, breast, colon, pancreatic and skin cancer. their research showed that in three of the cancer types - - lung, breast and colon - - the restoration of their visibility to immune cells was increased. within the limits of the laboratory - based study, those cancer cells with reduced camouflage were then successfully targeted by white cells responsible for killing cancer cells. scientific knowledge around using drugs to stimulate the body ' s natural defences against cancer is becoming more prominent. the researchers believe that these findings provide more evidence that, in the future, this treatment method may provide


targeted by white cells responsible for killing cancer cells. scientific knowledge around using drugs to stimulate the body ' s natural defences against cancer is becoming more prominent. the researchers believe that these findings provide more evidence that, in the future, this treatment method may provide further options for patients that could be used in combination with existing cancer drug treatment. " using the body ' s own immune system is a relatively new way of thinking in the development of cancer treatments, and scientists are still building up a knowledge base about it. if successful, this method of treatment could be used in combination with existing cancer drugs. it could potentially see patients taking less medication, having fewer and less severe side effects and recovering quicker, " says dr liu. " this research is at an early stage of investigation, and so far has analysed the reaction of human blood outside of the body, so more work is needed before these findings can be used in practice. the next stage will be to develop a compound suitable for clinical trials, " he concludes. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : - w m liu, d w fowler, a m gravett, p smith, a g dalgleish. supernatants from lymphocytes stimulated with bacillus calmette - guerin can modify the antigenicity of tumours and stimulate allogeneic t - cell responses. british journal of cancer, 2011 ; doi : 10. 1038 / bjc. 2011. 306 note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


aug. 20, 2012 botany is plagued by the same problem as the rest of science and society : our ability to generate data quickly and cheaply is surpassing our ability to access and analyze it. in this age of big data, scientists facing too much information rely on computers to search large data sets for patterns that are beyond the capability of humans to recognize - - but computers can only interpret data based on the strict set of rules in their programming. new tools called ontologies provide the rules computers need to transform information into knowledge, by attaching meaning to data, thereby making those data retrievable by computers and more understandable to human beings. ontology, from the greek word for the study of being or existence, traditionally falls within the purview of philosophy, but the term is now used by computer and information scientists to describe a strategy for representing knowledge in a consistent fashion. an ontology in this contemporary sense is a description of the types of entities within a given domain and the relationships among them. a new article in this month ' s american journal of botany by ramona walls ( new york botanical garden ) and colleagues describes how scientists build ontologies such as the plant ontology ( po ) and how these tools can transform plant science by facilitating new ways of gathering and exploring data. when data from many divergent sources, such as data about some specific plant organ, are associated or " tagged " with particular terms from a single ontology or set of interrelated ontologies, the data become easier to find, and computers can use the logical relationships in the ontologies to correctly combine the information from the different databases. moreover, computers can also use ontologies to aggregate data associated with the different subclasses or parts of entities. for example, suppose a researcher is searching online for all examples of gene expression in a leaf. any botanist performing this search would include experiments that described gene expression in petioles and midribs or in a frond. however, a search engine would not know that it needs to include these terms in its search - - unless it was told that a frond is a type of leaf, and that every petiole and every midrib are parts of some leaf. it is this information that ontologies provide. the article in the american journal of botany by walls and colleagues describes what ontologies are, why they are relevant to plant science, and some of the basic principles of ontology development. it includes an overview of the ontologies that are relevant to botany, with a more detailed description


of botany by walls and colleagues describes what ontologies are, why they are relevant to plant science, and some of the basic principles of ontology development. it includes an overview of the ontologies that are relevant to botany, with a more detailed description of the po and the challenges of building an ontology that covers all green plants. the article also describes four keys areas of plant science that could benefit from the use of ontologies : ( 1 ) comparative genetics, genomics, phenomics, and development ; ( 2 ) taxonomy and systematics ; ( 3 ) semantic applications ; and ( 4 ) education. although most of the examples in this article are drawn from plant science, the principles could apply to any group of organisms, and the article should be of interest to zoologists as well. as genomic and phenomic data become available for more species, many different research groups are embarking on the annotation of their data and images with ontology terms. at the same time, cross - species queries are becoming more common, causing more researchers in plant science to turn to ontologies. ontology developers are working with the scientists who generate data to make sure ontologies accurately reflect current science, and with database developers and publishers to find ways to make it easier for scientist to associate their data with ontologies. other social bookmarking and sharing tools : - r. l. walls, b. athreya, l. cooper, j. elser, m. a. gandolfo, p. jaiswal, c. j. mungall, j. preece, s. rensing, b. smith, d. w. stevenson. ontologies as integrative tools for plant science. american journal of botany, 2012 ; 99 ( 8 ) : 1263 doi : 10. 3732 / ajb. 1200222 note : if no author is given, the source is cited instead.


in 1901 wieland received his doctorate at the university of munich while studying under johannes thiele. in 1904 he completed his habilitation, then continued to teach at the university and starting in 1907 was a consultant for boehringer - ingelheim. in 1914 he became associate professor for special topics in organic chemistry, and director of the organic division of the state laboratory in munich. from 1917 to 1918 wieland worked in the service of the ( kwi ) kaiser wilhelm institute for physical chemistry and elektrochemistry in dahlem then led by fritz haber as an alternative to regular military service. there he was involved in weapons resarch for instance finding new synthetic routes for mustard gas. he is also credited with the first synthesis of adamsite. from 1913 to 1921, he was professor at the technical university of munich. he then moved to the university of freiburg as successor of ludwig gattermann ( he also assumed responsibility for gattermanns infamous cookbook ). in freiburg he started working on toad poisons and bile acids. in association with boehringer - ingelheim he worked on synthetic alkaloids such as morphine and strychnine in 1925 wieland succeeded richard willstatter as chemistry professor at the university of munich. in 1941, wieland isolated the toxin alpha - amanitin, the principal active agent of one of the world ' s most poisonous mushrooms amanita phalloides. wieland tried successfully to protect people, especially jewish students, who were " racially burdened " after the nuremberg laws. students who were expelled because they were " racially burdened " could stay in heinrich wieland ' s group as chemists or as " gaste des geheimrats " ( guests of the privy councillor ). after collecting money for kurt huber ' s widow clara huber, hans conrad leipelt, a student of wieland, was sentenced to death. heinrichs father, theodor wieland ( 1846 - 1928 ) was a pharmacist with a doctorate in chemistry. he owned a gold and silver refinery in pforzheim. heinrich wieland was a cousin of helene boehringer, the wife of albert boehringer, who was the founder of boehringer - ingelheim. from 1915 to the end of 1920, he was advisor at boehringer - ingelheim and during this time he established the first scientific department of the company. eva wieland, heinrich wieland ' s daughter, was


ingelheim. from 1915 to the end of 1920, he was advisor at boehringer - ingelheim and during this time he established the first scientific department of the company. eva wieland, heinrich wieland ' s daughter, was married to feodor lynen on 14 may 1937. heinrich wieland prize since 1964, the heinrich wieland prize has been awarded annually to promote research on chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and clinical medicine of lipids and related substances. the prize is among the most treasured international science awards and has a successful history of over 40 years. to date it has been presented to 58 scientists. the heinrich wieland prize is sponsored by boehringer ingelheim and awarded by an independent board of trustees. 1. ^ p. karrer ( 1958 ). " heinrich wieland. 1877 - 1957 ". biographical memoirs of fellows of the royal society 4 ( 2 ) : 340 - 352. 2. ^ bernhard witkop ( 1993 ). " remembering heinrich wieland ( 1877 - 1957 ) portrait of an organic chemist and founder of modern biochemistry ". medicinal research reviews 12 ( 3 ) : 195 - 274. doi : 10. 1002 / med. 2610120303. 3. ^ a b interconnections and independence : heinrich wieland ( 1877 – 1957 ) and his era elisabeth vaupel angew. chem. int. ed. 2007, 46, 9154 – 9179 doi : 10. 1002 / anie. 200702255 haslewood, g a ( 1957 ), " prof. h. o. weiland. ", nature 180 ( 4584 ) : 462 - 3, 1957 sep 7, pmid : 13464859 retrieved from " http : / / en. wikipedia. org / "


apr 2, 2009 | 1 stargazers take note : today marks the beginning of a four - day celestial celebration called 100 hours of astronomy, part of the international astronomical union ' s international year of astronomy ( iya2009 ). the iya2009 marks the 400th anniversary of italian astronomer galileo galilei turning his telescopes to the skies and beginning a new era of astronomical observation. a kickoff event at the franklin institute in philadelphia today showcased one of galileo ' s surviving telescopes. according to the institute, this marks the first time one of the two remaining instruments has left italy. an international " star party " is scheduled to take place during which telescopes will be made available to the public at different sites around the globe. many are amateur telescopes set up in parks or on sidewalks ; the 100 hours of astronomy web site has details on many of the planned activities. most star parties are scheduled to take place on saturday, but some are planned for other times, such as one beginning this evening in new york city, where columbia university will set up telescopes in harlem ' s powell plaza for viewing the moon and saturn. deadline : jun 30 2013 reward : $ 1, 000, 000 usd this is a reduction - to - practice challenge that requires written documentation and & deadline : jul 30 2013 reward : $ 100, 000 usd the seeker desires a method for producing pseudoephedrine products in such a way that it will be extremely difficult for clandestine che save 66 % off the cover price and get a free gift! learn more > > x


climate change has already pushed the nation ' s wildlife into crisis, according to a report released wednesday from the national wildlife federation ( nwf ), and further catastrophe, including widespread extinction, can only be curbed with swift action to curb the carbon pollution that has the planet sweltering. entitled wildlife in a warming world : confronting the climate crisis, the report looks at 8 regions across the u. s. where " the underlying climatic conditions to which species have been accustomed for thousands of years, " the report explains, have been upturned by human - caused climate change. “ some of america ’ s most iconic species — from moose to sandhill cranes to sea turtles – are seeing their homes transformed by rapid climate change, ” stated dr. amanda staudt, climate scientist at the national wildlife federation. feb 15, 2013 living on earth : starving polar bears polar bears have long been the poster species for the problem of climate change. but a new paper in conservation letters argues that supplemental feeding may be necessary to prevent polar bear populations from going extinct. polar bear expert andrew derocher from the university of alberta joins host steve curwood to discuss how we can save the largest bear on the planet. http : / / www. loe. org / shows / segments. html? programid = 13 - p13 - 00007 & segmentid = 2


sometimes having your period can be a pain - literally. most girls have to deal with pms, cramps, or headaches around the time of their periods. these problems are usually normal and nothing to worry about. here are the facts on which period problems are common and normal - and which ones might indicate there ' s something else going on. what is pms? premenstrual syndrome ( pms ) is the term for the physical and emotional symptoms that many girls and women get right before their periods begin each month. if you have pms, you might - sore breasts - food cravings - depression or feeling blue - difficulty concentrating - difficulty handling stress pms is usually at its worst during the 1 to 2 weeks before a girl ' s period starts, and it usually disappears when her period why do some girls get pms? doctors have not pinpointed the exact cause of pms, but many believe it is linked to changing hormone levels. following a girl ' s period, the amounts of estrogen and progesterone ( female hormones ) in a girl ' s body increase. then about 1 week before her period starts, levels of both of these hormones begin to fall. the thinking is that these changing hormone levels can lead to pms it isn ' t clear why some girls develop pms and others don ' t. it ' s possible that those who develop pms are simply more sensitive to the changes in hormone levels. there are other theories as well. for example, some believe that what you eat can affect how you feel, especially during the couple of weeks before a luckily, there are several things you can do to ease pms symptoms. eating a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and cutting back on processed foods like chips and crackers can help. you might also want to reduce your salt intake ( salt can make you retain water and become more bloated ) and, believe it or not, drink more water. say no to caffeine ( it can make you jumpy and anxious ) and yes to certain vitamins : b - complex vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin e are thought to be helpful. also, daily exercise and stress - relief techniques like meditation can help some girls. when it comes to medicine, over - the - counter pain medicines like ibuprofen can relieve achy heads and backs. but for really serious pms pain, see your doctor. he or she might be able to prescribe a different medicine or birth control pills to help with


- the - counter pain medicines like ibuprofen can relieve achy heads and backs. but for really serious pms pain, see your doctor. he or she might be able to prescribe a different medicine or birth control pills to help with many of your pms symptoms. why do some girls get cramps? lots of girls have abdominal cramps during the first few days of their periods. cramps are most likely caused by - dinz ), chemicals your body produces that make the muscles of the uterus contract. the good news is that cramps usually only last a few days. but if you ' re in pain, medicine like ibuprofen may exercise may also make you feel better, possibly because it releases endorphins, chemicals in the body that literally make you feel good. soaking in a warm bath or putting a warm compress on your stomach won ' t make your cramps disappear but may help your muscles relax a little. if you have severe cramps that keep you home from school or from doing stuff with your friends, visit your doctor for advice. why isn ' t my period regular? it can take up to 3 years from the time a girl starts menstruating for her body to develop a regular cycle. even then, what ' s regular varies from person to person. girls ' cycles can range from 21 to 45 days. changing hormone levels might make your period short one month ( such as 2 or 3 days ) and more drawn out ( such as 7 days ) the next. you might skip a few months, get two periods almost right after each other, have a really heavy period, or one so light you almost don ' t notice it. ( if you ' re sexually active and you skip a period, though, you should visit your doctor or a women ' s clinic to make sure you ' re not pregnant. ) can make planning for your period a real hassle. try to keep track of when your last period started, and guess that about 4 weeks from that day you could be due for another. if you ' re worried about wearing that cute dress and suddenly starting your period at school, just make sure you pack protection. carry a pad or tampon in your backpack, and wear a pantiliner to handle the first when it comes to periods, every girl ' s body has a unique ( and unpredictable ) timeline for getting on track. if your period still has not settled into a relatively predictable pattern after 3 years, or if you have four or five regular periods


first when it comes to periods, every girl ' s body has a unique ( and unpredictable ) timeline for getting on track. if your period still has not settled into a relatively predictable pattern after 3 years, or if you have four or five regular periods and then skip your periods for a couple of months, make an appointment with your doctor to check for possible problems. why haven ' t i started my period yet? everybody goes through puberty at different speeds. some girls begin menstruating as early as age 8 or 9 ; others don ' t get going until they ' re 15 or 16. it all depends on your hormones - and your family. want to guess when you ' ll get your period? ask when your mom and grandmothers ( from both sides of your family ) started theirs. when you start puberty is partly linked to genetics. so although there ' s no guarantee that you ' ll follow in their footsteps, your relatives could give you a pretty good clue about your own period. one thing that can delay puberty - and your period - is excessive exercising, usually distance running, ballet, or gymnastics, combined with a poor diet. for exercise to be excessive, it means more than just playing soccer for a couple of hours a few times a week or working out once in a while with an exercise tape. to exercise so much that you delay your period, you would have to train vigorously for several hours a day, most days of the week, and not get enough calories, vitamins, and unless compulsive exercise has postponed your period, there ' s nothing you can do on your own to hurry things along. if you haven ' t started to menstruate by the time you ' re 16, consult your doctor. he or she will probably do a pelvic exam and take a blood test to determine the hormone levels in your body. then the doctor might prescribe hormones to jump - start your even if it seems strange to you, most of the stuff that goes along with a girl ' s period is completely norma. but there are a few conditions that can be more serious. if you suspect you have any of these conditions, see your doctor for advice. is the term doctors use for absence of periods. girls who haven ' t started their periods by the time they are 16 may have primary amenorrhea, usually caused by a hormone imbalance or there ' s also a condition called secondary amenorrhea, when someone who had normal periods stops menstruating for at


their periods by the time they are 16 may have primary amenorrhea, usually caused by a hormone imbalance or there ' s also a condition called secondary amenorrhea, when someone who had normal periods stops menstruating for at least 3 months. low levels of ( gnrh ), which controls ovulation and the menstrual cycle, frequently bring on amenorrhea. stress, anorexia, weight loss or gain, stopping birth control pills, thyroid conditions, and ovarian cysts are examples of things that can throw your hormones out of whack. to get everything back on course, your doctor may use hormone therapy. if a medical condition is affecting your monthly cycles, then treatment of the condition will help to resolve the problem. as mentioned earlier, lots of strenuous exercise combined with a poor diet can also cause amenorrhea. cutting back on exercise and eating a balanced diet with more calories will help correct the problem, but be sure to talk with your doctor as - jee - uh ) is the term doctors use for extremely heavy, prolonged periods. menorrhagia is more than just 1 or 2 days of a heavier - than - average flow. girls who have menorrhagia soak through at least a pad an hour for several hours in a row or have periods that are more than 7 days long. ( clotting during your period is not necessarily a sign of menorrhagia, though - lots of girls, with both heavy and light periods, pass clots when they menstruate. ) the most frequent cause of menorrhagia is an imbalance between the amounts of estrogen and progesterone in the body. because of this imbalance, the - tree - um, the lining of the uterus ) keeps building up. then when the body gets rid of the endometrium during a period, the bleeding is very heavy. many girls have hormone imbalances during puberty, so it ' s not uncommon to experience menorrhagia during the teen years. other cases of heavy bleeding may be caused by thyroid conditions, blood diseases, or inflammation or infections in the vagina or cervix. to help figure out the cause of abnormal bleeding, a doctor can do a pelvic exam, a pap smear, and blood tests. if you do have menorrhagia, it can be treated with hormones, medicine, or removal of


figure out the cause of abnormal bleeding, a doctor can do a pelvic exam, a pap smear, and blood tests. if you do have menorrhagia, it can be treated with hormones, medicine, or removal of any growths in the uterus that may be the cause of excessive extremely painful periods - uh ) is the medical term for very painful periods. primary dysmenorrhea - painful periods that are not caused by a disease or other condition - is more common in teens than secondary dysmenorrhea ( painful periods caused by a disease or the culprit in primary dysmenorrhea is prostaglandin, the same naturally occurring chemical that causes cramps. in large amounts, prostaglandin can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, backaches, diarrhea, and severe cramps when you have your period. fortunately, these symptoms usually only last for a day or two. doctors usually prescribe anti - inflammatory medicines to treat primary dysmenorrhea. as with cramps, exercise, hot water bottles, and birth control pills might also bring some relief. some of the more common conditions that can cause secondary - endometriosis, a condition in which tissue normally found only in the uterus starts to grow outside the uterus pelvic inflammatory disease ( pid ), a type of bacterial infection or growths on the inside wall of the uterus all of these conditions require that a doctor diagnose the problem and then treat you appropriately. what to do if you suspect a problem when you have questions about your period or anything else related to your development, talk to your doctor. this is particularly true if you notice a change in your menstrual cycle. though most period problems turn out to be nothing to worry about, it ' s always good to be safe. see your doctor if : - you have not started your period by the time you are 16. this may indicate that you have a problem that requires medical - you stop getting your period or it becomes really irregular after it has been regular for a while ( like 6 months or more ). this can be a sign that you may have a hormone imbalance or a problem with nutrition, which can harm your body if left - you have very heavy or long periods, especially if you have a short cycle and get your period frequently. in rare cases, lots of blood loss can cause ( iron deficiency ) and leave you feeling really weak and -


how deep is your love for this song? go deeper. humble ( and racist ) beginnings in 1859, bryant ’ s minstrels needed to spice up their act. their material was growing stale ; audiences were tired of the same old song and dance. so the troupe owners asked one of the performers, daniel decatur emmett, to put together a new “ walk - around. ” walk - arounds were audience favorites, high - energy finales in which the cast members took turns trying to out - sing or dance the performer before them. emmett accepted the assignment, and legend has it that within a day he had written “ dixie. ” the song was like many other minstrel show songs of the time. it was narrated by a southern slave who told a tale about “ ole missus ” and her husband will. the specifics of the tale were not important, though. in fact, if you read the lyrics today, it ’ s hard to understand why audiences found them so hilarious. but that ’ s because the humor in minstrel show songs had little to do with the words sung. instead, audiences were entertained by the manner in which the song and dance routines were performed. in minstrel shows, white actors put on blackface by covering their faces with burnt cork and then talked, sang, and danced in a manner believed typical of african slaves. these imitations were grotesque stereotypes, crude and racist. and “ dixie ” was typical of the formula. emmett ’ s narrator sang in the broken english believed typical of slaves ( “ old missus marry will - de - weaber / willium was a gay deceaber ” ), and the words suggested that slaves were fat and happy in their lives ( “ dar ' s buck - wheat cakes an ' ingen ' batter, makes you fat or a little fatter ” ). most important, the song suggested that, contrary to all the talk of reformers and abolitionists, slaves were not interested in trading slavery for freedom. far from it, according to the song : they wished they were “ in dixie, hooray! hooray! ” despite what you may think, though, dan emmett was no friend of slavery — his father worked on the underground railroad. but that did not prevent him from writing a song aimed at tickling the same racist funny bone. nor did it prevent northern audiences from enjoying the song. in fact, shortly after it debuted at mechanics ’ hall in new york city, the song became a national hit. by 1860, people throughout the


aimed at tickling the same racist funny bone. nor did it prevent northern audiences from enjoying the song. in fact, shortly after it debuted at mechanics ’ hall in new york city, the song became a national hit. by 1860, people throughout the country were “ whistlin ’ dixie. ” but almost as quickly as “ dixie ” became a hit, it was surrounded by controversy. southern secessionists, intent on withdrawing from the union now that abraham lincoln had been elected president, embraced the song as an anthem. most of the lyrics were unimportant, but one line in particular resonated with their cause : “ in dixie land i ' ll take my stand to live and die in dixie. ” and so when south carolinians met in a special convention to decide whether to withdraw from the union, a band played “ dixie ” every time a delegate voted in favor of secession. and two months later, when jefferson davis was inaugurated president of the confederate states of america, the band also played “ dixie. ” by the time the civil war had commenced, “ dixie ” was the confederacy ’ s unofficial anthem. one confederate officer, lester pike, even wrote a new set of lyrics, transforming the song into a battle cry : southrons, hear your country call you up, lest worse than death befall you to arms! to arms! to arms, in dixie it ’ s easy to see why southerners believed it was their song. after all, the song ’ s setting was a southern plantation. and “ dixie ” was a common nickname for the south, although it ’ s not exactly clear why. some believe the label may have come from ten - dollar bank notes circulated by a new orleans bank. referred to as “ dix ” — french for ten — they were only accepted as payment for transactions in regions close to new orleans. in other words, “ dixie land ” was that part of the deep south that honored these notes as tender. others argue, however, that dixie became another name for the south after charles mason and jeremiah dixon completed their survey in 1773, establishing the border between pennsylvania and virginia. since slavery was soon abolished in pennsylvania, the mason - dixon line became the border between free and slave states. yet others have argued that “ dixie land ” was a paradise - like plantation owned by a generous manhattan slave - owner named “ mr. dix ” ( or in some places “ mr. dixy ” or “ mr. dixie ” ) in the early part of the century, before slavery became illegal


a paradise - like plantation owned by a generous manhattan slave - owner named “ mr. dix ” ( or in some places “ mr. dixy ” or “ mr. dixie ” ) in the early part of the century, before slavery became illegal in new york in 1827. allegedly rumors circulated around that time among slaves that he was a master so kind that his own slaves refused to leave or run away. hence “ dixie land ” grew to be known as a place of refuge and happiness for slaves somewhere in the north. war of the words however it originated, folks came to associate dixie with the south, and “ dixie land ” became known as a distinctive region that had built its economy on slave labor and that stretched from virginia south to florida and west to texas. but that did not prevent northerners from arguing that they had an equal claim on the song. after all, it had been written by a northerner ( emmett was from ohio ) and debuted in a northern city ( new york was about as union as it gets ). heck, even abe lincoln loved “ dixie ; ” he had used it regularly on whistle stops during his 1860 campaign. and so after southerners adopted the song for their secession soundtrack, northerner francis j. crosby answered with a set of pro - union lyrics : on! ye patriots to the battle hear fort moultrie ' s canon rattle then away, then away, then away to the fight! go meet those southern traitors with iron will and should your courage falter boys remember bunker hill hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! the stars and stripes forever! hurrah! hurrah! our union shall not sever! in crosby ’ s rendition, northern soldiers were told that their battle against southern rebellion was actually part of a larger war launched in 1775. fort moultrie was the patriot fort outside charleston, south carolina, that had played such a dramatic role in the defense of the city against british invaders during the american revolution. now that south carolina was the center of insurrection, crosby urged northern soldiers to remember these nation - founding battles — fort moultrie and bunker hill — and meet the southern traitors with an iron will. they were fighting to preserve the union that earlier patriots had secured through revolution ; if they adopted their forefathers ’ courage, “ our union shall not sever. ” in the end, the north won the musical battle as well as the military war. shortly after announcing the surrender of confederate general robert e. lee, lincoln ordered the band to


forefathers ’ courage, “ our union shall not sever. ” in the end, the north won the musical battle as well as the military war. shortly after announcing the surrender of confederate general robert e. lee, lincoln ordered the band to strike up “ dixie. ” the song, he said, had been “ fairly captured. ” while some few may say lincoln had the song played as a way to rub in his victory, and others say that he told the band to play “ dixie ” because he missed hearing it himself, most historians agree that it was in fact part of a broader political plan. once the war was over, lincoln wanted nothing more than the successful reunion of two american peoples ravaged by war. having the band play “ dixie ” was symbolic of his desire to bring the broken pieces of their great nation back together. just a little bit of history repeating but all of the controversy surrounding the song did not end when lee surrendered at appomattox courthouse. roughly a century later, “ dixie ” excited a new set of arguments. this second round of debates began in the 1960s when african american students at southern universities objected to the playing of “ dixie ” at school events. the song was implicitly racist, they argued, rooted in the minstrel tradition that grotesquely mocked slaves and their degraded lives. and as the anthem of the confederacy, the song represented the south ’ s attempts to retain several million african americans in perpetual bondage. nonsense, answered the songs ’ defenders ; “ dixie ” was just a harmless expression of southern heritage. however it might have originated or been heard 100 years before, it had become nothing more than a celebration of the south, a proud and distinctive part of america. banning “ dixie, ” they said, was “ political correctness ” run wild, an overly sensitive reaction to an important expression of the south ’ s culture and history. the argument was not restricted to college campuses. several politicians joined the students in arguing that the song should be banned from public ceremonies, just as many countered that the song was a harmless piece of americana. even supreme court chief justice william rehnquist included “ dixie ” on the song list for the sing - along he hosted every year at a legal conference. so which is it? is the song a racist and painful expression of past sins? or is it an important piece of american history and culture, an expression of the “ old south ” that can be sung without endorsing the attitudes that may have originally lain beneath it? the debate continues to be wage


expression of past sins? or is it an important piece of american history and culture, an expression of the “ old south ” that can be sung without endorsing the attitudes that may have originally lain beneath it? the debate continues to be waged today, and some of these questions are more easily answered than others. despite 19th - century attempts to rewrite the song ’ s history, “ dixie ” is not exactly a positive expression of the old south. it was not written on some southern porch, nor did it emerge from some ancient folk melody. it was written by a northerner and first performed in a new york theater, and many historians argue that it was intended to be an ironic parody of southern values, a joke at the plantation owners ’ expense. but clearly the south had a different idea of what the song meant. it was not only set within southern culture, it became an anthem as the confederacy launched its war for separation from the union ( another reason it should no longer be celebrated, some say ). there ’ s no denying the racist tone of the old minstrel song. with its crude portrait of slaves and cheery view of slave life, the song celebrates rather than mourns a tragic part of american history. but on the other hand, the part of the song most commonly sung today is the refrain, which, in isolation, makes a more simple statement : “ i wish i was in dixie, hooray! hooray! ” old song, new views on top of all the other controversy surrounding “ dixie, recent research suggests that the song may be representative of a different legacy of racism : america ’ s failure for centuries to acknowledge all of the contributions to american life made by african americans. according to some historians, daniel emmett did not actually write the song ; they claim he learned “ dixie ” from members of the snowden family band, a group of african american performers that lived near his family farm in ohio. there ’ s plenty of evidence to suggest that emmett knew the snowdens ; in fact, later in his career he actually performed alongside them. and the snowden family has long maintained that their ancestors wrote the famous minstrel hit, although no claims were made to this effect during emmett ’ s lifetime. not every music historian has embraced this theory. in fact, most argue that the evidence is more circumstantial than verifiable. yet the possibility serves as a reminder that african americans ’ contributions to our national culture were buried for centuries. and if ultimately proven true,


theory. in fact, most argue that the evidence is more circumstantial than verifiable. yet the possibility serves as a reminder that african americans ’ contributions to our national culture were buried for centuries. and if ultimately proven true, the snowdens ’ authorship would provide yet another, albeit ironic, example of the enormous impact african americans made not only on american music, but also southern identity. it seems as though we may be in the same place as we were 150 years ago in terms of the song ’ s place in american society. is “ dixie ” another reminder of america ’ s painful past that should be mourned rather than celebrated? or is it an important expression of southern culture that deserves to be honored and performed? ultimately, it ’ s for you to decide. in the meantime, you might begin by asking a different set of questions. what sort of historical artifact is the song? what does it tell us about american culture and the ways in which 19th - century americans composed and used music? what does it say about american popular entertainment and both northern and southern audiences? what does the song say about its composer, a northerner and son of an abolitionist? what does it say about abe lincoln? and what might it say about the snowdens and other african american families like them? to play or not to play “ dixie ” — somehow that is still the question. next page : technique previous page : lyrics


brora : the industrial capital of sutherland a small pocket of jurassic rocks containing coal on the east coast of sutherland at brora gave rise to its place in history as the industrial capital of the highlands. coal was mined here for 400 years. the first reference to coal in brora occurs in a sutherland charter of 1529. the last pit closed in 1974. coal powered a range of local industries including brickworks, textile making, distilleries and of course salt panning. no trace of the coal industry upon which the one - time prosperity of brora so largely depended, now remains. “ the ancient glory of brora... laid bare ” these words from the inverness advertiser in 1869 were reporting an event in which “ the sand banks along the shore have been considerably encroached upon, and at port cheaniraidh ( winter port ), a mile to the west of the river, the action of the sea against the banks has laid bare a row of buildings which must have been for ages lain imbedded in the sea … numbers of people flock to visit this long hidden relic of the ancient glory of brora ”. read more about recent uncovering of long hidden buildings and new discoveries about brora ’ s former salt pan sites in our archaeology pages. local participation and events are the foundation and the strength of the brora saltpans project. find out more - and find yourself! on our gallery pages.


paper recycling programme environmental responsibility is fundamental to shred - it ’ s corporate mission and values. once materials have been shredded on site at a customer ’ s facility, they are subsequently baled and recycled into a variety of useful paper products. this process ensures that our customers ’ confidential information is always disposed of in the most secure way possible, whilst helping save the environment in the process. for every two security consoles filled with paper, one tree is saved through the recycling process. in 2008, shred - it ’ s uk recycling programme saved over 630, 000 trees, through the responsible recycling of 35, 000 tonnes of paper. so if recycling is part of your organisation ’ s environmental policy, we can help you fulfil your green commitments. at the end of each year we provide our regularly - scheduled shred clients with an environmental certificate indicating the number of trees saved by using shred - it ’ s services. shred - it trucks and eco - friendly document shredding shred - it uses environmentally friendly hydraulic fluids ( environ mv 32 ) in all of our new shredding vehicles which are : - inherently biodegradable - non - toxic, non - carcinogenic, low odour - contain no heavy metals that contaminate ground and waste waters - have a longer life than vegetable - oil - based fluids which decreases consumption shred - it also uses “ idle down ” in our new technology as part of our eco - friendly paper shredding. all of our new technology meets euro 5 emission standards and use adblue® technology to provide cleaner emissions. all of our security consoles are constructed with 100 % recycled - wood particle board. shred - it is continually developing new technologies and processes to help further reduce our emissions, fuel consumption and carbon footprint. interested in a greener tomorrow? want to see how paper shredding helps save the environment? for more information on our commitment to the environment, download our environmental fact sheet. contact us today to find out how paper shredding can help save the environment – and stay secure in the process.


do it when you ' re 18! now that you are 18, make sure you have your say – use your right to vote. if you don ’ t you will lose your chance to influence the way things are run in the country. you can vote : - when you ' re 18 and have registered to vote. - you also need to be a british, irish, commonwealth or european union citizen. remember you can only vote at elections if your name appears in the register of electors. how do you register? an electoral registration form is sent to every household in september / october every year. make sure your name is included on this form before it is returned to us. you should be included on this form if you are : - 16 years of age or over ( as the register of electors runs from 1st december to 30th november every year we need the dates of birth of persons just under 18 to make sure they are on the register in time for them to vote ). although your name may appear on the register of electors before you are 18 you will not be allowed to vote until you are 18. - a british, irish, commonwealth or european union citizen the information we receive on the registration forms returned from each household is then transferred into a list and is called the electoral register. this register is published every year on the 1st december. if you move house after the register has been compiled you can apply to have your details changed by completing a rolling registration form. there are two variations of this register one is called the full register and the other is the edited register. the full register is everyone who is registered to vote. it is used for elections and by certain organisations to check credit applications and to stop crime. the edited register is some of the people who are registered to vote. you can choose if you want to be on this register or not by ticking a box on the registration form that ’ s sent to your home. anyone can purchase this register and use it for whatever purpose. some points to remember - it is a legal requirement to register to vote. - it is not compulsory to vote but it is to register to vote. - you must register annually. - if you apply for credit, credit reference agencies can use the register to check your details and if you are not registered you may be refused credit.


bombay ( mumbai ) was originally established on seven islets off the coast of india but the separating waterways have been filled in to connect these islands to each other and to the much larger salsette island. now the site of the city is essentially a peninsula ( although technically still an island ). a bridge across thana creek brings the extensive development on the mainland into the metropolitan area of bombay. what is now mumbai was known to the greek ptolomy as heptanesia, " seven islands. " but in even more ancient times the area was known for the temple to the goddess mumba, a consort of shiva. the name bombay stems from the 16th century when the portuguese acquired control of the area. bombay is a corruption of mumbai. the portuguese monarchy transferred control of the area to the british monarchy in 1661 a part of the dowry of the sister of of the portuguese king when she married king charles ii of england. the monarchy transferred control in 1668 to the east india company. initially bombay was far less important to the east india company than its trading stations in calcutta and madras. but bombay began to grow as a result of refugees from the region seeking the protection that the british could provide. over the years bombay grew to be the most important center of trade, commerce, manufacturing and finance for india. bombay was particularly important in the cotton textile industry in the 19th century, but that industry is now less significant. bombay has well - developed industries in vehicles, chemicals, electronics, paper making, publishing and food processing. bombay is the home of the reserve bank of india, the central bank of the nation. private banking is also concentrated in bombay. in effect, bombay is the new york and chicago of india. home page of thayer watkins


the autocad command system : the first thing to understand about autocad is how the command system operates. everything in autocad is achieved by issuing a command. generally, commands are entered by : in some cases, a particular command can be entered in any one of those three ways depending on your personal preference. to complicate the matter further, some commands can be typed in with an abbreviated alias, which is often the quickest way to get the command started. once a command has been issued, autocad displays a prompt ( or instruction ) on the command line indicating your options for proceeding with that command. to see how the command process operates, watch the command line as you click on any toolbar button. you will see the corresponding command printed at the command prompt and then, as autocad responds to the command, it will display some kind of instruction or prompt ( on the same line ) and then wait for you to respond. remember to press the key if you wish to cancel the command ( unless you want to carry it through to see what happens ). the command line prompt always follows the same “ pattern ”. autocad first tells you what it expects you to do ( “ enter a point ”, “ type in a value ”, etc ). if there are other alternative actions you can take as part of that command sequence, then those are listed next within square brackets, each separated by a slash character. you can select any of those alternative options by typing the capitalized letters only of the option. at the end of the prompt line, if appropriate, autocad displays the default answer to the prompt within angle brackets. if you simply press the enter key, autocad will use that default value. to develop your understanding of this process further, choose any of the drawing tools, click the button while watching the command prompt, and then pick points in the drawing area in response to the prompts. you should be able to draw things with very little further explanation!


when selecting a solar electric back power system for your home or business, it is important to know approximately how much power you will need to have available to power emergency loads during a blackout. unlike an offgrid solar system which needs to replenish the amount of power consumed with available sunlight within each day that the system is operating. a backup power system need only supply power for the anticipated duration of a blackout, which in most cases is only a few hours. in fact in most cases, solar panels are not necessary in such a system because the backup power system ' s batteries can be recharged in anticipation of the next power failure by using utility power once it has returned to normal operation. the only advantage that solar panels would serve in such a system would be in the event that a prolonged outage ( more than 24 hours ) should occur. in a typical backup power system, batteries store the energy that is needed to power the designated emergency loads for the pre - determine period of time. just like a small ups ( uninterruptible power supply ) for your computer can supply power for 5 to 15 minutes allowing you time to safely shut you computer off, a backup power system supplies power but in this case for hours or even days, allowing you to operate your home or business until the power has returned. in order to select the appropriate system for your backup power needs, it is important to match your anticipated power consumption with your back up system ' s battery bank capacity. to correctly size a system for your home or business you must first determine the wattage of each item that you wish to power during a power failure and also determine how long each item will run during the power failure. for example a 60 watt light bulb that is used for 5 hours will consume 300 watt hours. watts multiplied by time is equal to watt hours. a microwave oven that consumes 800 watts that runs for 15 minutes, consumes 200 watt hours, 800 watts times. 25 hours equals 200 watt hours. so to correctly size a system, simply make a list of each item that you intend to run. next to each item write down it ' s power consumption in watts and next to that write down the amount of time that the item will run during the power failure, then multiply the watts of the item by the amount of time that it will run and write that number down in the last column. after you have calculated the watt hour consumption for each item, simply add each item ' s watt hour rating together and you ' ll have your total consumption


item by the amount of time that it will run and write that number down in the last column. after you have calculated the watt hour consumption for each item, simply add each item ' s watt hour rating together and you ' ll have your total consumption.. for example : once we have this information, it ' s a simple matter to match the number of batteries that you will need in order to store enough power for what you choosing an inverter for your backup power system dc to ac inverters are available as inverter units only, or may have additional circuits added that allows them to charge batteries when an external ac source is fed into the inverter. this type of configuration is know as an inverter / charger. in addition to the charger circuit, these units will typically include a device known as an ac transfer switch. the advantage to purchasing an inverter / charger with transfer switch is that it can function as a highly reliable automatic power backup unit or ups. when the utility company is operating normally the inverter / charger passes the utility company power through its internal transfer switch to your appliances and maintains a charge on your battery bank. as soon as the utility power fails, the inverter automatically stops charging the battery bank and begins producing its own ac power which is passed on to your appliances through its internal ac when the utility power returns, the inverter goes back to charging the batteries and again passes the utility power though the transfer switch to your appliances. most inverter / chargers switch from utility power to inverter power and back again so fast that most of your appliances will hardly miss a beat. sizing the wattage rating of an inverter for your backup system is a simple matter of determining the total number of appliances that you would typically be operating on a concurrent basis, and adding a buffer of at least 500 watts. in other words if there was a possibility that you would have your 600 watt microwave, a 200 watts coffee maker and a 200 watt stereo running at the same time, you would be drawing 1000 watts, then you should choose a 1500 watt inverter. an inverter should never be run at it ' s maximum rating for prolonged periods of time, doing so will shorten the life of the inverter. another issue to consider is the amount of surge current that your appliances draws. any appliance that uses a transformer, motor or other magnetic device draws what is known as surge current at startup. these devices are otherwise known


the inverter. another issue to consider is the amount of surge current that your appliances draws. any appliance that uses a transformer, motor or other magnetic device draws what is known as surge current at startup. these devices are otherwise known as inductors. inductors appose the flow of electrical current. when an inductor is first energized there is a great degree of inertia that must be overcome for the magnetic field which surrounds the inductor to reach it ' s maximum field. just as it ' s difficult to initially push a car by hand that is at rest and gets easier to push as it gets going. initially starting an inductor takes a great deal of current to get it started but backs off on the current after it gets going. devices such as microwave ovens, refrigerator compressors, fan motors and large transformer based appliances can draw from 3 to 6 times it ' s normal wattage in an initial surge of current. this initial surge of current typically only lasts milliseconds but it ' s enough to shut down an inverter if it ' s not sized properly. thus it ' s important to choose an inverter that has enough surge capacity to start such appliances. for example a meager 600 watt microwave oven will typically require a 2000 watt inverter just to get it started. if all of this information seems a little overwhelming, don ' t worry our friendly knowledgeable staff are here to help you every step of and finally, be cautious when purchasing a backup power system for your home or place of the internet. get to know who you ' re dealing with. many of the backup power kits that are available on the internet are actually home made configurations. many websites on the internet that would appear to be large reputable companies are actually home based affairs that operate from an impossible to trace pob ( po box ). remember, you ' re about to give this individual your personal information and more importantly your credit card number. is his company solvent? does he have liability insurance? does he really have the items that you ' re about to purchase in stock? does he have any stock? with the advent of the energy crisis, dozens of home based dealers with little or no formal training or experience have cropped up on the internet. even if you don ' t live nearby, ask the dealer if you can get directions to his place of business so you can stop by and take a look at some products. if you can ' t get directions or


problems of philosophy chapter 5 - knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description after distinguishing two types of knowledge, knowledge of things and knowledge of truths, russell devotes this fifth chapter to an elucidation of knowledge of things. he further distinguishes two types of knowledge of things, knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. we have knowledge by acquaintance when we are directly aware of a thing, without any inference. we are immediately conscious and acquainted with a color or hardness of a table before us, our sense - data. since acquaintance with things is logically independent from any knowledge of truths, we can be acquainted with something immediately without knowing any truth about it. i can know the color of a table " perfectly and completely when i see it " and not know any truth about the color in itself. the other type of knowledge of things is called knowledge by description. when we say we have knowledge of the table itself, a physical object, we refer to a kind of knowledge other than immediate, direct knowledge. " the physical object which causes such - and - such sense - data " is a phrase that describes the table by way of sense - data. we only have a description of the table. knowledge by description is predicated on something with which we are acquainted, sense - data, and some knowledge of truths, like knowing that " such - and - such sense - data are caused by the physical object. " thus, knowledge by description allows us to infer knowledge about the actual world via the things that can be known to us, things with which we have direct acquaintance ( our subjective sense - data ). according to this outline, knowledge by acquaintance forms the bedrock for all of our other knowledge. sense - data is not the only instance of things with which we can be immediately acquainted. for how would we recall the past, russell argues, if we could only know what was immediately present to our senses. beyond sense - data, we also have " acquaintance by memory. " remembering what we were immediately aware of makes it so that we are still immediately aware of that past, perceived thing. we may therefore access many past things with the same requisite immediacy. beyond sense - data and memories, we possess " acquaintance by introspection. " when we are aware of an awareness, like in the case of hunger, " my desiring food " becomes an object of acquaintance. introspective acquaintance is a kind of acquaintance with our own minds that may be understood as self - consciousness. however, this self - consciousness is really more


in the case of hunger, " my desiring food " becomes an object of acquaintance. introspective acquaintance is a kind of acquaintance with our own minds that may be understood as self - consciousness. however, this self - consciousness is really more like a consciousness of a feeling or a particular thought ; the awareness rarely includes the explicit use of " i, " which would identify the self as a subject. russell abandons this strand of knowledge, knowledge of the self, as a probable but unclear dimension of acquaintance. russell summarizes our acquaintance with things as follows : " we have acquaintance in sensation with the data of the outer senses, and in introspection with the data of what may be called the inner sense — thoughts, feelings, desires, etc. ; we have acquaintance in memory with things which have been data either of the outer senses or of the inner sense. further, it is probable, though not certain, that we have acquaintance with self, as that which is aware of things or has desires towards things. " all these objects of acquaintance are particulars, concrete, existing things. russell cautions that we can also have acquaintance with abstract, general ideas called universals. he addresses universals more fully later in chapter 9. russell allocates the rest of the chapter to explaining how the complicated theory of knowledge by description actually works. the most conspicuous things that are known to us by description are physical objects and other people ' s minds. we approach a case of having knowledge by description when we know " that there is an object answering to a definite description, though we are not acquainted with any such object. " russell offers several illustrations in the service of understanding knowledge by description. he claims that it is important to understand this kind of knowledge because our language uses depends so heavily on it. when we say common words or proper names, we are really relying on the meanings implicit in descriptive knowledge. the thought connoted by the use of a proper name can only really be explicitly expressed through a description or proposition. bismarck, or " the first chancellor of the german empire, " is russell ' s most cogent example. imagine that there is a proposition, or statement, made about bismarck. if bismarck is the speaker, admitting that he has a kind of direct acquaintance with his own self, bismarck might have voiced his name in order to make a self - referential judgment, of which his name is a constituent. in this simplest case, the " proper name has the direct use which it always wishes to have, as simply


own self, bismarck might have voiced his name in order to make a self - referential judgment, of which his name is a constituent. in this simplest case, the " proper name has the direct use which it always wishes to have, as simply standing for a certain object, and not for a description of the object. " if one of bismarck ' s friends who knew him directly was the speaker of the statement, then we would say that the speaker had knowledge by description. the speaker is acquainted with sense - data which he infers corresponds with bismarck ' s body. the body or physical object representing the mind is " only known as the body and the mind connected with these sense - data, " which is the vital description. since the sense - data corresponding to bismarck change from moment to moment and with perspective, the speaker knows which various descriptions are valid. still more removed from direct acquaintance, imagine that someone like you or i comes along and makes a statement about bismarck that is a description based on a " more or less vague mass of historical knowledge. " we say that bismarck was the " first chancellor of the german empire. " in order to make a valid description applicable to the physical object, bismarck ' s body, we must find a relation between some particular with which we have acquaintance and the physical object, the particular with which we wish to have an indirect acquaintance. we must make such a reference in order to secure a meaningful description. to usefully distinguish particulars from universals, russell posits the example of " the most long - lived of men, " a description which wholly consists of universals. we assume that the description must apply to some man, but we have no way of inferring any judgment about him. russell remarks, " all knowledge of truths, as we shall show, demands acquaintance with things which are of an essentially different character from sense - data, the things which are sometimes called ' abstract ideas ', but which we shall call ' universals '. " the description composed only of universals gives no knowledge by acquaintance with which we might anchor an inference about the longest - lived man. a further statement about bismarck, like " the first chancellor of the german empire was an astute diplomatist, " is a statement that contains particulars and asserts a judgment that we can only make in virtue of some acquaintance ( like something heard or read ). statements about things known by description function in our language as statements about the " actual thing described ; " that is, we intend to refer to that thing.


judgment that we can only make in virtue of some acquaintance ( like something heard or read ). statements about things known by description function in our language as statements about the " actual thing described ; " that is, we intend to refer to that thing. we intend to say something with the direct authority that only bismarck himself could have when he makes a statement about himself, something with which he has direct acquaintance. yet, there is a spectrum of removal from acquaintance with the relevant particulars : from bismarck himself, " there is bismarck to people who knew him ; bismarck to those who only know of him through history " and at a far end of the spectrum " the longest lived of men. " at the latter end, we can only make propositions that are logically deducible from universals, and at the former end, we come as close as possible to direct acquaintance and can make many propositions identifying the actual object. it is now clear how knowledge gained by description is reducible to knowledge by acquaintance. russell calls this observation his fundamental principle in the study of " propositions containing descriptions " : " every proposition which we can understand must be composed wholly of constituents with which we are acquainted. " indirect knowledge of some particulars seems necessary if we are to expressively attach meanings to the words we commonly use. when we say something referring to julius caesar, we clearly have no direct acquaintance with the man. rather, we are thinking of such descriptions as " the man who was assassinated on the ides of march " or " the founder of the roman empire. " since we have no way of being directly acquainted with julius caesar, our knowledge by description allows us to gain knowledge of " things which we have never experienced. " it allows us to overstep the boundaries of our private, immediate experiences and engage a public knowledge and public language. this knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description theory was a famous epistemological problem - solver for russell. its innovative character allowed him to shift to his moderate realism, a realism ruled by a more definite categorization of objects. it is a theory of knowledge that considers our practice of language to be meaningful and worthy of detailed analysis. russell contemplates how we construct a sense of meaning about objects remote from our experience. the realm of acquaintance offers the most secure references for our understanding of the world. knowledge by description allows us to draw inferences from our realm of acquaintance but leaves us in a more vulnerable position. since knowledge by description also depends on truths, we are prone to


of acquaintance offers the most secure references for our understanding of the world. knowledge by description allows us to draw inferences from our realm of acquaintance but leaves us in a more vulnerable position. since knowledge by description also depends on truths, we are prone to error about our descriptive knowledge if we are somehow mistaken about a proposition that we have taken to be true. critics of this theory have held that russell ' s hypothesis of knowledge by description is confusing. his comments when defining sense - data, that the physical world is unknowable to us, contradict his theory of knowledge by descriptions. he implies that " knowledge by description " is not really a form of knowledge since we can only know those things with which we are acquainted and we cannot be acquainted with physical objects. russell ' s theory amounts to the proposition that our acquaintance with mental objects appears related in a distant way to physical objects and renders us obliquely acquainted with the physical world. sense - data are our subjective representations of the external world, and they negotiate this indirect contact. while innovative, russell ' s theory of knowledge by description is not an attractive theory of knowledge. it is clearly unappealing because our impressions of the real world, on his view, are commensurate with muddy representations of reality. though we have direct access to these representations, it seems impossible to have any kind of direct experience of reality. reality, rather, consists in unconscious, inferential pieces of reasoning. readers ' notes allow users to add their own analysis and insights to our sparknotes — and to discuss those ideas with one another. have a novel take or think we left something out? add a readers ' note!


the idea that many athletes need to learn to breathe properly might sound ridiculous at first. but many young athletes are breathing improperly during their workouts, thus failing to maximize their strength training. think of how many bright red faces you ’ ve seen at the gym. that doesn ’ t necessarily mean their owners are having a great workout. it could mean they ’ re breathing backwards, or not at all. “ breathing backwards ” refers to those who take in a big gulp of air as they struggle to lift the weight, exhaling after they finally get to the top of the exercise. “ not at all ” refers to the valsalva maneuver, which is the practice of forcefully exhaling against a closed airway. weightlifters commonly use this technique, believing the trapped air in the body helps stabilize the spine during a lift, preventing injury. this is actually dangerously inaccurate. in fact, “ a study published in the june 1986 issue of the journal spine found that the valsalva maneuver actually increases the pressure of the spine, ” says personal trainer and livestrong. com contributor kimberly wonderly. “ dr. michael hall, a family physician for dubois regional medical center in dubois, pennsylvania, states that the valsalva maneuver increases your risk of stroke, raises the amount of pressure within your eyes and greatly elevates your blood pressure. ” breathing in this manner also risks dizziness and fatigue, either of which would probably end your workout early. wonderly continues, “ proper breathing brings focus to both your breath and your body, which allows your body to signal you if a lift poses a risk of injury through improper form or too much resistance. ” let ’ s break down proper breathing techniques for the bench press as an example of when you should inhale and exhale : in short, the rule is to exhale when you exert force [ push the bar ] and inhale as you relax [ lower the bar ]. this pattern of breathing will allow you to focus on your form and engage the muscles needed to complete the exercise. like a sport - specific skill, proper breathing can take time and practice to master. but in the end, it ’ s worth it, and you ’ ll notice benefits in your workouts. for more help in mastering your breathing technique during strength training, tweet us at @ stackmedia.


a concussion is a minor traumatic brain injury that may occur when the head hits an object, or a moving object strikes the head. it can affect how the brain works for a while. a concussion can lead to a bad headache, changes in alertness, or loss of consciousness. causes, incidence, and risk factors : a concussion can result from a fall, sports activities, or car accidents. a big movement of the brain ( called jarring ) in any direction can cause a person to lose alertness ( become unconscious ). how long the person stays unconscious may be a sign of the severity of the concussion. concussions do not always result in loss of consciousness. most people who have a concussion never pass out. but they may describe seeing all white, black, or stars. a person can also have a concussion and not realize it. symptoms of a concussion range from mild to severe. they can include : - acting confused, feeling spacey, or not thinking straight - being drowsy, hard to wake up, or similar changes loss of consciousness - memory loss ( amnesia ) of events before the injury or right after - nausea and vomiting - seeing flashing lights - feeling like you have " lost time " the following are emergency symptoms of a concussion. seek medical care right away if there are : - changes in alertness and consciousness - confusion that does not go away - muscle weakness on one or both sides - persistent confusion - pupils of the eyes that are not equal in size - remaining unconsciousness ( coma ) - repeated vomiting - unequal pupils - unusual eye movements - walking or balance problems - unconsciousness ( coma ) that continues head injuries that cause a concussion often occur with injury to the neck and spine. take special care when moving people who have had a head injury. while recovering from a concussion, the person may : - be withdrawn, easily upset, or confused - have a hard time with tasks that require remembering or concentrating - have mild headaches - be less tolerant of noise - be very tired signs and tests : the doctor will perform a physical exam. the person ' s nervous system will be checked. there may be changes in the person ' s pupil size, thinking ability, coordination, and reflexes. tests that may be ordered include : a more serious head injury that involves bleeding or brain damage must be treated in a hospital. for a mild head injury no treatment may be needed. but be aware that the symptoms of a head injury can show up later. - friends or family may need to keep an eye on adults for symptoms after