what ducks endure when you think of a duck, most likely the image in your mind would be of one on water. children are told that ducks live near bodies of water because they spend a lot of time on it. according to zoologist juliet gellatley, ducks spend 80 % of their time on water since they play, swim and feed on it. so important is water for ducks that they can go blind if they are unable to rinse their eyes with it. god crated them to be on in spite of our knowledge about what ducks need and how they behave, most of the 18 million ducks raised for meat in the u. k. have no access to water for bathing and 90 % of them are intensively confined. a report by the animal protection organization viva! states that the industry keeps 10, 000 birds to a shed with a stock density of about eight birds per square meter ( 10. 8 square feet ). according to producers, who have no regard for the lives of these animals, say that such access to water would spread disease. to us, christians, to deprive an animal of an essential god - give need – in this case water - is to disobey god. although the u. k. ’ s department for environment, food and rural affairs ( defra ) and the council of europe recommend that ducks have enough water to cover their heads and splash their backs, viva! says this rarely occurs and cannot be enforced. the duck industry is said to be aware of the criticism and close to finalizing a code of practice. to read the full article please visit your question and comments are welcome


the fall of sejanus in a. d. 31 aroused considerable controversy in the ancient sources and has also continued to do so in modern research. indeed, questions of sejanus ’ intentions and of the identification of his allies and enemies still remain of great interest. no small part of this speculation concerns antonia minor, who is considered by an increasing number of scholars to have provided tiberius with the critical information which led directly to the fall of sejanus. in one recent article on. the family connections of sejanus, it has been suggested that antonia minor, as a relative of sejanus and a figure of no little influence, could have played a significant role not only in his fall but also in his rise to power. the relationship between the two, the subject of much conjecture but little analysis, deserves to be considered in detail. the following discussion will consist of three parts : i. ) the alleged relationship between antonia and sejanus before 31, ii. ) the tradition that stresses antonia ’ s importance in the fall of sejanus, and iii. ) based on the conclusions of the first two sections, a reconstruction of the process by which antonia became associated with the events of 31. it will here be argued that antonia did not, in all probability, provide tiberius with the critical information about the intentions of sejanus. her importance in the tradition is an invention of the claudian and flavian periods. historia : zeitschrift fur alte geschichte, bd. 24, h. 1 ( 1975 )


proterogyrinus - wiki from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [ photo ] proterogyrinus - reconstruction autor - bogdanov email @ example. com fossil range : carboniferous proterogyrinus was an anthracosaur which lived in the carboniferous period. its name is greek for " earlier tadpole ". during the late carboniferous period ( 323 - 290 million years ago ), the amphibians were an exciting and diverse group of animals that had come to dominate the waterlogged forest world. proterogyrinus was one of the largest amphibians, and was perfectly adapted for life in the swamps. it was a top predator that hunted both on land and in the water. its powerful jaws had sharp teeth could handle animals that were quite large, such as fish, reptiles, and other amphibians. most carboniferous amphibians were good swimmers and could move fast through the rivers, lakes, and bogs surrounding the lowland forests, but also could walk on land like some amphibians today. many species either stayed in the water at all times or could only wriggle through the mud on the banks ; few ( including proterogyrinus ) ventured further into the forest. in popular culture proterogyrinus also appeared in walking with monsters. it was shown acting like a crocodile ; basking on the shorelines and leaping out of the water similar to modern alligators to catch a meganeura. in the episode, it fought an arthropleura and won when the arthopleura came down from rearing and impaled itself on a bush stump. | the text in this page is based on the copyrighted wikipedia article shown in above url. it is used under the gnu free documentation license. you may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the gfdl. |


seychelles paradise - flycatcher ( terpsiphone corvina ) - wiki seychelles paradise flycatcher from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the seychelles paradise - flycatcher ( terpsiphone corvina ) is a rare bird from the genus of paradise - flycatchers ( terpsiphone ) within the subfamily monarchinae. it is endemic to the seychelles. the length of the males is about 20 cm. in addition there are two long black central tail feathers which can reach a length of 30 cm. the females can reach a length between 16 and 18 cm ( including the tail ). the males are entirely glossy black with a deep blue sheen. the upperparts of the females including wings and tail are reddish brown. the underparts are pale cream white. facial skin, bill, and legs are blue. it lives in the veuve nature reserve on la digue, seychelles where it inhabits dense calophyllum forests. it preys on insects in flight or from a perch. it is also feed on larvaes and spiders. the oval bowl - shaped nest is build on branches and consists of twigs, palm fibre, and spider webs. | the text in this page is based on the copyrighted wikipedia article shown in above url. it is used under the gnu free documentation license. you may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the gfdl. |


has german chancellor angela merkel figured out something barack obama hasn ’ t? as recently as last june, her government had set a goal that by 2020, renewable energy ( vis., wind and solar ) would comprise 35 % of germany ’ s electricity production. in the first half of 2012 ( ending that june ), germany already was generating 25 % of its electricity from wind and solar, among other renewables. then some other things became apparent. germany ’ s renewable power act requires power companies to buy wind - and solar - originated electricity in significant quantities. their largest industrial electricity users consume 18 % of the electricity produced, however, they pay only 0. 3 % of the extra costs generated by those required buys — german taxpayers pay the difference. the power grid hasn ’ t kept up with the growth in alternative energy sources — like the offshore windparks in the baltic and north seas off the country ’ s north coast. many of those projects are at a standstill, with no way to deliver the power they generate to the mainland. that renewable energy act provides incentives to build wind turbines, but it doesn ’ t provide incentives to build the natural gas - fired power plants the country needs for when the sun isn ’ t shining and the wind isn ’ t blowing ( see the figure ). withal, german consumers are faced with skyrocketing electricity bills. now merkel is changing her mind. she ; her environment minister, peter altmaier ; and her economy minister, philipp rosler are meeting with industry and union representatives “ to discuss the rising costs for consumers. in the run up to that meeting, altmaier has indicated that he hopes to … put the brakes on the current rush toward renewables. ” in the us, we have these : green energy subsidies ( guaranteed loans, tax credits ) and a federal requirement that power companies buy power from renewable energy producers. off the new england coast, special interests found the views from their beach front manses would be offended by wind farms, and the potential farms themselves were declared a “ hazard ” to aircraft, so they are not even being built. in central california, environmentalists won ’ t allow some solar farms to be built and won ’ t allow the power cables that would deliver solar electricity to cities to be built. the epa still requires ethanol to be blended into our gasoline, even though not enough of that is being produced to meet epa requirements, much that is produced is exported, and the whole charade is driving up the cost of food. maybe we should, in


perpendicular recording technology has recently been introduced in hard disk drives for computer and consumer electronics applications. although conceptualized in the late 1970s, making a product with perpendicular recording that has competing performance, reliability, and price advantage over the prevalent longitudinal recording technology has taken about three decades. one reason for the late entry of perpendicular recording is that the longitudinal recording technology was quite successful in overcoming many of its problems and in staying competitive. other reasons are the risks, problems, and investment needed in making a successful transition to perpendicular recording technology. iwasaki and co - workers came up with many inventions in the late 1970s, such as single - pole head, cocr alloy media with a perpendicular anisotropy, and recording media with soft magnetic underlayers [ s. iwasaki and k. takemura, ieee trans. magn. 11, 1173 ( 1975 ) ; s. iwasaki and y. nakamura, ibid. 14, 436 ( 1978 ) ; s. iwasaki, y. nakamura, and k. ouchi, ibid. 15, 1456 ( 1979 ) ]. nevertheless, the research on perpendicular recording media has been intense only in the past five years or so. the main reason for the current interest comes from the need to find an alternative technology to get away from the superparamagnetic limit faced by the longitudinal recording. out of the several recording media materials investigated in the past, oxide based cocrpt media have been considered a blessing. the media developed with cocrpt - oxide or cocrpt – sio2 have shown much smaller grain sizes, lower noise, and larger thermal stability than the perpendicular recording media of the past, which is one of the reasons for the success of perpendicular recording. moreover, oxide - based perpendicular media have also overtaken the current longitudinal recording media in terms of better recording performance. several issues that were faced with the soft underlayers have also been solved by the use of antiferromagnetically coupled soft underlayers and soft underlayers that are exchange coupled with an antiferromagnetic layer. significant improvements have also been made in the head design. all these factors now make perpendicular recording more competitive. it is expected that the current materials could theoretically support areal densities of up to 500 – 600 gbits / in. 2. in this paper, the technologies associated with perpendicular recording media are reviewed. a brief background of magnetic recording and the challenges faced by longitudinal recording technology are presented first, followed by the discussions on perpendicular recording media


by ashley holloway foxx published september 27th 2009 in the fayetteville observer " can you hear me now? " remember that commercial for a popular cell phone company? the network traversed the country to ensure that everyone who spoke could be heard. in our democracy, your voice is your vote, and beginning in january, a chorus of teenagers will be given a greater opportunity to find their civic voices in north carolina. how? for the first - time ever, 16 - and 17 - year - olds will be allowed to " pre - register " to vote. they will automatically become full registered voters when they turn 18. during these uncertain times, the most important way to ensure our country ' s continued success is through the education of our youth. for years, north carolina schools have taken the time to educate young people on the importance of civics. however, with most civics education occurring in the 10th grade, the process of voter registration and voting remains abstract and something for the distant future. voter pre - registration for 16 - and 17 - year - olds changes that. it provides a clear and practical way to draw the youth of our state directly into the voting process. studies show that the earlier citizens take part in the democratic process, the more likely they will become voters for life. under north carolina ' s new voter pre - registration and education law, local boards of education and boards of elections are encouraged to creatively work together to empower youth by pre - registering them and educating them on the voting process. in addition, the n. c. department of motor vehicles will be required to ask new drivers, ages 16 and 17, if they would like to pre - register to vote. this agency alone can add thousands of teens to the rolls of voters once they reach voting age. the information they provide also must be verified just as it is for all first - time voters. north carolina already does many things to encourage youth voting. for example, we are one of the few states that allow 17 - year - olds to vote in primary elections as long as they will be 18 by the date of the general election. also, college students are allowed to register and vote at their college addresses if they choose to do so. now, we are only the third state to allow voter pre - registration ( the others are hawaii and florida ). this speaks well of our state ' s desire to create a more vibrant and inclusive democracy. in cumberland county, turnout for municipal primary and general elections is dismal. low turnout trumpets the voices of a few over


others are hawaii and florida ). this speaks well of our state ' s desire to create a more vibrant and inclusive democracy. in cumberland county, turnout for municipal primary and general elections is dismal. low turnout trumpets the voices of a few over the masses. by encouraging 16 - and 17 - year - old citizens to pre - register, we engage them in the voting process early on. greater youth involvement will strengthen our democracy for decades to come. with young adults across the state getting more involved in the political process, we must re - evaluate another part of our system that unfairly hinders their success. the increasing cost of national, state and even local campaigns prohibits many people from running for elected office. we need a publicly funded " voter - owned elections " option for qualified candidates without access to wealth. most young adults couldn ' t even consider raising $ 70, 000 to run for mayor or $ 150, 000 for a state legislative race. we say that we want the young people of this country to be responsible and give back to our community. are we not being hypocritical by telling those same youths that they cannot run a viable campaign because they are too poor? voter - owned elections programs help young voters and other underrepresented segments of our society gain greater access to the political system. starting in january, at the young age of 16, citizens across the state can embark on a pathway that will empower them for a lifetime. let us encourage north carolina ' s teens to pre - register to vote, become involved in reform efforts and find their voices so that we can hear them loud and clear. ashley holloway foxx is a graduate of terry sanford high school and unc - chapel hill. she lives with her husband, brian, and her daughter, madison, and works as a field organizer in the fayetteville area for democracy north carolina ( democracy - nc. org ).


a researcher recently requested to look at an obscure record series described simply as “ census records, 1880 ” ( series 5269 ). after retrieving the records, archives staff became curious and set about trying to figure out what the records really were. the records include five booklets that were clearly standard forms ( form 7 - 392 ) printed for the 1880 federal census and have notes indicating that they had been filed with the weber county clerk. they are titled “ list of persons ” and each booklet lists the names, color, sex, and age of all the inhabitants of a given census enumeration district in weber county, including ogden 2nd and 3rd ( municipal ) wards, huntsville, mound fort, lynne, marriott, riverdale, and uintah. archives staff searched available published sources for some reference to these forms, but couldn ’ t find any information. so what was their purpose, why were they filed with the county clerk, and why did only five booklets survive? archives staff next contacted the national archives to see what information they might have. initially national archives staff members were both puzzled and excited. they had never seen an example of this kind of record before, but soon they responded with an answer. apparently, for earlier censuses enumerators were required to submit a full second copy of their population schedules in order to receive payment for their work. by 1880 the process was simplified somewhat. according to the history and growth of the united states census ( washington : government printing office, 1900 ) : the enumerator was directed to forward the original schedules, duly certified, to the supervisor of his district, but before doing this, he was required, under the terms of section 6 of the act of april 20, 1880, to make and file in the office of the clerk of the county court or in the office of the court or board administering the affairs of the county to which his district belongs, a list of the names, with age, sex, and color, of all persons enumerated by him, which he shall certify to be true, and for which he shall be paid at the rate of 10 cents for each 100 names. these lists apparently served as a type of invoice for services and made it possible for the census enumerators to get paid for their work. because the records were probably not of much use to the county clerk once payment had been made, most of them would have been discarded. somehow these five booklets from weber county survived as rare evidence of how the census


[ edit2 - this post was previously unreadadble due to my idiocy. it should be better now. sorry ] well, the farther off our answer came to be, the lower grade we got. heh. i know what you mean. i had teachers who did that too. imho, this is dumb from a pedagogical perspective. far better make people figure out why their results were off. that ' s far more interesting. if natural speciation requires 1000 ' s of years, and we can ' t observe it, does that make it " non - falsifiable " as underthumb likes to say? ( just curious ) well, no. i ' d like to make a general point - direct observation is not necessarily required to prove or disprove a hypothesis. indirect evidence can be more than enough. for instance, see forensic science stuff. also, how about an experiment. let ' s say you have some sodium burn. it ' s in an opaque box, so you can ' t see it burning directly. there is a hole in the box, and to this hole is attached a prism, and to the prism is attached a camera. the camera takes a picture. all you have is the film, and you are asked to describe what happened in the box. now, the film is going to record the spectrum of the light emitted by the flame, so you can tell that it was sodium that was burning. also, depending on the camera, and the image analysis methods, and all, you may be able to see the actual flame. now you haven ' t actually seen the flame. all you ' ve seen are some spectral lines, and the pattern left on a silver (? ) coating by incident photons. but from this, you can nonetheless, with a high degree of certainity, say that what happened was that some sodium was burned in the box. by analogy, this is related to the question of evolution. the opaque box is like the past, in that it prevents direct observation of the events inside. the burning sodium is the process of evolution, or maybe speciation occurring. the film in the camera is like the fossil record and rocks and other such stuff. now, there are two more ways to interpret the image that the camera provides : you can claim that the image is a fake, or a coincidence. or you can claim that the whole thing was a setup, and someone rigged the thing to look like burning sodium. now, without some damn good


the image that the camera provides : you can claim that the image is a fake, or a coincidence. or you can claim that the whole thing was a setup, and someone rigged the thing to look like burning sodium. now, without some damn good evidence, it would seem that these two interpretations are very unlikely, and by occam ' s razor, you toss them out and go with the " burning sodium " explanation. i meant no disrespect. yes, that should have been ' imo '. guess what, i have never had one that didn ' t teach it as fact. i just want to make sure we are using the same definitions. in normal english usage, the words hypothesis, theory, and guess are all interchangeable. in science, the words mean very different things. a guess would be something really random - like my sneezing labrador guess. a hypothesis would be a guess that has strong factual basis, makes many testable predictions, and is pretty rigorous. a theory is a hypothesis that has withstood many attacks and makes an excellent fit with the data. it makes many predictions, and all that have been tested thus have proven to strengthen the theory. a theory also must withstand the test of time - the latest and the greatest does not often become a theory immedeatly. ( a law is a theory that has withstood the test of time, has proven very useful, and is generally rock solid. ) now, the scientific test to make something a theory is pretty close to the ' test ' used to make someting a ' fact ' in normal life. so, in the everyday sense of the word, evolution is a fact. in the scientific sense, it is still ' just ' a theory - it is not in its final form - it is still ' evolving ', if you will. but it is a very strong theory in a lot of ways - one of the strongest we have in any area of science. ( heh. modern evolutionary bio is maybe in the same ' phylum ' as darwin ' s original, but it ' s far from being the same ' species ' ). so, i think the definitions should be made very clear to science students. then you must specify which set you are using : the every - day, or the science set. dogmatic teachers suck. but realize, it is very difficult to be a good non - dogmatic now, in your case, a teacher with a deep knowledge of evol. bio would have


: the every - day, or the science set. dogmatic teachers suck. but realize, it is very difficult to be a good non - dogmatic now, in your case, a teacher with a deep knowledge of evol. bio would have been good. s / he would have been able to answer your questions competently without the fear of you taking her out of familiar territory. ( people hate being embrassed, so a teach that wasn ' t much good at evol. would be likely to be dogmatic about, to avoid hard questions ). as i said, i have been very lucky. i have a huge amount of admiration and respect for most of my teachers - and almost all of my science teachers. what is a ' species '? question is more difficult than it may appear. " what is truth? " edit : ack, ubb code booboos edit2 : leavitron, much thanks, and very sorry. i actually did read it over - thus catching the ubb error i made, but it is a testament to my decaying intelligence that i did not notice the multiple recopies that i did by accident. uff. i think it is fixed now. but if you see any huge logic errors, or gaps, let me know - maybe i fixed wrong. it looks right, but that ' s what i thought last time. i need sleep. or a lobotomy. [ this message has been edited by geon ( edited december 28, 1999 ). ]


new delhi : india has begun work to include 220 additional ayurveda, unani and siddha text in its traditional knowledge digital library ( tkdl ), which will help check rampant biopiracy of the country ' s ancient wisdom by developed countries. the digital library is a joint effort of csir and the ministry of ayush ( ayurvedic, unani, siddha and homeopathic ) against biopiracy or attempts by individuals or institutions in the developed countries to patent traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation in india. " the tkdl is being enhanced for 220 additional texts in ayurveda, unani and siddha. the current coverage is 148 texts, " said vk gupta, director, tkdl, council for scientific and industrial research ( csir ). the government also wants to go beyond the known text to include it in the database information on traditional medicine that may be stored in other forms such as hand - written manuscripts on palm leaves, paper, cloth or inscribed on metal, a senior official has said. " it is estimated there are about half - a - million such manuscripts in the country, which could be a source of new knowledge. issue is that of access, preservation of these manuscripts and identifying the knowledge elements which are not available in known texts, " dr gupta said. " the national manuscript mission did do a comprehensive exercise on inventorisation, but now we need to move forward, " he added. india felt the need to work on a digital library of its ancient knowledge after the government had to fight long battles with the us patents and trademark office ( uspto ) and the european patent office ( epo ) to revoke patent on wound healing properties of turmeric and anti - fungal properties of neem in the late nineties.


cassini ' s close look at the moon last year prompts planetary scientsts to conclude phoebe was born in the kuiper belt. may 16, 2005 the sharply - defined crater just above the center of this cassini image shows layers of alternating bright and dark material. cassini was 8, 314 miles ( 13, 377 kilometers ) from phoebe when this image was taken. photo by nasa / jpl / ciclops | may 16, 2005 | saturn ' s outermost moon, phoebe, remains a mystery. its eccentric, tilted orbit, opposite saturn ' s spin, suggests it didn ' t form alongside saturn ' s other satellites. two new studies using the cassini - huygens probe have essentially confirmed this theory. the independent studies tag the kuiper belt, on the fringes of the solar system, as phoebe ' s likely birthplace, but the case is far from closed. just before inserting itself into orbit around saturn, cassini cruised to within 1, 250 miles ( 2, 000 kilometers ) of phoebe, providing astronomers with a unique chance to study the battered moonlet. near closest approach, cassini captured this view of an 8 mile ( 13 kilometer ) wide crater with a debris - covered floor. radial streaks on the crater walls are due to ejacta fragments sliding down the slope. boulders ranging in size from about 160 to 990 feet ( 50 to 300 meters ) wide are also visible. they may have been excavated by large impacts, perhaps from some other region of phoebe. there is no visible evidence for layering in this region, as on other parts of this moon. photo by nasa / jpl / ciclops torrence johnson, at the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california, and jonathan lunine, at the university of arizona ' s lunar and planetary laboratory, used deviations in cassini ' s course caused by phoebe ' s gravitation to calculate phoebe ' s mass and density. they found that the 140 - mile ( 220 km ) wide satellite weighs 1, 630 kilograms per cubic meter. this clearly separates phoebe from saturn ' s other moons, which have an average density of just 1, 300 kg / m3. " it ' s a pretty dense object, especially considering that it is likely to be somewhat porous, " lunine told astronomy. phoebe ' s density closely matches that of two outer solar - system objects ( after adjusting for the extent to which their greater mass compresses them ) — pluto, now firmly identified as a kuiper belt object (


" lunine told astronomy. phoebe ' s density closely matches that of two outer solar - system objects ( after adjusting for the extent to which their greater mass compresses them ) — pluto, now firmly identified as a kuiper belt object ( kbo ), and neptune ' s moon triton, which likely started life in the kuiper belt before being captured by neptune. johnson and lunine conclude that phoebe appears to have " a composition identical to that of the only kuiper belt objects for which we possess densities. " both studies appeared in the may 5 issue of nature. " some kuiper belt objects were scattered in, " lunine explains. " one such rock - ice body, phoebe, happened to be captured by saturn ' s gravity. " lunine ' s views gain support from a study of phoebe ' s surface led by roger clark of the u. s. geological survey in denver, colorado. using cassini ' s visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, his team identified dozens of chemicals on phoebe, including ice, carbon dioxide, iron - and carbon - based substances, and cyanide compounds. phoebe ' s cyanide signature has been detected on just two other solar - system objects, comet borrelly and the dark face of iapetus, saturn ' s outermost large moon. brad dalton of nasa ' s ames research center at moffett field, california, thinks the density and spectroscopic studies together make a strong case for phoebe ' s origin as a kbo. " while this is not incontrovertible proof … the independent findings of both groups give a very consistent picture, " he says. " while i think the clark et al. compositional analysis is very strong, the two sets of analyses taken together is what is really convincing. " " what is clear, " dalton says, " is that phoebe falls into a class of objects that now populates the outermost reaches of the solar system, including the kuiper belt. " clark remains cautious about phoebe ' s origins, but he has no doubts about the value of the new cassini findings. " the detection of carbon dioxide and the cyanide compounds were very unexpected, " he says. " we didn ' t think phoebe would be this exciting. " look for this icon. this denotes premium subscriber content. learn more »


1809 - 1817 1810 – mexican revolution begins. an eleven year fight for mexico ' s independence from spain. mining, ranching and missions prosper and spanish troops continue the long battle with the apache. james madison was born in virginia in 1751. he graduated from princeton and was active in virginia politics and in the continental congress. he was an influential member of the along with alexander hamilton and john jay, he wrote the federalist papers. president jefferson appointed james madison as his secretary of state dolley payne madison, born in 1768, is one of the best known and best loved of the first ladies. she grew up in philadelphia in the strict discipline of the society of friends. she was a young widow with one son in 1794, when she married james madison, who was 17 years older than she. theirs was a happy marriage, though they had no children. in 1809 president james madison succeeded jefferson as president. madison was re - elected in 1812. tensions with britain culminated in the war of 1812 for which madison and the nation were not united or prepared. in 1814, the british captured washington, forcing madison to flee to virginia. during the bombardment of fort mchenry by the british francis scott key was inspired to write a poem that would eventually supply the lyrics to " the star spangled banner ". although no territories were gained or lost during the war of 1812, nationalism soared and there was a newfound sense of unity after the victories by the u. s. navy and at the battle of new orleans. on leaving the white house, madison retired to virginia where he died in 1836. after marrying james madison, dolley put aside her somber quaker dress and chose the newest fashions while in the white house. she was famous for her social graces and political acumen. when forced to flee the white house in 1814, she saved the portrait of george washington from the british. after madison ' s death in virginia, she returned to washington, where she died in 1849. click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. the mohave museum of history and arts grants educators and individuals permission to use this material for research, teaching, and study provided the source of the material is credited to the mohave museum of history and arts. this permission does not extend to use for copying for distribution, resale or inclusion in other publications. contact firstname. lastname @ example. org for further information.


image via wikipedia warfarin ( marketed under brand names like coumadin, jantoven, marevan, and waran ) is a drug that inhibits blood clotting – the formation of insoluble fibrin clots which stops bleeding. the drug is used to prevent / treat thrombosis – the formation of blood clots that can cause life threatening damage ( through clogging of blood vessels ). since the natural clotting ability is inhibited with this drug, serum concentrations elevated above the intended level can lead to severe side effects – life - threatening bleeding complications. consequently, monitoring of patients using warfarin is critical. some patients are at higher risk than others, and pharmacogenetic analysis can identify individuals that are either overly sensitive to the drug or metabolize the drug inefficiently. both these conditions leaves the patient in risk of complications. such patients should be monitored carefully and a reduced warfarin dose is usually strongly recommended. metabolism through cytochrome p450 ( cyp450 ) enzymes displays individual variation for many classes of drugs, so also for warfarin. cyp 450 pharmacogenetics will be covered in a separate post. this post will focus on the biochemistry of oversensitivity to warfarin which can be described as follows : blood clotting is a multistep process involving a number of proteins and co - factors ( see image above ). warfarin inhibits the maturation ( post translational modification ) of some of these proteins, clotting factors ii, vii, ix and x. unmodified, these factors will not function properly and the formation of the insoluble fibrin clot is inhibited. the post translational modification in question is carboxylation, and it uses vitamin k as a co - factor image from : vita kbv vitamin k is decarboxylated in the process and needs to be recycled. the enzyme vitamin k - epoxide reductase ( vkorc ) is essential in this cycle. it is this re - carboxylation by vkorc that is inhibited by warfarin. image from : linus pauling institute, oregon state university warfarin mode of action summary : more warfarin leads to less carboxylated vit k. consequently less factor ii, vii, ix and x is carboxylated and inhibition of clotting occurs. vkorc ’ s


##farin mode of action summary : more warfarin leads to less carboxylated vit k. consequently less factor ii, vii, ix and x is carboxylated and inhibition of clotting occurs. vkorc ’ s susceptibility for binding warfarin varies between individuals, and this is the basis for the pharmacogenetic assays. from wikipedia : polymorphisms in the vitamin k epoxide reductase complex 1 ( vkorc1 ) gene explain 30 % of the dose variation between patients : particular mutations make vkorc1 less susceptible to suppression by warfarin. there are two main haplotypes that explain 25 % of variation : low - dose haplotype group ( a ) and a high - dose haplotype group ( b ). for the three combinations of the haplotypes, the mean daily maintenance dose of warfarin was : - a / a : 2. 7±0. 2 mg - a / b : 4. 9±0. 2 mg - b / b : 6. 2±0. 3 mg vkorc1 polymorphisms also explain why african americans are relatively resistant to warfarin ( higher proportion of group b haplotypes ), while asian americans are more sensitive ( higher proportion of group a haplotypes ). vkorc1 polymorphisms lead to a more rapid achievement of a therapeutic inr, but also a shorter time to reach an inr over 4, which is associated with bleeding. contributing to haplotype group a is a polymorphism in the regulatory region of the vkorc - gene. the a - allele of this snp decreases the activity of the vkorc - promoter ( less mrna – less protein – higher proportion of total vkorc protein affected ) and subsequently increases warfarin sensitivity ( see omim for more ). this polymorphism ( or ones in linkage with it ) is normally among the snps that are tested for in the lab. to conclude, identifying individual genetic variations allow us to predict protein variations that in turn predict sensitivity to certain drugs. in the case of warfarin such pharmacogenetic analysis can be life saving.


introducing the liver … part 1 part one in our liver series, bp starts with giving the liver the once over – what does it do, how does it do it and gives a starting point from which to understand other liver issues such as hepatitis b, c, cirrhosis, fibrosis etc. the liver is the largest internal organ. it is reddish - brown, weighs approximately three pounds ( in the adult male ) and is about the size of a football. it is located behind the ribcage on the upper right side of the abdomen. the liver has the unique ability to regenerate its own tissue - as much as three - quarters of the liver can be lost, and the organ can grow back within several weeks. this allows people who need transplants to receive part of the liver of a living donor. the liver is divided into four lobes ; these are in turn composed of multiple lobules, which contain the hepatocytes, or working liver cells. the liver has an extensive blood supply, receiving oxygen rich blood from the hepatic artery. the portal vein delivers blood containing nutrients, toxins, and other substances absorbed from the intestines to the liver. the liver filters this blood, then sends it on to the heart via the hepatic vein. functions of the liver the liver is responsible for some 500 bodily functions. it plays a role in digestion, sugar and fat metabolism, and the body ’ s immune defense. it processes almost everything a person eats, breathes, or absorbs though the skin. about 90 % of the body ’ s nutrients pass through the liver from the intestines. the liver converts food into energy, stores nutrients, and produces blood proteins. the liver also acts as a filter to remove pathogens and toxins from the blood. in the developing fetus, blood cells are produced in the liver. the liver plays an important role in the digestion and processing of food. liver cells produce bile, a greenish - yellow fluid that aids the digestion of fats and the absorption of fat - soluble nutrients. bile is delivered to the small intestine through the bile duct ; when there is no food to digest, extra bile is stored in a small organ called the gallbladder located beneath the liver. byproducts from the breakdown of drugs and toxic substances processed by the liver are carried in the bile and excreted from the body. a person with a damaged liver may experience impaired bile production and flow. when this happens, the body may


byproducts from the breakdown of drugs and toxic substances processed by the liver are carried in the bile and excreted from the body. a person with a damaged liver may experience impaired bile production and flow. when this happens, the body may not be able to properly absorb nutrients. liver cells also convert heme ( a component of hemoglobin that is released when red blood cells are broken down ) into bilirubin. when the liver is damaged, bilirubin may build up in the blood, causing jaundice ( yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes ). the liver carries out many metabolic functions, providing the body with the energy it needs. it regulates the production, storage, and release of sugar, fats, and cholesterol. when food is eaten, the liver converts glucose ( blood sugar ) into glycogen, which is stored for later use. when energy is needed, the liver converts glycogen back into glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. the liver regulates the storage of fats by converting amino acids from digested food into fatty acids such as triglycerides ; when the body does not have enough sugar, the liver converts fatty acids into ketones, which can be used for fuel. the liver also controls the production, metabolism, and excretion of cholesterol, which is an important component of cell membranes and certain hormones. the liver stores several nutrients, including vitamins a, d, b9 ( folate ), and b12. it also stores iron and plays a role in converting iron into heme, a component of hemoglobin ( the oxygen - carrying molecule in red blood cells ). “ the hardworking and often misunderstood liver performs over 500 bodily functions, processing everything that you eat, breathe and absorb through your skin. ” the liver synthesizes ( builds ) several important proteins, including enzymes, hormones, clotting factors, and immune factors. liver enzymes called amino transferases or transaminases ( alt and ast ) break down amino acids from digested food and rebuild them into new proteins needed by the body. when liver cells are damaged, these enzymes can leak out and build up to high levels in the blood ; these enzymes can be measured using a simple blood test. several of the proteins synthesized by the liver are needed for proper blood functioning. these include various binding proteins ( which bind and transport substances such as vitamins, minerals, hormones, and fats ) and


enzymes can be measured using a simple blood test. several of the proteins synthesized by the liver are needed for proper blood functioning. these include various binding proteins ( which bind and transport substances such as vitamins, minerals, hormones, and fats ) and albumin ( a protein that helps maintain proper blood volume ). clotting factors produced by the liver include fibrinogen, prothrombin ( factor ii ), and factor vii. these enable the blood to clot following an injury ; low levels can lead to prolonged bleeding and easy bruising. other proteins synthesized by the liver include alkaline phosphatase, gamma - glutamyl transferase ( ggt ), and insulin growth factor. the liver plays a crucial role in detoxifying substances that are harmful to the body, including alcohol, drugs, solvents, pesticides, and heavy metals. when a person is exposed to high levels of these chemicals, the liver can become overwhelmed. toxins are delivered to the liver by the portal vein. the liver processes these chemicals and excretes them in the bile. the liver also processes and excretes toxic byproducts of normal metabolism ( such as ammonia ) and excess hormones ( in particular, sex hormones such as estrogen ). many drugs - including common over - the - counter drugs such as acetaminophen ( tylenol ), most anti - hiv drugs, and certain herbal remedies - are processed by the liver and can cause liver damage. people should be especially cautious about combining multiple drugs or herbs. if the liver is damaged it may not be able to break down and excrete drugs efficiently, which could potentially lead to dangerously high blood levels and intensified side effects. chronic hepatitis c or b, heavy alcohol use, and other factors can lead to serious liver damage. given how many vital functions the liver performs, it is not surprising that liver injury can have an affect on almost all body systems, including the digestive, endocrine, cardiovascular, and immune systems. as the liver sustains damage, normal liver tissue becomes fibrous ( fibrosis ), fatty ( steatosis ), and scarred ( cirrhosis ). if the liver becomes too heavily damaged, it isno longer able to carry out its normal functions. in compensated cirrhosis, the liver is scarred but can still function relatively normally. in decompensated cirrhosis, the liver has sustained so much damage that it is unable to function properly. scar tissue


in the letter to the church at smyrna, a church which only received commendation from the lord, jesus said, “ be faithful until death, and i will give you the crown of life ” ( rev. 2 : 10, nkjv ). the word rendered crown is the greek term stephanos. w. e. vine observes that this word denotes ( a ) “ the victor ’ s crown, ” the symbol of triumph in the games or some such contest ; hence, by metonymy, a reward or prize ; ( b ) “ a token of public honor ” for distinguished service, military prowess, etc., or of nuptial joy, or festal gladness, especially at the parousia of kings. it was woven as a garland of oak, ivy, parsley, myrtle, or olive, or in imitation of these in gold. in some passages the reference to the games is clear, 1 cor. 9 : 25 ; 2 tim. 4 : 8 ( “ crown of righteousness ” ) ; it may be so in 1 pet. 5 : 4, where the fadeless character of “ the crown of glory ” is set in contrast to the garlands of earth. in other passages it stands as an emblem of life, joy, reward and glory, phil. 4 : 1 ; 1 thess. 2 : 19 ; jas. 1 : 12 ( “ crown of life “ ) ; rev. 2 : 10 ( ditto ) ; 3 : 11 ; 4 : 4, 10 : of triumph, 6 : 2 ; 9 : 7 ; 12 : 1 ; 14 : 14. it is used of “ the crown of thorns ” which the soldiers plaited and put on christ ’ s head, matt. 27 : 29 ; mark 15 : 17 ; john 19 : 2, 5. at first sight this might be taken as an alternative for diadema, “ a kingly crown ” ( see below ), but considering the blasphemous character of that masquerade, and the materials used, obviously diadema would be quite unfitting and the only alternative was stephanos ( see trench syn. sec. xxxii ). ¶ our photo features a close up of the head of a running athlete and dates back to the late hellenistic period. this statue was retrieved from the agean sea off the coast of kyme, and is displayed at the izmir museum ( biblical smyrna ). sometimes the question is raised as to whether jesus meant to


the ‘ green economy ’ may contribute to achieving a greener and fairer world. however, there are several barriers to overcome first. the green economy should be tamed and guided by principles of equity, respect and shared responsibility. find out more about the green economy > > based on our experience in mindanao, one of the biggest barriers in realising the vision of a fairer world is the continuing control and dominance of global corporations, which prioritise profit over sustainable and equitable development. governments, especially in developing countries like the philippines, have difficulty making global corporations accountable to national laws and international standards. there is no doubt that global corporations are among the key drivers of change in the world today. however, the drive for profit had put serious strain to the world ’ s resources and added tension to local culture, politics and livelihoods. to some extent they have even deprived communities of their safety and of livelihoods which are dependent on these natural resources. the present global economy is fuelled by an endless demand for growth, the alter - ego of profit. we need to reshape global economy to ensure greater equity and environmental sustainability. our key challenge is how to shift from an economic system – based on the notion of unlimited growth – to one that is both ecologically sustainable and socially just. i have no doubt about the important role played by corporations in the global economy in the last 200 years. global corporations operate in many countries, but decisions are made by a few people sitting in offices in big cities in developed countries. the decisions made here in london may cause devastating effects to local livelihoods, yet no one here knows what is happening on the ground. in order to achieve sustainable development goals, the un should adopt clear and enforceable rules and standards, not just voluntary standards for global companies operating in the developing countries. these standards should be harmonised with existing enforceable agreements. the present world economy is driven by heavy industry and plantation agriculture which marginalises small - scale rural producers. yet, small - scale agriculture enables millions of people in poverty all over the world to support themselves. there is a troubling tendency for food and agriculture to be subsumed into a wider ‘ environmental ’ agenda that ignores the recurring global food crises and the links between industrial agriculture and climate crisis. the importance of agriculture, and especially the role of small - scale producers, must be central to any discussions of a green economy. their voices have to be listened to if we want the green economy to really address poverty. i hope rio + 20 wakes up national governments


by christine ennulat, childfund international liberia ’ s 13 years of civil war ended in 2003. nine years later the effects of war linger. in post - conflict societies, children are the ones who suffer the most as their parents struggle to rebuild shattered homes and livelihoods. often, children come to be viewed as burdens, or even commodities. they became at risk for exploitative child labor, domestic violence and other abuses. healing has been slow. liberia ’ s poverty reduction strategy of 2008 includes a statement that speaks volumes : “ a whole generation of liberians has spent more time at war than in the classroom. ” some years after childfund began work in liberia in 2003, staff began to realize that, despite the ongoing rebuilding of liberia ’ s decimated education system, young children ages 5 to 8 were not enrolling at the rate they should, and those who did were not staying in school. in may 2010, childfund began a program called participatory research and learning ( parler ) to identify the obstacles to school attendance in 25 communities and try to remove them. the program is funded by the union de banques suisses. the centerpiece of parler is training older teens to facilitate participatory exercises ( e. g., fun, animated games ) with 5 - to 8 - year - olds to learn what keeps them from school. the exercises help children identify problems in their communities, prioritize them, analyze solutions and plan for the future. martin hayes, childfund ’ s child protection specialist who helped launch the program, says, “ in the long run, this helps build skills and leadership of the youth. ” and it inspires older children to look out for the younger ones. what kept the younger children from school, the youth learned, included bullying and harsh corporal punishment in the classroom. girls faced the additional obstacle of parents keeping them home to do housework or prioritizing their brothers ’ educations over theirs. some of the children also would go to the nearby nigerian peacekeepers ’ base to beg instead of going to school. acting as advocates for the younger children, the youth brought these concerns to special committees focused on children ’ s needs. childfund has trained adult members of the committees to respond as appropriate, whether counseling parents or calling in authorities. by july 2011, according to an external evaluation commissioned by the bernard van leer foundation, 1, 234 5 - to 8 - year - olds had been involved in parler sessions. school enrol


today ’ s the big day, when asteroid 2005 yu55 will pass within about 200, 000 miles ( and come slightly closer to the moon tomorrow ) of our fair planet. this closeness of the approach can be seen in the short movie below ( click it to activate ). the very dark asteroid is estimated to measure about 400 meters across. here ’ s a photo of the rock as it sped through space in our direction yesterday. it ’ s a pretty good shot considering the rock was still more than 600, 000 miles away at the time. we ’ re all familiar with asteroids presenting end - of - the - world scenarios because of movies like armageddon, in which a “ texas ” - sized asteroid threatened earth. this, of course, is laughable because texas is about 1, 400 kilometers across and the largest known asteroid in the solar system, ceres, measures just 900 km in diameter. for a deeper dissection of armageddon ’ s scientific flaws, see here. ( side note : the final scene of armageddon offers an interesting take on the russian approach to fixing mechanical problems with spaceflight equipment, especially in light of sunday night ’ s launch of a soyuz spacecraft. but i digress. ) anyway, it wouldn ’ t take an asteroid the size of texas to cause a global catastrophe. according to nasa an asteroid would need to have a diameter in excess of 2 km to pose planetary - wide environmental consequences. and 2005 yu55 is much smaller than that. which is not to say it would not have an impact. so what would happen if yu55, traveling relative to earth at a velocity of 30, 000 mph, struck the planet? bad things, but not catastrophic things unless you ’ re living underneath the impact. just for fun, let ’ s say it hit land about 100 miles west of houston ( it was nice knowing you, schulenburg ). this particular asteroid would probably produce a crater about 4 miles across. if it hit 100 miles from houston it would produce a wind moving through the city at about 35 mph, and make a noise something like very loud traffic. we would also experience seismic shaking equivalent to about a 6. 8 magnitude earthquake. there would be some dust. if you ’ re planning ahead, for those living in katy, be sure to evacuate toward the east. you can model your own asteroid impact effects at the delightful impact : earth! website.


solar power may be getting more flexible a solar panel and a yoga mat not often appear in the same sentence. but future solar panels have been compared to mats as a new technology promises to deliver amazing flexibility and efficiency within five years. according to a report on boston. com, microcontinuum, a company based in cambridge, is developing in partnership with three universities what it calls ‘ nantennas ’, which are designed to collect more solar power than existing solar cells. what the company envisages is a thin, flexible sheet that is cheap to produce. “ imagine a roll - up sheet, like a yoga mat, that you can toss over any structure, or roof tiles whose outermost layers are laced with nantennas ”, the website wrote. according to the university of missouri, one of the partners, they would be able to collect 90 percent of available light. “ our overall goal is to collect and utilize as much solar energy as is theoretically possible and bring it to the commercial market in an inexpensive package that is accessible to everyone, ” professor patrick pinhero, an associate professor in the mu chemical engineering department, said in a statement. article by antonio pasolini, a brazilian writer and video art curator based in london, uk. he holds a ba in journalism and an ma in film and television. | tags : efficiency microcontinuum nantennas solar solar cells solar energy solar panel | | [ permalink ] |


tablets to takeover teaching? “ given tablets but no teachers, ethiopian children teach themselves ” classrooms are changing. technological advances are transforming the way that children learn, or at least are taught. this is happening fast – there are dramatic differences between my school experience and that of someone only 5 years younger. my french teacher used chalk and a blackboard to teach us our verbs, something which now seems positively prehistoric, although some teachers were more high - tech and favoured the overhead projector. it is widely acknowledged that technology can aid learning : houghton mifflin harcourt demonstrated that children who learn from an ipad version of a textbook compared to a standard paper version can score up to 20 % higher on standardised tests. through engaging children and capturing their attention with colours, videos and games, technology can improve learning with the same content just in a different format. but this applies in a school setting with teachers, so what if there are no schools and no teachers? can technology help children to teach themselves? the organisation ‘ one laptop per child ’ ( olpc ) has teamed up with mit to give children in ethiopia motorola xoom tablet pcs. in villages with no schools and near 0 % literacy rates they distributed solar powered tablets in unlabeled boxes with no instructions and monitored the results. “ within four minutes, one kid not only opened the box, found the on - off switch … powered it up. within five days, they were using 47 apps per child, per day. within two weeks, they were singing abc songs in the village, and within five months, they had hacked android ” nicholas negroponte. so did it succeed? can children teach themselves? they taught themselves how to use the tablets and even how to hack into android but it is as yet unclear whether they will teach themselves to read and write. the fact that the tablets are in english rather than their own language probably won ’ t help. but even if the children do learn to read and write, to say that the children have ‘ taught themselves ’ is not strictly true. they may not have been taught by a ruler toting, glasses wearing, librarian - esque old woman but instead they are being taught by app designers and content devisors – the people who wrote and selected the “ preloaded alphabet - training games, e - books, movies, cartoons, paintings, and other programs ”. tablets were chosen over laptops because of their intuitive usability which captures and works with the natural curiosity of children. features which seem intuitive to the user are heavily designed and the fact


french artist henri rousseau was born on this day in 1844. his still life the pink candle ( 1908 ), acquired by duncan phillips in 1930 along with notre dame ( 1909 ), is currently on view upstairs in the original phillips house as part of jeanne silverthorne ’ s vanitas! project for the intersections series. the little painting hangs to the right of a doorway framing silverthorne ’ s tour de force in silicone rubber – dna candelabra ( showing the beginning genetic sequence for depression, anxiety, addiction, anger, and panic ) on rubber crate ( 2007 ). henri rousseau, the pink candle, 1908. oil on canvas, 6 3 / 8 x 8 3 / 4 in. the phillips collection, washington, d. c. acquired 1930. installation view of rousseau ’ s the pink candle in conversation with jeanne silverthorne ’ s work in vanitas! on view through june 2 as part of the intersections series. photo : lee stalsworth installation view of jeanne silverthorne ’ s dna candelabra ( showing the beginning genetic sequence for depression, anxiety, addiction, anger, and panic ) on rubber crate, 2007. platinum, silicone rubber, and phosphorescent pigment, overall 64 x 60 x 47 in. courtesy artist and mckee gallery, new york. photo : lee stalsworth


a recent study from the university of chicago sheds new light on the widespread, yet under - investigated, phenomenon of anxiety surrounding math performance. researchers found that students reported feelings of fear and worry about math as early as first grade and that this fear affected the performance of high - achieving students disproportionately. whereas a child with less math ability might employ strategies such as finger - counting to work through problems, gifted students rely more on their extensive working memory — a cognitive process that is disrupted when they feel anxiety. according to the study, about half of high - achieving students experience medium to high levels of math anxiety, typically setting their math achievement almost half a school year behind their less anxious peers. there is, however, some good news for parents and educators — math performance can improve when gifted students are taught to regulate or reframe their anxiety. the researchers suggest two methods of helping children overcome their fears : expressive writing and facilitating an emotional shift. having students write about their math - related worries ahead of time can help ease the burden and free their working memory for doing math. additionally, the attitudes of the adults in their lives can influence students to shift their anxiety into more productive feelings, such as anticipation or excitement. the key lies in presenting math as an enjoyable challenge rather than a potential source of stress ; parents should model positive attitudes toward math in the home from the time their child is young. bedtime math is a great resource for parents hoping to increase their child ’ s comfort level with the discipline, as it aims to transform math from a school chore to a family bonding activity.


specimens in museum collections are usually preserved in a 70 per cent aqueous solution of ethyl alcohol or in a 2 - 4 per cent solution of formaldehyde ( 5 - 10 per cent formalin ). the great disadvantages of ethyl alcohol are that it is flammable, it volatilizes very readily, it tends to produce precipitates from sea - water, and it causes shrinkage of many specimens. although formalin is not flammable, and it evaporates less rapidly than ethyl alcohol, precautions to prevent desiccation are still necessary ; and it has the further disadvantage that it tends to oxidize to formic acid, which may dissolve calcareous structures, and it has a very strong smell and is toxic. both ethanol and formalin cannot be used in large volumes in public galleries because of the hazardous nature of the chemicals. so in order to display our colossal squid we will be using a glycol solution with an antimicrobial preservative to prevent microbial growth. we have been experimenting with smaller specimens in jars. initial results indicate the system will work quite well – although there has been some discoloration, replacing the mix with a second fresh glycol solution does not result in more leaching of the colour, so our plan to replace the glycol before the specimen goes on display should work! specimens have been preserved for months or years in glycol, but nobody has tried preserving such a large ( 495 kg ) specimen in glycol before, so this is quite a learning curve for us! the glycol will be diluted to between 20 - 30 % with water. to prevent the growth of microorganisms ( which could happen as the mixture contains sufficient water to support microbes ) we will add a small quantity of dowanol preservative. this will allow us to have 5, 000 litres of liquid in the public galleries, while meeting safety and health requirements. another concern is that if the soultion becomes acidic the hooks and sucker rings will be dissolved – to prevent this happening we will ‘ buffer ’ the solution with limestone chips to keep the ph neutral. although glycol has been used successfully for long term storage of specimens on a small scale, the use of large quantities for the colossal squid is in many ways experimental, and one reason why we will be monitoring the specimen constantly while it is on display.


the world is watching japan, which, in the wake of a devastating earthquake, is trying to prevent the total meltdown of multiple nuclear reactors. escaping radiation from the plants has created an ever - widening evacuation zone. will radioactivity from the plants reach the united states? yes, it appears so. it may even reach atlanta, but the amount of radiation will be so tiny it won ’ t affect human health, according to u. s. officials. “ basic physics and basic science tells us there really can ’ t be any harm to anyone here in the united states or hawaii or any territories, ” said gregory jaczko, chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission. trace amounts will likely waft over the west coast friday, according to this new york times animation. wsb radio ’ s weather guru kirk mellish provides info on his blog that indicates the remnants of the radioactive plume could travel the 7, 600 miles to atlanta in 15. 9 days. that means it would be here march 28. despite expert opinion that the radiation will have no effect on public health, americans have bought every nukepill available. “ people are terrified, ” said alan morris, president of anbex inc., of williamsburg, va., in the washington post. “ we ’ re getting calls from people who are crying and saying things like, ‘ please. can ’ t you help me? can ’ t you send me anything? ’ ”


work organization and job stress are topics of growing concern in the occupational safety and health field and at niosh. the expressions “ work organization ” or “ organization of work ” refer to the nature of the work process ( the way jobs are designed and performed ) and to the organizational practices ( e. g., management and production methods and accompanying human resource policies ) that influence the design of jobs. job stress results when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of workers. stress - related disorders encompass a broad array of conditions, including psychological disorders ( e. g., depression, anxiety, post - traumatic stress disorder ) and other types of emotional strain ( e. g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension ), maladaptive behaviors ( e. g., aggression, substance abuse ), and cognitive impairment ( e. g., concentration and memory problems ). in turn, these conditions may lead to poor work performance or even injury. job stress is also associated with various biological reactions that may lead ultimately to compromised health, such as cardiovascular disease. stress is a prevalent and costly problem in today ’ s workplace. about one - third of workers report high levels of stress, and high levels of stress are associated with substantial increases in health service utilization. additionally, periods of disability due to job stress tend to be much longer than disability periods for other occupational injuries and illnesses. evidence also suggests that stress is the major cause of turnover in organizations. attention to stress at work has intensified in the wake of sweeping changes in the organization of work. organizational downsizing and restructuring, dependence on temporary and contractor - supplied labor, and adoption of lean production practices are examples of recent trends that may adversely influence aspects of job design ( e. g., work schedules, work load demands, job security ) that are associated with the risk of job stress. there is also growing appreciation that work organization can have broader implications for the safety and health of workers — not just for stress - related outcomes. for example, long hours of work may increase exposures to chemical and physical hazards in the workplace, or night shifts may expose workers to heightened risk of violence. the good news is that there are steps organizations can take to reduce job stress. as a general rule, actions to reduce job stress should give top priority to organizational change to improve working conditions. but even the most conscientious efforts to improve working conditions are unlikely to eliminate stress completely for all workers. for this reason, a combination of organizational change and stress management is often


stress should give top priority to organizational change to improve working conditions. but even the most conscientious efforts to improve working conditions are unlikely to eliminate stress completely for all workers. for this reason, a combination of organizational change and stress management is often the most useful approach for preventing stress at work. the best design for a stress prevention program will be influenced by several factors — the size and complexity of the organization, available resources, and especially the unique types of stress problems faced by the organization. details on preventing stress at work can be found on the niosh stress at work topic page — specifically in the stress at work booklet and in the working with stress video. the content of the video is also available on youtube : - working with stress, part 1 external link : http : / / www. youtube. com / watch? feature = player _ profilepage & v = q0yyxwalgaw - working with stress, part 2 external link : http : / / www. youtube. com / watch? feature = player _ profilepage & v = vvdc3vuefwk researchers in the field of work organization and health continue to tackle workplace stress issues. in march 2008, niosh will cosponsor the seventh international conference on occupational stress and health ( external link : http : / / www. apa. org / pi / work / wsh. html ). the conference will feature more than 500 new studies from all points of the globe, on the causes and effects of job stress including information and tools needed to create more healthy and stress - free workplaces. in good health, steven sauter, ph. d. dr. sauter is a senior scientist in the niosh division of applied research and technology and serves as coordinator of the niosh research program on work organization and stress - related disorders. in 2007, he was awarded the niosh james p. keogh award for his significant contributions in the areas of organization of work and musculoskeletal disorders.


in some views soa is represented as a series of 4 layers : presentation layer ( soa 1 ), business process layer ( soa 2 ), business service layer ( soa 3 ) and technical layer ( soa 4 ). typically each layer higher up in the hierarchy consumes services exposed by the layer under it. so the presentation layer would consume services provided by the business process or business service layers. service interfaces are described using web services description language ( wsdl ), sheltering service consumers from details of service implementation. web services are seen as the technical means to implement the decoupled functional layers in a soa development. decoupling allows implementations of business functionality at different layers to be swapped in and out without disturbing other layers in the stack. the business idea is that patients are looked after in various healthcare facilities. frequently applications need to allow selection of a facility and to access facility details for display to human operators. a relational database is used to hold the details of facilities which are a part of the healthcare enterprise. to shelter application developers from the details of the data store facility list and details are made available as a multi - operation web service. this web service will be used to construct the web application that provides a user view into the facilities and facility details. the previous document in this series, “ glassfish esb v 2. 1 creating a healthcare facility web service provider ”, walked the reader through the process of implementing a glassfish esb v2. 1 - based, multi - operation web service which returns facility list and facility details. in this document i will walk through the process of developing a visual web application which will use the web service as a data provider. we will use the netbeans 6. 5. 1 ide, which comes as part of the glassfish esb v2. 1 installation. the application will be implemented as a visual web javaserver faces application using jsf component provided by project woodstock. this application will introduce the technology in a practical manner and show how a multi - operation web service can be used as a data provider, decoupling the web application from the data stores and specifics of data provision. note that this document is not a tutorial on javaserver faces, visual web jsf, project woodstock components or web application development. note also that all the components and technologies used are either distributed as part of the netbeans 6. 5, as part of the galssfish esb v2. 1 or are readily pluggable into the


sequencing the dna in a scoop of dirt can tell scientists what creatures are living nearby, a new study using soil from safari parks shows, and the amount of dna present can even tell how many individuals of each species there are, which could allow field biologists to get preliminary surveys of species. but though the team managed to identify nearly all the species they had expected in the parks, from wildebeest to elephants, they are still addressing how to take samples that accurately represent the area ’ s biodiversity — one would have to avoid elephant latrines or wildebeest sleeping areas, for instance — and there is the additional problem that rare or small creatures, like insects, might easily be missed. that said, it ’ s still an unusual and interesting way to take a look at an area ’ s inhabitants without actually tracking them down. read more at scientific american. image courtesy of malcyzk / flickr rnas from rice can survive digestion and make their way into mammalian tissues, where they change the expression of genes. what ’ s the news : it ’ s no secret that having lunch messes with your biochemistry. once that sandwich hits your stomach, genes related to digestion have been activated and are causing the production of the many molecules that help break food down. but a new study suggests that the connection between your food ’ s biochemistry and your own may be more intimate than we thought. tiny rnas usually found in plants have been discovered circulating in blood, and animal studies indicate that they are directly manipulating the expression of genes. children of older mothers, scientists have long known, are at higher risk for certain genetic disorders such as down syndrome. but the father ’ s age is matters, too. as a father ’ s age increases, research shows, so does his child ’ s risk of mental illness, schizophrenia and autism in particular. in scientific american, nicole grey explores the link between a father ’ s age and his child ’ s health, as well as the tricky questions about what mechanisms are behind the that link : genes, epigenetic changes, environment, or some combination of the three. what ’ s the news : whether genes can be property is an ongoing controversy in the world of biotechnology, and last week saw the latest court battle in that war : upon appeal, a suit brought by the aclu charging that genes aren ’ t products of human ingenuity and thus cannot be patented was settled largely in favor of myriad genetics, the biotech company that has patents on two brca genes. the genes are linked to


suit brought by the aclu charging that genes aren ’ t products of human ingenuity and thus cannot be patented was settled largely in favor of myriad genetics, the biotech company that has patents on two brca genes. the genes are linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, and plaintiffs charged that myriad ’ s exclusive test for the genes kept patients from getting second opinions. a detailed description of the court ’ s reasoning can be found over at ars technica. but for those of you who are thinking, what? someone else can own my genes?, chew on this : about 20 % of human genes are patented or have patents associated with them, according to a comprehensive analysis. here ’ s why. what ’ s the news : what if the egg is fine and the sperm is dandy, but you still can ’ t seem to have a baby? couples who are having trouble conceiving can testify to the frustration of learning that there ’ s no clear reason for their infertility. now, however, scientists have found a genetic mutation that makes outwardly normal sperm much less fertile, potentially explaining many such cases and suggesting new routes to conception. what ’ s the news : by knocking out a single gene, scientists at the university of pennsylvania have significantly increased the physical endurance of lab mice, as explained in their recent paper in the journal of clinical investigation. the researchers also found that certain variants of the same gene may be linked to greater endurance in humans. what ’ s the news : scientists have been rooting around in the rice genome for years, and the same goes for wheat. but now the long - recalcitrant potato genome has finally been sequenced. time for a celebration? perhaps, but biologists can ’ t rest for long : in addition to the just - published genome, there are still three more to sequence in each commercial potato. what ’ s the news : when personal genotyping service 23andme was founded in 2006, most people were understandably focused on the benefits and the dangers of knowing your chances of getting an incurable disease. but a major part of the company ’ s business plan was eventually leveraging their users ’ information to explore the genetic basis of disease. with more than 100, 000 people now in their database, 23andme has been turning that into a reality. they ’ ve just published their first paper focusing on the origins of disease, pinpointing two new areas of the genome involved in parkinson ’ s. what ’ s the news : while you may be


innovation was the buzz word during the 2011 usda science and technology plant variety protection office ( pvpo ) board meeting. the pvpo, part of the agricultural marketing service ’ s ( ams ) science and technology program, gives legal intellectual property rights, similar to patents, to breeders of new varieties of plants which are produced by seeds such as corn and soybean or by tubers such as potatoes. the program protects intellectual property rights by offering certificates to owners of unique plant varieties so that they can introduce them to the marketplace. the board, made up of a diverse group of experts in the plant variety development field, met to discuss pressing industry matters and address how the pvpo conducts its business. “ our goal with this group is to make sure that pvpo effectively meets industry demands and becomes an internationally recognized program, ” said ams associate administrator dave shipman. “ with a world population estimated to reach 9 billion people in 2050, pvpo will play an important role in helping produce enough food to feed the world. ” plant variety protection helps spur innovation by rewarding companies that produce unique plant varieties. this is beneficial to the population because these new varieties improve upon existing crops such as introducing disease resistant types. “ intellectual property rights encourage innovation, ” said shipman. the pvpo continues to address industry needs by evaluating its business practices. the program is currently in the final phase of a business process review that analyzed its current operating procedures and suggested a new continuous workflow. “ we are trying to modernize our processes so that we can effectively identify unique plant varieties, ” said dr. robert epstein, deputy administrator of the science and technology program. expected gains from this review include simplifying the plant variety application process for businesses and reducing the program ’ s processing time for reviewing these applications. “ intellectual property protection is vital to economic growth and we want to make it easy for these companies to protect their plant varieties, ” said epstein. “ not only will these new varieties help produce food that consumers can eat, they will also feed cattle and other large animals, an invaluable service to all. ”


a recent poverty matters blog post in the guardian noted that mobile technologies and social media are creating cheap ways for citizens to interact with their governments and that development projects are trying to tap into these technologies. it gave a plug to the bank ’ s new open finances mobile app that lets users find and monitor bank - funded projects near where they live, using mapping and gps technology. with the advent of the new year and given the on - going work in the bank on the open agenda, here are three things we may accomplish in 2013 : tap into big data – if successful, we hope this would allow us to : - measure poverty in “ real time ” using alternative techniques made possible by the widespread availability of high - frequency data. - create a “ prediction model ” to determine whether funds are likely to be used for the purposes intended – thus helping make better decisions before the money leaves the bank. - develop and apply advanced computing solutions to address major humanitarian challenges ( like natural disasters ). see related blog post by patrick meier. create vibrant citizen feedback loops - we know citizen feedback empowers, and new technologies allow us to do this cheaply, and wouldn ’ t it be great if they could : - reinforce social infrastructure and social cohesion, which makes it more likely that we ’ ll survive a catastrophe, as pointed out recently on npr, or in fragile situations, as mentioned in a new study by the bank, societal dynamics and fragility. share knowledge more effectively – at the 2012 annual meetings, dr. kim said that he wants the world bank to become a solutions bank. this would mean that we would need to : - communicate knowledge in a way that is practical, that inspires, and that helps our members build shared prosperity. - identify great ideas that are scalable and accelerate the spread of solutions to end poverty. image courtesy of simon howden / freedigitalphotos. net


in addition to carbon dioxide, mercury, and marine debris, which are types of pollution, other man made pollutants constantly enter the oceans from a range of sources. these include oil, fertilizers, toxic chemicals, and sewage. oil & chemicals oil spills may be the most infamous pollutant because popular media often vividly shows dramatic damage. the agonizing images of seabirds such as pelicans covered in crude oil are hard to forget. meanwhile, the extensive damage to marine environments from oil spills often lasts for decades. blue ocean institute founding president carl safina chronicles the 2010 british petroleum oil blowout in the gulf of mexico in his book, a sea in flames, and in various interviews and other writings. check out a selection of links to this content below. pesticides, solvents, paints, and industrial chemicals also frequently reach the ocean. many of these hazardous materials harm sea life and some return to land through contaminated seafood that people eat, which can cause health problems. dead zones are the result of runoff into the sea from land - based activities, and they can harm crabs, shellfish, and other sea life … read more 3 things you can do right now to prevent ocean pollution : 1. make the shift to clean, renewable energy when and wherever possible. 2. remember all drains eventually lead to the oceans. be very careful what you pour down any drain. 3. stay informed, know the issues. other great ways you can make a difference. selected carl safina deepwater horizon links carl safina on the gulf of mexico disaster and other oil spills : blowout, blog post, carl safina oil catastrophe wasn ’ t just an accident, blog post, carl safina toxic brew, blog post, carl safina deepwater horizon, one year later : a conversation with carl safina, atlantic monthly gulf blowout aftermath : two years and worsening, blog post, carl safina oil and herring don ’ t mix, blog post, carl safina links & videos gulf awash with 27, 000 abandoned oil and gas wells – huff post a sea in flames : the deepwater horizon blowout – by carl safina mission blue wake up call – carl ’ s blog water pollution – thank you ocean 10 ways oil spills affect marine life – oceana effects of oil on wildlife – australian government cosco busan spill – california department of fish and game urban runoff – wikipedia exxon valdez spill – new york times resources on


live there, though the cats are rarely seen. the everglades is also a refuge for large, beautiful birds including the wood stork, great blue heron, anhinga, roseate spoonbill and many species of egrets. but the everglades is famous for its no. 1 predator : alligators. it ’ s not unusual to hike through the park and encounter one — or several. unless provoked, alligators generally won ’ t harm humans. a unique experience the beauty of camp everglades isn ’ t just the unique wildlife. it ’ s the whole experience. for example, the everglades is flat and mostly swampland. finding dry wood for a fire can be difficult. “ you find all the dry stuff you can, and as your fire gets hotter and hotter, you put the wet stuff on and hope it dries out, ” clay says. and then there are the snakes. while snake encounters aren ’ t common, they do happen. a few years ago, eagle scout j. p. grillo, then 18, wandered into a latrine area of the camp. suddenly, he heard a rattle. his heart pounding, j. p. looked down and realized he was urinating on a sixfoot - long diamondback rattlesnake that was coiled and ready to strike. when he jumped back, the snake struck at the scout, barely missing him. scouts are warned to make a lot of noise if they walk around in the woods. that should scare off the rattlesnakes. and, hopefully, the burmese pythons. unwelcome visitors pythons are not native to the everglades, but for years, pet owners have been illegally releasing them when they get too large for their homes. the pythons are now breeding, and park environmentalists have found eggs and babies. no human has been attacked by a python, but a few weeks before the december camping trip, park rangers discovered the mutilated body of a 13 - foot python that exploded after eating a six - foot alligator. scientists aren ’ t sure what happened — only that it didn ’ t end well for either predator. just as the everglades brings challenges to campers, it also brings great enjoyment. one of the scouts ’ favorite activities is hiking the trails through the park, especially the anhinga trail. on the anhinga, visitors follow a winding boardwalk that crosses over a sawgrass marsh for a clear view of alligators, turtles, herons, egre


favorite activities is hiking the trails through the park, especially the anhinga trail. on the anhinga, visitors follow a winding boardwalk that crosses over a sawgrass marsh for a clear view of alligators, turtles, herons, egrets and other large wading birds and the diving bird for which the trail is named. some troops have hiked through the marsh — which at times can be nearly waist - high — to get to hardwood hammocks, which are islands of trees where birds nest and animals such as bobcats and raccoons forage for food. “ last year, we were hiking through the marsh and saw white - tailed deer that were walking in it, too, ” clay said. you see? there ’ s plenty of room in the everglades for scouts to share with the animals. just watch where you pee. what is the everglades? florida ’ s everglades often is pictured as just a sawgrass marsh, but it also contains thick forests, open prairies, offshore coral reefs, rivers, lakes and ponds. many species of plants and animals live there, including dozens that are threatened or endangered. in the early 1900 ’ s, as florida ’ s population was expanding, legislators considered the everglades a useless swamp and authorized digging canals that drained water from lake okeechobee — a major source of fresh water — to use in farming and development. the effects were devastating. nearly half of the animals ’ habitat disappeared, as did many of the plants and animals themselves. panthers and black bears today are all but gone. the number of wading birds has declined more than 90 percent, and in recent years, alligators have experienced reduced reproduction ; some years the endangered wood stork hasn ’ t reproduced at all. fish in some parts of everglades national park are unsafe to eat because of mercury contamination. in 2000, the government began one of the largest restoration projects in the world when it launched a 36 - year, $ 8 billion project to reverse the damage done to the everglades and to bolster wildlife populations. to learn more about the everglades, go to www. nps. gov / ever.


information is a strategic resource with an importance similar to land, labour and capital. collecting information is time consuming and expensive, but sharing this information saves time, manpower and money. ready access to information is one of the most important factors for policy formulation and lawmaking on the national as well as international level and developing countries in particular profit from this service. since 1963 the iucn commission on environmental law ( formerly known as commission on legislation and commission on environmental policy, law and administration ) and over the past forty years the environmental law centre, have continuously collected and catalogued legal provisions relating to environmental conservation in individual countries. a growing number of significant international instruments have been developed and added to the pool, as well as literature pertaining to environmental policy, law and administration. today the elc libraries collection hosts one of the world ' s largest and most comprehensive collections of environmental law and literature, which covers the entire spectrum of issues related to environmental conservation : from soil pollution to genetic resources, from water quality to waste management. iucn, through the environmental law centre, has pioneered the computerisation of its huge information resources since the late 60s. the development of electronic data processing finally resulted in the establishment of elis, the environmental law information system, in 1980. elis is a multi - lingual, structured, relational data bank, using software especially designed for legal data. elis, which has been constantly improved and added to, is still a valuable retrieval system, which offers an enormous amount of search and sort facilities. the number and variety of requests for data and assistance to develop environmental law that the elc received from governments, academia, the private sector, including ngos during the last years demonstrated the growing need to access environmental law information. this led to the development of an internet - based environmental law information system, called ecolex, a joint capacity building project of iucn, unep and fao. in addition the environmental law programme publishes a series of environmental policy and law papers, which comprise the work done for various projects. apart from in - house projects, the papers also reflect cooperations with a number of other iucn programmes and organisations, demonstrating that our valuable information is shared. the library is open on request. please contact the iucn environmental law centre secretariat : phone : + + 49 - 228 - 2692 - 231 fax : + + 49 - 228 - 2692 - 250


immune response linked to colon cancer survival french researchers have found an association between how well the body responds to colon tumors and survival among more than 400 patients with the disease. they suggest that analyzing tumors for the presence of certain immune cells could yield valuable prognostic information for patients. the results support the theory that the immune system may influence the behavior of tumors. in recent years, studies of ovarian cancer and follicular lymphoma have suggested that the presence or absence of certain immune cells in tumors can be used to predict the survival of patients with these diseases. the new study expands this research to colorectal cancer. like the others, it focuses on the presence of t cells in tumors ; these immune cells react to specific threats to the body. " our data reveal that the immune reaction at the tumor site determines the cancer ' s evolution and clinical outcome regardless of the local extent and spread of the tumor, " says co - lead investigator dr. jerome galon of the french national institute of health and medical research, or inserm. the study included 415 colorectal tumors from patients with known medical histories. the researchers developed information on the type, density, and location of t cells at the tumor sites and compared the predictive value of these data with information on a tumor ' s size and the extent to which it had spread to other tissues. the density of t cells within a tumor was, in this population, a better predictor of patient survival than the tumor size and spread, which are typically used to develop prognoses, the researchers report in the september 29 science. once the colorectal tumors become clinically detectable, the adaptive immune response may play a role in preventing tumor recurrence, the researchers say. " this suggests that the time to recurrence and overall survival time are governed in large part by the state of the local adaptive immune response, " they write in science. in their analysis, a strong immune response was associated with a favorable prognosis regardless of the cancer size and spread ; conversely, a weak immune response was associated with a very poor prognosis, even in patients whose tumors had not invaded other tissues. " the recurrence of cancer may have little to do with the tumor itself - or at least not with tumor size and spread, " notes dr. galon. " rather, poor prognosis could arise from a weak immune reaction to cancer. " patients whose tumors had high densities of certain t cells had a 5 - year survival rate of 73 percent


mexico is a nation with a very strong catholic identity, yet for over 70 years during the 20th century the catholic church was actually outlawed : not allowed to own property, run schools, convents or monasteries, have more than a certain number of priests ( and no foreign priests ), nor defend itself publicly or in the courts. it was hardly allowed to exist. according to historian jim tuck, “ this was not separation of church and state : it was complete subordination of church to state ”. following 1940, enforcement of these restrictions gradually lessened, but it was not until 1992 that the church was restored as a legal entity in mexico. during the period of the strictest enforcement of these draconian laws beginning with the rule of president calles in the late 1920s, mexicans were often imprisoned for wearing religious items, saying “ adios ” in public ( which literally means “ with god ” ), or even questioning the laws. public worship was a crime punishable by hanging or firing squad. ( in fact, this week – may 21 – was the feast day of 25 mexican saints and martyrs who remained true to their faith during these turbulent years and were canonized by pope john paul ii in 2000. another 13 martyrs were canonized by pope benedict xvi in 2005, including young jose luis sanchez del rio. perhaps the most well - known modern mexican martyr, however, is blessed fr. miguel pro, beatified by pope john paul ii in 1988. ) for a nation that was 95 % catholic, this was a crisis of unimaginable proportions. yet modern mexico – and the world – has largely forgotten the suffering that took place in the years 1926 - 1929. known as the cristero war or cristero rebellion ( la cristiada in spanish ), this period was, according to historian donald mabry, “ a virulent anticlericalism [ attack on the church ] that has seldom been surpassed in any other country ”. with such a severe restriction of their liberties, the mexican people were forced to react. after a decree that required the registration of priests and the confiscation of church property, the catholic bishops of mexico made the decision to close the churches and go underground. it was during this time that armed rebellion first broke out against the government. “ mexico rose in arms to shouts of ‘ viva cristo rey! ’ ” writes historian jurgen buchenau. “ thus began the cristero rebellion, which eventually grew to 50, 000 soldiers, or a force almost as large as


smaller villages never recovered and remain ghost towns today. with access to mexico ’ s new railway infrastructure, mexican citizens left their war - torn country in droves. they not only settled in the previously traditional migrant areas of southern california, texas and the rest of the southwest, but also began to make their way to other parts of the u. s. that had previously had few mexican immigrants : the midwest, for example. if you have catholic ancestors who lived in or emigrated from mexico during the cristero period and would like to learn more, it is difficult to find much information on the internet. however, these links may help to give you a basic understanding of this largely unknown period in mexican history, help you learn more about its impact on your family, and get you started tracing your mexican family tree. about the cristero war – online reading - viva cristo rey! the cristeros versus the mexican revolution by christopher check provides a good overview of the cristero rebellion - video interviews with cristero and mexican soldiers about their experiences during the cristero war - pope ’ s mexico trip a chance to explore church - state conflict, a march 2012 usa today article about the recent papal visit to mexico and its role in refocusing discussion on the cristero war - iniquis afflictisque, encyclical of pope pius xi on the persecution of the church in mexico, november 1926 - a five - part series of articles giving an overview of mexican history by chris stewart beginning with part i : the long conflict of church and state about the cristero war – books - the cristero rebellion : the mexican people between church and state 1926 - 1929 ( cambridge latin american studies ) by jean meyer – this historian ’ s in depth research into the cristero period spanned seven years as he traveled throughout mexico unearthing previously unknown records at archives and catholic churches. - la cristiada : the mexican government ’ s persecution of the church ( an illustrated history of the mexican cristero war from 1926 - 1929 ) also by jean meyer - mexican martyrdom by rev. wildrid parsons – written in 1935, this book provides a vivid picture of the trials of mexican catholics during the 1920s. - blessed miguel pro : 20th century mexican martyr by ann ball – the inspiring story of the famous mexican priest, martyred in 1927. about the movie, “ for greater glory ” - for greater glory - official website for the movie - freedom is our lives - a knights of columbus article about the movie -