The product is intended for foliar application to a crop.
“Its chemical characteristics, such as the nanometric size, allow a more efficient absorption by the leaves and, inside the plant, activates essential metabolic routes. The main benefits are: increased photosynthesis due to greater use of light, more efficient activation of enzymes that provide energy for the plant, greater development of roots, greater use of water and nutrients,” explained Juscimar Silva, a researcher at Embrapa.
Arboline has properties that would fall under the categories of biofertilizer, in terms of aiding the uptake of nutrients, or biostimulant, in the sense of providing resistance to abiotic stress.
"The technology increases plant resistance to many types of stresses, especially drought stress, constituting a very efficient system for biostimulation and nutrient delivery to plants. The product consists of carbonaceous nanoparticles, containing functional groups that can act as nutrient carriers for the plants. It acts as a fertilizer by offering macros and micronutrients necessary for the growth of vegetables, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron and zinc, for example,” according to Krilltech, the spin-out company that has emerged from the development of the technology.
Krilltech is aiming to create disruptive solutions based on “green nanotechnology”. According to Marcelo Rodrigues, Krilltech's founder and technological advisor, agronomic tests showed physiological responses with significant increases in photosynthetic rate and efficiency in use of water and nutrients that “directly reflected in productivity”, with increases of up to 20% (tomato), 21% (soybean), 33% (beans) and 12.5% in wheat.
The use of nanotechnology in bio-inputs is still at an early stage in the Brazil. Diego Stone, CEO of Krilltech, reveals that Arboline is completely non-toxic for the soil biota, aquatic life, insects, and animals and is non-bioaccumulative. It will be marketed in the form of an emulsion to be diluted before application. Due to its origin in carbonaceous matrices, the product is positioned for use in conventional, organic production systems, urban farms, and protected production (indoor and outdoor).
New AG International contributor Leonardo Gottems


As mentioned previously, one concrete method to keep tabs on your budget and also make financial goals is via writing it down. You should also check if your financial plan is sound and whether or not it works for you. The budget supplied by your college is a fantastic beginning.
Should you stick with your financial plan and don’t break it, you will in theory be in a position to put all of the cash you have left in some kind of saving. To put it simply, you’re in need of a budget to observe where your hard-earned money is moving. If you’re working on your financial plan and you are attempting to get a means to cut back on costs, check out how much Hosted VoIP is able to help you to save in 2018. Realize that each family’s budget will differ based on their private circumstance. If you would like to create a household budget but you’re unsure where to start, try out a budget planner program. Thus, you are in need of a household budget to be certain you can preserve financial stability as you raise your children.
As soon as you get your finances, you want to begin tracking your expenses against your budget to be certain you don’t accidentally overspend. There are numerous unique procedures for establishing your budget. Setting a budget is only the beginning since you’ll see in the upcoming action. If you would rather create your own budget in a spreadsheet or other method you will find a couple of things you would like to take into account. Produce a effortless budget you can actually stick to.


Confined Space Entry Permit
The Confined Space Entry Permitis the most essential tool for assuring safety during entry in confined spaces with known hazards or with unknown or potentially hazardous atmospheres. The entry permit process guides the supervisor and workers through a systematic evaluation of the space to be entered. The permit should be used to establish appropriate conditions. Before each entry into a confined space, an entry permit will be completed by Environmental Health & Safety (EHS). EHS will then communicate the contents of the permit to all employees involved in the operation and post the permit conspicuously near the work location. A standard entry permit shall be used for all entries.
By OSHA definition, a confined space:
- Is large enough for an employee to enter fully and perform assigned work
- Is not designed for continuous occupancy by the employee
- Has a limited or restricted means of entry or exit
These spaces may include underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, pits and diked areas, vessels, silos, and other similar areas.
By OSHA definition, a permit-required confined space has one or more of the following characteristics:
- Contains, or has the potential to contain, a hazardous atmosphere
- Contains a material with the potential to engulf someone who enters the space
- Has an internal configuration that might cause an entrant to be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross section
- Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazards


On 19 November, during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, ZonMw awarded a Parel (Award) to Dr. Henk Schallig, parasitologist at Amsterdam UMC. He received the award for the RAPDIF study, which developed better tools and knowledge for tackling fever and malaria in Africa.
One of the biggest causes of fever is malaria, a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people in Africa every year, the majority of them children under the age of five. The RAPDIF study found that the diagnosis and treatment of fever in young children in Africa is often inadequate. Rapid malaria tests are not reliable enough and, in the absence of a proper diagnosis, children with fever are often treated with both anti-malaria drugs and antibiotics. The antibiotics were found to be of no benefit in no fewer than 50 to 90% of cases.
The RAPDIF researchers approached the problem from two angles: making rapid malaria tests more reliable, and identifying other causes of fever. The study was performed by a group of Dutch and Burkinabe researchers in Burkina Faso. Together, they succeeded in developing a new rapid malaria test that is no less than a hundred times more sensitive that the current rapid tests. Local health workers were found to have more faith in the new test. A follow-up study involving 5700 children and adults in five African countries will show whether the new malaria test works on a large scale.
The RAPDIF team also discovered that, besides malaria, fever in young children is commonly caused by four types of bacteria: E-coli, Salmonella typhi, Pneumococcus and Streptococcus. The researchers worked on a rapid diagnostic test to detect these bacteria in blood, but this is a difficult technical challenge. Provided they secure funding, they hope to enable a rapid test for these bacteria which, combined with the rapid malaria test, would allow fever to be treated in a much more targeted way. Children could be given the correct treatment, either anti-malaria drugs or antibiotics.
This would also help curb antimicrobial resistance. ‘Infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance are good friends, travelling the world hand in hand, with no regard for borders or differences between people’, Henk Schallig explained. ‘The fact that we received this award for our work underlines the importance of international research into resistance. Knowledge gained in other parts of the world is very important for the Netherlands, and vice versa. The ZonMw and NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development grant for our RAPDIF study contributed a huge amount of extra knowledge about use of medicines, diagnostics and resistance, and also about capacity-building in Burkina Faso. For our team in Burkina Faso and the Netherlands, the Parel is a huge encouragement to continue this work, and that is just what we plan to do.’


Main Article Content
Agriculture a most significant land use types which alter natural ecosystem dynamics. Arable farming exerts much pressure on plant biodiversity, especially when practiced intensively in urban centers. There is dearth of information on floristic changes due to intensive arable farming in urban agroecosystems in developing countries. The study therefore assessed floristic changes resulting from and intensive farming practices at Ajibode-Sasa agricultural landscape. Ajibode-Sasa agroecosystem is a complex mix of arable cropping system between latitude N07°28′, E003°53′ and longitude N07°28′, E003°54. Comparative floristic surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2020 using quadrats (1 m2) systematically laid on 18 Transects ranging from 50 – 250 m long. A total of 224 and 184 quadrats were laid in 2016 and 2020 respectively. Reduction in numbers of quadrats laid resulted from physical anthropogenic development after the 2016 survey. Species identification followed standard procedures, and quantitative occurrence data were collected for determination of species composition and computation of relative importance values (RIV) and diversity indices. Land-use changes over four years period was determined using Google earth and QGIS. Herbacous plant composition with 123 cumulative number of species in both years reduced from 98 species in 2016 to 85 species in 2020 species RIV of species ranged from 0.038 – 14.803. Tridax procumbens had the highest RIV (14.803) in 2016, while it was Acmella brachyglossa (13.248) 2020. Species richness and floral diversity was high with Shannon-Weiner Index (3.081 and 3.088) and Dominance (0.09388 and 0.08746) in 2016 and 2020 respectively. Intensive cultivation favoured introduction and spread of invasive species like Tridax procumbens and Tithonia diversifolia. Eight introduced and invasive species were newly enumerated in 2020, with a total of 38 herbaceous species no longer encountered in 2020. Concerted efforts should be made to conserve native flora on the agroecosystem through sustainable practices like crop rotation and short fallow.
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Why do we have special programs for gifted students?
Cherokee County educators are committed to the belief that education is a means by which each individual has the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential. We believe that all students have a right to educational experiences that challenge their individual development whether it is below, at or beyond the level of their age peers. In accordance with this philosophy, Cherokee County schools provide educational programs that recognize and make provisions for the special needs of advanced and highly motivated learners through Advanced Academic Programs and Gifted Education Services.
How is a student nominated for consideration to the Gifted Education Program?
Classroom teachers often make nominations; however, any responsible person who has knowledge of a student’s intellectual functioning or academic performance may nominate the student for further consideration. This may include parents, teachers, administrators, peers or self-nomination. Nominations are made through school-based personnel, a teacher or an administrator. Following a nomination, students are screened using current data to determine the need for further assessment. The screening of a student is accomplished by an Eligibility Team or designated staff member. As assessment data warrants, the screening process moves to an eligibility process with specific procedures followed by a school-based Eligibility Team.
How are students identified as eligible for a Gifted Education Program?
Student eligibility guidelines for gifted education services in Georgia may be found in State Board of Education (SBOE) Rule 160-4-2-.38 EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR GIFTED STUDENTS [Code IDDD(2)].
The definition of a Gifted Student “a student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities.”
The eligibility criteria for gifted program placement are also provided in the SBOE Rule. The Cherokee County School District’s Gifted Education Program follows these guidelines in its eligibility process. The process outlines the four categories for assessment (mental ability, achievement, motivation and creativity) and the performance standards that must be achieved in each for a student to become eligible for gifted education services. Once a student has been assessed in all four data categories, there are two ways eligibility can be established:
Procedure 1, the Psychometric Approach:
The student may qualify on the basis of mental ability and achievement assessment results only (regardless of the assessment results in creativity and motivation). In this case, the mental ability test score must be a composite or full-scale (age) score on a nationally normed standardized test. The composite score must be at a 99th percentile for students in grades K-2. The composite score may be at the 96th percentile or higher for students in grades 3-12. In addition, students (grades K-12) must meet at least one of the achievement standards: 90th percentile for total reading, 90th percentile for total math (with or without computation) or 90th percentile for total achievement test battery. No student may qualify on the basis of a mental ability test score alone.
Procedure 2, the Multiple-Criteria Approach:
The student may qualify by meeting the standards in any three of the four data categories, at least one of which must be on a nationally normed standardized test. Component scores (e.g., Nonverbal Ability), as well as full-scale score, may be used in the area of mental ability. However, component scores must meet the criteria specified in the SBOE Rule and local eligibility processes and procedures.
These abilities (mental ability, achievement, motivation and creativity) may be demonstrated in a variety of ways; thus there are assessment options in each of the data categories as described in the Cherokee County Gifted Education Eligibility Process and Admission Procedures. We are also committed to the belief that gifted students may be found within any race, ethnicity, gender, economic class or nationality.
If a student has been identified as gifted in another county in Georgia, will he/she be eligible for a gifted program placement in Cherokee County?
A student who qualified and was placed in a gifted education program in a public school system within Georgia has reciprocal eligibility, the right to automatically qualify for
placement in the Cherokee County Gifted Education Program. This reciprocity applies at all levels, K-12.
If a student has been identified as gifted in another state, will he/she be eligible for a gifted program placement in Cherokee County, Georgia?
There is no mandated reciprocity between states unless the student is a dependent of military personnel as provided in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2140 et. seq. However, many states’ definitions are similar, so every attempt is made to establish transferring students’ eligibility for gifted program placement here in Georgia with little or no testing.
The most expedient way to nominate an out-of-state transfer for possible gifted program placement is to collect all assessment data and present those assessment results to school officials at the time of registration. Helpful documents might include: original eligibility reports, recent standardized test scores, work samples and recommendations from current teachers. Gifted program personnel in the receiving school can then evaluate the types of tests that were given, the dates of those tests, etc., and determine what additional testing (if any) may be required to determine eligibility under the Georgia guidelines. By providing that information at the time of registration, parents can help us avoid delays in getting gifted students appropriately placed. We welcome parental nominations for consideration.
How long will the eligibility process take to complete?
The comprehensive eligibility process may take many months. All efforts are made to proceed through the eligibility process in a timely fashion. The gifted education teachers who assess students for possible eligibility are also those providing instructional services to already eligible students. Many factors dictate the length of time it may take to proceed through the eligibility process. These factors include but are not limited to the various grade levels needing assessment, district-wide testing schedules, the return of testing results, the number of students needing additional testing, etc.
If my child does not qualify, can he/she be reconsidered?
A student’s standardized test scores are reviewed annually. An eligibility nomination occurs any time a student’s scores meet specified criteria. A school-based Eligibility Team will use assessment data (mental ability, achievement, motivation and creativity) and SBOE guidelines to determine the process and procedures in each student’s situation.
For instance, a student who does not qualify in first grade may qualify in another grade. Any test score used to establish eligibility shall be current within two years.
What are the certification requirements for a teacher of the gifted students?
Teachers of gifted students must meet the training requirements described in the Gifted Education Regulations included in the SBOE Rule 160-4-2-.38. The Gifted Education Endorsement may be added to a professional teaching certificate by successfully completing a program of study that has been approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Georgia Professional Standards Commission Rule 505-3-.21 GIFTED IN-FIELD EDUCATION PROGRAM describes the standards for approving a program that prepares individuals to teach gifted students. This is usually a four-class endorsement including Characteristics of the Gifted, Curriculum Methods and Materials for Gifted Students, Assessment of the Gifted, and Gifted Curriculum Models and Program Design.


This section of the website carries real time and historic data for electricity supply in Britain.
Fuel Mix indicates the different types of generating sources used to supply electricity. Different fuel types cause different amounts of CO2 (equivalent) to be released into the atmosphere and Carbon Intensity indicates the level of CO2 per unit of electricity resulting from any fuel mix.
The data in this section of the website is drawn from a number of sources, with permission and as credited on each page.
Some carbon intensity data is supplied by National Grid, elsewhere it is calculated by ElectricityInfo, see our methodology.
Data on different pages is not always directly comparable as what is being measured can be slightly different. Not all fuel mix and carbon intensity data includes embedded energy — electricity generating plant connected to a distribution network rather than the transmission network, which includes most solar output and a significant amount of total wind output — and interconnector imports are not always included. See the notes on each page for details.
Various approximations and simplifications are necessarily involved in producing the data, particularly as most of it is real-time or near real-time.
We give no guarantee on the availability or accuracy of data provided on this site.


Paul Krugman and a bigger company have been speculating on the increasing economic inequality in the US. They do not trust any data from the BLS (income measurements obtained during Current Population Surveys) and deny that income data from censuses can be used to characterize Gini coefficient since these data sets do not contain higher incomes. They claim that the most interesting processes have been evolving at very high incomes. In this post, I am going to justify the estimates of Gini reported by the BLS. My goal is to extend the distribution of personal incomes to as high level as possible and to demonstrate that this distribution follows up the Pareto distribution, i.e. is well described by a simple power law. This observation allows replacing (interpolate) actual measurements with a simple function when calculating the Lorenz curve and thus Gini coefficient.
Following this direction, we have recently reported that the personal income distribution, PID, in the USA does not change with time when normalized to the total population and total income. In other words, the relative distribution of personal income in the United States has not been changing since the start of income measurements in 1947. The accuracy of early measurements is not good enough, however, and we have to rely of the most recent results.
The US Census Bureau routinely reports income estimates obtained during the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Surveys. We begin with the higher income range as reported by the BLS and have retrieved the population distribution over mean income in the range from $0 to $250,000. These distributions are available only from 2000. The relevant measurements of the number of people in a given income range were carried out in $2500 bins between $0 and $100,000 and $50000 bins between $100,000 and $250,000.
The personal income distributions, as reported by the BLS in current dollars, are affected by the change in population (working age population), and nominal GDP growth. Also the width of income bins varies with income level. Therefore, one cannot directly compare PIDs obtained in different years. In order to suppress the influence of the width we have calculated the population density, i.e. the ratio of the number of people in a given bin and its width. Since the personal income is measured in current dollars we have to reduce all incomes by the total change of the GDP deflator since 2000 to a given year. Figure 1 shows the result of normalization for 2000, 2005, and 2010. In relative terms, the income distribution has not been changing since 2000. At higher incomes, all three curves are practically identical. This observation is validated by the estimates of Gini coefficient provided by the Census Bureau. There is a high income cap of $250,000 (all incomes above the cap are gather in one group), which is used by Krugman and company to deny the BLS estimates.
Let’s take a look the data they used to prove the increasing inequality. The IRS measured incomes are usually referred to. Without loss of generality, we have retried “Table 1.1 Selected Income and Tax Items, by Size and Accumulated Size of Adjusted Gross Income, Tax Year 2009”. (Any other year between 1996 and 2009 is good as well.) This Table lists individual incomes in various income bins from $1 to $10,000,000. There are also 8274 reports of income above $10,000,000. We cannot use the latter incomes but definitely can plot the population density function for all incomes below $10,000,000. Figure 2 depicts the whole PID and Figure 3 its high income portion. The higher incomes are well approximated by a power low with an exponent of -3.07. (The difference of ~1.0 from the exponent for the BLS PDF (-4.1) is completely explained by the normalization to the total personal income reported by the BLS. It means that both exponents are identical.) It is likely that the same power law is valid at incomes higher than $10,000,000. Hence, there is no significant deviation (except measurement errors) from the Pareto distribution even at very high incomes and our extrapolation of the BLS incomes along the power law is valid for the calculations of Gini coefficients.
Conclusion: there is no growth in income inequality. Krugman et al. definitely exaggerate. As a Russian physicist, I have no political or any other emotional prejudice to the income distribution in the USA. I just calculate it.
Figure 1. The population density function, PDF, as a function of mean income as normalized to the total personal income for a given year. At higher incomes, the curves are practically identical.
Figure 2. Population density function reported by the IRS.
Figure 3. Population density function reported by the IRS for high incomes. The Pareto distribution is obvious. Fluctuations are likely related to measurement error.


CMYK printing is the standard in the industry. The reason printing uses CMYK comes down to an explanation of the colors themselves. CMY will cover most lighter color ranges quite easily, compared to using RGB. However, CMY by itself can’t create very deep dark colors like “true black,” so black (designated “K” for “key color”) is added. This gives CMY a much wider range of colors compared to just RGB.
The use of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) for printing has become kind of a trope for printers. But the reason why printing uses CMYK isn’t that well known, even to many graphic designers.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem to make sense. You might even have learned in elementary school that the primary colors — red, green, and blue (RGB) — are the primary colors, from which all the other colors come. After all, monitors, projectors, and television sets use red, green, and blue (RGB) to create all the other colors. Mixing some of these colors produces the secondary colors — cyan, magenta, and yellow. Mixing them all produces white.
Primary colors however, are arbitrary. There are several competing color models, and the theory behind color is quite complicated. However, partly for historical reasons, and mostly because most electronic screens are dark, we use RGB color models for most light producing imaging devices such as monitors and projectors. Combining red, green and blue light produces lighter colors, offering a good contrast to dark screens.
This all begs the question:
Why don’t we just use RGB inks in printers?
While there are a select number of rare printers that use RGB, there are a multitude of practical reasons CMYK printing will be the dominant model for a long time. To understand why printers generally don’t use RGB, we have to understand a few things. On a monitor or projector, combining RGB colored light creates lighter colors- great if you have a dark screen.
However, on print materials, colors are produced differently from how they are made on a computer monitor. Layering RGB inks on top of or close to each other produces darker colors because inks can only absorb and reflect different colors in the light spectrum, not emit them. RGB colors are already dark to begin with. This makes it difficult to produce lighter colors such as yellow or lime green as adding RGB colors will invariably result in much darker hues.
Why use a CMYK color model?
Using a CMY color model provides a workaround for this problem as cyan, magenta, and yellow are lighter than red, green, and blue. CMY will be able to cover most lighter color ranges quite easily, compared to using RGB. However, while CMY by itself will not be able to create very deep dark colors or a “true black,” so black (designated “K” for “key color”) is added to CMY so a much wider range of colors can be achieved compared to just RGB.
Is it important to convert my design file’s color model to CMYK?
Simulation of differences without CMYK conversion
Yes and no. Even without further intervention, most printers will automatically convert RGB data to CMYK on the fly, even without your knowing it. PrintPlace.com’s system likewise does this conversion automatically. In the vast majority of cases it’s not strictly necessary to convert your file yourself. InDesign Secret’s David Blatner explained the specifics of why exactly converting RGB to CMYK is usually unnecessary in the 21st century, at least when using Adobe InDesign.
However, we recommend starting your project in CMYK or at least converting from RGB before you send it in for printing for a few reasons. The apparent color change from RGB to CMYK can be dramatic in many cases, such as when your artwork has a lot of bright red in it. If you desire the best possible color accuracy on your final prints, you will want to consistently set the color models for your design files before submission. This may be critical in cases where brand colors have been specifically set to a color hex code and color swatch. In these case, yes you should definitely make sure you have set the correct color models.
The only time you wouldn’t need to convert to CMYK is if you’re ordering 1-color envelopes with Reflex Blue or Standard Red spot colors.
How do I convert my file to CMYK?
If you use Photoshop, Illustrator, or an older version of Publisher follow the instructions on this video. You can also check out this article on converting your files to CMYK.
Did you find this helpful? Comment below
Arthur Piccio is a feature writer and subject matter expert for the PrintPlace Blog. In his spare time he studies guitar and writes about goats.


Explorers and Their Quest for North America (Kindle)
On 11 October 1492 the sun set on a clear Atlantic Ocean horizon and the night was cloudless with a late rising moon. As the lookouts high in the riggings of Christopher Columbus’ three ships strained their eyes into the golden light of the moon, near two o’clock in the morning the watchman on the Pinta shouted out, “Land, land” igniting the era of exploration to the New World. The Age of Discovery became an epic adventure sweeping across the continent of North America, as the trailblazers dared to challenge the unknown wilderness to advance mankind’s knowledge of the world.
Explorers Discovering North America traces the history of the discovery, exploration and settlement of the western hemisphere through the comprehensive biographies of fourteen explorers, who had the courage and inquisitiveness to search the limits of the world.
The book features many famous adventurers including Hernan Cortes whose victorious battles against the Aztecs conquered Mexico for Spain, Henry Hudson’s sea voyages in search of the Northwest Passage led to the colonization of New York and exploration of the Hudson Bay in Canada, while Meriwether Lewis’ journey across the Louisiana Purchase began the mass migration of settlers to western America. Among the lesser known explorers discussed in the work are Vitus Bering whose discovery of Alaska established Russia’s claim to the region and Alexander Mackenzie’s 107-day trek across western Canada that opened the frontier to settlement, commerce and development of its natural resources.
From Columbus to Lewis the exploration of the New World became one of humankind’s greatest quests that altered history forever.
Reviewed by James M. Gallen St. Louis, Missouri forThe Northern Mariner, Summer 2018


The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program is renowned for its rigorous academic curriculum that prepares students for success in a global context. One of the key components of this program is the emphasis on mathematics. IB Math, as it is commonly referred to, plays a pivotal role in shaping students’ analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and overall academic development. In this article, we will explore how choosing the right mathematics course can propel IB students to success.
The IB Program and Its Mathematics Requirements
Before delving into the significance of selecting the appropriate math course, it’s essential to understand the fundamentals of the IB program and its mathematics requirements. The IB program is an internationally recognized educational framework designed to provide students with a holistic education that fosters critical thinking, intercultural understanding, and a strong foundation in various subjects.
Mathematics is an integral part of the IB curriculum, and students are required to take mathematics courses throughout their program. There are two primary options for mathematics in the IB program: Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (AA) and Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI). These courses cater to different mathematical interests and aptitudes, ensuring that students can choose a path that suits their strengths and aspirations.
Choosing the Right Mathematics Course
Selecting the right mathematics course is a crucial decision for IB students, as it can significantly impact their academic journey and future career opportunities. To make an informed choice, students should consider several factors.
Firstly, students should assess their individual strengths and interests in mathematics. Some students excel in abstract and theoretical mathematics, while others thrive in practical applications. The choice between AA and AI should align with their preferences.
Understanding the differences between AA and AI is paramount. Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (AA) is tailored for students with a strong mathematical aptitude. It focuses on theoretical and abstract concepts, making it suitable for those who intend to pursue math-intensive college programs or careers in fields such as mathematics, engineering, or physics. In contrast, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI) is designed for students interested in real-world applications of mathematics. It emphasizes practical math skills and problem-solving, making it ideal for those considering careers in business, social sciences, or any field where mathematical skills are applicable.
Furthermore, students should consider their future academic and career goals. IB Math can serve as a foundation for various academic paths and professions, so it’s essential to align the chosen course with long-term objectives. Consulting with IB coordinators and teachers can also provide valuable insights and guidance in making this decision.
The Benefits of Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (AA)
For students with a strong mathematical aptitude and a passion for delving into theoretical and abstract concepts, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (AA) offers several distinct advantages. This course provides a deep understanding of mathematical theory and is highly regarded by universities and institutions worldwide.
IB Math AA delves into complex mathematical concepts and is particularly suitable for students who aspire to pursue mathematics, engineering, physics, or computer science at the university level. It equips students with the analytical skills necessary for success in these demanding fields. For those aiming for academic excellence and research-oriented careers, IB Math AA is a valuable choice.
In addition to academic benefits, IB Math AA opens doors to a wide range of careers and academic paths. Graduates of this course often find themselves well-prepared for research positions, mathematical modeling, and highly technical roles in industries such as finance, technology, and data science.
The Benefits of Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI)
For students who prefer practical applications of mathematics and a broader range of career possibilities, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI) is an excellent choice. This course focuses on applying mathematical concepts to real-world situations, and developing essential problem-solving skills.
IB Math AI equips students with the ability to analyze data, make informed decisions, and solve complex problems, making it a valuable asset in various fields. Students pursuing careers in business, economics, social sciences, and other disciplines that require practical mathematics often find this course to be highly relevant to their future endeavors.
Furthermore, IB Math AI provides a strong foundation for students interested in pursuing degrees in fields such as psychology, economics, and environmental sciences. The skills acquired in this course are transferable to a wide range of professions, making it a versatile choice for IB students.
Challenges and Strategies
While the right choice of IB Math course can greatly enhance a student’s academic journey, it’s important to acknowledge that both AA and AI can pose challenges. These challenges can vary from mastering complex theoretical concepts in AA to applying mathematical principles to real-world scenarios in AI. However, with dedication, perseverance, and the right strategies, these challenges can be overcome.
In both courses, time management and effective study habits are crucial. Regular practice, seeking help when needed, and staying engaged in class discussions can greatly improve a student’s performance. Moreover, students should not shy away from seeking guidance from teachers, tutors, or classmates when facing difficulties in specific mathematical topics.
In conclusion, the right mathematics course is pivotal to the success of IB students. Choosing between Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (AA) and Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI) should be a well-informed decision that aligns with a student’s strengths, interests, and future goals. IB Math not only prepares students for higher education but also equips them with essential life skills. Whether aiming for a career in mathematics, science, business, or social sciences, the right math course can propel IB students to success, setting them on a path to achieve their dreams and make a meaningful impact in the world.


Interstellar travel isn't the issue — stars are close together and even at 10%c the Milky Way could be traversed safely in 10M years. 10M years isn't a factor. Even if it's 100x slower at 0.1%c, 1bn years to colonize an 11 or 12bn year old galaxy with 6-10bn year old metallic stars (thought to be required for life) isn't a strong filter.
If a filter parameter is the rarity of spacefaring civilization frequency, then even only one per galaxy or per 1000 galaxies isn't a limitation unless intergalactic (IG) dust density is high. (This still leaves 2bn civilizations in our visible universe.)
Need to hit 50%c to be able to send probes to a meaningful fraction of the visible universe before expansion takes them out of range. At a certain density level the redundancy factor (how many probes to send to ensure one arrives due to destruction in collisions with IG dust) becomes untenable and filters out IG travel or perhaps limits it to the local group due to Hubble constant increase.
Sharpening the Fermi paradox - intergalactic spreading has a discussion of the limiting factors due to IG dust density at specific masses/sizes and suggests another filter: IG policing of paperclip-maximizer accidents.


The role of dads in the birth of their children is so well established, it’s hard to remember there was a time when fathers were firmly relegated to the waiting room.
Just in time for Father’s Day, Judith Leavitt, a professor of medical history and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, has published a book about how men’s role in childbirth has evolved: "Make Room for Daddy: The Journey from Waiting Room to Birthing Room."
Leavitt originally planned to write about childbirth from a woman’s perspective. Then, while doing research among the archives at a Chicago hospital, she came across a stack of journals from the 1940s and 1950s, filled with reflections and worries written by men as they sat in the waiting room.
In an online interview, Leavitt describes how these journals captured her attention:
In these books, the men wrote entries in which they poured their hearts out with the emotion of the time. They prayed to God and wished for male children; they gave each other advice. Then, when other men came into the room, they read what the men before them had written and wrote their own poignant messages. These books made me realize the importance of men’s roles in childbirth and enticed me to write their stories.
The new focus of her book became the evolving role of fathers in childbirth. Besides the journals, Leavitt sought out oral histories, interviews, men’s writings and writings in medical and nursing journals and the popular press.
Today, most fathers accompany their wife or partner through labor and delivery, Leavitt said. But many of them feel ambivalent about being there. She notes that "as men participate more, they find that some of their own needs around impending fatherhood are not yet satisfied by the hospital experience." As a result, many hospitals are starting to take steps to help fulfill the father’s expectations about being part of the labor and delivery experience, Leavitt said.


We would all love if everything went as planned, and if we never got hurt. Unfortunately, sometimes accidents happen. Trauma to the face or teeth can be caused by any number of activities, from a baseball game to a car accident. Significant head trauma should be evaluated and treated in hospital emergency rooms, and when trauma occurs to your teeth, it’s important to know what to do to save your smile. Any dental injury will require an immediate examination by a dentist to diagnose the extent of trauma and provide treatment. It is possible for neighbouring teeth to suffer injuries that may go unnoticed, which will be detected by a thorough dental exam.
If you’re in an emergency situation, and your tooth comes out completely, don’t panic – we’ll help you through it!
1. Find your tooth and pick it up only by the crown (the white part), and be sure to avoid touching the root.
2. Clean the Area
No matter the degree of trauma to the tooth (a crack, chip, or loss of tooth), it’s important to clean both your face and the oral cavity with water or saline. This cleaning will make you feel more comfortable, help protect you from infection, and will facilitate the examination when you get to your dentist. If the tooth itself is dirty, wash it (for approximately 10 seconds) under cold running water.
3. Reposition the Tooth
One of the most important variables affecting the success of your tooth re-implantation, is the amount of time that the tooth is out of its socket. If you can, try to replant the tooth, then hold it in position by biting down on a cloth. If you are unable to replant the tooth, place it in a storage medium, such as a glass of milk or a special storage formula for avulsed teeth – Avoid storage in water! You can also transport your tooth in your mouth, just be careful to keep it between your molars and the inside of your cheek. Warning: For children, this method produces a risk of swallowing the tooth, so it is advisable to have them spit in a container and place the tooth inside.
4. Seek emergency dental treatment immediately.
Click here for more detailed information on tooth trauma.
Braces can actually “strengthen” your teeth while in treatment!
We have had a few patients with braces that had accidents, but their teeth stayed in even if there was a big trauma! Thankfully, the braces kept them all attached together! The impact was distributed on several teeth instead of only one, and the roots all remained in place!
If your tooth has been knocked out, fractured, or displaced, it is best to contact your Ottawa family dentist first, as we may not have the materials or anesthesia required to treat these injuries. If your appliances get displaced or dislodged due to trauma, we will need to either adjust or replace the appliances as soon as possible, after you have seen your general dentist, depending on your comfort level. We always tell our patients, don’t worry about your appliances, we will fix them after, save your teeth first!


Implementing Municipal Public Access Plans
Source: NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Coastal Management Office, Public Access in New Jersey: the Public Trust Doctrine and Practical Steps to Enhance Public Access, by Robert Freudenberg, Trenton, NJ, 2006 (pdf)
C. Private Property Rights
2. Conservation Restrictions
A private landowner may dedicate a portion of their property through a conservation restriction for a specific use. Conservation restrictions often take the form of easements. In this situation, the property owner maintains the right to use that parcel of land, but may not interfere with the agreed upon
purpose described by the conservation restriction. For example, a property owner may be required to record a conservation restriction allowing public access across their property as a condition of developing the property. The parcel of land secured in the conservation restriction would become available to the public as an accessway to the shore. The public may not use that parcel for any other purpose than to reach the shore. The private landowner may use this parcel for any purpose, provided it does not interfere with the public’s ability to use it as an accessway. Conservation restrictions are recorded under the New Jersey Conservation Restriction and Historic Preservation Restriction Act (N.J.S.A. 13:8B-1 et. seq.).


Whether purchasing a car, a television, or a restaurant meal, Americans often use credit to help pay for goods or services. Understanding the types of credit and their costs can help consumers use credit wisely.
Consumer credit falls into three general categories. Open-end credit allows a person to charge purchases, but the creditor expects full payment within 30 days. Local businesses and travel and entertainment cards like American Express offer open-end credit.
Revolving credit allows a consumer to pay all, part or a minimum amount of the outstanding balance each month. Any unpaid amount revolves to the next month's balance and incurs a finance charge, or the cost for the consumer to owe that money for 30 more days. Credit cards issued by banks, oil companies, and large retail businesses typically work this way.
Installment or closed-end credit calls for the borrower to settle the debt by paying a fixed amount regularly for a specific period of time. Car and personal loans are examples of installment credit.
Because credit costs vary, comparing costs can save the consumer money. The federal Truth in Lending Act requires creditors to provide information that will help consumers decide the best credit plan for them.
The main information provided by the Truth in Lending Act is a creditor's annual percentage rate, or APR. The APR is the annual rate that relates the total finance charge to the amount of credit received and the length of time to repay it.
In the case of installment credit, the creditor must provide specific information on the credit terms. These terms include the amount to be financed, the length of time to repay the loan, the monthly payment, the total finance charge, and the APR. Creditors offering different APRs or monthly payment amounts have different total costs for the same loan. Comparison shopping by the consumer will reveal the best credit arrangement for his or her particular situation.
Another consideration when selecting installment credit plans is the tax implications. Interest on consumer installment credit (except for mortgage interest) is no longer tax deductible. However, the interest on a home equity line of credit is deductible.
Credit is helpful in making purchases large and small. However, studying the different credit options available and their costs can help consumers keep finance charges to a minimum.


What is the MCC Effect?
The “MCC Effect” refers to the positive impact of MCC’s rigorous commitment to sound policies beyond MCC’s direct development investments in the form of compacts and threshold programs in partner countries. The term has been used to describe all the favorable implications of MCC’s focus on policy performance—including country-led development and policy reform. However, a more specific use of the term refers to the incentives created by MCC’s selection criteria and captured on its annual country scorecards.
MCC’s selection criteria encourage countries to reform policies, strengthen institutions and improve data quality in order to boost their performance on MCC’s scorecard. In an independent survey of development experts and foreign government officials in 2012, 92 percent of respondents believed MCC’s eligibility criteria had an impact on reform in their country.
The publicly available and transparent scorecards allow other stakeholders—including donors, journalists, civil society organizations, and private sector investors—to assess governments’ performance and track trends over time. Many countries view their ability to perform well on MCC’s scorecard as a seal of approval, signaling to their citizens and to the private sector that the country is well-governed and open for business.
92 percent of respondents believed MCC’s eligibility criteria had an impact on reform in their country.
—Measuring the Policy Influence of the Millennium Challenge Corporation: A Survey-Based Approach
What is not the MCC Effect?
While the MCC Effect appears to impact many candidate countries—those categorized as low income or lower middle-income countries—it does not impact every country. Some countries do not have sufficient capacity, resources or political will to focus on policy reform. Other countries have performed well on MCC’s scorecards for years and have less incentive and less room to make further improvement. Although it is unlikely that all candidate countries are incentivized, many appear to be: Development experts have identified 67 governments that undertook reform to improve performance on at least one of MCC’s eligibility indicators since 2004.
Better performance on MCC scorecards is not the only reason countries reform their policies. The policies measured on MCC’s scorecards—including immunization rates, inflation and control of corruption—directly impact the well-being of countries’ citizens and the health of their economy. Many countries actively work to improve performance in these areas, and many donors assist them in these endeavors. However, improving on the MCC scorecards can give these governments an additional incentive and a method of tracking progress. In the 2012 survey, 80 percent of respondents agreed that MCC’s eligibility criteria helped governments measure their own performance, and 78 percent agreed they strengthen government resolve to implement reforms.
The MCC Effect in Action
MCC measures the impact of its compact and threshold program investments across a continuum of results. Similarly, it is possible to track the MCC Effect across various stages of a continuum.
Governments or civil society organizations often contact MCC, U.S. embassies or institutions that provide the data used in MCC’s scorecard indicators to express their initial interest in learning about MCC’s selection process and their performance on the scorecard.
- MCC staff members have more than 50 meetings each year with foreign governments, civil society organizations, donors, or other agencies who are interested in learning more about how specific countries perform on the MCC scorecards.
- In the 2012 survey, nearly 70 percent of respondents said they have met with U.S. Government officials about issues related to performance on the MCC scorecard.
After the initial meetings, some governments establish inter-ministerial committees to help improve performance on the MCC scorecard. These committees often communicate with MCC and the indicator institutions, familiarize themselves with the technical details of each indicator and learn how they are assessed by each indicator institution. They might prioritize indicators on which to focus, determine plans for improving performance and ensure their plans are well integrated into the government’s development strategy. They may also ensure the data on the scorecard is current. Civil society organizations or journalists may use the scorecards to advocate for reform.
A country’s scorecard performance is tracked closely by governments, and also frequently by civil society organizations and journalists. In the 2012 independent survey, 68 percent of development experts and foreign government officials agree that MCC’s scorecards enable civil society and journalists to more effectively advocate for reform.
Following Niger’s selection for threshold program eligibility in 2006, the Nigerien government formed an inter-ministerial committee that worked with MCC and indicator institutions to improve policy performance and data quality. The committee continued to operate successfully during periods of substantial domestic political change, including a coup and two elected governments. Its efforts ensured reforms implemented by the government were recognized, including the establishment of the Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature and Cultural Reserve (a protected area the size of Indiana), and progress on gender equality that ensured men and women enjoy the same rights to pass citizenship on to their children and apply for passports. In June 2016, the MCC Board of Directors approved a compact with Niger, which was signed in July 2016.
Kosovo became an independent country in 2008 and was not initially covered by many indicators. The Government of Kosovo worked with MCC and data institutions like the International Finance Corporation to expand coverage. As a result of this work, the number of indicators covering Kosovo doubled from seven to 14 by 2012. Of the indicators that still did not cover Kosovo, six come from United Nations agencies that do not publish data on Kosovo because it is not a member state. Through continued work with the UN Kosovo Team the Government of Kosovo was able to learn about the methodologies used by the various UN agencies that produce data. As a result, Kosovo was able to provide MCC with directly comparable data for four of the six missing UN-sourced indicators and passed the MCC Scorecard in 2016. In June 2017, MCC’s Board of Directors approved Kosovo for a proposed threshold program.
After Liberia was selected for threshold program eligibility in 2008, the Liberian government created a steering committee composed of ministers and deputy ministers from relevant agencies. With strong support from their president, the ministers were instructed to focus on improving Liberia’s performance on the scorecard. While working with MCC, USAID and the indicator institutions, the steering committee uncovered outdated tariff data in the trade policy indicator and missing data on the education indicators. The steering committee coordinated across the government to ensure the data was updated in a timely manner. In 2012, Liberia passed the MCC scorecard for the first time and was selected by MCC’s Board of Directors to develop a proposal for a compact. The Liberia Compact was signed in October 2015.
In 2012, the Government of Guatemala partnered with a nonprofit organization to work on improving its scorecard. Together, they outlined strategies for improving performance on the indicators and prioritized reforms by short- and mid-term feasibility. Initial progress toward reform included enacting an anti-corruption law, prosecuting people on human rights abuses and creating a Ministry of Social Development to prioritize nutrition, health and education. In December 2012, the MCC Board of Directors selected Guatemala as eligible to develop a proposal for a threshold program, and in April 2015, MCC signed the Guatemala Threshold Program with the Government of Guatemala.
Over time, some governments subsequently implement reforms, strengthen institutions and improve data quality. Improvements can often be seen in third-party assessments, including the data provided by the indicator institutions that inform MCC scorecards. 1
The Government of Sierra Leone began engaging regularly with MCC in 2006. At the time, Sierra Leone was only three years removed from its civil war and passed just six indicators on MCC’s scorecard. Over the following years, the Government of Sierra Leone engaged with indicator institutions to learn more about its performance and how to improve. Actions included:
- In 2008, Sierra Leone expanded the mandate and resources of its anti-corruption agency, including giving it strong leadership and enforcement capacity. This agency subsequently won international awards and contributed to three years of sustained improvements on Worldwide Governance Indicators’ control of corruption indicator.
- Within five years, Sierra Leone increased public health expenditures from 2.2 percent to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product and increased immunization coverage from 65 percent to 82 percent.
- Sierra Leone reduced average tariff rates from 13.6 percent to 9.9 percent, expanded access to credit and strengthened regulatory quality.
Sierra Leone continues to focus on its scorecard performance, even in the face of daunting challenges such as the Ebola crisis; in recognition of these years of effort, MCC’s Board of Directors selected Sierra Leone for a threshold program in December 2014, which was signed in November 2015. Sierra Leone continues to work to improve scorecard performance.
Since the creation of MCC in 2004, Georgia has catapulted from 112th place to ninth place on the International Finance Corporation’s Ease of Doing Business Index. It overhauled tax and customs administration, business registration, property registration, and the court system. In April 2011, the country completed a compact with MCC, and in July 2014, entered into a new compact building on the success of the first compact.
In 2008, the Government of Honduras publicly committed to an anti-corruption plan, established to address specific policy weaknesses identified by the MCC scorecard. In 2012, the Open Budget Initiative found that the Honduran government had improved budget transparency by increasing public availability of key budget documents, including the executive’s budget proposal, the mid-year budget review and the budget audit report. The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability 2012 assessments found significant improvements in public financial management in three areas: internal controls on expenditure, reporting on extra-budgetary funds and congressional scrutiny of budget and audit reports. 2
The policy reforms undertaken by governments may lead to important outcomes related to poverty reduction and economic growth. For example, after significantly reducing the time, cost and procedural complexity of starting a business in Georgia, business registrations shot up by 55 percent between 2005 and 2006 . 3 In “Celebrating Reforms 2007: Doing Business Case Studies”, the World Bank explicitly hailed MCC as a catalyst for business-related reform in Georgia, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, and Malawi. And as Sierra Leone invested more in public health and improved immunization rates, the rate of child mortality fell from 209 to 185 deaths per 1,000 births between 2005 and 2007 . 4
Reforms generated by the MCC Effect have an important impact on countries, even in countries where MCC has not established a partnership or disbursed any funding. MCC continues to gather information on this type of outcome associated with the MCC Effect and welcomes the findings of outside research in this area.


An article describing the different states of matter and how water molecules can change between the 3 most common phases. The author demonstrates how adding heat to water only increases its temperature if it is not at a phase transition point - if the water is melting or boiling, all of the energy will be used for the transition, rather than increasing the water's temperature. Key Concepts: Phase Transitions, Properties of Water, Temperature, Molecular Interaction
A series of readings on the subject of temperature and the latent heat of phase transitions. Users will investigate the different temperature scales and learn about specific heats of fusion and vaporization. Key Concepts: Temperature, Phase Transitions, Specific Heat
Once you click the "go to the first page" link use the arrows near the top right of the page to navigate through the articles.
An in-depth investigation of the properties of water and the ways in which it differs from many other substances. Users will learn about water's surface tension, thermal properties, qualities as a solvent, and pH. Key Concepts: Specific Heat, States of Matter, Physical v. Chemical Changes, Surface Tension
This link opens as a PDF file, so be sure to click "open" or "view".
A comparative analysis of the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Users will learn about the key qualities of each phase on both the molecular and macroscopic levels. Key Concepts: States of Matter, Molecular Interaction, Phase Transitions
This website displays short animations of each phase of matter as well as a table comparing the three side-by-side.
An experimental analysis of the temperature changes over time in a substance that is constantly heated. Rather than increasing uniformly, temperature will stabilize during phase transitions as the energy is converted to latent heat. Key Concepts: Phase Transitions, Latent Heat, Temperature
At the end of the reading, users can perform a virtual experiment by setting the heating rate and then heating an idealized substance. As it is heated, the temperature of the substance will be graphed on the right.


GardenSMART :: Timely Tips to Ensure Strawberry Success
Timely Tips to Ensure Strawberry Success
By Joan Casanova, Bonnie Plants
Photographs courtesy of Bonnie Plants
Homegrown strawberries are a billion times better tasting than the hard, rarely ripe, flavorless selection in the supermarket. Strawberries are cold hardy and adaptable, making them one of the easiest berries to grow and are the first fruit to ripen in spring. While most fruit trees can take several years to begin bearing, you can harvest your homegrown strawberries the very first season you plant.
And even if you live in an apartment or small home, you can grow strawberries in a container on your balcony, rooftop, or patio. If your horizontal space is limited, consider growing strawberries in a hanging basket, strawberry pot or stacked planter, which will allow you to take advantage of vertical growing space as the strawberry plants tumble out over the edges.
There are two main kinds of strawberries: "June-bearing" and "everbearing" varieties. June-bearing varieties bear all at once, usually over a period of about 3 weeks. Because of their earliness, high quality and concentrated fruit set, June-bearers, like All-star, produce high yields of very large, sweet, extra juicy berries in late mid-season, which is usually late spring and early summer, depending on your geographic region. These are the best variety for preserving.
"Everbearing" strawberries produce high yields of big, sweet berries from late spring until frost, with concentrated fruiting in late summer and fall. Perfect for large containers or raised beds, where you can give them attentive watering and feeding.
Bonnie Plants, available at most garden retailers nationwide, offers a good selection of ever-bearing strawberries including the very popular Quinault variety. This variety offers large berries ripening in abundance, ideal for preserves or fresh eating.
Tips to Ensure Strawberry Success
When planting strawberries in-ground, be sure the crown is above soil level and the uppermost roots are 1/4 inch beneath soil level. Buried crowns rot and exposed roots dry out. Strawberry plants should be placed approximately 14 to 18 inches apart from each other in neat rows that are separated by 2-3 feet each. Let runners fill in until plants are 7-10 inches apart.
Use mulch to keep berries clean, conserve moisture and control weeds.
If you want to keep it simple, plant strawberries in a container. Just remember that container plantings need much more water than in-ground plantings, usually once a day and if it's hot, twice. To know when to water, stick your finger or a pencil 1.5 inches deep into the soil in the center of the pot, if the soil is moist; don't water, if dry, it's time to water.
Strawberry pots are an obvious container choice for growing strawberries. You can fit several plants in one pot; just make sure whatever type of garden pot you use has good drainage. Strawberries have a relatively small root ball and can be grown in containers as small as 10-12 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep. However, the smaller the container, the more frequently you will need to water. Another great choice that's practical and pretty are strawberries in hanging baskets; once they begin to fruit they're showstoppers and fruits are easy pickings.
Strawberries like well-drained, fairly rich soil, so be sure to add compost or other organic matter when preparing the pot or patch.
They need full sun, 6-8 hours per day, will grow in all zones and should be fed twice a year -- when growth begins and after the first crop.
Control slugs and snails by handpicking them off plants and prevent theft from birds by covering your patch or pot with netting as the first berries ripen.
Strawberries are one of the easiest and most delicious home garden fruits to grow. Try growing them with kids; plants produce fruit throughout the summer and children will love to pluck them right off the plant, wash and eat! If your kids have yet to plant and care for a fruit or vegetable, strawberries are a perfect choice for their first gardening experience. Kick off this gardening season with your kids and get growing strawberries!
For more info on growing strawberries as well as vegetables and herbs, please visit: www.bonnieplants.com.
All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.


Wednesday, May 7th, 2014
Almost exactly one year ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art agreed to return a pair of 10th century statues known as the Kneeling Attendants that had been looted from the Cambodian archaeological site of Koh Ker in the early 1970s. Seven months later, Sotheby’s, after two years of fractious negotiations and under pressure from the US Attorney, agreed to return a much larger 10th century statue of the warrior Duryodhana that was also looted from Koh Ker in the early 70s. Now, five months after that, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena has agreed to return their own Koh Ker loot: a 500-pound sandstone statue of the hero Bhima, Duryodhana’s cousin and opponent in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
The museum purchased Bhima in 1976 from New York art dealer William Wolff. It has been on display since then, labeled “Temple Wrestler.” Cambodia has had more than enough problems to deal with at home since the brutal civil war that claimed the statues of Koh Ker as victims, so it didn’t begin to pursue its stolen cultural patrimony until the past few years.
The museum has previously said that Cambodian representatives had seen the statue on display in California and had not raised any objections. In a statement on Tuesday the Norton Simon said it continues to have “a good-faith disagreement” with Cambodia over ownership of the Bhima, but after sending representatives to Phnom Penh in March to meet with government officials, it has “worked directly with Cambodia to come up with a mutually acceptable solution,” and agreed to give it back as a gift.
In 2007, the pedestals of the Kneeling Attendants and the feet of both Duryodhana and Bhima were discovered in the Prasat Chen temple of the Koh Ker complex by conservators from the German Apsara Conservation Project. Archaeologist Eric Bourdonneau of the Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient (the French School of Asian Studies) made a study of the pedestals and feet, virtually matching them up to photographs of the statues. They fit like a glove, and indeed you can clearly see the chisel marks looters left on the ankles, knees and feet of these otherwise perfectly preserved 1000-year-old statues.
All four of these statues — the attendants, Bhima and Duryodhana — were part of a group that stood inside the western gopura, one of two monumental towers at opposite entrances to the Prasat Chen temple. The tableau depicted a famous scene from the Mahabharata wherein Bhima duels with Duryodhana under the watchful gaze of seven kneeling and seated attendants. Koh Ker, the new capital of the Khmer Empire under King Jayavarman IV, was founded in 928 A.D., and a whole new style of sculpture was conceived there. The statues of Bhima and Duryodhana were revolutionary for their time, the first freestanding, dynamic figures in Khmer art which had previously been characterized by bas reliefs and static pieces.
Here’s a wonderful computer recreation by the Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient of the western gopura and its sculptures:
In an unusual, hell-freezes-over move, Christie’s has bought another one of the attendants from this statue group to return it to Cambodia. The auction house had sold it twice, once in 2000 and then again to an anonymous collector in 2009. Earlier this year, after an internal investigation of a five-year-old sale that apparently determined that the sculpture had been looted from Koh Ker decades earlier, Christie’s contacted the buyer and arranged to buy the statue back. Christie’s will now foot the bill to ship the piece to Cambodia.
That leaves two known statues Cambodian experts believe were looted from Koh Ker still in the United States, one at the Denver Art Museum and one at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Those museums are still in the denial phase right now, but last year so was the Met, the Norton Simon, Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Now Christie’s is doing its own investigations and buying looted artifacts back from the buyers (who would ever have seen that coming?), so the arc of this particular history appears to be bending rather strongly towards justice.
[Cambodia's secretary of state] Mr. Chan Tani said that recovering all the statues from the Prasat Chen temple is a national priority. The goal is to reattach the statues to their pedestals, which were left behind by the looters, and place them all together in a special display area in the national museum.


A month ago, SpaceX made headlines again after successfully launching their first reused spacecraft - the Dragon - on a mission to resupply the ISS for the second time.
The Dragon was launched into low-Earth orbit aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on June 2. It prompted the 11th successful Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-11) to the International Space Station (ISS).
Following the launch, the Falcon 9 rockets safely landed back on Earth at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The landing also marks SpaceX's the fifth consecutive on-land landing, fostering a new era of recoverable vehicle technologies.
The spacecraft will help astronauts test a new set of solar panels as well as investigate the effects of space on the heart. After a few days of spaceflight, the Dragon capsule successfully docked at the ISS. NASA astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson captured the capsule using the space station's robotic arm.
SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft about to be captured by the Canadarm [Image Source: NASA Johnson/Flickr]
On board the Dragon was almost 6,000 pounds of payload. It includes critical supplies and materials that will be used to support the ISS crew and the dozens of experiments they will perform.
The Dragon is also the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to the space station. Previously, in 2014, the capsule delivered nearly two-and-a-half tons of supplies and scientific payloads to the ISS.
Now, the spacecraft has successfully completed another resupply mission.
Dragon Returns to Earth
Earlier this week, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft made a triumphant return back to Earth.
Early Monday morning, the Dragon capsule detached from the ISS before embarking on the journey back home. Over the course of several hours, the spacecraft slowed its orbit to begin its final descent. Once back in the Earth's atmosphere, the capsule successfully deployed its parachute before it came crashing down into the Pacific Ocean at approximately 8:14 AM EDT.
However, if it were not for the incredible technology protecting the spacecraft, it would have never made its second flight to begin with.
Protecting the Dragon with the PICA-X Heat Shield
The Dragon's PICA-X heat shield protects the spacecraft from temperatures exceeding 1500-degrees Celsius. It is a special variant of the Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield invented by NASA.
The PICA heat shield was derived from a previous NASA mission in the 1990s. Scientists wanted a new spacecraft that would investigate and retrieve samples of commentary matter for research back on Earth.
The spacecraft, deemed Stardust, would investigate the relatively unchanged comets to further our scientific understanding of the early days of the universe.
Stardust would investigate the comet Wild 2 and would return after a nearly 6 billion kilometer journey. Although, to bring Stardust home, NASA needed new an innovative technology that could withstand reentry into the atmosphere at a record breaking speed.
The problem was the spacecraft was to return to Earth at a record-breaking speed. Most materials were unworthy, and the ones that could withstand the force were simply too heavy.
"Stardust would be returning to Earth faster than any manmade object before it, plunging into the atmosphere at speeds of 28,600 mph. Heat shields used in previous NASA missions were simply incapable of withstanding the blast of heat Stardust would create upon its return. Agency engineers looked at materials the Department of Defense had developed, but while durable enough they were too heavy" explains NASA.
Later, after researching combinations of compounds, Ben Clark of Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), discovered Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA). The material is much lighter and far superior at withstanding the excruciating temperatures experienced during reentry.
"Developed at Ames Research Center in Northern California, the PICA heat shield weighs one-fifth as much as its conventional counterparts and can withstand temperatures up to 2800° C," explains NASA.
Gaining the Attention of SpaceX
Nearly a decade after the development of PICA, Elon Musk's space company SpaceX began to emerge in the early 2000s.
In 2006, NASA put out a competition for private companies to devise a space capsule capable of resupplying the ISS. Naturally, the Dragon design won.
Intrigued by the successful reentry of the Stardust, SpaceX engineers decided the material would be suitable for a spacecraft of their own: the Dragon.
Now with NASA on their side, SpaceX began to shape the PICA heat shield to the Dragon spacecraft. Unfortunately, the shield could not be manufactured in a singular piece large enough to accommodate the much larger Dragon capsule. It was up to the clever engineers at SpaceX and NASA to come up with an alternative solution.
"Stardust’s Sample Return Capsule only required a PICA shield that was a little over 1 meter in diameter; to protect the much bulkier Dragon a 4-meter version was needed. With the 1-meter shield, Rasky and his team worked with Fiber Materials Incorporated to fabricate a single piece of PICA, but that wouldn’t be possible with the larger Dragon cargo transporter. To solve that problem they devised an efficient and cost-effective method for manufacturing smaller PICA tiles, which were then fabricated into a single heat shield," says NASA on a technology spin-off paper.
Hence, PICA-X was born. Now, with a shield durable to survive the forces of reentry, SpaceX was close to realizing their new mission: resupplying the ISS.
The PICA-X shield proved to be incredibly durable, capable of protecting the capsule from nearly all damage during reentry. As such, SpaceX would go on to reuse their spacecraft in June of 2017.
Although the PICA-X shield is a remarkable piece of engineering, it is not the only intriguing feature of the Dragon capsule.
Inside the Dragon Spacecraft
The Dragon spacecraft maintains the unique ability to be arranged in multiple configurations, depending on the intended use. It can be converted to carry cargo, humans, or turned into the "DragonLab." The configurations enable the craft to be optimized for a variety of scenarios. The duality of the ship makes it ideal for many space-bound missions expected to continue into the future.
In the cargo configuration, the space inside the capsule is lined with carbon-aluminum honeycomb racks. The racks can accommodate many standard-size NASA cargo bags. It also retains the ability to carry freezers, enabling the craft to carry temperature sensitive materials including biological samples.
Cargo configuration [Image Source: SpaceX]
Though humans have yet to fly inside the Dragon, SpaceX is currently in the works of planning a manned mission.
"Under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is making upgrades to Dragon to allow for crew carrying capability," explains SpaceX.
The engineers behind the Dragon claim it will be the world’s safest and most reliable crew transport vehicle ever constructed. The capsule will be able to support a crew of seven along with life support systems, backup manual control systems, and an impressive power launch escape system.
SpaceX expects to make its first manned mission as early as 2018.
Dragon capsule modified for a crew [Image Source: SpaceX]
To continue the pursuit of the answers of the universe, SpaceX is ensuring the Dragon will be able to support the world's most advanced technologies. The DragonLab gives a suitable platform for experiments to be carried out in a microgravity environment. Independent of the space station, the DragonLab will be able to carry out more risky experiments without compromising the multi-billion dollar ISS.
"DragonLab can readily accommodate instrument and sensor testing, space physics and relativity experiments, radiation effects research, and many other microgravity tests," says SpaceX.
DragonLab [Image Source: SpaceX]
Inside the Pressured Section
The Dragon is portioned off into three separate sections. The pressurized section, commonly referred to as the capsule, is engineered to carry humans or cargo into space. Outside of the capsule is lined with the Dragon's advanced PICA-X heat shield designed to protect equipment and crew from the intense heat experienced during reentry.
SpaceX Dragon Capsule [Image Source: SpaceX]
The trunk of the spacecraft remains unpressurized. It houses cargo and the Dragon's solar arrays that are not required to be housed in a temperature and pressure controlled environment. The capsule remains attached to the dragon until moments before reentry where it is jettisoned. Together with the capsule, the Dragon spacecraft has a total launch payload volume of 25 cubic meters (almost 900 cubic feet). In just one mission, it can carry up to 6,000 kg (13,228 lbs) of cargo.
Part of the material flying within the Dargon's pressurized area includes an experiment containing fruit flies. Fruit flies' short lifespan compounded by their relatively small size, short lifespan, and well-known genetic makeup makes them ideal candidates for heart function studies. Scientists will use the flies to investigate the effects on the heart of prolonged exposure to microgravity.
"This experiment could significantly advance understanding of how spaceflight affects the cardiovascular system and could aid in the development of countermeasures to help astronauts." Claims Nasa.
Other technologies housed inside the Dragon's unpressurized area include a new type of solar panel, called the ROSA. The panels unfurl from a compact, folded state, enabling the technology to be packed in a significantly smaller area.
"ROSA has the potential to replace solar arrays on future satellites, making them more compact and lighter weight. Satellite radio and television, weather forecasting, GPS and other services used on Earth would all benefit from high-performance solar arrays," NASA explains on their mission page.
In January of 2016, NASA made the official announcement that SpaceX was selected to carry out missions to the ISS using the Falcon 9 launch vehicle along with the Dragon spacecraft. The company is now under contract until 2024 to carry out up to 20 resupply missions.
Elon Musk's space company will continue to fly missions to the ISS for the next seven years. However, the company envisions traveling far beyond the reaches of low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX is currently in the works of designing a manned craft that will support missions into deep space. Although it remains uncertain where they will go first, SpaceX seems determined to reach Mars.
Though the space race has been ongoing for half a century, it has merely just begun. Technologies are rapidly evolving, enabling humans to reach farther into the depths of space. It is only a matter of time before humans reach Mars and beyond.
Written by Maverick Baker


Where there’s traditional cooking and extensive use of seasonal ingredients, you’ll come across a tree with leaves that resemble a camel’s foot: Kachnar or more specifically, Kachnar Kali. Aptly nicknamed Camel Foot Tree/Mountain Ebony (English name) and also known as Bauhinia Variegata (Scientific), this edible flowering plant comes with a multitude of benefits. Its name – Bauhinia – was coined by Linnaeus in honour of the twin Bauhin brothers, Johann and Gaspard, who were 16th- and 17th-century Swiss scientists. In the Ayurvedic context, it has been mentioned in “Bhaisajya Ratnavali,” an ayurvedic book written by Govind Das.
Typically, three varieties populate areas of China, India, the Phillippines, and Australia — white flower species (Bauhinia Variegate), pink-purple flower species(Bauhinia Purpurea), and yellow flower species (Bauhinia Tomentosa).
This plant – belonging to an orchid tree – is a member of the Fabaceae (legume) family, and comes power-packed with nutrients that are wholesome and delicious (if made the right way of course). Note that the buds of the flowering orchid are bitter when raw. Generally, Kachnar grows to about 50 to 60 feet and is easy to care for. In the English language, the red flowers of Kachnar have been compared to the red lips of the beloved – given its beauty, rightly so.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Tracheophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Fabales
- Family: Fabaceae
- Genus: Bauhinia
- Species: Variegata
Kachnar Uses: Nutritional Information & Dosage
The orchid tree blossoms with mildly-scented purple, pink, magenta, white, and lavender blooms which can be used to decorate and adorn spaces. Additionally, the best part is that all parts of the orchid tree can be used in one form or another. The oils extracted from the seeds, leaves, and bark can be used for tanning and dyeing; whereas, the young seedpods, leaves, and buds can be used to make culinary delights. In terms of physical characteristics, it is astringent in taste, light and dry in touch-and-feel, cool in potency, and pungent when it comes to post-digestive effects.
Simply, all parts of the Kachnar plant – from the flower and the bark to the fruits and the leaves have medicinal/nutritional properties. These include (but are not limited to):
- Thyroid hormone regulation
Kachnar Tree’s Multi-Purpose Benefits
Ayurveda recommends using Kachnar for a variety of health benefits such as skin and stomach ailments, treatment in glandular diseases, leprosy, intestinal worms, tumours, wounds such as snake bites, ulcers, inflammations, cough, bleeding disorders, etc.
Plus, eating Kachnar is also effective in treating haemorrhoids and the bitter flowers help in blood purification and ridding the body of harmful toxins. This makes sense as it is made from the sap of Mukul (guggul) tree. It is extremely useful for clearing out toxins from the liver. It is also known to aid in good, blissful sleep and is rich in Vitamin C. Let’s explore its other benefits in greater details:
Mouth Ulcers / Foul Smell In The Mouth
Kachnar helps kill bacteria in the mouth and restore the pH balance in the mouth. Acharya Balkrishna suggests you take 10gm of Kachnar’s bark and break it into smaller parts, add 400 gm water to it and boil. Once this solution/decoction (kadha) is reduced to 100 gm, strain it and store. Once the water cools down, gargle with it twice or thrice a day.
According to Acharya Balkrishna, for people suffering from a toothache, you can take Kachnar’s bark, burn it and grind to a powder form. Use this powder to brush your teeth, it will provide immediate relief.
Kanchanar Guggulu Benefits:
Guggulu loosely translated means “protection from the disease.” Kanchanara Guggulu also called “Yogavahi” has synergistic effects on the body that aids in natural healing. It basically means that it can carry other substances deep into the tissues of the body and flush out toxins. This is a multi-ingredient medicine comprising of the bark of Kachnar, Triphala or three fruits (Amalaki, Bibhitaki, and Haritaki), Ginger, Long Pepper, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Tej Patta, and the bark of Crataeva Nurvala. Triphala is known to cure 50 per cent of diseases! Not surprisingly, a large number of drugs contain Triphala as an ingredient.
Kanchanar Guggulu Thyroid
The bark of Kachnar – one of the main ingredients in Kanchanara Guggulu – is useful in treating goitre and hypothyroidism as it helps correct the thyroid imbalance by removing Kapha in the body.
Remedy: Take 20 gm of Kachnar bark, add 200 ml of water to it, let it boil till it gets reduced to 50 ml. Strain and consume.
Kachnar (particularly its flowers) is known to remove haemorrhoids successfully irrespective of its severity.
Loose Stools / Intestinal Mucus
As per Acharya Balkrishna’s recommendation, take Kachnar’s bark and grind to a powder. Take around 3 gm of powder along with water – morning and night – for relief from loose motion.
Taking Kanchnar Guggul – a rich source of antioxidants – keeps our skin healthy. It comprises of Kachnar chaal (bark) which is useful in regulating blood flow in our body. By combining Kachnar Guggul with other useful herbs, you can address a number of skin-related issues. When taken orally, this medicine helps in the treatment of severe acne that affects the face, chest, and back. It also helps decrease pain, swelling, and intensity of acne outbreaks.
Kachnar is known to delay the growth of cancer cells and also helps shrink them. Prepare a decoction of the flower and stem along with 3 cups of water. Reduce the liquid to half its volume and add some mishri (rock candy) to it and drink twice a day.
Kachnar’s bark helps calm the digestive system while increasing your appetite. It can also be consumed if you have an upset stomach or have worms in the stomach. It is best to consume the bark in powdered form along with water before meals.
Handy tip: The pickles made out of Kachnar help strengthen the intestines. It is also said that ginger and Kachnar consumed together help treat all kinds of digestive issues.
Blood Sugar Levels
It helps control blood sugar levels.
Burning Sensation While Urination
For people who have a burning sensation when urinating, simply take 2 teaspoons of Kachnar’s bark, add 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds and water to it. Bring this decoction to a boil, add mishri, strain and consume.
Blood Flow During Menstruation
If you wish to regulate your blood flow during menstruation, Kachnar should be your go-to vegetable as it helps regulate the circulation of blood.
Liver Problems / Jaundice
Take Kachnar leaves and extract juice from it, and consume twice a day. The recommended dose is 50 ml for adults and 15 ml for children.
1. Tablet form: 2-3 tablets a day for adults, 1/2-1 tablet for children below 5 years of age (once a day), 1 tablet for children between 5-12 years of age (2-3 times a day), and 1-2 tablets for children between 12-18 years of age (2-3 times a day).
2. Bark powder: 1-3 gm
3. Decoction form: 40-80 ml
4. Flower extract: 10-20 ml
Note: While this is the recommended dose, please make sure to consult your doctor before taking it orally or otherwise.
Kachnar Side-Effects & Precautionary Measures
- Kachnar Guggul can cause side effects such as stomach upset, headaches, nausea, vomiting, loose stools, diarrhoea, belching, and hiccups.
- It can also cause allergic reactions such as rash and itching.
- Best to avoid taking Kachnar Guggul in high doses such as 6000 mg per day.
- Although less common, some other side-effects include restlessness, apprehension, and breakdown of muscle tissue.
- Pregnant and lactating mothers should avoid consuming it orally or otherwise.
- People with a sensitive stomach may experience mild gastric irritation.
- People with bleeding disorders should avoid consuming it as it can slow blood clotting and might cause bleeding or bruising.
- People with high cholesterol levels should avoid it as it might increase levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
- People suffering from hormone-sensitive conditions such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids should also avoid taking Kachnar Guggul as it might act like estrogen in the body.
- People who have undergone surgery recently should not take it as it might increase the risk of bleeding during and after surgery.
- People taking medicine for diabetes should consume it under a doctor’s consultation.
- Do not take it continuously for more than one month.
Important: Please consult your doctor before consuming Kachnar Guggulu as a precautionary measure. Under no conditions should you take it before consulting your physician. Better safe than sorry, right?
Where to Buy it Online
There are a number of renowned brands that offer Kanchanar Guggulu. The price typically ranges from INR 100-150. You can find these online:
- Kanchanar Guggulu Sri Sri
- Kanchanar Guggulu Baidyanath
- Kanchanara Guggulu Dabur: Helps in treating granthi rog and fistula.
- Kanchnar Guggulu Patanjali
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What Is Financial Abuse?
Financial abuse is an aspect of ‘coercive control’ which is described as a pattern of controlling, threatening and degrading behavior that restricts a victims’ freedom.
It’s important to understand that financial abuse seldom happens in isolation: in most cases perpetrators use other abusive behaviors to threaten and reinforce the financial abuse.
Financial abuse involves a perpetrator controlling money in a way that limits and controls their partner’s access to money and their freedom of choice. It can include using credit cards without permission, putting contractual obligations in their partner’s name, and gambling with family assets.
Financial abuse can leave you with no money for basic essentials such as food and clothing. It can leave you without access to your own bank account, with no access to any independent income and with debts that have been built up by an abusive partner in your name.
Even when a survivor has left the home, financial control can still be exerted by the abuser with regard to child maintenance, tenancy agreements or mortgage payments.
Women's Aid report that financial abuse is under reported and poorly recognized. Financial abuse can affect victims in a range of different ways. Even those who may have a full-time salary or who share joint accounts with their partners are not safe from financial abuse.
Women's Aid surveyed 126 survivors and found:
· 71 per cent went without essentials because they didn’t have enough money
· 61 per cent were in debt because of financial abuse and 37 per cent had a bad credit rating as a result.
· 52 per cent of those living with an abuser said they had no money so could not leave.
Why Is It Important To Address Financial Abuse?
The manipulation of money and other economic resources is one of the most prominent forms of coercive control, depriving women of the material means needed for independence, resistance and escape.
- It’s a barrier to leaving: Lack of access to economic resources is a reason why many women feel that they have no choice but to stay with an abuser.
- Increased risk for the survivor: Economic barriers to leaving can result in women staying with abusive men for longer and experiencing greater danger, injuries and even homicide as a result.
- A barrier to an independent life: Economic abuse doesn’t rely on physical proximity, so can continue after separation. Women are often left in debt and the lack of financial security impacts on their ability to rebuild their lives after leaving.