A new tool to identify the calls of bat species could help conservation efforts.
Because bats are nocturnal and difficult to observe or catch, the most effective way to study them is to monitor their echolocation calls. These sounds are emitted in order to hear the echo bouncing back from surfaces around the bats, allowing them to navigate, hunt and communicate.
Many different measurements can be taken from each call, such as its minimum and maximum frequency, or how quickly the frequency changes during the call, and these measurements are used to help identify the species of bat.
However, a paper by an international team of researchers, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, asserts that poor standardisation of acoustic monitoring limits scientists’ ability to collate data.
Kate Jones, chairwoman of the UK-based Bat Conservation Trust
told the BBC that “without using the same identification methods everywhere, we cannot form reliable conclusions about how bat populations are doing and whether their distribution is changing.
"Because many bats migrate between different European countries, we need to monitor bats at a European - as well as country - scale.”
The team selected 1,350 calls from 34 different European bat species from EchoBank, a global echolocation library containing more than 200,000 bat call recordings. This raw data has allowed them to develop the identification tool, iBatsID
, which can identify 34 out of 45 species of bats.
This free online tool works anywhere in Europe, and its creators claim can identify most species correctly more than 80% of the time.
There are 18 species of bat residing in the UK, including the common pipistrelle and greater horseshoe bat.
Monitoring bats is vital not just to this species, but also to the whole ecosystem. Bats are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment, so if bat populations are declining, it can be an indication that other species might be affected in the future.


8. Scurrula buddleioides (Desrousseaux) G. Don, Gen. Hist. 3: 421. 1834.
滇藏梨果寄生 dian zang li guo ji sheng
Shrubs 0.5-2 m tall, young branchlets, leaves, and inflorescences with dense short grayish yellow, rarely brown, verticillate and stellate hairs. Branches brownish, glabrous, scattered lenticellate. Leaves opposite; petiole 4-12 mm, pilose; leaf blade ovate, ovate-oblong to oblong, 6-10 × 3.5-8 cm, papery or thinly leathery, abaxial surface minutely tomentose, adaxial surface glabrous, lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs, base obtuse to rounded, apex acute. Racemes 2-5-fascicled, axillary, sometimes at leafless nodes, 3-5(-7)-flowered; peduncle and rachis 1.5-5 mm, brownish or grayish yellow tomentose. Flowers densely alternate; bracts ovate, ca. 1 mm. Pedicel 1-1.5 mm. Calyx pyriform, 2-3 mm, limb annular, ciliate. Mature bud tubular, 1.5-2 cm, tip ellipsoid. Corolla red, slightly curved and inflated, tomentose, lobes lanceolate, ca. 5 mm, reflexed. Style red; stigma subcapitate. Berry pyriform, 8-10 × 3.5-4 mm, pilose, base tapering into stalk. Fl. and fr. Jan-Dec.
Forests, thickets, mountain slopes, valleys; 1100-2200 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [India].
Recorded hosts include species of Caprifoliaceae, Coriariaceae, Fagaceae, Moraceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae, and Tiliaceae.


The length of amyloid fibrils found in diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson appears to play a role in the degree of their toxicity, according to researchers at the University of Leeds. Their findings are published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry in a paper titled “Fibril Fragmentation Enhances Amyloid Cytotoxicity.”
Sheena Radford, Ph.D., and colleagues systematically analyzed the effects of fragmentation on three of the 30 or so proteins that form amyloid in human diseases. Their results showed that in addition to the expected relationship between fragmentation and the ability to seed, the length of fibrils also correlated with their ability to disrupt membranes and reduce cell viability. This was evident even when there were no other changes in molecular architecture.
Co-author, Eric Hewitt, Ph.D., says that while the findings provide scientists with unexpected new insights for the development of therapeutics against amyloid deposit-related diseases, the next stage of research will involve looking at a greater numbers of the proteins that form amyloid fibrils. “We anticipate that when we look at amyloid fibers formed from other proteins, they may well follow the same rules.”
“It may be that because they’re smaller it’s easier for them to infiltrate cells,” Dr. Hewitt suggests. “We’ve observed them killing cells, but we’re not sure yet exactly how they do it. Nor do we know whether these short fibers form naturally when amyloid fibers assemble or whether some molecular process makes them disassemble or fragment into shorter fibers. These are our next big challenges.”


People vary in their reactions to mosquito bites. Most people develop itchy, raised bumps on the skin that last several days. No treatment is necessary, but calamine lotion or over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream can reduce itching.
A few people have a significant allergy to mosquito bites. The bites can result in what’s called a large local reaction: swelling, blistering, itching, and pain affecting a wide area of the body (such as an entire arm or leg). Oral antihistamines like cetirizine (Zyrtec), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), or hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril) can help ease itching. Topical hydrocortisone may also help.
Rarely, people with a severe allergy to mosquito bites develop anaphylaxis, a whole-body life-threatening allergic reaction. Symptoms of anaphylaxis include:
• Itching or rash, especially hives, in areas of skin away from the bite.
• Hoarseness or shortness of breath.
Anaphylaxis requires emergency medical attention. People who have had anaphylaxis-like symptoms previously should always have injectable epinephrine (an Epi-Pen) nearby.
This answer should not be considered medical advice...This answer should not be considered medical advice and should not take the place of a doctor’s visit. Please see the bottom of the page for more information or visit our Terms and Conditions.
Thanks for your feedback.
37 of 42 found this helpful


These LEDs are connected to a thermistor that’s running just a little bit hotter than the ambient room temperature. So, by blowing on the thermistor, the birthday boy or girl is cooling it down, thus increasing the resistence. The microcontroller senses this and turns off a few of the LEDs as a result. Make one of these guys and you’ll never again have to worry about melted wax on your cake. For detailed instructions, head on over to Instructables.


This tutorial shows how to send modifications of code in the right way: by using patches.
The word developer is used here for someone having a KDE SVN account.
We suppose that you have modified some code in KDE and that you are ready to share it. First a few important points:
Now you have the modification as a source file. Sending the source file will not be helpful, as probably someone else has done other modifications to the original file in the meantime. So your modified file could not replace it.
That is why patches exist. Patches list the modifications, the line numbers and a few other useful information to be able to put that patch back into the existing code. (This process is called "patching" or also "applying a patch.")
The main tool for creating patches is a tool called diff, which makes the difference between two files. This tool has a mode called unified diff, which KDE developers use. Unified diffs have not just the difference between the file but also the neighborhood around the differences. That allows to patch even if the line numbers are not the same anymore.
The most simple patch is created between the modified file (here called source.cpp) and the non-modified version of the file (here called source.cpp.orig.)
diff -u -p source.cpp.orig source.cpp
That lists the difference between the two files in the unified diff format (and with function name information if possible.) However it only displays it to screen, which is of course not the goal. So you need to redirect the output.
diff -u -p source.cpp.orig source.cpp > ~/patch.diff
~/patch.diff is here an example and you can create the file where you prefer with the name that you prefer. (You will soon find out that it is probably not a good idea to create a patch where the source is.)
But normally, you do not just change one file and you do not keep the original version around to be able to make the difference later. But here too, there is a solution.
The program svn, which is used on the command line interact with the SVN server, has a diff function too: svn diff.
You can run it like this and it will give you the difference of the current directory and all sub-directories below it. Of course, here too, you want to redirect the output.
svn diff > ~/patch.diff
There are useful variants too (shown here without redirection)
Note: even if svn can make the difference of another directory (svn diff mydirectory), it is not recommended to do it for a patch that should be applied again. (The problem is that the person that will apply the patch will have to be more careful about how he applies it.)
Note: for simple diff, like those shown in the examples above, svn diff can be used offline, therefore without an active connection to the KDE SVN server. This is possible, as svn keeps a copy of the original files locally. (This feature is part of the design of SVN.)
By default, svn diff does not have a feature like the -p parameter of diff. But svn allows that an external diff program is called, so you can call diff:
svn diff --diff-cmd diff --extensions "-u -p"
The procedures described above work very well with text files, for example C++ source code. However they do not work with binary files, as diff is not made to handle them. And even if SVN can internally store binary differences, svn diff is not prepared to do anything similar yet, mainly because it currently uses the unified diff format only, which is not meant for binary data.
Therefore, unfortunately, there is little choice but to attach binary files separately from the patch, of course attached in the same email.
First, you need to make svn aware of files you have added.
svn add path/to/new/file /path/to/another/new/file
Then run svn diff as before.
Note that if you do svn revert, for example, the files you created will NOT be deleted by svn - but svn will no longer care about them (so they won't show up when you do svn diff, for example). You will have to rm them manually.
(TODO: are there any other issues with adding new files if you don't have commit access?)
Now you are ready to share the patch. If your patch fixes a bug from KDE Bugs, then the easiest way is to attach it there, see next section.
The main way of sharing a patch is to email to a mailing list. But be careful not to send big patches to a mailing list, a few 10KB is the limit.
If you find that the patch is too big to send to a mailing list, the best is to create a bug report in KDE Bugs and to attach the patch there, after having created the bug report.
Another possibility, however seldom used, is to post the patch on a public Web server (be it by HTTP or FTP) and to send an email to the mailing list, telling that the patch is waiting there.
Another variant is to ask on the mailing list which developer is ready to get a big patch. (Try to give its size and ask if you should send it compressed, for example by bzip2.)
A last variant, if you know exactly which developer will process the patch and that you know or that you suppose that he currently has time, is to send the patch to a developer directly. (But here too, be careful if your patch is big. Some KDE developers have still analog modems.)
In this section we assume that you have chosen to add your patch to an existing KDE bug or that you have created a bug report just for your patch.
Even if this tutorial is more meant to send patches to a mailing list, most of it can be applied to adding a patch to KDE Bugs.
You have two ways to do it:
To send an email to a bug report, you can use an email address of the form firstname.lastname@example.org where 12345 is the bug number. Please be sure to attach your patch and not to have it inlined in your text. (If it is inlined, it would be corrupted by KDE Bugs, as HTML does not respect spaces.)
Note: if you send an email to KDE Bugs, be careful to use as sender the same email address as your login email address in KDE Bugs. Otherwise KDE Bugs will reject your email.
Note: if you create a new bug report just for your patch, be careful that you cannot attach a patch directly when creating a new bug. However as soon as the new bug is created, you can then attach files, one-by-one, therefore also patches.
Warning: sometimes your patch will be forgotten because the developers do not always closely monitor the bug database. In this case, try sending your patch by email as described below. If that also does not help, you can always talk to the developers on IRC
Assuming that you have chosen to send the patch to a mailing list, you might ask yourself: to which one?
The best destination for patches is the corresponding developer mailing list.
In case of doubt, you can send any patch for KDE to the kde-devel mailing list. (However with an increased risk that you would miss the right developer.)
Of course, if you know exactly which developer will process the patch and that you know or that you suppose that he currently has time, then you can send the patch to him directly.
Now you have a patch redirected into a file (for this example called patch.diff), you are ready to send it by email. But the first question: where?
Now that you have entered an email address, a good practice is to attach the patch to your file before writing anything else in the email. So you will not forget to attach it.
A little note here: yes, in KDE (unlike for the Linux Kernel for example), we prefer to have the patches sent as attachments.
Now you are ready to write the rest of the email. Please think of a title that matches your patch. (Think of having to find it again in the archives in a few months or even years.) A good habit is to precede the title by [PATCH]. So for example a title could be [PATCH] Fix backup files.
As for the body of the email, please tell to which file or directory your patch applies. For example for a file: The attached patch applies to the file koffice/kword/kwdoc.cpp or for a directory: The attached patch applies to the directory koffice/kword. This help the developers to have an overview of which code has been modified. Also tell for which branch it is meant, for example for trunk.
Then tell what your patch does. If it fixes a bug, then please give the bug number too. If the bug was not registered in KDE Bugs, then please describe instead the bug that is fixed. Similarly, if you know that the patch fixes a bug introduced from a precise SVN revision, please add the revision number.
Tell also what could be useful to the developers, for example if you could not completely test the patch (and why), if you need help to finish fixing the code or if it is a quick&dirty solution that should be fixed better in long-term.
Now check the email again to see if you have not forgotten anything (especially to attach the patch) and you can send the email.
One popular way of submitting patches is KDE's reviewboard. A big advantage over using the bugtracker of KDE is that the patches are less likely to be forgotten here. Also, the reviewboard allows inline review of diffs and other gimmicks.
First you need to check if the project you've created the patch for is actually using reviewboard. For this, go to the groups section and see if the project's group is listed there. If it is listed there, you should use the reviewboard, otherwise send the patch by other means.
For sending a patch, you first need to register. Then simply click New Review Request and fill out the form. The most important parts of the form are:
After you completed the form, a notification mail will be sent to the developers and they will answer you.
Now you have to wait that a developer reacts on your patch. (If you are not subscribed to the mailing lists where you have sent the patch, then monitor the mailing list archives] for such a message.)
The reaction is normally one of the following:
The first case is when nobody has answered. That perhaps means that you have chosen the wrong mailing list. Perhaps you have not explained correctly what the patch fixes or you have given a title that is not precise enough. If this happens, the developer might have overlooked the patch. Perhaps the developer that should have answered has not any time currently. (That too happens unfortunately.) The best is to try to work a little more on the patch, make a better description and try again a second time, perhaps to another mailing list or to use KDE Bugs instead.
If the developer tells you that your patch conflicts with changes that he is currently doing, you could probably not do much against it. Maybe you can discuss with him how you can effectively work with him on this piece of code.
If your patch was not accepted, you could work further on it. Probably you should discuss the problem on the mailing list to know in which direction you should work further.
If a developer wants a few changes, then work on the code to make the changes according to the critic. If you need help because you do not understand how to do the needed change, then ask it on the mailing list.
If your patch was accepted, congratulations! :)


The authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, IBWA members include U.S. and International bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA represents our industry’s uncompromising commitment to the safety and availability of bottled water worldwide.
Bottled water companies work hard to protect the environment, and play an important role in promoting recycling of plastic containers and groundwater management.
The bottled water industry is one of thousands of food, beverage and commercial water users. Bottled Water companies actively support comprehensive ground water management practices that are science-based, treat all users equitably, multi-jurisdictional, and provide for future needs of this important resource. Learn more.
Bottled water is a safe, healthy, and convenient packaged food product, which is comprehensively regulated at both the federal and state level.
Strictly regulated as a packaged food product by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), bottled water is a safe, refreshing, convenient, and consistently reliable beverage choice. Did you know that by mandate of federal law, the FDA regulations governing the safety and quality of bottled water must be as stringent as the EPA regulations which govern tap water? Learn more.
MYTH: Bottled water isn't as regulated as tap water.
FACT: By federal law, the FDA regulations governing the safety and quality of bottled water must be as stringent as the EPA regulations which govern tap water.
To suggest in any way that bottled water is less stringently regulated than tap water is simply not true...


Started conversation May 4, 2004
It's incorrect to say that "gyratory system" is just the name for a roundabout that has got too big for its boots. In fact it's the original term which was soon displaced when they became common.
I'm not sure if the term "gyratory circus" was ever really used. There are a number of junctions in London known as circuses after the circular range of buildings around them. This was a particularly 18th century fashion, so of course the most famously beautiful one is in Bath.
The OED says of "gyratory":
Applied to a system of directing road traffic round a roundabout or through a system of one-way streets to avoid the need for one line of traffic to intersect another.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 7 Aug. 4/2 The gyratory principle, by which vehicles are directed into circular lines ingeniously devised to avoid intersection. 1926 Rep. Comm. Police Metropolis, 1925 16 in Parl. Papers (Cmd. 2660) XV. 239 Gyratory systems for the circulation of traffic, after years of discussion, reached the point of practical demonstration this year. 1928 Observer 5 Feb. 13/7 Now that every week dedicates a new bunch of streets to the Gyratory System. 1966 Guardian 8 Sept. 5/4 A new gyratory road system to ease traffic congestion..is to be built..at Stretford.
And of "roundabout":
A junction at which traffic moves one way round a central island. Cf. RONDPOINT b, ROTARY n. 3.
1927 Glasgow Herald 3 Jan. 7/2 There is only one draw~back to the roundabout, and that is the inconvenience caused to pedestrians. 1937 Times 13 Apr. (British Motor No.) p. viii/1 Roundabouts..have the advantage of keeping vehicles on the move. 1947 Daily Mail 22 May 3/4 Removal of the Mansion House to make room for a big round-about. 1955 Times 2 Aug. 9/7 Makeshift tactics are particularly evident in the proposed treatment at Hyde Park Corner which includes an extremely complicated roundabout. 1967 Listener 28 Sept. 398/1 People make only occasional use of their speedometer..on such critical occasions as the approach to roundabouts. 1977 Belfast Tel. 14 Feb. 5/9, 12 shots were fired at an armoured police vehicle near the roundabout at Narrow~water Castle.
And of "circus":
A circular range of houses. Also, a traffic roundabout. Often in proper names as Oxford Circus, Regent Circus.
1714 POPE Rape Lock IV. 117 Sooner shall Grass in Hide-Park Circus grow. 1766 ANSTEY Bath Guide II. ix. 57 To breathe a purer Air In the Circus or the Square. 1771 SMOLLETT Humph. Cl. 23 Apr., The same artist who planned the Circus has likewise projected a crescent [at Bath]. Ibid. The Circus is a pretty bauble..and looks like Vespasian's amphitheatre turned outside in. 1794 Looker-on No. 89 The squares and circuses are no longer the only scenes of dignified dissipation. 1898 Tit-Bits 15 Jan. 300/3 Bridges, of light and tasty design, across all the main thoroughfares, and at the various ‘circuses’ and cross roads.
Posted Sep 2, 2004
I'm a little confused. The definitions you gave seem to support the idea that there *is* a difference between a roundabout and a gyratory.
Those definitions say that a roundabout is a junction, while a gyratory is a particular kind of one way system.
Of course a roundabout could be viewed as a very small one way system, so you could argue that all roundabouts are gyratories. But not all gyratories are really roundabouts according to the definitions you produced. (Specifically, a gyratory consisting of more than one junction is, by definition, not a roundabout.)
But in practice, isn't the common usage pretty much as I suggested? I'm only actually aware of two road systems commonly referred to as gyratories - one is the subject of this article, and the other is in Reading. And both of them are distinctly on the large side. In particular, they both have multiple junctions.
So the common usage of the word seems to be to describe overgrown roundabouts (and more specifically, multi-junction ones) in practice.
Can you point to any counterexamples in real use? I'm just going on the gyratories I know - I've not done any exhaustive research on gryatories across the nation.
Posted Aug 12, 2005
There is a gyratory system at Park Gate near Southampton that consists of a pair of roundabouts connected by a pair of one way carriage ways.
Posted Aug 12, 2005
I have to correct my previous entry because, while I have heard it called the Park Gate gyratory system, it is not recorded as a gyratory system on Hampshire's register of adopted roads. It is recorded as the following separate components... Botley Road roundabout, the Bridge Road dual carriageway and the Brook Lane roundabout.
However, I find there is a gyratory system just east of Park Gate on the A27 at Titchfield and this is a large roundabout with traffic lights and many junctions.
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A notch or groove cut into a piece of material to allow two sections to be combined with a flush joint.
A woodcutting tool used to cut an L-shaped groove into a piece of material. see also Rabbet
A strong current in a stream or river.
1. An enclosed metal channel, usually fire-resistant, installed in a building to hold electrical wiring.
2. A chute that directs the flow of a material to a specific location in a device.
A channel holding electrical wiring that is designed to look like a piece of decorative trim or molding.
A channel holding electrical wiring designed to be installed on a floor. The unit has a low profile and sloping edges to facilitate walking over it.
The illegal practice of directing certain races away from some neighborhoods and into others.
1. A storage unit designed to hold various objects.
2. To cause a structure to shift so that it is out of plumb.
1. A force that causes a structure to shift so that it is out of plumb.
2. Installation of bricks or other masonry units so that each course is stepped back from the previous one.
Straight-line outward movement from a circle's center.
A power saw with a circular blade that is mounted on a moveable arm. The arm is lowered or raised to move the cutting blade to or away from the material to be cut.
A drill press with a moveable arm that can be swung to various positions on the work table.
An HVAC system with ductwork running outward from a central heating and/or cooling unit.
The surface of a log cut down the center.
Heating system where electrical or hot-water heating elements are installed in a concrete slab floor.
see Radiant heating
Use of radiation to generate heat such as with baseboard heating where the circulating hot water is radiated through conduction by thin metal fins at the bottom of the wall. The room is warmed by air circulating around the heating unit using convention.
Heating unit that is exposed and which transfers heat generated by hot eater or steam through conduction. When the air circulates around the radiator using convention, the room is heated.
The distance from the center of a circle to the circumference. One-half of the diameter of a circle.
A tool used for checking the radii of convex and concave surfaces.
Radioactive gas that seeps into some homes, from the ground, through sump pumps, cracks in the foundation, etc., it is considered a health hazard.
Any of the beams that slope from the ridge of a roof to the eaves to serve as support for the roof.
A metal fastener attached to the top plate of a wall to hold a rafter.
A rafter parallel to the gable end that projects out to form an overhang.
The end of a rafter extending beyond the line of a building's walls.
A guide used when cutting rafters.
The top plate of a building's walls. The rafters rest on the rafter plate.
The vertical cut made into a rafter so it will rest on the wall plate. see also Rafter Seat Cut
The horizontal cut made into a rafter so it will rest on the wall plate. see also Rafter Plumb Cut
Cutting a section off of the end of a rafter equal to one-half of the thickness of the ridge board (the rafter on the other side of the ridge board receives a similar cut).
Tables, often printed on a framing square, containing the data required to calculate angles and lengths of rafters for various roof types.
see Rafter Overhang
A horizontal structure used as a handhold or to block off a drop or other unsafe area.
1. Continuous metal bars on which wheeled vehicles travel (i.e. railroads).
2. The horizontal sections of a panel door.
3. The top and bottom sections of a window sash.
Waterproof cap, also called weatherheads, mast heads or entrance caps, which is placed at the upper part of an electrical mast at the point where the wires are run to the inside electrical meter. Wires hang from the pole to the entrance cap so that the entrance cap is not the low point in the downhill run from the pole because water will run to the low point before dripping to the ground. Wires enter the entrance cap at an upward angle through a tight insulator. Water is further stopped from getting through the entrance cap because of this entrance angle.
Wood where the fibers have swelled, usually because of becoming wet. Wood is often sanded with the grain raised to achieve an extremely smooth finished surface.
1. A fork-like tool used for gathering materials (i.e. leaves) or smoothing an area of soil.
2. A roof overhang on a building's gable end.
3. An angle between objects.
A masonry joint where a portion of mortar has been removed, creating a groove between masonry units. A raked joint if often used in brickwork.
Mortgage, most commonly used by the elderly who have substantial equity in their homes. A periodic payment is made to the borrower from the lender thus, increasing the loan balance, causing negative amortization.
A hydraulically powered piston used for driving a weight.
A sloping surface used to move from one elevation to another.


What Is Air Pollution?
in its great magnitude has existed in the 20th century from the
coal burning industries of the early century to the fossil burning technology in
the new century. The problems of
air pollution are a major problem for highly developed nations whose large
industrial bases and highly developed infrastructures generate much of the air
Every year, billions of tonnes of pollutants are released into the
atmosphere; the sources include power plants burning fossil fuels to the effects
of sunlight on certain natural materials. But
the air pollutants released from natural materials pose very little health
threat, only the natural radioactive gas radon poses any threat to health.
So much of the air pollutants being released into the atmosphere are all
results of man’s activities.
In the United Kingdom, traffic
is the major cause of air pollution in British cities. Eighty six percent of families own either one or two
vehicles. Because of the
high-density population of cities and towns, the number of people exposed to air
pollutants is great. This had led
to the increased number of people getting chronic diseases over these past years
since the car ownership in the UK has nearly trebled. These include asthma and respiratory complaints ranging
through the population demographic from children to elderly people who are most
at risk. Certainly those who are
suffering from asthma will notice the effects more greatly if living in the
inner city areas or industrial areas or even near by major roads.
Asthma is already the fourth biggest killer, after heart diseases and
cancers in the UK and currently, it affects more than three point four million
In the past, severe pollution in London during 1952 added with low winds
and high-pressure air had taken more than four thousand lives and another seven
hundred in 1962, in what was called the ‘Dark Years’ because of the dense
dark polluted air.
is also causing devastation for the environment; many of these causes are by man
made gases like sulphur dioxide that results from electric plants burning fossil
fuels. In the UK, industries and
utilities that use tall smokestacks by means of removing air pollutants only
boost them higher into the atmosphere, thereby only reducing the concentration
at their site.
These pollutants are often transported over the North Sea and produce
adverse effects in western Scandinavia, where sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
from UK and central Europe are generating acid rain, especially in Norway and
Sweden. The pH level, or relative
acidity of many of Scandinavian fresh water lakes has been altered dramatically
by acid rain causing the destruction of entire fish populations.
In the UK, acid rain formed by subsequent sulphur dioxide atmospheric
emissions has lead to acidic erosion in limestone in North Western Scotland and
marble in Northern England.
In 1998, the
London Metropolitan Police launched the ‘Emissions Controlled Reduction’
scheme where by traffic police would monitor the amount of pollutants being
released into the air by vehicle exhausts.
The plan was for traffic police to stop vehicles randomly on roads
leading into the city of London, the officer would then measure the amounts of
air pollutants being released using a CO2 measuring reader fixed in
the owner's vehicle's exhaust. If the
exhaust exceeded the legal amount (based on micrograms of pollutants) the driver
would be fined at around twenty-five pounds.
The scheme proved unpopular with drivers, especially with those driving
to work and did little to help improve the city air quality.
In Edinburgh, the main causes of bad air quality were from the vast
number of vehicles going through the city centre from west to east.
In 1990, the Edinburgh council developed the city by-pass at a cost of
nearly seventy five million pounds. The
by-pass was ringed around the outskirts of the city where its main aim was to
limit the number of vehicles going through the city centre and divert vehicles
to use the by-pass in order to reach their destination without going through the
city centre. This released much of
the congestion within the city but did little very little in solving the
city’s overall air quality.
To further decrease the number of vehicles on the roads, the government
promoted public transport. Over two
hundred million pounds was devoted in developing the country's public transport
network. Much of which included the development of more bus lanes in
the city of London, which increased the pace of bus services.
Introduction of gas and electric powered buses took place in Birmingham
in order to decrease air pollutants emissions around the centre of the city.
Because children and the elderly are at most risk to chronic diseases,
such as asthma, major diversion roads were build in order to divert the vehicles
away from residential areas, schools and elderly institutions.
In some councils, trees were planted along the sides of the road in order
to decrease the amount of carbon monoxide emissions.
Other ways of improving the air quality included the restriction on the
amounts of air pollutants being released into the atmosphere by industries;
tough regulations were placed whereby if the air quality dropped below a certain
level around the industries area, a heavy penalty would be wavered against them.
© Copyright 2000, Andrew Wan.


A crowd awaits a ship at Station Pier, Port Melbourne.
Source: Italian Historical Society - Co.As.It.
Find out why this landmark has become such an evocative symbol of Victoria's immigration history.
Station Pier is one of Australia's longest operating passenger piers. It holds iconic significance in Victoria's heritage, and is particularly significant to Victoria's post-war immigrants for whom it is an ongoing symbol of their arrival and the start of their new life.
The exhibition provides an historical overview of Station Pier, including its early days as Railway Pier in the 1850s, and its upgrade in the 1920s in response to the growing needs of the city and port of Melbourne.


a combination of one or more elementary reaction steps which start with the appropriate reactants and end with the appropriate product(s)
a description of the path, or sequence of steps, by which a reaction occurs
a description of the path that a reaction takes
a detailed description of how a chemical reaction occurs
a detailed description of the way a reaction occurs and is based on the known experimental data about the reaction
a detailed (theoretical) description of how we think the chemical reaction proceeds
a series of elementary reactions or elementary steps that lead from reactants to products
a set of steps at the molecular level
a step by step description of the separate steps that occur during a chemical reaction
a stepwise description of the reaction path
mechanism. A list of all elementary reactions that occur in the course of an overall chemical reaction.
In chemistry, a reaction mechanism is the step by step sequence of elementary reactions by which overall chemical change occurs.


It is fair to say that the struggle for power in the USSR between 1924 and 1929 was partially to do with the economic policy because the way in which different members of the Communist Party treated the economic policy depended how much support they got from fellow members of the Communist party. However, there were other factors involved such as a lack of democratic elections, the nature of leadership and fear of a divided party.
You could argue that the struggle for power was due to the differing economic policies, this is because different key players in the power struggle wanted different things. For example, the Bukharinite model wanted gradualism – to allow market forces to drive the economy forward and so letting the peasants gain wealth individually. He believed this would lead to a prosperous consumer market and heavy industry that is centrally controlled, planned economy run by a proletariat dictatorship. This would please the peasantry and results in political and economic growth as well as increased trade. Trotsky and his leftist model agreed that the party must recognise the role of the market forces during the gradual change to socialism. However, in 1926 he became increasingly critical of the gradualist approach and didn’t approve of peasants who had no obligation to sell if the market wasn’t right and therefore wanted a slightly more capitalist approach to the economic policy so that the government had greater control over produce. This created a power struggle because different people wanted different things and approached economic policy in certain ways and whilst Bukharin was trying to ensure the happiness of the public, Trotsky was trying to ensure the wealth and growth of the USSR as a trade nation. Although these two models were important in why there was a power struggle in those years it is not the most important reason.
Secondly, you could say it... [continues]
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Nausea and vomiting - adults
Nausea is the feeling of having an urge to vomit. It is often called being sick to your stomach.
Vomiting or throwing up is forcing the contents of the stomach up through the esophagus and out of the mouth.
Emesis; Vomiting; Stomach upset; Upset stomach
Many common problems may cause nausea and vomiting:
Nausea and vomiting may also be early warning signs of more serious medical problems, such as:
Once you and your doctor find the cause, you will want to know how to treat your nausea or vomiting
. You may be asked to take medicine, change your diet, or try other things to make you feel better.
It is very important to keep enough fluids in your body. Try drinking frequent, small amounts of clear liquids
If you have morning sickness during pregnancy, ask your doctor about the many possible treatments.
The following may help treat motion sickness:
- Lying down
- Over-the-counter antihistamines (such as Dramamine)
- Scopolamine prescription skin patches (such as Transderm Scop) are useful for extended trips, such as an ocean voyage. Place the patch 4 - 12 hours before setting sail. Scopolamine is effective but may produce dry mouth, blurred vision, and some drowsiness. Scopolamine is for adults only. It should NOT be given to children.
Call your health care provider if
Call 911 or go to an emergency room if:
- You think vomiting is from poisoning
- You notice blood or dark, coffee-colored material in the vomit
Call a health care provider right away or seek medical care if you or another person has:
Been vomiting for longer than 24 hours
Been unable to keep any fluids down for 12 hours or more
Headache or stiff neck
Not urinated for 8 or more hours
Severe stomach or belly pain
Vomited three or more times in 1 day
Signs of dehydration include:
- Crying without tears
- Dry mouth
- Increased thirst
- Eyes that appear sunken
- Skin changes -- for example, if you touch or squeeze the skin, it doesn't bounce back the way it usually does
- Urinating less often or having dark yellow urine
What to expect at your health care provider's office
Your health care provider will perform a physical examination, and will look for signs of dehydration.
Your health care provider will ask questions about your symptoms, such as:
- When did the vomiting begin? How long has it lasted? How often does it occur?
- Does it occur after you eat, or on an empty stomach?
- What other symptoms are present -- abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, or headaches?
- Are you vomiting blood
- Are you vomiting anything that looks like coffee grounds?
- Are you vomiting undigested food?
- When was the last time you urinated?
Other questions you may be asked include:
- Have you been losing weight?
- Have you been traveling? Where?
- What medications do you take?
- Did other people who ate at the same place as you have the same symptoms?
- Are you pregnant or could you be pregnant?
The diagnostic tests may be performed:
Depending on the cause and how much extra fluids you need, you may have to stay in the hospital or clinic for a period of time. You may need fluids given through your veins (intravenous or IV).
Malagelada J-R, Malagelada C. Nausea and vomiting. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 14.
Mcquaid K. Approach to the patient with gastrointestinal disease. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 134.
This article uses information by permission from Alan Greene, M.D., © Greene Ink, Inc.
George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.


Cardio and weight training are two important components of well-balanced fitness plans. Knowing which types of exercises fall into which category can help you construct your workouts more effectively, and can give you more options so you don’t get bored with your workouts. When designing your fitness plan, consider adding some stretching and flexibility training. Simply add a few minutes of stretching at the end of your cardio and weight training workouts.
Cardio, or aerobic, exercises require you to move the large muscle groups in your hips, legs and arms. The movement must be continuous and rhythmic, and you must move for a sustained period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity cardio exercise each week. Alternately, you can perform an hour and 15 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise. By regularly performing cardio exercise, you can improve your cardiovascular health, manage your weight more easily and enjoy a sense of well-being.
Examples of Cardio Exercises
Examples of cardio exercise include basketball, biking, brisk walking, dancing, jogging, jumping rope, rowing, running, swimming, tennis and water aerobics. Even some household chores -- such as mowing the lawn -- can count as cardio. The intensity with which you perform these activities determines whether they are moderate or vigorous. Moderate-intensity cardio exercises will raise your heart rate and make you breathe faster, while still allowing you to talk. When performing vigorous cardio exercises, you will find it difficult to say more than just a few words before pausing to breathe.
Weight Training Exercises
In weight-training exercises, you generally focus on one muscular group at a time, doing enough repetitions of the exercise to tire the muscles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults do weight-training exercises at least twice a week. Ideally, target all your major muscle groups: chest, shoulders, arms, abdomen, back, hips and legs. By performing weight-training exercises, you can build strength in your muscles, increase the amount of lean muscle in your body, manage your weight more easily and lower your risk of injury.
Examples of Weight-Training Exercises
You can perform weight-training exercises with free weights -- dumbbells and barbells. Examples of these exercises include biceps curls and squats. Weight machines offer other options for weight training. You can perform leg presses, standing calf raises, chest flyes and pull-down exercises on these machines. Other types of weight-training exercises require you to move your own body weight. These include triceps dips, situps and pushups. Although technically not weight-training exercises, resistance band exercises offer more options for strength training. You can perform variations on traditional weight-training exercises -- such as biceps curls, lunges, chest flyes and overhead presses -- with these resistance bands.


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Decision-making problems in water resources are often associated with multiple objectives and multiple stakeholders. To enable more effective and acceptable decision outcome, it is required that more participation is ensured in the decision making process. This is particularly relevant for flood management problems where the number of stakeholders could be very large. Although application of multi-objective decision-making tools in water resources is very wide, application with the consideration of multiple stakeholders is much more limited. The solution methodologies adapted for multi-objective multi-participant decision problems are generally based on aggregation of decisions obtained for individual decision makers. This approach seems somewhat inadequate when the number of stakeholders is very large, as often is the case in flood management.
The present study has been performed to have an overview of existing solution methodologies for multi-objective decision making approaches in water resources. Decision making by single and multiple stakeholders has been considered under both deterministic and uncertain conditions. It has been found that the use of fuzzy set theory to represent various uncertainties associated with decision making situations under multi-objective multiple-participant environment is very promising. Coupled with multi-objective methods (e. g. compromise programming and goal programming), fuzzy approach has also the ability to support group decisions, to reflect collective opinions and conflicting judgments.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada
Overview, Multiple objectives, Multiple stakeholders, Decision-making, Flood management
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Akter, Taslima and Simonovic, Slobodan P., "A General Overview of Multi-objective Multiple-participant Decision Making for Flood Management" (2002). Water Resources Research Report. Book 4.


The formation of counties was one of the first matters attended to by the Lords Proprietors  after they received their charter in 1663 from King Charles II for the vast tract of land in America he called the province of Carolina. In 1664 the Proprietors formed "all that parte of the province which lyeth on the north east side or starboard side entering of the river Chowan now named by us Albemarle River together with the Islands and Isletts within tenn leagues thereof" into a county that they named Albemarle County  for George Monck, the duke of Albemarle, himself one of the Proprietors. This was the site of the first permanent settlement in Carolina. They then divided the new county into four precincts: Currituck , Perquimans , Pasquotank , and Chowan . Albemarle County was subsequently enlarged, and in 1696 the area south of Albemarle Sound was removed from Albemarle and made into a new county, named Bath, which in turn was divided into the precincts of Beaufort , Hyde , Craven  and Carteret .
The primary reason for establishing counties (or precincts) was to provide local seats of government where citizens could record documents, such as deeds or wills, and participate in court proceedings. At the same time, the sheriff was provided with a home base from which to fulfill his basic responsibilities of collecting taxes and maintaining law and order.
By 1738 Albemarle and Bath Counties had been dissolved and the 14 precincts then in existence became counties, a designation that has remained since the seventeenth century. Throughout the remainder of the colonial period, as settlement spread westward and population increased, older counties were divided and new ones formed. With statehood came an even greater rate of growth, and by 1800 the number had risen to 59 counties covering all of the state. In many cases, the dividing of counties caused heated political controversy, as eastern counties were often divided to maintain that region's majority in the state legislature against expanding representation from the piedmont and mountain regions. Shifts in population continued throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, resulting in even more counties. Larger counties were divided, and those in turn were sometimes divided yet again, until the seemingly magical figure of 100 was reached in 1911. (For a time, the number of counties was actually greater than 100, but some of these were ceded to Tennessee in 1789 and others were absorbed into other counties or never fully developed.) The number remained at 100, although in 1933 the General Assembly authorized the consolidation of existing counties subject to approval of the electorate. This could have resulted for the first time in a decrease from the 100 county figure, but as of the early 2000s there had been no such consolidations.
Initially, county government and judicial matters were in the hands of justices of the peace , who formed a body known as the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions . The justices were appointed by the governor, with strong input from the members of the colonial Assembly from the affected county, leaving the average citizen with no say as to who would run the government of the county in which he lived. At first the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions met wherever it was convenient to assemble a quorum, usually in a private home. A 1722 act of the Assembly instructed the justices to pick a site for a permanent seat of government for each precinct, where they were to buy an acre of land and build a courthouse. Whether in the early precinct days, or after the name of the local government entity was changed from precinct to county, the justices had the support of a sheriff for law enforcement, as well as a clerk of court and a register of deeds. Of the three, both the clerk of court and the register of deeds needed to remain in their offices in the courthouse, which left only the sheriff free to travel about the county. Accordingly, he was also designated tax collector, a position sheriffs continued to hold until the latter part of the twentieth century.
The general system of county government of the early colonial period, with the appointed members of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions running things, was carried over into statehood, and little changed until the adoption of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868 . The system called for by the new constitution, known as the Township and County Commissioner Plan, gave control of county government to five commissioners, to be elected at large by the county's voters. In addition, each county was divided into townships whose residents elected two justices to serve as the township's governing body, as well as a three-member school committee and a constable. The new system significantly reduced the General Assembly's control of county government, since the legislators no longer appointed the justices of the peace who made up the county court.
The Township and County Commissioner Plan, patterned after one previously adopted in Pennsylvania, did not prove universally popular in North Carolina and lasted less than a decade. At a constitutional convention in 1875, the General Assembly was authorized to change the system, and in the session of 1877 townships were reduced to little more than geographic and administrative subdivisions of the counties. This seriously reduced the authority of county commissioners.
The modern system of county government, in which an elected board of commissioners is responsible for managing a county's affairs, including setting the rate and collecting taxes and determining where funds should be expended, dates to the early twentieth century. Periodically after that, the General Assembly  conferred additional authority and responsibility on the county commissioners, until at the end of the century they had been provided with such a wide range of "home-rule" statutes that many counties found it impossible to run their greatly expanded business without professional help. This led to the adoption by many counties of the County Manager Plan. Under this plan, commissioners employ a county manager to serve as a sort of chief executive of the county business-in some instances, the largest business in the county-with the manager having certain independent authority, including that of hiring and firing employees.
As with other matters, the state determines what sources the counties may tap for income. Traditionally, the real estate  tax has been the primary revenue source for North Carolina counties. However, especially in the last half of the twentieth century, counties were able to prevail on the General Assembly to let them collect from a variety of other sources, among those favored being local sales taxes, land transfer taxes, meals taxes, and occupancy taxes.
A. Fleming Bell, ed., County Government in North Carolina (3rd ed., 1989).
David LeRoy Corbitt, The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943 (1969).
1 January 2006 | Stick, David


European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection
Triptych showing scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Barbara and scenes from the Life of Christ
Master of the Laufen High Altarpiece, Austrian (active Salzburg), dated work 1467
Oil and gold on panels
EW1993-127-2a--cPurchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, the George W. Elkins Fund, and Museum funds, 1993
As described in The Golden Legend, written in about 1267 by Jacopo da Voragine, Saint Barbara converted to Christianity against the wishes of her pagan father. Locked in a tower by him, she ordered workmen to construct a third window inthe building to symbolize the Christian trinity. Enraged, her father turned her over to the Roman authorities for torture, and when her execution was ordered,he himself beheaded her. The left and right panels on the front of this triptychillustrate episodes from Barbara’s gruesome martyrdom.
These graphic depictions are intended to help the viewer equate Barbara’s physical torments with those of Christ, whose crucifixion is depicted in the top center composition. The figures at the top left and right, probably the apostles John and Luke, hold sayings taken from the last words of Christ on the cross, which here apply also to Barbara’s death. The bottom center panel shows Barbara enthroned in heaven, wearing a crown and holding a palm frond as symbols of victory over death. A tower and chalice, her identifying attributes, appear nearby.
Barbara’s martyrdom is paralleled on the reverse by the resurrected Christ standing in the tomb. The left and right panels of the back, which are movable and can be folded shut to appear on the front, show the angel Gabriel announcing the incarnation of Christ to the Virgin Mary.
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* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.


Vocalisation has been recognised as one of the important modes of animal communication. In one anabantoid fish, the croaking gourami Trichopsis vittata, both sexes produce loud, croaking sounds during agonistic encounters and courtship. It is known that sound emission of this fish is mostly involved with the ritualised portion of the contest, which is likely to convey information between the opponents about their respective strength and status. The sound is produced by a complex mechanism that involves two modified tendons, located behind each pectoral fin. Due to the external position of these soft structures, parasites, sickness, or injury from fights can easily damage the tendons, leading to muteness. Reduction or even loss of the croaking ability may result in a substantial decreasing of the overall fitness. Experiments were designed to test whether or not croaking gouramis can repair damaged tendons and regain fully functional sound producing organs, as well as to evaluate the effect of muting and recovery on the outcomes of agonistic interactions. Fishes were muted by surgically cutting one or both the tendons that connect the "sonic'' muscle with the fin rays. The occurrence and timing of recovery was evaluated for 30 specimens of T. vittata after surgical muting. Croaking sounds produced by the fish were recorded during staged contests after recovery. Sound from each specimen was previously recorded before and after muting as well, for comparison. The elapsed time of reconnection of each tendon to the relative fin ray was also recorded. Some fishes were found to recover completely within less than 30 days, while others needed up to three months. However, evidence for the beginning of the recovery process was noticed as early as 4 days after operation. Behavioural performance after recovery was normal. Details of sounds produced and changes of behavioural repertoires are discussed (supported by National Organization for Hearing Research, NIMH-58198, Institute of Museum and Library Service-LL90187).
Nicola Novarini, Tomonari Akamatsu & Hong Y. Yan (2002). Effects of muting and recovery on sound production in the croaking gourami Trichopsis vittata (Pisces: Anabantoidei) [abstract]. Bioacoustics 13(2): 202-203


These are poly-aromatic compounds, insoluble in n-heptane, with a number of carbon atoms greater than 50. The asphalthene content of a crude may be the cause of deposits in inter-changers and/or lines. In fact, the mix of a crude having a high asphalthene content with a paraffinic crude can displace the balance of the asphalthenes, precipitating them. A high asphalthene content ensures that the vacuum pitch will be suitable for producing asphalt.
ASTM D86 distillation is a test that measures the volatility of gasoline, kerosene and diesel.
Basic Sediment and Water (BSW)
The BSW relates to the content of free water (not dissolved) and sediments (mud, sand) in the crude. It is important that its reading is low in order to avoid dirtiness and difficulties during the crude processing, in which the steam produced by the free water can damage the oven. It is reported as a percentage in volume over the crude.
This is the weight of the residue remaining after the combustion of a fuel sample. It represents the facility of a heavy fuel to produce particles during combustion.
This is the measurement of the mass of a volume. It is expressed in kilograms per liter, or grams per cubic centimeter. Density depends on the temperature as this affects the volume of the substances.
Temperature at which a liquid stops flowing when cooled, through the precipitation of crystals of solid paraffin.
The draining temperature is very important as, in the unloading of paraffinic crudes using sea terminals with underwater pipelines of a certain length, the temperature of the crude can fall below the draining point, creating deposits of wax or solid paraffin in the pipelines, thus obstructing the flow.
This is the minimum temperature at which the vapors of a product flash or detonate momentarily when a flame is applied in controlled conditions. It represents the maximum temperature at which a product can be stored or transported in safe conditions.
This is the temperature at which the crystals formed during the cooling of a product sample disappear completely when the temperature rises in a controlled way
The metals content of a crude, vanadium and nickel, gives us an indication of their content in the heaviest products obtained in the refining. This is important because, for example, the metals in gas oil in vacuum are poison for the catalytic and hydro-cracking catalysts. A high vanadium content or metals in the combustible oil may cause oven and boiler tube breakage problems because they form corrosive products during combustion.
Number of cetane
This measures the ease with which the spontaneous ignition occurs of diesel oil using a standardized engine and a reference fuel.
The cetane rating is determined by making a comparison of the ignition time of a mix of cetane (C16)) and hepta-methyl-nonane (C 15), which has the same delay time in ignition as the fuel being examined. The cetane rating measured is the percentage of the cetane compound in the cetane/hepta-methyl-nonane mix.
The C16 has a cetane rating equal to 100 (it is an easily-ignited paraffin) and C15 has a cetane rating equal to 0 (as being a slow-combustion aromatic).
A high cetane rating represents a high ignition quality or a short delay time between the fuel injection and the start of combustion.
The diesel engine uses a high compression ratio to produce the spontaneous ignition of the diesel, instead of a spark as in the case of the internal combustion engine. The compressed air temperature in the diesel engine is sufficiently high to fire the diesel.
The lineal paraffins have a high cetane rating and therefore burn well; on the other hand, the aromatics are of a low cetane rating and burn badly, producing deposits of carbon and the production of black smoke. For that reason, high-quality diesel should have an aromatic content compatible with the specified cetane rating.
The cetane rating can be calculated based on the volatility (corresponding to the temperature of 50% distilled) and the density of the diesel and is called Calculated Cetane Rating. The reason for using the formula is the high cost of the cetane engine.
Octane number (NOR)
The RVP and NOR are the most important parameters of gasoline quality. The NOR measures the resistance of the gasoline to self-ignition or premature detonation in an engine's functioning conditions.
Self-ignition is noted for the hammering or noise produced when the gasoline self-ignites, detonating before the cylinder compresses all the gasoline and air mixture, losing power. The detonation produces sound waves that are detected using special microphones.
The octane rating is measured by comparing the noise of the detonation made by a reference fuel mixture in a standardized engine with that for which the fuel examined is made. The reference fuels are iso-octane (2, 2, 4 trimethyl pentane), with an octane rating equal to 100 (high resistance to hammering) and the n-heptane which has an octane rating of zero (very low resistance). The octane rating determined is the percentage in volume of iso-octane in the iso-octane/heptane mixture.
Fuels with a high octane rating have greater resistance to premature detonation than those of a lower octane rating. In addition, fuels with a high octane rating can be used in engines with a high compression ratio, which are more efficient.
There are two types of engine for the determination of the octane rating of gasoline. One uses the Research method and the other the Motor method.
The Research method represents the behavior of an engine in cities at low and moderate speeds. The Motor method represents situations with fast acceleration, like climbing gradients or overtaking.
There is another way of expressing the octane rating of a gasoline which is called Highway Octane. The Highway Octane rating is expressed as the sum of the Research octane and the Motor octane ratings divided by 2. The Highway Octane rating is used in the United States while the Research method is used in Chile.
Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)
The Reid vapor pressure is an empirical test that measures the pressure in pounds per square inch (psi) exercised by the vapors or light components of the crude or of an oil product, in a closed container at a temperature of 100 °F (38 °C).
A high vapor pressure of the crude tells us that light products are present in it and that they will burn in the torch in the processing if there is no suitable recovery system. In the case of an internal combustion engine, excessive vapor pressure will cause a blockage which will impede the flow of gasoline.
Crude oil contains salt (NaCI) which comes from the oil fields or the sea water used as ballast by oil tankers. It is necessary to extract the salt with desalination equipment before the crude oil can enter the atmospheric distillation oven in order to avoid corrosion that is produced in the upper part of the atmospheric tower. The salt decomposes and produces chlorhydric acid. It is expressed in grams of salt per cubic meter of crude.
The temperature at which some products inflame spontaneously in contact with the air (without flame), probably due to the heat the show oxidation produces, which accumulates, raising the temperature to the inflammation point. Fortunately, the oil distillers have very high self-ignition temperatures and are therefore difficult to achieve; this is 450ºC in gasoline. Oily rags, on the other hand, self-ignite easily and cause fires and so should be suitably destroyed.
The ratio of the weight of a substance and the weight of an equal volume of water at the same temperature. In oil, the API specific gravity is used which is measured with hydrometers that float in the liquid. The API grades are read directly on the scale that stands above the liquid at the flotation line point. The API scale arose from the facility of graduating the hydrometer rod uniformly.
°API =141.5/(specific gravity) -131.5
The °API determines whether the crude or product is light or heavy and enables us to calculate the tons of this unloaded. A light crude has an API of 40-50 while a heavy one has 10-24.
Sulfur and the API are the properties with the greatest influence on the price of crude.
This is the resistance to degradation through heat or oxidation of an oil product. Products containing olefinic material are unstable and susceptible to degradation.
The sulfur content permits the foreseeing of difficulties in meeting product and atmospheric emission specifications, as treatment units are needed to meet these; it is also poison for some catalysts. It also enables us to see whether the plant metallurgy is the most suitable for processing it. It is expressed as a percentage in weight of sulfur.
Sulfuric acid (H2S)
A prior knowledge of the sulfuric acid content of the crude permits preventive actions and avoids accidents to people. The sulfhydric acid is very dangerous because it anesthetizes the olfactory nerve which prevents people from being aware of the situation and is mortal in small quantities. Personnel working in contact with the crude have therefore to wear protection equipment and personal sulfhydric acid sensors.
This is the degree of resistance of a liquid to flow. The greater the viscosity, the greater the resistance to flow. Viscosity is affected by the temperature, reducing it when the latter rises. It is measured by using special viscosimeters and is expressed in USS (Universal Saybolt Seconds), FSS (Furol Saybolt Seconds) and in centi-stokes.
Viscosity is important for fuel injection in engines and burners. It is also critical in the pumping of crude oil and products by pipeline. A higher viscosity than that designed for will reduce the desired flow and make a greater pump motor capacity necessary. The viscosity also affects measuring instrument factors, altering the readings.
The measurement of the facility with which a product vaporizes. Volatile products have high steam pressure and a low boiling point. It is measured through the ASTM D86 test and is expressed as the temperature at which certain volumes are distilled.


Peter PanLiterary Hero
Best known as:
Fanciful boy hero of Peter Pan
Peter Pan is the mischievous hero of J.M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan. Peter is "the boy who never grew up," a fantastical figure who visits the bedroom of the Darling children (Wendy, John and Michael) and flies them away to Neverland. There the children meet Peter's loyal troupe of lost boys, and have adventures and battles with the nefarious Captain Hook. The character of Peter went through several versions, from a 1902 book The Little White Bird to Barrie's hugely successful 1904 play. Barrie published the story as prose in 1911, under the title of Peter and Wendy. In 1953, Walt Disney made a hit animated movie out of a cleaned up version the story, and a 1954 Broadway musical version of the play earned a Tony award for Mary Martin, who played Peter. In films Peter has been played by Jeremy Sumpter (Peter Pan, 2003) and Robin Williams (Hook, 1991) among many others. Peter Pan is also the star of a series of adventure stories for children by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, starting with Peter and the Starcatcher (2004).
Peter Pan is assisted by a tiny fairie named Tinkerbell, who carries a lighted wand; she has become one of the signature figures of the Walt Disney empire... Late singer Michael Jackson called his extravagant California ranch "Neverland"... In Barrie's story, Peter tells Wendy he lives "Second to the right, then straight on till morning." In some productions this has been changed to "Second star to the right, then straight on till morning"... Peter is usually played onstage by women, a tradition started with the original 1904 production; gymnast Cathy Rigby and actress Sandy Duncan played the role often later in the 20th century... In 1929, Barrie donated the rights to Peter Pan to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
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The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations
Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system.
It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade.
1. Integrating the Ecological and Economic Dimensions in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Valuation
2. Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services
3. Measuring Biophysical Quantities and the Use of Indicators
4. The Socio-cultural Context of Ecosystem and Biodiversity Valuation
5. The Economics of Valuing Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
6. Discounting, Ethics, and Options for Maintaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Integrity
7. Lessons Learned and Linkages with National Policies
Appendix 1: How the TEEB Framework Can be Applied: The Amazon Case
Appendix 2: Matrix Tables for Wetland and Forest Ecosystems
Appendix 3: Estimates of Monetary Values of Ecosystem Services
"A landmark study on one of the most pressing problems facing society, balancing economic growth and ecological protection to achieve a sustainable future."
- Simon Levin, Moffett Professor of Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution Behaviour, Princeton University, USA
"TEEB brings a rigorous economic focus to bear on the problems of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, and on their impacts on human welfare. TEEB is a very timely and useful study not only of the economic and social dimensions of the problem, but also of a set of practical solutions which deserve the attention of policy-makers around the world."
- Nicholas Stern, I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics and Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
"The [TEEB] project should show us all how expensive the global destruction of the natural world has become and – it is hoped – persuade us to slow down.' The Guardian 'Biodiversity is the living fabric of this planet – the quantum and the variability of all its ecosystems, species, and genes. And yet, modern economies remain largely blind to the huge value of the abundance and diversity of this web of life, and the crucial and valuable roles it plays in human health, nutrition, habitation and indeed in the health and functioning of our economies. Humanity has instead fabricated the illusion that somehow we can get by without biodiversity, or that it is somehow peripheral to our contemporary world. The truth is we need it more than ever on a planet of six billion heading to over nine billion people by 2050. This volume of 'TEEB' explores the challenges involved in addressing the economic invisibility of biodiversity, and organises the science and economics in a way decision makers would find it hard to ignore."
- Achim Steiner, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
This volume is an output of TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study and has been edited by Pushpam Kumar, Reader in Environmental Economics, University of Liverpool, UK. TEEB is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UENP) and supported by the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), recently joined by Norway's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands' Ministry of Housing (VROM), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and also the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The study leader is Pavan Sukhdev, who is also Special Adviser – Green Economy Initiative, UNEP.
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Scaevola taccada is a dense, spreading shrub that generally grows up to 3 meter in height. The light green leaves are somewhat succulent with a waxy covering and are alternately arranged along the stem.
The blades are elongated and rounded at the tips, 5 to 20 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide and the edges are often curled downward. The flowers are white or cream colored, often with purple streaks, 8 - 12 mm long, and have a pleasant fragrance. They have an irregular shape with all five petals on one side of the flower making it appear to have been torn in half. The flowers grow in small clusters from the leaf axils near the ends of the stems. The fruits of Scaevola taccada are fleshy berries. They are white, oblong, and about 1 cm long. The seeds are beige, corky and ridged. The inside of the fruit is spongy or corky and the fruits are buoyant. They can float for months in the ocean and still germinate after having been in salt water for up to a year. One study showed that the seeds germinated best after 250 days in salt water.
(National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG). 1994. Naupaka. In Native Hawaiian plant information sheets. Lawai, Kauai: Hawaii Plant Conservation Center. National Tropical Botanical Garden. Unpublished internal papers.)
(Rauch, Fred D., Heidi L. Bornhorst, and David L. Hensley. 1997. Beach Naupaka, Ornamentals and Flowers.)
(Wagner, Warren L., Darrel R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i.)
(Bornhorst, Heidi L. 1996. Growing native Hawaiian plants: a how-to guide for the gardener.)


The common name for sedums is Stonecrop. There is a Stonecrop Nursery in eastern New York which was the first garden created by Frank Cabot. Frank created the Garden Conservancy, an organization which strives to preserve some of our exceptional gardens for posterity. Each year it also runs its Open Days Program which opens gardens to the public throughout the country. Frank Cabot went on to create Les Quatre Vents, an outstanding garden at his family home in Quebec.
There are two sedums which most gardeners grow; Sedum acre, a tiny low-growing
groundcover plant with bright yellow flowers. This is being used effectively in the Peace Garden in the plaza between the library and city hall.
The other is Autumn Joy which is in bloom now and will continue to provide color for
months to come. Some references say it requires full sun. Not so! I have it in three locations in my garden. I have several plants growing out of a south-facing wall. But there are tall oaks and maples to the south so that the only time it gets direct sun is in spring before the oaks leaf out. The rest of the year it is dappled light. Another plant is in the east-facing bed on top of my long stone wall where it gets only morning sun. The third plant is in my shrub-perennial border where it gets a bit of sun mid-day. Mine is the ordinary run-of-the-mill Autumn Joy, but there are several cultivars offered in nurseries. Among these are: Crimson, Iceberg, which has white flowers, Autumn Fire and Chocolate Drop, growing only eight inches tall with brown leaves and pink flowers.
There are two native sedums: Roseroot, Sedum rosa and Wild Stonecrop, Sedum ternatum. A third Wild Live-forever, Sedum teliphiodes, grows on cliffs and rocks in Pennsylvania and southward.


Recent acts of violence alongside pending legislation and international pressure have brought to light the pressing need for lawmaking in support of LGBT rights in Chile. Together with protests for reforms in the education system, the public seems to be increasingly impatient about what the government is doing to protect LGBT rights. These demands are important beyond the scope of gay rights, because they have brought attention to the need for Chile to recognize, accept and protect the human rights of an evolving, heterogeneous culture as a fundamental prerequisite for continued prosperity.
The passage of an antidiscrimination law, which remained unresolved for over seven years, by a close 58-56 vote in the Chamber of Deputies this month was a basic necessity for the country. The Chilean Movement for Sexual Minorities (MOVILH) notes that in 2011 gay, lesbian and transgender Chileans were increasingly outspoken in reporting abuse and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, this recently passed antidiscrimination law does not deal with hate crimes per se, but rather defines illegal discrimination. Furthermore, certain passages have yet to be finalized in a mixed commission of Senators and Deputies on May 2. The recent death of gay youth Daniel Zamudio points to precisely why legislating solely on discrimination does not suffice in this case, serving as an exceptionally violent example as to why hate crimes require specific punishment under the law.
Zamudio received not only the public’s sympathy, but also worldwide attention including a briefing note from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ spokesman, Rupert Colville, urging Chile to enact hate crime legislation. In this regard, the MOVILH also argues that Chilean society is not opposed to legislating on issues of gay rights and antidiscrimination in its entirety, but there is a lack of bravery and willingness within Congress to approach these pending issues. The recent Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ overturning of a Chilean court ruling against lesbian Judge Karen Atala, who lost custody of her children because of her same-sex relationship, is further international pressure for Chile to meet requirements stipulated by international agreements it has signed onto.
Chile’s gay rights deficit is worrying as the country continues to be viewed as an example for continued economic growth despite global market volatility. President Sebastian Piñera’s administration is cautious about giving into all public demands, as Chile’s Minister of Finance Felipe Larraín recently said: “If we surrender to the temptation of appeasing demands by giving in to all of them, we will never get to our final goal [development].” However, most gay rights issues rely merely on political willingness rather than investment for social welfare. Furthermore, acting on gay rights is not the investment equivalent of reforming a public education system.
On the contrary, the lack of legislative initiative to protect gay Chileans is hindering the business community’s business opportunities. Private initiatives have been taken to reach out to gay customers, like for example the granting of access to mortgages and family insurance plans to Banco de Chile customers in same-sex relationships, proving how it is not only the public that is restless, but also the private sector that recognizes the positive effects of social inclusion in business. What could potentially prove threatening to Chile’s continued economic success might just be the lack of recognition given to the longstanding need for social inclusion of minorities in the country’s legal framework. In contrast, Chile’s neighbor Argentina has clearly reaped the benefits of gay tourism and investment since legislating on gay marriage, while Chile continues to turn a blind eye to opportunity.
This is not to say that Piñera’s administration has not taken basic steps to promote the rights of gay couples, like for example Piñera’s public presentation of a civil unions bill in August 2011. However, this legislative project was not only perceived as a political tool in the midst of cabinet discussions with student protest leaders, but is also minimal when considering the prominent use of gay couples in campaign ads for Sebastian Piñera during his presidential campaign. For this reason, the inclusion of a question in the 2012 census that allows gay couples to state whether they live with a same-sex partner may become an important, confidential and unbiased figure that current and future administrations could use to advocate for legislation on gay unions.
This paradox persists despite the heightened quality of life of Chileans. Economic growth is creating an increasingly obvious deficit in basic human rights the country has yet to attain. In spite of continued development and well-regarded fiscal policy through the recession and into today’s administration, Chile continues to be in debt to not only its citizens and the country’s business community, but also to international human rights agreements on sexual orientation and gender identity. These international standards continue to be well above those demonstrated by the current state of gay rights legislation in Chile.
Eduardo Ayala is a guest blogger to AQ Online. He is Chilean-American and works at the Council of the Americas in New York. He graduated from The George Washington University, during which time he also completed coursework at The University of Chile and The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago.


Language Instruction for Immigrant and Non-English Speaking Children
Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 provides Federal financial support to state and local educational agencies to supplement English language instruction in order to ensure that all English Language Learners, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic language proficiency in English, and meet the same challenging State academic achievement standards as all Maryland students are expected to meet.
To comply with these requirements, the Title III office of the Maryland State Department of Education works with local school districts to ensure that quality, research based ESL programs are offered to language minority students.
Title III, Secs. 3101, 3102 Part A


Don't feel like exercise? Scientists find compound that may help you work out harderJune 12th, 2012 in Medical research /
As science rushes to develop safe weight loss drugs, a new research report approaches this problem from an entirely new angle: What if there were a pill that would make you want to exercise harder? It may sound strange, but a new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal suggests that it might be possible.
That's because a team of Swiss researchers found that when a hormone in the brain, erythropoietin (Epo), was elevated in mice, they were more motivated to exercise. In addition, the form of erythropoietin used in these experiments did not elevate red blood cell counts. Such a treatment has obvious benefits for a wide range of health problems ranging from Alzheimer's to obesity, including mental health disorders for which increased physical activity is known to improve symptoms.
"Here we show that Epo increases the motivation to exercise," said Max Gassmann, D.V.M., a researcher involved in the work from the Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse-Faculty and Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. "Most probably, Epo has a general effect on a person's mood and might be used in patients suffering from depression and related diseases."
To make this discovery, Gassmann and colleagues used three types of mice: those that received no treatment, those that were injected with human Epo, and those that were genetically modified to produce human Epo in the brain. Compared to the mice that did not have any increase in Epo, both mouse groups harboring human Epo in the brain showed significantly higher running performance without increases in red blood cells.
"If you can't put exercise in a pill, then maybe you can put the motivation to exercise in a pill instead," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "As more and more people become overweight and obese, we must attack the problem from all angles. Maybe the day will come when gyms are as easily found as fast food restaurants."
More information: Beat Schuler, Johannes Vogel, Beat Grenacher, Robert A. Jacobs, Margarete Arras, and Max Gassmann. Acute and chronic elevation of erythropoietin in the brain improves exercise performance in mice without inducing erythropoiesis. FASEB J. doi:10.1096/fj.11-191197
Provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
"Don't feel like exercise? Scientists find compound that may help you work out harder." June 12th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-dont-scientists-compound-harder.html


I do a lesson with tints and shades that requires no drawing skills.
The kids make a large triangular banner using their first or last
initial-usually 24x18 or 24x36 if you have that sized paper.
They make the letter on a piece of 9x12 size paper. They can embellish a
simple block or puffy letter with a few swirls or whatever, but keep it
simple enough to paint in the shape with whatever their color choice is.
Then transfer the letter onto the triangle, near the center of the upper
part of the wide end. I have them tape the letter in place behind the
triangle and trace through on the light box or at the window.
This is a monochromatic painting the way I do it with my 3rd graders. the
choose one color and use it straight from the bottle to paint the letter
shape. This is the only shape with unmixed colors.
Then they divide the background behind the letter into large shapes using
straight or curved lines (nothing too nervous, if you know what I mean. Just
simple lines). I usually limit the number of extra shapes to about 10-12 and
remind the kids that the letter is the star of this show, not the background
Then they start with tints (color plus white) and paint in half the shapes.
Do the same with shades (color plus black) to finish the background area.
when dry, we outline with a wide sharpie marker to neaten up the painted
edges between shapes and around the letter. Sometimes we edge the whole
thing with colored construction paper strips to make the banner a bit more
Concepts used are always mixing from light to dark to avoid needing gallons
of white paint to lighten up a dark blue, for example. Start with the
lightest tint and paint a shape, progressing darker by adding into that bowl
more of the prime color. Same with shades, starting with a drop of black
into the prime color, painting a shape, and progressing with more black til
all the shapes are done. Saves a lot of paint that way!
The kids usually pick a color that will match their bedroom at home . My
third graders love this project and look forward to it each year. If you
need a photo, I can take one and send it tomorrow. I am off Mondays.


A nocturnal bird of prey.
(AM2: dp. 1,009 (f.); l. 18710; 1 b. 356; dr. 104; s. 14 k.; cpl. 78; a. 2 3; cl. Lapwing)
The first Owl (AM2) was laid down 25 October 1917 by the Todd Shipbuilding Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y.; launched 4 March 1918; sponsored by Miss Ruth R. Dodd; and commissioned 11 July 1918, Lt. (j.g.) Charles B. Babson in command.
Following a New York to Charleston towing assignment, Owl reported to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, 22 August 1918. Employed as a minesweeper for the remaining months of World War I, she then served as a light ship in the inner approach to Chesapeake Bay until 10 July 1919. From that time until 1936, she was primarily engaged in providing towing services along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. Between June 1936 and January 1941, she operated with units of the Aircraft Division, Base Force, providing planeguard, seaplane tender, and target and mooring buoy planting services from New England to the Caribbean. Then, temporarily attached to Train, Patrol Force at Culebra, P.R., she steamed to Bermuda in May for towing and servicing duties with MinDiv 14. Redesignated AT137, 1 June 1942, she was based at Bermuda until June 1943. During that time, towing and escort duties frequently took her to the east coast, while numerous salvage and rescue missions, including aid to the submarine R1 and torpedoed Argentine tanker Victoria, kept her busy at Bermuda and in nearby convoy lanes.
Detached from Bermudan duty in June, Owl spent the last six months of 1943 with DesRon 30 operating out of Guantanamo Bay. She then steamed back to Norfolk for overhaul, and sailed for Europe. She arrived at Falmouth, U.K., 14 March 1944 to join the Allied forces gathering for the invasion of France. Redesignated ATO137 on 15 May 1944, she arrived off the Normandy coast two days after D-Day. As ground forces pushed inland, she towed port and road construction materials to the French coast, thus aiding the all important flow of men and equipment to the front.
Availability at Falmouth early in the new year, 1945, preceded her return to the United States, 27 February, and midAtlantic coast towing assignments. Transferred to the Pacific Fleet, she sailed from Newport, 5 May, with YNG11 in tow, and arrived at San Diego 23 June, to join ServRon 2. In August she continued on to Pearl Harbor for four months of target towing duty, returning to the west coast 2 January 1946. Owl then provided towing services for the 19th (Reserve) Fleet until beginning inactivation in April. She decommissioned in the 13th Naval District 26 July 1946 and on 27 June 1947 was sold for scrapping to the Pacific Metal and Salvage Co. at Port of Nordland, Wash.
Owl received 1 battle star for World War II service.


When the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) was first founded in 1973 there were only 1.5 million wild turkeys across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Today, it is estimated there are more than 5.6 million wild turkeys.
In Utah, wild turkey restoration efforts continue to be the most aggressive in the nation. Over 2,800 wild turkeys have been relocated to suitable habitat areas in Utah since the winter of 1999. As a result, wild turkey permits have increased 20 percent for the spring 2002 season.
However, this program will not be complete until over 200,000 wild turkeys roam the cottonwood river bottoms, pinyon/juniper, and ponderosa pine forests of the state. Whether you pursue wild turkeys as a hunter, or simply enjoy watching these magnificent birds in their natural surroundings, the time to view wild turkeys in Utah has never been better.
At the forefront of this dramatic return in Utah, has been the Federation's volunteers, working side-by-side with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Now, with most restoration efforts completed in the East, all eyes have shifted to the West, where the wild turkey continues to redefine it's own idea of suitable habitat. While the release of a wild turkey into western habitat remains one of the federation's most enduring symbols, it is just one brick in a foundation of good works that are impacting people's lives and the environment in many positive ways.
Since 1977, the NWTF has spent over 144 million dollars on over 16,000 projects nationwide. The federation helps fund transplants, research projects, habitat acquisition, education, and the equipment needed to successfully accomplish these tasks. Through the Federation's regional habitat programs, volunteers have helped improve hundreds of thousands of acres by planting trees, crops, winter food sources and grasses that provide food and shelter for not only the wild turkey, but many others species of wildlife as well. Also improved in many areas, particularly in the west, has been water quality. Projects occurring right here in southeastern Utah include a San Rafael Desert guzzler, Knolls Ranch habitat improvement, and numerous other projects on the La Sal Mountains, Blue Mountains and Book Cliffs areas.
This month the Price River chapter of the NWTF will be hosting it's annual Wild Turkey Banquet on January 26. For more information, please call (435) 259-9453.


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Thermal epoxy is any adhesive epoxy that has one or more substances added to it to enhance thermal, or heat, transfer. These epoxies can be electrically conductive or not conductive, depending on the thermal additive used. Silver and other metal-based thermal additives are usually electrically conductive, and thermal epoxies that contain these additives must be applied very carefully so as not to cause electrical shorts. Ceramic-based additives are not electrically conductive but are also not as efficient at thermal conduction.
Manufacturers make thermal epoxies that are designed to work as high-performance engineering adhesives and structural adhesives in a wide range of applications and environments. These include aircraft, boats, marine equipment, cars, surfboards, snowboards, and bicycles, among others. There are thermal formulations for almost every application imaginable, including those that cure while under water, those that remain very flexible or get quite rigid when cured, those resistant to fire or high heat, and even those certified by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for low outgassing.
Heat can damage or destroy electrical components, and today’s high-speed computer components produce a large amount of heat that must be removed. Devices called heat sinks are used to pull heat away from an object and dissipate the heat to the air, sometimes with the help of a cooling fan. Heat sinks are made from metal alloys designed to have excellent thermal conduction properties, and they have specially designed fins to help conduct and remove the heat. They are almost always mounted to a surface using a special adhesive thermal epoxy.
When used in computer applications, a thermal epoxy can help fill microscopic voids that occur in the surfaces of heat sinks and other devices. These voids occur in the manufacturing process. When two objects are mounted together, for instance a chip and a heat sink, the voids fill with air. Air is a very poor thermal conductor, so a substance is introduced to fill the voids and help conduct the heat to the heat sink for removal. The substance used can be thermal grease, thermal tape, thermal pads or, if the device needs to be secured to the mounting surface, thermal epoxy.
When applying thermal epoxy it is very important to use the least possible amount required to fill any voids and make the bond. If a too-thick coat of epoxy is applied, the electrical conductivity of the epoxy will be degraded. Once the epoxy has cured, the bond between the two surfaces is permanent. Epoxies should only be used in well-ventilated areas, and the manufacturer’s instructions should always be followed for best results.